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Amateur Radio Digital Operations

Ham radio on HF is not only about voice and CW (morse code) - there's a considerable amount of digital transmissions too.

This page is an introduction to this topic - please feel free to add or correct anything found here. It's not intended to be comprehensive, but does touch on all the topics you will need to consider before getting involved in this side of the hobby.

General Information

Part 97 Rules
- Many people make the mistake of thinking that a digital transmission on HF is encrypted. In the amateur radio service, this would be illegal. It's more likely that the wrong mode is selected, or the tuning is not quite accurate enough to copy properly. Most inexpensive portables simply haven't got the selectivity and tuning accuracy to be able to properly isolate one signal out of many coming through all at once.
Digital amateur signals are restricted to certain portions of the bands. Here is a general list of bands which shows the sections restricted to CW (Morse Code) and digital

Where Can I Find Information on the Various Modes?

This listing is not complete, but it gives a good representation of the various modes you will find on the HF Amateur bands. Please feel free to substitute links, and add modes that are not listed here.

ALE - HFLink

ALE400 - ALE400 – Narrow band ALE mode now available

Clover - Clover (via ARRL)

Contestia - Contestia Digital Mode

Domino - DominoEX (via ARRL)

Feld-Hell (Hellschreiber) - Hellschreiber by IZ8BLY

JT-65 - JT65-HF.Com

JT-6M - JT6M.Org

MT-63 - MT63 Page

Olivia - Olivia - the Magical Mode

PACTOR I - PACTOR-I (via ARRL)

PACTOR II - PACTOR-II (via ARRL)

PACTOR III - PACTOR-III (via ARRL)

PACTOR 4 - SCS PACTOR 4 page

PSK31 - BPSK.Com

PSK63 - PSK63-A Super Fast Mode for Contesting

PSK125 - BPSK125 et QPSK125 translated to English

THROB - AC4M Digital Site - Throb

How Do I Connect My Transceiver and PC?

There are still some folks that connect their transceivers to a Terminal Node Controller or TNC such as the Kantronics KAM-XL). There are several advantages - transmit keying, isolation and audio are all handled in a single box. Unfortunately sometimes these TNCs are a bit limited in the modes they cover. Without firmware updates, you are limited to the modes the TNC covers.

Far and away the more popular way to go is via the soundcard. There are several models such as the Tigertronics SignaLink. These devices remove the restriction of only working on some modes - there's usually a wide variety of software vailable, and in this case, all the transmit keying and audio is also in a single box.

There are other soundcard devices that simply feed audio back and forth from the transceiver, but you would need to build your own keying circuit for your transceiver. Fortunately there are many such schematics on the web.

See the Utility Monitoring Central Hardware page for examples of each.

The next challenge is to determine how to wire the microphone or other jack from your transceiver to the PC or TNC. This varies from model to model, and can be difficult to determine without a manual. Fortunately there is a website that show the wiring diagrams for many different transceivers. In addition, there are numerous Yahoo groups devoted to particular model(s) of transceivers, and is a likely alternative for finding this information if that website doesn't have it.

What Software Can I Use?

This list is just a sample of some of the more popular (and some lesser-known) packages that can copy some or all of these modes. Additions are solicited. There are also several websites with audio (and sonogram) samples of many digital modes to aid in learning what a particular mode sounds and looks like.

DX Lab Suite

EasyTerm

FLDigi

Ham Radio Deluxe (includes DM780)

HamScope

MultiPSK

MixW

TrueTTY

WinWarbler

Zakanaka

Audio Samples

FLDigi Audio Signal Samples

Ham Radio Deluxe Signal Samples

MixW Signal Samples

MultiPSK Signal Samples

Slow Scan TV (SSTV)

What is SSTV (Slow Scan TV)?

