Digital Modes

DMR

TYT Dmr Software is HERE  

 BEST PRACTICE

As this is a global network, users need to realise the impact of each talk group on users around the globe as well as nationally and within a region. Time slot 1 is the most busiest with other countries also having other talk groups on this slot so opening a lot of repeaters prevents other network users globally from using the time slot. Ideally the choice of talk group should be as to open the least repeaters possible. As much as some say, activity breeds activity or that the talk group is quiet, note that users may be using another talk group on the same slot that you do not have access to. It’s not to limit people from using the facilities on the network but more of having consideration for our fellow amateurs using the network.

 

Also it’s worth bearing in mind that not all users have display radios or maybe scanning the talkgroups, so it’s a good idea to mention which TG you’re on as part of your call-in or handover transmission.

TG1, TG2 & TG13

TG1 opens all repeaters globally, TG2 opens all repeaters in Europe and TG13 opens all repeaters in English speaking countries – several hundred repeaters can be affected by one of these talk groups. Thus these talk groups are “calling channels” meant to establish a contact and qso’s should be kept limited to a few minutes. Try to prevent UK only qso’s on these talk groups by moving to UK Wide user activated talk groups TG80 & TG81 or a more local talk group depending on where the users are located. Other user activated talk groups (TG113, TG119, TG123 & TG129) can also be used to reduce the number of repeaters being opened.

TG235

This has a similar impact as TG1, TG2 & TG13 – it opens all repeaters within the UK. It prevents other UK users from utilising any other slot 1 talk group. Where possible, users should use the user activated talk groups TG80 & TG81 which are UK only or TG113, TG119, TG123 & TG129 which are World Wide

TG8xx REGIONAL

The new regional layout is the same idea as the original TG8 with the exception that a repeater can have secondary regions added (which would be UA) and that the SE has split into an East & West region. One still needs to look at the number of repeaters being used. Regions vary from 2 repeaters to around 10 repeaters. It’s a great facility when mobile travelling around different areas. However many also use it as a general talk group. Many DMR users prefer to use their local repeater in a similar fashion as an analogue repeater with little interest in wide area qso’s so using TG8xx prevents them from having a local qso. Other options are the user activated talk groups (TG80, TG81, TG113, TG119, TG123 & TG129) or a special talk group (Special TG8xx) if available on the required repeaters

 

Other Digital Modes

The digital modes provide a wonderful opportunity for those of us who would like to work on the HF bands but find CW too difficult and SSB phone prohibitive because of interference problems. These modes require very little power to work the world. Generally 25 to 50 watts is plenty of power. The digital modes are comparable to CW in that their bandwidths are very narrow. Bandwidths generally range from about 30 to 200 Hz compared with SSB which is 2,100 Hz. This is a huge difference and one of the main reasons why the digital modes are so effective at low power. Because of their low power and modulation schemes, the digital modes do not interfere with telephones and answering machines in the neighborhood the way the SSB often does.

 

The digital modes are easy to set up and get operating. What is needed is an HF rig, a computer running one of the many software programs that are available either for free (most are) or for a small purchase price, and a hardware interface between the computer and radio. Most computers come with a sound card and these modes work via the sound card input and output circuits. A fairly easy interface between the sound card and radio can be built for around £3.00 or a very nice and very adequate interface can be purchased that will handle any chore you might throw at these modes.

Best of all, the digital modes are incredible easy to use. The major software programs utilize a waterfall display that shows all of the signals currently operating on the band. All you have to do is click on a signal with your mouse, and the QSO pops up on your computer screen. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

The digital modes described in this article are mainly found on the High Frequency bands and will require a General class license or above (except on 10 meters where a Technician with morse code privileges can operate from 28.100 to 28.300 MHz).

There is a wide choice of digital modes to choose from. However, the most popular modes today are PSK31, BAUDOT (RTTY), MFSK-16, and PACTOR. PSK31 is the most popular of the digital modes because it is very effective at low power, is easy to set up (it requires only an HF radio and a computer with a sound card), and its waterfall display makes it extremely easy to use. Baudot RTTY is the second most popular, particularly for DX and contest work. RTTY is the oldest of the digital modes. However, new software with waterfall displays and using the computer’s sound card as the HF radio interface has given the old standby a new look. MFSK-16 is one of the newest modes that shows considerable promise. It is a good weak signal performer, reportedly better than PSK31, particularly for DX contacts that involve signal paths that pass through the Earth’s polar regions. It is a little more difficult to operate than PSK31 but does use a waterfall display and sound card radio interface. PACTOR is the most popular of the error correcting class of digital modes that includes AMTOR, Clover, and G-TOR. These modes utilize relatively complex protocols that automatically detect and recover from transmission errors through a combination of forward error correction and automatic retransmissions. They are excellent for message handling in that they deliver error free text to the computer screen. However, they are more than what is needed for most casual amateur radio QSOs. Because of their complex protocols, these modes require a multi-mode hardware controller box between the computer and HF radio. The multi-mode controller makes these modes more expensive to implement and a little more difficult to operate than the modes using waterfall displays and sound card interfaces. One point to mention about the sound card interface is that once you have it installed, you can switch between the various modes that use the interface (PSK31, RTTY, MFSK-16, and others) by simply activating the appropriate software package on your computer.

