[TowerTalk] FT8 Upgrade

[Jim Brown]

This is off-topic, and is simply information for FT8 users. Please do 
not start a discussion here about it.

Users of FT8 should be aware that K1JT's WSJT-X development team has 
been busy with version 2.0. The new version makes changes in the digital 
format of FT8 and MSK144 that make it INCOMPATIBLE with older versions.

The changes have been made to allow a few more characters to be 
transmitted, to allow for /R to indicate Rovers, to allow for contest 
exchanges for Field Day, RTTY Roundup, and VHF contests, and to allow 
for more complex and non-standard callsigns. V 2.0 also includes better 
error checking, resulting in fewer false decodes, and it eliminates the 
grid wierdness that occurred in V 1.9 when one station was using Contest 
Mode and the other was not..

While V 2.0 is currently in Beta, it's well-advanced beta, and works 
very well. Those using 1.9 cannot copy or transmit to stations using V 
2.0 and those using the latest V 2.0 betas cannot copy stations using V 
1.9. The non-beta release of 2.0 is scheduled for Dec 10. (Early 2.0 
beta versions DID allow 1.9 and 2.0 users to communicate, but this 
capability has been removed to allow the final version to work better.)

Users are encouraged to switch to the new version as soon as possible. 
The only downside is that most users are still using V 1.9, so you won't 
be able to work them, but this will gradually change as more users 
upgrade, and the transition will happen more quickly as more users 
upgrade. K1JT's Quick-Start Guide is here.

https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/Quick_Start_WSJT-X_2.0.pdf

Links to installation packages are here.

https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

73, Jim K9YC