ChromaPix by Silicon Pixels

FTV

JVComm32

MixW

MM Hamsoft Home of MM-SSTV

Mscan SSTV

MultiMode for Macs

Ham Software for Linux see QSSTV link

RadioCom

W95SSTV

Where Can I Find Additional Resources?

References

link to ARRL book

Mailing Lists

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Why cant I decode this signal?==
+==Amateur Radio Digital Operations==
-Let's be clear at the outset - there are many digital signals that will '''never''' be decoded. Unlike digital signals in the amateur radio service, there are many that are encrypted to prevent casual viewing. Most are assumed to be military in nature. The challenge is to find signals that '''can''' be decoded, or at least identified.
+Ham radio on HF is not only about voice and CW (morse code) - there's a considerable amount of digital transmissions too.
+This page is an introduction to this topic - please feel free to add or correct anything found here. It's not intended to be comprehensive, but does touch on all the topics you will need to consider before getting involved in this side of the hobby.
-==What are all those strange sounds?==
-There are many digital modes that you will find outside the amateur service, that would defeat most ham-level decoders ability to decode. Let's mention just a few of them
+==General Information==
+* [http://www.arrl.org/part-97-amateur-radio Part 97 Rules]
+** Many people make the mistake of thinking that a digital transmission on HF is encrypted. In the amateur radio service, this would be illegal. It's more likely that the wrong mode is selected, or the tuning is not quite accurate enough to copy properly. Most inexpensive portables simply haven't got the selectivity and tuning accuracy to be able to properly isolate one signal out of many coming through all at once.
+* Digital amateur signals are restricted to certain portions of the bands. [http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/allocate.html Here] is a general list of bands which shows the sections restricted to CW (Morse Code) and digital
-* [[ALE]]. This mode is often used to test the propagation path between 2 stations, and to sometimes pass short messages. The link provides more information on this mode as well as compatible software. Note that this one of the newer modes that hams, as well as non-hams, utilize.
+==Where Can I Find Information on the Various Modes?==
+This listing is not complete, but it gives a good representation of the various modes you will find on the HF Amateur bands. Please feel free to substitute links, and add modes that are not listed here.
+* [[ALE]] -    [http://www.hflink.org HFLink]
-* Digital Selective Calling (DSC). This [http://www.ndblist.info/index.htm website] has a great deal of information, as well as links to software that can read this mode.
+* ALE400 -     [http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2007/narrowband_ale_mode.htm ALE400 – Narrow band ALE mode now available]
+* Clover -     [http://www.arrl.org/clover Clover (via ARRL)]
+* Contestia -  [http://www.oliviamode.com/Contestia.htm Contestia Digital Mode]
+* Domino -     [http://www.arrl.org/domino DominoEX (via ARRL)]
+* Feld-Hell (Hellschreiber) - [http://antoninoporcino.xoom.it/Hell/ Hellschreiber by IZ8BLY]
+* JT-65 -      [http://jt65-hf.com/ JT65-HF.Com]
+* JT-6M -      [http://www.jt6m.org/home.php JT6M.Org]
+* MT-63 -      [http://www.w0btu.com/wm2u/mt63.html MT63 Page]
+* Olivia -     [http://www.oliviamode.com/ Olivia - the Magical Mode]
+* PACTOR I -   [http://www.arrl.org/pactor PACTOR-I (via ARRL)]
+* PACTOR II -  [http://www.arrl.org/pactor-ii PACTOR-II (via ARRL)]
+* PACTOR III - [http://www.arrl.org/pactor-iii PACTOR-III (via ARRL)]
+* PACTOR 4 -   [http://www.p4dragon.com/en/PACTOR-4.html SCS PACTOR 4 page]
+* PSK31 -      [http://bpsk31.com/ BPSK.Com]
+* PSK63 -      [http://www.qsl.net/kh6ty/psk63/ PSK63-A Super Fast Mode for Contesting]
+* PSK125 -     [http://f1ult.free.fr/DIGIMODES/MULTIPSK/PSK125_en.html BPSK125 et QPSK125] translated to English
+* THROB -      [http://ac4m.us/throb.html AC4M Digital Site - Throb]
-* FAX (Facsimile) - Most often used for weather charts, and on rare occasions, news items. Happily this is one mode that is easy to both recognize and decode.
+==How Do I Connect My Transceiver and PC?==
-** [http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/rfax.pdf NOAA Worldwide FAX Schedule] (PDF)
