HF digital modes ,other then ham radio

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alok

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Forgetting the ham radio modes which I can easily ID ( or tell what type mode it is ) & receive ,what is the mode that sounds like a buzz saw that I hear in various places day & night on HF ?
Right now at 12:30PM PT I'm hearing it on approx. 12.894 USB.
There seems to be many websites that have samples of ham radio digital modes ,are there any websites that have samples of the other digital modes used on HF beside ham radio modes. So I can at least tell what type mode it is that I'm hearing.


Al
 

ka3jjz

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I can't access the wiki from work, but our digital decoding FAQ has many such sites. Probably the best known one is the Signals ID Wiki, which has waveforms of a great many different signals. But there are others with even more information. If someone doesn't get to it before I do, I'll send the link a bit later. You should keep in mind that many digital sigs are using protocols that can't be easily read (certainly not by a ham-related decoder) or can't be read at all. Paying close attention to the logs in the Utility DXers forum (found on groups.io) and the Spectrum Monitor will get you a lot of information.

Your frequency sounds much like a SITOR-B station (I just can't place it off the top of my head) which can be read by lots of different packages. The link in my sig line will send you to a site that has a pretty decent compilation of various packages, from the free to the ultra expensive.

Mike
 

ka3jjz

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Here's the link...

DXing Digital Utilities - The RadioReference Wiki

Chapter 6 has links to many different sites, including the aforementioned Signal Identification wiki and the excellent HF Asia site. We also have a few that point to ham modes, but there are some ham related decoding software packages that have a great deal of use in the non-ham world (MultiPSK is a prime example)

I would also famiiarize yourself with Chapter 3 - this lists modes that are rarely heard, currently active and most importantly, those that have been dead for years. We have lots of audio traces linked in the active mode and CIS sections, too. I should stress that this list is nowhere near complete - there are new modes and permutations being found constantly. This doc only gives you a taste of it. Reading the links in the appendix will show you many more that we don't have as much info on yet

Why do people - even the big expensive packages - continue to list these old modes in our Inactives section as options is anyone's guess. It could be as simple as not wanting to put in the work to remove them, for all we know. But at least you will know that these old modes are not worth any real time in checking them and can move onto other possibilities

Chapter 5 lists a good number of easy to decode targets - something to get your feet wet with..

Mike
 

spongella

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You can also download for free a ham radio/utility software decoder called MultiPSK, it has a number of modes used. It'll give you an idea of the more common ones. That buzzing noise could be one of the STANAG modes.
 

ka3jjz

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You can find the link for MultiPSK in the site that's in my sig line among tons of other decoder software packages. It's not completely free; some modes require payment, but others work just fine in the unpaid version.

Mike
 
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DaveNF2G

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MultiPSK's one drawback is that you already have to know the mode in order to select it for decoding. You just have to keep guessing until you hit on the right one. It does have the ability to receive RSID, but that is still not commonly transmitted and, even if it is, MultiPSK does not automatically switch to the correct mode.
 

ka3jjz

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Actually there are a couple of ways to reduce the guesswork; one of them is to see an audio spectrum of the signal; the other is to make a quick search of the UDXF logs.

MultiPSK is (in)famous for another quirk; Patrik doesn't seem to know, or like, how to use pulldowns. All those buttons on the top makes the screen very busy, which can be a turn off for some. It's been that way as long as I've known about this package, and that's several years now...Mike
 
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