diff --git a/decode_ft8.cpp b/decode_ft8.cpp
index 38edb08..41ee7ac 100644
--- a/decode_ft8.cpp
+++ b/decode_ft8.cpp
@@ -192,15 +192,15 @@ uint8_t max2(uint8_t a, uint8_t b) {
 }
 
 
-uint8_t max4(uint8_t a, uint8_t b, uint8_t c, uint8_t d) {
-    return max2(max2(a, b), max2(c, d));
+uint8_t max4(uint8_t a, uint8_t b, uint8_t cand, uint8_t d) {
+    return max2(max2(a, b), max2(cand, d));
 }
 
 
-// Compute log likelihood log(p(0) / p(1)) of 174 message bits 
+// Compute log likelihood log(p(1) / p(0)) of 174 message bits 
 // for later use in soft-decision LDPC decoding
-void extract_likelihood(const uint8_t * power, int num_bins, const Candidate & c, float * log174) {
-    int offset = (c.time_offset * 4 + c.time_sub * 2 + c.freq_sub) * num_bins + c.freq_offset;
+void extract_likelihood(const uint8_t * power, int num_bins, const Candidate & cand, float * log174) {
+    int offset = (cand.time_offset * 4 + cand.time_sub * 2 + cand.freq_sub) * num_bins + cand.freq_offset;
 
     int k = 0;
     // Go over FSK tones and skip Costas sync symbols
@@ -212,9 +212,9 @@ void extract_likelihood(const uint8_t * power, int num_bins, const Candidate & c
 
         // Extract bit significance (and convert them to float)
         // 8 FSK tones = 3 bits
-        log174[k + 0] = -(int)max4(ps[4], ps[5], ps[6], ps[7]) + (int)max4(ps[0], ps[1], ps[2], ps[3]);
-        log174[k + 1] = -(int)max4(ps[2], ps[3], ps[6], ps[7]) + (int)max4(ps[0], ps[1], ps[4], ps[5]);
-        log174[k + 2] = -(int)max4(ps[1], ps[3], ps[5], ps[7]) + (int)max4(ps[0], ps[2], ps[4], ps[6]);
+        log174[k + 0] = (int)max4(ps[4], ps[5], ps[6], ps[7]) - (int)max4(ps[0], ps[1], ps[2], ps[3]);
+        log174[k + 1] = (int)max4(ps[2], ps[3], ps[6], ps[7]) - (int)max4(ps[0], ps[1], ps[4], ps[5]);
+        log174[k + 2] = (int)max4(ps[1], ps[3], ps[5], ps[7]) - (int)max4(ps[0], ps[2], ps[4], ps[6]);
         // printf("%d %d %d %d %d %d %d %d : %.0f %.0f %.0f\n", 
         //         ps[0], ps[1], ps[2], ps[3], ps[4], ps[5], ps[6], ps[7], 
         //         log174[k + 0], log174[k + 1], log174[k + 2]);
@@ -270,29 +270,31 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
 
     extract_power(signal, num_blocks, num_bins, power);
 
-    const int num_candidates = 250;
+    int num_candidates = 250;
     Candidate heap[num_candidates];
 
     find_sync(power, num_blocks, num_bins, num_candidates, heap);
 
-    for (int i = 0; i < num_candidates; ++i) {
-        float freq_hz = (heap[i].freq_offset + heap[i].freq_sub / 2.0f) * fsk_dev;
-        float time_sec = (heap[i].time_offset + heap[i].time_sub / 2.0f) / fsk_dev;
+    for (int idx = 0; idx < num_candidates; ++idx) {
+        Candidate &cand = heap[idx];
+        float freq_hz = (cand.freq_offset + cand.freq_sub / 2.0f) * fsk_dev;
+        float time_sec = (cand.time_offset + cand.time_sub / 2.0f) / fsk_dev;
         // printf("%03d: score = %d freq = %.1f time = %.2f\n", i, 
         //         heap[i].score, freq_hz, time_sec);
 
         float log174[3 * ND];
-        extract_likelihood(power, num_bins, heap[i], log174);
+        extract_likelihood(power, num_bins, cand, log174);
 
-        const int num_iters = 10;
+        const int num_iters = 20;
         int plain[3 * ND];
         int ok;
 