+There are still some folks that connect their transceivers to a Terminal Node Controller or TNC such as the [http://www.kantronics.com/products/kamxl.html Kantronics KAM-XL]). There are several advantages - transmit keying, isolation and audio are all handled in a single box. Unfortunately sometimes these TNCs are a bit limited in the modes they cover. Without firmware updates, you are limited to the modes the TNC covers.
+Far and away the more popular way to go is via the soundcard. There are several models such as the [http://www.tigertronics.com/sl+main.htm Tigertronics SignaLink]. These devices remove the restriction of only working on some modes - there's usually a wide variety of software vailable, and in this case, all the transmit keying and audio is also in a single box.
-* HF Datalink ([[HFDL]]), also known as HF ACARS. See the linked article for more information.
+There are other soundcard devices that simply feed audio back and forth from the transceiver, but you would need to build your own keying circuit for your transceiver. Fortunately there are many such schematics on the web.
+See the [http://www.chace-ortiz.org/umc/hardware.html Utility Monitoring Central Hardware] page for examples of each.
-* Link11 - See the [[Link-11]] article.
+The next challenge is to determine how to wire the microphone or other jack from your transceiver to the PC or TNC. This varies from model to model, and can be difficult to determine without a manual. Fortunately there is a [http://www.qsl.net/wm2u/interface.html website] that show the wiring diagrams for many different transceivers. In addition, there are numerous Yahoo groups devoted to particular model(s) of transceivers, and is a likely alternative for finding this information if that website doesn't have it.
-* SITOR-B - Also known as AMTOR Mode B, FEC or NAVTEX, this mode is often used for maritime weather and warnings from various organizations. This [http://www.ndblist.info/index.htm website] also has a great deal of information on this mode. While not used by the amateur community much anymore (apart from W1AW broadcasts), it still enjoys wide popularity in the maritime community.
+==What Software Can I Use?==
-** [http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/hfsitor.htm USCG HF Sitor schedules]
+This list is just a sample of some of the more popular (and some lesser-known) packages that can copy some or all of these modes. Additions are solicited. There are also several websites with audio (and sonogram) samples of many digital modes to aid in learning what a particular mode sounds and looks like.
+* [http://www.dxlabsuite.com/ DX Lab Suite]
-* STANAG 4285 - Most often used by the French and NATO forces. See this [http://www.udxf.nl/Some%20Notes%20on%20STANAG%204285.pdf article (PDF)] from the Utility DXers Forum homepage on identifying and decoding this mode. Often the traffic is encrypted, but the IDs are not, making it easy to at least identify the users. Occasionally you will get lucky and catch the stations running test loops (in French: Voyez Le Brick) which identifies the station.
+* [http://www.dxzone.com/dx12538/easyterm-ezt3271.html  EasyTerm]
+* [http://www.w1hkj.com/Fldigi.html FLDigi]
-While there are many digital signals that are easy to identify, many are not. There are just as many modes that most people have never heard of. This [http://www.udxf.nl/list%20of%20digital%20systems.pdf article (PDF)] is a list of those modes that have been identified, but there are likely more that have never been identified or classified. It's quite possible that these modes are military in nature. These modes could be encrypted and very difficult, if not outright impossible, to read.
+* [http://www.ham-radio-deluxe.com/ Ham Radio Deluxe] (includes DM780)
+* [http://www.qsl.net/hamscope/ HamScope]
-==So how can we identify the users of these modes?==
+* [http://f6cte.free.fr/index_anglais.htm MultiPSK]
-In some cases, the frequencies used by these modes are well known and widely published (such as HFDL). This is, of course, but one clue in identifying a user. We need another tool to help narrow the field.
+* [http://mixw.net/ MixW]
+* [http://www.dxsoft.com/en/products/truetty/ TrueTTY]
-Some older modems and TNCs (for example the Universal M-7000) had the ability to attempt to guess what mode a particular signal was sending (some very expensive
