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[N3KXZ]

Just got my SignaLink and running FLdigi on a Debian system via my Kenwood TS-520.

I am uncertain about what I am seeing on the waterfall and how to recognize particular images. I tuned to W1AW for their daily digital transmission. Their website says "Bulletins are sent using 45.45-baud Baudot, PSK31 in BPSK mode and MFSK16 on a daily revolving schedule. " Not sure what that means... they start with RTTY, then do it in PSK31, then do it again in MFSK16 continuously in round robin fashion throughout the hour? So at any given time how do I recognize which mode they are sending?

What I see when I tune to one of their frequencies seems to be two separate vertical images separated by about 200Hz. What is this mode? Photo attached.

How to select PSK31 (BPSK31) or MFSK16 for reception/decoding in FLdigi ? Those two modes  doesn't seem to show up in my pulldown menu box (below frequency readout)?

My setup is somewhat complicated by the fact that my rig is analog so there is no computer rig control, and my tuning dial may not be accurate. I can decode the CW transmissions fine, so I think my setup works.

Thanks,
Keith

[KF5KWO]

Hi Keith,

These are great questions, and perfectly normal.

IIRC, those W1AW bulletins are sent in a different mode each day.

You’re not quite in the right place to find all the modes available to you in FLDIGI. Go to the upper left corner where it says “Op Mode” and click — you’ll see them all there. You can customize this list as well. So you’ll see, for instance, that there are a whole lot of PSK modes! So select BPSK then PSK31 and you’re ready to go. Now, if you go to the very LOWER left corner, you’ll see BPSK31 there — that lets you know you’re in that mode. You can click there and you will see a pull-up menu appear that shows you the different modes within BPSK. You can select one of these sub-modes right there without having to go to the “Op Mode” pulldown in the upper left.

As for determining which mode is which, in the upper right corner you will see two little buttons labeled RxID and TxID. When you enable RxID, you will get a little pop-up indicating the mode and freq of a signal when the ham transmitting begins the transmission *if* he has TxID enabled. In the same manner, when *you* enable TxID, when you transmit, any other ham with RxID enabled with get the pop-up showing the mode and freq. I almost always have RxID enabled because while some modes look very unique, many look the same on the waterfall. I don’t enable RxID during a contest because of all the pop-ups getting in the way. :-)

Don’t worry — eventually you will be able to tell a number of signals apart. I can tell the different, just by looking, between PSK31, HELL, RTTY, FT4, FT8, and Morse. Many modes have a number of varieties within that mode as well, so that adds an extra challenge. For example, there is PSK31, but there’s also PSK63,

The picture you included looks like a standard RTTY signal.

All of this info, plus a metric ton more, is at the online user manual found at http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp/index.html. I *always* have this open in one of my browser tabs because you never know when you need to refer to it. Definitely read this.

This page is handy too: http://www.w1hkj.com/modes/. It shows many, if not all, of the modes available in FLDIGI.

There are also lots of great videos on Youtube on how to use FLDIGI, WSJT-X, and other software. I used videos to get get myself up to speed, cuz sometimes RTFM doesn’t really help, right? :-)

Don’t worry about using that TS-520. I’m using a TS-570, but do not use computer rig control. So when I change freqs or bands on the radio, I also have to remember to do it on FLDIGI. Don’t worry, just takes getting used to. Depending on the condition of your TS-520, there may be some drifting, so you might get operators telling you that your signal is drifting left or right on the waterfall. Be aware of this possibility, perhaps ask about it during a QSO, and the other op will let you know.

If you’ve got further questions, send ‘em! Let me know if anything I’ve said isn’t working out, we’ll figure it out, or other hams here will jump in. Glad you’re getting into the digital modes, they’re fun. Hope to work you on the air.

Jeff, KF5KWO

[WA6NUT]

Here's another useful website: https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Category:Amateur_Radio

[N3KXZ]

Thank you gentlemen for helping out.

I have attached a second image, full screen this time. Evidently the area at the top left (circled in red) where the frequency is shown and there is a drop down menu is irrelevant to my use case- that is only used when one has a data port and the software is used for rig control. That confused me for awhile but now I know to ignore that area.

I looked at several of the links to identify the waterfall image, but none that I see show two adjacent vertical signals (not the red bandwidth lines) separated like this for any mode, certainly not for the modes which the W1AW is supposed to be transmitting in. I tried both centering on one or the other, and centering on both.

I tried all three modes W1AW says they use for their digital transmission (Baudot/RTTY-45, BPSK31, and MFSK16) and none of them will decode properly. I also tried three different bands with the same result.

Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks,
Keith

[KF5KWO]

The two thin, vertical, red lines should lay right on top of the signal on the waterfall, and each of the two thick horizontal lines should be centered over one of the streams (the left one is called the “space” tone, and the right one is called the “mark” tone) so it looks like you just need to mouse-click it over. It’s possible you have your radio set for LSB. It should be in USB for FLDIGI. You will hear people say, “But RTTY is always in lower sideband.” When using FLIDIGI, you use USB no matter the mode, even RTTY. So make sure the radio is set to USB. A more seasoned RTTY operator can give a great explanation about why USB instead of LSB, but since I’m here I’ll try: the mark and space tones get reversed when you’re on LSB instead of USB. You actually can set your radio to LSB, but then you’ll have to look in the lower right corner for the “Reverse” button and enable it. But since all the other modes are in USB, it’s best to keep the radio on USB and drive on.

Does any of that help?

[N3KXZ]

Thank you, I have never used RTTY before so that's good info.

I have been putting my rig into USB when attempting to receive the W1AW digital transmissions.

The two vertical red lines are placed by the software to denote the bandwidth of the mode you have chosen- they are not otherwise user adjusted independently (AFAIK).

I will try again tomorrow.

[K0UA]

Thank you, I have never used RTTY before so that's good info.

I have been putting my rig into USB when attempting to receive the W1AW digital transmissions.

The two vertical red lines are placed by the software to denote the bandwidth of the mode you have chosen- they are not otherwise user adjusted independently (AFAIK).

I will try again tomorrow.

NOPE... see the box in you photo that says 1988?. see the left and right single arrows by that box?  click the down frequency (left single arrow) with the mouse to move those red bars centered on 1500 hz.  This will put your signal in the middle of the passband of the radio.  Now turn the VFO knob until the signal is centered on those red vertical bars. Each red bar is directly over the 170 hz shift of the Mark and Space tones.  Of course you could just move the VFO to where the red bars are now at 1988, but that is not totally ideal especially as that is starting to move to the end of the passband, depending on how sharp the filter is in your rig.

As stated by others, before starting RTTY operations, make sure you rig is warmed up good. This will help combat drifting. These older rigs were not all that stable compared to newer rigs, but it should be good enough.

[KF5KWO]

Keith,

Check out groups.io, they have tons of ham radio groups that send out email digests at an interval of your choosing. I’m in the “winfldigi” group. Nice to be in because users are very helpful, and there are often answers to any questions there. Nice to keep track of bugs in the latest version, if any. You’ll find recommendations and advice on complicated issues that may not be very intuitive in the GUI or well-explained in the user guide. :-)

[N3KXZ]

@ K0UA - thanks much, that is helpful. I did not realize the importance of placing the signal in the center of the passband. I am getting a better idea of just how clear the signal must be in order to decode easily. Also, my rig has a slight amount of slop in the VFO dial that makes exact tuning sometimes difficult, and since I don't have a digital readout there can be some confusion when several adjacent frequencies are busy.

@ KF5KWO - yes, I will check around in groups.io for an appropriate group to ideas about how to operate digital. I am already signed up for several groups.io groups as it is...

Today has not been a good day for reception at my QTH, so I haven't had much luck. But will continue working on it.

Thanks for your help,
Keith
N3KXZ

[N3KXZ]

To report back- finally success! I was able to decode the W1AW digital bulletin tonight on 40M using BPSK31.

I don't know why I was previously getting two adjacent signals, which was confusing... tonight I can clearly see the one signal I needed to decode. And I see how important it is to be exactly on frequency... and yes my rig does drift a bit.

This was just my first step to becoming familiar with digital HF.

Thanks for your help gentlemen!

Keith
N3KXZ

[KF5KWO]

Keith,

Glad to hear of your success! What modes are you interested in using? I got my start doing PSK31 and RTTY about 2 years ago, and added a bunch of the other popular ones (HELL, THOR, Olivia, Contestia, FT4, FT8). The PSK and RTTY contests are fun! Check out https://www.podxs070.com/ for info about their contests. PSK31 only requires a nice typing speed, but PSK63? Super fast, your fingers get a workout for sure!

Sorry to hear the rig is drifting. There is a FB group for those older hybrid Kenwoods (“Kenwood Hybrids” is in the name), and they would have plenty of tippers about how to address it. Same with groups.io, they probably have one too. It may be hard to find someone who can service that radio, but I know there are people who will. Look at the reviews here on eham.net, or maybe just search the forums here and on qrz.com for “TS-520 drift” or something. Good luck!

Hope to work you soon!