ALE Basic Questions, Please

BOBRR

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2004
Messages
1,468
Location
Boston, MA
Hello,

Have a few very basic questions re ALE, please:

If I just tune to a ALE frequency with a sw receiver (Icom R8600), will I hear
the basic msg, but just not the header, if I don't use a ALE decoding program like PC-ALE, etc. ?

What would I hear ? Anything, or all would be gibberish w/o the decoding program ?

What would be the simplest program to use with my Icom to pick
up "everything" ?

Thanks,
Bob
 

reconrider8

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Dec 26, 2007
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Eastern, NC
It's been a few months since I decoded but basically you'll hear the chirping as I call it unless a voice connection is made then you'll hear the voice behind the chirping like a normal radio
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2022
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Location
Zentral Europa
ALE is a type of selective call. Usually several frequencies are queried automatically in order to find the best frequency for a connection from a pool. The connection can be a voice connection (but doesn't have to be), but it can also be a FAX or RTTY (or something else) connection. In the case of a voice connection, the transmission is usually via USB, but the connection can also be encrypted here under certain circumstances.

In order to receive an ALE signal properly, your receiver must be set to USB. I use Sorcerer as software. The software produces very good results with ALE, but PC-ALE can also be used. The "Black Cat ALE" software is also recommended. The frequencies of the COTHEN network or the frequencies of the US Air Force are ideal for getting started with ALE reception.
 

ka3jjz

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Jul 22, 2002
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Bowie, Md.
There are literally hundreds of logs of this mode in the Utility DXers Forum every month. Mike
 
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