FLDIGI

[W3MIV]

I am very impressed with FLDIGI in its latest iteration. It is the first digital mode program I have found that rivals, indeed may even exceed, MixW. Lots of folks like DM780 by Simon Brown, but I don't like the interface. Working FLDIGI is pretty simple and straightforward, like Skip Teller's wonderfully simple DigiPan, but it is loaded with the versatility of a multiplicity of modes only a mouse-click away -- very like MixW.

I had tried it with Linux in the past, but could never manage to interface properly with the rig. I am now auditioning it on Windoze Vista and it seems to work very well. I like that there is a gateway interface for DXKeeper -- my principal logger -- but it also works well as a stand-alone. Unlike MixW, FLDIGI will connect with that *other* site and swiftly look up a call and enter the data even before you save it to the log. That is a great help IMO.

If you like digital ops, I suggest giving it a try out (if you haven't already done so -- I am often among the those who never "got the memo" so to say). Not to be overlooked, it is FREE.

[KC2UGV]

+10 votes for fldigi Albi :) I use it exlcusivley.

Still trying to figure out how to work the logging, but pencil and paper works too :)

[N7YA]

I really would like to dive into digital modes one of these days. I suspect i will be calling on you guys for some help getting started. After nearly 30 years in the hobby, mostly CW and DXing, i am an absolutel noob in the digital realm. The last time i did anything even remotely "digital", it was at my buddy Frank's (KL7FH) house in 1985 when i logged the very first calls of my new general ticket using a...>gasp<...keyboard!!

I even tried using a logging program, but never while i was operating. Ive become too accustomed to paper logging, i just used it for organizing my log info in a flash.

[W3MIV]

I really would like to dive into digital modes one of these days. I suspect i will be calling on you guys for some help getting started.

None of the digital modes come close to the weak-signal capabilities of CW, but the ability of PSK31 to put print on the screen during some pretty awful condx can be astonishing at times -- and that despite the fact that it does not contain any error-correction scheme.

You should give it a try. I would suggest Skip Teller's really excellent program DigiPan. It is simple, easy to use and free. That's the ideal mix for dipping a key into the world of keyboard ops.

[KC2UGV]

Also, K7AGE has some phenomenal YouTube videos on the subject as well. Recommended viewing.

[N7YA]

Cool! My wife and i are going to be finding a nice rental property this spring, one of the deals is having the place to spread out some stealthy antennas and a dedicated radio room, i will start looking into it then. Thanks. :)

[NQ6U]

I was on PSK31 within two days of getting my general. The only really difficult part is figuring out how to interface your computer with your radio. I suggest you use a SignaLink USB because it really simplifies things. Call in your order and the nice lady in Grants Pass, Oregon will ask you what transceiver you use and make sure you get the right cable. You'll have to open the lid and set some jumpers the first time but once that's done, it's a piece of cake. All you have to do is keep an eye your ALS and make sure you're not overdriving and splattering all over the band.

[W3MIV]

I will add one thing to the above about the Signal Link USB -- which interface I now am using on the air. It does not control the rig, so you should either build a level-control or order one. Since I am an ICOM fan(atic), I use the CI-V to control the rig through the COMM port. You can use VOX, but having real-time control of frequency and keying is a benefit -- especially when it comes to logging.

I have also dropped FLDIGI -- though I like the program very much, I have found that Simon Brown's DM780 is far more versatile, and yet still is free to download and use. The HRD/DM780 suite contains a logger that is quite good, though I have yet to find a way of easily uploading to LoTW through it. In so far as eQSL -- a reporting system I use because so many other hams, especially outside the US, want QSLs through that internet system -- is fully automated and no bother to satisfy the eQSLers out there in DX Land (and many here in the US as well).

I still recommend DigiPan as a first program for sampling PSK. It is uncomplicated and provides a very functional introduction to the basics of digital keyboard modes without complications. Of course, complications mean features generally, and as the belt needs loosening, so to say, it is easy to slide up the scale. What is the worst, though, is to want to try something out and be frustrated by the myriad stumbling blocks that more complex programs can add.

My two cents. YMMV.

[NQ6U]

Albi is right about the SignaLink not controlling the rig. However, with the correct cable, it will control the PTT function, which on my older rig was the only way to do it because it doesn't support PTT via a CAT connection.

I also use Digital Master 780. I like it, although sometimes I think it tries to do too much and as a result, the interface can be confusing. I've adjusted to it, though. It also gets a little wacky once in a while but when someone offers up such a capable piece of software for free, one can hardly complain about the occasional glitch.

[W3MIV]

One of the most significant benefits of DM780 that impressed me is the almost automatic operation of the logger. I have been using DX Keeper for the past few years, and it has been the finest general logging program, particularly for DX logging, that I have used. Until now.

I subscribe to QRZ's internet look-up system. While I have many, many, many issues with QRZ, I will quickly state that I find the QRZ call sign database and its operation to be the best around for the price you pay.

I believe you can use the HRD logbook program independently of either HRD or DM780, but I have not tried to do so. I only started with both HRD and DM780 yesterday, and in that time I have only logged about a dozen QSOs -- Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and a few hams in Western US -- including this evening a nice little chat with North Dakota and one in Washington state and Livermore CA a bit earlier.

In DM780, right-clicking on a call and selecting "callsign" enters the callsign in the logger, where all of the pertinent information about the owner is instantly retrieved from QRZ and entered in the appropriate spaces. The call is also entered into the macro system, per normal, as are all of the other details (name, locator, etc). Best of all, to my thinking, is the way the macros couple to the log; by entering a macro auto-log trigger into the "bye" macro, the QSO is logged as soon as the macro finishes running. As the QSO is logged, it is also uploaded to eQSL and the log file marked accordingly. With rig control, all of the pertinent data is recorded automatically, including start and end times, tx and rx frequencies as well as band and mode. Of course, you can choose not to upload to eQSL. The log also records the mailing address of record, any QSL manager that may be listed, etc. All of this is done without intervention. Alternatively, you can select a call from the receive window, entering it in the log and instantly calling up the information about the contact -- but not make the contact and erase the log entry without penalty.

I don't see a whole lot of difference or advantage between DM780 and FLDIGI in terms of modes or practical operation. They are different in details, but the same in overall capability so far as I can tell. Both will also do the giggle-bullshit video insertion on the waterfall at the beginning of a trace that has captivated so many folks ("PSK31" or "73" or "W3MIV" etc).

Finally, DM780 has a Reed-Solomon function that announces signal presence by mode and frequency via a pop-up window on your computer screen. I am not very familiar with this feature; apparently it was turned on when I first began to use the program, and the appearance of these pop-ups was a bit disconcerting at first -- I figured something was going south -- which is usually what pop-ups announce!

As a long-time MixW user -- I first began using that program with 2.14 or some such early version (about six years ago) -- I have been kind of jaded by many of the digital programs available for use, free or otherwise. MultiPSK drives me crazy -- the GUI reminds me of a dozen pizzas thrown against a wall. DigiPan uses few resources and works superbly well, but is limited to PSK (though, like MixW, it will read PacTOR -- a useful feature for recording callsigns when robot modes stomp over everyone else, as happens all too often with WinLink ops).

I may awaken tomorrow and find that DM780 has shown itself to be a "wolf date." So far, however, I am fascinated and plan to give this program a real workout. It's free, too.