There is an alternative software for QCX with FT8 and some others FSK modulation support by  Oli SQ3SWF from Poznań Poland. https://youtu.be/98AZ2Bxzxhw
It is for Linux operation system only.
HPNY to all!

Hi Peter

I didn't find much, but it looks like he hasn't released it yet.
https://twitter.com/Sq3Swf/status/1077926739190403072

Hi,

I will release the software soon, but I need to put a little bit more work into it.

There are two pieces - one part is a software running on the PC you can see in the video - it measures output audio frequency (from wsjtx or any other application) and sends the result via serial port. QCX software is the second part, receiving TX frequency via serial port and driving the transmitter accordingly, as well as providing reception, LCD and rotary encoder tuning support. Nothing too fancy, computer still does all the heavy work of encoding/decoding FT8 protocol. With narrow filter it's a bit tricky to work FT8, but 3 watts is more than enough power to have some fun when the band condx are too low for QRP CW.

The PC part runs on Linux and relies on pulseaudio subsystem to capture sound, making it a bit harder to run in Windows environment, but at this point it's just about 100 lines of code long, so far from complex.

Personally I find operating FT8 very boring, but I like hacking stuff :)

Hope I'll find someone with QCX + avr programmer + serial interface + linux PC for beta-tests :-)

Regards & HNY 2019
Olgierd SQ3SWF

Hi,

I have created a Github repository for FT8 firmware: https://github.com/olgierd/qcx_f

I hope the instruction I created is good enough, only hardware requirements are AVR programmer (to flash the microcontroller) and some serial port (TTL!).

For now, software runs only in Linux, but in the next few days a Windows version should become available.

73 de SQ3SWF

--

Hi Olgierd,

I'm wanting to try your FT8 firmware suite for the QCX transceiver.

I'm trying to work out the connections required for the serial interface.
I understand that the RX to PC comes from the GPS port (RXD), but I'm not sure where the TX input from the PC goes on the QCX?

Please can you help me.

Cheers & 73,
Malcolm
M0MBO

Olgierd,

If you find FT8 boring (as I once believed) try running it with a 6 year old like I did with my grandson and suddenly a whole new "computer game" is born and off he goes to his globe to find France, Croatia, Poland (!!), Slovenia, etc., etc. etc. We had a blast, he got exposed to one of the greatest technology hobbies ever and best of all, we got to spend quality time together cruising the globe in search of uncharted territory. Hey! There's Cuba!

Pardon me, but I think a QDX should be in every classroom running on a Raspberry Pi as I do, for all the learning they can provide. Think of all the location games you could make up!

Ding ding ding!  - as he would say!

Cheers,

Rob, KC4NYK

On 11/27/22 14:41, Rob - KC4NYK wrote:

Olgierd,
If you find FT8 boring (as I once believed) try running it with a 6 year old like I did with my grandson and suddenly a whole new "computer game" is born and off he goes to his globe to find France, Croatia, Poland (!!), Slovenia, etc., etc. etc. We had a blast, he got exposed to one of the greatest technology hobbies ever and best of all, we got to spend quality time together cruising the globe in search of uncharted territory. Hey! There's Cuba!
Pardon me, but I think a QDX should be in every classroom running on a Raspberry Pi as I do, for all the learning they can provide. Think of all the location games you could make up!
Ding ding ding!  - as he would say!

Oh I like that, could be every useful when talking to classes that visit the makerspace!
I need to get a large map now!

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry kd2zrq@...
http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog
Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies KD2ZRQ

On Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 07:41 PM, Rob - KC4NYK wrote:

If you find FT8 boring (as I once believed) try running it with a 6 year old like I did with my grandson and suddenly a whole new "computer game" is born

Ham radio is not a computer game.
 
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- 73 de Andy -

This is brilliant. Kudos.

Ham radio is whatever you make of it.  #TheBlindMenAndTheElephant

On Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 11:54 PM, William Smith wrote:

Ham radio is whatever you make of it.  #TheBlindMenAndTheElephant

"There are none so blind as those who will not see.
 
--
- 73 de Andy -

On Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 12:42 AM, Da Amazin' man G0FTD wrote:

"There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Well said.
Anyone that cheapens our hobby is a traitor.

On Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 12:45 AM, Albert Tatlock's Greatest Hits - Vol 1 wrote:

Anyone that cheapens our hobby is a traitor.

Totally agree.
Throw them in the gulags.
 
--
- 73 de Andy -

And in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.

73, Stay Safe,

Robin, G8DQX

On Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 12:53 AM, G8DQX list wrote:

And in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.

King_Harold_1066 has entered the chat:
 
--
- 73 de Andy -

On 11/27/22 18:49, Mark KB0US via groups.io wrote:

The "map" is provided by Gridtracker which makes it all much more visual.
I've been thinking about seeing what I could do with the local museum. What would be ideal is doing a screen recording and playing it back with a Raspberry Pi on a 50" TV monitor through the HDMI input. That would be cheap and wouldn't rely on band conditions. And wouldn't require significant expertise by the staff to maintain.
Mark KB0US

Mark look for software that can record your session. I know things like
WebEx, MS Team (I'd guess Zoom too) can record a presentation. I also
know that there is software that can do this without the meeting I'm
just not sure of the software's name.

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry kd2zrq@...
http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog
Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies KD2ZRQ

On Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 01:07 AM, Da Amazin' man G0FTD wrote:

King_Harold_1066 has entered the chat:

FTD, sharp as a razor.
I like this dude.