Part of our Getting On The Air: Modes, Operations, and Making Contacts guide.
Like the newer Icom SDR radios, the FTX-1 series has a built-in USB-to-dual-UART bridge and USB audio, so getting it onto FT8 doesn’t require a separate digital interface. One USB-C cable from the side panel to your computer handles CAT control and audio together. Here’s the setup, plus what changes if you’re running just the Field Head on battery power instead of the full Optima.
What you’ll need
- Yaesu FTX-1 Field or Optima, with MAIN firmware version 1.08 or later (check under FUNC → Extension Setting → Soft Version, update first if needed)
- A USB-C cable to your computer
- Yaesu’s USB driver (Silicon Labs Dual CP210x based)
- WSJT-X installed
Connecting to the computer
- Install the Yaesu USB driver before connecting the radio.
- Connect a USB-C cable from the FTX-1’s side USB terminal to your computer, and power the radio on.
- Open Device Manager and check under Ports (COM & LPT). You should see two entries: Enhanced COM Port (labeled CAT-1) and Standard COM Port (labeled CAT-2). You’ll also see a USB audio device appear for the radio’s built-in sound card.
- Enhanced COM Port (CAT-1) handles frequency and mode CAT communication. Standard COM Port (CAT-2) can handle PTT, CW keying, or FSK control, useful if your software wants a dedicated PTT port, though WSJT-X can run PTT over CAT using just the Enhanced port.
Radio settings
Set the operating mode to the appropriate Data submode for the band you’re on (the FTX-1’s touchscreen makes this a quick tap rather than a menu dive). Confirm the CAT baud rate in the menu matches what you’ll enter in WSJT-X, and make sure the data audio source is set to route through USB rather than the front mic, so WSJT-X’s audio actually reaches the transmitter instead of competing with the microphone input.
Setting up WSJT-X
- General tab: callsign and grid square.
- Radio tab: select the FTX-1 (or the closest matching Yaesu profile if it isn’t listed by name in your WSJT-X version), set Serial Port to the Enhanced COM Port (CAT-1), match the Baud Rate to the radio’s CAT setting, Data Bits 8, Stop Bits 1 or 2, Handshake None. PTT Method: CAT is the simplest choice; if you’d rather use a dedicated hardware PTT line, point it at the Standard COM Port (CAT-2) instead. Mode: Data/Pkt. Split Operation: Rig.
- Audio tab: select the FTX-1’s USB audio device for both input and output.
- Test CAT and Test PTT to confirm the link before going any further.
Getting on the air with FT8
- Sync your computer’s clock to within a second of UTC; FT8’s 15-second cycles depend on it.
- Tune to a standard FT8 frequency in USB, 14.074 MHz on 20m and 7.074 MHz on 40m see the most traffic.
- Keep power reasonable for the mode, FT8 doesn’t need much to be heard.
- Watch the ALC rather than just cranking audio drive; overdriving causes splatter without improving your decode rate.
Making your first contact
Double-click a station calling CQ in the decoded messages panel, and WSJT-X runs the standard exchange automatically over the following cycles: callsign, grid and signal report, acknowledgment. Once you see “73” logged, that’s a completed contact.
Using just the Field Head for FT8
Everything above works identically whether the SPA-1 amp is attached or not, the CAT and audio connection lives entirely in the Field Head. Running FT8 on the Field Head alone (6W on the internal battery, up to 10W on external 13.8V DC) does come with one real consideration worth planning around: FT8 is a high duty-cycle mode, transmitting a solid 12.6 seconds out of every 15-second cycle, and that adds up to real heat in a compact chassis even at QRP power levels. Owners running FT8 on the Field Head have reported the radio getting noticeably warm during extended sessions.
- If you’re running a long FT8 session, external 13.8V DC power is easier on the radio than pure battery operation, since it also means you’re not simultaneously worrying about battery runtime
- Keep the radio somewhere with airflow, don’t tuck it into a tight pocket of a pack or cover the vents while it’s transmitting continuously
- There’s no real downside to staying at the low end of the power range (5-6W QRP) for FT8, the mode is specifically designed to work well below the noise floor, so you’re not sacrificing much by keeping power modest, and it’s easier on both the radio and your battery
- If you notice the radio running hot or see any thermal warnings, give it a break between activation sessions rather than pushing through
Beyond that, the Field Head alone is a genuinely capable little FT8 station, small, battery-powered, and with the same touchscreen spectrum display that makes finding activity fast, whether you’re on a summit or at a park bench with a wire antenna strung up nearby.
For automatic logging once you’re on the air, see GridTracker and the FTX-1, and our FTX-1 Complete Guide rounds up everything else for this radio.