#js8 — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #js8, aggregated by home.social.
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Glad you asked about #JS8, @treknor !
There are some JS8 users here, including myself.
The canonical place to fetch the software is https://github.com/JS8Call-improved/JS8Call-improved/releases .
The community is relatively small. Activity mostly happens on 20 m and 40 m (and on 11 m outside #hamradio), but in the late evenings there's often some on 80 m. https://www.pskreporter.info/pskmap.html#preset&callsign=ZZZZZ&mode=JS8&timerange=1800&hideunrec=1&blankifnone=1&showlines=1&mapCenter=49.3727,17.6051,4.77 tells you on which bands people currently gather.
Shameless plug: A German introduction is available at https://dj3ei.famsik.de/2025-JS8/
More questions? Ask!
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Somehow, today's #JS8 party had something of a "bad hair day" for me.
You had to leave one QSO early, @G8RKE , I another, later one. Someone got distracted so I had to wait for some 20 minutes in the middle of a QSO. On two different occasions, two people tried to chat with me simultaneously (in one of those two, it was clearly my fault: being confused and sending confusing signals).
My motto for such: If all always worked smoothly, we wouldn't enjoy our successes quite as much.
🤷
Next time.
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For perspective: I'm a ragchewer. I typically count a #JS8 party 🧵 a success if I manage four QSOs during the course of the weekend - but with at least two of them (if not all four) lasting longer than an hour.
In some other digimodes, you typically work the same station on the same band only once and then never again.
In JS8, I like to meet both new folks, but also the same friends again and again. It can be fun to pick up a conversation right where we left off last time, weeks or months ago.
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The monthly #JS8 party comes up again!
From Saturday, April 11, 19 UTC for 24 hours until Sunday 19 UTC, more people will be active via JS8 than usually. This is no contest, just a time of enhanced activity. You can also start earlier or linger on later, if you want to. It is all quite relaxed.
https://js8call.groups.io/g/main/viewevent?repeatid=12902
If you don't have the JS8Call program installed yet and want to change that: Version 2.5.2 is the latest as I'm writing this, and you can pull it from
https://github.com/JS8Call-improved/JS8Call-improved/releases
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#Cat story:
Some months back, using a rescued e-waste laptop as a ham radio computer.
Running Debian #Linux, it sat on my office desk, with a tiny QDX digital radio on USB, squeaking out tiny 4 Watt QRP #JS8 signals into antenna coax.
JS8 is low speed chat mode, with relaying and stored messages, right? I would let it run all day, then check it once or twice a day, message scattered ops.
Well... One day I get WTF email saying,
"Dood, U Ok? You been sending nonsense last hour!"
Oh no!
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RE: https://mastodon.radio/@dj3ei/116223379123767240
This month's #JS8 party is going nicely, and it has just started!
Conditions rather crappy, but I already had one QSO that was the third JS8 QSO for the person on the other side. I love it! And another QSO that was the very first JS8 QSO for the person on the other side. I looove it!
Both a nice friendly ragchew, duration a bit above 70 minutes each.
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Eine deutschsprachige Einführung in #JS8 gibt es in Form des Artikels, der von https://dj3ei.famsik.de/2025-JS8/ aus verlinkt ist.
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It the monthly #JS8 party again this weekend! From 19 UTC Saturday to 19 UTC Sunday. Though you can start earlier or linger around longer as you please, as this is not a contest, just a time when people who are sometimes JS8 QRV are particularly active.
Details: https://js8call.groups.io/g/main/viewevent?repeatid=12902
If you've never done JS8 before, this Saturday is an even better time to start than any other day!
Software at https://github.com/JS8Call-improved/JS8Call-improved/releases , the guide (under reconstruction, but useful) at https://js8call-improved.github.io/JS8Call-improved/d6/d14/md_docs_2user__guide_2JS8Call__User__Guide.html
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I took part in #WinterFieldDay, as a lowly 1H DX station. Spent quite a few hours in front of the rig, both Sa and So. I almost exclusively did #JS8.
I once came very close, just the final confirmation from the other station was missing to complete the QSO. I heard other WFD stations 3 or 4 times. But my end result: Not one single QSO.
