SOTA using datamodes

In reply to G3VQO:

ok Les have made macro sota specific,hope it gets used regularly ha ha. Am qrv on psk63 hope to cu soon John.

In reply to G3VQO:
I haven’t never noticed that PSK31 would be slow.
Just tweak your own macros to contest style and use lower case letters only.
When someone starts sending macros about computer os memory software etc. it sucks, but it does not happen too often.
PSK63 is fast and PSK125 is lightning fast, I don’t even know if there is a software that would not support those modes.
It’s always a good idea to lock the tx frequency, so that at least your signal does not jump around.
Working on regular PSK31 frequencies is quite easy even with just a few watts, no need to use random frequencies.

Jani OH9FZU

In reply to OH9FZU:
Hi,
Recently I did a quick test with a DJ2 station using PSK500.
He was not SOTA, but he sent a vary large file in seconds. Never seen anything
that fast in data modes on HF. Very impressive.
Currently been testing the FLDIGI software. Quite impressive. Still one or two problems with the W7 32 and 64 bit OS’s But impressive software package. Worth a look.
PSK500 is certainly not for Rag Chewing, I would say Macro’s only and for file transfer.
I’m always willing to chase a SOTA on digital modes. As long as I know the frequency of the actual DATA MODE, not the base freq.

73 de Kevin G0NUP

PSK31 is slow enough for my typing to keep up with, mostly. I think some folk don’t realise that it’s optimised for lower-case letters, though. I’ve seen folks who insist on using UPPER CASE ONLY, and it sure slows things down, especially when they send a six-page epic brag…

Last time I tried using PSK31 was out in Kenya at Xmas. The rig’s noise blanker did a great job of getting rid of electric-fence clicks on SSB, but wasn’t usable for digital modes, and there’s nothing like regular clicks to mess up a digital mode. I figured myself lucky when text came through only half garbage…

73, Rick M0LEP

In reply to M0LEP:

PSK31 is slow enough for my typing to keep up with

That was the idea behind the designed speed… average typing speed for keyboard to keyboard chats. It’s excellent for that.

there’s nothing like regular clicks to mess up a digital mode

I think you mean “there’s nothing like regular clicks to mess up a digital mode that doesn’t have FEC and/or block interleaving”. Fixed that statement for you!

Impulse noise, especially regular impulse noise is easily mitigated for with techniques like block interleaving and FEC (forward error correction). The downside is that these techniques cause noticeable delays from starting to receiving the signal until decoded text/data appears.

MFSK16 would be a good mode to use under such QRM conditions and it has the advantage in that unlike PSK31, you don’t need a linear PA to send the signal as it is constant envelope. But boy do you notice the delay on decoding.

PSK500? I’m sure you’re Mr. Popularity if you run that mode with its wide b/w on 40/30m! Probably best for the higher bands like 15/10m where there is so much more space. There again, if you are transmitting something that fast you’ll need 12dB more power to get the same BER as with PSK31, it would be more sensible to use a mode that gets more bits/Hz and has FEC/block interleaving.

Ah, the alphabet soup of digital modes… so many to pick from and all with their own special strengths and weaknesses!

I’m quite tempted to have another bash at it on SOTA as it’s nearly 5 years since I last tried. PSK63 or QPSK63 probably the best compromise for SOTA between speed of TX, resilience to QRM/QSB and likelihood of most chasers being able to decode.

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to MM0FMF:

I think you mean “there’s nothing like regular clicks to mess up
a digital mode that doesn’t have FEC and/or block interleaving”.
Fixed that statement for you!

Too true, and one of the main moans I hear about PSK31. :wink: One wonders why it got so popular when it’s so vulnerable to interference AND there are other better error-corrected modes available… (he says, carefully leaving no question marks… :wink: )

73, Rick M0LEP

In reply to G0NUP:
I tried a few software for digital modes, but Ham Radio Deluxes superbrowser is just amazing because it decodes all the waterfall psk signals and you can set up alarms if it finds “sota” or something.

