Reminder - Educational Radio Net Wednesday night 8:00pm PSRG 146.96
For the new folks on this WA-DIGITAL list, the Summer of Digital Fun Series
finishes up this Wednesday on the PSRG machine, 146.96 (-600 kHz offset, 103.5
tone)in Seattle.
All are welcome.
Make no mistake, the Educational Radio Nets will continue and the Digital Series
will also continue, but for things digital, probably once or so per month as we
keep exercising with these amazing modes.
I was tempted to talk about the Automatic Position Reporting System, APRS - a
tasty flavor of packet radio. Just eavesdrop on 144.39 for a sense of how
popular this mode is. However, it seems the last couple of weeks have seriously
challenged the group which has been winnowed down to just a few players. I hope
folks will pursue APRS on their own or contact me off list for any help they
might need with that system - it is really a blast. For lots of help including
a well developed Elmering program, check out http://www.nwaprs.info/ or just
look at the cool maps at http://aprs.fi/
So, for this last Summer Session we'll have more digital fun with a recap of
what we've done through the summer. Please begin the net with FLDIGI up and
running with acoustic coupling between your radio and the computer.
The best way to enjoy the Educational Radio Net is to have your software set up
and running as the net starts at 8:00.
If you have an interface, hook it up to your two-meter rig, otherwise use
acoustic coupling with a microphone feeding shack audio into your computer and
the rig audio softly coming out of a speaker in the room with you fairly close
to the mic.
If this is your first session, no problem. Pull the software off the WA-DIGITAL
files section and install it. Tune in and we'll go over set up of the software
during the session. The software is on the WA-DIGITAL yahoo group. If you are
using VISTA, please load the version FLDIGI 3.11.4-WinV. When the update went
to 3.12.4 for all windows systems, something bad happened, and VISTA stopped
working. There are Linux and Mac versions of the software as well - just Google
NBEMS or go to http://www.w1hkj.com/ .
Posts 2 and 3 go into setting up for FLDIGI. The first part of Post #4
describes the set up for acoustic coupling. IF you are set up for acoustic
coupling, you should see a difference in the waterfall as you open and close the
squelch on the rig you are using to monitor the PSRG machine. If you don't, go
to the CONFIGURATION menu and the AUDIO tab, then devices to point the software
to the audio source.
We will start out tonight with a blast of MT-63 preceded with an RS-ID to
automatically switch your software to the correct mode and frequency, so get
ready to receive on the output of the PSRG machine, 146.96. Remember to setup
FLDIGI with menu item CONFIGURATION, then under the ID tab to check the box next
to "TRANSMIT MODE RSID" and "RSID SEARCHES ENTIRE PASSBAND" Finally on the main
receive screen, be sure and check the little box up in the upper right corner of
the screen labeled "RS-ID" so that a green light is visible indicating you are
ready to switch modes and frequency when the signal is received. This feature
has to be turned on each time you want to use it - mostly to keep from being
wrenched out of an ongoing QSO by receiving another RS-ID.
If you have trouble with copy during the net, you might check the input of the
repeater to see if that is better for you. Several folks sent messages last week
suggesting that.
See you on the Net.
Hopefully this will be just the beginning of some great digital adventures.
I would like to suggest we continue using the WA-DIGITAL mail reflector to
schedule digital QSOs with other folks, also don't forget
http://www.obriensweb.com/sked/ to set up SKEDS or WSPRNET.ORG to monitor your
received whisperings.
Also, please consider joining the Pennsylvania NBEMS group via Echolink on a
local repeater or in the privacy of your home computer. The Pittsburgh hams have
been having a net using about 50% voice and 50% MT-63. We may join them by
Echolink by connecting to W3YJ-R (node 177325) at 5:00pm Sunday evenings (8:00pm
Eastern Time).
After the 5:00pm net I would like to suggest we retire to the SEA machine on
145.010 simplex. (just "Connect SEA" and then type "TALK" to join the group and
//ex to leave (the instructions come up when you join.)
As the fall comes on, I would like to suggest we dive into some of the major
pieces of software available and checkout all that they are capable of - I'm
thinking of MULTIPSK which does way more than just PSK, and HAM RADIO DELUXE -
HRD with D780 for digital modes - a beautiful piece of software.
Our continuing thanks to the PSRG for the use of the repeater for this net and
so many others that enhance our radio community.
vy 73 de WR5J
Curt Black
black@nwfirst.com
As a reminder, here is what we covered this summer:
Blog Post - #1 Intro to Digital Communication, Software and Modes Wednesday,
June 3, 2009
Blog Post - #2 Intro to FLDIGI – Install, Setup and Mode Selection, Wednesday,
June 10, 2009
Blog Post - #3 Using FLDIGI – Starting with PSK-31 and Transmitting a Good
Signal Wednesday, June 24
Blog Post - #4 More FLDIGI – RTTY, the WRAP Utility and RS-ID, Wednesday July 1,
2009
Blog Post - #5 WSPR – Weak Signal Propagation Reporter, Wednesday July 8, 2009
Blog Post - #6 MMSSTV/EasyPAL, Slow Scan Image Transmission, Wednesday July 15,
2009
Blog Post - #7 Digital SSTV (week 2) EasyPAL, Wednesday July 22, 2009
Blog Post - #8 WSJT-JT65A – Terrestrial HF, Wednesday July 29, 2009
Blog Post - #9 WSJT-HS-Meteor Scatter, Wednesday August 5, 2009
Blog Post - #10 Packet Radio Using Flex32, Wednesday August 12, 2009
Blog Post - #11 Packet Radio Using AGW Packet Engine, Wednesday August 19,
2009
Blog Post - #12 WINDRM – Digital Voice and HRD/DM780, Wednesday August 26, 2009
OK - we didn't really do WINDRM - take a look at the blog post and you will see
why - we still might give it a try, but it is the same modulation approach used
by EasyPAL and that didn't fly very far through the PSRG machine - However, we
did very well with an after-net on the 444.550 WW7SEA machine - as in perfect
copy and 22dB S/N ratios. We've got to find out what that is about...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Blog-Post-12 – WinDRM—Digital Data and Voice Using Digital Radio Mondiale
Blog Post 12 – WinDRM—Digital Data and Voice Using Digital Radio Mondiale on the Han Bands
Wednesday August 26, 2009
This is Curt Black, WR5J, with the Educational Radio Net –
Please standby for a WinDRM Digital QST
OK, we are out of time for the Summer of Digital Fun, but I had prepared some material for this mode, so here is what I have so far.
The problem with these digital voice modes is the loss of the use of a proprietary codec - here is a recent message from Mel Whitten:
Curt,
The MELP codec is no longer available because it was brought to
The attention of one of the IP holders that we were using it. I
don't think the IP holder would really "care" because of the way
we were using MELP, but when confronted by this "person" in writing..
then the IP holder had to defend his property. Thus, we are left
with LPC-10, which does not sound "too bad" and could be used to
demonstrate capability.
… 14.236 is calling/net freq for digital voice. Some stations may be
heard around noon central time. Nets are still run (summer time thy're
not as frequent) on Sat and Sun on the times given on the web site.
keep in mind, that you may find FDMDV, AOR's DV and WinDRM on these frequencies. FDMDV suffered the most from the loss of MELP and does not sound very good with the lower bit rate LPC-10 but it has "instant" sync and simple to use. With MELP, FDMDV was a real winner. Work continues to find a replacement, but this is very difficult. There are no "legal" problems with any DV using MELP or SPEEX codecs. They are both open source. DV is about dead and probably will remain that way until a MELP equivalent codec is found or some new technology is found. AOR's DV is not robust enough to cope with current poor band conditions do to low sun spot activity. It does work very good with at least S9 signals and no QRM. Excellent voice quality but so -was- WinDRM with MELP.
Channelization for DV would be optimum. QRM is a real problem from SSB. FCC rules say DV must operate in the Voice sub-bands. . .
<<
The software is on the Yahoo WA-DIGITAL files section http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-digital/files/
It sounds like the loss of the Codec may have delt a fatal blow – but here is the installation and use information for those who might want to experiment – 73 de WR5J
http://n1su.com/windrm/download.html
WinDRM Docs – Release 1.3 was developed by Cesco, HB9TLK from a relatively new broadcast standard called Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) and it’s open source
encoder/decoder named Dream (http://drm.sourceforge.net/). DRM is based on a proven
data communications technology called Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing (COFDM) with Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). COFDM uses
many parallel narrow band sub-carriers instead of just one single wide band carrier for
transporting the data. As a result, WinDRM provides an efficient and robust method to
exchange information over HF including Digital Voice using open source CODECs.
WinDRM utilizes Forward Error Correction (FEC) and an Automatic-Repeat-Request
(ARQ) mode to ensure error free data transfers. WinDRM runs efficiently under
Windows operating system 2000 and XP. No modifications are required for modern SSB
HF ham transceivers. Current releases of WinDRM software may be found at
www.n1su.com/windrm. Other digital HF data/picture transfer software such as Digtrx,
EasyPal and HamPAL share the same core ham-DRM standard and therefore are
compatible with WinDRM. WinDRM is not compatible with all newer encoding methods
now being used by HamPal. WinDRM is not compatible with AOR’s ARD 9000/9800
fast radio modem.
The WinDRM GUI (graphic user interface)
Five “State” Radio Buttons - (enabled under program control during receive ) as follows:
Input/Output
IO – Enabled: Sound card is linked and passing data to the processor. Disabled:
Indicates sound card is not compatible and/or PC’s processor is too slow. If not enabled,
WinDRM
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WinDRM will not decode data. Note: IO should always be enabled during receive and
transmit.
Frequency Acquisition
Freq – Enabled: The three FAC reference carriers/pilots (3 higher intensity vertical lines
in the waterfall displays) have been found. These correlate with the DC Offset frequency
(normally 350Hz) which is graphically shown as a blue vertical line.
Time Synchronization Acquisition
Time – Enabled: Timing acquisition is done. This indicates the search for the beginning
of the OFDM symbol has been completed. Disabled: No synchronization, (usually
caused by poor SNR) distortion of the transmitted signal and/or receive band pass is too
narrow. Note: False indications (flickering) can be caused by AWGN (atmospheric
noise) and generally, may be ignored.
Frame Synchronization
Frame - Enabled: Frame synchronization is completed and the start of a DRM frame
(400ms) has been found. The Receiver is in synchronization with the transmitting station.
Disabled: Lost frequency synchronization due to poor SNR or change in frequency (avoid
“tuning” once in sync). Note: False indications (flickering) can be caused by AWGN
(atmospheric noise) and generally, may be ignored.
Fast Access Channel
FAC – Enabled: Receiver is in the tracking mode, has received a good Cyclic
Redundancy Check (8-bit CRC) and is in synchronization with the WinDRM transmitting
station. FAC is a separate logical channel and modulated with 4-Amplitude Quadrature
Modulation (4QAM). FAC provides bandwidth spectrum occupancy (2.3/2.5khz), call
sign and other DRM transmit parameters for the WinDRM receiver. Time, Frame and
FAC always precede (must be enabled) MSC channel data. Disabled: Caused by lost
sync, failed CRC, QRM, change in frequency and/or distortion of the transmitted signal.
FAC provides the data for the receiving WinDRM station to set it up to automatically
receive data for file transfer or digital voice (no intervention required by the receive end
operator).
Main Service Channel
MSC - Enabled: Indicates actual audio and data bits are being decoded for voice, text
message and/or images. MSC may be modulated using 4QAM, 16QAM or 64QAM (see
MSC). The larger the QAM rate the higher spectral efficiency but with lower
performance (less robust in presence of errors caused by poor propagation or
QRM/QRN). Robustness is improved through interleaving of the MSC symbols. This
provides time diversity so that a burst of errors is spread across up to several frames
minimizing the destructive effects on the received data. Like FAC, MSC enabled
indicates the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) has been acknowledged and good data
has been received (Info’s data for MSC will increment after the CRC has been
computed). Disabled: Disruptions (dropouts), text message not received, or missed
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block/segment/packet image data. QRM/QSB/QRN and weak signals can cause MSC to
fail or “flicker” during reception. A minimum SNR of 7dB generally ensures MSC will
remain enabled. Note: All these radio buttons must be enabled (from decoded
transmitted data) before the file/picture or voice data will be received.
Files: (download from: www.n1su.com/windrm/ )
The .wav files must be created using Digtrx or similar program. For docs on how to
create these files, go to http://www.kiva.net/~djones/index.htm . Note: These wave files
are not necessary to execute/use WinDRM. WinDRM stores files/pictures with errors in
the Corrupt folder. Good, error free Files/pictures are stored in the Pictures folder.
Mixer.bin contains data for the sound card’s mixer settings. Settings.txt file stores user
settings such as com port, call sign, etc. User files/pictures to be sent may be stored in
any directory for transmission, but are normally kept in the WinDRM directory for quick
access. Note: Digtrx creates 16bit 8000Hz sample rate wave files. WinDRM requires
16 bit 48000Hz wave file format. Use a freeware program like Audacity
(http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) to convert the wave files from 8000Hz to 48000Hz
mono.
Other files are created by WinDRM include:
bsr.bin
bsr0.bin
bsrreq.bin
bsrreq0.bin
RX_Log.txt
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Known specs and definitions:
TX Data rate
MSC transmit data rate in bits-per-second (bps) is shown in the SNR box when
transmitting. For the DRM TX “Default” setting this is 2617bps. The Mode box will
display B/S/16/0/2.5 for this setting (see “Mode” for explanation of this data). The
CODECs (Linear Predictive Coding, SPEEX and Mixed-Excitation Linear Predictive)
require at least 2400bps. For data, WinDRM offers a “Speed” mode at a higher bit rate
of 4362bps and a “Robust” slower bit rate mode of 997bps. By changing these DRM TX
settings, the MSC protection, Coding, Bandwidth, and Interleave may be carefully chosen
to match the transceiver filters and current band conditions. For HF, a good starting point
is the default TX DRM setting. For poor band conditions, try the robust mode. Refer to
the specs found at: http://www.qslnet.de/member/hb9tlk/drm_h.html
Modulation and Forward Error Correction
Carriers are modulated using 4QAM, 16 or 64 in the MSC. The QAM constellation size
is selected by the user under the DRM TX settings. QAM4 is set by WinDRM for FAC
since it is the most robust. OFDM/QAM modulated carriers would appear to be
overlapping within their spectrum. However, once they are synchronized at the receiver,
they no longer over lap (now orthogonal/unique) and can then be demodulated. QAM
has both fixed amplitude and phase modulation. Forward Error Protection (FEC) is
provided by Reed Solomon (RS) code. By definition, RS has the ability “…to produce at
the sender ‘n’ blocks of encoded data from ‘k’ blocks of source data in such a way that
any subset of k encoded blocks suffices at the receiver to reconstruct the source data.”
This gives DRM the ability to “repair itself on the fly” by accurately rebuilding the audio
or file data as it was originally coded at the transmitter. If this can’t be done, then
WinDRM keeps track of the errors (bad data segments) in the file and with the BSR, the
data can be replaced with error free data using either the manual request (user
intervention required) or automated using the ARQ feature in a point to point QSO.
PC requirements
Windows OS, 2000 or XP. 700mHz minimum processor speed with 1.2GHz or higher to
ensure smooth operation. Avoid executing other programs while WinDRM is decoding or
transmitting. For testing/experimenting, 2+ GHz PCs can run two instances (i.e. A to B)
of WinDRM in a back-to-back mode (connect sound card line out/speaker to line in/mic
and carefully set levels or use Virtual Audio Cables VAC. Instance A may then be used
to transmit pictures to instance B. If VAC is available (a separate program), DV may
5
also be demonstrated since VAC take care of exchanging data between each instance of
WinDRM allowing microphone voice input to the sound card.
Status of received data in the Info box for images (RX Pics)
The “Info” box during receive provides a status of the data being decoded as it is
received. These counters are shown in three sets of one to three digits separated with a
forward slash (/). The first set is the number of memory segments (size) in the file. The
second set shows the number of good segments decoded. The last set shows the segment
number of the last segment decoded.
The first set of numbers represents what WinDRM “knows about” at the start of the
transmission and will change because the program begins assembling the data before the
total is known. If a segment is received in error (CRC failure), a following instance
provides the opportunity to receive it again. If received OK, the counter will increment.
After all the data is received, the segment counts will all agree indicating the file has been
received error free. If a picture was received, it will open up in Irfanview or the
viewer/program associated with the file’s extension. Note: The segment size increases
with the constellation size (4 thru 64) of the QAM since it is possible to transmit more
bits per symbol in the higher order constellations.
Status of received data in the Info box for voice (RX)
While receiving voice, the Info block displays 1 to 100% representing the quality of the
decoded data. The quality is determined by the number of good frames of data received
*versus bad since the last synchronization. Drop outs (speech loss) may be experienced
with 70 percent or less. With SNRs of 12 or higher, expect a quality number near 100
percent (no dropouts).
6
Status of transmitted data in the Info box for files ( TX Pics)
After transmitting the lead in sync data, the Info box provides the status of the file as it is
being sent. The counter consists of two sets of numbers separated by a forward slash (/).
First set shows the instance being sent while the second set shows the percentage (1 to
100 percent) of the total segments sent. The number of instances the file will be sent is
shown in the “Select File” window. A choice of 1 to 3 may be selected but additional
instances can be sent by adding the file in the Select File window more than once.
Status of transmitted data in the Info box for voice (TX)
No data is shown in the Info box during voice transmission except during the lead in sync
period.
Info box during “lead in” transmission
In both picture and voice transmissions, lead in sync data is sent to the receiving station
for setting up the timing and other OFDM carrier information. This lead in maybe
lengthened to provide more set up (sync) time at the receive end by selecting long lead in
under the Select Files window. While the lead in is being sent (up to several seconds),
the Info box will increment various numbers indicating this data is being transmitted and
the actual file data has not started. Some of this data includes determining the size of the
file and packetizing data prior to be sent.
Text Message data
Up to 128 ASCII characters (including spacing) may be transmitted. Greater than 128
will be truncated at the receive window. Text messages may not be sent with data
(file/picture transmissions). Text messages may be added or changed during TX. The
data rate is only 80bps, but the message is continuously transmitted during the voice
transmission. In receive, the text message window remains open at the end of the
transmission. This message window may be closed at any time but will re-open while
7
data is being received. Text messages may only be sent and received with Digital Voice
transmissions.
Transmit and Receive parameters (and transceiver setup)
For optimum performance, the OFDM carriers must fit within the band pass of the
receiver and transmitter. The default 350 Hz DC Offset was chosen to ensure the 2.5Khz
wide OFDM signal is inside both the transmit and receive audio band pass. The 350Hz is
an offset from DC (0 hertz) and where the carriers of the OFDM begin. The timing
(OFDM searches for this) locks on and starts all it’s shifting up in frequency from the DC
offset for all 57 carriers. This offset can be changed but it must chosen so the spectrum
will fit within the TX and RX band passes. If the DC is moved too much from 350, all
the OFDM carriers may not fit within these band passes. Although it is not important to
be exactly on the transmitting stations frequency, modern transceivers should allow the
receiving station to be within 100hz of this offset frequency. Too far off frequency may
result in lowering SNR if OFDM carriers fall outside the receiver’s band pass. If any
tuning of the frequency is made during receive, the signal is phase shifted and attenuated.
The orthogonality of the OFDM symbols may also be destroyed and this causes ICI
(inter-carrier-interference). This will immediately stop decoding data. Click on “Reset”
to re-sync the data if any tuning must be done to bring all carriers within the band pass of
the receiver. When the WinDRM users talk on SSB, carefully tune to their SSB
frequency. This will ensure you are on the frequency being used for DRM data also. Be
sure the receiver’s band pass is at least set to at least 2.5 kHz FLAT band pass with no
DSP and/or audio processing. For most receivers, setting AGC to Fast (or OFF) will
improve SNR. For transmit, minimize distortion by turning off compression, EQ (or DSP
filtering within the band pass) and avoid any ALC action. For 100 watt rigs, set power to
approximately 15 watts average power. This mode works best with very linear
transmitters and amplifiers. All commercial DRM transmitters are Class A. OFDM has a
rather high crest factor caused by the mathematical FFT operation applied to the
transmitted signal. The peak power is much higher (7-9 dB) than the average power read
on a conventional wattmeter. Experience has found that operating out of the linear region
of your transceiver and/or amplifier may result in a 3 to 4 dB lower SNR at the receiving
station. For a detailed explanation of how to set the power out of your transmitter, go to:
http://www.tima.com/~djones/DRM_power.htm WinDRM’s Shifted Power Spectrum
Density (Shifted PSD) in the absence of multi-path/QRM, will display a “Flat top” signal
across the entire bandwidth of the received signal. Ask the receiving station to comment
on your transmitted signal using this display. If it is not “flat”, then either the transmitter
or the receiving station’s is not set up properly which can degrade performance.
CODEC
Select under DRM TX Settings, “CODEC” (voice) or “DATA” (files/pics) being
transmitted will be displayed. Under program control (FAC data), the receiving station
will automatically decode and display the mode of transmission being sent (LPC,
SPEEX, or Data).
SNR
8
Signal-to-Noise-Ratio is an estimated value that indicates the quality and strength of the
received signal. Experience has found, near error free data may be decoded with a SNR
greater than 7.0 dB. The higher the number, the better the signal is being received. An
SNR of 10 or better usually ensures error free copy. QRN, QRM, transmit distortion and
propagation problems caused by multi-path cancellation lower the SNR. Transmitters
and amplifiers operating out of their linear region (trying to run too much power!), failure
to turn off compression or DSP/EQ and too narrow band pass all degrade SNR. Under
ideal band conditions, SNR will rise to 25db or greater when both the transmitting and
receiving stations are set up properly. Note: SNR is determined from the carriers
between the low (725Hz) and high (1850Hz) reference pilot carriers only.
DC
Refers to the frequency offset from 0 Hz to the start of OFDM carriers. Default is set at
350Hz. This is an arbitrary number chosen to ensure both the 2.3 and 2.5 kHz signal BW
“fits” within the bandpass of the receiving station. This may be confirmed by observing
the shifted PSD, transfer function displays or the moving waterfall displays. The accuracy
of the receiving station’s tuning for the COFDM signal is dependent upon this factor
which will allow a 100-125Hz tuning error without affecting the decoding process. It is
important to note however, that once sync is obtained, no further “tuning” of the signal
should be attempted. A blue vertical line indicates the location of DC offset. Values of 50
to 5000 Hz are valid entries but 350 Hz is normally used.
Mode
Displays the DRM TX settings. The default is:
B (DRM Mode B) S (Short Interleave) 16 (Main Service Channel 16 Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation) 0 (Protection level) 2.5 (2.5 kHz Bandwidth). Most stations
use 2.5kHz since additional carriers are available with this wider BW giving better
receive performance. TX DRM modes are selected to correlate with the quality of the
signal (as affected by propagation, signal strength, QRN, etc) available at the receive end.
These modes affect the transmission speed and robustness of the received signal. For
more info, see “DRM TX Settings” later in this doc.
9
Setup
Any com port 1 through 8 may be selected for control of the transmitter’s PTT using
conventional RS232C data terminal ready (DTR) line. For most applications, a standard
RS232C cable is used to connect the PC’s com port to the sound card interface
(RigBlaster or equivalent). In addition, the DTR or ready to send (RTS) line may be
used to mute the receiver’s speaker while receiving data. Implementation of this feature
may be found at KB4YZ’s web site. (http://www.kiva.net/~djones/index.htm ) WinDRM
may be started and the PTT controlled in the “Remote” (PTT on CTS or PTT on DSR)
mode using the com port’s CTS or DSR line. This Remote mode will allow the use of
external switching from the PTT switch on a microphone or a PTT foot switch. To avoid
a possible ground loop, an optical isolator or a relay should be used to assert (apply a
positive +5 to 12vdc) to either the DSR or CTS line. Note: Due to some ambiguity
between Windows OS and WinDRM, the CTS and DSR are reversed (CTS is pin 6 and
DSR is pin 8 in the 9 pin Sub-D PC’s com port connector). Use of a pull-down resistor
on these pins will help ensure no false PTTs. For com port protection, a current-limiting
resistor may be used in series with the positive voltage applied to the DSR or CTS pin.
This Remote feature is not saved in WinDRM’s user’s settings file therefore when used,
it must be checked each time the program is executed. TX voice may also be activated
using the keyboard’s spacebar. With “TX Voice” in focus (as show in above display),
taping the spacebar will put WinDRM in transmit (activating PTT) and pushing it again
will return WinDRM to receive (a toggle function). To un-focus TX voice and avoid
placing WinDRM in transmit while using the keyboard for other functions, push the
keyboard’s “Tab” key. Spacebar PTT will not function while in the “Remote” mode.
10
Setup
Call sign
Up to 8 number/letters may be entered. “NOCALL” is the default.
11
Setup
Display
Receive Spectrum
The Spectrum’s display is approximately 2.5 kHz wide in the horizontal while the
vertical shows the amplitude in dB (no scales are shown for any of the displays). The
shape of the signal is rectangular (flat top) and represents the 2.3 or 2.5 KHz band width
of the received signal. This display may be used to set the audio input level of the sound
card. Too much input will over-drive the sound card (line input should always be used
when available) and may cause distortion and low SNR. Carefully adjust the line input
level and the receiver audio until the top of the COFDM spectrum averages
approximately half way up in the display window. Although there is normally good
dynamic range in most sound cards, the goal is obtain the highest SNR reading. After
sync has been obtained, a blue vertical line will appear in the spectrum. This blue line
shows where the timing for acquiring the COFDM signal has started (the DC offset
frequency) which is normally 350Hz. This line may pop up intermittently as it will
“false” on random noise and should be ignored when no valid COFDM signal is being
received. The three reference pilot carriers are easily seen in the display with frequencies
of 725, 1475 and 1850Hz.
12
Receive Waterfalls
Three waterfalls are available, Moving, Static, and Flicker reduced. The COFDM
spectrum will be displayed with an even intensity level across its 2.3 or 2.5 KHz
bandwidth. Within the waterfall, three FAC reference (or pilot carriers) of higher
intensity can be seen. These stand out because they have higher gain (transmitted at
twice the power). These FAC pilots are modulated with known fixed phases and
amplitude which optimize DRM’s performance for initial synchronization, duration and
reliability. They are used to calculate the initial coarse frequency offset of the received
DRM signal. This is the first part of the COFDM sync process and must occur before the
received DRM signal can be decoded. The high-lighted red markers at the top of the
waterfall display indicate where the FAC reference carriers are located when the
transmitter and receiver DC offsets match. The moving waterfall sweeps from top to
bottom with the red marker’s indicating the position of reference carriers remaining fixed
at the top of the display. The moving waterfall adds a visual method to monitor the
health of the decoded signal in the form of a vertical line on each side of the waterfall
spectrum. During the decoding process, the green vertical lines indicate data is being
received without errors and red lines indicate errors. These green/red indicators move
with the spectrum instantly showing when and where the data errors occurred. The
horizontal line across the top of this display indicates the bandwidth of the COFDM
signal. The signal in the waterfall should fully extend the width of this line. The Flicker
reduced waterfall is a modified moving waterfall designed to reduce “flicker” from some
types of fast LCD or laptop displays. Note: The waterfall display shown above depicts
the effects of multi-path cancellation as shown by the darkened (“notches”) areas. The
carriers in this area are being attenuated due to these phenomena. The two bright lines (on
the bottom left, just before the start of data) is unwanted noise (probably caused by a
ground loop between the transceiver and the PC soundcard) on the Speaker Out audio
line to the transceiver’s Mic input. Every effort should be made to eliminate this type of
interference when connecting audio cables between the PC and the transceiver. To
minimize ground loop and/or RFI problems associated with sound cards and the
13
transceiver, refer to these informative papers found at:
http://audiosystemsgroup.com/SAC0305Ferrites.pdf
and http://audiosystemsgroup.com/Ferrites-Ham.pdf
Important: It can not be emphasized enough that common mode noise (i.e. ground
loops – ac currents) must be eliminated or risk the high probability that unwanted noise
will be heard in the speaker at the receiving station while decoding digital voice. When
this noise is present, it is directly proportional to the TX microphone (mixer) level input
and will reduce the favorable experience expected of this mode. Only the decoded voice
should be heard from the PC speakers.
Input Level (receive)
This display graphically shows the received audio. Sound card (recording) Line Input
may be set to approximate the level as shown in the display above.
14
Shifted PSD (receive)
This display plots the “estimated Power Spectrum Density (PSD) of the input signal”.
The X axis measures the PSD of 0 to 50dB while the Y axis is frequency from 0 to 12
KHz. Here the incoming DC frequency (350 Hz) is mixed with 5650 Hz to give a 6 KHz
(the blue vertical line is correctly shown in DRM mode B only). The peak on the left is
the mirror image (5650 – 350 = 5300 Hz) and is partially suppressed by the WinDRM’s
internal IF filter. If a peak is displayed between the signal and the mirror signal, a
50/60Hz noise could be in the transmitted audio from ground loop. The three peaks seen
at the top of the waveform are the pilot carriers for sync and have twice the power. Any
roll off or dips in the waveform indicate the carriers in these areas have a loss of power
caused by QSB and/or attenuation in the band pass of the transmitter or receiver. If the
transmitter or receiver does not allow the 2.3/2.5khz wide (350 to 2850Hz) DRM signal
to pass without attenuation, this waveform will roll off on either end. Up to 10dB or
more SNR can be lost because careful attention has not been taken to properly set up the
transmitter, receiver and soundcard for the “flat top” OFDM spectrum.
15
Transfer Function ( receive)
This plot shows the “squared magnitude of the channel estimation at each sub carrier”.
The green line is the transfer function (TF in dB) while the blue line shows the phase
distortion of the channel (Group Delay in ms). Optimum signals will yield a flat response
and display even/flat lines across the width of the display.
Impulse Response (receive)
This plot shows the “estimated Impulse Response (IR) of the channel based on the
channel estimation”. This pulse is used in determining the HF channel’s frequency and
phase characteristics so the signal may be restored as close as possible to what it looks
like at the transmitter. The time delay of the shortest path is taken as the zero reference
for the estimated pulse response.
16
Fast Access Channel (FAC) Phase (receive)
This plot shows the 4 QAM rectangular constellation. For more info on QAM see above
info under FAC radio button and this URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrature_amplitude_modulation
.
Main Service Channel (MSC) (receive)
This plot shows the various constellations for a 4 through 64 QAM logical channel that
provides the voice and file data. High SNR keeps the points in a close (tight)
constellation but some scattering is expected on HF where the Reed-Solomon error
17
correction coding is applied. QAM varies the amplitude and phase of each one of the
carriers (for 16 QAM and up). Then, through frequency multiplexing (adding these
carriers together across the 2.3/2.5 kHz BW) the OFDM is created. 16QAM is shown
here.
Setup
CODEC
Either Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) or SPEEX open source CODECs may be selected
for digital voice. LPC is the default. All three require 2.5 kHz/2400bps minimum data
(default
CODECs, see: http://www.otolith.com/otolith/olt/lpc.html and http://www.speex.org/.
Robust DV is not “easy” to do on HF and may never meet everyone’s needs. A couple of
seconds delay is required for sync before voice can be decoded therefore fast break-ins
are not currently possible. And, DV is not as robust as SSB.
18
Setup
Text Message
Edit TX Text Message (voice mode only)
Selecting “Edit TX Text Message” will open up a window to enter text.
Up to 128 ASCII characters (including spacing) may be transmitted. Greater than 128
will be truncated in the receive window. Text messages can not be sent with data
(file/picture transmissions). Text messages may be sent, changed or deleted during a
voice transmission. The data rate is only 80bps, but the message is continuously
transmitted during the voice transmission. This may be used to send your QTH and
station info and will remain open after the DV transmission has been completed.
Allow RX Text Message (default)
Default provides a window for receiving the transmitted messages. This text message
window remains open for further review after the transmission has ended. (For more info,
see previous “Edit TX Text Message” description)
19
Setup
Save Received Files
Checked (default) indicates files received without errors will be saved in the sub-folder of
WinDRM named “Pictures”. If a file is missing segments, it will be saved in the
“Corrupted” subfolder. Both of these folders are initially created by WinDRM.exe.
20
Show Received Files
Checked (default) indicates error-free files will automatically be displayed (when
associated with a viewer such as Irfanview). Irfanview is the “viewer of choice” and may
be downloaded free at www.irfanview.com Irfanview requires a plug-in and must be
associated with the image file extensions (.jpg, jp2 etc) to display pictures. In Irfanview,
go to Options>Set File Associations>Extensions then select “Images Only” or just check
the extensions you wish Irfanview to display. Note: Received files and pictures will be
saved in the Pictures or Corrupt folders even if no viewer has been configured. Note:
Plug file name is typically named irfanview_plugins_xxx.exe (xxx = version).
Show Only First Instance
Checked (default) indicates only a single instance of an error-free file will be displayed
when received multiple times.
21
Soundcard
Opening the mixer will display the sound card’s “Recording” and “Playback” sliders for
Audio in and out. These are associated as follows:
RX Input = Mixer Recording Line-In (connect to receiver’s speaker)
TX Output = Mixer Playback Master Volume (connect to transmitter’s microphone input)
Voice input = Mixer Recording Mic-In (connect PC microphone to soundcard)
Voice output = Mixer Playback Master Volume (connect to amplified PC speakers)
22
For Digital Voice using a single sound card, inputs are switched under program control
(receive line-in switched to mic-in for transmit). Adjust mixer sliders for proper input
and output levels. Start with the “sliders” approximately one-third up. Only the
RECORDING microphone should be enabled. For transmit, PLAYBACK Master
Volume and Wave Out must be selected. Use the Master Volume for the coarse
adjustment and Wave out as the fine adjustment. Note: Uncheck/deselect all other
inputs/outputs. For decoded Digital Voice, Mixer Playback Master Volume must be
manually switched between the PC’s amplified speakers for receive and the transmitter’s
mic input for transmit. If two sound cards are available, set up one card for Receive and
the other for Transmit. Then, no manual switching will be required. Note: For ease of
setup/use, two sound cards are highly recommended Digital Voice. It is very easy to add
a second sound card especially if it is a USB. A low cost “USB 2.0 to Audio Adapter
w/Microphone Jack” card for (under $10) may be found at www.geeks.com. This is a
thumbnail size card (p/n HE-280B) and requires no additional drivers for XP. Just plug
it in, XP finds and installs the drivers and WinDRM will display both cards under
“Soundcard”. USB headsets may also be used (i.e. Logitech 250/350) For further help
with the Soundcard Mixer, see http://www.sagebrush.com/mixtech.htm
DRM TX Settings
Mode A/B/E (A = Ground wave B = Single to multi hops E = NVIS Multi-hops)
MSC Protection (
BandWidth (2.3Khz – 2.5Khz)
Interleave (Short 400ms – fast QSB Long 2sec – Slow QSB)
MSC Coding (4/16/64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)
DC Offset (50-350-5000Hz)
Clicking the Default button will result in the following
23
Mode MSC Protection Bandwidth Interleave MSC Coding DC offset
B Normal 2.5 Short 16QAM 350
Robust lowers the transmission BPS by changing 16QAM to 4QAM. Speed raises the
transmission BPS by changing Mode to A, MSC protection to Low and Interleave to
Long 2 seconds. Long interleave requires additional sync time. Voice requires 2.5kHz
bandwidth for the 2400 bps CODECs. 64QAM on a HF channel requires a higher SNR
and minimum multi-path to perform well. MSC Protection A, B and E provides different
levels of forward error protection (FEC) to protect the MSC from the detrimental effects
of QSB/QRM/QRN. B is higher than A with E (known as D in DRM) for Near Vertical
Incidence Skywave (NVIS) transmission where the signal is transmitted with a very high
angle of radiation short path propagation. In practice, however the extra protection for
this mode appears to have limited results. In DRM, Mode A is used for ground wave
propagation where Mode B for single hop/multiple hop propagation. The default mode
“B” on HF has shown to have the best overall performance. Mode E has been shown to
be the most robust in the presence of multipath and weaker signal levels.
Note: A BSR request may be made using different (larger to smaller QAM constellation)
the request through lower SNRs. However, the originating station responding to this
request must send the response to this request (“Send bad segment report”) in the same
DRM RX Settings
Default settings are:
24
Freq. Acq. Sens. Search Window Size Auto Reset
60 350 Enabled
Higher settings increase sensitivity for weak signals but with higher probability of false
sync. Fast Auto Reset has shown to be effective in providing faster sync recover under
poor signal conditions. These settings work well in the default mode, however this is a
good area for hams to experiment and find what settings are best under varying
signal/band conditions.
BSR (Bad Segment Report – automated)
BSR provides a procedure to repair (sometimes called a “fix”) a defective file or picture.
Normally, a defective file or picture is caused when the received station does not receive
all the memory segments error free (segment failed CRC check). Depending upon how
many segments were not received, the picture may not be displayed using the SPA (Show
Picture Anyway) or will appear unclear/blurry. When this happens, clicking on the
“BSR” button will open a window and show the number of segments “missing”. The
received station may then send a BSR “Request” to the sending station and request these
missing segments be resent so the file (picture) may be repaired and displayed. This is the
manual method and requires user intervention. The “automated” BSR completely
automates this procedure for P2P (point to point) transfer of files. Auto Open BSR
request, TX ARQ and RX ARQ must be checked to initiate this procedure. Note:
WinDRM does not look for activity on the frequency. The procedure simply relies on
timing between the tx to rx and rx to tx change-overs and does not “listen” on the channel
for other activity. Therefore, users should maintain control of the station while this
automated BSR is being executed, i.e. “attended” operation. Upon a successful Auto
ARQ exchange, the sending station will send “Good Copy” to the receive station’s
waterfall. Note: Up to 30 additional segments are sent in with the receiver’s BSR. These
“additional” segments are sent to ensure the receiving station is in sync. Up to four
multiple BSRs windows may be open at one time. There requests may be transmitted one
25
at a time or all can be transmitted by clicking on the “BSR send” button while any one of
these request are being made (during transmission).
Load last RX file
When selected, the last error free file received will be loaded in the “Select Files”
window. This is normally used when the entire file is to be re-sent.
Auto open BSR request
Automatically opens up the BSR window when a defective file is received. This must be
checked to initiate the automated BSR procedure.
TX ARQ
Automates the “send” request for the BSR
RX ARQ
Automates the “receive” request for BSR Note: For auto BSR, both transmit and receive
stations must have Auto open BSR Request, TX ARQ and RX ARQ checked.
BSR (button)
Bad Segment Report
When a picture is received with segments missing, a left click on this button will display
the number of segments. Press “OK” to request these segments be re-sent.
26
SPA (button)
Show Picture Anyway
Left click on this button will attempt to associate and display the last received picture
even if it the file is incomplete. If there is enough data for the picture to partially
assemble the picture, it will be displayed. Dependent up on the amount of missing data
(memory segments) and preference of the received station, the user may then click on the
BSR button to show the number of segments missing. Now, the BSR the request can be
made to resend the missing data. The picture above is an example of a picture displayed
using the SPA with missing segments.
Picture shown “repaired” after receiving the missing 35 segments using the BSR request
procedure. Note: This entire procedure may be automated when the “Auto Open BSR,”
“TX ARQ” and “RX ARQ” checked.
27
Example of the transmitting station’s responding to a BSR request. Note: This is not the
data used in the previous repaired picture.
G (button – works with Windows XP only)
Good (good picture received)
Left click on G will transmit a pre-recorded wave file displaying “GOOD” in
the received station’s waterfall. Filename: g.wav
B (button – works with Windows XP only)
BAD (bad picture received)
Left click on B will transmit a pre-recorded wave file displaying “BAD” in
the received station’s waterfall. Filename: b.wav
28
ID (button – works with Windows XP only) Left click on ID will transmit a pre-recorded
wave file displaying the transmitting station’s call sign in the received station’s waterfall.
Filename: id.wav
For help in creating these wave files, go to KB4YZ’s web site:
http://www.kiva.net/~djones/index.htm
TUNE (button)
Left click on TUNE will transmit a pre-recorded wave file for setting the proper output
level of the transmitter. Three reference pilot (sync) carriers will be displayed in the
received station’s waterfall. From left to right, A=1850Hz, B=1475Hz and C=725Hz.
With a properly adjust transmitter (good linearity – not overdriven!), the receiving station
will only see these 3 carriers. Any others displayed (at the receiving station) are products
of inter-modulation distortion which will degrade performance. See KB4YZ’s WinDRM
tuning file at http://www.tima.com/~djones/drmtune.htm. Non-linearity can cause
spectral re-growth of unwanted carriers. Driving the typical transceiver and/or power
amplifier too hard will cause this spectral regrowth (unwanted carriers). Yes it is just as
bad as it sounds and it should be avoided. Drive 100w transceivers to only 20w max
average and a typical 1kw amps to 200w average power. For the adverse effects caused
by non linear transmissions, see http://www.tima.com/~djones/DRM_power.htm
29
TX Pic (button)
Left click opens a window to add or remove files for transmission. Radio buttons enable
from 1 to 3 instances of the file be transmitted. Additional instances of the same file may
be sent by adding the file multiple times in the Select Files window. Long Leadin
increases the time for sync data at the beginning of the transmission. This is used in the
presence of weaker signal conditions or QRM to help ensure the sync is made at the
receiving station prior to sending the file data. Return button closes and returns to the
opening WinDRM display. TX button starts transmission of sync data followed by the
file data.
30
TX Voice (button)
Left click starts a voice transmission (or if in focus, tap the spacebar). The microphone
must be connected to the soundcard’s “MIC” input. The display graphically shows the
transmit microphone level (sound card’s microphone input). Adjust the mixer’s Record
slider while speaking across the PC microphone. Best results will be found when the
microphone input level is kept rather low while speaking in a loud tone of voice. Keep
the average level so peaks fill approximately 50-75% of the display. Speaking too loud
will cause the display to turn red. Some PC electret microphones have poor non-linear
response and may sound “basey” yet tend to accentuate the highs which cause high peaks
and distortion in this application. Experiment in this area to find the best microphone and
level for the highest speech quality The audio filter may help the intelligence of the
speech in some conditions. SPEEX sounds like it adds more fidelity to the speech (when
compared to LPC) but at the same time, it is a bit muffled and tends to “flat top” the input
easier. This is an area where a well chosen microphone (such as a one from Heil Sound)
will improve the voice quality. The input impedance of most sound cards microphone is
approximately 2500 ohms. This impedance may vary but should be a consideration when
choosing a microphone. The TX button name changes to “RX” while transmitting.
“Echo” of the decoded voice may be caused by some combinations of PC and soundcard.
This may be a soundcard latency problem related to the timing and transfer of data or a
ground loop. Changing sound cards may correct this problem. Known “good” low cost
sound cards include M-Audio, and Sound Blaster Audigy series. When retuning to
Receive, the button label will momentarily display “Wait” (for approximately 2 seconds)
while the transmit buffer empties. If the “Remote” feature is activated (PTT on DSR or
PTT CTS checked under Setup>
display Remote.
Note: A very small low cost (less than $10 USD) USB sound card by C-Media (HE-
280B has shown to perform very well with WinDRM. It may be found at
www.geeks.com Or use a USB headset such as the Logitec model 250 or 350.
31
RESET (button)
Reset re-starts the sync process in receive. Normally, this button is rarely needed.
About
Info
32
About
Help
33
Typical connections between PC, interface and radio
See “
available com port 1 thru 8 may be used for all functions (PTT, Spacebar PTT, Remote
PTT and Transceiver Speaker Mute).
Further DRM technical info and software may be found at:
http://www.drmrx.org/, (DREAM 1.10.6cvs or later) and www.drmradio.co.uk
------------------------------------------ -------------- ------------------------------------------
updated 23-Jul-2008
© copyright 2005-2008 by Mel Whitten, KØPFX – mel@melwhitten.com
Suggested Frequencies: (Warning – most of these are from web pages dated two or more years ago…things look bad)
80 Meters:
3.606 net, 7pm CST, usually daily except Saturdays
40 Meters:
7.130 2230Z net
7.096 EU
7.169.33, 7.170, 7.173, 7.177, 7.286, 7.291 (USB)
20 Meters:
14.255 EU
Monday-Friday daily net at 11AM Eastern time - 14.236
Saturday/Sunday net at 1900 UTC - 14.236
14.236 is most popular AOR frequency
17 Meters:
18.1625
15 Meters:
21.370
Sorry, many dead links on the AOR and FDMDV pages – especially the on-line finder for skeds
http://n1su.com/aor-ard-9800.html
http://n1su.com/fdmdv/download.html
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Blog-Post -11-Packet Radio by AGW Packet Engine
Blog-Post -11-Packet Radio by AGW Packet Engine
Finding and installing SV2AGW’s Packet Engine Software, AGWTerminal, a very simple terminal program. All the software listed here is for Windows – there are other versions of the software for most other operating systems. Just go to the original links provided in the tutorial below. For the windows versions, just go to the WA-DIGITAL yahoo group and check in the files section:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-digital/files/
and look in the Packet Radio Folder Using AGW
Or go to the original site by SV2AGW
http://www.sv2agw.com/downloads/default.htm
Instructions below were originally from: http://www.kc2rlm.info/soundcardpacket/
A huge THANKS! To Ralph Milnes, KC2RLM for the following information:
Download and Install AGWPE
1. Download the AGWPE Program
- The AGWPE web site is http://www.sv2agw.com/ham/agwpe.htm
- You can download the AGWPE program from the AGW Programs page on this site. It has download links to get the file from SV2AGW's website or directly from this website.
The AGWPE setup file comes in "zip" format. If you need an unzip program, visit the WinZip site for the latest copy of WinZip.
2. Install AGWPE
Note: To remove a prior version of AGWPE from your system, simply delete the files in the AGWPE folder or, even simper, delete the folder. You can not use the Windows' "Add or Remove Programs" routine in the Control Panel, since AGWPE is not "installed" in Windows like most other programs.
|
- 1. AGWPE does not us the typical Windows "Add or Remove Programs" install routine from the Control Panel (Start> Settings> Control Panel> Add or Remove Programs ).