Where on the HF bands do you find hams using the digital modes? The following chart shows you were to look.

Digital CQ freqs

BAND

PSK31

RTTY

MFSK-16

PACTOR

80 Meters

3.580 - 3.584

3.580 - 3.620

3.610

3.580 - 3.620

40 Meters

7.070 - 7.074

7.080 - 7.100

7.080

7.080 - 7.100

30 Meters

10.130 - 10.140

10.130 - 10.140

10.130 - 10.140

10.130 - 10.140

20 Meters

14.070 - 14.074

14.070 - 14.095

14.080

14.070 - 14.095

18 Meters

18.100 - 18.105

18.100 - 18.105

18.100 - 18.105

18.100 - 18.105

15 Meters

21.070 - 21.074

21.070 - 21.100

21.080

21.070 - 21.100

12 Meters

24.920 - 24.925

24.920 - 24.925

24.920 - 24.925

24.920 - 24.925

10 Meters

28.120 - 28.124

28.070 – 28.120

28.130

28.070 - 28120

from an artical By Eddie Pierce, WB6DFW

 

Digital Modes Software

PSK***RTTY

SOFTWARE

MODE

STATUS

LAST UPDATE

YG-PSK and PropNETPSK

PSK31/63-radiocontrol

FREE

Ver.3.9.2.1 and 2.0

DANpsk

PSK31

FREE

Ver.2.117

WINPSK

PSK31/63

FREE

Ver. 2.13

QuikPSK

PSK31/63

FREE

Beta 4.0f

WINPSKX

PSK31

FREE

Ver. 2.1b

DIGIPAN

PSK31/63,/RX/Pactor

FREE

Ver. 2.0

W1SQLPSK

PSK31(RX-20 ch.)

DEMO

Ver. 5.0

WINPSKse

PSK31

FREE

Ver. 2.23

Dxlab-WinWarbler

PSK31/63,RTTY,TNC

FREE

Ver. 4.5.0

WO-PSK

PSK31

FREE

------

Ham RadioDeluxe HRD/DM780 Beta

CW-DOMINOEX-THROB(X)-OLIVIA(+64/2000)

-MT63-MFSK-RTTY-QPSK/BPSK31/63/125-SSTV

FREE

Ver. 3.5 +DM780

RXPSK31

RX only. PSK31

FREE

Ver. 2.1

SMARTPSK-DXPSK

PSK31(RX25 ch.)

FREE

Ver. 2.6a/1.6

LanLink

PSK31,TNC

73$

Ver. 3.21

PSKsbw108

PSK31

FREE

Ver. 1.08

MMTTY

RTTY

FREE

Ver. 1.65D

KC9Lpsk

PSK31

FREE

Ver. 0.9.1

PacTerm

PSK31,Packet,TNC

79.95$

Ver. 3.0

CYBORG (Poland)

RTTY, PSK31

FREE

Ver. 4.03

FNpsk

PSK31/63

FREE

Ver 2.5

KROT (Russia)

RTTY-PSK-MFSK-SSTV

----

Ver 3.3

RoMac PSK31

PSK31/63

24.95$

Ver.1.0

Contact-dx-Contact PSK

PSK

FREE/Shareware

Ver. 7.0/4.5

*** MFSK *** HELL *** THROB *** MT63 *** PACKET *** CW *** OLIVIA*** WinDRM *** ALE ***

SOFTWARE

MODE

STATUS

LAST UPDATE

CwSkimmer

CW . SDR, IQ

75$

Ver. 1.0

OLIVIA

OLIVIA-AID

FREE

13/01/2005

THROB

THROB

FREE

Ver. 2.6

MRP40

CW,TX via SC+PTT

49.9$

Ver. 4.061

AGWPE-PRO

Packet

49$

14/05/2007

FlexNet32

Packet

FREE

-----

HELL-MT63-MFSK

HELL,MT63,MFSK

FREE

2004

CWGet

CW

35$

Ver. 1.50

WSJT Home Pagejt65a Bozo's gude

FSK441/B/C,JT44, JT65,JT6M,JT2,JT4

FREE

Ver. 5.9.8

WSJT Home PageMAP65+LinRAD

JT65

FREE

Ver.0.8

DominoEX

DominoEX

FREE

19 Dec. 2005

CW decoder

CW

FREE

------

IZ8BLY Chip64

CHIP 64/128

FREE

Ver. 1.3 01/26/07

WINDRM FDMDV

Digital voice

FREE

6 JAN 08

RFSM2400 RFSM8000

ALE mod 141A

FREE

Ver.0.498/0.529

 

