Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850

2008-05-14 Thread Ralph Mowery
I am located in the middle of North Carolina, USA



--- On Tue, 5/13/08, John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 From: John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
 To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 10:59 PM
 Ummm, where are you?   I can't hear anything here in VK.
 
 John de VK2XGJ
   Stop worrying about Life
   You'll never get out of it alive
 
 - Original Message - 
 From: Ralph Mowery [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
 Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:23 PM
 Subject: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
 
 
 A friend told me to lisen on 3850 lsb +- a kc or two. 
 There is some 
 digital type signal there.  Does anyone know what it is
 and where it is 
 comming from.
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  Announce your digital presence via our Interactive
 Sked Page at
  http://www.obriensweb.com/sked
 
  Check our other Yahoo Groups
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxlist/
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contesting
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup
  Yahoo! Groups Links
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No virus found in this incoming message.
 Checked by AVG.
 Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 269.23.16/1431 - Release
 Date: 5/13/2008 
 7:55 PM
 
 
 
 Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked
 Page at
 http://www.obriensweb.com/sked
 
 Check our other Yahoo Groups
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxlist/
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contesting
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup
 Yahoo! Groups Links
 
 
 

  


Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850

2008-05-14 Thread kh6ty
Ralph,

A group of us were beta testing a brand new mode for NBEMS on HF, especially 
designed to survive extremely high, almost continuous, levels of static (such 
as follows a hurricane). One station was in Florida, one in Alabama, one in 
Georgia, and one in South Carolina. We were on 3854, USB, around 1500 Hz tone 
frequency, so that is probably what you heard, since you are close by. The new 
mode is called DEX and is expected to be released for NBEMS HF beta testing 
with this group in about two weeks.

73, Skip KH6TY
NBEMS Development Team



  - Original Message - 
  From: Ralph Mowery 
  To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:17 AM
  Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850


  I am located in the middle of North Carolina, USA

  --- On Tue, 5/13/08, John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

   From: John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED]
   Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
   To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
   Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 10:59 PM
   Ummm, where are you? I can't hear anything here in VK.
   
   John de VK2XGJ
   Stop worrying about Life
   You'll never get out of it alive
   
   - Original Message - 
   From: Ralph Mowery [EMAIL PROTECTED]
   To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:23 PM
   Subject: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
   
   
   A friend told me to lisen on 3850 lsb +- a kc or two. 
   There is some 
   digital type signal there. Does anyone know what it is
   and where it is 
   comming from.
   
   
   
   
   

   
Announce your digital presence via our Interactive
   Sked Page at
http://www.obriensweb.com/sked
   
Check our other Yahoo Groups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxlist/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contesting
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup
Yahoo! Groups Links
   
   
   
   
   --
   
   
   
   No virus found in this incoming message.
   Checked by AVG.
   Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 269.23.16/1431 - Release
   Date: 5/13/2008 
   7:55 PM
   
   
   
   Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked
   Page at
   http://www.obriensweb.com/sked
   
   Check our other Yahoo Groups
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxlist/
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contesting
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup
   Yahoo! Groups Links
   
   
   



   


--


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7:31 AM


Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850

2008-05-14 Thread Dean Craft
Ralph Mowery wrote:
 A friend told me to lisen on 3850 lsb +- a kc or two.  There is some digital 
 type signal there.  Does anyone know what it is and where it is comming from.
 
 
 
   
 
I hear it pretty well in upstate SC.  Don't know what it is nor where it 
is coming from.  It sounds to me like a 600 hz tone on a double side 
band suppressed carrier.  Lots of static here however.

Dean  --  W4IHK




Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850

2008-05-14 Thread John Simon
The  msg has no signature, no Call,  no identification whatsoever.  That is 
why I asked the question.

John de VK2XGJ
  Stop worrying about Life
  You'll never get out of it alive

- Original Message - 
From: Ralph Mowery [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850


I am located in the middle of North Carolina, USA



 --- On Tue, 5/13/08, John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 From: John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
 To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 10:59 PM
 Ummm, where are you?   I can't hear anything here in VK.

