WSJT-X version 2.6.0 released

The WSJT Development Team is pleased to announce the WSJT-X 2.6.0 General Availability (GA) release. Program changes from version 2.5.4, released one year ago, are described in the Release Notes:
https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/wsjtx-doc/Release_Notes_2.6.0.txt

Be sure to read the full Release Notes entry for today’s date, January 6 2023. Program enhancements since program version 2.5.4 and extensive.

We call to your attention, once again, that the WSJT Home Page has moved to a new URL:
https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/

Direct links for downloading pre-built installation packages for Windows, Linux, and macOS, can be found on the WSJT-X page: https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/wsjtx.html

For those who like to compile from source, a complete source-code tarball is available at the WSJT-X page. Public access to the git repository for the WSJT project is available on the “Git” tab here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/wsjt/

WSJT-X is licensed under the terms of Version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPL). Development of this software is a cooperative project to which many amateur radio operators have contributed. If you use our code, please have the courtesy to let us know about it. If you find bugs or make improvements to the code, please report them to us in a timely fashion.

The authors and Copyright holders of WSJT-X request that derivative works should not publish programs based on features in WSJT-X before those features are made available in a General Availability (GA) release of WSJT-X. We will cease making public Release Candidate (RC) pre-releases for testing and user early access purposes if this request is ignored.

Bugs should be reported by following instructions found here in the User Guide:

https://www.physics.princeton.edu//pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.5.4.html#_bug_reports

We hope you will enjoy using WSJT-X 2.6.0.

— 73 from Joe, K1JT; Steve, K9AN; Nico, IV3NWV; Uwe, DG3YCB;
Brian, N9ADG; and John, G4KLA


                     Release: WSJT-X 2.6.0
                        January 6, 2023
                      -------------------------

WSJT-X 2.6.0 is a General Availability (GA) release, the first since
version 2.5.4.  Its major enhancements include the following:

 - Mode selection buttons on main window for FT4, FT8, JT65, MSK144, 
   Q65, and FT8's Hound mode 
 - Support for the ARRL International DX Contest
 - Performance enhancements for the FT8 and Q65 modes
 - New features for EME Echo mode, including calibrated SNR reports
 - Several new convenience features for Fox operators 
 - Save/Restore capability, "Preferred" status, and effective date
   ranges for mode-dependent tables of default frequencies
 - Improved display features for contest log
 - Improved calibration of SNR estimates for modes FST4 and FST4W

Other enhancements and bug fixes since 2.6.0-rc5 include the following:

 - PSK Reporter spotting is now also possible for frequencies > 4 GHz. 
   This is required for QO-100, for example.

 - The minimum width of the main window has been further reduced, and 
   such small sizes are now remembered and properly restored.

 - Some further improvements for Fox operators.

 - Fix the long-standing flaw that "Start new period decodes at top" 
   didn't work anymore after several hours.

 - Fix a flaw that could cause crashes by double-clicking messages 
   with <...> in certain QSO situations.

 - Fix a flaw that prevented the rig from initializing correctly after 
   switching between configurations when connected via HRD.

 - Add tooltips to better explain the split operation options.

 - Add some additional FT roundup exchanges which can be used for 
   local contests or QSO parties.

 - Add an option to call CQ with an individual contest name.

 - Update of some ARRL section abbreviations.

For full details on changes since WSJT-X version 2.5.4, be sure to
read the Release Notes sections for 2.6.0-rc1 through rc5, immediately
following.


                      Release: WSJT-X 2.6.0-rc5
                          November 29, 2022
                      -------------------------

WSJT-X 2.6.0 Release Candidate 5 brings a number of improvements as
well as some bug fixes.

In program WSJT-X:

 - Better calibration for FST4/W SNR estimates.

 - Upload FST4W-900 spots to wsprnet with TR code 15 instead of 16.

 - Improved FT8 decoding on crowded bands. 

 - The Working frequency table now offers the following options:
   - Better handling of more than one frequency per band.
   - Set your preferred frequencies, WSJT-X always comes back to these
     QRGs when changing band or mode.
   - You can label your frequencies with descriptions (e.g. DXp AB0YXZ).
   - Option to set Start and End Date/Time, so that the frequencies 
     automatically appear and disappear. Useful for contest or 
     DXpedition QRGs.
   - Load a frequency table from a file to easily get all such data 
     implemented.

