Aug 22, 2026, 4:21 PMSo there's a new ARQ mode that's actually open source. It's called #Mercury and is a drop in replacement for #VARA. There are only a few videos about it, and not enough OTA tests to see how well it works. I'm wondering if it's worth bothering with. #amateurradio https://github.com/Rhizomatica/mercury/blob/mercuryv2/docs/ARQ.md
Aug 22, 2026, 4:26 PM@N1ZZZ it looks promising - there's been a lot of progress on it recently. I've not dug into it yet but it's definitely something I keep tabs on and would make for a fine rainy day experiment
Aug 22, 2026, 4:49 PM
Aug 22, 2026, 5:48 PM
Aug 28, 2026, 8:20 PM@N1ZZZ I've dug into it and cobbled some basic software up that'll let me use #mercuryModem (without insisting I need a verified winlink account first): https://codeberg.org/omwb/ducobelt
(Turned out this wouldn't have been necessary had I discovered mercury-client earlier. But now I like my stuff.)
I tried to make my first mercury radio contact today, but the conditions didn't allow it. Only sporadic decodes, no connect.
Some folks, including myself, want to try again tomorrow at 17 UTC on 40 m.