Directed CQ in WSJT-X: CQ DX, CQ POTA and Wait Features

Anyone who has spent an evening on FT8 has seen the waterfall fill with lines like CQ DX, CQ EU, CQ NA or CQ POTA followed by a callsign and a grid. These are examples of the directed CQ: a general call to which a short word has been added to say who the caller wants to hear. It is a polite and efficient habit, because it tells hundreds of stations whether they should answer, and it saves everyone from wasted transmissions. This guide explains what the common words mean, how WSJT-X encodes them in a few bits, which ones are conventions and which are rules, and how to use the filters and wait features of the program to find the calls that you actually want.

What a Directed CQ Is

A normal CQ message in WSJT-X consists of the word CQ, your callsign and your four-character grid, for example CQ K1ABC FN42. In a directed CQ, a short word is placed between CQ and the callsign: CQ DX K1ABC FN42. The word tells receiving stations who the caller prefers to work. It does not stop anyone from answering, because the software has no way to enforce it, and nothing in the amateur regulations gives it any legal force. It works because operators respect it, in the same way that on voice a station calling CQ DX expects replies from outside the local area.

Directed calls are part of the message design from the start. The user guide for WSJT-X explains that, as a convenience for sending directed CQ messages, the compression algorithm supports messages starting with CQ AA through CQ ZZ, which are encoded internally as if they were the callsigns E9AA to E9ZZ and converted back for display. The 77-bit modes, which include FT8 and FT4, go further. The model contacts in the same guide show messages such as CQ TEST, CQ FD, CQ RU and CQ WW, so words of up to four letters are carried inside an ordinary message with no extra cost in time or sensitivity. A numeric form also exists: CQ followed by three digits, such as CQ 999, which is used by fast modes such as MSK144 to announce a different frequency for the contact.

The Words You Will See

Most directed words are conventions that arose on the air. The following list covers the ones you will meet most often, and the table below summarizes them. Any word that is not listed here is probably local to a net, an event or a contest.

The meaning of CQ DX is the one that causes most debate. Usually it means that the caller wants to work other countries, and that stations in the caller’s own country should not reply. For a station in Lithuania, that means replying to a CQ DX from Japan is natural, but replying to a CQ DX from a station in Vilnius is bad manners, because both of you are in the same country and you might block someone who is trying to work the caller from far away. A caller who uses CQ NA is asking for North American replies, and a European operator should leave that call to the stations it is intended for.

POTA and SOTA words are used by activators. Parks on the Air activators call CQ POTA because they need a minimum number of contacts to validate the activation, and hunters look for the word to know that this callsign is in a park. Summits on the Air works in a similar way. For background on the programs, see the official POTA site and our article on FT8 operating etiquette, which covers responsible behavior when the band is crowded.

Replying Correctly

Replying to a directed CQ uses the same message as replying to any other CQ. You double-click the line in the Band Activity window, WSJT-X generates the standard first message with your callsign and grid, and the contact proceeds normally. The guide describes the basic QSO as a CQ, an answer with the two callsigns and a grid, a report, an R plus report, RRR or RR73, and a final 73. The directed word does not appear again after the first message. If you answer a CQ POTA contact, the logging program will usually record the park reference only if you add it yourself, so remember to note it before the station moves on.

A few simple rules of thumb keep things pleasant:

• Read the word before answering. If you are not in the requested group, wait for another CQ, or call only if there is truly no one else on the frequency.
• Use the word that matches your purpose. Do not call CQ DX if you are happy to work anyone; a plain CQ gets more replies.
• Do not use a word that is not yours. CQ POTA when you are at home is misleading and wastes the time of hunters.
• Listen for what you are asked for. If a station is calling CQ EU and you are in Asia, the call is not for you, even if the signal is strong.

Calling Your Own Directed CQ

In WSJT-X the CQ message sits in the message panel next to the other transmit messages, and the directed word goes between CQ and your callsign, as in CQ DX K1ABC FN42. Check the text in the panel before you enable transmission, and remember that regenerating the standard messages restores the plain CQ. For contests, you do not need to do this by hand: choosing the special operating activity on the Advanced tab of the settings automatically changes the CQ text to CQ TEST, CQ FD, CQ RU or CQ WW.

