WSJT Development Group Releases WSJT-X Version 1.7.0

The WSJT Development Group has released WSJT-X version 1.7.0. The WSJT-X software suite is designed to facilitate basic Amateur Radio communication using very weak signals (WSJT stands for Weak Signal communication by K1JT).

Joe Taylor, K1JT, recommends reading the extensively updated WSJT-X version 1.7 User Guide, which describes new features and capabilities (relative to version 1.6). WSJT-X version 1.7.0 includes new modes ISCAT, MSK144, and QRA64; newly implemented submodes JT65B-C and JT9B-H; a new Franke-Taylor decoder to replace the Koetter-Vardy decoder previously used for JT65; improvements to the JT4, JT9, and JT65 decoders; multi-pass decoding for JT65 and WSPR, and improved convenience features for EME Doppler tracking.

Source:ARRL

New in Version 1.7

For quick reference, here’s a short list of features and capabilities added to WSJT-X since Version 1.6.0:

New modes: ISCAT, MSK144, QRA64
Newly implemented submodes: JT65B-C, JT9B-H
Fast submodes of JT9E-H
New Franke-Taylor decoder to replace the Koetter-Vardy decoder previously used for JT65. Separate program kvasd[.exe] is no longer used.
Improvements to the JT4, JT9, and JT65 decoders
Multi-pass decoding for JT65 and WSPR. Decoded signals are subtracted from the received data, allowing decoding of weaker signals that were otherwise masked.
Improved convenience features for EME Doppler tracking
Saving and restoring of multiple program configurations
Sample-file download facility
Many corrections and improvements to the Hamlib library, fixing balky rig-control features
Power settings for Transmit and Tune remembered and optionally restored for each band
WSJT-X implements communication protocols or “modes” called JT4, JT9, JT65, QRA64, ISCAT, MSK144, and WSPR, as well as one called Echo for detecting and measuring your own radio signals reflected from the Moon. These modes were all designed for making reliable, confirmed QSOs under extreme weak-signal conditions. All but ISCAT use nearly identical message structure and “source encoding,” the efficient compression of standard messages used to make minimal QSOs. JT65 and QRA64 were designed for EME (“moonbounce”) on the VHF/UHF bands; JT65 has also proved very popular and effective for worldwide QRP communication at HF. JT9 is optimized for the LF, MF, and HF bands. It is about 2 dB more sensitive than JT65 while using less than 10% of the bandwidth. With either JT9 or JT65, world-wide QSOs are possible with power levels of a few watts and compromise antennas. JT4 and QRA64 are optimized for EME on the VHF and higher bands, and especially the microwave bands from 2.3 to 24 GHz. Finally, as described more fully on its own page, WSPR mode implements a protocol designed for probing potential propagation paths with low-power transmissions. WSPR is now fully implemented within WSJT-X, including automatic band-hopping. The current release of WSJT-X is Version 1.7.0. It offers flexible control of nearly all modern transceivers. Upgrading from WSJT-X versions 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 will be seamless; there is no need to uninstall a previous version or move any files. If you are upgrading from WSJT-X v1.3 you will need to copy your log files into a new location and re-enter your setup information. Release notes for Version 1.7 are provided here.

WSJT-X is a complex program. Be sure to read the online WSJT-X User Guide for Version 1.7.

Swedish translation of WSJT-X User Guide (Version 1.6) by Anders Rhodin, SM7VRZ: WSJT-X Användarmanual.

Windows

Latest full release, Version 1.7: wsjtx-1.7.0-win32.exe.

Linux
Installation instructions for Linux can be found here in the User Guide. Download the package file appropriate for your system, from the list below. (Versions installable with “apt-get” and “yum” will be made available as soon as our package maintainers create the packages.)

Latest full release, Version 1.7
- Debian, Ubuntu, … (32-bit): wsjtx_1.7.0_i386.deb
- Debian, Ubuntu, … (64-bit): wsjtx_1.7.0_amd64.deb
- Fedora, RedHat, … (32-bit): wsjtx-1.7.0.i686.rpm
- Fedora, RedHat, … (64-bit): wsjtx-1.7.0.x86_64.rpm

Macintosh OS X:
Installation instructions for version 1.7 can be found here in the User Guide. Download the package file appropriate for your system:

Latest full release, Version 1.7
- OS X 10.7 and later: wsjtx-1.7.0-Darwin.dmg

Source Code:
The package posted here contains all source code for WSJT-X as well as a snapshot of the Hamlib 3 sources and a CMake script to build WSJT-X on any supported platform.