FT8Commander

This is an experimental piece of code. Don't forget to run git pull often. This code only works with the version of WSJT-X 2.5 and above.

WSJT-X FT8 Automation

FT8Commander is an experimental project for ham radio operators who want automatic control of their FT8 contacts. This program controls WSJT-X to optimize contacts' chances during a contest or DX (make as many QSO as possible). After a receive sequence, the program uses information such as the SNR¹ and the distance of the calling stations to calculate which one has the most chances of completing the QSO.

Usage:

1. Install the DXEntity package pip install DXEntity
2. Start WSJT-X
3. In a terminal or powershell Go to the directory FT8Commander
4. Copy the ft8ctrl.yaml.sample into ft8ctrl.yaml
5. Edit the configuration file and enter your information
6. Start the Python program:

• On Linux or MacOS type ./ft8ctrl.py
• On Windows, in command mode or powershell type python .\ft8ctl.py

7. Watch WSJT-X making contacts.

This program runs on MacOS and Linux.

Misc

Logging

The following AppleScript example will automatically click on the Logging window. ** Note: Another application might steal the focus from the logging window, and the OK button might not be pressed on time. **

tell application "wsjtx" to activate
say "w s j t x is active"

tell application "System Events"
	repeat
		try
			tell application process "WSJT-X"
				set winList to every window
			end tell
			repeat with win in winList
				tell application "System Events"
					get entire contents of win
				end tell
				set theTitle to name of win
				if theTitle contains "Log QSO" then
					tell application process "WSJT-X"
						click button "Ok" of group 1 of win
						say "Logged"
					end tell
				end if
			end repeat
		on error errMsg number errorNumber
			log errMsg
			say "Error"
		end try
		delay 3
	end repeat
end tell

Calling CQ

The following AppleScript calls CQ and logs any contact.
Courtesy of my friend JC (W6IPA)

The original version can be found on gist.

set bundleId to "org.k1jt.wsjtx"
tell application id bundleId to activate

tell application "System Events"
	repeat
		tell application process "WSJT-X"
			set winList to every window
			set frontmost to true
		end tell
		repeat with win in winList
			set theTitle to name of win
			if theTitle contains "Log QSO" then
				tell application process "WSJT-X"
					click button "Ok" of group 1 of win
				end tell
				say "Contact Logged"
			else if theTitle starts with "WSJT-X" and theTitle does not contain "Wide Graph" then
				tell application process "WSJT-X"
					set chkBox to value of checkbox "Enable Tx" of win as boolean
				end tell

				if not chkBox then
					delay 30
					perform action "AXRaise" of win

					tell application process "WSJT-X"
						click button "Set Rx frequency to Tx Frequency" of group 1 of win
					end tell

					say "Calling CQ"
					tell application "System Events" to key code 122
				end if
			end if
			delay 1
		end repeat
		delay 5
	end repeat
end tell

Footnotes

1. Signal To Noise Ratio ↩