 John de VK2XGJ
   Stop worrying about Life
   You'll never get out of it alive

 - Original Message - 
 From: Ralph Mowery [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
 Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:23 PM
 Subject: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850


 A friend told me to lisen on 3850 lsb +- a kc or two.
 There is some
 digital type signal there.  Does anyone know what it is
 and where it is
 comming from.
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  Announce your digital presence via our Interactive
 Sked Page at
  http://www.obriensweb.com/sked
 
  Check our other Yahoo Groups
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxlist/
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contesting
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup
  Yahoo! Groups Links
 
 
 

 



 No virus found in this incoming message.
 Checked by AVG.
 Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 269.23.16/1431 - Release
 Date: 5/13/2008
 7:55 PM

 

 Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked
 Page at
 http://www.obriensweb.com/sked

 Check our other Yahoo Groups
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxlist/
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contesting
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup
 Yahoo! Groups Links






 

 Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked Page at
 http://www.obriensweb.com/sked

 Check our other Yahoo Groups
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxlist/
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/contesting
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup
 Yahoo! Groups Links








No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 269.23.16/1431 - Release Date: 5/13/2008 
7:55 PM


Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850

2008-05-14 Thread Dan Hensley
Download Digipan or Ham Radio Deluxe. Then there is also MixW. Use it, tune to 
the freq, do some fiddling and find out!

--- On Tue, 5/13/08, Ralph Mowery [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
From: Ralph Mowery [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 7:23 PM











A friend told me to lisen on 3850 lsb +- a kc or two.  There is 
some digital type signal there.  Does anyone know what it is and where it is 
comming from.




  




 

















  



[digitalradio] Re: Dex 11 , was Signal on 3850

2008-05-14 Thread Andrew O'Brien
I have decoded Dex 11 and occasionally Dex 16 (with FL-Digi) on that
frequency in the evening the past few days.  N4UM and N8FQ were
testing , they also used Hell and Olivia.  On the evening that I
listened in, Dex 11 seemed to perform the best. It  will be most
interesting to see who Dex performs with error correction file
exchanges within NBEMS when it is released .
Andy K3UK



On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 11:28 PM, Dean Craft [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Ralph Mowery wrote:
 A friend told me to lisen on 3850 lsb +- a kc or two. There is some
 digital type signal there. Does anyone know what it is and where it is
 comming from.





 I hear it pretty well in upstate SC. Don't know what it is nor where it
 is coming from. It sounds to me like a 600 hz tone on a double side
 band suppressed carrier. Lots of static here however.

 Dean -- W4IHK

 



-- 
Andy K3UK
www.obriensweb.com
(QSL via N2RJ)


Re: [digitalradio] Signals on 3584 + audio

2008-05-14 Thread kh6ty
Hi Rick,

FYI, our tests last night indicate that MFSK16 still copies the best at low 
S/N, but only when there are no static crashes, but DEX16 or DEX11 have much 
fewer errors when there are static crashes. The problem with MFSK16, as you 
found, is the mistuning tolerance. For messaging, when there is a fast series 
of ARQ exchanges, if one station has uncompensated offset between RX and TX 
(NBEMS must work with untrained and inexperienced operators to be successful 
for emcomm), and if the offset exceeds 4 Hz, which is not so unusual, 
eventually it will not be possible to decode MFSK16, and therefore the ARQ 
requests or confirmations may be missed.

This is different from using MFSK16 in a QSO, because in a QSO, it is possible 
to retune with the mouse after each turnover if necessary, but not very 
practical in a series of fast ARQ exchanges.

We were also testing DSX, which is a variant of DEX, so you would not have 
been able to decode that.

DEX is the name Murray, ZL1BPU, who is working with us to develop the best 
mode for NBEMS, and is the desiner of MFSK16 and DominoEX, suggested for the 
new mode, which is NOT compatible with the current DominoEx modes, but uses the 
same IFK technology so tuning is not critical and static crashes have minimal 
effect.

When we switched to MFSK16, it was to compare very weak reception on one 
station where there were no static crashes at all. Whereas DEX11 and DEX16 
outperformed MFSK16 under the high static conditions, MFSK16 was best when 
signals were the weakest and there was no static. For NBEMS, we have to 
compromise between weak signal performance, static crash performance, and 
transfer speed, and we are still trying to determine which mode to use as a 
default mode, because it is just not practical to present an untrained operator 
with a huge selection of different modes for different conditions and ask him, 
under the pressures of trying to get emergency messages out, to figure out 
which one to use!

