Icom R-8600: Any FSK Tips?

[MStep]

Would love to monitor some FSK with the 8600, although admittedly limited HF antennas in use here. Nevertheless, I do receive decent shortwave signals, but thus far have not located anything on the ham bands or any of the weather utility stations transmitting in FSK mode.

Anyone have any tips for stations that would provide decent reception here in the Northeast? Frequencies and receiver settings would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[ka3jjz]

Unfortunately there is very little use of standard Baudot RTTY anymore, apart from hams and the German Weather service, so you will need some software and a good shielded connection between the 8600 and your PC. See this article for many easy targets for you to hear...

Testing Your New Setup - The RadioReference Wiki

and as for software...

HF Software Decoders - The RadioReference Wiki

You can read more about this topic in the HF Digital Decoding document linked in my sig line...Mike

 

[MStep]

Thanks for the info Mike. Starting to think that the FSK mode on the 8600 is pretty much for show. Primarily looking for stations which can be received with the 8600's built in features and without a PC or other software decoders.

Let's see if anyone else steps up with any stations they might have discovered using just the 8600.

 

[n2pqq]

Thanks for the info Mike. Starting to think that the FSK mode on the 8600 is pretty much for show. Primarily looking for stations which can be received with the 8600's built in features and without a PC or other software decoders.

Let's see if anyone else steps up with any stations they might have discovered using just the 8600.

The radio can do it ,the problem is there is very little rtty left.

Maybe a rtty contest.

Do a search on youtube for icom r8600 rtty
and you will see it works .
Note the baud rates and shifts in the videos.

I have only decoded rtty once on the R8600.

I would suggest getting Multipsk .

See if you can get a Loop antenna then you will notice a world of
difference.

One of the odd ball modes Multipsk decodes is DGPS
give a listen at 0.287.00 and 0.292.00

 

[toad99]

I have decoded WLO Weather on 8473kHz, tone 1615 shift 800.

 

[MStep]

I have decoded WLO Weather on 8473kHz, tone 1615 shift 800.

Great toad99-- that sounds like one I should be able to receive here at my location. Good catch. Anyone else?

 

[ka3jjz]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but WLO - i.e. Shipcom LLC - shut down a few months back. But there are similar targets that you can see, and they're found in a link on that first article I gave earlier.

It's a shame, really. With the right amount of memory, Icom could have put in most all of the ham digital modes - and as new ones show up (FT8 being an example), it could be added with a firmware/DSP upgrade. It would have made the rx a lot more attractive to hams that way.

Mike

 

[MStep]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but WLO - i.e. Shipcom LLC - shut down a few months back. But there are similar targets that you can see, and they're found in a link on that first article I gave earlier.

It's a shame, really. With the right amount of memory, Icom could have put in most all of the ham digital modes - and as new ones show up (FT8 being an example), it could be added with a firmware/DSP upgrade. It would have made the rx a lot more attractive to hams that way.

Mike

Sorry to hear that about WLO, and yes, Icom could have put in most all of the ham digital modes. As I had mentioned in another thread, I thought that perhaps Icom would follow Uniden's lead and sell "keys" that would open up other digital modes in the 8600. With the passage of time, that appears less and less likely.

I will consult again with the info in the links that you send to see if I can receive any of those other stations.

Thanks again Mike for all your help.

 

[AK9R]

A couple of suggestions:

1. Check the ARRL web site for the W1AW bulletin schedule. Some of the bulletins are transmitted using 45 baud Baudot RTTY. W1AW Operating Schedule

2. Check the Contest Calendar for RTTY contests. There was one this past weekend and there will be more over the winter. WA7BNM Contest Calendar: 12-Month Calendar

Many of the newer Icom amateur radio transceivers include RTTY decode and encode, so it's not surprising to me that they included it in the R8600.

 

[EricCottrell]

Hello,

I noticed is you need to be in FSK-R mode to decode ham RTTY.

73 Eric

 

[MStep]

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions. I've become much more proficient in recognizing and decoding RTTY (FSK) on the R8600 thanks to all your input.

Applying the 2125/170 FSK-R parameters seems to work well on the ham bands. I have to do a little more research and monitoring for settings for some of the other "utility" type stations across the bands.

Fortunately, this weekend, was able to copy a lot of activity in the amateur radio spectrum thanks to the JARTS ( Japanese Amateur Radio Teleprinter Society) contesting.

Thanks again everyone for you help and suggestions.

 

[ka3jjz]

Can you even adjust the mark/space settings? If not, the FSK setting will only be good for ham (and other) modes that use settings that are ham-related...very poor design, Icom, if you can change them...Mike

 

[AK9R]

On the IC-7300, upon which many aspects of the IC-R8600 are based, the Mark frequency is adjustable between 1275, 1615, and 2125 Hz while the Shift is adjustable between 170, 200, and 425 Hz. If the internal decoder is used, the settings are locked at 2125 and 170.

I use an external decoder, MMTTY, for amateur radio RTTY contests with my IC-7610 and adjust the Mark to 1275 Hz as I find it easier on the ears.

 

[ka3jjz]

That would likely cover some, but almost certainly not all, of the digital ham modes. For example, I don't think it would cover PSK31. It's odd - I know there are a number of hams that work at Icom- you would think they'd know about the different tone sets for different modes, but I guess not. I suppose the FSK mode is simply there as an afterthought. It could have been a lot more flexible.

Mike

 

[AK9R]

PSK31 does not use different mark or space tones like RTTY does. PSK31 uses phase shift encoding while RTTY uses frequency shift encoding.

 

[ka3jjz]

Right...bad example; was thinking of common ham modes, but there are many others like PACTOR or Olivia..;.

 

[MStep]

That would likely cover some, but almost certainly not all, of the digital ham modes. For example, I don't think it would cover PSK31. It's odd - I know there are a number of hams that work at Icom- you would think they'd know about the different tone sets for different modes, but I guess not. I suppose the FSK mode is simply there as an afterthought. It could have been a lot more flexible.

Mike

I would have to agree with Mike in principle--- yes, there certainly could have been more flexibility, and one gets the feeling that FSK was thrown into the mix because, like D-Star, Icom has experience with it. So it was likely a much easier option to implement than other digital, packet type modes.

As time progresses, one gets the feeling that Icom will not "tinker" with the basics of the 8600--- first, there would be some amount of work involved, and secondly, a good possibility that adding anything else to the radio is going to have a negative effect on some existing function.

Most likely also the reason that we are not seeing much in the way of firmware updates. Perhaps the Icom philosphy is something like "leave well-enough alone", or, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I think that's generally the rule as most electronic products age into maturity.

 

[vince48]

MStep,

I think you are right, but hoping Icom will prove us different. At this price point, some digital modes should have been included and perhaps some firmware updates to improve the basic functionality.