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Join https://groups.io/g/qrp-portable for announcements,updates & discussion

Also see PaperFT8 (Work in progress)

First POTA activation (v1.0 2025-12-31)

First POTA Activation

Mini-FT8 Release Notice

Mini-FT8 is built on Karlis Goba’s ft8_lib. It’s also a joint adventure between Zhenxing (N6HAN) and Wei (AG6AQ), with inspiration from DXFT8 by Barb (WB2CBA) and Charley (W5BAA). It has been a great learning platform for me, and I hope you find it just as fun to use. It supports QMX and KH1.

Thanks

  • The DX FT8 team — Barb (WB2CBA), Charley (W5BAA), and Paul (G8KIG) — for the inspiration.
  • Zhenxing (N6HAN) — for helping build the audio/DSP path (UAC) and autoseq. This project would not have been possible without his help.
  • Karlis Goba — for ft8_lib. Thanks also to Shawn Rutledge for non-standard callsign support.
  • OpenAI and Anthropic — for their incredible coding assistance.

Hardware

(I have no affiliation with the vendors.)

73, Wei AG6AQ

Mini-FT8 Operation Manual (V2.0.2)

Quick Mode Map

Key Mode Purpose
R RX View decoded messages and tap one to start a QSO.
T TX Queue View and manage the transmit queue.
S STATUS Access beacon, connect/sync, band step, tune, and date/time functions.
G GPS View GPS telemetry and synchronization status.
M MENU P1 Configure core station and operator settings.
N MENU P2 Configure radio, input, and comment settings.
O MENU P3 Configure logging, active bands, RTC, copy-to-SD, and retry settings.
Q QSO Browse QSO and log files, and view entries.
F Fetch Browse files and fetch or dump the selected file to the BLE client.
D Delete Files Browse and delete files stored in SPIFFS.
B BAND Edit per-band frequencies.
C Connect Enter USB serial command mode.

Global Keys and Navigation

  • R / T / B / S / G / Q / F / D / C: switch to the selected mode. Press the same mode key again to return to RX.
  • M / N / O: jump to MENU page 1 / 2 / 3. Press the current page key again to return to RX.
  • `: cancel TX globally in RX, TX, and STATUS when not editing.
  • ▲ / ▼: page up / page down in RX, TX, BAND, MENU, QSO, Fetch, and Delete.
  • ◀ / ▶: move left / right in QSO-SNR, STATUS date/time, MENU P2 (N->2).
  • 1..6: always select the currently visible row in the active mode.

BLE Terminal

You can operate Mini-FT8 entirely from Bluetooth(BLE)

Tested: App Store: BLE Terminal HM-10 by Gopi Gadhiya

  • E: cancel current TX
  • u / v: page up / page down
  • z / x: move left / right (QSO-SNR)

BLE Screen Layout

  1. Text waterfall frame: 
    =============================  (29 `=` frame boundary)
|                           |  (27 bins inside the bars)
----.----+----.----+----.---+  (29-character scale with 500 Hz tick marks)
  2. Line 7 meta/edit line:
    • normal: [MODE uv] (u / v show page-up / page-down availability; - means not available)
    • text edit mode: [Edit ] (edit in the BLE terminal, then press Enter to save; ESC is not available)

Notes:

  • Waterfall bins use space, ., :, and ! to indicate signal strength, about 100 Hz per bin.
  • Counter symbols: | (slot boundary), 4, 8, 12, : (even slot), . (odd slot), o (TX indicator).
  • Decoded message count: [D:n]