Instead, simply extract the zipped files into a new folder. I always create a new folder for each version of AGWPE that I download, since each version of the program uses the same file names and I don't want to mix files from different versions.
| Language files: You do not need to unzip the alternate language files into the AGWPE folder if you plan to use the default language of English. (For more information on alternate language files see the Tips and Tricks page.) |
- 2. Note that the main AGWPE program is called AGW Packet Engine.exe
You may want to create a Windows shortcut to this file on your desktop. You can also add a link to AGW Packet Engine.exe on your Windows Start Menu by dragging and dropping a copy of the AGWPE shortcut icon onto the Windows Start button on the Task Bar at the bottom of your screen.
Do I need to install special drivers for using the parallel port to control PTTl?Not any more. Earlier versions of AGWPE did require special parallel drivers, but they are no longer necessary. For the most recent versions of AGWPE, e.g. since version 2001.38, it is not necessary to download or use the drivers.zip file from the AGWPE site despite what the AGWPE program Help file or the AGWPE web site may say. |
Basic AGWPE Program Setup
One Radio to One Sound Card
Navigating in AGWPE
Configuring the Radio Port Properties
Configuring the Sound Card
AGWPE uses the concept of Radio Ports to define how it will interface with a radio. An AGWPE radio port is created for each TNC, radio modem or sound card channel that AGWPE will manage. This page will show you how to setup an AGWPE sound card radio port in just a few minutes. Note that to complete your configuration, you will need to decide which RS-232 port (COM or LPT) you plan to use for PTT control, in other words, where your PTT cable will connect to the computer. Usually this is an unused COM port. See PTT Cable for more information.
Before starting AGWPE, always close:
- any programs that might be using the serial or parallel port you plan to use for PTT control
- any programs that might be accessing the sound card
a. Navigating in AGWPE
When you start the AGW Packet Engine.exe program for the first time, you will be greeted with a Packet Engine banner all in gold and a Software License Agreement which you must accept. The banner will disappear in a few seconds or you can click on it once to speed things up. At this point, you will discover that AGWPE does not put an open Window on your desktop, nor will there be a button on the bottom Task Bar of your screen. Instead, all you will find is the AGWPE tower icon 
on your Windows System Tray at the bottom right of your screen. This icon is your only access to AGWPE when it is running! To help you find it, a yellow pop-up 'balloon' message points to the icon when AGWPE starts.
To change any of AGWPE's configurations, left or right click on the AGWPE icon to bring up AGWPE's pop-up menu:
Note: The Sound Card Tuning Aid option on the menu
will be grayed out until you create and configure a "radio port"
as described below.
b. Create and Configure an AGWPE Radio Port
The first step in working with AGWPE is to create and configure a radio port for a sound card channel and its associated radio. From the AGWPE menu, select Properties. A blank RadioPort Selection window will open. Press the
The Properties for Port`1 window should now appear. Remember that AGWPE also can manage TNCs and radio modems, so some of the fields on this screen will not pertain to sound cards. The field outlined in red will be the key fields for a sound card radio port. Follow the step below in filling out the fields:
1. Make the following selections first on this screen (i.e. TNC Setup tab):
| | enter the port where you will attach your PTT cable, e.g. COM1 or LPT1; see notes below * |
| TNC Radioport:
| you can overwrite the current description for Port 1 and enter a description of your own choice, e.g. Icom 1200 Packet |
* Notes about Port selections (COM & LPT):
- To select a parallel port scroll to the bottom of the port list
- If you are setting up a receive-only installation or using a SignaLink interface or other audio-controlled PTT interface and don't want to tie up a real port for a PTT line you won't be using, the AGW software will accept non-existent parallel port assignments, but not non-existent serial ports.
2. You can leave all other selections at their defaults, including Serial Port/ Modem Baud Rate, which is not used for sound cards.
3. Now go to the TNC Type field in the top middle of the screen and use the pull down list to select "Sound Card".
c. Settings on the Sound Card Setup screen:
When you select "Sound Card" for your TNC Type (or if press the Options button in the middle of the TNC setup window, underneath TNC subtype), the program will bring up the SoundCard Modem/TNC Setup window which looks like this:
1. Baud Rates: Note that your sound card is capable of supporting two radio ports using its left and right audio channels. If you are only using one radio, it will be Port 1 on the left channel. Set the left channel baud rate for the rate you plan to use, i.e. 300 baud for HF SSB work; or 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 for VHF/UHF work.
Assuming that you will not be using the right channel for a second radio connection, set the right channel rate for a baud rate different from the one you have chose for the left channel. This may prevent the possibility of future problems. (If you will be connecting to 2 radios, see Configuring AGWPE for 2 Radios. )
2. Sound Card Selection: Use the pull down menu to select the sound card device you will be using with AGWPE. You may see other choices, such as a telephone modem (don't use) or another another card if you have two.
3. For now leave the other fields at their defaults:
- Full Duplex Driver: The Full Duplex Driver box should be checked. Most recent sound cards are full-duplex capable. If you later encounter transmitting problems, you may need to un-check the Full Duplex Driver box. This is likely to apply only to older sound cards; see Problems with Connections for more about this.
- Sound Card Clock: This setting is used if you have problems receiving distant stations; see the Problems with Receiving page for more information, but for now leave the setting at 4, the default.
Now press the OK button to return to the Properties for Port1 window but do not close it yet.
4. Note that, by default, AGWPE has created two sound card radio ports. To avoid future operating problems, change the setting from
For a simple, first time installation, all other selections can remain "as is" (use the default selections), including those in the Tnc Commands tab window in the Properties for Port1 window and any other selections on the AGWPE menu.
5. Now press the OK button at the bottom of the Properties for Port1 window. You should get a popup message telling you to restart the program, so click on the Packet Engine icon 
once again and select 'Exit'. Now restart AGWPE. The Packet Engine icon should once again appear, but in addition you should now see a TNC icon 
next to it. This new icon represents your new sound card
d. Editing a Port's Properties
If you want to change a setting in the
e. Problems?
- Any time you have trouble starting or configuring AGWPE, it is often best to close AGWPE and delete all port*.ini files and the agwpe.ini file in your AGWPE directory/folder. Then restart and re-configure AGWPE from the very beginning.
- If you don't see this TNC icon , you probably have a conflict with another program or device:
- Make sure that the COM or LPT port you have select in AGWPE is not already dedicated to another device, for example, an internal modem or printer) or has been "captured" by another program (for example, your Palm Pilot's "Hot Sync Manager". You'll have to resolve any conflicts by either closing the other program, disabling the device, or selecting another port for AGWPE's PTT control.
- Make sure that no other program is running and using the the sound card.
For further help in resolving port conflicts, go to the Problems with Program Behavior page on this site.
BEGIN SPECIAL SIGNALINK SETUP SECTION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
AGWPE and the SignaLink USB
The Tigertronics SignaLink USB interface (http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbmain.htm) has many interesting features of value to AGWPE users:
Includes a built-in "sound card" chip so AGWPE doesn't need to use your computer's sound card
Uses the TX audio (VOX) to trigger your radio's PTT circuit -- doesn't need a serial or parallel port on your computer for PTT control
Only a single USB cable to the computer -- no audio cables to sound card jacks
Powered by the USB connection
1. Configuring the SignaLink USB for AGWPE
Be sure to read the SignaLink USB (SLU) documentation, especially the part about configuring the jumper wires inside the SLU to match your radio's pin-outs .
To create an AGWPE radio port for the SLU, first plug in the SLU's USB cable to your computer. Your computer should recognize a new USB device. (In my XP computer, Windows "connection" tones can be heard when this happens.)
Then follow the basic AGWPE setup to create an AGWPE radio port but with these exceptions:
1. In the Properties for Port1 window, for the Select Port field, select a non-existent LPT (parallel) port. Since the SLU does not require either a COM or LPT port for PTT control, there is no need for AGWPE to tie up a COM or LPT port on your computer.
2. At the bottom of the SoundCard Modem/TNC Setup window (found by pressing the Options button in the middle of the Properties for Port1 window), you will find the SoundCard Selection field. If necessary, use the scroll arrow to reveal and select the SLU's sound card, which is called USB Audio CODEC (on some computers it may be called USB Audio Device.
<-- click on this image for a larger image of the SoundCard Modem/TNC Setup window.
Then press OK to close all the AGWPE windows and restart AGWPE. The SignaLink USB should now be set to work with AGWPE.
2. Troubleshooting AGWPE - SignaLink USB (SLU) Problems
The SignaLink USB Installation and Operation Guide contains detailed information about recommended SLU settings and troubleshooting. There is also a website which has troubleshooting information http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbts.htm
Here are just a few key things to check if you have difficulties:
a. Received Audio - The RX audio dial on the front of the SLU is the only way to increase or decrease the RX audio levels (unless you are getting the RX audio from the speaker of your radio, in which case your radio volume control dial will also have an effect on the RX audio level). I've had good success with the SLU's RX audio dial set to the 9 o'clock position.
[You may have experience with other sound cards which use the Windows Volume Control Recording sliders to adjust RX volume levels. There is no such control with the SLU; likewise the RX control sliders on AGWPE's Sound Card Tuning Aid screen have no effect on the SLU's RX Audio levels.]
Also, set the DLY (Delay) dial on the front of the SLU to the 7 o'clock position (fully counterclockwise). This minimizes the time the SLU keeps your radio in transmit mode. If you increase the delay, the packet station which you are communicating with may begin to transmit before the SLU and your radio return to "receive" mode and you will not receive the first packet from the distant station.
b. TX Audio -
Use the Windows Volume Control program to control the SLU's TX audio levels. Follow the instructions on the Sound Card settings page of this web site, but set the Speaker slider for the USB Audio CODEC to maximum (up) and set the Wave slider to 50%.
Set the TX audio dial on the face of the SLU to the 9 o'clock position.
c. PTT Transmit fails:
If the SignaLink USB's PTT LED does NOT turn ON: Verify that the SignaLink USB’s PWR LED is ON. If it is not, then make sure that the SignaLink USB's PWR switch is pressed in and the USB cable is securely connected to the computer and the SignaLink.
Make sure AGWPE is configured to use the SignaLink USB’s built-in sound card. The program should have “USB Audio CODEC” selected.
Try increasing the Wave slider in the Windows Volume Control program for the USB Audio Codec. (There is also a special jumper setting inside the SLU to further increase TX audio levels; see the SLU Installation and Operation Guide.)
If the SignaLink is plugged into a USB hub, verify that the hub is a powered hub. Non-powered hubs may not supply enough power for the SignaLink to operate properly (Receive will work, but Transmit may not).
If the SignaLink USB's PTT LED turns ON but the radio doesn't switch to transmit, then you have most likely incorrectly installed the PTT jumper wires inside the SLU. Double check the wiring there and also make sure that the cable to your radio is going to the correct PTT pin (in some radios, the PTT pin for FM packet is different from the one used for SSB modes such as PSK-31, RTTY and SSTV; if this is the case, you will need a different cable for packet).
END SPECIAL SIGNAL LINK INFO +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Basic Sound Card Settings for AGWPE
For AGWPE to work, you need to set four basic sound card settings correctly:
- The receive audio source
- The receive audio volume level
- The transmit audio source
- The transmit audio volume level
You can adjust these sound card settings in two ways:
Other information on this page includes:
There are some advanced sound card settings that may also affect you. These include "Speaker Type", "Hardware Acceleration", and "Sample Rate". These are discussed on the Additional Settings page of this web site.
1. Using AGWPE to Adjust Basic Sound Card Settings
To set the volume controls from within AGWPE, right click the AGWPE tower icon 
to bring up the AGWPE menu and then click on Sound Card Tuning Aid. The Tuning Aid is a great way to adjust your RX (receive) volume. Note that the Tuning Aid screen window will remain on top of all other windows. You can drag it with the blue Title Bar if it gets in the way, but it's handy to keep it displayed throughout the volume adjusting process:
Then in the AGWPE Sound Card Tuning Aid window, click on the Set Volume button to get to this window:
See the sections a. and b. below for more information about these controls:
| Bug Report: There are still some problems with this AGWPE feature as of 2003.308:
If either of these problems affect you, then you need to use the Windows' Volume Control Program (see #2 below) to adjust the input source and/or the sound card being used. See #2 below. |
a. Receive Audio Settings (via AGWPE)
- Receive Audio Volume: The left Rx slider controls the receive volume (recording volume) of the left channel or port 1 of the sound card. The right column sliders control the right channel or port 2. (If you are using only one radio port in AGWPE, it will be the left slider).
I've had good success with the sliders set 1/3 up from the bottom. Be sure not to set them too low since it may stop all input (they don't have to be to the very bottom for audio input to be stopped). Use the sound card tuning aid's Sine Wave scope to see the results of your settings. The sine waves should fill about half the scope as in the Tuning Aid screen shot above. Use the volume slider to adjust the wave size. If you get the output from the radio's speaker jack, you can also adjust the radio volume. AGWPE is pretty tolerant of RX volume levels, but conceivably it is possible for the volume to be too loud or too soft.
If you don't see any waves, then your audio source setting is probably incorrect (see next paragraph) or, if you are using the radio's mike or speakers for RX audio, your radio's squelch in on; turn it off so you can hear the channel noise.
| Visit the Sound Card Tuning Aid page for more information, including screen shots of signal problems. |
·
- Receive Audio Source: See Bug Report above. The Rx Input Line (audio source) does not work as advertised in version 2003.3008. You need to use the Windows' Volume Control Program (see #2 below) to adjust your settings.
[When the bug is corrected, you will be able to select the source of your receive audio, either Line (meaning LINE IN) or Microphone, depending where your RX audio cable is plugged. As the screen says, other sources will be muted and that's good.]
(If you opt to use the Microphone instead of the Line In for RX in, be sure that you do not use the Microphone Boost option of your sound card. See Windows' Volume Control Programbelow for instructions on how to configure boost.)
- Set/Restore Options: If you use your sound card for programs other than AGWPE, the Set These Levels on Start and Restore Levels on Exit will be helpful. They allow you to set the volume especially for AGWPE and then return them to their previous settings when you exit AGWPE.
b. Transmit Audio Settings (via AGWPE)
- Transmit Audio Volume: The Tx Master sliders and two Tx Wave volume sliders work together: Wave means Program, in this case AGWPE and the packet tones it generates. The Tx Master sliders are a master control that will further adjust the Wave volume.
As with the RX sliders, the left column sliders (for both Master and Wave) control the left channel or port 1 of the sound card. The right column sliders control the right channel or port 2.
I've had good success with the sliders set 1/3 up from the bottom. Your setting will depend largely on how well the attenuation circuit in your TX audio cable matches the optimal microphone input level for your radio. See How Much TX Volume? below for some further advice.
It is essential that none of these two sliders be at the absolute bottom or near the bottom, as that may stop all output.
How Much TX Volume?You can get a rough idea of your TX volume by temporarily plugging your computer speakers into the LINE IN jack. But that will not tell you how what your TX audio sounds like on the air. It would be better to listen to your transmitted audio with a second radio. But the best way to check your transmit volume is with a deviation meter. The correct deviation is 3.75 kHz of deviation (+/- .25). But since most of us don't have a deviation meter, Jim K6CCC offered this alternate suggestion: My standard advice for people who do not have access to a deviation meter is to set your path to digipeat through a single local digipeater (e.g. TEST VIA WIDE ), then go into converse mode (UI mode) and transmit a single carriage return. Watch to see if your single packet gets digipeated by that one local digipeater. If it doesn't get digipeated on your first attempt, try several more times because it may not have gotten through because of a collision. If it does not get through after a few attempts, turn up the volume just to that point where it gets through reliably. Conversely, if the packet does get digipeated, turn down the transmit audio level a little and try again. Keep doing this (turning down the volume) until your packet does not get digipeated reliably. Then turn it back up just a little bit and verify you can get the packet reliably digipeated. It's FAR better to have your volume too low than too high! |
When you are done, press OK to save your settings and then close the Tuning Aid window.
2. Using Windows' Volume Control Program to Adjust Sound Card Settings
It's also possible to set the volume control settings with the Windows' Volume Control program, but the AGWPE method above in #1 is much easier. However, there may be some settings, such as Microphone Boost, that can only be controlled by Windows' Volume Control program and not AGPWE. The The sections below discuss how to configure Windows' Volume Control for :
- Tx source and audio (outgoing packet tones)
- Rx source and audio (incoming packet tones)
To start, you should see the volume control icon 
in the system tray on the lower right of your screen. If you don't, follow the directions on the sound settings page to display it.
a. Transmit Audio Settings (via Windows)
To set the source and volume level of your outgoing packet tones:
- Left click twice very quickly on the Volume Control icon (or go to the Control Panel and Sounds: Audio). The Volume Control window should open . It initially displays settings for just the Playback or TX audio ( sound card-to-radio). Here is what that window looks like in my system; it may be somewhat different in your system because of the sound card type:
- The settings of importance on this window are:
- The left most Volume Control volume slider and the Wave volume slider work together. Consider Wave to mean Program, in this case AGWPE, which is creating the outgoing packet tones. The Volume Control slider is a master control that will further adjust the Wave volume.
I've had good success with both sliders set 1/3 up from the bottom. Your setting will depend largely on how well the attenuation circuit in your TX audio cable matches the optimal microphone input of your radio. See How Much TX Volume? below for some further advice.
It's essential that neither of these two sliders be at the absolute bottom or near the bottom, and it's essential that the Mute boxes are not checked.
- Leave all Balance sliders in the middle. They are for stereo channel control and setting the slider to the wrong side could mute outgoing sounds to one of the two possible sound card channels/radioports.
- I mute all other audio output sources ( Mic, Line In and CD) so that only AGWPE (wave) outputs sound to the radio and not other sources.
b. Receive Audio Settings (via Windows)
To set the source and volume level of your receive or RX audio is a bit more difficult to find. These settings are found in a different Volume Control sub-window, the Recording Control window, whereas the outgoing sounds (see A. above) are set in the Playback window. This is very important. Many people do not realize this Recording window exists. Failure to get the recording settings correct results in problems receiving packets. To get to the Recording Window:
- From the Playback Volume Control window shown above, select the Options menu choice, then Properties.
- Click on the Recording radio button to bring up the list of volume controls. Make sure that there's a check mark
next to the jack where you plugged in your radio RX audio cable -- either Line In (preferably) or Microphone. Here's what this window looks like on my system.
· When you're done, click on the OK button.
· You should now see the Recording Control window (or the Wave In window as it is called in my system). Since I use the Line In jack for Radio RX audio, here's what my settings look like. Notice the Select check mark under Line In:
· Click the Select box for the jack where you will plug in your radio RX audio cable, either the Line In (preferably) or Microphone.
· Set the volume slider about 1/3 up (soft). This should work for you, but note that AGWPE can probably handle any setting other than "off/quiet". See How Much RX Volume? below for some further advice.
· Leave the balance slider in the middle.
· After you've made your choices, click the 'X' in the top right corner of the window to close the window and the Volume Control program. Your settings will be saved automatically.
Microphone Boost: If you opt to use the Microphone instead of the Line In for RX in, do not use the Microphone Boost option if it is offered by your system. I found this option by clicking on the Advanced button found under the Microphone slider in the Recording Control window. The "boost" feature typically adds a 20 dB increase in audio volume and is designed to amplify the weak signal from a computer electret microphone. The audio from your radio is normally already too high for input into the MIC jack (that is why you are advised to add an attenuation circuit to the RX cable). So using the boost feature can make the problem worse.
3. Configuring the Volume Control program for a Second (or more) Sound Card
If you have two or more sound cards installed, you will need to set the playback and record settings for the additional cards (those used by AGWPE). Here's how to do it:
- Left click twice very quickly on the Volume Control icon in the System Tray. The Volume Control window should open.
- Select the Options menu choice, then Properties to bring up the Properties Window.
- At the top of the Properties window, you'll see a Mixer Device field. Click on the down arrow ▼to the right of the field to call up a list of mixer devices.
ç Click to enlarge
- Click on the second sound card to select it. Then after making sure the Playback button below it is selected, press the OK button. This will return you to the Volume Control playback sliders for the second card (the sound card's name will be in the lower left of the window). Make your settings as you did above in Transmit Audio Settings.
- When your done with the playback settings for the second card, select the Options menu choice again and then Properties to bring up the Properties Window again.
- Once again click on the down arrow ▼to the right of the Mixer Device field to call up a list of mixer devices.
- Click on the second sound card again to select it. This time make sure the Recording button is selected and press the OK button. This will bring you to the Volume Control recording sliders for the second sound card . Make your settings as you did above in Receive Audio Settings.
4. Preserving your volume control settings
When most systems reboot, the volume control settings will remain as they were when you shut down. This is more likely if you use the Set and Restore Options in AGWPE's SoundCard Volume Settings screen, see Receive Audio Settings above.
However in some sound cards/systems, when Windows reboots, your Volume Control settings may automatically be reset to a default that is something other than you want. This happened to me with one sound card. Even though I would chose Line In as my desired 'audio in' recording source, as soon as I rebooted, Microphone became the recording audio source! I'm not sure why this was happening -- perhaps it was the sound card mixer program.
Or your ideal AGWPE settings may be changed by another program that subsequently uses the sound card.
You have two main options if this is happening to you:
1. Each time you run AGWPE after a Windows boot/reboot, re-configure the Volume Control Recording Control properties as above.
2. Use a utility program that, on startup, automatically sets the Volume Control settings the way you want them. I used a small (260 kb) freeware utility called QuickMix to do this. You can download the program from the Quick Mix web site.
| Using QuickMix 1. Install QuickMix by running the QuickMixIn.exe program that you downloaded. 2. Set the Windows Volume Controls the way you want.
C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
5. Now whenever you start Windows, it will automatically read the AGWPE.QMX file, load and run QuickMix, reset the Volume Controls, and then close QuickMix. |
Additional Sound Card Settings for AGWPE
Related Multimedia Properties
Displaying the Volume Control Icon
Turning Off Window's Sounds
This page has additional sound card/multi-media properties that may be help in operating AGWPE successfully. (See the Sound Card Settings page on this site for basic sound card settings.)
1. Related Multimedia Properties
Three additional Windows multi-media properties can affect AGWPE performance:
- Speaker Type - affects TX audio; generally, Desktop Stereo Speakers should be selected
- Hardware Acceleration - can affect both TX and RX audio; generally, the highest rate the computer can handle should be selected but if AGWPE is having packet decoding or connection problems, set it to a lower speed.
- Sample Rate Conversion Quality -- affects both TX and RX audio; generally, the highest rate the computer can handle should be selected
These settings are usually made from the same general area in version of windows.
· Windows 95: There is little to set in the Multimedia Properties window. I'm not sure if the Recording Preferred quality or CD Quality setting makes a difference. Click on the Apply button (if not gray-ed out) and then the OK button to close the window.
