so ive been running FT8 for about a year now and yeah its great for contacts and the waterfall is satisfying to watch but i keep reading about JS8Call and how its supposed to be more like actual conversation over weak signal paths. finally installed it last week and honestly im a little confused about the workflow compared to WSJT-X. like the timing grid feels more relaxed which i get is the point but im not sure im decoding everything i should be.

for context im on a IC-7300 into a fan dipole in the attic, not ideal i know, and im usually running 25-30 watts because neighbors. on FT8 i can work 20m pretty reliably into europe from the midwest. on JS8Call im seeing stations but the decode rate feels lower, not sure if thats a config thing or just the nature of the mode. is there a setting im probably missing or is this just how it is and you kinda have to be patient with it.

also totally unrelated but does anyone still run PSK31 regularly, i fired up fldigi the other day just for nostalgia and there were actually a few guys on 14.070 which surprised me

yeah JS8Call takes some getting used to, the decode threshold is actually a bit higher than FT8 by design because the messages are longer and more free-form so the codec has more work to do. if you're not already running it, make sure your audio levels into the software are clean — same deal as WSJT-X, you dont want to be clipping. the waterfall in JS8Call should show your noise floor around -20 or so relative to your reference level, something like that anyway.

the thing people dont always realize is JS8Call isnt really trying to be FT8. FT8 is basically a logging machine, you exchange signal reports and grid squares and youre done in 90 seconds. JS8Call is more like a very slow IRC channel with error correction. once you kind of embrace that mindset and stop expecting quick contacts it gets more interesting. i use it mostly for nts-style traffic passing practice and checking in with a few guys in my state who run a net on it tuesday nights.

and yeah PSK31 is still out there, 20m and 40m especially on weekends. nowhere near what it was like 2007 or whatever but not dead either

attic dipole at 25w and you're working europe on FT8 on 20m, thats actually pretty solid honestly. i ran a similar setup for two years before i could put something outside.

i tried JS8Call a few times and it never really clicked for me personally, i think im just too impatient for it. i mostly bounce between FT8, FT4 when the bands are decent, and i still throw on RTTY for the big contests because theres something about RTTY contesting that just feels different from the WSJT stuff. more chaotic i guess. anyway probably not helpful but just my two cents