Month: June 2014

PSK31 Is Great For Rag Chewing

I psk31 TS-590 Mac t’s like PSK31 was invented just for guys like me.

I live in an HOA with antenna restrictions. I try to operate in ‘stealth mode’ (low power, hidden antennas). I also enjoy ragchewing. I get a lot of satisfaction out of finding out about other people and places.

Operating PSK31 couldn’t be much simpler. It’s just my TS-590, MacBookPro, and a USB cable between them. The Mac version of fldigi is free and easy to set up. 20 watts of power is all it takes. (I could probably do it with much less.)

PSK31 is keyboard-to-ketboard. A modern version of RTTY (I admit I miss the sounds and smell of my old Model 19 teletype, but that’s a different story.)

Another thing about PSK-31: It’s quiet. With the AF Gain control and TX MON controls turned all the way down it is absolutely quiet in the ham shack – Great for late night and early morning QSOs.

So if you too are a ragchewer frustrated by antenna restrictions give PSK31 a try.

VHF/UHF Purgatory Continues

The Kenwood Service Center called today regarding my TM-D710a. They say they can’t find anything wrong and want me to send them the microphone. So I packed up the mic and power cord and shipped it off.

This is puzzling.

I know it is not antenna related because I’ve checked the radio using two different antennas each with a different feedline.

I know it’s not the power supply (Astron RS-20A) because I continue to operate my TS-520 on it with no problems.

I suppose it could be the power cable.

Oh well. Time will tell.

New Heat Pump = Summer QRM is Gone!

I’ve been plagued here at the new QTH with terrible QRM during the summer on 20M. There was no question is was caused by the heat pump. As long at it was off everything was great. When the heat pump was on the QRM was S9. It made 20M unusable during the summer.

A couple of months ago we needed to have the old heat pump replaced. The QRM is gone!