***UPDATE NOTIFICATION*** As of 01 June 2022, the following changes will be implemented:
- Abbreviated STATREP will now be placed in the ‘Station Status’ field (no longer in the ‘Station Info’ field). Make a note in your SOI.
- Station Info field will contain other information, such as abbreviated PIR reporting information, when directed by Net Control or other issued guidance.
***
Statement of Purpose: Establish standardized practices for the use of JS8Call
software by AmRRON radio operators.
Intent: To guide the AmRRON operator with additional JS8Call settings and
configurations in accordance with current AmRRON HF radio operations, after
downloading and basic setup steps.
STRONGLY recommended first — Basic setup and advanced features are outlined
in the JS8Call Training Resources posting, linked below:
https://amrron.com/2019/10/23/js8call-training-resources/
General Guidance:
1. Settings for waterfall location:
AmRRON JS8 operations should only take place between 1900 and 2300 on the waterfall.
This is done to avoid interfering with traffic using other modes at 1000 and 1500
on the waterfall.
You can set your preferred waterfall location in JS8call by editing the ‘Center’
field (see Figure 1)
Figure 1
See the white paper covering AmRRON waterfall designations for various modes at:
https://amrron.com/2019/05/08/digital-mode-waterfall-designation-white-paper/
2. Adding Callsign Group:
a)Sharing information between AmRRON members over the air. You can create groups
to which you can direct messages or make queries for information, to and from that
group only.
To be part of the AmRRON group, simply add @AMRRON to the
‘Callsign Groups (comma separated)’
b)Go to File > Settings > General > Station and add @AMRRON
You must include the @ symbol.
(See Figure 2)
Figure 2
01 June 2022 Update: As you can see in Figure 2, the developer had not yet added a ‘Station Status’ field.
‘Status’ field is where your abbreviated STATREP will go from now on. Info field will be for other information
as directed by Net Control, such as abbreviated PIR (Priority Intelligence Requirement) reporting.
3. Adding and updating your abbreviated STATREP to Station Status field:
a)Maintaining an abbreviated STATREP allows other stations to query your station to
ascertain your status (power, water, communications, etc). It is simply a snapshot
of your situation at your location. What we refer to as a ‘pulse check’.
Refer to the white paper covering AmRRON Abbreviated STATREPs at:
You may also learn more by typing ‘Abbreviated STATREP’ in the search
box at amrron.com
b)Add your STATREP to the Station Status field by going to:
Go to File > Settings > General > Station
4. Add AmRRON digital mode frequencies to JS8Call frequency page:
a)Go to File > Settings > Frequency
Hover over each band and ‘Right’ click (See Figure 3)
b)Select ‘Insert…’ from the drop down menu, and add:
a)14.110 (20m band)
b) 7.110 (40m band)
c) 3.588 (80m band)
Select ‘OK’ when finished
Figure 3
NOTE: Your activity is logged in JS8Call by band, so even if you are not using rig
control, it is still helpful to switch the displayed frequency on the main JS8Call
window. This helps separate on-air activity by band in your logs, for later review
when you are trying to determine band path quality and activity between yourself
and other stations.
In your JS8Call program, see Log –> ALL.txt
5. Tips and guidance for AmRRON operators using JS8Call
a)Be sure to turn HB+ACK and AUTO features OFF prior to scheduled nets or exchanging
traffic with other stations using modes other than JS8Call
b)We strongly recommend turning the SPOT feature off. It is the button toward the
upper right-hand corner of your main JS8Call window. If SPOT is turned on your
station activity is logged at the PSKReporter website for all who wish to see.
c)Some AmRRON stations add a slant b or n after their call sign.
This indicates [call]/b a Backbone station, or a [call/n] Net Control station.
They do this to help recognize each other more easily on the air, as they are tasked
with specific roles for passing traffic across the network. If you are not a Backbone
or NCS station, do not place a /letter after your call sign.
d)Under most circumstances, you should set any automatic Heartbeat (beacon) intervals
at no more than once per hour.
Set your waterfall transmit location (between 1900 and 2300) so you can come back to it
each time you use JS8Call.
To do this, type in the offset (in Hz) value in the window labeled ‘Offset’, located in
the lower left-hand portion of your JS8Call main screen. After that, you simply click
on the QSY button and it will automatically place your waterfall position at the value
you chose (between 1900 and 2300).
Print or download this white paper in PDF HERE
One should also check the box that allows heartbeats and acknowledgements outside of the “sub channel” (500 Hz – 1000 Hz). That is found under the “behavior” tab in settings.
In versions prior to Version 2.0, you are correct. We removed this portion of the white paper since the release of V2.0, since it is no longer limited to 500Hz-1000Hz by default, as previous versions were.
If you have used a previous version of JS8Call without deleting your “JS8Call.ini” file, your settings will remain the same when upgrading to newer versions of the software.
If you are installing JS8Call for the first time, the “Allow heartbeat transmissions outside of the heartbeat sub-channel (500Hz-1000Hz” is not checked by default. This setting is now found in General > Networking & Autoreply > Heartbeat Network.
Removing JS8Call software prior to upgrading to a newer version will not remove the “JS8Call.ini” file…..that needs to be done manually.
Great to know! Thank you! Very helpful. -JJS
At times I operate my home station by remote. Simultaneously I may operate a “portable” station from my alternate QTH. My understanding from a FCC lawyer who is also a HAM is that I need to use the /p (portable) or the /m (mobile) whenever operate the station away from my QTH. Additionally, even if not operating simultaneous stations but rather one station portable or mobile, it has the benefit of alerting the AMRRON network that my status is now portable or mobile which would be valuable to know. Just my thoughts on suffix usage beyond the /b and /n that was mentioned in the white paper.
Yep. Great points! And also, the STATREP kept updated in the Station Info field is helpful for queries by other stations to determine status (A,B,C) and Home, Portable, Mobile, and of course, location.