Per-Mode Controls

  • ` acts as ESC where applicable.
  • Text Edit: Backspace deletes, ` cancels, Enter saves.
Mode Item Notes
R (RX) 1..6 Select a decoded line to reply to. CQ messages are sorted from strongest to weakest. If selected within 4 s, TX starts immediately.
▲ ▼ Page up/down is available when line 1 or line 6 is cyan.
T (TX Queue) 1 Rotate the queue to the next same-parity entry.
2..6 Drop the queue item on the current page.
` Cancel TX immediately.
G (GPS) View live GPS telemetry including 3D fix, satellites, UTC time, grid square, and last synchronization age.
S (STATUS) 1 Cycle Beacon mode. Applies when leaving STATUS mode.
2 Run connect/sync now; starts audio and follows the CAT sync path.
3 Step to the next active band. Applies after key 2 is pressed or when leaving STATUS.
4 Toggle Tune.
5 Edit Date (in place). G indicates date/time is synced from GPS.
6 Edit Time (in place).
M (MENU P1) 1 Cycle CQ Type. For CQ FD, enter operating class and ARRL/RAC section in FreeText, for example 1B SCV.
2 Send FreeText once.
3 Edit FreeText (Long Edit). Used for SOTAMAT, park/summit reference, ARRL Field Day exchange, CQ modifiers (CQ EU, CQ ASIA), and similar text.
4 Edit Call (in place).
5 Edit Grid (in place). Supports 4/6/8-character grid. If GPS is available, the GPS grid is shown and used, but not saved.
6 Enter Sleep. Shows battery info.
N (MENU P2) 1 Select offset source: Random / RX / Fixed. Random values are within 500-2500 Hz.
2 Edit fixed cursor offset (in place). Enter directly or use ▲ ▼ ◀ ▶.
3 Select radio (QMX / KH1).
4 Edit ignore list (Long Edit). Prefixes are separated by spaces; maximum 64 characters.
5 Edit comment (Long Edit). Used for ADIF logging. Supports /Radio and /Grid macro expansion.
6 Turn BLE on/off. Device name is Mini-FT8-<callsign>.
O (MENU P3) 1 Turn RxTx log on/off. Note: RxTxLog has been renamed to RT[YYMMDD].txt.
2 Turn SkipTX1 on/off. Skips dxcall mycall mygrid and replies with the SNR report.
3 Edit active bands (Long Edit). Used by STATUS -> Band.
4 Edit RTC compensation (in place).
5 Copy files to SD. Feedback is Copied OK or Missed [n].
6 Edit max retry (in place). Accepts any natural number or 0.
Q (QSO) 1..6 Open the selected ADIF file.
◀ ▶ Switch columns (Default view or SNR view).
F (Fetch) 1..6 Select and send a file over BLE.
D (Delete Files) 1..6 Delete the selected file immediately, without confirmation.
B (BAND) 1..6 Choose a band slot to edit.
C (Connect) USB serial command mode for host commands. Available only before connecting to a radio. Type help on the PC to list host-side commands.

Download Logs

  • Use SD

    • Insert a FAT/FAT32-formatted SD card.
    • In MENU P3 (O), press 5 (Copy files to SD). All files will be copied to the SD card.
    • If the result shows Missed, a reboot will usually fix it.

  • Use BLE

    • In the BLE Terminal, send F and choose the file.
    • Use "Send Log File" in the BLE Terminal to save or email it.

  • Use pc_terminal.py

    • On the M5 Cardputer, press C to enter communication mode.
    • On the PC, run python .\pc_terminal.py COM11 for interactive use with multiple commands.
    • On the PC, run python .\pc_terminal.py COM11 read 20260113.txt for a single command.

GPS Connections

Both 9600 and 115200 baud GPS modules are supported (auto-detected). Make sure the micro swithch is on the left. Once Mini-FT8 gets its time/grid, the GPS can be removed, this is important for KH1.

┌──────────────────┐                 ┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ GPS              │                 │ Cardputer ADV               │
│                  │                 │ PORTA                       │
│ GND ─────────────┼─────────────────┤ GND                         │
│ VDD ─────────────┼─────────────────┤ 5V                          │
│ RX  ─────────────┼<──(Not Used)────┤ TX (G2)                     │
│ TX  ─────────────┼────────────────>┤ RX (G1)                     │
└──────────────────┘                 │                             │
                                     │ SW: 5VOUT (Left)            │
                                     └─────────────────────────────┘

KH1 Connections

KH1 Cables

┌──────────────────┐                 ┌────────────────────────────┐
│ KH1 RS232        │                 │ Cardputer ADV              │
│                  │                 │ PORTA                      │
│ GND ─────────────┼─────────────────┤ GND                        │
│                  │                 │ 5V (NC)                    │
│ Tip(Rx) ─────────┼<────────────────┤ TX (G2)                    │
│ Ring(TX) ────────┼───(Not Used)───>┤ RX (G1)                    │
└──────────────────┘                 │                            │
                                     │ SW: NA                     │
                                     └────────────────────────────┘
  • TX + RX (FT8 QSO) (V2.0.2 Supports Cardputer direct microphone in, so the USB-C adapter becomes optional, choose KH1-Mic)
    • Use a USB-C audio/mic adapter for RX. Tested adapter: Amazon B0FWC9ZFC4. Other adapters may also work, but this one is confirmed.
    • Supply 5 V to PORTA; otherwise, the USB-C OTG port will not be powered. Make sure the micro swithch is on the right
┌──────────────────┐
│ Power Cable      │
│ GND ─────────────┼─────────┐
│ 5V  ─────────────┼─────┐   │
└──────────────────┘     |   |
┌──────────────────┐     |   |       ┌────────────────────────────┐
│ KH1 RS232        │     |   |       │ Cardputer ADV              │
│                  │     |   |       │ PORTA                      │
│ GND ─────────────┼─────)───┴───────┤ GND                        │
│                  │     └───────────┤ 5V                         │
│ Tip(Rx) ─────────┼<────────────────┤ TX (G2)                    │
│ Ring(TX) ────────┼── (Not Used)───>┤ RX (G1)                    │
└──────────────────┘                 │                            │
                                     │ SW: 5VIN (Right)           │
                                     └────────────────────────────┘
  • Mini-FT8 automatically sets KH1 TX power to 2 W.
  • For best RX performance, reduce AF volume to 05 or 06.