 - In Fox mode, there are now a few additional functions that allow 
   operators to react even better to different QSO situations:
   - A new two-column table in Tab 2 provides a better overview of 
     the queue and of the callsigns with QSOs in progress.
   - Fox operator can now change the ordering of callsigns in the
     queue so that he can react if there is only a narrow time slot
     for a particular QSO due to propagation.
   - Fox now responds for another two cycles to stations whose 
     report was not received, increasing the success rate for a
     difficult QSO.

 - Correct a flaw in Hound mode that sometimes prevented completion of
   QSOs with non-standard calls.

 - Improvements to EME Echo mode:
   - New control "Avg" sets the number of Echo cycles to be averaged.
   - New capability to display measurements of wideband noise power as
     a function of time.  This can be useful for measuring Sun noise,
     antenna tracking errors, and the like.
   - Several minor bug fixes

 - Correct a flaw that prevented WSJT-X from always initializing 
   correctly when special operating activities were enabled.

 - Correct a flaw that caused wrong Tx frequencies to be written to  
   ALL.TXT.

 - The GUI has been improved regarding some details. The controls now 
   scale better at different font sizes and on different operating 
   systems.

 - When in Hound mode and click the "H" button again, the frequency 
   is now kept. This gives the user the following two options to return 
   to normal FT8 mode:
    - Click the "H" button again. Then you will stay on the QRG.
    - Click the "FT8" button (or use the Settings menu). It brings  
      you back to the default FT8 QRG.

 - Decodes flagged as 'a7' are now disabled when "Enable AP" is not
   checked, and during the first period after a band change.

 - The network address of the UDP server is now checked for errors  
   before being accepted.

 - Some improvements to the DX Lab Suite Commander interface. 

 - Correct some possible flaws that could cause segfault errors in 
   certain unusual situations.

 - Warnings on dropped audio have been disabled for now, as detection  
   has turned out to be not reliable enough.

 - Correct a long-standing flaw which caused the "Transmit digital gain" 
   overlay to appear somewhere on the screen.

 - "Highlight DX Call" now also works when the other station is <...>.

 - CQ messages without a grid are now sent to PSK reporter.

 - Several other minor corrections (tool tips, etc.). 

Program MAP65 (Windows only) includes several minor bug fixes and two 
tentative new features:
 - an aid for measuring antenna pointing errors
 - an ability to read the file wsjtx.log (kept by WSJT-X) to recognize
   EME contest dupes.


                      Release: WSJT-X 2.6.0-rc4
                          September 8, 2022
                      -------------------------

WSJT-X 2.6.0 Release Candidate 4 provides further improvements to Echo 
mode, a new File menu item, and several bug fixes.

 - New features and fixes for Echo mode
   - Created a new simulator echosim[.exe]
   - Improved organization of output to text window
   - Gain and Zero controls in Echo Graph now behave independently
   - "Clear Avg" now erases the plot in Echo Graph
   - Optional baseline for plots in Echo Graph

 - New menu item "File | Copy main text window to WSJT-X.txt"
 - Doppler tracking checkbox is made sticky

 - Fix an RC2 bug that prevented normal use of JT9.
 - Fix a rarely experienced failure when writing to decoded.txt
 - Fix a hamlib bug caused by setting VFO B when Split is not used
 - Rig control interface to Ham Radio deluxe made more robust 


	        Release: WSJT-X 2.6.0-rc3
	             August 22, 2022
	        ----------------------

WSJT-X 2.6.0 Release Candidate 3 provides improvements to Echo mode and
several bug fixes.

 - Echo mode now allows audio-frequency corrections rather than
   CAT-controlled resetting of dial frequency for Doppler corrections,
   when Doppler shift is less than 750 Hz.  Audio-frequency
   corrections are also used to correct any remaining portion of
   Doppler shift caused by coarse CAT-controlled frequency setting.

 - Echo mode now saves .wav files when "Save all" is selected.  When
   such files are opened in Echo mode, the astronomical parameters at
   recording time are restored and used for processing the Echo data.

 - A missing Leap Second (January 1, 2017) was added to the code that
   converts UTC to UT1.  This detail might matter if you want full
   accuracy EME Doppler corrections.

 - EME Doppler values are now rounded to nearest integer Hz.

 - For backward compatibility, "Special Operating Activity"
   enumerations for Fox and Hound modes are reset to their previous
   values 6 and 7.

