so ive been running FT8 for about a year and a half now and honestly its kind of become background noise at this point, just let WSJT-X run and collect grid squares whatever. but a buddy of mine at the club keeps going on about JS8Call and how its more useful for actual communication not just the exchange thing FT8 does.

my question is whether its actually worth learning another piece of software and another mode or if im just going to end up with a half-configured setup that i never use. i already have PSK31 sitting there that i rarely touch since FT8 kind of ate everything. what are people actually doing with JS8Call in practice, like is there a real community on there or is it mostly empty freqs and tumbleweeds

running an IC-7300 into a linked dipole setup, not doing anything exotic, just trying to figure out if this is worth my time before i go down another rabbit hole

JS8Call is genuinely different from FT8 in a way that took me a while to appreciate. FT8 is basically just automated signal reporting with a contact tacked on, but JS8Call is actual messaging, like you can have a real back and forth conversation at -20dB or whatever. the relay feature is where it gets interesting, other stations can pass your message along if the path isnt direct which is kind of wild when it works.

that said yeah the community is thinner than FT8, no question. 40m seems most active in my experience, usually some traffic around 7.078 depending on time of day. its not dead but you gotta be patient. i use it mostly for checking in with a few guys during poor propagation when nothing else gets through. if youre expecting the wall to wall activity of FT8 you'll be dissapointed but for what it is, actual weak signal chat, its pretty solid. worth installing just to poke around honestly, not like it conflicts with your existing setup

psk31 is basically dead on most bands which is sad cause i always liked it better than the contest-y feel of ft8 but thats just how it goes i guess. never tried js8call but this thread is making me want to. does it need a separate audio interface config or can you share the same virtual cable setup you already have going for wsjt-x