-        ldpc_decode(log174, num_iters, plain, &ok);
+        bp_decode(log174, num_iters, plain, &ok);
+        //ldpc_decode(log174, num_iters, plain, &ok);
         //printf("ldpc_decode() = %d\n", ok);
         if (ok == 87) {
-            printf("%03d: score = %d freq = %.1f time = %.2f\n", i, 
-                    heap[i].score, freq_hz, time_sec);
+            printf("%03d: score = %d freq = %.1f time = %.2f\n", idx, 
+                    cand.score, freq_hz, time_sec);
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/ft8/arrays.h b/ft8/arrays.h
index 9e0d38f..fe7ebb6 100644
--- a/ft8/arrays.h
+++ b/ft8/arrays.h
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
+#include <stdint.h>
+
 // LDPC(174,87) parameters from WSJT-X.
 // this is an indirection table that moves a
 // codeword's 87 systematic (message) bits to the end.
-int colorder[] = {
+uint8_t colorder[] = {
       0, 1, 2, 3, 30, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 32, 12, 40, 13, 14, 15, 16,
      17,  18, 37, 45, 29, 19, 20, 21, 41, 22, 42, 31, 33, 34, 44, 35, 47,
      51,  50, 43, 36, 52, 63, 46, 25, 55, 27, 24, 23, 53, 39, 49, 59, 38,
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ int colorder[] = {
 // each number is an index into the codeword (1-origin).
 // the codeword bits mentioned in each row must xor to zero.
 // From WSJT-X's bpdecode174.f90.
-int Nm[][7] = {
+uint8_t Nm[][7] = {
     {1, 30, 60, 89, 118, 147, 0},
     {2, 31, 61, 90, 119, 147, 0},
     {3, 32, 62, 91, 120, 148, 0},
@@ -116,7 +118,7 @@ int Nm[][7] = {
 // the numbers indicate which three parity
 // checks (rows in Nm) refer to the codeword bit.
 // 1-origin.
-int Mn[][3] = {
+uint8_t Mn[][3] = {
     {1, 25, 69},
     {2, 5, 73},
     {3, 32, 68},
@@ -292,3 +294,15 @@ int Mn[][3] = {
     {54, 61, 71},
     {46, 58, 69},
 };
+
+uint8_t nrw[] = {
+  6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,
+  6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,
+  6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,
+  6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,7,
+  6,6,6,6,6,7,6,6,6,6,
+  6,6,6,6,6,7,6,6,6,6,
+  7,6,5,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,
+  6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,
+  5,6,6,6,5,6,6
+};
diff --git a/ft8/ldpc.cpp b/ft8/ldpc.cpp
index 0775207..698c09e 100644
--- a/ft8/ldpc.cpp
+++ b/ft8/ldpc.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,13 @@
 
 int ldpc_check(int codeword[]);
 
+const int N = 174;
+const int M = 87;
+
+// https://varietyofsound.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/efficient-tanh-computation-using-lamberts-continued-fraction/
+// http://functions.wolfram.com/ElementaryFunctions/ArcTanh/10/0001/
+// https://mathr.co.uk/blog/2017-09-06_approximating_hyperbolic_tangent.html
+
 
 // thank you Douglas Bagnall
 // https://math.stackexchange.com/a/446411
@@ -27,69 +34,127 @@ float fast_tanh(float x) {
         return 1.0f;
     }
     float x2 = x * x;
-    float a = x * (135135.0f + x2 * (17325.0f + x2 * (378.0f + x2)));
-    float b = 135135.0f + x2 * (62370.0f + x2 * (3150.0f + x2 * 28.0f));
+    //float a = x * (135135.0f + x2 * (17325.0f + x2 * (378.0f + x2)));
+    //float b = 135135.0f + x2 * (62370.0f + x2 * (3150.0f + x2 * 28.0f));
+    //float a = x * (10395.0f + x2 * (1260.0f + x2 * 21.0f));
+    //float b = 10395.0f + x2 * (4725.0f + x2 * (210.0f + x2));
+    float a = x * (945.0f + x2 * (105.0f + x2));
+    float b = 945.0f + x2 * (420.0f + x2 * 15.0f);
     return a / b;
 }
 
