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What type of modulation does the FT8 digital mode use?

8-tone frequency shift keying.

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  1. Vestigial sideband
  2. Amplitude compressed AM
  3. 8-tone frequency shift keying ✔

Why: FT8 sends its message by moving among 8 different tones, which is 8-tone frequency shift keying. It is not amplitude or vestigial sideband modulation.

Huh, didn't know that: An FT8 signal report of +3 means the signal-to-noise ratio equals +3 dB in a 2.5 kHz bandwidth.

The dad joke
FT8 never talks much. It prefers 8 tones and short messages.
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References

Answer: 8-tone frequency shift keying. FT8 sends its message by moving among 8 different tones, which is 8-tone frequency shift keying. It is not amplitude or vestigial sideband modulation.

  1. NCVEC 2023-2027 General Class Pool and Syllabus (6th Errata, Feb 4 2026) ncvec.org/downloads/General%20Class%20Pool%20and%20Syllabus%202023-2027%20Public%20Release%20with%206th%20Errata%20Feb%204%202026.pdf
    8-tone frequency shift keying
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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