JS8Call takes the FT8 modulation and builds free-form keyboard messaging on top of it, including store-and-forward relaying through other stations.
That combination — works below the noise floor, carries real messages, relays automatically — has made it popular with off-grid and emergency communications operators.
At a Glance
- Category
- Digital data
- On the air since
- 2018
- Bandwidth
- About 50 Hz
- Speed
- Several sequence lengths, from fast to very slow
- What you need
- A sound card interface
- Where to listen
- JS8Call calling frequencies, commonly on 40 and 20 meters