Never had that in a contest before when I seriously tried to take part.
Oh, well... If all worked out nicely first time, successes wouldn't be so exhilarating.
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A lot is unclear as of now.
E.g., I think if I'm present at the premesis while my station is running, I'm legally administering my transmissions, so I don't need that special license for automated operation.
Am I allowed to sleep next to my station while it's up and running? Or do chores in the same or another room?
In the context of #JS8, lots of people already do this. While IANAL, I think I'm operating within the limits of what my license allows if I do that as well.
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Today at 19 UTC, the mothly 24-hour "#JS8 party" activity starts. https://groups.io/g/js8call/viewevent?repeatid=12902
Expect German newcomers! Besides the usual 20+40 m band, I advertise the 80 m band for the party's first 12 hours and again Sunday after 15 UTC, and 10 m (or, if dead, 15 m) 9-15 UTC.
Grab JS8Call-improved 2.4.0 from https://github.com/js8call-improved/js8call-improved/releases (if on Windows, wrestle with the usual false malware alarm) and join the ragchew fun!
https://WWW.FAMSIK.DE/JS8 has "Party Game" "Challenges" introducing JS8 features.
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The old 2020 JS8Call guide has been opened up by Jordan! It is now change-able under CC BY-SA.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/159S4wqMUVdMA7qBgaSWmU-iDI4C9wd4CuWnetN68O9U/edit?tab=t.0
Someone has told me he has translated this to German. You can now legally publish your translation!
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Introductory #JS8 online presentation (in German) this Tuesday 2025-12-09 19 UTC. Feel warmly invited! Details https://treff.darc.de/d/#/kalender/445 .
On-the-air workshop follows starting about 20:15 UTC: Participants do first JS8 steps, via the 80 m band.
The weekend after, we'll enjoy our traditional monthly JS8 party https://js8call.groups.io/g/main/viewevent?repeatid=12902&eventid=1597242&calstart=2025-12-13 . Expect some 80 m signals in Europe after German sunset (roughly 15 UTC) on Sunday.
https://FAMSIK.DE/JS8 suggests "party games" introducing JS8 features.
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Oh, FT8 is a digital mode for #AmateurRadio. ;)
It's adapted to #JS8, which uses the same signaling, but less for (to use non-domain-specific-language) "Marking that I was able to reach this country and talked to this person," but more for what they call rag-chewing, or what we'd call "chatting."
But it's like, a handful of bits per second. Meant for crossing great distances via radio, not rapid comms by any stretch. ;)
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Shameless plug: The best place to grab up-to-date #JS8 software from is presently https://github.com/JS8Call-improved/JS8Call-improved/releases . The version 2.4.0 that you can find there is mostly the same as JS8Call 2.3.1, but with several bugs fixed.
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A new programm for #js8 has appeared, called "JS8Call-improved". Some "gang of five" is responsible for this, to which I have the honor of belonging.
Its first and only version 2.4.0 has several bugfixes on top of the official JS8Call 2.3.1 and some new functionality; prominently user-configurable logging that hopefully will ease pinpointing further bugs.
https://github.com/Chris-AC9KH/JS8Call-improved/releases has installers for Win and Mac and an installer-script that compiles it on Linux.
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Maybe figured out what "Test CAT" button in JS8 app does, finally.
It makes cats radioactive?
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You want to find #HamRadio stations and frequencies for contacts via a digital mode that has a small community? PSK reporter can be helpful. For one example, here is a "permalink" that leads to a report of #JS8 activity during the last 30 minutes.
https://www.pskreporter.info/pskmap?preset&callsign=ZZZZZ&what=all&mode=JS8&timerange=1800&hideunrec=1&blankifnone=1&hidenight=1&hidelight=1&mapCenter=75.94072310702728,3.8503508267151063,0.890869063241453(Adjust mode and time as needed.)
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#JS8 features: Stations not currently involved in other business will give you an SNR report in answer to your "heartbeat". You can ask any such "free" station for certain info, including an (incomplete) list of stations it recently received. JS8 has relaying built in. Also, storage+forwarding of text messages, mailbox style. The "group" feature supports groups of stations to communicate. And there are (often ragchew) 1:1 QSOs.