+* [http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=3749 WinWarbler]
-soundcard decoders also have this ability). Unfortunatly these classifiers can be fooled by a poor signal level or noise - so it's not always the best choice for determining the mode of a signal
+* [http://www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio/?zakanaka,50 Zakanaka]
-Many digital decoding packages have the ability to display an audio representation of the signal being received. This ability comes by many names; sonogram, waterfall display or audio spectrum display, just to name a few. This [http://www.udxf.nl/Living%20Sonagram.pdf article (PDF)] describes in some detail how to use a sonogram and how to record the signal. Both are important - you may need to play the signal back several times before you get a clear picture of what the signal looks like. The accuracy of the sonogram is going to be greatly influences by many factors; the quality of the signal being received, your receiving setup and the PC you are using will all play a role here.
+; Audio Samples
+* [http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/Modes/index.htm FLDigi Audio Signal Samples]
-It should be noted that new modes show up from time to time that take considerable knowledge and skill to properly analyze.
+* [http://www.waiohuli.com/DigiModes/digifieldguide.htm Ham Radio Deluxe Signal Samples]
+* [http://www.mixw.net/index.php?j=signals  MixW Signal Samples]
-Now what about identifying the patterns shown in the sonogram?
+* [http://f1ult.free.fr/DIGIMODES/MULTIPSK/digimodesF6CTE_en.htm MultiPSK Signal Samples]
-These links have pictures of sonograms (and in some cases audio samples) of numerous kinds of digital signals. You can use these as a guide, but remember, it's another clue as to the mode (and by extension, sometimes the potential user) of the signal
+==Slow Scan TV (SSTV)==
+* What is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSTV SSTV] (Slow Scan TV)?
-* [http://www.bartg.org.uk/modesamples.asp British Amateur Radio Teledata Group Mode Samples]
+* [http://www.barberdsp.com/ ChromaPix] by Silicon Pixels
-* [http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/Modes/index.htm Digital Modes - Sight & Sound]
-* [http://www.bcar.us/digsig.htm Digital Signal Audio Reference]
-* [http://det.bi.ehu.es/~jtpjatae/sound.html Eduardo Jacob's Home Page- Sound Files]
-* [http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/Modes/index.htm fldigi samples of decodeable modes]
-* [http://hfradio.org.uk/html/digital_modes.html G4UCJ's Radio Website]
-* [http://sferix.myweb.hinet.net/hfasia/ HF Asia Sound Files]
-* [http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/sound/main.html IARU Monitoring System Region 1 Sound Files]
-* [http://www.jvcomm.de/soundframee.html JVCOMM32 Sound Samples]
-* [http://www.kb9ukd.com/digital/ KB9UKD Digital Modes Samples]
-* [http://www.qsl.net/lu8mbr/digimodos.htm LU8MBR Digimodos (Spanish)]
-* [http://www.mixw.net/index.php?j=signals MixW digital signal examples]
-* [http://f1ult.free.fr/DIGIMODES/MULTIPSK/digimodesF6CTE_en.htm MultiPSK - Digital Mode Samples]
-* [http://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/radio-sounds.html NonStop Systems Radio Sound Samples]
-* [http://signals.radioscanner.ru/base/ Signals RadioScanner RU Signal Samples] (page partially in Russian)
-* [http://signals-analysis.blogspot.com/ Signals Analysis Blog]
-* [http://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Signal_Identification_Guide Signal Identification Guide (wiki)]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/user/FirstToken/videos Token's Audio Samples]  includes several digital signals
-* [http://www.udxf.nl/modes.html UDXF Audio Samples]
-* [http://wb8nut.com/digital/ WB8NUT Digital Information Page]
-* [http://www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/ ZL1BPU Fuzzy Modes]
+* [http://ftv.3amsystems.com/ FTV]
-==What about decoding?==
+* [http://www.pervisell.com/download/roote.htm JVComm32]
-There are numerous packages that can decode many of the non-encrypted modes that you will find on HF. The [http://www.chace-ortiz.org/umc/software.html Utility Monitoring Central] website lists packages for PCs, Macs and even a few for IPADs. Some are free, some not. Msst require a simple connection between your PC and your receiver. Marius Rensen's popular [http://www.hffax.de HF FAX] site has more information on FAX software and schedules
