Help with rtty and fax decoding on HF

[Saint]

:?:
I would like to try my hand at decoding some FAX or RTTY or what ever else is out there on the HF frequencies, I hear data on some of the Marine frequencies and others and would like to know if there is a easy freeware program on the internet to try and see if I want to get into this kind of HF frequency monitoring, I have run across a couple of programs but don’t know what program would be best for someone starting out and also I would need some frequencies that I could try out with the program, I really don’t want to buy one of the programs until I see if I would be interested in doing this. Any information on getting started decoding this information would be appreciated.
Steve

 

[ka3jjz]

First you must understand that not every data mode you hear can be decoded. Some of them are not meant to be decoded by the average hobby listener.

To that end, you need to first know what can be monitored. Once again, if you join the Worldwide Utility News mailing list, you will get some idea of what's being heard and decoded. The URL for their website is:

http://www.wunclub.com

Now as to what software is out there - Mike Chace-Ortiz (yes, of MT fame) and I have built a website that lists all sorts of software (and even some hardware) packages that do decode digital signals. You can find that here:

http://www.chace-ortiz.org/umc/

Study the logs for a time, and decide where you interest lies in the digital world; then c'mon back and we'll try to point you in the right software direction. There are very expensive packages out there, and there are some low-cost ones that do a very good job in spite of the lower costs.

73s Mike

 

[Saint]

RE-RTTY

First you must understand that not every data mode you hear can be decoded. Some of them are not meant to be decoded by the average hobby listener.

To that end, you need to first know what can be monitored. Once again, if you join the Worldwide Utility News mailing list, you will get some idea of what's being heard and decoded. The URL for their website is:



Thanks Mike for all the information you sent on the subject of RTTY, I found a freeware program MMTTY that I have set up on my computer, I have my yeasu VR-5000 receiver and the freeware program setup and the program is logging the noise so it's set up. Now all I need is to find some frequencies that send RTTY so I can see how this works. I was hearing RTTY on several frequencies but never paid attension to the frequencies so now that I have a program I have to try and find the frequencies.

Steve

 

[ka3jjz]

Re: RE-RTTY

First you must understand that not every data mode you hear can be decoded. Some of them are not meant to be decoded by the average hobby listener.

To that end, you need to first know what can be monitored. Once again, if you join the Worldwide Utility News mailing list, you will get some idea of what's being heard and decoded. The URL for their website is:



Thanks Mike for all the information you sent on the subject of RTTY, I found a freeware program MMTTY that I have set up on my computer, I have my yeasu VR-5000 receiver and the freeware program setup and the program is logging the noise so it's set up. Now all I need is to find some frequencies that send RTTY so I can see how this works. I was hearing RTTY on several frequencies but never paid attension to the frequencies so now that I have a program I have to try and find the frequencies.

Steve

Steve, many sigs that sound like standard RTTY are encrypted and cannot be read. If you go to the WUN site I mentioned earlier you can download the latest newsletter and use that as a reference. Just tuning around and trying things at random will get very frustrating in a hurry. Joining the WUN is free. By the way, I just scanned the Sept newsletter and there were a surprising number of RTTY stations logged.
I'd also download PC-ALE; you will notice that many logs in the WUN are for Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). It's free, too.

73s Mike

 

[Saint]

RE-RTTY

Steve[/quote]

Steve, many sigs that sound like standard RTTY are encrypted and cannot be read. If you go to the WUN site I mentioned earlier you can download the latest newsletter and use that as a reference. Just tuning around and trying things at random will get very frustrating in a hurry. Joining the WUN is free. By the way, I just scanned the Sept newsletter and there were a surprising number of RTTY stations logged.
I'd also download PC-ALE; you will notice that many logs in the WUN are for Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). It's free, too.

73s Mike[/quote]

Hello Mike, I'll take your advice and go Back to WUN and become a member, I really need all the help I can Get, and as you say it's free so you can't beat that. I'll take some time to download the info from the site and spend some time reading before I try the RTTY program.
thanks again for the information Mike.
Steve

 

[K7TKR]

I want to put in my two cents worth on a coupe of items:

-For what's it's worth, I use SkySweeper 3.07 ( no, it's not freeware). It's really good at demodulating several modes including RTTY, both modes of SITOR, packet, ps k31, hf and vhf acars. It also has an excellent hf-fax demodulator( hf fax is almost too easy to receive). You might want to look into this at a later date. that MMTTY freeware is, as mentioned, pretty good freeware and geared toward the ham, but it won't do fax.

