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Revision as of 13:39, 25 June 2019

Welcome to the Decoding the Shortwave Radiogram Broadcasts page. This page supplies links to software, wiki articles and sites that can help you decode the broadcasts as described on the Shortwave Radiogram page. It also gives you some hints on how you can improve your signal as well as understand some of the mysteries surrounded propagation on HF - how a signal is bent in the ionosphere and arrives at your receiver.

How Does the Signal Get to Me, Anyway?

We are very much at the mercy of the Sun when it comes to how signals get propagated across the globe. Unfortunately, as of this writing, we are in a very low period of solar activity, so we must depend on better radios and antennas to help. However, an understanding of how a signal propagates through the ionosphere is very important; this will help you to understand why a signal can be heard at some times but not others. See the AE4RV Propoagation Primer for a basic discussion on this topic.

What Kind of Radio Do I Need?

Just about any radio that covers the 2-30 Mhz range is capable of receiving these stations. It should be reasonably stable, selective and sensitive. This encompasses a wide range of radios, everything from portables, such as those from Tecsun and Degen, all the way to Software Defined Radios (SDR) such as the SDRPlay and Perseus. It doesn't need to be expensive. To begin your research, see our HF Equipment and Accessories and Software Defined Radios articles.

What About Antennas?

It's been often said that the better the antenna, the better your results. Unfortunately sometimes that is difficult to obtain; you may be in a situation where outdoor antennas are not allowed, or you have very little space with which to work. Our HF Antennas and Loops articles have plenty of possibilities. What radio you are using, your budget and circumstances will play a large role in what you can use.

How Can I Get a Better Signal?

If you have done as much as you can with your radio and antenna, but are still not satisfied with your results, there may be some more than you can do to improve your chances. See our Improving HF Reception for a discussion on this topic.

How Do I Connect My Radio (SDR) to the PC?

This is a topic that is difficult to define simply, as there are so many possible ways to connect the two together. The method used for connecting a portable radio or desktop is very different how you would connect a Software Defined Radio (SDR). See the Making the Connection to the PC article for an extensive discussion on this topic.

Modes in Use

There are literally hundreds of different modems being used on the HF spectrum. Here, we are concerned with modes that are used in the amateur radio (ham) community, as software for these modes is readily available.

What is MFSK? (from the SigID Wiki)
What is Olivia? (from the SigID Wiki)
Digital Modes Sights and sounds (fldigi wiki)
- Select MFSK from the top toolbar for this mode
- Select Olivia from the top toolbar for this mode
For an explanation of SSTV and compatible software, see section 5 of the HF Software Decoders article

Compatible Software

While FLDigi is the most popular software used for this, it's not the only one that's capable of decoding these broadcasts. All of these applications recognize the use of the RSID to aid in recognizing the mode that is being sent. See the link below for an explanation of RSID.

What is the RSID?

FLDigi home page
FLDigi Downloads Sourceforge site
- Need flmsg and flamp
- Fldigi Wiki
- fldigi mailing list

Ham Radio Deluxe (includes DM780)
- Ham Radio Deluxe wiki
- Ham Radio Deluxe support forums

MultiPSK
- MultiPSK mailing list

TIVAR
- Android fork of FLDigi

Examples of Software in Use

These are YouTube videos with examples of each application above being used to decode an actual broadcast. There are many other examples on YouTube and a well formatted search will bring them up

Using DM780 (Ham Radio Deluxe)

Using FLDigi

Using MultiPSK

Using TIVAR (FLDigi fork)

Audio Routing Software

If you are using an Android device or a SDR, these packages will help with getting the audio to your decoder. In particular, VB-Cable or Virtual Audio Cable are the applications of choice for SDR users, but you should check to see if there's a simpler way to do it.

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 There are literally hundreds of different modems being used on the HF spectrum. Here, we are concerned with modes that are used in the amateur radio (ham) community, as software for these modes is readily available.
 </div>
-* What is [https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Multi_Frequency_Shift_Keying_(MFSK) MFSK?] from the SigID Wiki
+* What is [https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Multi_Frequency_Shift_Keying_(MFSK) MFSK?] (from the SigID Wiki)
-* [https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Olivia What is Olivia?] (via SigID Wiki)
+* [https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Olivia What is Olivia?] (from the SigID Wiki)
 * [http://www.w1hkj.com/modes/index.htm Digital Modes Sights and sounds (fldigi wiki)]
 ** Select ''MFSK'' from the top toolbar for this mode

RadioReference Wiki