· Windows 98/ME: Go to Start: Settings: Control Panel and select Multimedia (98) or Sounds and Multimedia (ME). With the default Audio tab showing:
o Click first on the Advanced Properties button under the Playback: Preferred Device . On the resulting Speaker tab, select Desktop Stereo Speakers (or lap top mono, maybe). According to George SV2AGW, anything else will distort the TX sound.
o Then click on the Performance tab next to the Speakers tab. Hardware Acceleration should be set to Full, at least at first to see if your computer can handle it. If AGWPE is having packet decoding or connection problems, you can try setting it to a lower speed.
o Below the Hardware acceleration settings is the Sample Rate Conversion Quality setting. Set this to Best. Then click OK to close the Playback Advanced Properties.
o Back on the Audio tab, click on the Advanced Properties button under Recording: Preferred Device. On the Performance tab, once again set the Hardware Acceleration one stop before Full, at least at first to see if your computer can handle it. If AGWPE is having packet decoding or connection problems, set it to a lower speed. And set Sample Rate Conversion Quality to Best. Then click OK to close the Sound Recording Advanced Properties.
o Back on the Multimedia Properties window, click on the Apply button (if not gray-ed out) and then the OK button.
o On the Audio tab, click on the Advanced button for (Sound) Playback
o Click OK to save the settings and leave the Sounds settings.
· Windows XP: Most of the default settings should be as described below but you should check them. Go to Start: Settings: Control Panel and select Sound and Audio Devices. On the Audio tab, press the Advanced button under Sound Playback
o On the resulting Speaker tab, select Desktop Stereo Speakers, even if this is a lap top.
o Then click on the Performance tab next to the Speakers tab.
o Hardware Acceleration should be set to Full, at least at first to see if your computer can handle it. If AGWPE is having packet decoding or connection problems, you can try setting it to a lower speed.
o Sample Rate Conversion Quality must be set to Best.
o Then click OK to close the Playback Advanced Properties and return to the Sound and Audio Devices: Audio tab.click on the Apply button (if not gray-ed out) and then the OK button.
· Windows 2000: the default hardware acceleration and sample rate conversion sliders are in the middle position. Follow the general instruction for XP above and move these to the right for best performance.
2. Displaying the Volume Control Icon
If this icon is not currently in your Windows System Tray (bottom far right of your screen), you may want to add it. It lets you quickly access the Windows volume and audio source settings of the sound card, including some that can not be controlled by AGWPE's SoundCard Volume Settings screen.
- In Windows 98 it's , Start: Settings: Control Panel: Multimedia: Audio tab and check Show volume control on the taskbar.
- In Windows ME it's: Start: Settings: Control Panel: Sounds and Multimedia: Sounds tab; Sound Volume box and check Show volume control on the taskbar.
- In XP, it's Start: Control Panel: Sounds and Audio Devices: Volume tab and check Place volume icon in the taskbar.
- I'm not sure how it's done in Windows 95, but it's probably very similar to Win 98.
3. Turning Off Window's Sounds
On some computers you may have conflicts between a program and Windows itself over the use of the sound card. (A typical crash message is "an application caused an invalid page fault in module WINMM.DLL"). To avoid this, try turning off Windows' sounds.
- In Windows 98 it's: Start: Settings: Control Panel: Sounds: Schemes field = No Sounds
- In Windows ME it's: Start: Settings: Control Panel: Sounds: Sound Events: Scheme = No Sounds.
- In XP, it's Start: Control Panel: Sounds and Audio Devices: Sounds tab: Sound Scheme field = No Sounds.
- I'm not sure how it's done in Windows 95, but it's probably very similar to Win 98.
Sound Card Tuning Aid
The Sound Card Tuning Aid screen is accessible from the AGWPE menu and can be used to "see" the quality of received signals and, for HF packet particularly, help in tuning the radio to the correct frequency. At least one oscilloscope will appear on the left side of the screen. A second scope below the first only appears if you have selected
This page gives describes the Tuning Aid and gives some examples of good and bad signals as seen on the tuning aid's oscilloscope.
The first screen shot below shows the Tuning Aid page with the sine wave view selected. Only one oscilloscope is visible since the sound card is running in
<-- Click for larger image
In contrast, if the sine wave was perfectly flat (or nearly so), as below, then you know you have no audio input from the sound card, either because of a problem with the audio feed from the radio or incorrect sound card volume settings (source or volume):
<-- Click for larger image
Oscilloscope Styles
There are four (4) display styles available for the Oscilloscope. The first two are generally the most useful.
1. Sine Wave - shows strength of the signal (audio volume) and the quality of the signal. A signal with good strength will have waves that fill about 1/2 of the screen (relative distance between the peaks and valleys of the wave). You can use the Volume Control settings for RX audio to adjust them.
Signal samples for 1200 baud:
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| Sample of a good signal;
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| Too weak or distant;
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| Collision of packets;
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| This is from a Yaesu FT209 transceiver with bass boost activated. The boost creates incorrect pre-emphasis: the low tone is emphasized, not the high tone. These packets can only be decoded about 80% of the time. The sending station must turn off the radio's bass boost option to correct this. |
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Below, a 9600 baud signal sample:
This is a generally good signal that was decoded, but you can see small sparks caused by some "bug" at either the transmitting station or receiving radio or sound card.
2. Waterfall - This is a frequency spectrum display that shows activity in the audio pass band over the last few seconds. Received signals create color streaks which will 'fall' down the display as time progresses. Relative signal strength is indicated by the colors, which are -- weakest to strongest -- blue, green, yellow, red. Black indicates no signal.
The waterfall should be centered between the two vertical white lines. For AFSK (UHF/VHF), it should center automatically. For HF operations (FSK), adjust the radio's receive frequency to center the waterfall. Centering is critical for accurate decoding of HF packets. The strongest signal (yellow/red color streak) must lie between those two lines, as this next screen shot illustrates:
The screen shot below shows an HF radio that needs tuning. The yellow area showing packet activity is below the tuned frequency marked by the two vertical lines:
This sample below is a waterfall display showing two 1200 baud packets. The packets have black areas to their left and right of the two vertical white lines.
The upper packet has fair modulation and was decoded. Also, note in the black area above the packet that there are small green vertical lines. This is the result of TXDelay, i.e. a short interval of carrier with no modulation.
The bottom packet has very low modulation (little color; similar to a carrier with no modulation), but the packet was still decoded.
3. Eye - is really a scatter diagram. The closer together the scattered points, the better the signal.
4. Frequency - a real-time display of where signals are being heard along a frequency scale. The TWO white vertical lines are centered around the dialed frequency, and the majority of signal peaks and valleys should fall between the left line (lower tone) and the right line (upper tone). If they don't, you'll need to change the radio's dialed frequency to center the signal between the white lines.
Set Volume Button
Pressing this button takes you to the sound card Volume Settings window where you can adjust TX audio levels, RX audio levels, and the RX input source jack.
Problems with Program Behavior
1..Problems with the AGWPE Program
2. Linking to Client Applications
3. Extra packets seen
Note: Please make sure you are using the latest version of AGWPE before troubleshooting problems. Your problem may have been fixed by the most recent version of AGWPE!
As you troubleshoot receive problems, remember that AGWPE provides you with a some visual aids:
- If AGWPE loads successfully, you will see the AGWPE tower icon at the bottom right of your screen in the Windows System Tray.
- If a "radioport" has been successfully configured, you should see the AGWPE modem icon next to the tower icon. There will be one modem icon for each working radioport. A green pixel in the modem icon will flash once if AGWPE successfully decodes a packet. A red pixel in the modem icon will flash once if AGWPE has sent a packet to the soundcard and radio for transmission.
1. General Program Problems
General Troubleshooting Hint: Any time you have trouble with a configuration setting in AGWPE, it may be best to just start fresh: close AGWPE and delete any port*.ini files and the agwpe.ini in your AGWPE directory/folder. Then restart and re-configure AGWPE from the very beginning. It doesn't take much time.
- When I try to start AGWPE, I get an error message that says "Can not find WS2_32.dll"
Sounds like you're running Windows 95. You need the Winsock 2 Update from Microsoft. See the Windows update page on this site for the full solution.
- I'm running Windows 98 SE. After I configure AGWPE for my sound card and restart AGWPE, I get Windows' blue crash screen saying "A fatal exception 0E has occurred at (some address) in VXD KMIXER. The current application will be terminated."
You have a problem with your sound card driver and the KMIXER.SYS, Windows' audio mixer kernel. Windows 98 used VXD drivers in its original version but then switched to WDM drivers in SE (Second Edition). I suspect there's a problem with Windows calling the incorrect driver file. You might try totally uninstalling the card and drivers from Windows and then, when it restarts, point it to the new WDM drivers. On the other hand, some users have found success, with the opposite, counter-intuitive strategy -- uninstall the newer WDM drivers and install the VXD drivers.
Warren sent me his solution that is, essentially, to install the latest drivers for his sound card:
"Here is my solution to the Win98SE problem with the VXD and WDM issue with AGWPE. My problem was the VXD KMIXER(06) fatal error
My environment: Win98SE All Windows updates done Pentium 533MHz 512MB Ram Chipset Via Pro133 82C693A and 82C686A (
When first checked, the drivers being used for the sound chip were:
VIAaudio.sys 4.10.3104 MMDevldr 4.10.1998
A visit to the VIA site gave a later driver package. The file downloaded was Vinyl_AudioCodec_V570a.zip
(This also produces another volume controls interface, called Vinyl Deck, that gives an easier volume interface than the Windows one. )
Even though I read the suggestion about forcing Win98SE to take the VXD driver, I decided to just let the new driver package run and install WDM as it should. This proved successful and AGWPE does not now produce the VXD error.
The drivers are now: Vinyl AC'97 Codec Combo Driver (WDM) 10.10.2004
So it looks like a fix by using the latest sound drivers and these more modern drivers seem to take care of the use of VXD / WDM in different Win98/98SE editions."
- The AGWPE banner comes up, but then I get an error message that says:
"Your SoundCard Driver cannot Support the Wave Format".
One of two things maybe wrong:
- Most likely AGWPE is configured to use a device other than a sound card, most commonly, a telephone modem. To fix this, go to the Sound Card Modem /TNC Setup window, and select a sound card in the Sound Card Selection field.
- Your sound card driver really can not support the wave format. Make sure you have the most recent version of the driver for your version of Windows.
- AGWPE tries to start but then a "Copyright Violation" box appears. I click "OK", but the program then closes.
The AGWPE.SYS file is missing from your AGWPE folder. You can reinstall the entire program from the zip file or just the AGWPE.SYS file. (The AGWPE.SYS file has the date of the program, so don't use the AGWPE.SYS file from another version. It will display the wrong version date when you start the program.)
- AGWPE starts and runs but first I get a message that says:
"AGWTCPIP.SYS Not Found! TCPIP Over Radio will be IDLE!"
You have turned on AGWPE's special "TCP/IP Over Radio" (TOR) feature but have not installed the special TOR software adapter. If you really meant to use this feature, see the TOR pages on this web site for information about installing the adapter. Most people do not need or use this feature. It is NOT needed for normal packet functions or to interface with your applications (applications use the TCP/IP Application Interface to connect to AGWPE, not TCP/IP Over Radio).
To turn TOR off and stop the message, go to the AGWPE menu (click on the AGWPE tower icon) and select TCP/IP Over Radio Setup. In the resulting window select "Thank's NO TCP/IP".
- I can run AGWPE and my packet program on my laptop for about 30 (or 15 or 60) minutes and then it just crashes.
Turn off the computer's energy saving mode.
- When I drag my mouse over AGWPE's modems icon in the system tray, a message pops up telling me how the port is configured and how many frames (packets) I have received and sent. But even when I haven't sent any frames, as time goes on, AGWPE says that I have been sending more and more frames. Is that normal?
It is normal. In its default mode, AGWPE calculates the "best" traffic parameters (slot/persist, resptime, etc.), every 2 minutes and these recalculated values get reported as sent frames even though nothing is actually transmitted by the radio. Don't worry. AGWPE is not keying up your radio and transmitting on its own.
- AGWPE loads but then my system just freezes. I need to power off to reboot.
One user said that new sound card drivers fixed the problem.
- AGWPE starts but then gives a message that "Packet Engine Pro Shuts Down Abnormaly, It Is Strong Recommended to restart your Computer".
or
AGWPE is behaving very strangely, particularly my radioport configuration.
or
AGWPE won't start and locks my system.
In the AGWPE folder, delete the AGWPE.ini file and all port?.ini (port0.ini, port1.ini, etc.) files and then restart and reconfigure AGWPE.
The problem may have developed when you configured a radioport to use a COM or LPT port that was already claimed by another program or device; or the TNC was not plugged into the COM or LPT port; or you may have tried to delete and add a port without restarting the program after deleting one port and trying to add another.
- I'm running Windows 95 and when I start AGWPE, the AGWPE tower icon appears in the Task Bar *not* the System Tray. If I right click on the icon, I get the usual AGWPE menu, but "Setup Interfaces" does nothing; the popup menu just closes. I can't seem to make AGWPE do anything.
or
I fill in the new port information, close the program and restart it, but the port shows "IDLE" and I can't open the Properties window for that port by clicking on OK.
You need to update the Windows "common controls" file, COMCTL32.DLL file. See the Windows update page on this site for the full solution.
- AGWPE closed and the Packet Engine icon disappeared, but the modem icon
remained on the System Tray!
This may happen if AGWPE is closed down unexpectedly. Usually restarting AGWPE will correct it, although a reboot may be necessary. If AGWPE fails to start (you may get a "Fatal Exception Error" message), go to the AGWPE folder/directory and delete all files ending in .ini; then restart and reconfigure AGWPE. - Modem Icon Never Appears: The modem icon won' t appear until you configure an AGWPE port and then closed and restarted AGWPE. If the modem icon doesn't appear then:
- Double check the properties for the AGWPE port to make sure you have done it correctly. Use the Port Settings information on this site for guidance.
- Look for possible port conflicts with the PTT port you have selected. See next section:
| It's possible that some other device is affecting the COM/LPT port you have chosen for PTT control. For example, one user forgot that he had an unused phycial adapter "installed" in Windows that was conflicting with the PTT port. Another user reported a conflict with the Palm HotSync Manager, which loads on startup and puts the COM RTS pin high; Windows didn't report that the COM port was being used by the Palm device driver, but it was. Another user had both the COM port and an infrared port assigned to the same IRQ. Another user suggested that, if your XP machine is running an NVIDIA graphics adapter, some of its drivers are reported to tie up COM1 for no reason -- so disable Nview 2.0.
Try this first: temporarily force AGWPE to a port where there CAN'T be a conflict with another program. Reset the Serial or If AGWPE now receives packets and your other program now works, then you know you did indeed have a port conflict. Fix the conflict (see below) and then change the AGWPE PTT port settings back to a real port, i.e. not the non-existent one. To search for a device that might be causing the problem, first go to the Start menu and then Settings: Control Panel: System. On the "Device Manager tab, select "View devices by Connection" and double click on "Computer". This should tell you which devices are using each IRQ. Look for a conflict with your chosen AGWPE PTT physical port (COMx, LPTx) and some other device.
|
2. Linking to Client Applications
- I am having trouble configuring my client application to link to AGWPE.
There may be instructions in the Help section of your client application; or you can try the Application Setup page on this website.
If you're having trouble getting a particular application to work with AGWPE, first make sure AGWPE works with AGW Terminal Program. If AGWTerm won't work with AGWPE, then you have a problem with AGWPE that needs to be resolved first.
- I see the little green pixel flashing on the TNC icon
so it appears AGWPE is receiving packets, but the packets don't seem to be getting from AGWPE to my packet program; my program isn't showing any packet activity.
or
When I try to run a client application, I get an error message from the client indicating the IP connection was refused.
Check for these problems:
- Make sure AGWPE's TCP/IP Application Interface is active: from the AGWPE menu select Setup Interfaces . On the Winsock & HTTP Interface Setup screen; Winsock Interface tab, enable the Winsock TCP/IP Application Interface with a checkmark. Also make sure the TCP field is set 8000.
- Any application linking to AGWPE with the TCP/IP Application Interface should have a corresponding field to specify AGWPE's TCP port number (8000, by default); see the Application Setup page for advice about selected programs. The application should also have a field to specify the IP Address of the computer where AGWPE is running. That address will be "127.0.0.1" or "localhost" if AGWPE is on the same computer as the application. Read the application's Help section or see AGWPE on a Network for advice when AGWPE is on a different computer.
- Make sure the application is listening to the correct AGWPE radio ports. The application may be linked to AGWPE but not linked to all of AGWPE's radio ports. For example, some programs, such as UI-View, allow you to block access to specific AGWPE radio ports (UI-View calls it "masking" ). Read the application's Help section or see the Application Setup page for advice about selected programs.
- Make sure the TCP/IP Protocol is installed on your computer. If you use the internet successfully, then it is. If you don't have either the Window's Dialup adapter or a network card installed on your computer, then the protocol may not be installed. To correct this, just create a Dialup connection (see Windows' Help for advice; you can use a dummy telephone number for the connection).
If you still have a problem, make sure the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" is installed for the Dialup connection or the network adapter. Normally it is installed by default and active, but it may have been deleted somehow (see the Windows: Enabling the TCP/IP Protocol page for advice).
- If you have a firewall program and/or router running, turn off the firewall temporarily to see if this fixes the problem. If it does, configure the firewall and/or router so that AGWPE can communicate with other programs via AGWPE's TCP/IP Application Interface port (default is 8000).
- Try changing the default
- My packet program suddenly closed and I got this error message from Windows:
(The Application) caused an invalid page fault in module WINMM.DLL
You probably have a Windows sound scheme in effect and there was a conflict over use of the sound card. To prevent this from happening, set the Windows' Sound scheme to No Sounds. See the Window Sound Settings page on this site for further advice.
- I seem to have the AGWPE program working fine. My problem is when I run certain packet programs, such as RXClust or AGWTerm, a box opens saying:
| Object Windows Exception Failure in common control DLL OK to resume? YES / NO |
This is a Windows 95, 98, and ME problem. Do an online search for comctl32.dll to find a download patch for your version of windows.
- I have two applications sharing an AGWPE sound card radio port. But Application A is not seeing packets sent by Application B and vice versa.
It is a feature of AGWPE that the received frames it sends to an application do not include frames transmitted by other applications using the same instance of AGWPE. So if you have this:
App A --------|
|
AGWPE -------- radio(s) etc.
|
App B --------|
Then, using KISS frames, App A will not see the original frames transmitted by App B.
If you do want App A to see App B's transmission, then a work-round is to configure a loop-back port in AGWPE. Then transmit the beacons from your application(s) to the RF radioport and to the loop-back port, and configure your application(s) to "listen" on both the RF radioport and the loop-back port so they can hear what the other program asked AGWPE to send.
3. Extra Packets Seen
- If your packet application displays duplicates of every received packet, reasons can be:
- the second sound card radioport is active in AGWPE even though it is not being used. To correct this, select
- you are using a mono plug instead of a stereo plug for the LINE IN jack
- If your packet application displays packets that are from another frequency:
- you are probably running two radio ports from the sound card (left and right channels) and audio from one radio port is being heard on the other port. The reason for this is not clear. The best known solution is to reduce the RX audio input on each radioport to the minimum needed to decode packets using the volume control settings.
If your problem is not resolved by the problem solving pages on this website, join the AGWPE Yahoo Group to ask a question or search the archives for previous postings that may relate to your problem
Problems with Receiving
As you troubleshoot receive problems, remember that AGWPE provides you with a some visual aids:
- The Sound Card Tuning Aid screen is accessible from the AGWPE menu. It can be used to "see" the quality of received signals and, for HF packet particularly, help in tuning the radio to the correct frequency. Go to the Tuning Aid page to see examples of how good and packet signals should look.
- If AGWPE successfully decodes a packet on a radioport, then the green light on that radioport's modem icon will flash once .
Note: Please make sure you are using the latest version of AGWPE before troubleshooting problems. Your problem may have been fixed in the most recent version of AGWPE!
1. No Sine Wave in Oscilloscope
2. Oscilloscope Activity But No Decoding
1. No Sine Wave in Oscilloscope
Tune to a busy packet channel and select the Sine Wave oscilloscope mode in the Sound Card Tuning Aid. If you do not see sine wave activity, look for a reason at one of five places along the RX audio path:
- a. Radio/antenna
- b. AGWPE's radioport settings
- c. Volume Control settings
- d. RX audio cable
- e. Sound card or driver
First confirm that audio signals -- preferably packets! -- are are being received at the radio. Disconnect the sound card interface temporarily and see if you can hear packets from the radio's speaker and/or see the radio's 'S' bars or the 'Busy" indicator light up.
- If you don't see or hear packet activity:
- is the squelch too high? Since AGWPE prefers no squelch for transmitting, it's best to leave the squelch off (even though AGWPE will still receive with the squelch on, providing the squelch is not set too high).
- is tone squelch (CTCSS and DTSS) turned off?
- if dual VFOs, is the correct VFO/band selected?
- is the antenna connected?
- is the radio tuned to the right frequency?
- is the mode set for FM and not accidentally in CW, SSB or another mode?
- can you hear packets by using a different antenna (more gain)? or by moving the antenna to another location (higher, away from possible EMI interference)?
- can you hear packets using a different radio with a different antenna? with a different radio but the same antenna?
- If you can't hear packets from the radio's speaker (internal or external):
- Is the speaker volume knob set too low? Low speaker volume would only affect sound card receiving if your interface's RX cable connects to the radio's external speaker or microphone jack, not a data jack.
- If your interface's RX audio connects to the radio's external speaker jack, is that radio jack known to work with speakers? Plug in a different speaker or use a meter to test the jack.
Check the following in the Properties settings for the sound card:
- Make sure you have selected the correct sound card device
- Make sure you have selected the correct packet baud rate for the radioport channel
Use the Volume Control screen to check your sound card settings:
· If you happen to have more than one sound card (i.e. mixer device), make sure you are working with Recording settings for the correct sound card. (Program Bug: if you have more than one sound card, AGWPE's Volume Control Screen can be used to set the first card but not a second card. To control the second card, you will need to use the Windows Volume Control Program.)
· Make sure you are working with the Volume Control Recording settings, not the Playback settings.
· Make sure you have selected the correct input jack -- LINE IN or MIC -- where your RX interface cable is attached.
· Make sure the vertical volume sliders for the selected input jack is not at or near the bottom (about 1/3 up is fine). If you see Balance sliders, make sure they are centered.
· If there are still no signals, try selecting the other input source -- Microphone or Line In. You may have the plug in the wrong jack. If this was the problem, move the plug back to the correct jack and reset the input source.
See the RX audio cable page for wiring schematics and other hints.
- Is the RX cable plugged in completely at the sound card jack? Make sure you haven't used the wrong sound card jack or haven't confused the RX cable with the TX or PTT cable. (Hint: put labels on the ends of all cables.)
If you are using two sound cards, is the RX cable plugged into the right one?
- Are you using a stereo jack at the sound card plug? You should use a stereo plug for most sound cards.
- You can not interface two radios to the sound card using the microphone jack. The Microphone jack on sound cards is not stereo capable, so you will probably only receive audio from the port 1 (left channel) radio. Use the LINE IN jack instead (see Rx audio page).
- Test the cable:
- Unplug it from the sound card jack and plugging it into a speaker (if the speaker has a plug and not a jack, use clips leads or an in-line coupler to join the two plugs). If you hear RX audio in the speaker, the RX cable is OK, or
- Use a multi-meter:
- test for continuity and short circuits. Check your solder connections if you find a problem.
- Is the RX audio line wired to the tip of the stereo plug? The ring of the stereo plug should be unwired, unless you are interfacing to two radios. The sleeve should be wired to the sound card ground.
- Is the RX line securely soldered to the correct pin in the radio plug?