 
+float fast_atanh(float x) {
+    float x2 = x * x;
+    //float a = x * (-15015.0f + x2 * (19250.0f + x2 * (-5943.0f + x2 * 256.0f)));
+    //float b = (-15015.0f + x2 * (24255.0f + x2 * (-11025.0f + x2 * 1225.0f)));
+    //float a = x * (-1155.0f + x2 * (1190.0f + x2 * -231.0f));
+    //float b = (-1155.0f + x2 * (1575.0f + x2 * (-525.0f + x2 * 25.0f)));
+    float a = x * (945.0f + x2 * (-735.0f + x2 * 64.0f));
+    float b = (945.0f + x2 * (-1050.0f + x2 * 225.0f));
+    return a / b;
+}
+
+
+float pltanh(float x) {
+    float isign = +1;
+    if (x < 0) {
+        isign = -1;
+        x = -x;
+    }
+    if (x < 0.8f) {
+        return isign * 0.83 * x;
+    }
+    if (x < 1.6f) {
+        return isign * (0.322f * x + 0.4064f);
+    }
+    if (x < 3.0f) {
+        return isign * (0.0524f * x + 0.8378f);
+    }
+    if (x < 7.0f) {
+        return isign * (0.0012f * x + 0.9914f);
+    }
+    return isign*0.9998f;
+}
+
+
+float platanh(float x) {
+    float isign = +1;
+    if (x < 0) {
+        isign = -1;
+        x = -x;
+    }
+    if (x < 0.664f) {
+        return isign * x / 0.83f;
+    }
+    if (x < 0.9217f) {
+        return isign * (x - 0.4064f) / 0.322f;
+    }
+    if (x < 0.9951f) {
+        return isign * (x - 0.8378f) / 0.0524f;
+    }
+    if (x < 0.9998f) {
+        return isign * (x - 0.9914f) / 0.0012f;
+    }
+    return isign * 7.0f;
+}
+
+
 // codeword is 174 log-likelihoods.
 // plain is a return value, 174 ints, to be 0 or 1.
-// iters is how hard to try.
+// max_iters is how hard to try.
 // ok == 87 means success.
-void ldpc_decode(float codeword[], int iters, int plain[], int *ok) {
-    float m[87][174];       // ~60 kB
-    float e[87][174];       // ~60 kB
+void ldpc_decode(float codeword[], int max_iters, int plain[], int *ok) {
+    float m[M][N];       // ~60 kB
+    float e[M][N];       // ~60 kB
     int best_score = -1;
-    int best_cw[174];
 
-    for (int i = 0; i < 174; i++) {
-        for (int j = 0; j < 87; j++) {
+    for (int j = 0; j < M; j++) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
             m[j][i] = codeword[i];
             e[j][i] = 0.0f;
         }
     }
 
-    for (int iter = 0; iter < iters; iter++) {
-        for (int j = 0; j < 87; j++) {
-            for (int ii1 = 0; ii1 < 7; ii1++) {
+    for (int iter = 0; iter < max_iters; iter++) {
+        for (int j = 0; j < M; j++) {
+            for (int ii1 = 0; ii1 < nrw[j]; ii1++) {
                 int i1 = Nm[j][ii1] - 1;
-                if (i1 < 0) {
-                    continue;
-                }
                 float a = 1.0f;
-                for (int ii2 = 0; ii2 < 7; ii2++) {
+                for (int ii2 = 0; ii2 < nrw[j]; ii2++) {
                     int i2 = Nm[j][ii2] - 1;
-                    if (i2 >= 0 && i2 != i1) {
-                        a *= fast_tanh(m[j][i2] / 2.0f);
+                    if (i2 != i1) {
+                        a *= fast_tanh(-m[j][i2] / 2.0f);
                     }
                 }
-                e[j][i1] = logf((1 + a) / (1 - a));
+                e[j][i1] = logf((1 - a) / (1 + a));
             }
         }
 
-        int cw[174];
-        for (int i = 0; i < 174; i++) {
+        int cw[N];
+        for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
             float l = codeword[i];
             for (int j = 0; j < 3; j++)
                 l += e[Mn[i][j] - 1][i];
-            cw[i] = (l <= 0.0f);
+            cw[i] = (l > 0) ? 1 : 0;
         }
+
         int score = ldpc_check(cw);
 
         if (score > best_score) {
-            for (int i = 0; i < 174; i++) {
-                best_cw[i] = cw[i];
+            for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
+                plain[i] = cw[colorder[i]];
             }
             best_score = score;
+
+            if (score == M) {
+                // Found a perfect answer
+                break;
+            }
         }
 
