PSK31

[W2NAP]

So I (yes me W2IBC) has been playing on PSK31. oh yeah I never told anyone I ended up getting a Kenwood TS-570D and I tossed up a 80m OCF antenna. tuner on the rig tunes it on all bands. (how about that how lucky am I) anyway been playing on psk, kinda interesting mode really.

made a couple contacts on 80 and 15. but bulk of them have been on 20 and 40. but something is missing.... 30 meters. I have yet to see any psk on 30m. do people just not use that band or what?

[KG4CGC]

Well guess what? That question was posed here (http://www.eham.net/articles/9001) in 2004.

[W2NAP]

Well guess what? That question was posed here (http://www.eham.net/articles/9001) in 2004.

11 years later it hasn't changed. still no digi on 30m lol

[KG4CGC]

I wonder if there's an easy peasy way to PSK on a Ten Tec Corsair?

[W2NAP]

I wonder if there's an easy peasy way to PSK on a Ten Tec Corsair?

if it has vox, I guess you could route the pc speak out into the mic audio in via the mic connector. (its kinda how I am doing it)

[KG4CGC]

if it has vox, I guess you could route the pc speak out into the mic audio in via the mic connector. (its kinda how I am doing it)

Hmmmm. I'll have to look further.

[W2NAP]

Hmmmm. I'll have to look further.

sadly tonight I think most of everyone has went to bed. only 2 contacts in the last hour or so.

Western Mexico on 40m and Winston Salem,NC on 80m

[WØTKX]

Use a small audio transformer for isolation into the mic jack, and VOX.

I ran PSK on an Omni-D long ago. It worked OK. SSTV did not. A little drifty.

[n0iu]

do people just not use that band or what?

Rarely! I did a sort through my logbook and came up with a total of 461 PSK31 contacts on all bands going back to December 2000. I did a further sort and came up with a grand total of 13 PSK31 contacts on 30 meters in the nearly 15 years I have been using this mode. Of those, 4 were DX and the rest domestic. My last PSK31 contact on 30 meters was in 2013.

For S&G's, I sorted by PSK63 and I have made a whopping 35 contacts using that mode on all bands. Of those 35, only 1 was domestic with the rest being DX. None of those contacts however were on 30 meters.

So here is your definitive answer... some people use PSK31 on 30 meters, but not very many.

[N8YX]

I really need to get one of my Paragon IIs plumbed for PSK31, as the TS940S which used to occupy its spot was.

Latest score was another 253 auto tuner. When I get it repaired and ready to insert in the lineup I think I'll configure the PSK section of the station with it, tune for max smokeminimum SWR at each of the watering holes then let the station automagically do its thing as the computer commands it.

[kb2vxa]

It's a good idea to use a 1:1 isolation transformer going both ways with a .01uF DC blocking cap on the radio side, they feed +8VDC bias to the electret through the mic high lead and some have a direct coupled speaker that also has DC on it. Surely you don't want the magic smoke to escape. I'm sure you didn't forget the attenuator on the mic input so you can run the sound card output up enough to override noise without overloading the radio, that is unless your radio like mine has a high level line (packet) input. That's also where I connected my Astatic 10-DA on a modified TUG-9 amplified stand, the only practical way without using an electret, and it all worked out very well. I miss my antennas, call the WAAAaaambulance, I'm gonna cwy!

[WØTKX]

Yes, I ran a simple RC "network" with the isolation transformer with the Omni D to run digital modes.

It worked quite well for that. But I tend to SWL digital modes more that transmit.

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/c3/c32255055ef89cda227057bd1ebe3ead970342f00a21209046 b8fde8635e83dd.jpg

[K0RGR]

I'm assuming the Ten Tecs mentioned are similar to my Omni VI. There are separate RCA connectors on the back for audio input and output. You could make it work crudely by simply cabling directly from those to the audio jacks on the computer and use VOX to key the rig. The PTT died on my Omni, so I had to use VOX for a while (I'm afraid a homebrew keyer interface developed a short that applied too much voltage to the key/PTT input, which are in parallel. The Audio In jack is in parallel with the mic.