- If the RX cable has an in-line isolation transformer, make sure it is a 1:1 transformer, unless you are using the radio's external speaker for RX audio. If you are using the external speaker, then you should be using a 1000:8 transformer and the 1000 Ohm primary coil of the transformer should be wired to the sound card side, not the radio side.
- Try using another cable without a transformer.
- Does the sound card work with other Windows' sound generating programs? If not, in the Windows Control Panel under Sounds/Multimedia, make sure the sound card is installed and there are no conflicts with other devices.
- Sound card suddenly stops working after a few minutes and always about the same number of minutes: This probably a power management issue; your computer or laptop is going into power saving mode and is turning off the sound card.
- Driver: Make sure you have the latest driver for your version of Windows. You can the latest version from the sound card/chipset manufacturer's website (better source than the computer manufacturer).
- Card: Some cards may not work with AGWPE even with the correct driver. (Read the section on Compatible Sound Cards on the More About AGWPE page on this site.)
If the problem appears to be your sound card, consider replacing the card or adding another. New cards are fairly inexpensive or you may find a "used" sound card at a hamfest/computer show or in a discarded computer. PCMCIA and USB sound cards are also available. A second sound card dedicated only to ham programs may actually be very useful. Your first card then be used for Windows and other programs.
Note: If receiving works for a while but then stops, your computer's power management settings may be turning off the sound card.
SignaLink USB Interface user? See the AGWPE-Signalink USB page on this web site for troubleshooting suggestions.
2. Oscilloscope Activity But No Decoding
If AGWPE is receiving signals but is not decoding them, look at these possibilities:
- f. Recording volume settings
- g. AGWPE settings
- h. Poor Signal quality
- i. Interference
- j. Sound card or driver
- k. Radio Settings
f. "Recording" Volume Settings
AGWPE is very tolerant of RX audio volume levels, but your volume settings may still be too loud or too soft.
· Too soft/muted: try raising the receive volume sliders until you see more deflection (peaks and valleys) in the Tuning Aid's Sine Wave. If the sliders don't change the wave significantly, try turning up the volume at the radio.
If the RX audio from the radio is still too low:
o make sure you are pulling audio from the correct radio pin/plug. Some radios have different RX audio pins/plugs for different modes or packet baud rates. Make sure you are using the one for your packet baud rate. (Example: the Yaesu FT-847 has a Data In/Out stereo plug jack for HF modes and a 6 pin mini-DIN jack for packet. Audio from the HF jack will be too weak for packet. If you buy a sound card interface, you may get only the Data In/Out plug and not the 6-pin mini-DIN plug.)
o remove any attenuation circuit you may have in the RX line
o try plugging the RX audio line into the MIC jack instead of the LINE IN
o install an audio pre-amplifier in the RX line.
· Too loud: If the sine pattern has very thick and tall waves (nearly fill the scope top to bottom), try lowering the volume settings. (If the sliders don't change the wave, try turning down the volume at the radio.)
· MIC input: If you are using Microphone input, note that most sound cards expect a maximum input voltage on the microphone line of about 200 mV, which is much less than most radio's maximum output, e.g. 500 mV. For this reason, you should probably use a voltage attenuation circuit in a microphone RX cable. The ideal attenuation will depend on the sound card's input and radio's output specifications. You can try to use the volume sliders to find an ideal spot, but the setting is likely to be very delicate without the attenuation circuit.
In addition, check that your are not using the Microphone Boost or the 20dB option on our sound card, if available. This option is not found in the AGWPE Volume settings, but it may be found as a button in the Windows' Recording Volume Setting window under the Microphone slider (you may need to use the Option: Advanced menu option to have it display). This option will increase the MIC input by 100 times, which could distort your packet even more.
g. AGWPE Settings
- Baud Rate: Make sure you have selected the correct packet baud rate in the Sound Card Setup screen
- Ports: If you are only using one port, set AGWPE for
h. Poor Signal quality:
- 1200 baud packet: To successfully decode a packet, you need about an S3 signal at minimum.
- 9600 baud packet: To successfully decode a packet, you need nearly an S9 signal. (see 9600 Packet Operations on the Baud Rates and Modes page. for additional advice about 9600 baud packet operations.)
- 300 baud packet (HF SSB): Use the Sound Card Tuning Aid's Waterfall Scope to accurately tune the signal. (see HF Packet Operations on the Baud Rates and Modes page. for additional advice about HF packet operations.
- Are you tuned to the correct frequency exactly?
- Is the mode set for FM and not accidentally in CW, SSB or another mode?
- Do you have tone squelch on? Do you have manual squelch on? Is the radio's squelch set too high and blocking many signals. (The squelch should not be operating when using AGWPE. When it transmits, AGWPE needs to hear the frequency at all times.)
- Packet collisions -- two or more transmitting stations send packets at the same time, making both unintelligible. This is a common problem on busy frequencies, e.g. APRS. No real solution is available although network members could experiment with traffic reduction and collision avoidance schemes and settings, such as slotting.
- The other station's packets are too distant, faint, or noisy:
- Increase your radio knob's volume control if the radio knob controls RX audio volume; or increase your RX Volume Setting for LINE IN (or MIC, if you are using that).
- Poor radio signal path: You may be experiencing multi-path refraction/ reflection problems (signal waves arriving out of phase) or a Fresnel null (part of the signal wave is blocked) because of the antenna's poor position. Try moving your antenna.
- Use a better antenna (more height, more gain, more separation from noise or interference sources).
- Ask the other station to increase power.
- Ask the other station to try a different antenna or a different antenna location.
- Consider an antenna feed-line problem at your station if there is any other evidence of weakened signals, e.g. moving the antenna doesn't help and you experience low audio and static on your RX signal compared to the signal someone nearby is receiving.
- The packets the other station is sending are are poorly formed:
- The sending station sent the packet without sufficient TX delay. Its radio didn't have sufficient time to power up or switch from receive to transmit. As a result, the beginning of the packet was lost. Ask the sending station to increase TX delay in his station's TNC or sound card.
- The sending station's TNC or sound card was over-driving the radio (sending packet tones that were too loud) and his radio had to "clip" the signal (reduce the deviation). This results in a poorly formed packets at the receiving end (low tone is louder than high tone). Ask the sending station to reduce his station's TNC drive level.
- Some radios offer a bass boost function that will distort a packet signal. Make sure the sending station is not using this feature.
- Are you using the MIC jack on the sound card instead of the LINE In jack? Then you probably should have an attenuation circuit in the RX cable. See the RX audio cable Help page for such a circuit.
- Note that distorted packet signals simply cannot be decoded. For example, if you have mountains (or tall buildings) near you, then signals may be reflected by the mountains (or buildings) and result in multipath (or phase) errors. You can try using a small beam antenna to overcome the problem. Align the antenna with the boom parallel to the mountains.
i. Interference
Signal interference from EMI, RFI, and ground loops can distort received packet signals so much that they can not be decoded. Radios such as the Yaesu FT-290 are known for being susceptible to computer noise interference. And computer (laptop) noise can get into radios (particularly HTs) and antenna if they are too close to the computer.
- Power noise: Especially on laptops, noise can enter the sound card from the power supply. Try disconnecting the power supply and run on battery only. If your radio is connected to a poor quality power supply or if it's connected to a battery charged by a poor quality power supply, you may also have problems. See http://www.buxhamparts.com/humsolving.html
- EMI, electro-magnetic interference, can come from any nearby AC-powered source, such as your monitor. Turn off the monitor temporarily and then turn it on to see if your packet program recorded any signal when it was off. You may be able to reduce EMI if you:
- change the monitor scan rates or screen size or combinations of both in:
Windows Desktop > Right Click > Setting Tab > Monitor ----- etc.... - replace outdated or incorrect monitor driver software
- place a ferrite snap-on core on the monitor cable, close to the computer and another close to the monitor
- re-locate either the device or your interface cables
- use shielded interface cables
- use ferrite cores (split or toroids) on the interface cables.
- use shielding on the radiating device
- move mag-mount or HT antennas away from the computer
- RFI, radio frequency interference, can be reduced if you:
- limit the length of your interface cable
- use interface cables with shielding
- use ferrite cores (split or toroids) on cables.
- Ground loops can result when DC current flows between your computer and your radio. Normally, DC current should not flow between the devices, but it will if there is a voltage potential difference between the devices. Unfortunately, a sound card interface can become that link.
If you have your computer and radio plugged in to a different branch of the AC wiring in your house, you may have problems. Plug your computer in to the same AC outlet strip as your radio, so they share the same electrical ground.
To break the ground loop, you should use isolation transformers on your RX and TX audio cables, plus a phototransistor, or optocoupler, in the PTT line (a simple transistor in the PTT line does not does provide isolation). You must isolate all three connecting cables.
Note that some manufactured interfaces may not provide isolation on all three cables (For example, the
| I see that Buxcomm now offers a simple add-on audio isolation cable if you don't want to build your own. You simply plug in the Buxcomm isolation cable between your sound card jacks and your audio in and your audio out lines. The item is called a ISOL8R and you can order it for $9.97 ($17.97 for 2) at http://www.buxhamparts.com/humsolving.html |
Below are screen shots from the Tuning Aid's Sine Wave scope showing a ground loop:
| EMI or RFI on Your Receive Audio Cable?
|
- You can try adjusting the sound card clock from the Sound Card Modem Setup screen. Sound cards have a reference "clock" that oscillates at approximately 11025 Hz. The exact speed usually varies for each person's sound card. The clock setting in AGWPE can be used to better match AGWPE to the actual sound card clock speed.
| All TNCs try to adjust their receiving clock (a software component) to match the bit rate they receive and thus follow the clock changes of the receiving signal. The AGWPE soundcard modem does the same using the soundcard clock. In certain cards, that clock may be very wrong (fast or slow). The clock setting value you can change in AGWPE tries to adjust the sound card clock using software inside AGWPE's modem code. It doesn't change anything in the sound card. |
· AGWPE's default clock setting is "4", which is no adjustment. Using trial-and-error, you can try to find a setting that is better. (I do not know in absolute terms how much change in Hz there is for each setting; or even if "2" is slower or or faster than "4".)
· For your experimentation:
- after you select a new clock setting, you must restart AGWPE. Clock setting changes are NOT immediate.
- it's best to test reception of a weak station (less than S8)
Interestingly, you may find the perfect setting for some stations may change with the seasons, if the hardware in those stations are outdoors and exposed to heat fluctuations.
- If AGWPE appears to be receiving good quality packet signals that are not being decoded, then you may have an incompatible sound card. (This seems to be more prevalent with integrated, "on board" sound "cards".)
See "e." above.
- If your radio has signal processing settings, turn them off. For example, some Yaesus have a "bass boost" function. Others radios such as the ICOM IC-706MKIIG, have a "DSP" setting. These settings should be turned off/disabled.
- Make sure you are using the correct RX data output source on the radio. For example, on a Yaesu FT-8500, AGWPE can not decode 1200 bps through the data port , only through the speaker-out jack. The "problem" with the data port is that it has no de-emphasis circuitry and so the packet tones are skewed by at least 6 dB. (To fix that, "You would need to add the right value capacitor." Sorry I can't help much beyond that.)
- Hand-held radio often have a "battery saver' or "power saver" setting that turns off the radio's receiver circuit for a few seconds or parts of a second. It that setting is on, you may be missing the first part of packets.
If your problem is not resolved by the problem solving pages on this website, join the AGWPE Yahoo Group to ask a question or search the archives for previous postings that may relate to your problem
Problems with Transmitting
As you troubleshoot transmit problems, remember that AGWPE provides you this visual aid:
- If AGWPE receives a packet transmission request from a client application and then successfully passes that packet to the sound card and radio for transmission, the red light in the transmitting radioport's modem icon will flash once
and your radio should transmit.
To Force a Transmission through AGWPE, use the AGWTerminal (TCPIP version) program to send a QRA packet: From AGWTerm tool bar, press the "Tower & Question mark" button, and then select the radioport you want to test.
Note: Please make sure you are using the latest version of AGWPE before troubleshooting problems. Your problem may have been fixed in the most recent version of AGWPE!
1. Radio Doesn't transmit
2. Radio Locks in Transmit mode
3. Intermittent Transmissions
4. No audio or poor audio on transmit
- A. No Red Light Seen: My application program sent a packet, but I do not see the red light in the AGWPE modem icon indicating it has transmitted the packet to the radio.
- Make sure the radio's is ON and the squelch is fully open at all times. AGWPE needs to hear the frequency noise level at all times -- no squelching! -- otherwise it may not transmit.
- Make sure you application program is correctly linked to AGWPE. See the Program Behavior page about Linking to Client Programs.
- Make sure the application program really is requesting a packet transmission. For example, a terminal program will not send anything if it is linked to AGWPE in COMMAND mode (unless you use the CONNECT or DISCONNECT commands). Try a CONNECT command if you are not yet connected or go to CONVERSE mode (K) if you are connected.
- B. Red Light is Seen: I saw the red light blink in the AGWPE modem icon, but the radio isn't transmitting.
- Double check that the PTT cable is connected tightly to the appropriate COM (or LPT) port. Make sure you do not have a loose connection.
- It may be that the physical COM or LPT port where your PTT cable is connected isn't really the port you think it is: e.g. you think it's COM1, but your mouse or internal modem is on COM1, so your PTT is really plugged into COM2 . Try changing the port for PTT Control in the Port Properties or move the PTT cable to another COM or LPT port.
- Is there a problem with your PTT cable and circuit? You can test it by using a 9 volt battery to apply voltage to the cable's RTS/DTR pin (in the DB9 or DB25 connector) and then using a voltmeter to test for voltage on the radio end of the cable or, if the cable is connected to the radio, look to see if the radio is transmitting.
- Your application program may be configured for the wrong AGWPE radioport. If you need instructions for changing the radioport, look in the Help section of the client application; or you can try the Application Setup page.
- Are you using the parallel port (LPT) for PTT control and running Windows XP or 2000? This can't be done with AGWPE and those versions of Windows. For those versions, your only choice is to purchase Packet Engine Pro. (Windows XP and 2000 use a port addressing scheme that is different than the scheme used in Win 95, 98, and ME, which do let AGWPE use the LPT port for PTT control.) Alternatively, you can use the following PTT signaling methods instead of the LPT if you have Windows XP/2000:
- use a serial (COM) port
- use a USB port by obtaining a
- use a TX audio tone keyer that uses detected audio to trip the PTT circuit
These are all described on the PTT cable page.
- Are you using the parallel port (LPT) with Windows 98SE/ ME? It should work but, if it doesn't, some users have success configuring the LPT1 port to a "legacy" I/O address, i.e. IRQ 7 and address 0378-037F. To do this, go into Settings, Control Panel, System, Device Manager, Ports,
- Is your PTT cable wired to the correct pin at the computer's RS-232 port (COM or LPT)? AGWPE sends the PTT signal to the RTS pin only if you have chosen
- SignaLink USB Interface user? See the AGWPE-Signalink USB page on this web site for troubleshooting suggestions.
- Occasionally there is a problem with the physical port. You can use a voltmeter to test the COM/LPT port pin. There should be DC voltage on the pin when the red pixel in the AGWPE modem icon lights.
Note: When Windows boots, it tests all COM and LPT ports by momentarily putting a signal on the port pins (Windows XP does it 5 times). If you have your PTT cable connected and your radio "on" when Windows boots, then the radio PTT will activate for a few short bursts during the boot sequence. This is a good indication that your PTT cable is working correctly.
| Although I haven't heard of this happening with sound card interfaces or AGWPE, I have heard that TNCs and GPS units attached to a COM port can pose problems for Windows and your ability to use that COM port for packet programs. During the boot up process, Windows will automatically try to determine what device is attached to every COM port if finds. For example, if it finds a TNC or GPS on COM1, it may incorrectly identify that device as a "Ballpoint" track ball mouse, reserve it for that (non-existent) mouse and prevent other programs, such as packet programs, from using COM1. Booting up without the sound card interface/ TNC / GPS attached to the COM port may be one way to avoid this problem. (Another, more radical but still temporary fix is to use Windows' Device Manager to delete the COM port, turn off the computer, and disconnect the device from the COM port. When you restart the computer, Windows will re-discover the empty COM port and not reserve it for a particular use. You can then re-attach your device to the COM port and use it for your packet programs.) But a better, more permanent solution to this problem is to run Microsoft's free COMdisable utility. Contrary to it's name, this Microsoft utility does not disable COM ports or even disable the boot-up detection of COM ports. Rather, it prevents Windows' from trying to identify what devices are connected to COM ports and reserving ports unnecessarily. You need run COMdisable only once; Windows will remember your preferences. After you run COMdisable, you then will be able to leave your TNC/GPS/sound card interface attached to your preferred COM port when you boot up. You can get COMdisable at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;819036 Thanks to Stephen WA8LMF for this tip. He also keeps a copy of COMdisable on his site: http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/GPS_Mouse.htm |
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- Many new transceivers, e.g. Yaesu 8100, won't transmit if the TX audio level is too high. Use the Volume Settings screen to lower the TX Master and/or TX Wave volume. Or adjust the potentiometer on the line, if thre is one.
- Some radios may use different TX audio pins for HF and VHF/UHF. The ICOM 706 is one. Consult your radio's user manual for pin out instructions. This can be the solution if your interface works correctly for HF digital modes such as PSK31, but won't work for VHF/UHF packet, or vice versa.
- If AGWPE seems to run fine for a set time (15, 30 minutes) and then stops transmitting, your computer's power management scheme may be turning off the COM/LPT port that controls PTT.
- I'm using a commercial sound card interface (in this case a RASCAL GLX). I can transmit once, but I can't transmit again unless I reboot. I'm running Win2k Pro, SP4 (but may be a problem with other Windows versions).
Many commercial interfaces are wired to allow PTT control by either the RTS or DTR line of the COM port. It may be that a small amount of negative voltage (-V) on the DRT line was canceling the positive voltage +V on RTS line.
To fix this, you will need to disconnect the wire in the interface that connects the DTR line to the PTT circuit. Use just the RTS line for AGWPE in single port mode.
2. Radio Locks in Transmit mode
- First try closing and restarting the packet application and AGWPE; or try rebooting.
- If you are using a hand held radio:
- Remember that, in addition to the usual PTT circuit components, you will still need all the PTT components recommended by the radio manufacturer for MIC and Speaker jack data use. Many handhelds need a capacitor on the TX audio line between the radio and the PTT gate circuit (as well as a resistor on the PTT line). Without that capacitor, the PTT circuit may be active at all times.
- If the manufacturer says to use a stereo plug for the radio's MIC jack, don't use a mono plug!
- You may have a wiring problem in the PTT cable. Double check the wiring, components, and circuit routing:
- the PTT line from the radio must not touch the shield or ground before it gets to the transistor or optocoupler.
- the PTT line must be wired to the correct pin on the transistor or optocoupler. See PTT Cable for a schematic. If the PTT closes when AGWPE transmits, then you most likely have the transistor or optocoupler wiring inverted. (You can test your cable and circuit by using a 9 volt battery to simulate the computer RTS line: plug the PTT cable into the radio and on the computer end of the cable, apply the positive side of the battery to the #7 pin (RTS ) pin and the negative side to the #5 pin (Ground). This should close the transistor/optocoupler gate and the radio should transmit.)
- Windows can start up leaving the COM port handshaking lines "high" (with voltage) instead of "low" as it should. This seems to be limited to ound card interfaces that are wired to use the DTR line to key the transmitter (many commercial interfaces are wired to use either the RTS or DTR line for PTT keying). This has been reported happening with Windows ME and XP; also in other versions of Windows when using a
For Windows ME: Look first on the Microsoft web site for a Windows fix; see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;285894 ).
Or Roger Barker, G4IDE/SK, wrote a free 20 kb utility, HSOFF, that can be used to reset the handshaking lines of a COM port if they are left "high". HSOFF come in a zip file that includes a .TXT file of instructions. (Note that the program needs the Microsoft runtime libraries MSVBVM60.DLL and MSCOMM32.OCX to run. These libraries are installed if you install UI-View32; and they are also available at some web sites -- do a web search to find them.)
For Windows XP: Although I couldn't find verification of this problem on the Microsoft web site, it have been said that when Windows XP boots up, it too may leave the DTR (Data Terminal Ready) line of the serial port in a HIGH state. The supposed fix for this is problem is to go to the Device Manager within Windows XP and remove all of the Communication Ports, or COM ports, as listed under "Ports (COM & LPT)". After doing that, re-boot Windows XP and it will re-install all of the drivers for these ports.
- It's possible that some other device is affecting the COM/LPT port you have chosen for PTT control. For example, one user forgot that he had an unused adapter "installed" in Windows that was conflicting with the PTT port. Another user reported a conflict with the Palm HotSync Manager, which loads on startup and puts the COM RTS pin high; Windows didn't report that the COM port was being used by the Palm device driver, but it was. Still another user had both the COM port and an infrared port assigned to the same IRQ. Another user suggested that, if your XP machine is running an NVIDIA graphics adapter, some of its drivers are reported to tie up COM1 for no reason -- so disable Nview 2.0.
- Try disabling the Full Duplex mode of the card. On the Sound Card Setup screen, un- check Full Duplex.
- On older/slower computers, the default sound card sampling rate may be too high for the computer to process. You can try using the Windows Control Panel to adjust the soundcard hardware acceleration and sample rate quality until you find an optimum setting (For example, in Windows XP, you get there by clicking on Sound and Audio Devices, then click on the Audio tab. Under Sound Playback, click on the Advanced button then click on the Performance tab.)
3. Intermittent Transmissions
- Sometimes AGWPE will not transmit immediately if AGWPE's automatic timing features are in effect. AGWPE monitors the frequency and uses "slotting" to send your packet when the frequency is not likely to be busy. So, AGWPE is holding the packet for a few seconds before transmitting it.
If this delay really bothers you, you can override this feature by setting the timing parameters yourself. Call up the Properties screen for the radioport, click on the the Tnc Commands tab, select Let me Control Parameters. , and then change the Persist and Slot parameters. But remember that AGWPE usually does a very good job of adjusting the timing to match traffic conditions on the frequency. You may make matters worse by controlling them yourself. For example, you may not be as prompt to change parameters when frequency traffic changes.
Another reason for a transmit delay is if the sound card is busy processing other sounds from Windows or your application programs. For example, UI-View has an option to announce received callsigns and this slows everything down. Usually there is an option to turn these sounds off in the application, as there is for Windows' sound schemes.
- Problem: I can send and receive a few packets, but pretty soon transmitting stops, especially if I try to send packets too rapidly. This clears up if I close and restart AGWPE and the packet application, but it just happens again.
*
Solution: This seems to happen mostly on computers with older processors. It's possible your computer isn't keeping up with the quick switching that is taking place between the sound card and AGWPE. The computer may have missed a "hand shaking" data segment from AGWPE, so it's waiting for a signal from AGWPE that will never come again. This may mean you need a faster processor or perhaps a sound card driver upgrade to run AGWPE, although you can try to cut the processor load by shutting down other programs and background tasks. Also, see the paragraph above about interruptions of the packet stream.
- Note: If transmitting works for a while but then stops, your computer's power management settings may be turning off the sound card and/or the serial ports.
