[600MRG] WSPR Flavors

[Frank Lotito]

I have been asking this question for a while regarding the different "flavors" of WSPR.  I'm confused - For as many people that I have asked, I get almost no unified answer.  I definitely get a fair amount of hesitancy, such as "er...., I think so...., maybe...."  Hopefully within the ranks of this column's readers one or more can answer this question from a standpoint of academic authority.


My question - On the receiving end, in order to maximize the ability to decode a WSPR signal, does the receiving station have to use the same "flavor" WSPR as the sending station?  By flavor I mean:  (1) The same transmit / receive duration in  the 10 minute cycle?  (2) The same revision, e.g., WSPR-X vs another version such as an early issue of WSPR that is a number of years old? (3) And on occasion, I have seen / heard stations referring to things such as WSPR-1, WSPR-1.2, WSPR-15, or whatever.  What are these and their impact on successfully decoding a signal if the receiving station is not using that same version (flavor) as the transmitting station?


I am not challenging the importance of items such limitations in the receiving or transmitting station's equipment, frequency drift, time synchronization, etc., the type and strength of adjacent and co-channel interference be it natural noise or a man-made emission, or, in the case of VHF / UHF / SHF reception, the more esoteric items.


73 Frank Lotito  K3DZ / WH2XHA