FT8 Etiquette for DXers by 3D2AG
The new digital mode 'FT8' being all the rage, below are some tips to make our mutual experience of this exercise the most enjoyable and productive:
1. Foremost, PLEASE CALL THE DX STATION SPLIT! Otherwise it will be impossible for the DX to decode your signal among the many calling on his frequency. Do not call on his frequency. Select a clear spot on the waterfall in the Wide Graph, do a on that clear spot to set your transmit frequency, and call the DX there.
2. When calling the DX, SEND A REPORT along with your call (e.g. W1AW 3D2AG -17). This will greatly reduce the number of exchanges and time per QSO, enabling more stations to work the DX in the available propagation window. Click the “Next” button under “Generate Std Msgs” for the “Tx2” message. This will generate a signal report with your call instead of a grid square.
Typical FT8 'ideal' short QSO (75 Seconds long):
CQ 3D2AG RH91
3D2AG W1AW -17
W1AW 3D2AG R-20
W1AW 3D2AG RR73
3D2AG W1AW 73
Extended long QSO (105 seconds):
CQ 3D2AG RH91
3D2AG N6TE DM12
N6TE 3D2AG -20
3D2AG N6TE R-15
N6TE 3D2AG RRR
3D2AG N6TE 73
N6TE 3D2AG 73
Note that the above times can be much longer if there are improper decodes needing repetitions (please refer to point (1) above!). Please note that for a good QSO, the '73' is optional, so if you cannot manage to copy the final '73' do not worry you are in the log. Usually after attempting to send 3 or 4 times the final 'RR73', the DX will move on to the next station.
3. If you do not intend to stick around, please do not call! A FT8 QSO takes a minimum of 60 to 105 seconds, and if there are repetions, up to 2 or 3 minutes, even 5. A lot of patience is required. If there are 4 or 5 stations calling at the same time (hopefully split!) the DX station will answer them in the order they appear on his waterfall, so your turn will come. The DX could be wasting a lot of precious on-air time calling absentee stations!
4. To make the QSOs smoother and faster during a DXpedition, the 'RRR' and '73' lines are usually combined as 'RR73' so please be prepared for this. For proper interpretation of 'RR73' please always use the latest version of WSJTx: (https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html).
5. Last, but not least: after making a simplex QSO with the DX, please QSY - DO NOT start calling CQ on his frequency forcing him to shift elsewhere (yes, this happens too often!!). The FT8 spectrum is already very crowded as it is, so please do not deprive the DX of his hard-earned 'parking space'! Thank you very much and let's enjoy FT8 Mode!
