One of the reasons I prefer the Android platform for mobile devices over Apple is the availability of creative apps for the amateur radio community. Many are available as open source, published on GitHub. FT8CN is a recently published app that allows you to use your phone or tablet as the computer needed to operate FT8.
I've been experimenting with this app recently and the results are surprising. You can use it in a minimalist way with a rig that supports VOX using audio coupling. I did this on a whim in my living room one night with my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, an Elecraft KX2, and the short Elecraft AX1 antenna, "just because". I was able to make a couple of contacts under less than ideal setup conditions. In this photo and the video below, I positioned the phone on the table such that the phone mic is near enough to the rig speaker and uses a cheap flexible mic for the rig to capture the phone audio.
The app supports direct control of a variety of rigs if you have a way to perform a wired connection. A good way to do this is using the Digirig USB-C interface. FT8CN sees the Digirig as both a soundcard and a USB serial device. The app doesn't allow you to select from multiple sound devices, but instead uses the last attached that it finds. For this reason, you may need to turn off Bluetooth on the phone.
The app has a small learning curve to use, but it didn't take me long to understand it. You aren't going to win any contests operating like this, but it's great for casual portable operating when you need as little equipment as possible.
FT8CN can be found here: https://github.com/N0BOY/FT8CN
Digirig interfaces are available here: https://digirig.net/product/digirig-mobile/
I've been experimenting with this app recently and the results are surprising. You can use it in a minimalist way with a rig that supports VOX using audio coupling. I did this on a whim in my living room one night with my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, an Elecraft KX2, and the short Elecraft AX1 antenna, "just because". I was able to make a couple of contacts under less than ideal setup conditions. In this photo and the video below, I positioned the phone on the table such that the phone mic is near enough to the rig speaker and uses a cheap flexible mic for the rig to capture the phone audio.
The app supports direct control of a variety of rigs if you have a way to perform a wired connection. A good way to do this is using the Digirig USB-C interface. FT8CN sees the Digirig as both a soundcard and a USB serial device. The app doesn't allow you to select from multiple sound devices, but instead uses the last attached that it finds. For this reason, you may need to turn off Bluetooth on the phone.
The app has a small learning curve to use, but it didn't take me long to understand it. You aren't going to win any contests operating like this, but it's great for casual portable operating when you need as little equipment as possible.
FT8CN can be found here: https://github.com/N0BOY/FT8CN
Digirig interfaces are available here: https://digirig.net/product/digirig-mobile/