When you call CQ, the guide offers choices for how the program replies if several stations answer. With Auto Seq enabled, the CQ: First option replies automatically to the first decoded responder, and CQ: Max Dist replies to the most distant responder, or to the strongest or weakest, whichever you select. The Call 1st option enables an automatic response to the first decoded responder to your CQ. Auto-sequencing, as the guide says, is an operator aid, not an operator replacement; the program will not make consecutive, fully automated contacts, and Enable Tx is switched off at the end of each QSO. That behavior is not just an interface choice. It matters in contests such as WW Digi, where autonomous operation is prohibited. For setup details, see our guide to a WSJT-X FT8 setup that works first time.

Finding the Calls You Want

With dozens of calls per cycle, scanning the list by eye is slow. WSJT-X has several tools that work well with directed CQs. The Filters menu lets you hide, ignore or highlight stations worked before on the band, worked today or yesterday, or present in the Ignore List. You can hide messages from a specific continent and specify up to four territories for which hiding can be switched on or off. There are fields for a Blacklist, a Whitelist and an Always Pass list, and they can be used in combination. The guide says you can enter whole callsigns, parts of callsigns or keywords, so a whitelist containing DX, or POTA, or a particular prefix, will show only the calls that contain it.

A practical example for a hunter: put POTA in the Whitelist. Only messages with that word will remain in the Band Activity window, and all the ordinary CQs and replies will disappear. A DXer in Europe might hide his own continent and keep everything else. The BP button on the main window lets you bypass all filtering with a single click, which is handy when you suspect that the filter is hiding something. These filters do not change what is transmitted; they only change what you see. Other programs use the same idea. Our articles on GridTracker and JTAlert show how to add a call roster and alerts for wanted entities.

Wait Features and Audible Alerts

Three wait-to-transmit features, enabled by a checkbox on the General tab of the settings, help when you are chasing a particular station. Wait and Reply continues your contact when a station that you called replies after you have stopped. Wait and Call is for a station that has faded: when the station is decoded again sending CQ, RR73, RRR or 73, you call it automatically, up to three times. Wait and Pounce answers a CQ from another station that meets criteria you choose, such as the first, the most distant, or the strongest or weakest. To use it, leave the DX Call box empty, choose a CQ category from the drop-down list and right-click the Enable Tx button, which turns orange.

While the wait features are on, the DX Call field and the Enable Tx button turn yellow to warn you that an automatic transmission might happen, and the guide advises you to be alert and to clear the DX Call field after a contact. The program prevents duplicates by reading your log file, so stations already in it are ignored. You can also set audible alerts for messages with specified content, for example your own callsign, a wanted prefix or a directed word. The alerts need at least two audio output devices, one for the transmitted audio and one for the alerts. If you are chasing a rare station that uses a special CQ, this combination of a whitelist, an alert and Wait and Call can be very effective, but it must be used with care, so you do not call someone who is not looking for you.

Etiquette and Pitfalls

The main pitfall is to treat a directed word as a rule. It is not a rule, and some callers use words in ways that other people do not expect. Check the callsign if you are not sure, and if the caller seems to be ignoring you, move on. Do not call in a way that disturbs an active contact, and do not use a directed CQ to claim a frequency that you are not using. When you finish a POTA or SOTA contact, give the activator time to move on: dozens of hunters are waiting. The Wikipedia article on the CQ call gives the history of the general call, and the WSJT-X user guide describes the message formats and the filters in full.

The Bottom Line

A directed CQ is a short word that tells other operators who you want to work. WSJT-X carries these words in the same message as the callsign and grid, so they cost nothing in speed or sensitivity, and the program supports filters, wait features and alerts that make them useful on both sides of the contact. Use CQ DX, CQ NA or CQ POTA only when they match your purpose, answer only when you are the intended audience, and use the filters to cut a busy band down to the calls that interest you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does CQ DX mean in FT8?

By convention, the caller wants to work stations outside their own country or continent. Stations in the same country should not answer.

Is a directed CQ a rule or a convention?

A convention. The software does not prevent anyone from answering, but operators are expected to respect the word.

How does WSJT-X encode a directed CQ?

The compression algorithm supports CQ followed by a short word, such as CQ AA to CQ ZZ for older modes, and the 77-bit modes carry words such as TEST, FD, RU and WW in the same message.

Can I show only CQ POTA calls?

Yes. Put POTA in the Whitelist on the Filters tab, and WSJT-X will show only the messages that contain it. The BP button turns the filtering off temporarily.

What does Wait and Pounce do?

It answers a CQ from another station automatically when it meets a rule that you selected, such as the first caller, the most distant or the strongest, while the DX Call field is empty.

Can the program run contacts on its own?

No. Auto-sequencing is an operator aid; it switches off Enable Tx at the end of each contact and does not make consecutive, fully automated contacts.