4. No audio or poor audio on Transmit
| How does my transmit audio sound? The surest test of your transmitted audio is to use a second radio to listen to the audio transmitted by your first radio. A hand held radio is great for this. Or ask a nearby friend to listen. You should be hearing packets signals from your station that sound similar to the packets you hear from other stations (although perhaps a bit louder and with less noise). Remember that your audio signal must pass through four ( 4 ) devices that could modify it:
For example, you can test the audio coming from the sound card mixer by temporarily putting your computer speakers back into the LINE OUT jack. This will give you a fairly good indication of whether you have good volume level settings, but it isn't how your final audio will sound. Your interface's TX cable has an attenuation circuit or potentiometer that could reduce the audio significantly -- or maybe not enough. As a result, your radio may be receiving audio that is too weak or too loud. Even your radio may have audio modification circuits in it. Some VHF radios have a "bass boost" option (should be off), and HF radios have speech compression settings (should be off), drive settings (should be turned all the way up) and microphone gain settings (should be left at normal). And of course your transmission system -- feed line and antenna -- could attenuate your signals. So the best way to test your audio is to listen to how it sounds on another radio. |
If you might have a problem with your TX audio:
- Re-check AGWPE's volume settings for Playback (TX audio). Make sure the TX Master and TX Wave settings are not muted and that none of the four sliders is too close to the bottom of the scale (remember that sliders 1 and 3 control the transmit audio for radioport 1, while sliders 2 and 4 control audio for radioport 2).
- The attenuation circuit in your TX cable may be over/under attenuating your TX audio. If you have a variable resistor (pot) in the attenuation circuit, try adjusting it.
Adjusting Your Transmit Audio LevelWith TNCs and sound cards you want a transmit audio level that is decodable but not too high. One of the biggest reasons for poor packet performance is too much audio. If you do not have access to a deviation meter to set the level (you want about 3 KHz of deviation), use a local digipeater and "trial-and-error" to get the lowest audio level that works reliably. Use a program that can send unconnected packets or a beacon (AGWTerm can send a beacon; UISS can send unconnected packets). Set the beacon PATH to relay through the digipeater (e.g. TEST VIA LOCALDIGI), then go into converse mode and transmit a single carriage return. Watch to see if your single packet gets digipeated by that one local digipeater. If it doesn't get through, try several more times because it may not have gotten through because of a collision. If it does get through, turn down the transmit audio level a little and try again. Keep turning down the audio until your packet reliable DOES NOT get digipeated ... and then turn it back up just a little bit until it does once again. Remember, in packet, soft is better than loud. |
- Are the TX Audio cables connected tightly to the LINEOUT jack on the sound card of a desktop computer (or the headphones jack on a laptop?)
- Make sure you are using a stereo plug (has 2 bands below the tip) for the LINE OUT (TX audio) jack. If you use a mono cable (has 1 band below the tip) you may get only half the audio volume on transmit or you may even short out one channel of the sound card.
- Re-check the soldering and component placement in the TX cable.
- EMI or RFI: The strong magnetic fields in your monitor may be distorting the signal, or there may be electro-magnetic interference (EMI) from your computer or other nearby devices, or there may be radio frequency interference (FRFI):
- Use a shielded audio cable. Connect the shield to either the sound card ground or the radio's ground but not both.
- Try using ferrite chokes on the audio cable
- If you antenna is near your computer, move it further away
- If you have unusual sounds in your transmitted audio or experience delays before AGWPE transmits a packet, it may be that your sound card is getting input from sources other than AGWPE:
- Turn off any sound schemes for Windows.
- Turn off any sounds that might be generated by your packet applications, for example voice announcements in UI-View.
- Some radios offer a bass boost function that will distort a packet signal. Make sure you are not using this feature.
- HF: Speech compression should probably be off for digital modes and the Drive adjustment should be turned all the way up (use the Volume settings to control transmit power output). Microphone Gain should be set to normal.
- If you hear interruptions, or stuttering, of the packet stream, it may be because:
- your sound card is not fully capable of full duplex operations (sending and receiving). This is mostly a factor on older 16-bit sound cards. To turn off Full Duplex, go to the
- your computer/or driver is not fast enough. In that case, set the Port Properties for
Listen! ---> Sample Wav files: one with no stuttering in packet and one with stuttering.
- If you hear other noises mixed in with your packets, our sound card is getting input from sources other than AGWPE, such as you CD player or another application:
- Go to the Volume Control program and mute other input sources for playback, e.g. CD or microphone.
- Turn off any sound schemes for Windows.
- Turn off any sound generated by you applications (varies by program; see the program's Help file for possible advice).
If your problem is not resolved by the problem solving pages on this website, join the AGWPE Yahoo Group to ask a question or search the archives for previous postings that may relate to your problem
Problems with Packet Connections
A. Connections not made
B. Connections not maintained
C. Slow Exchanges
D. Diagnosing Exchange Problems by Packet Type
A. Connections not made
First, make sure you don't have an underlying problem receiving or transmitting.
- I can see on my radio that the PTT has been opened and the radio is transmitting, but I can't connect with another station.
- Are you tuned to the right frequency? Are you operating in duplex mode and transmitting on the offset frequency
- Does one of the stations have tone squelch turned on?
- Consult the No Audio or Poor Audio section of the Problems with Transmitting page.
- It looks like the other station heard my connections request and is responding since the radio is receiving packets, but AGWPE is not decoding the packets.
- Consult the Problems with Receiving page.
- I'm having difficulty connecting at 9600 baud.
Read the 9600 baud section of the Baud Rates and Modes page for a discussion of the difficulties or operating 9600 baud packet. Problems could be: your radio is not 9600 capable without modification; incorrect radio settings; using audio transformers in the audio cables; and poor signal quality.
- I having difficulty connecting on HF at 300 baud.
Use the Sound Card Tuning Aid to help tune your radio to the correct frequency. Also read the 300 baud section of the Baud Rates and Modes page for a discussion of the difficulties or operating 300 baud packet.
B. Connections not maintained
- When I connect, the other station (a BBS) immediately disconnects me.
You probably have
If you are using the second port (to run two different radios from the same sound card) and want to use the same baud rate on both channels, the only know solution is to reduce the receive (RX) audio volume in both channels to the minimum needed to decode packets reliably (find this setting through trial-and-error.) You can do this with the volume control recording sliders, but it may help to reduce the volume using a voltage attenuator circuit in the RX audio line; or if you are pulling the audio from the radio's speaker jack, turn down the radio's volume control.
What seems to be happening is that there is not adequate audio channel separation, i.e. cross-talk, in the sound card, so AGWPE hears both radio ports. In the scenario above, port 1 asks for a connection and the BBS sends a connect confirmation. Because of cross-talk, AGWPE hears this on both port 1 and 2. Realizing this is problem, AGWPE sends a disconnect request, which the BBS accepts and that is the message you see.
- I can send and receive a few packets, but pretty soon transmitting stops, especially if I try to send packets too rapidly. This clears up if I close and restart AGWPE and my packet application, but then it just happens again.
It may be that your computer isn't keeping up with the quick switching that is taking place between the sound card and AGWPE. The computer may have missed a "hand shaking" data segment from AGWPE, so it's waiting for a signal from AGWPE that will never come again. This may mean you need a faster processor (or perhaps a sound card driver upgrade) to run AGWPE, although you can try to cut the processor load by shutting down other programs and background tasks. (George, SV2AGW, talks about this problem on his web site.)
C. Slow Exchanges
- The other station doesn't seem to hear all my transmission, so my station is sending many repeats.
Try disabling the Full Duplex mode of the card. On the Sound Card Setup screen, un-check Full Duplex. Some sound cards (usually older ones) have only one 16-bit and one 8-bit channel, so they can not handle both receive and transmit (i.e. full duplex) at 16-bit rates. They compensate by moving one function -- usually transmit -- to the 8-bit channel where the audio signal is not as good. By un-checking Full Duplex, you force the card to alternate between receive and transmit, but it will always use the 16-bit channel.
Is Your Sound Card Full Duplex Capable?Can your sound card send and receive simultaneously? In Windows, you can test for full-duplex capability by launching two copies of Sound Recorder.
Repeat the process in the above sentence to launch two copies of the Sound Recorder. You can test for full duplex by playing a file on one Windows Sound Recorder and, while that file is playing, making a recording with the Sound Recorder. Another way to test is with an AGWPE debugging log. AGWPE asks soundcard drivers if they have Full Duplex capabilities. To see the results of this query:
|
D. Diagnosing Exchange Problems by Packet Type
The following suggestions are based on observations which can be made by running AGWTerm: (download from the AGW Programs page on this site).
When you use AGWTerm to make a connection with another station, you can monitor ALL packets in the exchange by selecting Window: Unproto Channel from the AGWTerm menu. This will let you see supervisory packets not normally seen in AGWTerm's "receive" window. The type of packet -- SABM, UA, I, RR, REJ -- is identified immediately after the target or VIA station's callsign in the packet, for example here is an RR packet: 1:Fm KC2RLM To SV2AGW <RR P/F R1 >
Remember to leave the Unproto channel window and switch back to the the Channel 1 window to resume your exchange with the other station. You can not send from the Unproto channel window.
- I'm receiving many REJ packets.
Increase your TXDelay parameter on the TNC commands tab of the Properties for Portx screen.
- I'm sending many REJ packets.
Ask the other station to increase his TXDelay.
- I'm seeing a RR packet from the other station, then a RR packet from my station, and then this repeats again and again.
The other station is not hearing your acknowledgement of a packet it just sent you. Increase you transmitted audio (Wave "playback" in the sound card volume control) or improve you transmitted signal (higher power, better antenna).
- I'm receiving many RR packets in the same transmission.
Increase your FRACK parameter on the TNC commands tab of the Properties for Portx screen. Consider letting AGWPE resume controlling the parameter.
- I'm sending many RR packets (R1, R2, R3, etc.) in the same transmission.
Increase your RESPTIME parameter on the TNC commands tab of the Properties for Portx screen . Consider letting AGWPE resume controlling the parameter.
- After receiving a burst of data, AGWPE usually responds, for example, with "RR R3", "RR R4", "RR R5", all in ONE burst. But with this one BBS, AGWPE frequently responds with a short break between "RR R3" and "RR R4". During the break, AGWPE releases the PTT and that results in the BBS sending more data. This new data causes a collision with AGWPE's transmission of "RR R4", and the whole packet exchange slows down dramatically. Why does AGWPE insert that break?
This problem usually results when the sender -- the BBS in this case -- isn't using the AX.25 ver. 2 protocol and has a PACLEN of less than 255 characters. This creates a timing problem in the acknowledgement of packets.
Since you are seeing multiple "RR"s, this means you are probably setting the timing parameters yourself and not letting AGWPE control the timing (AGWPE would probably only send one "RR"). Increase the value of the RespTime until the problem goes away. Or select let the AGWPE "program adjust parameters"
If your problem is not resolved by the problem solving pages on this website, join the AGWPE Yahoo Group to ask a question or search the archives for previous postings that may relate to your problem
OK, you ask, "Now that I can get some packet racket into my computer and decode it, what's next?"
Check out some local Bulletin Boards (BBS’s)
145.010 for SEA -- just Connect SEA or C SEA and type H for a list of commands such as BBS or NODES or MH for a list of monitored calls from this machine
Do some DX Cluster monitoring for distant stations to work:
145.73 for K7PKT, or via SEA to one of the K7EK clusters
Connect to the EOC and drop off an emergency message:
W7acs-3 w7acs-10 or any of the WINLINK stations below (for our region, roughly north to south):
Edmonds, WA7AUX-10, 145.050 1200baud
Woodinville, KD6GKD-4, 145.670, 1200baud
Duval, K7DV-10, freq?
Sammamish, W7SRG-5, 144.950, 1200baud
Seattle ACS, not currently on map...?
Vashon, W7VMI-11, 445.075, 9600baud
Federal Way, WA7FW-10, 144.930 1200baud
Maple Valley, NS7C-10, 145.030, 1200baud
Maple BValley, KC7KEY-10, 145.030, 1200baud
Tacoma, W7DK-4, 144.910, 1200baud
Puyallup, AA7ZV-10, 145.630, 1200baud
This system is subject to relentless improvement, please check out
http://www.winlink.org/RMSPacketPositions
for current resource availability
Check out all the things you can do with the Automatic Position Reporting System - "APE-Errs" or A.P.R.S...
http://aprs.fi/?call=wr5j&mt=m&z=11&timerange=3600
http://www.nwaprs.info/
http://www.aprs.net/
Setup your own bulletin board, gateway or node
Try out HF Packet
Connect to the International Space Station or the Shuttle:
Check out http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
and
http://www.issfanclub.com/taxonomy/term/43
and maybe some tracking software like Jtrack or Satscape
http://science.nasa.gov/RealTime/jtrack/
http://www.satscape.co.uk/main/satscape.php
Try sending TCP/IP data encapsulated in AX.25 packets:
http://www.wetnet.net/node/759
http://www.microhams.com/binfile/talks/200011.ppt
add: Bob at Boeing 9.6 and Vashon group link...
Next week - more of the same with APRS and Airmail
vy 73 de WR5J - Curt
black@nwfirst.com
Thursday, August 6, 2009
NOTE: As has been the case in the past, the Educational Radio Net Blog post is lacking the graphics that are in the same post on the Yahoo, WA-DIGITAL group. Sorry but it just isn’t working here - and that is bad because I just looked at the post and it is 1/4 the length and 1% of the usefulness. Please go to the Yahoo WA-DIGITAL source or the original location shown below (although I updated the screen shots to the current version for this post (no more German dialog boxes). Please check back before the Wednesday night net for updated info on local packet resources and frequencies, that part isn’t done as of Thursday, August 6, 2009…
vy 73 de WR5J – Curt
..
Blog-Post -10-Packet Radio
Finding and installing Flex32 Packet Soundcard Modem Software, Term32, a very simple terminal program and Paxon a more fully featured terminal program to make your packet radio experience as pleasant as possible.
All the software listed here is for Windows – there are many other versions of the software for most other operating systems. Just go to the original links provided in the tutorial below. For the windows versions, just go to the WA-DIGITAL yahoo group and check in the files section:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-digital/files/
Originally from: http://uspacket.org/network/index.php/topic,21.msg23/topicseen.html#new
A huge THANKS! To Charles Brabham, N5PVL for the following information:
Flex32 / Soundcard Packet for Windows
by Charles Brabham N5PVL
Many Hams have expressed an interest in Soundcard Packet Radio, and this is understandable! It makes amateur packet radio available to any Ham with a VHF transceiver and a soundcard-equipped computer, at little or no expense. There is soundcard packet software available for DOS, and most modern operating systems including MS Windows, the focus of this article.
Some Amateurs are intrigued by the notion of a bit of free software replacing the function of an expensive bit of hardware, others are more interested in the technical triumph that soundcard packet represents, or the performance edge that digital signal processing (DSP) offers. - The point here being that though soundcard packet is the inexpensive alternative, it is also an advanced, great performing one. The FlexNet setup I will describe here can give you measurably better performance than any new packet TNC can offer, fresh out of the box. You can find more general information about FlexNet, and why it performs so well here.
FlexNet, with its easy set up, advanced design and high performance is the "best of the best" for this mode. Here is a step-by-step account of how to go about setting up Flex32 with your MS Windows computer's soundcard acting as the TNC. Flex32 is designed to work with all versions of Windows from Win95 on up. Though the details of the setup shown here may differ slightly from yours, it is hoped that it will serve as a general guide.
The computer I will be using for the purposes of this article is a 500 MHz Pentium II PC, with a 16-bit Soundblaster sound card and Windows 98 SE. If your sound card is Soundblaster compatible, it should work just as well.
The PTT / Soundcard Interface
If you only wish to monitor Packet, and do not intend to transmit, then all you need is a cable with the proper plugs to connect the speaker output of your radio to the LINE IN jack on your soundcard. If you have no LINE IN jack on your soundcard, the MIC jack will do just as well.
If you wish to go on the air, and are already set up with a soundcard interface for PSK31, SSTV, or other soundcard modes, then all you really need now is the software. In either of these two cases, you should move on to the next section.
This section is for those would like to transmit with the soundcard as a TNC, but have no interface and would like to find out something about them.
Which Interface?
If you only intend to use the soundcard for packet, the following simple interface will give you a Push-To-Talk ( PTT ) signal to key up your radio.
Serial Port PTT schematic.
A Transistor, a Resistor and a Diode...
It cost me just over three dollars to buy the parts, and ten minutes to build the PTT circuit shown above, which allows FlexNet to switch the radio from receive to transmit mode as needed.
In addition to this circuit, I had the soundcard's SPEAKER connection going to the radio's microphone plug, and the soundcard's LINE IN connected to the radio's speaker jack so the computer and radio could swap audio. Flex32 uses the soundcard driver to do the rest, processing audio signals to and from the radio to act as an advanced DSP packet modem and TNC.
Commercial Soundcard Interfaces
The Interface shown above will get you on the air, but for the best performance, the TX and RX audio lines that go between your radio and computer need to be electrically isolated. This prevents a "ground loop" condition that will degrade your audio signal with obnoxious humming noise. The PTT signal should be isolated as well. It is possible (in some cases) to get by with just the Interface above for VHF Packet, but for the HF modes like PSK-31, or for really good performance on VHF Packet, a more serious interface is a must.
It is possible to add an optical isolator to the PTT circuit above, and isolation transformers to your audio lines for a home-brew interface, but a simpler solution is to buy a commercial soundcard interface that already has all of these components.
There are a number of interfaces on the market, listed in ads in the Ham magazines and on the Internet. My personal favorite and recommended unit is the "Rascal" Interface made by K4ABT "Buck Rogers". The Rascal is available already assembled and tested, or you can order it as a kit for a substantial savings. I put one of the kits together, and found it to be fairly easy and straightforward. Everybody I know who has tried one of these has had good luck with it, but any of the commercial Interfaces will do the job. Choose your favorite, hook it up and go!
Getting the Software:
The first thing to do is to go the FlexNet web-site:
FlexNet Home Page
http://www.afthd.tu-darmstadt.de/~flexnet/
The Flexnet page has information about the FlexNet E-mail support list, and there is also a link called "Downloading Information". Click this and when it comes up, read the information there and then go on to the "Directory Page" link, at the bottom of the page.
From the Directory page, download the following files. They will be the first two files listed on the page:
flexnet32.zip
# This file contains the Flex32 software, some assorted drivers, and a simple terminal program.
soundmodem-flex.zip
# This is the soundcard driver module, along with a setup utility. The FlexNet page gives you a link to the web site where the latest version of this driver can be found. Be sure to get the proper version for your operating system.
After downloading the two files, create a new directory called C:\FLEX32 , and unzip the files into the new directory. WinZip is a popular shareware program for handling ZIP files.
Put the C:\FLEX32 directory in your computer's PATH statement, in C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT. If your autoexec file does not have a PATH statement, add this line to the file:
PATH C:\FLEX32
This will allow Flex32 compatible programs to bring up the Control center and its drivers automatically on startup. When you run your terminal program, FlexNet comes up "automagically" this way, saving you a few extra mouse-clicks.
Setting Up the Software:
Before you can set up Flex32, you will need to run the setup program for the soundcard driver, soundmodemconfig.exe... It's hard to miss this file, because the name is so long.
________________________________________
Run soundmodemconfig, and from the FILE menu, choose NEW, then CONFIGURATION:
________________________________________
It will ask for a configuration name. I decided to call mine "PVL_CFG"... Any name will do:
________________________________________
Then it looked like this:
________________________________________
When you click the configuration name, it highlights and shows the settings on the right. I used COM1 for the PTT:
________________________________________
Next I clicked the "Channel Access" tab, and set the TXDELAY for 150 ms as shown below. I recommend that you start off with a TXD of 300 ms, then later on try to edge it down as low as you can get it for the best performance. If you start off with your TXD too low, you'll wonder why you can't connect... If you leave it set too high, it will always slow you down.
TXDELAY is a parameter that must be custom-set for your particular radio. Some radios need more TXD than others, but they all should be set up with the shortest delay possible, for "snappy" performance on the air. Your radio needs a certain amount of delay... Anything over and above that just slows you down unnecessarily.
Once you get everything working good on the air with 300 ms TXD, go back and start edging it down until you start detecting trouble getting a connection, then edge it back up "just a hair". By doing this, I discovered that a radio I had been running at 300 ms "default" TXD for years was really capable of getting by with half as much delay. - Only 150 ms!
________________________________________
Now go to the FILE menu, choose NEW, then CHANNEL:
________________________________________
Indicate (highlight) the new channel to see this:
________________________________________
In the MODE menu, choose: afsk. Do this for both the modulator and demodulator tabs.
________________________________________
At this point, you should theoretically be ready to go. Test the setup you have by going into the DIAGNOSTICS menu and choosing the SCOPE:
I tested the PTT function. It worked! Generally though, if the SCOPE comes up and you get a moving, squiggly line, that's a good sign. When you get this to behave properly, the soundmodem driver is set up, and you're ready to go on to the next section.
If the line just won't squiggle, or you get I/O errors upon trying to run the scope, then click here for troubleshooting info.
________________________________________
FlexNet Control center
Look in your Flex32 directory for a file called "Flexctl.exe" ... It will have a "rainbow" icon. This is the FlexNet Control center:
________________________________________
Go to the TOOLS menu, and choose PARAMETERS:
________________________________________
The empty PARAMETER screen looks like this:
________________________________________
Right-click CHANNEL 0, and choose NEW DRIVER:
________________________________________
From the pop-up menu, choose SOUNDMODEM:
________________________________________
Another pop-up box will ask for the soundmodem configuration. From the drop-down menu, choose your configuration name. ( PVL_CFG in my case. )
________________________________________
If you get the following screen, then you have the soundmodem configured for channel 0 in the FlexNet Control center, and are ready to test the installation with a terminal program, on the air!
________________________________________
TNC32
From your desktop, create a shortcut to the file Tnc32.exe, located in your Flex32 directory. This simple term program will get you on the air, and is useful for testing and troubleshooting your installation.
Tnc32 is a command-line program. That means a set of parameters must be given along with the program name, in order for it to work. To do this, right-click the icon for Tnc32.exe on your desktop, and choose PROPERTIES from the pop-up menu.
Here is how I set mine up.
In the TARGET section, I put in:
C:\Flex32\TNC32.EXE n5pvl-9 4 4
n5pvl-9 - My call with SSID. ( SSID is optional )
4 - Number of streams
4 - Buffer in kb.
________________________________________
Now use the shortcut icon you made on your desktop to bring up TNC32.
________________________________________
To enter a command in TNC32, press the ESCAPE key and a command prompt will appear. Here, I have brought up the command prompt and entered H for Help:
________________________________________
Here, I connected to the local TheNet node, sent the "I" for "Information" command, so the node would send some text back.
________________________________________
To quit TNC32, hit the ESCAPE key for the command prompt and enter Q to Quit.
________________________________________
If I could get it working, so can you! Now you will be wanting a better term program. Only a few term programs work with Flex32. Of those, PAXON is my personal favorite. - A really great Windows Packet Terminal.
Final Setup:
Once you are set up, running a Flex32 compatible terminal program or application such as TNC32 or PAXON will automatically bring up the FlexNet Control center and its drivers. - Just click the term program and off you go!
