Monthly Archives: November 2013

A New Project: Entry-Level HF Digital For New Hams

I’ve recently found myself elmering new hams. This are young people (usually husband-and-wife) who got their technician licenses together, have bought a budget HT, and now wonder what they can do with it.

Since they are young, I think the digital modes will appeal to them.

I’m opening their eyes to Echolink and IRLP so they can see the possibilities of what they can do with that handheld.

I’m also thinking of trying to put together a package of a low power 10M transceiver and some software (JT65-HF, WSPR, FlDigi) that would allow them to get on the air on HF cheaply.

So the hunt is on for a source of inexpensive 10M SSB transceivers, probably 5-10W max. Kits are fine.

This will be fun.

Whispering WSPR

This digital mode stuff is a lot more fun than I thought.  Getting WSPR up  was pretty easy.

I found the Mac version of WSPR here. It does have a couple problems:

It has a memory leak. Eventually it uses up all my mac’s memory and I have to reboot.

It seems to crash occassionally for no reason.  Everything is running fine and then poof! it’s gone.  I suspect that it has something to do with the fact that it was compiled for Snow Leopard and I know that Apple has change the memory allocation and management in Lion.

I also tried the Windows version of WSPR running on XP in a virtual machine under VMWare Fusion.  I could not get it to transmit but I did not spend much time trying to figure out the problem.

I also found that the USB connection between my Kenwood TS-590 and my MacBookPro didn’t seem to work as well for WSPR as it does for PSK31 and TJ65.  For some reason the USB Audio Codec devised would intermittently disappear from the Mac Sound Preferences window.  I set up the Tigertronics SignalLink USB and it works great.

WSPR stands for “Weak Signal Propagation Reporter” and is designed for sending and receiving low-power transmissions to test propagation paths. I’m running 10 watts, which is considered a LOT of power for WSPR.

The best part of WSPR is WSPRnet.org. Each WSPR station has the option of uploading it’s receive data to WSPRnet’s database.   Even after just a few minutes of operation you can view the map and see who has heard your signal.

If you want to get started on WSPR:

  1. Read G4ILO’s excellent article.
  2. Download WSPR. The Windows version is here. The Mac version is here.
  3. The WSPR User’s Guide is here.

Kenwood TS-590s Settings

Speech Processor: Off
Mode: USB, Data
Menu 27: 200
Menu 28: 2500
Menu 30: oFF
Menu 31: oFF
Menu 63: ACC2
Menu 66: 2
Menu 67: 3
Menu 69: on
TX Mon: ONce I have everything working I usually set it OFF so I don’t have to listen to my own signal.

SignalLink USB

The SignalLink USB is connected to the ACC2 port on the back of the TS-590 and the USB cable is plugged directly into my macBookPro.

TX knob: 12 o’clock
RX knob: 9 o’clock
DLY knob: 9 o’clock

WSPR Settings

The settings in the WSPR program are pretty intuitive:

Settings/Station Parameters/Call: your callsign
Settings/Station Parameters/Grid: your grid square
Settings/Station Parameters/Audio In: USB Audio Codec
Settings/Station Parameters/AUdio Out: USB Audio Codec
Settings/Station Parameters/PTT method: VOX
Settings/Station Parameters/Power: Set to dBm level corresponding to your power output

Click the Tune button and adjust the SignalLink USB’s TX knob until you can key the transmitter.

Uncheck ‘Idle’ and then sit back and enjoy. WSPR will alternate every 2 minutes between transmitting and receiving.  You can see in WSPR’s large white window who you are hearing. You can go to WSPRnet.org to see who is hearing you.

JT65A, TS-590, MacBookPro

Having been successful with PSK31, I decided to try JT65. I have Keith Laaks ZS6TW’s native Mac compilation of WSJT up and running. (Thank you Keith.  I could not have done it without your help.)  At the present time however, I do not yet have my arms completely around WSJT and feel more comfortable using JT65-HF.

JT65-HF is a Windows program.  I have it running in a Windows XT virtual machine under VMWare Fusion on my MacBookPro.

Kenwood TS-590 Settings:

Speech Processor: Off
Mode: USB, Data
Menu 27: 200
Menu 28: 2500
Menu 30: oFF
Menu 31: oFF
Menu 63: USB
Menu 64: 2 (See Note Below)
Menu 65: 3 (See Note Below)
Menu 69: on
TX Mon: ONce I have everything working I usually set it OFF so I don’t have to listen to my own signal.

Menu 64 Note: Set this so the ALC meter shows nothing or just one or two dots.
Menu 65 Note: USB Audio Output.  This is best set by looking at the waterfall display. Set it for a level that shows a low about of noise and the signals still show up well

JT65-HF Settings

Sound Input Device: USB Audio Codec
Sound Output Device: USB Audio Codec
PTT Port: None

The most difficult part of JT65 is getting your arms around the protocol.  JT65 is designed for canned QSOs consisting of an exchange of call signs, grid squares, and signal reports – No long rag chews about grandma. It consists of alternating 60-second windows of transmit and receive. The documentation is brief but pretty good.

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