Help with decoding utilities/rtty/cw and others

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DeKP

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I just bought a IC-R75 to get back into SWL'n. I also bought a laptop that has been refurbished.. Both work great EXCEPT the laptop has NO line in! I mean really? Ideally I would like a standalone decoder but can't seem to find any. I had one many years ago but can't seem to find one. My question is, is their any adapter that can take my output from my SW audio out @ 3.5mm that will convert that via usb input and direct it to the sound card using with A SWD decoder ???
thanks Keith
 

wa8pyr

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Any decent quality USB audio adapter should do the trick. Look for a higher-end one which has both mike and line in connections.
 

ka3jjz

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There are really no stand alone decoders anymore. That market died years ago; while there are a couple of very expensive ones from Wavecom, you'd best not look at the price if you have a heart condition.

Soundcard inputs are the way to go, and PYR's advice is sound. Now for a selection of what is out there, see this...


Precisely what are you looking to see/decode? Mike
 

ka3jjz

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If you want to see press services, they are all gone to satellite.

This might give you a little insight into the non-ham digital world....


If you want to see logs from other like minded digital chasers, this is where you want to be


and the accompanying web site


Mike
 

DeKP

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I'm just looking to decode WxFax, wx reports, High seas reports, ship to ship comms etc....I haven't done this is in years and back then it was SO simple.
 

ka3jjz

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You're in luck - there are a lot of packages that can do what you want. Ship-Shore messages are sent in encrypted PACTOR, so you won't see them anymore. But NAVTEX is certainly possible as are a few other modes, which the Decoders article addresses.

A lot of ship-ship and ship-shore voice has moved to satellites and cell, unfortunately.

Check out the 'What Software Should I Get' section of the Decoders page. You will get some starting points there

Mike
 

merlin

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I just bought a IC-R75 to get back into SWL'n. I also bought a laptop that has been refurbished.. Both work great EXCEPT the laptop has NO line in! I mean really? Ideally I would like a standalone decoder but can't seem to find any. I had one many years ago but can't seem to find one. My question is, is their any adapter that can take my output from my SW audio out @ 3.5mm that will convert that via usb input and direct it to the sound card using with A SWD decoder ???
thanks Keith
Odd a lappy with no mic/line input. read the manual, it may be integrated with the earphone jack.
So far with my setups, I have to record sound to a file then decode from the file.
Years back, a program called skysweep is what I used for all HF decoding. Pipe line in to the PC, line out to the transmitter and RS232 control for PTT. Navtext was precanned, as was CW, PSK, RTTY, ALE, and a few others. If there is a modern equivalent, I have not heard of it.
The CW, packet, and RTTY have 2 way chat box feature.
WEFAX needed an outboard program to display/decode.
Sadly, skysweep is no longer supported and with no registration, it is cut back to not worth it. (a demo mode)
Surely some coding hams have taken the ball and running with it, would like to find that myself.
 

ArloG

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I have quite a few USB DAC's. The best bang for your buck would be a Behringer UCA202. At 30 bucks it's quite impressive. Plug and play, no drivers to install. I'd look at the spec sheets and figure out what cable you would need to adapt the radio to the interface.
HF decoding will be a blast. I was psyched decoding my first uninterrupted BBC DRM broadcast the other night.
 

ka3jjz

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We have a ;pretty complete list of decoding packages in our wiki, viz.


And for stuff that's easy to copy...


If you want recent loggings, there's no better place than the UDXF (Utility DXers Forum) on groups.io


Mike
 
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