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[AG6LQ]

Saw these
https://www.ebay.com/itm/222694228659

 2 PAK Psk-31 "EASY DIGI™" Sound Card Interface PSK RTTY SSTV FT-8, 2 PCB KITS
Work PSK, RTTY, SSTV, NBEMS, JT-65, OTHERS HF, VHF, UHF

But I can't say I understand it. I've heard of PSK31, but I thought that was a little interface to the sound card on a PC. Is this what that is for?

I have an old PK232 which I haven't used in years. And I have a PK900 that I found that I have *never* used.

I am trying to get into more ham radio. I have been licensed for a long time but never worked HF and I have not been active for a while. I would like to get more active.
Thanks!

[K1VSK]

Doing an internet search of either/both the 232 and 900 will provide user’s manuals for both showing, in much more detail than anyone can provide here, what they do and how they do it. Think modem metaphor +.

Try not to limit yourself only to some digital modes.

[AG6LQ]

I did download the manuals for those. I have physical copies too.
I was asking what that guy on ebay is selling, is that a more modern solution than my old fashioned TNCs?
A few years ago sound card solutions were all the rage. Is that better? I just don't know.

I used the PK232 a few times years ago.

[K0UA]

You didn't mention what rig you have.  Many modern rigs now have the modem built into the rig, and no sound card interface required.  Just a simple USB (Universal Serial Buss) cable from the rig to the computer.  You might not need anything depending on what rig you have.  Old modems like you mentioned interface in an analog audio manner with the rig, and interface with the computer with a piece of software called a terminal emulator. In other words a "dumb terminal".  Which makes the computer emulate an old dumb terminal or TTY (teletype) machine running Ascii.  This is really old timey stuff.  We then moved on to sound card interfaces, and people are shelling out of those every day because of the new rigs, where no interface is needed, just a cable.

[AG6LQ]

Oh, I see. I have really old radios. In fact I am sure I have the old 2M mobile I used with the PK-232. So I have the mic cable for that one.
I guess if I buy a new rig I won't need that. OK, thanks, that clears things up a little.

I do have a Kenwood TM-V7. I admit I have no idea of it's capabilities other than voice. My HF is all very old, so if I were to try to get digital modes on that I would have to use old time methods.

[K0UA]

Most 2 meter rigs don't generally have built in modems. There isn't even the packet activity on 2 meters there once was. Still some APRS. But as for Old HF rigs, they can be interfaced with sound card methods or with you existing PK232 etc. I sold my PK232 many many years ago when the trend to soundcard interfacing came into vogue. And now that trend is going away also.

 But you will not be able to run the most modern of the digital protocols with the PK232. There isn't all that much HF packet any more and RTTY is only for contests now. Not much ragchew activity to be found day to day. Also many of the older rigs lack frequency stability and cannot be controlled by the computer because they lack CAT control. CAT=Computer Aided Transceiver.

There is more digital activity on FT8 (the devils preferred mode that is "killing amateur radio" ) than ALL other digital modes combined. I wouldn't be surprised if at any given slice in time there are more hams on FT8 than are on CW AND SSB combined. Barring major CW and SSB contest's. It may be the devil's preferred mode, and it may be "killing amateur radio as we know it", but it has sustained amateur radio through the doldrums of low sunspot numbers since 2017. Scorned by some, embraced by many, hams have voted with their wallets and their dials, and FT8 is here to stay. The siren's song of easier DX is a strong call.

 Solution: buy an Icom 7300 and start fresh. A nice modern rig with a nice built in modem that is easy to interface to a PC. .   You cannot go wrong with a 7300. They are ubiquitous, Almost every modern ham shack has one. I have two.

It is only money, and you can't take it with you when you go.

[K5LXP]

There's still a bit of PSK-31 and is my preferred digital mode, could probably be called a classic by now.  Easy to set up and use, I was running it on a 30 year old HF rig for a while.  Packet was fun back in the day, I liked how you could digi from place to place and also the little mailboxes in the TNC's.  I ran a 17M to 2M gateway for a few years and got connections from all over the world.  The allure of FT8 is "foolproof" which I guess has some merit, but practically all that accomplishes is reducing the value of the result.  Work a hundred countries on QRP CW and you've accomplished something, work 100 countries on FT8 and it's a yawn.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

[N8GNJ]

The revolution in data modes in Amateur Radio is that the computers have become so powerful that they can do all of the decoding and protocol work that used to require dedicated units like your PK-232 and PK-900. What the guy on eBay is selling is a simple modem - analog to digital converter (RX), digital to analog converter (TX), and a simple PTT circuit. All those modes described in the eBay ad are implemented in software running on a host computer - Mac, Windows, Linux, even a little Raspberry Pi. There are many, MANY such "modems" available - the most popular is the Tigertronics SignaLink USB - http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbmain.htm.

Trying to use your PK-232 and PK-900 in this era, you can only partially disable the "intelligence" of the TNC (put it into KISS mode), but not enough to completely "get out of the way" and let the powerful software work its magic. For example, the Dire Wolf "Software TNC" (https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf) provides far more reliable packet radio communications than any "hardware" TNC because it can make use of a computer's GHz clock speeds, multiple CPU cores, and gigabytes of RAM. The TNC by comparison uses a processor that is measured in MHz, and typically 32 or 64 MB of RAM (maybe more in the PK-900).

You might be interested in my newsetter Zero Retries - https://zeroretries.substack.com

Steve N8GNJ

<snip>
I was asking what that guy on ebay is selling, is that a more modern solution than my old fashioned TNCs?
A few years ago sound card solutions were all the rage. Is that better? I just don't know.

I used the PK232 a few times years ago.

[AG6LQ]

OK, thanks. So I don't need the thing on ebay at all. That was my question.

At the moment I am concentrating on getting HF antennas up. I just bought a 30' push up mast for that.
I have a 20M wire dipole. I might make a long wire antenna too, but I don't know much about it.
I am an extra class ham who has never worked HF, yet, but I am eager to try it. I have a house with no HOA or antenna restrictions now. I looked for a ROHN 25. Too expensive new. I will find one locally some day. Maybe.

[K0UA]

OK, thanks. So I don't need the thing on ebay at all. That was my question.

At the moment I am concentrating on getting HF antennas up. I just bought a 30' push up mast for that.
I have a 20M wire dipole. I might make a long wire antenna too, but I don't know much about it.
I am an extra class ham who has never worked HF, yet, but I am eager to try it. I have a house with no HOA or antenna restrictions now. I looked for a ROHN 25. Too expensive new. I will find one locally some day. Maybe.

Around here and many places a Rohn 25 tower can be had just for taking it down safely. Buddy up with a tower climber with the gear and go looking for them. My friend and I have taken down many of them for free. Most business's want rid of them as they don't use them anymore for their business band radio. Cell phones work just fine for a lot of business's. 

Climber needs a good climbing belt. And you need 200 foot of 1/2 inch rope, and a Rohn gin pole. at a minimum. A pulley that can be mounted to a tower leg at the bottom can allow the ground man to get out of the zone of death and pull horizontally instead of vertical under the gin pole. A tower jack can be a welcome addition at times when the sections are stuck together. My buddy has several hundred feet of 25 stored at his farm. All of it for free.

[WA3SKN]

If you want to get more active, check out the local clubs and see what they are doing.
Go to www.arrl.org, search on clubs, then search by zip code.  Find one that is doing something of interest to you and join in!
Best plan there is!

-Mike.

[AG6LQ]

I am in the local club.
I have been in so many local clubs in LA.