{
  "abstract": "This paper introduces LQ8, an open-source weak-signal digital mode for amateur radio that completes structured two-way contacts in 4 transmissions (60 s), achieving a 1.50x speedup over canonical 6-transmission exchanges (90 s) and 1.25x over 5-transmission RR73 exchanges (75 s) while preserving complete bidirectional exchange of Maidenhead grid locators, signal reports, and mutual acknowledgments. By replacing fixed-width message-type headers with variable-length prefix codes matched to physical-layer bit budgets, LQ8 packs the answering station's grid locator and measured signal report into a single 77-bit reply. In multi-station pileup operations, LQ8 confirms up to two answering stations simultaneously within a single-carrier 50.0 Hz transmission with a 0.0 dB RF power-splitting penalty, achieving a peak rate of 240 QSOs/h in continuous pileup (4x over single-carrier FT8; 480 QSOs/h dual-carrier) while retaining -21.0 dB SNR sensitivity. The protocol family also defines three extended profiles (LQ16, LQ4, and LQ2) tailored for extreme sensitivity, VHF/UHF contesting, and fast-burst channels.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.06427",
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Luis Quesada"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/35s1npgm09xqy.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.06427",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "35s1npgm09xqy",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.06427",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cs.IT"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cs.NI"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "eess.SP"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "math.IT"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2214|Telecommunications and Broadcasting Technologies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212027948",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.06427",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-27",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/35s1npgm09xqy.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:36:32Z",
      "native_id": "2609.06427",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.06427"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "mathematics",
      "origin": "arxiv:math.IT",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The LQ Digital Mode Family: Protocol Architecture and Reference Specification for Weak-Signal Communications",
  "title_text": "The LQ Digital Mode Family: Protocol Architecture and Reference Specification for Weak-Signal Communications",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:20:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/35s1npgm09xqy",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}