Of course, generally, the slower we go in speed, the more robust the mode for a 
given bandwidth, and there is always a point where a faster mode fails, but a 
slower one succeeds. In very adverse conditions, when messages tend to be 
short, such as, We are safe in a shelter at the local school, or The Red 
Cross has just arrived, any mode that will get the message out, no matter how 
slowly, is the one that must be used. Connection time tends to be much longer 
than the message transfer time.

Two days ago, a line of severe thunderstorms passed us, and spawned a tornado 
which touched down about 15 air miles from here, and on 80m, I still have a 
static level of S9 +10 with strong static crashes almost every second - 
definitely very adverse conditions! Under these conditions, the new DEX modes 
are working the best, but at the same time, on 2 meters, there are only 
occassional weak static crashes, so whenever possible, using VHF is still the 
best band to use for up to 100 miles. Under these conditions, the PSK modes are 
quite adequate and also give the fastest transfer speeds. Which PSK speed to 
use is usually only dependent on the necessary S/N to overcome path loss. I am 
hoping that most EOC's will install point-to-point VHF circuits for their use 
rather than relying on 80m and 40m NVIS HF, which is prone to static 
interference and propagation changes, depending upon the time of day.

The advantage to using a relatively narrowband mode on HF is that there is more 
room for more stations to take traffic simultaneously, which greatly shortens 
connection time,  so the overall time from attempted connection to completion 
can be much less than having to wait in line to access a few wideband stations. 
Pactor-II is probably the most efficient ARQ mode developed so far, but it is 
easy to tell how often connections are not made by observing the number of 
times client stations come on and never connect, probably because of the small 
handful of reachable, or available, forwarding stations. I think overall, when 
we have done all we can to improve our new mode, that in a real emergency, when 
many stations need to pass traffic at the same time, the throughput of NBEMS 
will exceed that of other HF systems on the ham bands.

We hope to release our latest new mode for beta testing in about two weeks and 
then everyone will have a chance to try it under all sorts of conditions.

73, Skip
NBEMS Development Team



Re: [digitalradio] Signals on 3584 + audio

2008-05-14 Thread Sholto Fisher
The problem with knowing where to tune any signal can be solved 
completely by use of RS ID (as in MultiPSK, PocketDigi etc). It amazes 
me we have had this technology for over a year now and very few people 
seem to realize the potential of this.

Even with s/n ratios down around -15dB MultiPSK will successfully lock 
on to the center frequency of any mode and also switch to the correct 
mode/parameters.

In the real world there is always going to be some mis-tuning and 
although the IFK modes have excellent tolerance in respect to this if 
someone is 500Hz away they aren't going to decode your transmission, 
especially if they can't see it on the waterfall. Sending an RS ID 
before will get them on frequency instantly.

73, Sholto
KE7HPV.


[digitalradio] MT63 SKED

2008-05-14 Thread fredlozo
I need help finding an MT63 QSO. Can anyone direct me to a time 
and frequency? (I don't belong to MARS but can receive all 
frequencies.)
Thanks and 73, Fred AK5U



Re: [digitalradio] Signals on 3584 + audio

2008-05-14 Thread Mark Miller
At 08:49 AM 5/14/2008, kh6ty wrote:
The problem with MFSK16, as you found, is the mistuning tolerance. 
For messaging, when there is a fast series of ARQ exchanges, if one 
station has uncompensated offset between RX and TX (NBEMS must work 
with untrained and inexperienced operators to be successful for 
emcomm), and if the offset exceeds 4 Hz, which is not so unusual, 
eventually it will not be possible to decode MFSK16, and therefore 
the ARQ requests or confirmations may be missed.


Skip,

One thing I have found is that when the sound card can be configured 
for a 12000 Hz sampling rate, the offsets are not present in most 
sound cards.  It seems that when 11025 is used that the offsets are 
noticeable in many sound cards.  I am not sure how an 8000 Hz 
sampling rate performs, but just thought I would mention this observation.