 - Allow FST4W transmissions on 30m band.  Ensure that correct
   frequency is reported to WSPRnet for FST4W decodes with Rx Freq
   spinbox not set to 1500.

 - Fix a bug that could truncate WSPR transmissions early.

 - Fix a bug that occasionally caused a crash when 'decoded.txt'
   could not be opened.

 - Fix a bug that could cause a crash if Astronomical Data window
   is not active when needed.

 - Fix a bug that caused a crash when "Reset Cabrillo Log" is
   selected with Active Stations window not active. 


	        Release: WSJT-X 2.6.0-rc2
	             July 21, 2022
	        ----------------------

WSJT-X 2.6.0 Release Candidate 2 brings a number of improvements as
well as some bug fixes.

 - The "Measure" function in Echo mode now uses the computed Doppler
   spread for DX grid, when available.  This feature is especially
   helpful for microwave EME tests, enabling accurate measurement of
   SNR for a DX station.

 - Settings for T/R period and Submode are now remembered by mode when
   you switch directly between (for example) MSK144-15, Q65-60A,
   JT65C, or FST4-120.

 - Tx and Rx audio frequencies are remembered and restored when you
   return from a mode that sets a default frequency of 1500 Hz
   (MSK144, FST4W, Echo, WSPR, FreqCal) and then switching back to
   FT4, FT8, Q65, JT65, or FST4.

 - QSOs in the Contest Log can now be displayed in increasing or
   decreasing order of logged time.  By default the log is scrolled to
   the latest logged QSO, ready for insertion of a new contact.  The
   total number of QSOs in the Contest Log is displayed at bottom left
   of its window.

 - Default FT8 frequency for 4m band (Region 1) is set to 70.154 MHz.

 - Layout of mode buttons has been optimized for 4K screens.

 - Display of Keyboard Shortcuts has been updated.

 - The OK button now has default focus in the LogQSO dialog window.
   You may just hit Enter to log the QSO.

-  Bug fix: The Tx Freq spinbox remained red when coming back from
   some Q65 submodes.  Corrected.

 - Hamlib bug fixes: make sure that VFOB is selected when required on
   some rigs (e.g. IC7610, IC7100), and others.


	        Release: WSJT-X 2.6.0-rc1
	             June 20, 2022
	        ----------------------

WSJT-X 2.6.0 Release Candidate 1 introduces support for the ARRL
International Digital Contest; performance enhancements for FT8, Q65,
and EME Echo mode; new controls and options on the GUI; and several
bug fixes.

In program WSJT-X:

 - Improved decoding for FT8: additional messages are marked 'a7'

 - Improved decoding for Q65 when AP is in use

 - Optional new "Active Stations" window and other features
   supporting ARRL International Digital Contest

 - Accurate SNR measurements in Echo mode, including large Doppler
   spreads

 - Add mode selection buttons on main window for FT4, FT8, JT65,
   MSK144, and Q65

 - Add a button to toggle FT8's Hound mode ON or OFF

 - Add a "Clr Avg" button for Echo mode

 - Add optional highlighting of DX Call and DX Grid

 - Add optional highlighting of messages containing RR73 or 73

 - New options for writing to ALL.TXT: split the file yearly, monthly,
   or disable writing altogether

 - Add Russian to available translations of user interface

 - Add a 90 s Tune watchdog with optional disable

 - Allow auto reply for non-CQ messages via UDP (JTAlert, etc.) when 
   Hold Tx Freq is enabled

 - Suppress transmission of blank messages

 - Suppress self-spotting when running multiple instances

 - Correct the handling of messages starting with "CQ xxxx ..."

 - Correct a flaw that could cause Windows to drop audio samples

 - Correct a flaw that could send incorrect frequencies to ALL.TXT
   and PSK Reporter after a band change

 - Correct the auto-sequencing logic in several specific circumstances

 - Correct a flaw in WSPR mode when handling three-character callsigns

 - Correct a flaw that could cause OmniRig 1.19 or later to set
   incorrect frequencies after initialization 

 - Clean up some ToolTips

 - Fix an inconsistancy in the macOS installation package that caused
   the pwr slider to behave incorrectly on macOS 12

In program MAP65 (Windows only):

 - Send additional information to file azel.dat

 - Allow optional scaling of digital I/Q data

 - Suppress a bounds error caused by too-wide setting of display
   bandwidth