Hello All

I would be interested to know what setup sunsdr2 dx owners are using for FT8 operation today
I have been using my Sunsdr for about 3 weeks and have read everything I can find regarding FT8 operation with this radio.
Currently I am using Windows 11, EESDR3 and JTDX 2.2.159 improved with TCI for both radio control and audio.
This setup works ok most of the time but a few times a day JTDX will lose connection for TX audio. Sometimes JTDX will just crash entirely.
Is this due to the fact that JTDX has not been updated for the new TCI protocol? If that is so - am I forced to use eesdr2 with the older JTDX TCI protocol ...or should I be switching to MSHV which appears to support the new TCI protocols and EESDR3?
I am also using USB mode for JTDX transmissions - when I use DIGU on the sunsdr I only see signals on half of the JTDX bandscope - ie above 1500 hz. Why does this happen in DIGU mode and how can I fix this?.
I have checked the new user manual for sunsdr / eesdr3 but when it comes to digital modes it refers us to the manual written by ei4kf which now seems to be very outdated.
I would appreciate any help or tips regarding the optimal setup for FT8 operation as we stand today - particularly for eesdr3 - I am not that interested in the 32 bit audio version of JTDX (don't think it will be any advantage) but if this version can fix JTDX audio drop outs and daily JTDX crashing then I am happy to look at that version.
Cheers
Paul - vk4ma

Paul,

I dont have any issues using JTDX 2.2.159 with ESDR3, nor have I heard of others with your problem. First off all, use DIGU, check your filters and that the offset in ESDR3 is set to zero.

Personally I use both JTDX_Improved and MSHV. Install both and see what you like the best, you can have one on each RX for example. I usually use JTDX for FT8/FT4 and MSHV for all other VHF specific modes

sourceforge.net/projects/jtdx-improved/

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

73 de LA9AKA

Hello Hans
Thanks for your reply.
It is good to know that JTDX v2.2.159 is fully compatible with the TCI version 1.9 in the latest beta of eesr3. For a new Sunsdr user it is difficult to work out the timing of various software releases. I was concerned that as JTDX had not been updated since early 2022 that it may still be using the old version of TCI (1.4) and that this may explain my issues.
I understand that SDC (software defined connectors) has not ben updated for the new TCI 1.9 but I have been using SDC for amp PTT, cluster spots, cwskimmer and log connection and it has worked all OK for me so far.
I understand the issues re SDC not upgrading - am I correct that the plan is to replace SDC with Rigsync (which I have not used yet) and the forthcoming radiomacros for the Sunsdr?
I have fixed the offset issue and can now use DIGu all OK
I downloaded MSHV and it is certainly more stable than JTDX on my system- no issues with it at all - but the problem with MSHV is that I can only use one instance of JTalert and I need to use two instances for my 2 radio setup (also run an Icom 7610 on the same PC).

The main problem I have now with JTDX is that when using Fakeit for split with the Sunsdr sometimes the radio does not return to the correct frequency after a TX transmission - ie on 14.074 the radio may finish the TX transmission and the radio freq is on 14.0748 and my next TX is thus off frequency. I have seen this happen sometimes before I purchased the sunsdr but is is happening more frequently now. Any idea re a potential fix for that?

Anyway, I now feel more comfortable that I am heading in the right direction with my new setup and after a bit of work today everything seems stable with JTDX except for the frequency shift issue above which may happen about once every 20 FT8 transmissions.

I have now downloaded HXlog for a look see and will move on to trying out the remoting functionality of the sunsdr

Cheers
Paul - vk4ma

I have been using MSHV with the SunSDR2 Dx G5 and it's been operating flawlessly.
I only use 30 to 100w operating FT8, since this is the purpose of using weak signal communications.
MSHV is very simple to setup and operate with the SunSDR2Dx.
I previously used JTDX which is also a very nice Program.

Regards,
Tom W3FRG

Hey, Im running Linux and using ESDR3 with MSHV (TCI), GridTracker and CQRLog.
Its working really well!

EESDR3 and MSHV just works so quite happy with this setup. This shows the power of using solutions like TCI.

Paul,

I experienced this same audio drop using JTDX, WSJT-X, and MSHV. I wasn't sure what to do so i played with the various audio drivers. At times it would just randomly drop the audio for a brief moment but other times, it would start to TX and like 5 seconds into the TX it would just drop the audio, the power would go to zero. I started by checking my CPU utilization and found that it was high at times. My machine was a Dell, with an i7-8700 CPU, with 64Gb of RAM and 1TB NVMe drive running Windoze 11. After not finding a solution, i decided to upgrade my computer to a Dell with I9-13900F CPU, 64Gb RAM, and 1TB NVMe drive still using Windoze 11 and my issue went away.

I will say that I feel that my excessive CPU utilization was coming from my logging software Log4OM as it was SLOW!!!! If i turned off Log4OM and ran any of the mentioned 3 FT8 software, the audio drops were much less, but still noticeable. Now, with my new machine, i've only seen it happen 1 time. I'd like to think the they super FAST CPU has helped, but only time will tell.

73,
O.C. - NG7E
dxobsessed.org