FT8AF: FT8, Ham Radio, & POTA app analytics for September 18

FT8AF turns your Android phone or tablet into a complete FT8 station. Plug your radio in over USB, tap CQ, and work the world — no laptop required. Set your callsign, match the baud rate, pick your audio device: most operators are calling CQ within minutes. The app tunes the rig, follows you when you change bands, and logs the contact the moment the QSO completes. Decode the whole band in real time and transmit FT8, FT4, and FT2 — portable from a summit, activating a park, on Field Day, or simply at home. WHAT YOU NEED • An HF radio with a data or USB port • A USB OTG cable or a USB audio interface such as a DigiRig • An Android phone or tablet running Android 6.0+ SUPPORTED RADIOS Most HF transceivers via USB CAT control — Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, Elecraft and more — plus network radios like FlexRadio, Icom IP, and Xiegu X6100. Control modes: CAT, VOX, RTS, and DTR. DECODE & TRANSMIT • FT8, FT4, and FT2, decoded in real time with fast and deep decode modes • Live waterfall and spectrum display with touch-to-tune • CQ calling, directed calls, and free text messages • Change band in the app and the radio follows • TX slot selection, TX watchdog, and auto-supervision • Hound mode for working DXpeditions • DT shown on every decode, the way WSJT-X does it HUNT WHAT YOU'RE MISSING • Hunt answers CQs for you, so you spend the opening working stations • Rank who you answer: newest, strongest, weakest, farthest, POTA/SOTA, new DXCC, or new grid • NEW DXCC, NEW GRID, and NEW ZONE flags on the decode list • A caller queue keeps you on the station you're working instead of the loudest one PARKS ON THE AIR • Park search and activation tracking built in • Self-spot to pota.app without leaving the app • Park-to-park contacts tracked and exported • Send your activation log straight to pota.app LOGBOOK • Contacts logged automatically when a QSO completes • DXCC, CQ zone, ITU zone, and Worked All States tracking • Band and distance statistics • Import and export ADIF files • Edit or delete log entries LOG PLATFORM SYNC • Upload QSOs to Cloudlog, Wavelog, QRZ.com, or Nextlog • Per-contact sync status, so you know what has been uploaded • Test connection from Settings to check your credentials MAP & PSK REPORTER • Interactive map of where your contacts are • PSK Reporter overlay shows where your signal is being heard worldwide • Grid square and distance for every decoded station STAYING ON TIME FT8 needs UTC accurate to about a second. FT8AF syncs over NTP, disciplines the clock from GPS, or trims itself from the DT of the signals it decodes — so you stay in the slot with no internet and no cell signal. AUDIO & CONNECTIVITY • USB audio devices, Bluetooth audio, and Bluetooth headsets • Configurable sample rate and bit depth • Auto-connect to your radio on USB plug-in HANDS-FREE • Spoken announcements when a station calls you or a QSO completes • Push-to-talk voice commands • Android Auto status display for operating from the vehicle BUILT FOR OPERATORS FT8AF is a modernized fork of FT8CN by BG7YOZ, rebuilt with a modern Compose UI, translated into 17 languages, and carrying hundreds of new features and fixes. Developed by K1AF and N0rC on a road trip to Hamvention on I-70 at 70 mph. Open source under the MIT License. https://github.com/patrickrb/FT8AF