Digital modes
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mmckenna
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MFJ used to sell a keyboard that would send CW. It was a stand alone thing, just a keyboard. I seem to remember it had a small single line display that would receive CW. Not sure if it did RTTY or not.
This was many years ago. Might be worth looking in their catalog though. MFJ Enterprises Inc.
This seems to be as close as they have: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-452
This was many years ago. Might be worth looking in their catalog though. MFJ Enterprises Inc.
This seems to be as close as they have: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-452
K7MEM
Member
The most popular interfaces are from Signalink and Rigblaster. You just have to make sure you get the correct cable set for your particular radio. And, of course, the radio must operate SSB.
With the appropriate software you can do CW, RTTY, PSK-31, etc.. Almost every digital mode you can think of.
I consider Digital Modes the simplest thing you can do in amateur radio.
I built my own interface. All it takes is a few connectors and some shielded cable. I can run with HRD, Fldigi, Airlink Express, DXlab, Digipan, CWget, CWtype, and EhoCW to name a few. When you install any one of these, your PC keyboard can be used.
You can get started without any interface at all. Just install one of the available programs, like Fldigi, and put your computer microphone near your radio's speaker. Tune the radio to 14.070 MHz USB and you are ready to receive PSK-31. Move to 14.080 MHz for RTTY, and the low end of the band for CW. I suggest 20 meters because it is the busiest and best for receive testing. But once you get a interface you can go to 80, 40, or 15 meter CW Technician bands.
On 10 Meters PSK-31 and RTTY is available around 28.100 MHz. Of course, if you have a all band, all mode, radio, digital modes can be use on the VHF bands.
Transmitting CW is easy, but reception with any of the above can be iffy. QRM, QRN, noise all work to make CW decoding difficult. Plus, if you are not familiar with all the codes and abbreviations used in CW, a lot of the decoding will look like gibberish. Even if it is correct.
Martin - K7MEM
With the appropriate software you can do CW, RTTY, PSK-31, etc.. Almost every digital mode you can think of.
I consider Digital Modes the simplest thing you can do in amateur radio.
I built my own interface. All it takes is a few connectors and some shielded cable. I can run with HRD, Fldigi, Airlink Express, DXlab, Digipan, CWget, CWtype, and EhoCW to name a few. When you install any one of these, your PC keyboard can be used.
You can get started without any interface at all. Just install one of the available programs, like Fldigi, and put your computer microphone near your radio's speaker. Tune the radio to 14.070 MHz USB and you are ready to receive PSK-31. Move to 14.080 MHz for RTTY, and the low end of the band for CW. I suggest 20 meters because it is the busiest and best for receive testing. But once you get a interface you can go to 80, 40, or 15 meter CW Technician bands.
On 10 Meters PSK-31 and RTTY is available around 28.100 MHz. Of course, if you have a all band, all mode, radio, digital modes can be use on the VHF bands.
Transmitting CW is easy, but reception with any of the above can be iffy. QRM, QRN, noise all work to make CW decoding difficult. Plus, if you are not familiar with all the codes and abbreviations used in CW, a lot of the decoding will look like gibberish. Even if it is correct.
Martin - K7MEM
Here's a link to one home-brew audio interface I found that uses an external USB sound card dongle:
The USBlink - a home-brew digital modes interface
I'm sure there are others out there. If you want to use the sound card in your computer, you really don't need much of an interface. The trick is to match the audio levels going both ways and figuring out how to key the radio's PTT. The SignaLink USB, for example, uses a simple VOX circuit to key the radio. The following link gives you an idea of the challenges involved:
http://www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio-reference/sound-card-interfacing-for-rtty-psk31-and-sstv
Some of the newer radios have built-in USB sound cards. I use fldigi and RMS Express/Winmor with my Icom IC-7600 using just a USB cable between the radio and the computer.
For sound card digital modes, fldigi is kind of the Swiss Army Knife as it will do just about anything and interface with lots of radios. Ham Radio Deluxe, by itself, is primarily a contact logging and DX chasing program. DM780 is an add-on programs that comes with HRD. I used it when I first started playing with digital modes, but, after some frustrations and road-blocks, dropped it for fldigi. fldigi is a free program and still supported by the author. The free version of HRD is no longer supported and the paid version is $80-100/year for support.
The USBlink - a home-brew digital modes interface
I'm sure there are others out there. If you want to use the sound card in your computer, you really don't need much of an interface. The trick is to match the audio levels going both ways and figuring out how to key the radio's PTT. The SignaLink USB, for example, uses a simple VOX circuit to key the radio. The following link gives you an idea of the challenges involved:
http://www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio-reference/sound-card-interfacing-for-rtty-psk31-and-sstv
Some of the newer radios have built-in USB sound cards. I use fldigi and RMS Express/Winmor with my Icom IC-7600 using just a USB cable between the radio and the computer.
For sound card digital modes, fldigi is kind of the Swiss Army Knife as it will do just about anything and interface with lots of radios. Ham Radio Deluxe, by itself, is primarily a contact logging and DX chasing program. DM780 is an add-on programs that comes with HRD. I used it when I first started playing with digital modes, but, after some frustrations and road-blocks, dropped it for fldigi. fldigi is a free program and still supported by the author. The free version of HRD is no longer supported and the paid version is $80-100/year for support.
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K7MEM
Member
Yes, it does matter what transceiver you have. We would need to know what transceivers you want to use, and what computer, before any specifics can be discussed.
For example, I have a ICOM IC-735 which has a ACC connector on the rear panel. The ACC connector provides me with access to the audio out, audio in, and PTT. That is usually the optimum way of accessing a transceiver. There is also a CIV connector for Rig Control. So my PC (laptop) needs to have two USB ports (USB to Serial Port converter cables), audio in, and audio out.
