so ive been at this for about three weeks now and i can decode FT8 all day long, dozens of stations showing up in WSJT-X, everything looks right in the waterfall. but when i transmit i get zero responses. not one. ive checked the audio levels like four times, the ALC is barely moving which i think is correct, and my radio shows it's actually transmitting — the power meter swings and the TX light comes on.

running a FT-991A into a end fed half wave on 40m, about 30 feet up. computer is connected via USB and i set the CAT control up, it keys the radio fine. i think my signal is just... not getting out? or maybe my timing is off? i read something about clock sync being critical for FT8 and i did run the windows time sync but i dont know if thats accurate enough. also not sure if my dial freq is set right, im on 7.074 and transmitting in the 1000-1500hz audio range on the waterfall.

any ideas what im overlooking here would be great, starting to feel like im invisible on the air

clock sync is almost certainly your problem. windows time sync is not good enough for FT8, you need something like Meinberg NTP or just use Dimension 4 — either one will get you within a few milliseconds which is what the mode actually needs. if your clock is off by more than a second you'll transmit outside the decode window and nobody hears you even if your RF is perfectly fine. happened to me when i first started and i spent two days thinking my antenna was garbage.

your frequency sounds right, 7.074 with audio in that range is exactly where you want to be. ALC barely moving is correct. go fix the clock first and i'd bet you start getting replies pretty quick.

yeah what he said about the clock, that was my issue too when i started. also just double check that you dont have the split or RIT engaged on the 991A, ive seen people transmit way off frequency because of that and not realize it. the radio looks like its on 7.074 but its actually not. other than that your setup sounds fine honestly