73,
Mark N5RFX





Re: [digitalradio] Signals on 3584 + audio

2008-05-14 Thread kh6ty
Hi Mark,

I think G3PLX recently mentioned the same thing, with regard to USB sound 
cards, as he found they have the biggest offset problems. However, in dealing 
with the masses, if we can find a way to nullify the offset's effect long 
enough to complete the ARQ transfer, it will work with anyone, and I think 
using DEX is the answer, but MFSK16 still appears to be the best mode when 
there is no static problem, and there is QSB taking the signal below the noise 
threshold. DominoEX can be mistuned up to 200 Hz and has a 200 Hz drift 
tolerance, without AFC, so that should take care of most situations. I know 
that DominoEx16 can be mistuned +/- 100 Hz and still keep printing, because I 
have tested that multiple times on our 2 meter net. BTW, that brings up another 
issue - drift tolderance. NBEMS has to deal with transceiver at 2 meters with 
no TCXO, and transceivers with a TCXO. The drift of the FT-897, for example, is 
about 50 Hz from start of transmit to about 5 seconds after, and with PSK63, I 
always lose the initial text from the station without a TCXO, but with 
DominoEx16, I never lose one character - same as the station with a TCXO, so we 
think we will replace PSK63 with DominoEX16 for our 2 meter net, after two more 
weeks of tests to see how it performs with multipath reflections.

I'll include mention of the sample rate to use in the Help file.

Thanks for the tip!

73, Skip KH6TY


  - Original Message - 
  From: Mark Miller 
  To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 1:23 PM
  Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signals on 3584 + audio


  At 08:49 AM 5/14/2008, kh6ty wrote:
  The problem with MFSK16, as you found, is the mistuning tolerance. 
  For messaging, when there is a fast series of ARQ exchanges, if one 
  station has uncompensated offset between RX and TX (NBEMS must work 
  with untrained and inexperienced operators to be successful for 
  emcomm), and if the offset exceeds 4 Hz, which is not so unusual, 
  eventually it will not be possible to decode MFSK16, and therefore 
  the ARQ requests or confirmations may be missed.

  Skip,

  One thing I have found is that when the sound card can be configured 
  for a 12000 Hz sampling rate, the offsets are not present in most 
  sound cards. It seems that when 11025 is used that the offsets are 
  noticeable in many sound cards. I am not sure how an 8000 Hz 
  sampling rate performs, but just thought I would mention this observation.

  73,
  Mark N5RFX



   


--


  No virus found in this incoming message.
  Checked by AVG. 
  Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.16/1432 - Release Date: 5/14/2008 
7:49 AM


[digitalradio] Re: Interface of Choice

2008-05-14 Thread Graham

I use a usb sound card , 'RDX-150' Ive no idea if its good or bad , 
but it seems to  work just fine on all modes, othere than that in 
the 'old' p11 1.1 ghz pc , im using a isa awe64 soundblaster, before 
that , the awe32 full lenght card 

G .. 

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Clif [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 I am contemplating getting into the digital end of ham radio. I have
 been playing around with listening a little when the band allows. I
 have been using Ham Radio Deluxe on a Pentium with Win XP and a
 Kenwood TS870.
 
 What is the interface of choice for this combination? Some have PTT
 control, some use Vox, built-in sound cards??? 
 
 Too many choices!
 
 Clif





[digitalradio] MFSK 'type' very narrow -100 hz bw- mode just seen , what is it ?? 14.072 Mhz

2008-05-14 Thread Graham
I may allready have it , but what is the mfsk type of mode , looks to  
be only 100 Hz wide , just noticed it on the digipan waterfall  while 
running psk31 , would of been round  14.072 Khz 1815 hrs gmt 

Tnx - G .. 



[digitalradio] Re: Interface of Choice

2008-05-14 Thread Graham
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Graham [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 
 I use a usb sound card , 'RDX-150' Ive no idea if its good or bad , 
 but it seems to  work just fine on all modes, othere than that in 
 the 'old' p11 1.1 ghz pc , im using a isa awe64 soundblaster, 
before 
 that , the awe32 full lenght card 

tx/rx I have a 2x com  port pci card in the new pc , one feeds the 
pk232 and the other has a transistor switch which is paralled with 
the pk232 ptt line o/p 

 
 G .. 
 
 --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Clif clif@ wrote:
 
  I am contemplating getting into the digital end of ham radio. I 
have
  been playing around with listening a little when the band allows. 
I
  have been using Ham Radio Deluxe on a Pentium with Win XP and a
  Kenwood TS870.
  