However, I can also run digital modes on my Radio Shack HTX-100 by going in through the microphone connector. As with the other rig, the microphone connector provides access to the audio out, audio in, and PTT. But the HTX-100 does not have Rig Control capabilities so I only need one USB port (USB to Serial Port converter), audio in, and audio out.
Also, you need to be specific as to whether you are talking about Rig Control, or Digital Modes, or both. While the do interact, they are two separate issues
I agree with W9BU in that, you might want to start with Fldigi. While there are some older, free, versions of HRD, they haven't been updated (and won't be) in a long time. You can get a 30 day free trial with the new licensed version of HRD, but that may not be enough time to get you going.
Fldigi has several pieces. There is Fldigi (Digital Modes), Flrig (Rig Control), Fllog (Logbook). There may be a few other pieces, but that is all I use. All three of those applications talk to each other. fldigi is also a little easier on the PC requirements, like memory.
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Not to muddy the waters too much, but there's an intro article in our wiki devoted to this topic...
Digital Amateur Radio - The RadioReference Wiki
There are several homebrew device schematics out there for connecting the PC and radio, and each plug configuration is different. Be sure to do a little homework before actually doing the connection. This website has many different schematics...
WM2U's Soundcard Interfacing Schemes
And of course, many ham radios have dedicated Yahoo groups, so if you can't find your exact model here, you aren't out of resources if you've lost your owners or service manual...Mike
Digital Amateur Radio - The RadioReference Wiki
There are several homebrew device schematics out there for connecting the PC and radio, and each plug configuration is different. Be sure to do a little homework before actually doing the connection. This website has many different schematics...
WM2U's Soundcard Interfacing Schemes
And of course, many ham radios have dedicated Yahoo groups, so if you can't find your exact model here, you aren't out of resources if you've lost your owners or service manual...Mike
K7MEM
Member
Those are both good rigs, but they are old, so neither of them have Rig Control capabilities. This means that there isn't any way to remotely (from a PC) control the band, frequency, or mode. While that somewhat limits your software choices, it also simplifies connections for digital modes.
If I had to choose between those two, I would pick the FT-101E. The FT-101E has audio in/out jacks (RCA/Phono) on the rear of the unit. Simple jumper cables can be made to connect the rigs audio in/out to the PC audio in/out.
The two jack that I would use are the ones marked REC, for audio from the rig to the PC (microphone), and PATCH, for audio from the PC (audio/headphones out) to the rig. The link that KA3JJZ provided, WM2U's Soundcard Interfacing Schemes , doesn't list the FT-101E, but you could simply use the first diagram on the page, http://www.qsl.net/wm2u/images/interface_simple.gif. Just substitute REC for REF:A and PATCH at REF:B.
PTT is available on the rear panel of the FT-101E as well, but you should be able to adjust the VOX to handle RX/TX switching. Otherwise you can use the Serial Port PTT hardware interface described in the web page. I use the hardware interface for PTT and CW keying, but that is because I use the same interface on multiple rigs and some do not have VOX capabilities.
Note that, if you are trying to work CW and are using the simplified interface (two audio cables), keep the rig in the USB mode. This is because the software generates CW by putting a tone through the rigs microphone input. This is not MCW, which is not allowed below 30 MHz. It should be a clean CW signal, at least as clean as the PSK/RTTY signals. However, this may prevent you from enabling narrow filters, normally used for CW. If you want to operate in the CW mode, you will need the Keying interface described in the web page.
Further, have some clamp-on ferrites for possible noise reduction. A lot of junk can get on the signal lines from the PC. If you have noise issues, try putting the ferrites on the rig end and on the computer end.
Martin - K7MEM
nd5y
Member
If you use VOX (the stupid way to to it) just be aware that ANY sound from the computer will key the radio.
Which is exactly how the SignaLink SL-1+ and SignaLink USB work. When they detect audio coming from the computer, they key the PTT line going to the radio.
In the case of the SignaLink USB, assuming that you set your computer and your software to work correctly, normal Windows sounds will go to the sound card in the computer and audio being generated by your data communications program will go to the sound card in the SignaLink USB.
k6cpo
Member
Rather than using a keyboard to send CW, why not take the time to learn the code and actually send it using a straight key, bug or keyer? To me, that would be a lot more fun.
K7MEM
Member
For my work, I don't use a VOX for digital modes, but it is usually the way most of the purchased interfaces work. You can either use your own or the one built into the interface. I built my own interface, so I don't need a VOX. There is nothing wrong with using a VOX, if you take the proper precautions.
Personally, I never allow my computers to make a sound, unless I tell it to. I don't need to hear "you have mail" or any of the other audio annoyances. When you are working digital modes, you don't even have to listen to the radio. It's all on the computer screen. Just make sure the microphone is unplugged and put on some good music.
K7MEM
Member
The TS-180S is also a nice rig but, because of it's age, doesn't have easy connections for digital modes. With the possible exception of RTTY using FSK.
I would still work with the FT-101E. Just make sure you keep the power low. This can be controlled by audio from the PC to the rig. Many digital modes, like PSK, are continuous and can cause a transmitter to overheat on long transmissions, if you run a full power. PSK-31 is a narrow bandwidth mode and really only need 25-35 watts. I have used as little as 1 watt and making contacts was easy.
Good luck on learning CW. IMHO, it's far easier to work CW without a computer, than with. All you need is a switch (key), a pad of paper, and a pencil. Your brain does the rest. Some operators don't bother with the paper and pencil.
Martin - K7MEM
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