Lots of fun! Not sure it is a "net" 🧵 or not.
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Mein Vortrag über #JS8 bei der UKW-Tagung ist zu Ende und ich hatte meinen Spaß 😁. Es gab eine Menge mitdenkende, sinnvolle Fragen stellende Zuhörende und mindestens eine Person hat Lust bekommen, JS8 gelegentlich auszuprobieren.
Es waren übrigens ungefähr doppelt so viel Leute im Raum wie bei meinem Vortrag über Transistorschaltungen bei der #HamRadioFriedrichshafen!
Kudos, @DL0WH! Ihr leistet Großes!
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Bei der allgemeinen Amateurfunktagung in Weinheim (die immer noch "UKW-Tagung" heißt, obwohl sie das längst nicht mehr ist) halte ich morgen einen Vortrag über #JS8. Folien und mein Beitrag zum Tagungsband sind online unter https://dj3ei.famsik.de/2025-JS8/ ; der Beitrag kann als "inoffizielles JS8-Handbuch" durchgehen.
Abends ab 19 UTC steigt dann die monatliche "JS8-Party". Sie dauert 24 Stunden. Mögliche Partyspiele hat https://WWW.FAMSIK.DE/JS8 . Ich werde leider nicht QRV sein 😢 .
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I took part in Chaoswelle's Fieldday Saturday-Sunday at JO42PC and was one of about a dozen folks enjoying the experience. The rigs where busy, countries reached via shortwave included Japan, Brazil, and Australia. One lady was eager to do her first QSOs; when she encountered contest stations, I explained to her how to distribute points to them. Another I informed about #JS8. Other mentionables include ad-hoc APRS experiments, pretty nice weather, a splendid location.
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The next #JS8Call release 2.3.2 will have six different commits that were authored by me. Most prominently, my fix for the ALL.TXT receive timestamp bug.
Many people in general and #hamRadio ops in particular are "hunters and gatherers". E.g., QSOs with ATNO DXCCs are a common source of happy feelings of accomplishment.
Similarly, I enjoy seeing my name appear in the git tree of another software project. Gives me that happy feeling of accomplishment.
😀
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It is again #JS8 party time! Starting tomorrow (Saturday) at 19 UTC for 24 hours.
This is just a time when the JS8 community is particularly busy and more people than usual are QRV. For details, see the announcement https://js8call.groups.io/g/main/viewevent?repeatid=12902&eventid=1597238&calstart=2025-08-09
There's a new version 2.3 of JS8Call available. 2.3.1 unfortunately has several bugs, see https://github.com/js8call/js8call/issues , in particular 51, 45, 37, and 52. My branch https://github.com/aknrdureegaesr/js8call/tree/stuff_dj3ei_wants fixes 45, 37, and maybe 40. Build instructions are sort-of at PR 35.
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ICYMI: Always have Plan B! Today, JS8Call! #hamradio #js8 #pota https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AdU95g7zXdk?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon
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Always have Plan B! Today, JS8Call! #hamradio #js8 #pota https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AdU95g7zXdk?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon
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There was a fellow a few years back on the JS8 subband, pushing a wrongful solid kilowatt onto that weak-signal mode.
His bright white signal in the waterfall graph was like a big streak of seagull poop down a car's windshield!
Content often unhinged.
What even?
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Playing around with FreeDATA (https://freedata.app/) app on 40 meters. What a nice modern application, can operate keyboard-to-keyboard QSO's and leave messages from a remote PC using a webbrowser. Seems like a nice modern alternative to #JS8CALL. It's based on the open source #Codec2 which is also used for #FreeDV and #M17. No need for proprietary software modems like #VARA anymore. If you like stuff like #VarAC or #JS8 give this a try! #hamradio #ham #freedata
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#FT4 is definitely my most favourite of #datamodes at one end of the spectrum (pun intended), as it's fast-paced and takes more concentration. I'd like to say that it yields more contacts, but that's definitely not the case as it's not as well-used as FT8.
On the other end of the spectrum (again...!) my favourite data mode is #JS8. Much slower but significantly more meaningful than FT4/8 as you can actually have a proper conversation on it