  What is the interface of choice for this combination? Some have 
PTT
  control, some use Vox, built-in sound cards??? 
  
  Too many choices!
  
  Clif
 





Re: [digitalradio] Interface of Choice

2008-05-14 Thread W2XJ
I use rigexpert and it works well. The interface to the computer is USB.



Clif wrote:
 I am contemplating getting into the digital end of ham radio. I have
 been playing around with listening a little when the band allows. I
 have been using Ham Radio Deluxe on a Pentium with Win XP and a
 Kenwood TS870.
 
 What is the interface of choice for this combination? Some have PTT
 control, some use Vox, built-in sound cards??? 
 
 Too many choices!
 
 Clif
 
 
 



Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850

2008-05-14 Thread Ralph Mowery
John my call is in the yahoo address. So is my real name.  As you have a VK 
call I can understand you not reconising the call of KU4PT being a valid ham 
call and where it may be.  Also as for many years in the USA even having a call 
with a 4 in it does not mean that I am even in the Southern part of the USA.  I 
hate the FCC did that to us.

73 de KU4PT



--- On Wed, 5/14/08, John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 From: John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
 To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008, 6:39 AM
 The  msg has no signature, no Call,  no identification
 whatsoever.  That is 
 why I asked the question.
 
 John de VK2XGJ
   Stop worrying about Life
   You'll never get out of it alive
 
 - Original Message - 
 From: Ralph Mowery [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
 Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 8:17 PM
 Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
 
 
 I am located in the middle of North Carolina, USA
 
 
 
  --- On Tue, 5/13/08, John Simon
 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 
  From: John Simon [EMAIL PROTECTED]
  Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Signal on 3850
  To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
  Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 10:59 PM
  Ummm, where are you?   I can't hear anything
 here in VK.
 
  John de VK2XGJ
Stop worrying about Life
You'll never get out of it alive
 



  


[digitalradio] Digimode Identifiers paper

2008-05-14 Thread Patrick Lindecker
Hello to all,

In the TAPR Spring 2008 PSR Journal  ftp://ftp.tapr.org/psr/psr105.pdf
it can be found a paper which title is Digimode identifiers.

Unfortunatly, it corresponds to the first version that I sent to Stan and not 
to the modified version that I sent to him several days after (after having 
written the French version and seen some bugs in the first English version and 
some missing precisions). 

This finalized modified English version (RS_ID_English.DOC file) is available 
from my site. It is included in a ZIP file.

To download the ZIP file, paste this adress in your Internet Explorer or 
equivalent: http://f6cte.free.fr/PAPERS.ZIP
Download the ZIP file and extract RS_ID_English.DOC.

The content of this paper is the following:
  * Introduction,
  * Reed-Solomon identifier (RS-ID) of mode and frequency,
- Main use 
- Principle
  * The video identifier of mode (Video ID).
- Main use 
- Principle

73
Patrick







[digitalradio] Free Triband Beam, Tower, Rotator

2008-05-14 Thread Andrew O'Brien
-- Forwarded message --
From: John Hansen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Wed, May 14, 2008 at 9:41 AM



I am planning to put up a new HF beam, but need to get rid of the old
system first. It consists of a Cushcraft A3S (stainless) 20-15-10 meter
beam, a Hygain CD-45II rotator and a 32 foot Rohn HDBX freestanding
tower (with the mast, it puts the antenna at about 40 feet). It is
available free to anyone who will come and take it down. Here are the
details...

The antenna: The antenna is in excellent condition, not missing any
parts and works quite well. It comes with a balun. The feedline is
shot and would need to be replaced.

The tower: This is Rohn's heavy duty model (18 sq ft of wind load). It
consists of 4 - 8 foot sections. You could add another section or two
to it (though at reduced wind load). It is free standing (no guy wires)
and hinges at the base so it can tilt over. Currently it is in
something called an earth base. This is a steel cylinder about two
feet in diameter and 4 feet deep. It allows the tower to be supported
without concrete. The tower has been held up by this base through
significant wind storms for about 15 years. If you use this base, there
is no need to buy and install any concrete for the tower. However, to
use this base you would have to dig the dirt out of the center of the
base to remove it. I'm pretty sure I also have the original (unused)
tower legs that could be used instead if you want to install the tower
in concrete. The tower is rusty and should be repainted, but it is
structurally sound.

The rotor: Both the rotor and the control box need repair. There are
shops that will remanufacture/repair these things (see, for example,
www.rotorservice.com) for a very reasonable price.

This package is available for free if you get together a group of people
and take it down. The easiest way to do this (I've done it before) is
to get about a 60 foot piece of heavy rope and attach it at about the 20
foot level of the tower. Then one group of people can stand in a
bedroom of my house easing the rope down and another group can stand
behind the tower and lower it. A pile of concrete blocks can hold the
top of the tower off the ground so that the antenna doesn't actually hit
the ground. Then the antenna can be removed and the tower
disassembled. However, it has been a quite a number of years since it
was last lowered and I expect the tower bolts will be quite rusty.


Antenna is located FN02hk


[digitalradio] Overheating PC?

2008-05-14 Thread Andrew O'Brien
Please excuse the not-directly ham related issue.  A PC I have used
for 2 years without issues is suddenly closing down due to
overheating.  At quick glance the CPU fan appears to be working but
will run temp tests.  Any other suggestions if not CPU fan?


-- 
Andy K3UK
www.obriensweb.com
(QSL via N2RJ)


Re: [digitalradio] Overheating PC?

2008-05-14 Thread Dave 'Doc' Corio
Couple of problems I've come across, Andy:

1. The heat sink on the top of the processor has loosened up, and is 
no longer making solid contact with the processor itself. It could look 
solid, but if it separates from the CPU even a little, it can cause 
overheating.

2. The fan is working, but due to age, dust, it has slowed down to 
the point it is ineffective.

3. Dust build-up on either in inflow or outflow vents for the 
fan(s). If either in or out goes through the power supply, it's 
sometimes difficult to see the buildup without opening the supply.

   On my old Gateway, there was a fan on the cpu itself, but it blew 
hot air directly into the power supply! Talk about overheating!

   What wattage is your power supply rated at? Most PCs come with 
200 to 300 watt supplies, which may be adequate for the base system, but 
if you add peripherals, such as USB sound cards, CD Burners, video 
cards, additional memory, and so on, it taxes the power supply so much 
that it can overheat.

Hope this gives some clues!

73
Dave
KB3MOW


Andrew O'Brien wrote:

 Please excuse the not-directly ham related issue. A PC I have used
 for 2 years without issues is suddenly closing down due to
 overheating. At quick glance the CPU fan appears to be working but
 will run temp tests. Any other suggestions if not CPU fan?

 -- 
 Andy K3UK
 www.obriensweb.com
 (QSL via N2RJ)

 
 


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[digitalradio] Re: Overheating PC?

2008-05-14 Thread w3bi2
Maybe the fan in the power supply...they are most fragile
Rick W3BI

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Andrew O'Brien [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
wrote:

 Please excuse the not-directly ham related issue.  A PC I have used
 for 2 years without issues is suddenly closing down due to
 overheating.  At quick glance the CPU fan appears to be working but
 will run temp tests.  Any other suggestions if not CPU fan?
 
 
 -- 
 Andy K3UK
 www.obriensweb.com
 (QSL via N2RJ)





Re: [digitalradio] Re: Overheating PC?

2008-05-14 Thread Andrew O'Brien
Just load Speedfan on that PC and interestingly it lists no fansm so
no temp display.  The HD temp is diplayed, not a fan.  I will have to
research and see if CPU temp monitoring devices are on this cheap
Emachine.





300 Watt power supply




On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 7:39 PM, w3bi2 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Maybe the fan in the power supply...they are most fragile
 Rick W3BI

 --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Andrew O'Brien [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote:


 Please excuse the not-directly ham related issue. A PC I have used
 for 2 years without issues is suddenly closing down due to
 overheating. At quick glance the CPU fan appears to be working but
 will run temp tests. Any other suggestions if not CPU fan?


 --
 Andy K3UK
 www.obriensweb.com
 (QSL via N2RJ)


 



-- 
Andy K3UK
www.obriensweb.com
(QSL via N2RJ)


Re: [digitalradio] Signals on 3584 + audio

2008-05-14 Thread Rick
That is interesting that they are going to name a new mode DEX that is 
similar to, but not the same as DominoEX. I liked using DEX as the 
acronym for DominoEX. But the creator gets to pick the names.

