Skip to content

Feature Request: Auto-truncating Tx2/Tx3/Tx4 for long non-standard callsigns to prevent infinite Tx loops (11m band) #5

@vargatamasop

Description

@vargatamasop

Dear WSJT Development Team,

First of all, thank you for your amazing work on the software. It has revolutionized digital modes.

I am an 11m band (CB) operator and a member of the Hotel Alfa Radio Club. Many of us use long, 9-character non-standard callsigns (for example: 109HA2247 or long AT callsigns like 109HA1641). We frequently encounter a severe issue that results in an "infinite ping-pong loop," and I would like to propose a simple automated solution that we currently use as a manual workaround.

The Problem:
When two operators with long non-standard callsigns try to make a QSO, the 77-bit payload is completely maxed out just by the hashed callsign and the full callsign (e.g., <109HA1641> 109HA2247). Because the packet is full, the software cannot append the signal report (e.g., -14). As a result, Auto Seq gets stuck at Tx1, and both stations endlessly broadcast their names without ever sending a report, causing the QSO to fail.

Our Current Manual Workaround:
To bypass this, operators manually edit the Tx2, Tx3, and Tx4 boxes to utilize the 13-character Free Text limit.
Instead of letting the software try (and fail) to send <109HA1641> 109HA2247 -14, we manually delete "My Call" and the angle brackets, leaving only:
109HA1641 -14 (which fits perfectly into the 13-character limit).

Since the receiving station has already captured "My Call" in their DX Call box during the Tx1 phase, their software successfully links this incoming 13-character free text report to the active QSO, logs the report, and smoothly transitions to sending RR73.

The Proposal:
Could the "Generate Std Msgs" function be updated to automatically apply this logic?
If the software detects that the combined length of My Call + DX Call exceeds the standard hashing capacity and prevents the report from being appended, it would be incredibly helpful if "Generate Std Msgs" automatically populated the Tx2, Tx3, and Tx4 boxes with the shortened 13-character Free Text format (i.e., [DX Call] [Report]).

This small logic update would completely eliminate the infinite loop issue for 11m operators and make the Auto Seq function flawless for long callsigns.

Thank you for your time and for considering this feature!

Best regards,
Tamas Varga, 109HA2247

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    No labels
    No labels

    Projects

    No projects

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions