Optimizing On-the-Air Practices in FT8

I’ve recently had the opportunity to spend a good amount of time operating the FT8 digital mode. For those unaware of what FT8 is, this is a digital communications mode often referred to as a “sound card mode.” The creators of this mode are Joe Taylor, K1JT, and Steven Franke, K9AN. The FT8 operating mode is part of the WSJT-X program. It operates using frequency-shift keying and requires only 50 Hz of bandwidth per signal. Either the computer’s sound card or an external sound card is used along with specialized software to decode the signal for receiving and encode the signal for transmitting.

This article is not about teaching how to set up your hardware or software. The focus of this article is on good operating procedures and tips for better operation of FT8. If you are unfamiliar with this mode, I suggest checking the home page for the WSJT-X program or one of the other tutorials available online. The WSJT-X home page (which also includes a link to the user guide) can be found at: <>. In addition to this site, there are many excellent tutorials available on the internet for