When you shut down the FlexNet Control center, FlexNet and the soundmodem driver go away completely, leaving the system ready for other soundcard applications. If you want to have FlexNet always there, you can put your term program in your computer's STARTUP folder so that it loads itself and FlexNet automatically at boot-up.
Support!
The Forum secton here at USPacket.Org is the best place to go for resolving sticky technical problems.
Good luck! Charles Brabham, N5PVL
On to PAXON
http://uspacket.org/network/index.php/topic,20.0.html
Paxon Packet Radio Terminal and Flex32
by Charles Brabham N5PVL
If you have recently set up Flex32, you really owe it to yourself to try out Paxon, a great terminal program that is very efficient with Flex32, directly accessing the FlexNet kernal rather than having to use a driver.
The web-site, help files and installation program for Paxon are all in German, but the program comes up ready for English speaking users. This tutorial will guide you through the web-site and installation of this excellent software. - You will find that it is well worth the effort!
Getting the Software
The first thing to do is to go the download page at the Paxon web-site:
Paxon Download Page
http://www.paxon.de/download.php
The Paxon web-site is all in German, but when you get the software installed, it comes up in English so don't worry about that. In the center of the download page is a link for the file: SetupPaxon1114.exe
( 1114 was the version when this tutorial was written. This number will change as new versions are released.)
Download this file, and save it somewhere on your hard-drive as a backup installer. You can also install from that location, if you prefer.
Setting Up the Software:
Run the installation program SetupPaxon1114.exe. ( Or a later version, if available )
Choose English as your language unless you prefer some other (German is nice)…________________________________________
Here's the opening screen for this installer:
Click "Next" to continue...
________________________________________
This screen wants to be sure that you have read and understood all of the legal mumbo-jumbo. After carefully reading the mumbo-jumbo, choose the I Accept…”, and then click "Next" to continue:
________________________________________
Now it wants to establish where the program will be installed. It's probably best to go with the default location shown above. Continue as usual, with the "Next" button.
________________________________________
This is where it sets up a Paxon folder in your START menu:
________________________________________
Here it puts an Icon on your Desktop: Hit INSTALL to continue
________________________________________
Click the Run Paxon box and then click “Finish”
This is the Paxon logo flashscreen that comes up when the program starts.
________________________________________
The first time you run Paxon, you get this little "First Steps" help screen in English. If you want to look at it later, it is in the program's "Help" menu. The actual Windows help files for Paxon are all written in German. If you follow the basic steps outlined here though, all should go well for you.
________________________________________
Here I have clicked "Tools", then "Settings" to obtain this setup box. It should come up with the "General" tab selected, as shown here.
Now I am going to click the "Add" button, in order to enter my callsign and the SSID's I want to use.
________________________________________
In this little pop-up box, I have entered my callsign, and indicated which SSID's I wanted to use. If you are unsure about what SSID's to use, click the "All" button, before clicking "OK" to move on to the next step.
________________________________________
Now it displays your callsign and SSID's in the "originating callsigns" box.
Finished with this, it is time to click the "Devices" tab, and move on to the next step.
________________________________________
Right now there are no device drivers listed in the box, so click the "Add" button.
________________________________________
Choose "PC FlexNet" and click "Add"...
________________________________________
Now it shows PC FlexNet as your driver. Note that FlexNet is not active yet.
________________________________________
Assuming you have Flex32 installed and ready to run, clicking "Apply" should cause FlexNet to come up "Ready" as shown here. You may have to manually start Flex32 the first time, but it should come up automatically for Paxon thereafter.
If you have trouble getting this to work automatically, create a PATH statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT that shows the path to your FlexNet directory.
Once you get FlexNet listed here as "Ready", then click "OK", and on the main (terminal) screen, click the "Connect" button for the next step.
________________________________________
Now enter the callsign for the Station you want to connect to, then put your own call in the "Callsign" box, and choose which port in your Flex32 installation you want to use for the connect. Here I am connecting to the local FlexNet node, N5PVL-3, with the Soundmodem.
________________________________________
Hey, it worked! - I hope it works for you too!
Try browsing around in Paxon's "Settings" and you will be amazed at all of the nice things this program can do. I find it to be the very best I have ever used for file transfers, remote SYSOP'ing, and as a personal terminal. I hope that you enjoy it too, and that this tutorial has been helpful in getting you started with Paxon!
Good luck! Charles Brabham, N5PVL
OK, you ask, "Now that I can get some packet racket into my computer and decode it, what's next?"
Check out some local Bulletin Boards (BBS’s)
Do some DX Cluster monitoring for distant stations to work:
Connect to the EOC and drop off an emergency message:
W7acs-3 w7acs-10 or any of the WINLINK stations below (for our region, roughly north to south):
Edmonds, WA7AUX-10, 145.050 1200baud
Woodinville, KD6GKD-4, 145.670, 1200baud
Duval, K7DV-10, freq?
Bellevue, W7EFR-4, 144.950, 1200baud
Sammamish, W7SRG-5, 144.950, 1200baud
Seattle ACS, not currently on map...?
Vashon, W7VMI-11, 445.075, 9600baud
Federal Way, WA7FW-10, 144.930 1200baud
Maple Valley, NS7C-10, 145.030, 1200baud
Maple BValley, KC7KEY-10, 145.030, 1200baud
Tacoma, W7DK-4, 144.910, 1200baud
Puyallup, AA7ZV-10, 145.630, 1200baud
This system is subject to relentless improvement, please check out
http://www.winlink.org/RMSPacketPositions
for current resource availability
Check out all the things you can do with the Automatic Position Reporting System - "APE-Errs" or A.P.R.S...
http://aprs.fi/?call=wr5j&mt=m&z=11&timerange=3600
http://www.nwaprs.info/
http://www.aprs.net/
Setup your own bulletin board, gateway or node
Try out HF Packet
Connect to the International Space Station or the Shuttle:
Check out http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
and
http://www.issfanclub.com/taxonomy/term/43
and maybe some tracking sofware like Jtrack or Satscape
http://science.nasa.gov/RealTime/jtrack/
http://www.satscape.co.uk/main/satscape.php
Try sending TCP/IP data encapsulated in AX.25 packets:
http://www.wetnet.net/node/759
http://www.microhams.com/binfile/talks/200011.ppt
add: Bob at Boeing 9.6 and Vashon group link...
Next week - more of the same with APRS and Airmail
vy 73 de WR5J - Curt
black@nwfirst.com
206 755-4541cell/field
vy 73 de WR5J – Curt
..
Blog-Post -10-Packet Radio
Finding and installing Flex32 Packet Soundcard Modem Software, Term32, a very simple terminal program and Paxon a more fully featured terminal program to make your packet radio experience as pleasant as possible.
All the software listed here is for Windows – there are many other versions of the software for most other operating systems. Just go to the original links provided in the tutorial below. For the windows versions, just go to the WA-DIGITAL yahoo group and check in the files section:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-digital/files/
Originally from: http://uspacket.org/network/index.php/topic,21.msg23/topicseen.html#new
A huge THANKS! To Charles Brabham, N5PVL for the following information:
Flex32 / Soundcard Packet for Windows
by Charles Brabham N5PVL
Many Hams have expressed an interest in Soundcard Packet Radio, and this is understandable! It makes amateur packet radio available to any Ham with a VHF transceiver and a soundcard-equipped computer, at little or no expense. There is soundcard packet software available for DOS, and most modern operating systems including MS Windows, the focus of this article.
Some Amateurs are intrigued by the notion of a bit of free software replacing the function of an expensive bit of hardware, others are more interested in the technical triumph that soundcard packet represents, or the performance edge that digital signal processing (DSP) offers. - The point here being that though soundcard packet is the inexpensive alternative, it is also an advanced, great performing one. The FlexNet setup I will describe here can give you measurably better performance than any new packet TNC can offer, fresh out of the box. You can find more general information about FlexNet, and why it performs so well here.
FlexNet, with its easy set up, advanced design and high performance is the "best of the best" for this mode. Here is a step-by-step account of how to go about setting up Flex32 with your MS Windows computer's soundcard acting as the TNC. Flex32 is designed to work with all versions of Windows from Win95 on up. Though the details of the setup shown here may differ slightly from yours, it is hoped that it will serve as a general guide.
The computer I will be using for the purposes of this article is a 500 MHz Pentium II PC, with a 16-bit Soundblaster sound card and Windows 98 SE. If your sound card is Soundblaster compatible, it should work just as well.
The PTT / Soundcard Interface
If you only wish to monitor Packet, and do not intend to transmit, then all you need is a cable with the proper plugs to connect the speaker output of your radio to the LINE IN jack on your soundcard. If you have no LINE IN jack on your soundcard, the MIC jack will do just as well.
If you wish to go on the air, and are already set up with a soundcard interface for PSK31, SSTV, or other soundcard modes, then all you really need now is the software. In either of these two cases, you should move on to the next section.
This section is for those would like to transmit with the soundcard as a TNC, but have no interface and would like to find out something about them.
Which Interface?
If you only intend to use the soundcard for packet, the following simple interface will give you a Push-To-Talk ( PTT ) signal to key up your radio.
Serial Port PTT schematic.
A Transistor, a Resistor and a Diode...
It cost me just over three dollars to buy the parts, and ten minutes to build the PTT circuit shown above, which allows FlexNet to switch the radio from receive to transmit mode as needed.
In addition to this circuit, I had the soundcard's SPEAKER connection going to the radio's microphone plug, and the soundcard's LINE IN connected to the radio's speaker jack so the computer and radio could swap audio. Flex32 uses the soundcard driver to do the rest, processing audio signals to and from the radio to act as an advanced DSP packet modem and TNC.
Commercial Soundcard Interfaces
The Interface shown above will get you on the air, but for the best performance, the TX and RX audio lines that go between your radio and computer need to be electrically isolated. This prevents a "ground loop" condition that will degrade your audio signal with obnoxious humming noise. The PTT signal should be isolated as well. It is possible (in some cases) to get by with just the Interface above for VHF Packet, but for the HF modes like PSK-31, or for really good performance on VHF Packet, a more serious interface is a must.
It is possible to add an optical isolator to the PTT circuit above, and isolation transformers to your audio lines for a home-brew interface, but a simpler solution is to buy a commercial soundcard interface that already has all of these components.
There are a number of interfaces on the market, listed in ads in the Ham magazines and on the Internet. My personal favorite and recommended unit is the "Rascal" Interface made by K4ABT "Buck Rogers". The Rascal is available already assembled and tested, or you can order it as a kit for a substantial savings. I put one of the kits together, and found it to be fairly easy and straightforward. Everybody I know who has tried one of these has had good luck with it, but any of the commercial Interfaces will do the job. Choose your favorite, hook it up and go!
Getting the Software:
The first thing to do is to go the FlexNet web-site:
FlexNet Home Page
http://www.afthd.tu-darmstadt.de/~flexnet/
The Flexnet page has information about the FlexNet E-mail support list, and there is also a link called "Downloading Information". Click this and when it comes up, read the information there and then go on to the "Directory Page" link, at the bottom of the page.
From the Directory page, download the following files. They will be the first two files listed on the page:
flexnet32.zip
# This file contains the Flex32 software, some assorted drivers, and a simple terminal program.
soundmodem-flex.zip
# This is the soundcard driver module, along with a setup utility. The FlexNet page gives you a link to the web site where the latest version of this driver can be found. Be sure to get the proper version for your operating system.
After downloading the two files, create a new directory called C:\FLEX32 , and unzip the files into the new directory. WinZip is a popular shareware program for handling ZIP files.
Put the C:\FLEX32 directory in your computer's PATH statement, in C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT. If your autoexec file does not have a PATH statement, add this line to the file:
PATH C:\FLEX32
This will allow Flex32 compatible programs to bring up the Control center and its drivers automatically on startup. When you run your terminal program, FlexNet comes up "automagically" this way, saving you a few extra mouse-clicks.
Setting Up the Software:
Before you can set up Flex32, you will need to run the setup program for the soundcard driver, soundmodemconfig.exe... It's hard to miss this file, because the name is so long.
________________________________________
Run soundmodemconfig, and from the FILE menu, choose NEW, then CONFIGURATION:
________________________________________
It will ask for a configuration name. I decided to call mine "PVL_CFG"... Any name will do:
________________________________________
Then it looked like this:
________________________________________
When you click the configuration name, it highlights and shows the settings on the right. I used COM1 for the PTT:
________________________________________
Next I clicked the "Channel Access" tab, and set the TXDELAY for 150 ms as shown below. I recommend that you start off with a TXD of 300 ms, then later on try to edge it down as low as you can get it for the best performance. If you start off with your TXD too low, you'll wonder why you can't connect... If you leave it set too high, it will always slow you down.
TXDELAY is a parameter that must be custom-set for your particular radio. Some radios need more TXD than others, but they all should be set up with the shortest delay possible, for "snappy" performance on the air. Your radio needs a certain amount of delay... Anything over and above that just slows you down unnecessarily.
Once you get everything working good on the air with 300 ms TXD, go back and start edging it down until you start detecting trouble getting a connection, then edge it back up "just a hair". By doing this, I discovered that a radio I had been running at 300 ms "default" TXD for years was really capable of getting by with half as much delay. - Only 150 ms!
________________________________________
Now go to the FILE menu, choose NEW, then CHANNEL:
________________________________________
Indicate (highlight) the new channel to see this:
________________________________________
In the MODE menu, choose: afsk. Do this for both the modulator and demodulator tabs.
________________________________________
At this point, you should theoretically be ready to go. Test the setup you have by going into the DIAGNOSTICS menu and choosing the SCOPE:
I tested the PTT function. It worked! Generally though, if the SCOPE comes up and you get a moving, squiggly line, that's a good sign. When you get this to behave properly, the soundmodem driver is set up, and you're ready to go on to the next section.
If the line just won't squiggle, or you get I/O errors upon trying to run the scope, then click here for troubleshooting info.
________________________________________
FlexNet Control center
Look in your Flex32 directory for a file called "Flexctl.exe" ... It will have a "rainbow" icon. This is the FlexNet Control center:
________________________________________
Go to the TOOLS menu, and choose PARAMETERS:
________________________________________
The empty PARAMETER screen looks like this:
________________________________________
Right-click CHANNEL 0, and choose NEW DRIVER:
________________________________________
From the pop-up menu, choose SOUNDMODEM:
________________________________________
Another pop-up box will ask for the soundmodem configuration. From the drop-down menu, choose your configuration name. ( PVL_CFG in my case. )
________________________________________
If you get the following screen, then you have the soundmodem configured for channel 0 in the FlexNet Control center, and are ready to test the installation with a terminal program, on the air!
________________________________________
TNC32
From your desktop, create a shortcut to the file Tnc32.exe, located in your Flex32 directory. This simple term program will get you on the air, and is useful for testing and troubleshooting your installation.
Tnc32 is a command-line program. That means a set of parameters must be given along with the program name, in order for it to work. To do this, right-click the icon for Tnc32.exe on your desktop, and choose PROPERTIES from the pop-up menu.
Here is how I set mine up.
In the TARGET section, I put in:
C:\Flex32\TNC32.EXE n5pvl-9 4 4
n5pvl-9 - My call with SSID. ( SSID is optional )
4 - Number of streams
4 - Buffer in kb.
________________________________________
Now use the shortcut icon you made on your desktop to bring up TNC32.
________________________________________
To enter a command in TNC32, press the ESCAPE key and a command prompt will appear. Here, I have brought up the command prompt and entered H for Help:
________________________________________
Here, I connected to the local TheNet node, sent the "I" for "Information" command, so the node would send some text back.
________________________________________
To quit TNC32, hit the ESCAPE key for the command prompt and enter Q to Quit.
________________________________________
If I could get it working, so can you! Now you will be wanting a better term program. Only a few term programs work with Flex32. Of those, PAXON is my personal favorite. - A really great Windows Packet Terminal.
Final Setup:
Once you are set up, running a Flex32 compatible terminal program or application such as TNC32 or PAXON will automatically bring up the FlexNet Control center and its drivers. - Just click the term program and off you go!
When you shut down the FlexNet Control center, FlexNet and the soundmodem driver go away completely, leaving the system ready for other soundcard applications. If you want to have FlexNet always there, you can put your term program in your computer's STARTUP folder so that it loads itself and FlexNet automatically at boot-up.
Support!
The Forum secton here at USPacket.Org is the best place to go for resolving sticky technical problems.
Good luck! Charles Brabham, N5PVL
On to PAXON
http://uspacket.org/network/index.php/topic,20.0.html
Paxon Packet Radio Terminal and Flex32
by Charles Brabham N5PVL
If you have recently set up Flex32, you really owe it to yourself to try out Paxon, a great terminal program that is very efficient with Flex32, directly accessing the FlexNet kernal rather than having to use a driver.
The web-site, help files and installation program for Paxon are all in German, but the program comes up ready for English speaking users. This tutorial will guide you through the web-site and installation of this excellent software. - You will find that it is well worth the effort!
Getting the Software
The first thing to do is to go the download page at the Paxon web-site:
Paxon Download Page
http://www.paxon.de/download.php
The Paxon web-site is all in German, but when you get the software installed, it comes up in English so don't worry about that. In the center of the download page is a link for the file: SetupPaxon1114.exe
( 1114 was the version when this tutorial was written. This number will change as new versions are released.)
Download this file, and save it somewhere on your hard-drive as a backup installer. You can also install from that location, if you prefer.
Setting Up the Software:
Run the installation program SetupPaxon1114.exe. ( Or a later version, if available )
Choose English as your language unless you prefer some other (German is nice)…________________________________________
Here's the opening screen for this installer:
Click "Next" to continue...
________________________________________
This screen wants to be sure that you have read and understood all of the legal mumbo-jumbo. After carefully reading the mumbo-jumbo, choose the I Accept…”, and then click "Next" to continue:
________________________________________
Now it wants to establish where the program will be installed. It's probably best to go with the default location shown above. Continue as usual, with the "Next" button.
________________________________________
This is where it sets up a Paxon folder in your START menu:
________________________________________
Here it puts an Icon on your Desktop: Hit INSTALL to continue
________________________________________
Click the Run Paxon box and then click “Finish”
This is the Paxon logo flashscreen that comes up when the program starts.
________________________________________
The first time you run Paxon, you get this little "First Steps" help screen in English. If you want to look at it later, it is in the program's "Help" menu. The actual Windows help files for Paxon are all written in German. If you follow the basic steps outlined here though, all should go well for you.
________________________________________
Here I have clicked "Tools", then "Settings" to obtain this setup box. It should come up with the "General" tab selected, as shown here.
Now I am going to click the "Add" button, in order to enter my callsign and the SSID's I want to use.
________________________________________
In this little pop-up box, I have entered my callsign, and indicated which SSID's I wanted to use. If you are unsure about what SSID's to use, click the "All" button, before clicking "OK" to move on to the next step.
________________________________________
Now it displays your callsign and SSID's in the "originating callsigns" box.
Finished with this, it is time to click the "Devices" tab, and move on to the next step.
________________________________________
Right now there are no device drivers listed in the box, so click the "Add" button.
________________________________________
Choose "PC FlexNet" and click "Add"...
________________________________________
Now it shows PC FlexNet as your driver. Note that FlexNet is not active yet.
________________________________________
Assuming you have Flex32 installed and ready to run, clicking "Apply" should cause FlexNet to come up "Ready" as shown here. You may have to manually start Flex32 the first time, but it should come up automatically for Paxon thereafter.
If you have trouble getting this to work automatically, create a PATH statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT that shows the path to your FlexNet directory.
Once you get FlexNet listed here as "Ready", then click "OK", and on the main (terminal) screen, click the "Connect" button for the next step.
________________________________________
Now enter the callsign for the Station you want to connect to, then put your own call in the "Callsign" box, and choose which port in your Flex32 installation you want to use for the connect. Here I am connecting to the local FlexNet node, N5PVL-3, with the Soundmodem.
________________________________________
Hey, it worked! - I hope it works for you too!
Try browsing around in Paxon's "Settings" and you will be amazed at all of the nice things this program can do. I find it to be the very best I have ever used for file transfers, remote SYSOP'ing, and as a personal terminal. I hope that you enjoy it too, and that this tutorial has been helpful in getting you started with Paxon!
Good luck! Charles Brabham, N5PVL
OK, you ask, "Now that I can get some packet racket into my computer and decode it, what's next?"
Check out some local Bulletin Boards (BBS’s)
Do some DX Cluster monitoring for distant stations to work:
Connect to the EOC and drop off an emergency message:
W7acs-3 w7acs-10 or any of the WINLINK stations below (for our region, roughly north to south):
Edmonds, WA7AUX-10, 145.050 1200baud
Woodinville, KD6GKD-4, 145.670, 1200baud
Duval, K7DV-10, freq?
Bellevue, W7EFR-4, 144.950, 1200baud
Sammamish, W7SRG-5, 144.950, 1200baud
Seattle ACS, not currently on map...?
Vashon, W7VMI-11, 445.075, 9600baud
Federal Way, WA7FW-10, 144.930 1200baud
Maple Valley, NS7C-10, 145.030, 1200baud
Maple BValley, KC7KEY-10, 145.030, 1200baud
Tacoma, W7DK-4, 144.910, 1200baud
Puyallup, AA7ZV-10, 145.630, 1200baud
This system is subject to relentless improvement, please check out
http://www.winlink.org/RMSPacketPositions
for current resource availability
Check out all the things you can do with the Automatic Position Reporting System - "APE-Errs" or A.P.R.S...
http://aprs.fi/?call=wr5j&mt=m&z=11&timerange=3600
http://www.nwaprs.info/
http://www.aprs.net/
Setup your own bulletin board, gateway or node
Try out HF Packet
Connect to the International Space Station or the Shuttle:
Check out http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
and
http://www.issfanclub.com/taxonomy/term/43
and maybe some tracking sofware like Jtrack or Satscape
http://science.nasa.gov/RealTime/jtrack/
http://www.satscape.co.uk/main/satscape.php
Try sending TCP/IP data encapsulated in AX.25 packets:
http://www.wetnet.net/node/759
http://www.microhams.com/binfile/talks/200011.ppt
add: Bob at Boeing 9.6 and Vashon group link...
Next week - more of the same with APRS and Airmail
vy 73 de WR5J - Curt
black@nwfirst.com
206 755-4541cell/field
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Blog Post 9 – FSK441 and JT6M—High Speed Meteor Scatter Modes by K1JT
B
Blog Post 9 – FSK441 and JT6M—High Speed Meteor Scatter Modes by K1JT
Wednesday August 5, 2009
This is Curt Black, WR5J, with the Educational Radio Net –
Please standby for a FSK441 Digital QST
Before the net: Please download tonight’s software – WSJT, Weak Signal Modes by K1JT and set it up according to the blog and WA-DIGITAL Yahoo Group instructions. You should already have it from Blog Post 8 – we are still using the WSJT software from Joe Taylor, just this week we will use two new modes – FSK441 and JT6M
The software at 5.5Mbytes is just a little too big to be downloaded to the Yahoo site, so, if you haven’t yet, folks need to go to the source:
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjt.html
and grab the current WSJT version 7.03 – the download will include the users guide in English. Set up as follows:
1. Use the WSJT7 black and white DOS-like window to check your input and output device numbers –
2. then transfer that info to the colorful WSJT7 by K1JT window - look under the SETUP menu - OPTIONS choice and enter the AUDIO IN and AUDIO OUT device numbers you got from the first column on the DOS screen in step 1.