-        if (score == 87) {
-            // Found a perfect answer
-            break;
-        }
 
-        for (int i = 0; i < 174; i++) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
             for (int ji1 = 0; ji1 < 3; ji1++) {
                 int j1 = Mn[i][ji1] - 1;
                 float l = codeword[i];
@@ -104,17 +169,6 @@ void ldpc_decode(float codeword[], int iters, int plain[], int *ok) {
         }
     }
 
-    // decode complete (perhaps partially)
-#if 0
-    for(int i = 0; i < 87; i++) {
-        plain[i] = best_cw[colorder[174-87+i]];
-    }
-#else
-    for (int i = 0; i < 174; i++) {
-        plain[i] = best_cw[colorder[i]];
-    }
-#endif
-
     *ok = best_score;
 }
 
@@ -128,108 +182,104 @@ int ldpc_check(int codeword[]) {
     int score = 0;
 
     // Nm[87][7]
-    for (int j = 0; j < 87; j++) {
+    for (int j = 0; j < M; ++j) {
         int x = 0;
-        for (int ii1 = 0; ii1 < 7; ii1++) {
-            int i1 = Nm[j][ii1] - 1;
-            if (i1 >= 0) {
-                x ^= codeword[i1];
-            }
+        for (int ii1 = 0; ii1 < nrw[j]; ++ii1) {
+            x ^= codeword[Nm[j][ii1] - 1];
         }
         if (x == 0) {
-            score++;
+            ++score;
         }
     }
     return score;
 }
 
 
-/*
-def bp_decode(codeword, max_iterations = 10):
-    ## 174 codeword bits
-    ## 87 parity checks
+void bp_decode(float codeword[], int max_iters, int plain[], int *ok) {
+    float tov[N][3];
+    float toc[M][7];
 
-    mnx = numpy.array(Mn, dtype=numpy.int32)
-    nmx = numpy.array(Nm, dtype=numpy.int32)
+    int best_score = -1;
 
-    ncw = 3
-    tov = numpy.zeros( (3, N) )
-    toc = numpy.zeros( (7, M) )
-    tanhtoc = numpy.zeros( (7, M) )
-    zn = numpy.zeros(N)
-    nclast = 0
-    ncnt = 0
+    int nclast = 0;
+    int ncnt = 0;
 
-    # initialize messages to checks
-    for j in range(M):
-        for i in range(nrw[j]):
-            toc[i, j] = codeword[nmx[j, i] - 1]
-    
-    for iteration in range(max_iterations):
-        # Update bit log likelihood ratios (tov=0 in iteration 0).
-        #for i in range(N):
-        #    zn[i] = codeword[i] + numpy.sum(tov[:,i])
-        zn = codeword + numpy.sum(tov, axis = 0)
-        #print(numpy.sum(tov, axis=0))
+    // initialize messages to checks
+    for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
+        for (int j = 0; j < nrw[i]; ++j) {
+            toc[i][j] = codeword[Nm[i][j] - 1];
+        }
+    }
 
-        # Check to see if we have a codeword (check before we do any iteration).
-        cw = numpy.zeros(N, dtype=numpy.int32)
-        cw[zn > 0] = 1
-        ncheck = 0
-        for i in range(M):
-            synd = numpy.sum(cw[ nmx[i, :nrw[i]]-1 ])
-            if synd % 2 > 0:
-                ncheck += 1
+    for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
+        for (int j = 0; j < 3; ++j) {
+            tov[i][j] = 0;
+        }
+    }
 
-        if ncheck == 0: 
-            # we have a codeword - reorder the columns and return it
-            codeword = cw[colorder]
-            #nerr = 0
-            #for i in range(N):
-            #    if (2*cw[i]-1)*codeword[i] < 0:
-            #        nerr += 1
-            
-            #print("DECODED!", nerr)
-            return codeword[M:N]
+    for (int iter = 0; iter < max_iters; ++iter) {
+        float   zn[N];
+        int     cw[N];
 
