JT65CODE(1)

📦
version 3.0.2 · 15 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 JT65CODE (and the whole squad) 💖 — WSJT-X Manual

okay bestie, welcome to the little encoding-playground family: jt65code, jt9code, jt4code, qra64code, ft8code, msk144code. this page is part of the WSJT-X Manual and it is genuinely such a fun little rabbit hole 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

jt65code, jt9code, jt4code, qra64code, ft8code, msk144code — weak signal communications encoding support utilities. yes that's all of them, they're a friend group 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

jt65code "MESSAGE"

jt65code [OPTIONS]

jt9code "MESSAGE"

jt9code [OPTIONS]

jt4code "MESSAGE"

jt4code [OPTIONS]

qra64code "MESSAGE"

qra64code [OPTIONS]

ft8code "MESSAGE"

ft8code [OPTIONS]

like, message in quotes, or options, that's the whole vibe ✨

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -t — prints a selection of messages right next to the corresponding decoded form and types. with ft8code it prints a selection of short format messages 🩷
  • -T — as -T... bestie I know, the manpage literally says -T here 🙈 but for ft8code it prints long format messages. (copying the source faithfully, no cap.)

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so. jt65code, jt9code, jt4code, and ft8code are utility programs that let you explore the conversion of user-level messages into channel symbols or “tone numbers.” if you're designing a beacon generator for JT9 or JT65, or you just want to study how the error-control codes behave for each protocol, these are absolute main character tools 🔥

channel-symbol values for JT9 run from 0 to 8, and 0 represents the sync tone. the total number of symbols in a transmitted message is 85. to run jt9code, you type the program name followed by a JT9 message in quotes. on Windows the command and program output might look like this:

$ jt9code "G0XYZ K1ABC FN42"
Message:   G0XYZ K1ABC FN42
Channel symbols:
 0 0 7 3 0 3 2 5 4 0 1 7 7 7 8 0 4 8 8 2 2 1 0 1 1 3 5 4 5 6
 8 7 0 6 0 1 8 3 3 7 8 1 1 2 4 5 8 1 5 2 0 0 8 6 0 5 8 5 1 0
 5 8 7 7 2 0 4 6 6 6 7 6 0 1 8 8 5 7 2 5 1 5 0 4 0
Decoded message: G0XYZ K1ABC FN42

for the corresponding program jt65code, only the information-carrying channel symbols get shown, and the symbol values range from 0 to 63. sync symbols sit two tone intervals below data tone 0, and the sequential locations of sync symbols are described in the JT65 Protocol section of this Guide 📖

a typical execution of jt65code is shown below. the program displays the packed message of 72 bits — shown here as 12 six-bit symbol values — followed by the channel symbols:

$ jt65code "G0XYZ K1ABC FN42"
Message:   G0XYZ K1ABC FN42
Packed message, 6-bit symbols:  61 36 45 30  3 55  3  2 14  5 33 40
Information-carrying channel symbols:
   56 40  8 40 51 47 50 34 44 53 22 53 28 31 13 60 46  2 14 58 43
   41 58 35  8 35  3 24  1 21 41 43  0 25 54  9 41 54  7 25 21  9
   62 59  7 43 31 21 57 13 59 41 17 49 19 54 21 39 33 42 18  2 60
Decoded message: G0XYZ K1ABC FN42

and if you want to see how absolutely cracked the strong error-control coding in JT9, JT65 and JT4 is, try looking at the channel symbols after changing a single character in the message 👀 for example, change the grid locater from FN42 to FN43 in the JT65 message:

$ jt65code "G0XYZ K1ABC FN43"
Message:   G0XYZ K1ABC FN43
Packed message, 6-bit symbols:  61 36 45 30  3 55  3  2 14  5 33 41
Information-carrying channel symbols:
   25 35 47  8 13  9 61 40 44  9 51  6  8 40 38 34  8  2 21 23 30
   51 32 56 39 35  3 50 48 30  8  5 40 18 54  9 24 30 26 61 23 11
    3 59  7  7 39  1 25 24  4 50 17 49 52 19 34  7  4 34 61  2 61
Decoded message: G0XYZ K1ABC FN43

and here's the slay part: you will discover that every possible JT65 message differs from every other possible JT65 message in at least 52 of the 63 information-carrying channel symbols. that's not a vibe, that's math 💀✨

$ qra64code "G0XYZ K1ABC FN43"
     Message                 Decoded                Err? Type
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 G0XYZ K1ABC FN43        G0XYZ K1ABC FN43            1:    Std Msg

Packed message, 6-bit symbols  61 36 45 30  3 55  3  2 14  5 33 41

Information-carrying channel symbols
   61 36 45 30  3 55  3  2 14  5 33 41 14 28  2  7 58 45  9 43 20 48 29 55 43 24  3 13 18 21
   40  3 17 28 59 62  2 50 26 24  2  1  2 61 10  9 16 40  1 18 28 30 33 39 60 45 16 21 60 11
    9 40 14

Channel symbols including sync
   20 50 60  0 40 10 30 61 36 45 30  3 55  3  2 14  5 33 41 14 28  2  7 58 45  9 43 20 48 29
   55 43 24  3 13 18 21 40  3 20 50 60  0 40 10 30 17 28 59 62  2 50 26 24  2  1  2 61 10  9
   16 40  1 18 28 30 33 39 60 45 16 21 60 11  9 40 14 20 50 60  0 40 10 30
$ msk144code "G0XYZ K1ABC FN43"
    Message                               Decoded                             Err i3.n3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. G0XYZ K1ABC FN43                      G0XYZ K1ABC FN43                         1.  Standard msg

Channel symbols
110000110100110001010010011100110010010110000011011001001100001101111010
110010110111111100001101001111000111101011111011100001110000011101110110
$ ft8code "G0XYZ K1ABC FN43"
    Message                               Decoded                             Err i3.n3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. G0XYZ K1ABC FN43                      G0XYZ K1ABC FN43                         1.  Standard msg

Source-encoded message, 77 bits:
00001000111111010001110111010000010011011110111100011010100010100001100111001

14-bit CRC:
00110001001011

83 Parity bits:
10000110000001010101100000100110100110100000111000101110000110001001110000000110011

Channel symbols (79 tones):
  Sync               Data               Sync               Data               Sync
3140652 03174526450547670460602143205 3140652 64040136505454507064041140042 3140652

if you wanna go deeper (and you know you do 🧚):

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Joe Taylor, K1JT. that's the icon, that's the blueprint 💜

💜 COPYING 💜

jt65code, jt9code, jt4code, and ft8code are Copyright © 2001 - 2020 by Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., K1JT, with contributions from additional authors. WSJT-X is Open Source software, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPLv3). 🌈

these programs are distributed in the hope that they will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. bestie that's the serious part, no cap. see the GNU General Public License for more details.

and that's the whole page 💖 this was jt65code(1) from the WSJT-X Manual, delivered to you by AsciiDoc 3.0.2-devel, dated 06/22/2026 — go forth and encode something iconic, bestie ✨🎀🦋

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