JT65 SOUND SOFTWARE

Is the level from your software package and yourВ computerвЂ™s soundcard ok? Too much level and the audio will be distorted.

It could be that the quality of the audio youвЂ™re sending isnвЂ™t good enough. Is the radioвЂ™s Data bitrate the same as the computer softwareвЂ™s setting?

Have you set the radio to receive external commands?.

Have you configured the software to interface with the radio correctly?.

Is the bit rate on the software and the radio correct?.

Are you using the correct COM ports for CAT and PTT?.

Do you have a suitable interface (CAT controller and PTT) for controlling the radio from your PC?.

ThereвЂ™s a host of possible reasons for this вЂ“ hereвЂ™s a few things to check: Good quality JT65 signals, and the WSJT-X incoming level control Check your soundcard input level and the receive volume control on the JT65 program to make sure you get a good clean audio signal coming in. If the level of the audio coming into your sound card is too high, the audio may be clipped вЂ“ too low, and it wonвЂ™t be decoded.

Make sure that the audio level into the software is set correctly.

JT65 SOUND FREE

We recommend the free Dimension 4В program to keep your clock in sync with an accurate Internet time service If itвЂ™s off by a second or more, it wonвЂ™t decode the messages. JT65 relies on the computerвЂ™s clock being very accurate. Seeing a waterfall, but nothing being decoded? Joe Taylor K1JT with Essex HamвЂ™s Pete M0PSX JT65 TroubleshootingДЄ few bits of information to help with JT65 troubleshooting If thereвЂ™s any interest, IвЂ™m happy to expand this article, but hopefully this tells you what JT65 is all about, and gives you enough to get started. I found the application Dimension 4 really helps here, as it runs in the background and keeps your clock in-sync by resetting the time to one of the online atomic clock servers every 20 minutes. ComputerвЂ™s onboard clocks are notorious for drifting off, and you need your clock to be accurate to the precise second, or things donвЂ™t work. One key thing I learnt along the way is that your computerвЂ™s clock has to be spot on. Once itвЂ™s working though, using the software is fairly straightforward.

JT65 SOUND PC

The software is rather tricky to get set up, and sorting the handshaking between rig and PC was something of a trial-and-error affair.

JT65 Alert вЂ“ A handy application that helps manage your JT65 QSOs.

JHB9HXQ вЂ“ A custom build of JT65-HF with extra features to help you make contact with wanted countries (and also includes an NTP clock sync for keeping the clock correct).

JT65-HF by W6CQZ вЂ“ The main application for JT65 (Also available here: JT65 at Sourceforge).

WSJT-X вЂ“ Written by JT65вЂ™s creator Joe K1JT, this also supports JT9 and WSPR.

As with WSPR and PSK31, youвЂ™ll need some kind of TNC (Terminal Node Controller) to interface between rig and soundcard.

JT65 SOUND PLUS

This is just a summary, plus some notes on what IвЂ™ve discovered so far.ДЇirst off, you need to connect your PC to your HF rig.

JT65 SOUND FULL

This is one of the more tricky modes to set up for, and this wonвЂ™t be a full вЂњhow toвЂќ guide, as there are plenty of those online already. A screenshot of the PSKReporter website, showing received signals Setting up for JT65 You can also use the great online PSK Reporter website to see where your JT65 CQ calls are reaching, making it great for checking your antennaвЂ™s performance. You also donвЂ™t need a lot of power to make a contact вЂ“ you can work the world onВ 10 watts. It also works many dB below the noise floor, so although you may not be able to hear any signals вЂ“ they could be there. JT65 handles very weak signals, just like WSPR, so will get through where voice and PSK31 wonвЂ™t. ItвЂ™s a case of tuning in to a JT65 frequency, waiting for one-minute transmit cycle to complete, and looking for a CQ message to reply to. YouвЂ™ll see from the above screenshot that there is a вЂњwaterfallвЂќ (as with PSK31) that shows multiple QSOs. One person sends on the odd minute, and the second person sends on the even minute. M0PSX says Reception Report Received (all OK)Д®ach message of up to 13 characters is sent over the course of 50 seconds, starting at the top of each minute, so the above conversation would take seven minutes. Here is a typical conversation over JT65: вЂњCQ M6PSK JO01вЂќ With JT65, youвЂ™re restricted to very small messages, with a limit of 13 characters per message. ItвЂ™s also great for making contact over distance with low power, where a voice signal just canвЂ™t make the trip.ДЄs with modes such as PSK31 and WSPR, you interface your HF rig to a computer, and send out text encoded by your computer over the amateur bands. JT65 is one of the more specialist data modes that IвЂ™ve played with, but I must admit, itвЂ™s quite addictive.

Jt65 sound