-        if iter > 0:
-            # this code block implements an early stopping criterion
-            nd = ncheck - nclast
-            if nd < 0: # of unsatisfied parity checks decreased
-                ncnt = 0  # reset counter
-            else:
-                ncnt += 1
-            
-            if ncnt >= 5 and iter >= 10 and ncheck >= 15:
-                nharderror = -1
-                #return numpy.array([])
+        // Update bit log likelihood ratios (tov=0 in iter 0)
+        for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
+            zn[i] = codeword[i] + tov[i][0] + tov[i][1] + tov[i][2];
+            cw[i] = (zn[i] > 0) ? 1 : 0;
+        }
 
-        nclast = ncheck
+        // Check to see if we have a codeword (check before we do any iter)
+        int score = ldpc_check(cw);
 
-        # Send messages from bits to check nodes 
-        for j in range(M):
-            for i in range(nrw[j]):
-                ibj = nmx[j, i] - 1
-                toc[i, j] = zn[ibj]
-                for kk in range(ncw): # subtract off what the bit had received from the check
-                    if mnx[ibj, kk] - 1 == j:
-                        toc[i, j] -= tov[kk, ibj]
+        if (score > best_score) {
+            // we have a better guess - reorder the columns and store it
+            for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
+                plain[i] = cw[colorder[i]];
+            }
+            best_score = score;
 
-        # send messages from check nodes to variable nodes
-        #for i in range(M):
-        #    tanhtoc[:,i] = numpy.tanh(-toc[:,i] / 2)
-        tanhtoc = numpy.tanh(-toc / 2)
+            if (score == M) {
+                break;
+            }
+        }
 
-        for j in range(N):
-            for i in range(ncw):
-                ichk = mnx[j, i] - 1  # Mn(:,j) are the checks that include bit j
-                Tmn = 1.0
-                for k in range(nrw[ichk]):
-                    if nmx[ichk, k] - 1 == j: continue
-                    Tmn *= tanhtoc[k, ichk]
-                y = numpy.arctanh(-Tmn)
-                #y = platanh(-Tmn)
-                tov[i, j] = 2*y
+        // Send messages from bits to check nodes 
+        for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
+            for (int j = 0; j < nrw[i]; ++j) {
+                int ibj = Nm[i][j] - 1;
+                toc[i][j] = zn[ibj];
+                for (int kk = 0; kk < 3; ++kk) { 
+                    // subtract off what the bit had received from the check
+                    if (Mn[ibj][kk] - 1 == i) {
+                        toc[i][j] -= tov[ibj][kk];
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        
+        // send messages from check nodes to variable nodes
+        for (int i = 0; i < M; ++i) {
+            for (int j = 0; j < nrw[i]; ++j) {
+                //toc[i][j] = pltanh(-toc[i][j] / 2);
+                toc[i][j] = fast_tanh(-toc[i][j] / 2);
+                //toc[i][j] = tanhf(-toc[i][j] / 2);
+            }
+        }
 
-    return numpy.array([])
-*/
\ No newline at end of file
+        for (int i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
+            for (int j = 0; j < 3; ++j) {
+                int ichk = Mn[i][j] - 1; // Mn(:,j) are the checks that include bit j
+                float Tmn = 1.0f;
+                for (int k = 0; k < nrw[ichk]; ++k) {
+                    if (Nm[ichk][k] - 1 != i) {
+                        Tmn *= toc[ichk][k];
+                    }
+                }
+                //tov[i][j] = 2 * platanh(-Tmn);
+                tov[i][j] = 2 * fast_atanh(-Tmn);
+                //tov[i][j] = 2 * atanhf(-Tmn);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    *ok = best_score;
+}
diff --git a/ft8/ldpc.h b/ft8/ldpc.h
index ebb831f..5928b3e 100644
--- a/ft8/ldpc.h
+++ b/ft8/ldpc.h
@@ -4,4 +4,6 @@
 // plain is a return value, 174 ints, to be 0 or 1.
 // iters is how hard to try.
 // ok == 87 means success.
-void ldpc_decode(float codeword[], int iters, int plain[], int *ok);
+void ldpc_decode(float codeword[], int max_iters, int plain[], int *ok);
+
+void bp_decode(float codeword[], int max_iters, int plain[], int *ok);