-I have found that it's not what it used to be in regard to HF digital modes and such. But there is still good stuff out there. You're going to have exercise a little patience when searching the bands. Good DXing to you.

73

 

[stevpiz]

RTTY

for the record I am a registered owner of skysweeper and its a GREAT program but MMTTY is a much better RTTY program as far as capabilities, user friendly features and performance. the help manual in MMTTY is a thing of beauty itself, goes into details on RTTY and internals of program. his FREE slow scan TV decoder program MMSSTV is also better than the one in skysweepr as it does auto type detect whereas SS doesnt. being able to run several decoders, visualizers and noise reduction at once in skysweeper is an advantage of it.

if you are a knob turner and like characteizing signals you might want to check out analyzer2000 at brownbear.ge, its about $90 and worth every penny. its great for figuring out if that RTTY is a 50 baud or 45 baud one for those that cant do it by ear

 

[stevpiz]

other modes

almost forgot, WRT previous post for HF fax wxsat does it as well as the noah weather birds (generate your own weather images)

http://www.hffax.de/html/hauptteil_wxsat.htm

 

[K7TKR]

Just for what it's worth, I have the MMTTY program as well. Yes, it's not bad at all but-I find Skysweeper easier to tune RTTY with the waterfall display. And, MMTTY doesn't do HFDL decoding nor ACARS nor HFFAX or WEFAX etc. More on the HF bands than just RTTY and it's varients.

Mark

 

[stevpiz]

other modes

mark

everyone has their opinion, and thats why this hobby is so great and there are so many folks developing great programs.

for me the free WACARS decoder is a better acars decoder than the one in skysweeper (puts it on a map), WxSAT does HF and WEFAX pretty dang good and they are free, CWGet is a great morse decoder, MMSSTV is free and does SSTV great, free digipan is great for PSK-31

agree HFDL in skysweeper is better than the shareware one

if you want lots of modes in one program and to be able to run many things at once skysweeper is a great program, hence why I bought it, and their customer service is excellent, but I have found that some of the free or low cost shareware programs to have features not in the ones in skysweeper. that being said I recommend getting skysweeper its worth every penny

if you are just staring out it makes sense to try out the free programs and then buy one that has the modes and feature you enjoy the most

I even had a blast with running radioraft in DOS on an old laptop with my data slicer.

keep looking for a cheap PK-232 on ebay now that someone has developed windows software for it

 

[K7TKR]

I wasn't attempting to start an agrument there. My opinion of MMTTY is that it can be a bit more complicated to use, especially if one has absoutly no clue what or who RTTY is. Like I mentioned, I have it and I use it and soon, after HRO sends me the correct data plug for my 706, I plan to transmit using MMTTY.

Just one note about WACARS-GREAT PROGRAM! That was thee first acars decoder I ever used and it is what hooked me on the acars monitoring craze. I've gone far beyond now and beocme a dedicated AirNav customer using all four of their major software packages-including AirNav Flight Tracker 6.0(which is amazing).

By the way-is SECAL on it's way out? Seems I remeber reading somewhere that HFDL is supposed to, or already has replaced that mode.

 

[Chris-M]

I first started monitoring HF data modes in the early 90's. The first program I bought, and still use on occasion, is AEA FAXIII. Basic program compared to what's out today yet it worked and would tell you the speed of the mode you were monitoring and in most cases the type.
My HF rig was on 24/7 (Yaesu FT900AT) while I lived on Guam, decoding HF WEFAX and other interesting modes.

I also have AEA ACARS which works OK. I've used ACARSD which works pretty good. http://www.acarsd.org/

For a while my dad and I were subscribed to http://www.flightexplorer.com/
Flight Explorer. Neat software. I could track my dad flying the IFR portion of his trips from NC to Michigan in his Beech Bonanza. And he would track me while flying my trips in the 757/767.

