Somebody was asking if PSK31 was in use on SOTA Activations recently.
Well this morning, I made my first PSK31 Chaser QSO in a long time with Juan EA2EEB on 20m - my previous one was also with Juan on 06/06/2021. Juan is an enthusiast of the mode!
I have to say having become accustomed to the well ordered rubber stamp digital format of FT8, PSK31 can be rather messy on the screen when compared! Juan signals were being “got at” by an unknown type of strong data signal QRM a few 100 Hz away.
Phil, you make my day. When I got my license 10 years ago, PSK31 was still widely used.
How often have I sat in the living room with my wife in the evening. She looked at the TV and I looked at the laptop chatting on PSK31 by a long audio line.
It became particularly interesting when I start to use the keyboard after the standard function key qso: “I’m glad to see you decoded so well. Since when have you been doing PSK?” Or "There’s a good art museum in your town. Have you ever been there? "
The reactions were very different. From qrt without 73, the obviously laborious but committed attempts to type meaningful words on the keyboard, to friendly 20-minute talk
Tnx, Phil. I could be a challenge, because I catch a heavily cold and must lay in my bed. Therefore my ant is a AX1 clone standing in my sleeping room and a KX2.
But I expected not much qrm as on FT8
I did PSK31 on two summits this year: Winnemucca Mountain in Nevada and Blue Mountain in Oregon. I had 20 PSK31 contacts largely because of the PODXS 070 Club member’s interest in working grids DN11 and DN12.
Here is my write-up on Blue Mountain (contains a link to Winnemucca):
I have been interested in digital modes since I started with radio. PSK (Droidpsk) seems more “personal” to me than any other digital mode, since you can write what you need. If I have time for activations, I also use ft8 (ft8CN) and SSTV (DroidSSSTV). In parentheses the programs that I use on an Android phone, along with a Yaesu 857D.
Tomorrow, Friday the 14th and Sunday the 16th, I will be in psk31 in EA2/NA, and in other modes if the weather is good.
Thanks for being there, see you on the screen.
73 by Juan Carlos EA2EEB
Gracias Phil por los QSOs.
Me intreresaron los modos digitales desde que empecé con esto de la radio. PSK (Droidpsk) me parece algo mas “personal” que cualquier otro modo digital, ya que pueds escribir lo que necesites. Si tengo tiempo en las activaciones, tambien uso ft8 (ft8CN) y SSTV (DroidSSSTV). Entre paréntesis los programas que uso en un telefono Android, junto con una Yaesu 857D.
Mañana viernes 14 y el domingo 16 estaré en psk31 en EA2/NA, y en otros modos si el tiempo acompaña.
¡Qué bueno saber de ti Carlos! Si estoy en casa, buscaré nuevamente alrededor de 14070 o una de las otras bandas del centro de actividad de PSK, si me detectan. Normalmente tenemos una buena ruta de propagación hacia España desde el norte del Reino Unido.
Habiendome acostumbrado tanto a los modos FT* estos días, tuve que refrescar un poco mi memoria cuando vi que estabas operando en PSK31, sin embargo, mi programa de registro Logger 32 no necesitó reinicio cuando accedí a MMVARI a través de él en mi tarjeta de sonido. ¡Fue bueno ver que nada había cambiado después de mes tras mes de actualizaciones automáticas de Windows 11! Una cosa que volvió a la memoria de mi viejo fue la importancia de reducir el ancho de banda, a diferencia de cuando se usan los modos FT*, donde siempre está configurado en 4 KHZ. Bajé mi filtrado a 100 Hz en su señal PSK31 en el segundo QSO que tuvimos y obtuve una impresión perfecta.
Gracias por la información sobre el software que estás utilizando en Android. Conozco a otro operador que utiliza el software FT8CN en su teléfono y tableta Android. Debo intentarlo yo mismo alguna vez.
73 Phil G4OBK
Great to hear from you Carlos! If I am home I will look again around 14070 or one of the other bands PSK centre of activity for you, if spotted. We usually have a good propagation path down into Spain from northern UK.
Having become so accustomed to FT* modes these days I had to refresh my memory somewhat when I saw you were operating in PSK31, however my logging program Logger 32 needed no reset when I accessed MMVARI through it into my soundcard. It was good to see that nothing had changed itself after month after month of automated Windows 11 updates! One thing that did come back into my old mans memory was the importance of narrowing the bandwidth down, unlike when using FT* modes, where it is always set at 4 KHZ. I took my filtering down to 100 Hz on your PSK31 signal on the second QSO we had and I got a perfect print.
Thank you for the info on the software you are using on Android. I know another operator who uses the FT8CN software on his Android phone and Tablet. I must give it a try myself sometime.