Jani OH9FZU

In reply to OH9FZU:

I tried a few software for digital modes, but Ham Radio Deluxes
superbrowser is just amazing because it decodes all the waterfall psk
signals and you can set up alarms if it finds “sota” or
something.

Fldigi has an equivalent feature.

Colin G8TMV

In reply to G8TMV:

Do these programs need to find “SOTA” as a separate word, or will they stll find in an example like “CQ SOTA/WFF”? It may seem a pedantic question, but I will amend my macros if it helps.

73 de Les

In reply to thread:

Slightly at a tangent, but this thread reminded me that I hadn’t set up my present computer for digital modes, so I got out my copy of RTTY/PSK31 For Radio Amateurs and put the included disk into the computer only to have it act as if the disk is blank or not there! I know the disk is OK and the drive works with other disks, so has anybody got a suggestion about how I can break this hex?

73

Brian G8ADD

In reply to G3VQO:

Do these programs need to find “SOTA” as a separate word, or
will they stll find in an example like “CQ SOTA/WFF”? It may
seem a pedantic question, but I will amend my macros if it helps.

Fldigi is a generic Data modes program for both Windows and Linux systems. It supports over 20 different data modes from CW through RTTY and PSK into several of the more exotic new modes. Page Redirection

The psk viewer (I think it’s called) decodes all the signals currently visible in the waterfall using the currently selected psk mode. You can select a text string in a box that will be highlighted in a different colour whenever it appears in one of the data streams. The default text string is “CQ”.

Colin G8TMV

In reply to G8ADD:

so has anybody got a suggestion about how I can break this hex?

If you know the name of the program I’d google it and download the latest version.

Colin - G8TMV

In reply to G8TMV:

If you know the name of the program

And the name of the program you want is Fldigi.

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to G8TMV:

There is a whole mass of info on pdf on the disk, not just programs, and much of it I have not read through yet. I used to use the HRD Superbrowser - I’ve not looked at fldigi as yet.

I’ve not been very active on psk but I love its eery sound!

73

Brian G8ADD

In reply to G3VQO:

You want to amend the macros anyway Les to at least “cq sota/wff” from “CQ SOTA/WFF”. Lower case letter require less bits to encode in PSK’s Varicode format and so lower case takes less time to send/receive.

CQ SOTA = 10101101001110111010010011011110010101011001101101001111101
cq sota = 1011110011011111100100101110011100101001011

That’s a saving of about 25% in transmission time.

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to G8TMV:

You can select a text string in a box that will be highlighted in a different colour whenever it appears in one of the data streams.

You can also set up custom notifications, that pop up a window, and even start applications on reception of whatever text you want to. That way you can leave fldigi in the background and browse the web, work, or whatever, and be notified whenever “SOTA” or your own callsign, etc. get called.

It’s in the Configure>Notifications menu.

In reply to G8TMV:
Oh nice, I never tried all those fldigi addons, hrd setup has all those built-in so I went that way.
I guess I need to give fldigi a new chance, thanks.

Jani OH9FZU

In reply to OH9FZU:

Oh nice, I never tried all those fldigi addons,

It isn’t an add-on, it’s part of the basic program

Colin G8TMV

In reply to G8TMV:
Now I found it, help file says psk browser but in fldigi it’s signal browser.
It’s a bit tricky but yeah it sems to work like hrd, a lot simpler but on the other hand not so clear looking though.(now I can’t find how the browser shows distance to locator)

I think it’s good to try both, Ham Radio Deluxe is a bit easier to approach, but FLDigi works on several platforms and has pskmail/aprs too.

Jani OH9FZU

In reply to OH9FZU:

You can try to decode also “CQ SOTA” on CW with that. The pile-up might be harder, but it could be possible to make a QSO without really knowing the morse code.

One of the digimodes sounds like the R2-D2 in the star wars movie. Was that the Olivia?

73, Jaakko OH7BF/F5VGL