Adjusting the WSJT-X Wide Graph

[Clark L. Stewart]

After I posted my answer to W8RLG's question, someone asked me how I set up my Wide Graph (waterfall) to be able to see the weakest signals.  My response was to first start with the WSJT-X User Guide's Wide Graph Settings:

https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.6.1.html#TUT_WIDE_GRAPH


The settings you choose will be somewhat personal as to your own eyes and preferences:

The waterfall settings take some trial and error tocustomize for your system, screen, eyes and preferences.
Please bear in mind that some changes are instantly obvious while others only become apparent later as the
waterfall is re-painted under various band conditions.

Here is a pretty good YouTube video showing how to set up the Wide Graph:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vablhgFHEto

Also, under Settings | Advanced I have the Waterfall spectra set to "Most sensitive:"



I use the waterfall to find a clear spot before transmitting so I want to find the weakest signals before I pick a spot.  Hopefully that puts me in the clear to the DX.  I also use the waterfall to find a really weak signal that I want to work and watch him to see when he gets strong enough for me to decode.

Basically, I have my waterfall adjusted so that there are white "sparkles" on the blue background.  That causes the slightest signal to show up even if it does not decode.  I have marked the signal levels of the traces in the Wide Graph below.  All of them decoded without any a priori (AP) end-of-line indicators as shown in section 12.1 AP Decoding of the WSJT-X User Guide.  This means there was no "guessing" by the software.  It had enough signal to make a full decode.



Setting up my Wide Graph to be this sensitive means I can locate even the tiniest trace of a signal, even if it does not decode.  That tells me where a station I want to work is transmitting.  I can thus put the Green "Goalpost" over the weak signal and any decodes will then show up in the right-hand "Rx Frequency" column so that it's quicker for me to find the decode.  It also tells me when the signal is getting strong enough that it might soon decode.  Thus I can be ready to "pounce" as soon as I see the decode.

If anyone has any suggestions to improve this, I'm always open to learning something new!


73, Clark, W8TN