Operating

Q:I want to make a contact on the HF bands. How do I?

A: Find a clear frequency. Listen to make sure no one is on it. Listen for a minute or so. If it's clear, "tune" your antenna. Then, on phone, key your mic and say, "Is the frequency in use? This is <your callsign>" If someone comes back and says the frequency is in use, just move on. No reply is necessary. If you hear nothing, wait 30 seconds and ask again if the frequency is in use. If you hear nothing again, call "CQ CQ CQ, this is <your callsign, spelled out with phonetics> calling CQ and standing by for any calls." On CW the procedure is similar: QRL? de <your callsign> pause 30 sec, QRL? de <your callsign> CQ CQ CQ DE <your callsign, repeated 3 times> K

Q: How do I set up my station for PSK31 operation, the proper way?

A: Contributed by N3ATS:

How to properly set-up your radio for PSK31 operation in 10 easy steps.

This guide assumes you have the software, interface, and have a basic working knowledge of PSK31. This FAQ is merely a guide on how to properly setup your outbound and incoming audio levels.

1. Turn the RF power out on your rig to 100%.

2. Set your mic gain to about 25%. (If you are using an interface such as RigExpert standard or pro that uses the ACC jack instead of speaker/mic, adjust the control on the front of it, not the mic gain on your radio. This also varies by radio... Consult your manual if not sure. -- N2RJ)

3. Click on the speaker icon in your task bar (Windows users) and making sure you are viewing the "Volume Control" settings. Adjust the sliders for "Volume Control" or "Wave" for about 25%.

4. Making sure you are not stepping on a QSO in progress, key your transmitter via your PSK software (DigiPan, etc) and send a test message. For example "de N3ATS, PSK test transmission..." Do NOT send without identifying your station.

5. Note your output power. With PSK31, most amateurs like to run their rigs at 50% of full output power. If you have a 100W radio, you want your TX power to be at about 50 watts.

6. If your power is less than 50% of your rigs full power, increase the audio level via your sound card to get up to around 50 watts. If more than 50%, decrease the level of audio on your sound card to take the power down.

7. While transmitting, note the ALC meter on your rig. If there is ANY deflection, lights lit up, or meter movement at all you need to back your audio down until there is no movement from the ALC meter. This is very important. Overdriving your radio will cause distortion and a wider signal than necessary that could cause interference to nearby stations.

8. If everything is set correctly, you should have about 50 watts out (on a 100 watt rig), and no ALC meter movement when transmitting PSK. When transmitting check your IMD levels. Generally a minimum of -25 db or lower is acceptable.

9. Setting up incoming audio is next. Click on the speaker icon in your task bar (Windows users) and making sure you are viewing the "Recording Control" settings. Adjust the sliders for "Line In" or "Microphone" for about 25%. Which one you adjust depends on how your interface is connected to your sound card or which type of sound card you are using.

10. Watch the signals on the waterfall. They should be bold, and stand out against the background of the waterfall. It is difficult to describe the color they should be due to the differences of the multitude of PSK programs available. If you are using Digipan, the signal should appear as a yellow trace against a blue background. If the signals match the color of the background, or the background is solid yellow, the input audio is too high. If you don't see any signals at all, the input audio is too low. In theory stronger signals should print strong and bold, while weaker signals will be more faded and less pronounced.

Q: There's USB (Upper SideBand) and LSB (Lower SideBand.) How do I know which to use?

A: Legally, you can use any one within the phone portion of the bands, with the exception of 60m which is USB only. However, the convention is that for 20m and above, you use USB. 40m and below, use LSB. There's no phone operation on 30m.


Q: Can I transmit all the way to the band or sub-band edge?

A: It depends. Generally it is good practice not to and is illegal in some cases. If you are operating LSB, generally you can go close to the upper sub-band edge and you will be safe. If you are operating USB, you can go to the lower sub-band edge and be safe. With CW and many other modes, you have to keep some distance away. The reason is that every transmitted signal has what is called a bandwidth, which is basically how much space (in kHz) the signal occupies. The frequency you see on your radio's display is the center frequency, meaning that your sidebands actually extend above or below, or both. Generally for phone, staying 3kHz away from the band edge is safe. With CW, 100Hz or so is fine.

Q: How do I properly adjust my mic gain on SSB?

A: Contributed by Luke, AD4MG -
A good rule of thumb on modern rigs ... because the watt meter in these rigs really isn't fast enough to accurately measure peak power on SSB ... is for peaks, as shown on the watt meter should be 50%-75% of the "dead key" power output. For example, on my IC-775, which can run 200 watts, I set the drive and mic gain using a dummy load. I set power output to 100 watts with a cw tone, switch to SSB, and tweak the mic gain for 50-75 watt voice peaks when speaking in a normal tone of voice. Less is better if you're going to use compression. I usually shoot for 60 watt peaks. When I need a little more punch, I simply turn up the power output. I can't remember adjusting the mic gain in years on the rig. If band conditions are good, I might lower the compression accordingly. I don't use speech processing (compression) on 40, 80, or 160 unless conditions are really poor. Listening to a processed SSB signal can get very tiring.

So ... with a 100 watt rig, if you're showing 100 watt voice peaks, you're over doing it. The ALC meter is also an excellent indicator of drive %. You really don't want your ALC to dictate your drive level, so just enough mic gain to keep the ALC in the bottom third of it's movement is usually plenty ... and when using AM, just enough ALC to "tickle" the meter - no more!