*** SSTV  *** DIGSSTV *** DSP ***

Some Tv Pictures Recieved in 2009-2010

 

SOFTWARE

MODE

STATUS

LAST UPDATE

HAMPAL

HAM-WINDRM

FREE

1 JAN. 2006

EASYPAL LITE

DIGSSTV

FREE

12/26/08

DIGTRX

DIGSSTV,WinDRM

FREE

Ver.3.11

SSTVpalmultimode

DIGSSTV/SSTV

FREE

09/12/2004

DigiACE

DIGSSTV

FREE

Ver. 1.8d

ChromaPIX

SSTV

120$

Ver. 1.6.17

MMSSTV

SSTV

FREE

Ver. 1.11G

JVComm32

SSTV,RTTY,FAX

60 EUR

Ver. 1.40pre

DSPfil

DSP

FREE

Ver. 1.11

DSPfilter VA3AGM

DSP

FREE

12/03/2004

Digital Signal Processing for Amateur Radio

DSP-Mixer

39.95$

21/02/06 ver 1.9.1

SR5 Information

DSP filter

FREE

Ver.2.5.2.1

LOGBOOKS ( supports digital modes)

SOFTWARE

MODE

STATUS

LAST UPDATE

RCKrtty / RCKLog  (contest)

TNC, RTTY,PSK31/63,TNC

45 EUR

Ver. 3.16/Ver. 3.3

DX4WIN

RTTY,PSK,TNC

89.95$

Ver. 7.02

Logger32

RTTY, PSK,TNC, MMVARI

FREE

Ver. 3.9

WriteLog(contest)

RTTY,PSK31,TNC

75$

Ver.10.65

N1MM(contest)

PSK31,RTTY,TNC

FREE

Ver.6.x.x

YPlog

PSK31,RTTY

50$

Ver. 4.48

Dxbase2007

PSK31,TNC

99$

Ver. 1.0

Wlog2000

PSK31,PACKET

75$

Ver. 1.8h9

Aalog

CwGet+TrueTTY

49$

Ver. 2.47

CQLog

CwGet+DigiPan+MixW+TrueTTY

35$

Ver.1.30

SWISSLOG

MixW+Hamscope+TrueTTY

65$

Ver. 5.2

LOGic

Hamscope+Digipan+MixW

129$

Ver. 8.0

LogPa

PSK31/63

FREE

Ver. 2.1.180

WinLog32

MixW

FREE

Ver. 3.2.01

miLog

RTTY

59$

Ver. 9.4.3

EasyLog5

PSK31/63

89.54$

Ver.5.0

UcxLog

MMTTY   Spectrum analysis and audio recorder

FREE

Ver. 6.2

Win-Test  WinTEST

RTTY-MMTTY

35 EUR

Ver. 3.7

MULTIMODE

SOFTWARE

MODE

STATUS

LAST UPDATE

SIGMIRA

RX only .RTTY, CW, PSK31

FREE

0r0

NBEMS

PSK-MFSK-RTTY

FREE

1.2.0

MULTIPSK

MT63,MFSK,PACTOR I(TX/RX), SSTV, DIGSSTV,ACARS,THROB,APRS,CCW/CW,PSKFEC31/

PSK31/63/PSKAM,PSK220F,RTTY,HELL,CW,FSK, OLIVIA,PAX/PAX2,Chip64/128,Video ID, Domino EX FEC, DIGIVOICE,RTTYM,CONTESTIA,TCP/IP digital modem, ALE400(ALE141A)-JT65

FREE!

Ver.4.7

Ham Radio Deluxe Support HRD/DM780 Beta

CW-OLIVIA(+64/2000)-DOMINOEX-MT63-THROB(X)-MFSK-RTTY-QPSK/BPSK31/63/125, SSTV

FREE!