I usually prefer to have at least some isolation between the computer and the radio. Small isolation transformers are the best - so you can maintain a shield without creating ground loops. But, original RigBlasters had no isolation at all on the receive side - the audio doesn't even go through the RigBlaster, it's just a straight cable. I recently replaced an original Blaster with a new one that uses an internal soundcard, so it's isolated from the rig, and it makes a big difference.

[WØTKX]

I tried the "patch" in and out on the back of the Omni D, but had better luck with the headphone and mic jacks on the front. Later, I used the audio connectors on the MFJ-784B audio DSP. That worked even better, not to mention the very useful DSP capability.

[KC2UGV]

The bulk of my contacts are on 30M, then followed on by 20M.

But, that's also because I'm always trolling 30M when I'm operating, and just sometimes jump up to 14MHz.

The best time to hit up 30M is during one of their QSO parties: http://www.30mdg.org/ and not always on PSK31. PSK125, Olivia 8/250, etc etc.

[W2NAP]

my laptop bit the floor.... screen busted up... well PSK was fun while it lasted.

[KG4CGC]

my laptop bit the floor.... screen busted up... well PSK was fun while it lasted.

Oh, suckfest.

[XE1/N5AL]

my laptop bit the floor.... screen busted up... well PSK was fun while it lasted.

Sounds a bit like Japanese Haiku poetry. Sorry about the laptop, though. :(

[W2NAP]

laptop could maybe be salvaged with a screen replacement.. but damn it sucks

[koØm]

laptop could maybe be salvaged with a screen replacement.. but damn it sucks

Do a YouTube search on replacement of the display of your model of laptop and then, go to HERE (http://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/IBM-Lenovo/THINKPAD%20T520%2042404EU/) and check on the price of a replacement screen.

.

[N8YX]

Did a bit more digging into my proposed T-T setup for PSK/digi modes use. Looks like the Signalink USB interface will handle the I/O duties with an appropriate set of radio cables. I'll need some way to remotely control the Omni VI and one of the Paragon IIs and N4PY's ICOM software appears to be a good candidate for this. Maybe the free version of HRD...needs to be a Windows-based solution for now.

H/W interfacing will be another matter. The Omni VI and the PSK-configured Paragon II will have 253 Autotuners attached to them and this requires the rig's DB25 port for tuner-rig communications connection. So...I have to use a level converter to access the radio's one-wire controller. Looks like an ICOM CT-17 is a direct replacement for Ten-Tec's 305 and I just happen to have a couple of them.

The Omni V and the second Paragon II are also going to be interfaced to the computers which control the other rigs, and their DB25 ports are available. My aim is to be able to control the entire shack from my home office desk, and have the ability to jump bands at the click of a mouse...with the tuners tracking these changes and adjusting themselves accordingly.

[W2NAP]

Do a YouTube search on replacement of the display of your model of laptop and then, go to HERE (http://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/IBM-Lenovo/THINKPAD%20T520%2042404EU/) and check on the price of a replacement screen.

.

1st I have to have cash to even get the replacement. might be awhile. it of been better had laptop not bit the floor

[N8YX]

...The Omni VI and the PSK-configured Paragon II will have 253 Autotuners attached to them...

Update: I have three 253s in various states of repair in the shack at the moment. One looks and works good. The others need help - from the cosmetics to the electrics. I'll combine the various CCAs and chassis parts from the two and get one more working unit, then the remainder will get a full rebuild - including a new front panel and refinished sub-panel.

Given the fact these things fetch anywhere from $600-900 on the used market, I don't mind having slightly more than $1k in three of them. That includes repair parts, including an $80 vacuum relay.

ETA:

Second one fixed. Now to beg Ten-Tec for new firmware and other parts needed to fix #3, then attack the cosmetics. All of the remaining pieces have seen rougher days.

[N8YX]

I need a 236 cable for my second 253, a couple copies of N4PY's software, a v.92 Omni V chip and another Signalink then all four T-T rigs should be ready to do their thing remotely. Including lots of PSK.