+* [http://mixw.net/ MixW]
+* [http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/ MM Hamsoft] Home of MM-SSTV
-In the case of connecting a receiver to the PC soundcard, a clean connection is a must. This [[Connecting Radios to Soundcards|article]] from our wiki describes some pitfalls and solutions. It's strongly encouraged to make the connection with shielded audio cable to restrict the possibility of stray noise pickup. However, you will need to experiment with the soundcard settings on the PC to see which works for you. There's no way to present a guide for each and every instance, as there is wide variation in models and quality, depending on the soundcard installed on the PC.
+* [http://mscan.com/ Mscan SSTV]
+* [http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html MultiMode] for Macs
-Connecting a PC soundcard to your Software Defined Radio (SDR) may require the use of some Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) that must be installed. With others you can use software like Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) to route the audio from the SDR to the PC. Those packages that can directly interface with SDRs are shown in {{color|green|green}} on the Utility Monitoring Central website.
+* [http://users.telenet.be/on4qz/ Ham Software for Linux] see QSSTV link
-==YouTube Videos==
+* [http://www.computer-int.com/rc.htm RadioCom]
-* These are YouTube links to videos that mention the following software packages. Note that due to the broad nature of the search, other links could also be here. If the software is not linked in any of the above sections, then see the Utility Monitoring Central [http://www.chace-ortiz.org/umc/software.html Software page] for links to the software itself.
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Radiocom+6 Bonito Radiocom 6]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fldigi FLDigi]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=code300-32 Hoka Code 300-32]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=JVComm JVComm32]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=krypto500 Krypto500]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=MixW MixW]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=multipsk MultiPSK]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=PC-ALE PC-ALE]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=PC-HFDL PC-HFDL]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Rivet+java+software Rivet]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Seatty SeaTTY]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Sigmira Sigmira]
-* [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=W-Code Wavecom W-Code]
+* [http://www.barberdsp.com/w95sstv/w95dload.htm W95SSTV]
-== Are there other resources?==
-Print magazines are not always the best place to go for this kind of information. Their long lead times (sometimes as much as 30-45 days) means that the data gets stale very quickly.
+==Where Can I Find Additional Resources?==
+; References
+* link to ARRL book
-The [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/UDXF/info Utility DXers Forum] (UDXF) Yahoo group is an excellent place to help identify the mode and user of a particular signal. There are also specialized Yahoo groups (such as the one for [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/hfdl/info HFDL]) that can supply updated software or active frequencies. There are also ircchat sites (see <nowiki>irc://irc.starchat.net/wunclub </nowiki>) where you can ask questions, and get nearly immediate responses. These are often your best sources of information.
+;Mailing Lists
+* [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/digitalradio/info Digital Radio]
+* [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/dxsoft/info DXSoft Software]
+* [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/win-fldigi/info FLDigi]
+* [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/hflink/info HFLink (ALE)]
+* [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mixw/info MixW]
+* [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/multipsk/info MultiPSK]
+* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MM-SSTV MM-SSTV Yahoo group]

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