3. Also make sure you have set the MODE menu item to FSK441 and hit the MONITOR button.
4. Also left click on the TOL control (under the DECODE button and above the DEFAULTS button) to set the TOLERANCE to 400, the maximum. A Right Click would decrease the value.
5. Finally, start SPECJT by selecting it under the VIEW Menu. Arrange the windows so you can see each of them during the net
WSJT ("Weak Signal communicatons, by K1JT") is the DIGITAL FSK Meteor Scatter and EME Program and HF DX Program and Weak Signal Propagation Program written by Joe Taylor, K1JT. It is amazing – it allows digital communication using protocols explicitly optimized for a number of different propagation modes.
Last week we used JT65A which allows worldwide communication on HF or Moonbounce (EME_- Earth Moon Earth contacts with stations that (by moonbounce standards) are quite modest.
To determine EME Path Loss we need to know -
- Moon distance from either the transmitting or receiving station
- Transmitter station output in watts, expressed as ERP [roughly transmitter power output (minus feedline loss) x forward antenna gain]
- Receive station gain (actual receiver gain minus feedline loss, x antenna gain)
- The operating frequency of the transmitter and receiver
As the albedo of the moon is very low (maximally 12% but usually closer to 7%), and the path loss over the 770,000 kilometre return distance is extreme -- around 250 to 310 dB -- depending on VHF-UHF band used, modulation format and Doppler shift effects), high power (more than 100 watts) and high-gain antennas (more than 20 dB) must be used.
In practice, this limits the use of this technique to the spectrum at VHF and above.
The moon must be visible in order for EME communications to be possible.
Enough about Moonbounce – what about Meteor Scatter?
Meteor Scatter (MS) allows us to use frequencies that are higher than the “Maximum Usable Frequency” or MUF that is controlled by solar radiation acting on the earth’s upper atmosphere. Instead, we reflect signals in the 2 meter and 70cm signals (144 Mhz to 450 MHz range) back to earth with the trails of ionized gas produced by passing meteors.
WSJT/FSK441 is now the primary meteor scatter program and mode over nearly all the world. It is a High Speed MS mode. People have used SSB and Slow CW for meteor scatter work for decades – but it takes a sizable chunk of material to create sufficient ionization to get enough time to say much on either of those modes.
However, High Speed Meteor Scatter, HSMS, lets us use much smaller slices of time from the much more common and nearly constant stream of dust and sand being swept up by the earth.
There are a couple of flavors of HSMS. If I were writing this ten years ago, I would be pointing you to WinMSDSP a program to allow you to send CW at very high speed –when a ping was recorded, the software would slow that ping down and you would decode the CW by ear at whatever speed your skill allowed. HSCW has been largely supplanted by FSK441 with its amazing decode capability thanks to Joe Taylor’s digital skill. Just in case you want to try it, WinMSDSP is available here: http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/winmsdsp/setup.exe
HSMS is much more efficient than slow CW or SSB meteor scatter! Also, HSMS is usable every day of the year, not just during the peaks of major showers. This is because HSMS needs only the fractional-second underdense pings of sporadic meteors. These are available just about all the time. It is the best way to get your 144MHz signal out to between 500 and 1200 miles. Grids can be worked that aren't available by most other propagation types.
While we are practicing on 2 meters FM, the typical setup would be a 2 meter sideband rig in USB feeding a horizontally polarized directional antenna pointing toward some group of potential QSO partners or grid square on your need list. All the things that help with weak signal work like good feedlines and some power help but mostly it depends on the ionization of meteors providing a reflector to send your signal back to earth over the horizon. Luckily, even tiny grains of dust and sand are enough to give you a 1/10th second ping – and with HSCW or FSK441 you can get both call signs or your report into that tiny window.
Specifically:
FSK441 is a high speed meteor scatter mode at 441 baud or about 9000 letters per minute (1800 wpm). FSK441 uses 4-tone Frequency Shift Keying, It contains a number of features to increase its sensitivity and reliability over any other method now available.
Every so often, you will see reference to JT44 – that is the old name for JT65. The original JT65 is compatible with JT65A, Joe developed JT65B to have greater tolerance of frequency instability and suggested people move to JT65B, but the most used mode still seems to be JT65A. Check the Sked Pages such as http://www.obriensweb.com/sked/ and click the Digitalradio button.
We are exactly one week out from this year’s Perseid Meteor Shower. Check out
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31jul_perseids2009.htm
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/36787804.html
Recall that your front windshield gets more bugs on it than the back window. For that same reason, on Tuesday night August 11, you might want to set your alarm for the predawn hours of August 12 when our part of the planet will be on the leading edge of plowing through the debris from comet Swift-Tuttle. From SpaceWeather: This year's Perseid meteor shower could be even better than usual. "A filament of comet dust that boiled off in 1862 has drifted across Earth's path and when Earth passes through it, sometime between 0800 and 0900 UT (1 - 2 am PDT) on August 12th, the Perseid meteor rate could surge to twice its normal value," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
That grain of sand or piece of dust, as it starts interacting with the atmosphere about 60 miles above the planet, is moving pretty fast – the Dutch Meteor Society has measured thousands of them and the fast ones are around 70 km per second, or about 160,000 miles per hour (recall that 60,000mph of that is just our velocity around the sun)
Remember, you don’t need a meteor shower to use the HSMS mode FSK441, but it doesn’t hurt to have lots of activity – and it serves as a reminder to use those rocks to get those grids.
If you want to set up a SKED go to
http://www.pingjockey.net/cgi-bin/pingtalk
HSMS Resources:
Book: "Beyond Line of Sight", edited by Emil Pocock. http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/papers.html
http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/hscw.html
http://www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/welcome2-1.html
METEOR SCATTER PROCEDURES FOR ITU REGION 2
(N & S America)
From: http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/hscw.html
This document describes the Standard Operating Procedures for HSMS (HSCW and FSK441) operation throughout the IARU Region 2, North and
In following these procedures, all stations using HSMS for meteor scatter communications within the
Note - Meteor scatter procedures for Region 1 are not the same, and EME procedures (worldwide) differ from MS procedures, and also differ on the various bands. See the appropriate documents for more, and use the proper procedures for the region, mode, and band. As the old saying goes, "When in
TRANSATLANTIC TESTS - As these tests become more common, it should be publicly announced what set of procedures are being used.
FREQUENCY DETERMINATION, FSK441 DIGITAL METEOR SCATTER:
The stated frequency is the USB dial reading.
FREQUENCY DETERMINATION, HIGH SPEED CW METEOR SCATTER:
The stated frequency is the signal's actual zero-beat frequency, or the frequency that would be displayed by a frequency counter during key-down.
Thus, when using audio-tone injection, the dial frequency is the desired zero-beat frequency minus the tone frequency.
For example: for a schedule on 144.110 - Transmitter VFO is set on 144.108 USB, 2000 Hz audio tone injected. Sked is thus made for "144.110" (or "144.110 ZB"). Receiving station will want approximately a 1500 Hz tone, so will put the receiver on 144.108.5 USB.
(This is using audio-injection J2A keying. Direct A1A make-break keying cannot be used in
METEOR SCATTER SEQUENCING:
On meteor scatter schedules using FSK441, the Western-most station transmits the first calling period. Since 30-second periods are used, this would be the first 30 seconds of each minute.
For HSCW schedules, the Western-most station transmits the first calling period (first minute) of each hour and half hour.
NOTE - This is for
("Western station transmits first" has been the procedure for
DXpeditions normally run all schedules and CQs using the same sequence, usually the first period, regardless of direction (recommended).
Also, CQs by any station may be on either period, and commonly are on the first period (because on MS a reply may come from any direction).
REQUIREMENTS FOR A QSO:
The same as for any mode of operation or propagation - an exchange of both call signs, an exchange of some type of information or report, and an exchange of confirmation of reception of the report or information.
When a station copies both calls, he sends calls and report.
If he gets both calls and a report, he sends his report & Roger.
If he gets report and Roger, he sends
When both get a pair of
IDENTIFYING: When the schedule progresses to the "Roger, Report" and later sections, calls are no longer being sent. To remain legal, the simplest method is this:
ON FSK441, activate the automatic ID in WSJT so that it will send your ID.WAV file at the proper time.
On HSCW, every ten minutes jump back to the first (calls-only) transmit buffer for about one second, then immediately return to the current transmit buffer.
REPORTS, EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION:
Except when something special is required for a contest, an exchange of any additional information is valid for a QSO. The commonly-accepted (and expected) exchange for all HSMS operation is the burst duration-signal strength report ("2-number" report). This is now standard worldwide for HSMS operation.
| FIRST NUMBER ( | --SECOND NUMBER (SIGNAL STRENGTH) |
| 1 - Ping with no info. (Not sent) | |
| 2 - ping, up to 5 sec in length | 6 - up to S3 in strength |
| 3 - 5-15 sec in length | 7 - S4 to S5 |
| 4 - 15-60 sec burst | 8 - S6 to S7 |
| 5 - over 60 sec burst | 9 - S8 and stronger |
(In Australia where all MS operation is FSK441, there is a slight modification of this, with "06" meaning "20 ms, 0 to 10 dB," "17" meaning "40 to 80 ms, 11 to 16 dB," etc. See their HSMS Web sites for more).
Note that there cannot be any confusion between the first and second number as the ranges do not overlap; also note that the second number is not itself an "S-meter reading". (The duration report suggested here is slightly different from the European standard and also from some of the older North American charts).
This is now the preferred exchange for HSMS operation. But, if the other station uses a different reporting system, simply copy what he sends and send your report.
The typical ping will have a Burst Duration of 2, a Strength of 6. (This is a weak-signal mode).
Once you have started sending a report, it is NOT changed during that schedule, even though you suddenly get a much better burst. E.g., if you start sending "26", this is the report you would continue to send, even if you next get a "38-quality" ping. Changing the report could result in the loss of a contact.
Note on WSJT's FSK441 North American reporting: The #2 Standard Text Box defaults to "Firstcall report Secondcall report report" (e.g., K1JT 26 W8WN 2626). The reason for this format is to allow monitoring stations to tell which station they're hearing. Since the pair of calls is the longest string of text to exchange, lower-power stations may find it advantageous to change this to "Firstcall report Secondcall report" or even "Firstcall Secondcall report."
This change is definitely recommended for contests when the
Other sometimes-used exchanges:
Burst length "S" report. Standard in
Grid square. Required for most contests. Sometimes used by portable or /MM stations; however, on FSK441, it is becoming common for the portable or /MM station to include their current grid in the CQ . The grid square normally should not be used on HSMS for the report except for contests.
An exchange of Rogers (R's) is necessary to complete a contact, regardless of the mode. But how many R's are required? It's much like the old question, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"
Regardless of mode, only one (1) Roger is actually required. But are you sure you received it? Was it really an R? Many EME and MS operators have been greatly saddened to learn that the "definite R" they received was actually another letter, chopped up! This is why most operators don't trust conditions and their hearing to accept a single, isolated R, but prefer to have 2 or more.
So how many R's are required? As few or as many as you need to feel comfortable that you have it! If you rely on only a single R, many times you'll be correct. But all too often you'll later learn that the other station was not sending R's and the contact was not completed. (Those of us who have been on MS and EME for awhile have experienced this all too often - from both ends!)
MISSING INFORMATION:
On High-Speed CW MS operation, it is possible to request a missing piece of information.
Note - this does not work as well for FSK441, but could possibly be used. (On FSK441, it's best to just ask for the needed information as these letters are likely to be interpreted as only gibberish).
BBB - Both call signs needed
MMM - My call sign needed
YYY - Your call sign needed
SSS - Report (or whatever report/information exchange used) needed (some have suggested GGG for needing the grid)
UUU - Ur keying is unreadable
(Use "U" when needed. Remember that the other station cannot monitor his keying).
These "requests for repeat" letters are used only when the other station mis-copies something and jumps ahead in the sequence. Thus, they are seldom needed (but very valuable at that time).
When these are used, nothing but the appropriate string of letters is sent. (E.g., "YYYYYYYYYY").
The other operator should respond by sending only the requested information. (E.g., "W8WN W8WN W8WN").
When the requesting operator has the needed data, he returns again to the proper exchange sequence.
HSCW SPEEDS:
For CQs, a speed of 6000 lpm has now become standard in
HSCW SCHEDULES - always determine what speed the other operator wishes to use. If you are very far off the other station's speed, not only is copy impossible, you can't even tell whether he's a lot faster or slower than your settings!
The most effective schedule speeds with current equipment and techniques are 6000-10,000 lpm. The signal-to-noise ratio becomes poorer above about 12,000 lpm; thus, higher speeds are not recommended for routine operating, although a number of stations are testing various techniques for use at these higher speeds.
FREQUENCY USE:
SCHEDULES:
Schedule frequencies are arranged between the two individual stations on any seemingly unused frequency.
On 144 MHz, North American HSMS operation is normally conducted between 144.100 and 144.200 to avoid interference with EME operation below 144.100, and with SSB operation near and above 144.200.
(Remember, in the
At this time, most 50 MHz schedules are being made between 50.240 and 50.310.
Schedules should always be made at least 5 kHz away from the calling (CQ) frequencies.
(Speeds, frequency, exact procedures, etc., must always be confirmed between the two stations, especially if something different from the standard procedure is desired or one of the operators is new to this mode).
CALLING CQs - no offset:
On 2 meters - 144.140 dial for FSK441 and 144.100 zero-beat for HSCW. Call, listen, and operate on the same frequency, unless there seem to be several stations operating there. If this is the case, the CQ-Letter or Uxx/Dxx method should be used.
On 50 MHz - 50.260 dial for FSK441 and 50.300 zero-beat for HSCW.
Either period may be used, since they could be answered from any direction (see sequencing).
HSMS CQs on other frequencies are almost certain to be unsuccessful unless they have been announced on the proper real-time Web site.
Note - except during contests or other periods of high activity, it is always necessary to announce that you are going to call a CQ.
For other VHF/UHF bands, no calling frequencies have been decided on. Due to the difficulty of operating MS on 220 and 432, all operation is currently by means of schedules.
CQ, OFFSET LISTENING:
FSK441 - If it is apparent that there are several operating, immediately following the letters "CQ", a specific letter and number are inserted to indicate the frequency that will be used for reception when the CQ sequence ends.
For example: "CQU5" means "I'm listening and will reply Up 5 kHz."
"CQD8" means "I'm listening and will reply Down 8 kHz".
The offset frequency is always relative to the CQ frequency. Thus, "CQU8" on 144.250 would mean that the contact will take place on 144.258 MHz. (144.250 is not a good frequency for an HSMS CQ, but is simply used as an example).
When using FSK441, instead of sending Up or Down, you could specify the actual frequency, such as "CQ 123" would mean "I am listening and will answer on 144.123 MHz."
When the CQing station hears a call on the offset frequency (not on the CQ frequency, for he is not listening there), he/she immediately then also moves to the offset frequency, and the QSO takes place there with BOTH stations now transmitting and receiving on the new designated frequency.
HSCW - If it is apparent that there are several operating, immediately following the letters "CQ", a specific letter is inserted to indicate the frequency that will be used for reception when the CQ sequence ends. This letter indicates the frequency offset from the actual CQ calling frequency used. For example, "CQE" would indicate that the CQing station would listen 5 kHz above his CQ frequency. In all cases the letter used indicates a frequency higher than the CQ frequency. When the CQing station hears a call on the offset frequency (not on the CQ frequency, for he is not listening there), he/she immediately then also moves to the offset frequency, and the QSO takes place there with BOTH stations now transmitting and receiving on the new designated frequency.
For example:
CQC - Up 3 kHz
CQE - Up 5 kHz
CQZ - Up 26 kHz
CQAA - Up 27 kHz. Etc.
Note that the letter indicates the number of kHz higher than the CQ frequency. It does not indicate any specific frequency. Thus, if a DXpedition is using some other frequency for CQs, the letter again indicates the number of kHz higher where they are listening and to which they will QSY for QSO attempts.
CQ with
ANSWERING A CQ:
If it is only a straight CQ, you transmit and receive on the frequency that is being used for the CQ.
If it is a CQ-letter or a CQUxx or CQDxx, you change both your transmitter and receiver to the indicated frequency.
You then call and listen on this new frequency. When (if) the CQing station copies both calls, he will also QSY to this new frequency and the contact will take place there.
WARNING - Even during a major shower, pings may be few and far between. When you reply to a CQ, do not quit after only a few minutes. It may require 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or longer before the CQing station copies your call and you get a ping back from him. Plan to continue calling for a while.
When you call the CQing station, you use the standard 1x1 calls (e.g., W4HHK N1BUG W4HHK N1BUG, etc. - NO reports. [This is different in
When the CQing station copies you (on the new frequency, if a CQ-letter or CQUx or CQDx has been used), he will respond with both calls and a report.
The calling station continues with the 1x1 calls until he copies the calls and report, then switches to the Roger-Report, and then on through the usual sequence.
(If the CQing station gets only partial calls, he should QSY and call "QRZ?" on the new frequency).
OTHER:
Schedules are always made in Universal Time. However, for evening schedules, the local time/day may also need to be stated to be certain that the date is understood properly.
USE OF THE WEB, HF, ETC, DURING A CONTACT:
The Internet has made the setting up of schedules, checking results, real-time help, etc, very easy. Its use (and other, similar methods) are always encouraged for these purposes.
But what about confirming individual portions of a contact in real time, while the contact is in progress? (E.g., "OK, I have your calls and report, I'm sending R26s now", etc).
This depends upon the purpose of the attempted contact. For many contests, this is not allowed. And if contact by any other means is made while the attempted VHF contact is in progress and any information concerning the contact is exchanged, the contact must be restarted again from the beginning.
For claiming a record, or for a new state, etc, while not technically "illegal", it is strongly frowned on and discouraged. Most VHF operators do not communicate with the other station by the Internet (or similar means) from the time the contact has started until it has obviously been completed (i.e., one station has received "73").
Obvious exceptions to this would be if there's a major problem at either end (need to change frequency, rig problems, the other signal is not readable, etc), or incidental comments having nothing to do with the contact in progress.
For routine contacts, tests, experiments, etc. with a station you've worked many times, obviously there's nothing wrong with comments concerning the contact, for you won't even bother exchanging QSLs again. And the Internet is a great way to help fellows set up their rig, learn the proper procedures, and get things operating properly.
The bottom line is, what is the purpose of the VHF contact? If it's really to make this VHF Contact, it should be made on VHF with no outside help, once the schedule is set up and started. If it's completely routine, one contact of many with that station, for tests or help, etc, and it really doesn't matter whether or not the contact is completed, then it really doesn't matter what else you're doing at the same time.
These are the current HSMS Procedures for Region 2. If you wish to experiment with variations, that is up to you and the other station; this is the way the procedures grow and improve. But by using these for routine operating, you are less likely to disappoint the other station by seemingly failing to show up for the schedule, or by not knowing what to do!
SSB METEOR SCATTER PROCEDURES FOR REGION 2:
SSB exchange requirements and procedures are the same as HSMS procedures, with the following changes:
- The period is normally 15 seconds, with the Western station again calling first at the start of each minute.
- Random MS operation does not necessarily follow an exact sequence. Break-in is commonly used.
- Information exchange (report) is usually the burst-length "S" report (S1 through S5) on schedules, Grid Squares on random contacts. For random contacts, yet other exchanges are sometimes heard.
- Phonetics must be used for random operation; they should not be used for schedules.
- For CQs, the usual SSB calling frequencies are usually used during periods of low activity. However, during the peaks of major showers, they quickly become overcrowded. Frequencies every 5 kHz above and below the calling frequencies are then commonly used.
- On SSB, attempts are usually made to complete the entire QSO on a single long burst. Thus, break-in procedures should be used whenever possible.
"SLOW" CW (UNDER 50 WPM) MS PROCEDURES FOR REGION 2:
Again, the procedures for CW are the same as for HSCW or SSB, with the following changes:
- The period may be 15, 30, or 60 seconds. Thus, this must be stated.
- The exchange (report) is normally the burst-length "S" report.
- Random CQs may follow the 15-second sequence, or they may be short calls with a break.
JT44/JT65 OPERATION:
JT44 and JT65, other weak-signal modes of WSJT, are useful for distances too short for meteor scatter operation but where tropo scatter might be possible, and especially for EME operation. They should also be good for TE, IOS, and other modes of propagation where the signal is expected to be very weak but more or less steady.
For terrestrial JT44/JT65 operation (i.e., not EME), procedures, sequencing, etc., may be either the same as for MS or for EME! Therefore, the sequencing must be stated and agreed on prior to each schedule.
Frequencies used are in the same portion of the band as used for meteor scatter operation. There is no commonly-accepted frequency for CQs, though 144.163 has been proposed.
For JT44/JT65 EME operation, the procedures are generally the same as worldwide EME procedures for the band in question, except for the length of the transmit period (30 seconds for JT44, 60 seconds for JT65).
On 144 MHz, two sets of frequencies are currently in use - 144.105-144.135 and 144.145-144.170. EME JT44/JT65 CQs are most often simply announced on the JT44 EME Web page.
Japanese stations must operate above 144.4.
(Remember, in the
This "Procedures" paper is primarily for meteor scatter operation. JT44/JT65, both EME and terrestrial, are too new for all of the procedures to have been worked out. If you have questions, people on the "Ping Jockey" and "JT44" real-time web pages, as well as the "HSMS/JT44 Reflector," should be able to give you the latest information.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Region 1 Meteor Scatter procedures can be found at URL http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/vhfc/iaru.r1.vhfm.4e/5B.html. (Due to be revised soon).
This Region 2 document covers only the basic procedures. For more General HSCW information, go to http://nitehawk.com/rasmit/ws1_15.html or http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/hscw.html, and follow the links. Charts and many other papers are available to assist with both operating and technical information.
To download the latest version of WSJT, go to http://pulsar.princeton.edu/~joe/K1JT/, or the mirror site at www.vhfdx.de.
To keep up with what is happening on meteor scatter, JT44 operation, and general VHF news, check the Hot News Page regularly at http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/papers/hot_news.html.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME FOR METEOR SCATTER OPERATION?
SPORADIC METEORS
In the morning hours, around 0600 local time, that part of the earth is facing the same direction as the direction of travel of the earth in its orbit around the sun. Thus, not only are meteors swept up which are heading toward the earth, but the movement of the earth around the sun allows it to catch up with some of the slower meteors and pull them in, also.
On the evening side (facing away from the direction of the earth's orbit), the only meteors reaching the earth are those which can overtake it.
The best time for visual observing is considered to be between 2 and 4 am local time. This is because during the season when the sporadics are at their peak (summer), the sky brightness is increasing after 4 am.
It must be remembered, however, that many or probably most "sporadic" meteors are actually the remains of long-gone showers. Thus, on a given day, there could be meteors from 5 or 6 of these "extinct" showers hitting the atmosphere, causing an enhancement at an unexpected time.
There is a considerable seasonal variation of sporadics, also, with February being the low month and July being the highest. (KB0VUK has a chart of this on his Web page). Note the number of major and minor showers in the June-September period and the reason for this will become obvious.
There are also several