Ver. 3.5 +DM780

TrueTTY

RTTY (Baudot code), ASCII (7 or 8 bits), PSK31 (BPSK and QPSK),

BPSK63, AMTOR-FEC (SITOR-B, NAVTEX), MultiFSK-16, MultiFSK-8. HF-PACKET and UHF-PACKET (AX25) are supported in KISS-TNC emulation mode. SELFEC SITOR, AMTOR-ARQ (SITOR-A) and DTMF

35$

Ver.2.60

HamScope

CW,Packet,RTTY,MFSK,PSK31

FREE

Ver. 1.56

MixW

K1PGV -MixWBuddy

members DQSO+EPC

RTTY,PSK31/63,CW,MFSK,MT63,OLIVIA,THROB,Hell,Packet,Pactor,

SSTV+RTTY-M-CONTESTIA

50$

Ver. 2.18

19 Feb.07

SkySweeper+ PRO

DSP, Spectrum,RTTY, SSTV, PSK,CW,HELL+many other modes

99 EUR

Ver. X.12

RadioCom

DSP, Spectrum,RTTY, SSTV,PSK+many other modes

232 EUR.

Ver. 5.2

Mmvari

RTTY(FSK,AFSK), MFSK, BPSK31,GMSK

FREE

Ver. 0.42

LF resources(135.7 -137.8 kHz)

Software

Mode

STATUS

UPDATE

SpectrumLab

PSK31,RTTY, QRSS/DFCW

DEMO

Ver. 2.71 b4

Spectrogram

QRSS/DFCW

45$

Ver. 11.0

ARGO

QRSS/DFCW

FREE

Ver.1(134)

Spectran Version 2

QRSS/WSJT

FREE

V. 2.13

Agw Packet Software 

Software

Mode

Status

Update

UI-View

APRS

FREE

Tnx author , SK

Ver. 2.03

WinPack

Packet

FREE

Tnx author , SK

Ver. 6.80

UISS

SAT-APRS

FREE

Ver. 4.1.1

NBF

Packet

FREE

Ver.2.06

AGWTracker

APRS

49$

21.12.2006

Windows Sound Card Software

Soundblaster Software Collection

Softwarefor FAX/SSTV

Mandrake Linux& Hams

Linux HamradioApplication

G4GUO H.F Digital Experiments Page

AI9NL - Harv's Hamshack Hack

RF Software Modem. Forum

AFU Knoppix CD

The World of Fuzzy and Digital Modes

ModeComparisons

PSKMAIL LINUX

illinoisdigitalham : Digital Ham Radio

Digital modes groups on YAHOO

digitalradio

digsstv

MFSK

MT63

psk31

PSK63

wsjtgroup

Olivia

Digital Forum

Q15X25

Digital Mode Bandplans

dtv-ham : DTV - Amateur Radio

digitalradiomodes

olivia_mfsk

Pactor Protocol Description

 

 

CI-V SOFTWARE

widebander wide band new freqs for Yaesu 857,847,817ft100 etc FREE Ver 3.00
Softjump software jumper set for Yaesu 857,847,817ft100 etc FREE  
Softjump howto how to use softjump    
G4FHQT Cat Control for Yaesu 857,847,817ft100 etc FREE Ver.2.23
vx5-commander Programming software for freqs for Yaesu vx5 vx7,ft817 etc FREE  
Yplog Simple cat for for yaesu and icon Pay Ver. 4.28

Ci-v interface

Icom and Yaesu appears to delight in charging outrageous prices for all transceiver accessories, so many Hams improvise instead. A few circuits have been published for CI-V interfaces, Here is a very simple CI-V interface, originally described by OK2WY. Although the circuit doesn't conform exactly to the RS-232 specification, it does work well and has the advantage of being easily constructed inside a 9 pin D-type shell. Please note that the resistor value 4K7 means 4700 ohms. The transistor types are not critical, I just happen to have plenty of 2N2222As.

I've used this interface on various PC's and also Notebooks with both an FT857d and to Program a FT7800. No problems have been experienced even at . It has also worked successfully when using a USB/Serial adapter from a notebook. If a PTT function is required from the COM port, pin 7 (RTS) can be used to provide this facility.

The circuit is powered by DTR (pin4). I experienced some problems with YPLog using this power source. If YPLog is configured to use PTT from either the Parallel port or a different serial port from the one used by the CI-V Interface, the program drops the DTR signal, resulting in no power to the interface. This is easily resolved by powering the circuit from RTS (pin 7) instead of DTR (pin4).

I have also used this interface to program my Yaesu VX5R. Only a change of connector to a 4 pole minijack plug was required. Probably the interface can be used with other HTs, although I have not tried it.

 

 

 

Yaesu Programming Interface

There are two 2N7000 MOSFET transistors, one diode and three resistors. You can eliminate the DPDT switch if you only need to use it with one rig.

 

 

 

A interface for the ft847 is HERE