I am very pleased that Murray is helping to develop a mode for NBEMS and 
I am sure many of us will be quite interested when this gets to the 
point that we can try it out. Same for DSX.

We have got to make this simple to use and I hope that there will be 
more interest on digital modes for public service. Nothing much 
happening in our area and I do promote it as much as I can.

Pactor 2 is the mode to beat since it is has so many good attributes for 
its bandwidth. It would be great to see some comparisons between P2 and 
the newer sound card modes.

Thanks to all of you for so much work to develop these new modes.

73,

Rick, KV9U


kh6ty wrote:
 Hi Rick,
  
 FYI, our tests last night indicate that MFSK16 still copies the best 
 at low S/N, but only when there are no static crashes, but DEX16 or 
 DEX11 have much fewer errors when there are static crashes. The 
 problem with MFSK16, as you found, is the mistuning tolerance. For 
 messaging, when there is a fast series of ARQ exchanges, if one 
 station has uncompensated offset between RX and TX (NBEMS must work 
 with untrained and inexperienced operators to be successful for 
 emcomm), and if the offset exceeds 4 Hz, which is not so unusual, 
 eventually it will not be possible to decode MFSK16, and therefore the 
 ARQ requests or confirmations may be missed.
  
 This is different from using MFSK16 in a QSO, because in a QSO, it is 
 possible to retune with the mouse after each turnover if necessary, 
 but not very practical in a series of fast ARQ exchanges.
  
 We were also testing DSX, which is a variant of DEX, so you would 
 not have been able to decode that.
  
 DEX is the name Murray, ZL1BPU, who is working with us to 
 develop the best mode for NBEMS, and is the desiner of MFSK16 and 
 DominoEX, suggested for the new mode, which is NOT compatible with the 
 current DominoEx modes, but uses the same IFK technology so tuning is 
 not critical and static crashes have minimal effect.
  
 When we switched to MFSK16, it was to compare very weak reception on 
 one station where there were no static crashes at all. Whereas DEX11 
 and DEX16 outperformed MFSK16 under the high static conditions, MFSK16 
 was best when signals were the weakest and there was no static. For 
 NBEMS, we have to compromise between weak signal performance, static 
 crash performance, and transfer speed, and we are still trying to 
 determine which mode to use as a default mode, because it is just not 
 practical to present an untrained operator with a huge selection of 
 different modes for different conditions and ask him, under the 
 pressures of trying to get emergency messages out, to figure out which 
 one to use!
  
 Of course, generally, the slower we go in speed, the more robust the 
 mode for a given bandwidth, and there is always a point where a faster 
 mode fails, but a slower one succeeds. In very adverse conditions, 
 when messages tend to be short, such as, We are safe in a shelter at 
 the local school, or The Red Cross has just arrived, any mode that 
 will get the message out, no matter how slowly, is the one that must 
 be used. Connection time tends to be much longer than the message 
 transfer time.
  
 Two days ago, a line of severe thunderstorms passed us, and spawned a 
 tornado which touched down about 15 air miles from here, and on 80m, I 
 still have a static level of S9 +10 with strong static crashes almost 
 every second - definitely very adverse conditions! Under these 
 conditions, the new DEX modes are working the best, but at the same 
 time, on 2 meters, there are only occassional weak static crashes, so 
 whenever possible, using VHF is still the best band to use for up to 
 100 miles. Under these conditions, the PSK modes are quite adequate 
 and also give the fastest transfer speeds. Which PSK speed to use is 
 usually only dependent on the necessary S/N to overcome path loss. I 
 am hoping that most EOC's will install point-to-point VHF circuits for 
 their use rather than relying on 80m and 40m NVIS HF, which is prone 
 to static interference and propagation changes, depending upon the 
 time of day.
  
