[600MRG] WSQ2 initial impressions

[jrusgrove at comcast.net]

These are just first impressions and may change with further testing.

Had a QSO with John WE2XGR/3 last night and was able to switch between different receive antennas 
and directions to vary his signal strength. For LF and MF software we usually look at 'static 
resistance' and 'fade recovery' as the two main criteria. There were small amounts of static last 
night and large amounts of fading on John's signal. He is, after all, the self proclaimed 'King of 
Fades' on 600 meters (with his loop antenna).

There were times that John's signal remained above -20 dB but copy was rather spotty. This may have 
been exacerbated by the up and down of John's signal but I would have expected at that signal level 
to have solid copy. John's signal was audible at that point and we could have easily carried on a 
20+ wpm cw QSO even though the dips. Fade recovery at low signal level 'troughs' may be the issue. 
Switching to a higher signal level antenna got the decoder back on track in short order. Still, with 
the 'troughs' not dipping below -20 dB and the signal still barely audible in the 'trough' I would 
have expected better copy. Dips below -25 dB caused the decoder to recover very slowly.

Due to low static conditions no determination of 'static resistance' could be made.

There were several instances of short term continuous vertical lines (intermittant interference) in 
the passband, and even though the lines were equal to or weaker than than the desired signal they 
noticeably hampered reception.

At this point I would put it about on par with PSK31. Again, these are just first impressions and 
may change with further testing. Comments from others using the software is appreciated.

Jay W1VD  WD2XNS  WE2XGR/2  WG2XRS/2