For HF datalink I use PC-HFDL (the un-supported, *free* version at the bottom of this URL) http://www.chbrain.dircon.co.uk/pchfdl.html
I'd love to have the SKYSWEEPER software but it's a bit pricey for me at the infrequent rate that I use these programs.

 

[Chris-M]

By the way-is SECAL on it's way out? Seems I remeber reading somewhere that HFDL is supposed to, or already has replaced that mode.

SELCAL isn't on the way out yet. Right now HFDL, CPDLC and ADS are still in the testing and implementation phases. I recently flew a trip to Amsterdam and used ADS/CPDLC in the B767. It's a nice feature and sure makes for a quiet cockpit. With CPDLC, you send and receive messages directly from the ATC facility controller. With HF position reports via voice (using SELCAL to alert us that ATC wants to talk to us) we're communicating to an ARINC radio operator who has to 'relay' the massage to ATC, who 'relays' it back to ARINC, who 'SELCALS' us with the reply via HF voice. CPDLC is a SATCOM mode. ADS is a mode that automatically sends out the required postion reports via SATCOM. Also our company uses HFDL to track our progress. Our flightplan has specific points that have a note to 'Send Company Position Report'. When we reach that position, the Postion Report page on the FMC is selected and all I do is press 'send Company Position Report' and watch for the HF IN PROGRESS light to light up. One of our two HF radios needs to be in DATA mode while we are in flight. The other is used for SELCAL and voice.
Not all of our aircraft have HFDL. All of the B777s, B767s have HFDL/SATCOM but only a few of our B757s have HFDL. None have SATCOM. So we must do voice position reports on HF in all of our B757s as we cross the Atlantic NAT tracks even though the aircraft has HFDL.

Here is everything you ever wanted to know about it. :wink:

http://www.nat-pco.org/nat/DLI.pdf

Chris

 

[W4KRR]

Can anyone estimate what percentage of signals tuned can actually be decoded?

Years ago, I used an Info Tec M-600 decoder. This was before the days of PC's! Even back then, I would guess 60-75% of what I could tune was encrypted. I'm guessing it's much worse now. That's partly why I lost interest in RTTY decoding.

 

[ka3jjz]

Can anyone estimate what percentage of signals tuned can actually be decoded?

Years ago, I used an Info Tec M-600 decoder. This was before the days of PC's! Even back then, I would guess 60-75% of what I could tune was encrypted. I'm guessing it's much worse now. That's partly why I lost interest in RTTY decoding.

Yeah, I know - it's frustrating. Heck, I can even remember talking with the late Perry Ferrell (yes, of Gilfer fame), in his basement, with the racks of Squires Sanders radios he had, and seeing the first M600s and M6000s coming into the US....yes, at his home, not at the office....
In addition to encryption there are numerous modes out there that only some of the more expensive software can handle; and then there are the modes that we won't decode, not even with the ultra expensive packages like Hoka 300-32.
However, there's been quite an upsurge in interest in ALE decoding, with more and more stations showing up seemingly every day. Fact is, you can't just tune around anymore and find digital stations in the clear; you have to know where to look. That's why lists like the WUN are so important if you are into the digital (non-ham) stuff.

73s Mike

 

[Waldo325mvfd]

I have a program to work for the FT-817 its all hooked up but it woln't work, any answers?

73

 

[ka3jjz]

I have a program to work for the FT-817 its all hooked up but it woln't work, any answers?

73

The program name is? And what are you trying to decode?

73s Mike

 

[Waldo325mvfd]

I got it off of ebay from a guy in emgland and it has 412545 writen on it. It came with a cable also for my FT 817.

 

[ka3jjz]

I got it off of ebay from a guy in emgland and it has 412545 writen on it. It came with a cable also for my FT 817.

I was inquirying about what software program you are trying to use, and what frequency (or mode) you are trying to decode? There's quite a selection out there these days, and it's important to know these things to make the correct decision.

There's been extensive discussions on how to set up the 817 (are you a ham?) correctly for PSK31 work using just a cable and some parts. Some of that information ought to work just fine for other modes as well. The 817 Yahoo group is an excellant resource for this. It's very active and has lots of folks that contribute to it.

73s Mike

 

[Waldo325mvfd]

It is the Ham radio delux program. I'm not yet a ham, but will be soon(I like to moniter everything. 8)