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If I were giving the talk, I'd change the title to "What's New in the Digital Modes?"  As for what's new, well, that depends on how far back you want to go.  Here are a few things to get the list started:

1) PSK31 signals are easy to pick out, but it's often difficult to identify the more exotic digital modes.  RSID, a means of sending out a mode identifier at the beginning or end of a transmission, makes mode identification a snap.

2) Phil Gladstone's PSK Reporter is a nifty way of telling just how well you're getting out; it presents a map of stations that have heard you.  It's used almost exclusively with PSK31 at the moment.

3) WSPR is a very interesting beacon mode created by Nobel Prize winner Joe Taylor.  Using his software, you can get a picture of propagation conditions by listening to and identifying low-power beacons, the locations of which can be displayed on a web-based map.  You can transmit your own beacon, too.

Those are just the first three things that came to mind; there's lots more interesting stuff out there.

I'm a big fan of DM780 and the rest of the Ham Radio Deluxe suite, but I started with Digipan version 2.  When you decide to start working the digital modes, there's a host of issues to contend with--getting the rig-to-computer interface working and tuning with a spectrum display, just to name two--and the last thing you need is a program that steepens your learning curve by confusing you with its complexity.

Use Digipan to learn the basics.  Once you do, you can check out the other programs at your leisure.

AA6YQ: You're missing the point. What makes PSK31 attractive is that ~30 active QSOs fit in a 2 khz transceiver bandpass, and can all be simultaneously decoded to produce active displays like this one...

I don't deny that PSK31 is a great mode; I use it all the time.  And, yes, using something like DM780 to decode multiple signals is very nice (not that I use that capability much).  But that's not the issue we've been discussing, and that I responded to.  The argument has been made here that 500Hz-wide signals deprive others of bandwidth.  My point is that using 500 Hz of bandwidth in an empty band isn't depriving anyone else of anything.  When conditions are better, and more people are using the bands, that may change.

And Happy New Year to you, too, Dave.

Yes, 500Hz is wider than 30Hz, but that hardly matters if you're transmitting in an empty part of the band.  For example, most days there's lots of empty space above 14.073 to play in.

Of course, when the sunspots come back--please, please, please--we may be talking about a different situation.

Do you ever see the problem when transmitting into a dummy load?

Another vote for Olivia.  It's fairly robust (not AMTOR ARQ robust, but still...).  The slow speed actually enhances conversation, because there's less of a temptation to keep up with the tx speed by sending a bunch of macros.

By the way, Wes, I found that info you posted on the various modes very informative.

Another possibility is to buy an interface with integral sound card; the SignaLink USB is one such device.

Olivia, perhaps?  Some of us run Olivia just above the PSK segment on 20 meters; the 16-tones/500-Hz sub-mode (16/500) seems to be the most popular, but other sub-modes are used as well.  Another possibility is Contestia, which is similar to Olivia but has a different character set.

More and more people are using RSID to identify their digital transmissions these days, so if you are running a program that supports RSID (e.g., DM780), the software may identify the mode for you.

The only credit currently granted for an old license that's expired and beyond the grace period is for Technician licenses granted before 3/21/87.  Anyone proving they had such a license can get credit for element 3.

You could have a problem with receiver drift, which if fast enough would show up as slanted lines (as opposed to vertical lines) on your waterfall.

Another possible problem is sound card calibration.  If your sound card transmit and receive sample rates differ, the result is a slight offset in transmit and receive frequencies.  I had this problem with my SignaLink USB at a sample rate of 11025 Hz, but cured it by switching to 8kHz.  You can find out more here:

http://www.eham.net/forums/Digital/5212

If you have a Tech license (i.e., you are listed as a Tech in the FCC database), you can use General privileges immediately after passing element 3.  And if you passed your test at an ARRL VE group, the back of your CSCE has instructions for using the appropriate callsign suffix.

The ARRL has a program called VE Exam Maker that prints exams.  If you're grading with templates, any standard ARRL template can be specified as the answer pattern.  One of the nice features of the program is a so-called Braille mode, which will produce a test with no graphics-based questions.

Overall, it's quite a nice piece of programming.

KJ4PVF: -P.S. it took about a week to get my call, it was kind of annoying that i took the test on a friday and monday was a holiday. waiting for my call was a little taste of torture:)

Then imagine what it was like in the so-called good old days, when we had to wait 6 to 8 weeks for a license to arrive.

Congratulations on your new license--I hope you have a lot of fun with ham radio.

Why not just tell them to:

1) set their rig's RF power to maximum.

2) set the tx audio level into the rig just below the point where ALC kicks in.  The only tricky thing about this is that there are several things that may contribute to the final audio level: (a) the computer's sound card settings, (b) the rig's mic level (if the tx audio is going into the rig through the mic connector), and (c) the tx audio setting on the interface, if it has one.

That's about it, in most cases.