 The advantage to using a relatively narrowband mode on HF is that 
 there is more room for more stations to take traffic simultaneously, 
 which greatly shortens connection time,  so the overall time from 
 attempted connection to completion can be much less than having to 
 wait in line to access a few wideband stations. Pactor-II is probably 
 the most efficient ARQ mode developed so far, but it is easy to tell 
 how often connections are not made by observing the number of times 
 client stations come on and never connect, probably because of the 
 small handful of reachable, or available, forwarding stations. I think 
 overall, when 

Re: [digitalradio] Signals on 3584 + audio

2008-05-14 Thread Rick
You know what? I have not used RS ID much as of late and it never even 
entered my mind to use this last night. But then again, both stations 
need to use Multipsk for that to work.

Are any other programs going to be adding the technology?

73,

Rick, KV9U



Sholto Fisher wrote:
 The problem with knowing where to tune any signal can be solved 
 completely by use of RS ID (as in MultiPSK, PocketDigi etc). It amazes 
 me we have had this technology for over a year now and very few people 
 seem to realize the potential of this.

 Even with s/n ratios down around -15dB MultiPSK will successfully lock 
 on to the center frequency of any mode and also switch to the correct 
 mode/parameters.

 In the real world there is always going to be some mis-tuning and 
 although the IFK modes have excellent tolerance in respect to this if 
 someone is 500Hz away they aren't going to decode your transmission, 
 especially if they can't see it on the waterfall. Sending an RS ID 
 before will get them on frequency instantly.

 73, Sholto
 KE7HPV.

   



[digitalradio] RS ID / Video ID

2008-05-14 Thread Andrew O'Brien
With Multipsk, FLDIGI and DM780 all using Video ID, maybe that is the
best for now,

Andy

On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 9:58 PM, Rick [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 You know what? I have not used RS ID much as of late and it never even
 entered my mind to use this last night. But then again, both stations
 need to use Multipsk for that to work.

 Are any other programs going to be adding the technology?

 73,

 Rick, KV9U

 Sholto Fisher wrote:
 The problem with knowing where to tune any signal can be solved
 completely by use of RS ID (as in MultiPSK, PocketDigi etc). It amazes
 me we have had this technology for over a year now and very few people
 seem to realize the potential of this.

 Even with s/n ratios down around -15dB MultiPSK will successfully lock
 on to the center frequency of any mode and also switch to the correct
 mode/parameters.

 In the real world there is always going to be some mis-tuning and
 although the IFK modes have excellent tolerance in respect to this if
 someone is 500Hz away they aren't going to decode your transmission,
 especially if they can't see it on the waterfall. Sending an RS ID
 before will get them on frequency instantly.

 73, Sholto
 KE7HPV.



 



-- 
Andy K3UK
www.obriensweb.com
(QSL via N2RJ)


Re: [digitalradio] RS ID / Video ID

2008-05-14 Thread Sholto Fisher
Andy,

Video ID is nice but when sent horizontal it has a very low average 
power so won't work well in poor conditions. The RS ID is sequential 
MFSK and will have 100% power. Also the Video ID doesn't automatically 
tune in your software.

In MultiPSK it is possible to use both types of ID before a transmission 
and this is useful if testing out a relatively unknown mode and you want 
others who don't run MultiPSK to know what you are transmitting in and 
those that do to automatically switch modes.

The only thing I would warn against is using the Video ID in an ARQ mode 
as it adds a significant delay to the switching. ALE400 FAE has the 
ability to transmit the RS ID only on initial calls and connects and 
then it is turned off for the duration of the QSO. An upshot of this is 
that if you know there is a MultiPSK enabled machine on frequency you 
can SELCAL it and make the link without the other operator doing 
anything. Even if you are off tune the other machine will home in on 
your signal and if it is the right call it will respond to you. I have 
used this to successfully send John VE5MU an email with a binary 
attachment without any intervention required by him. Of course the ARQ 
nature of ALE400 FAE means that the email + attachment get sent without 
error and you are notified that the sending was successful.

73, Sholto.



Andrew O'Brien wrote:
 With Multipsk, FLDIGI and DM780 all using Video ID, maybe that is the
 best for now,
 
 Andy
 
 On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 9:58 PM, Rick [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 You know what? I have not used RS ID much as of late and it never even
 entered my mind to use this last night. But then again, both stations
 need to use Multipsk for that to work.

 Are any other programs going to be adding the technology?

 73,

 Rick, KV9U

 Sholto Fisher wrote:
 The problem with knowing where to tune any signal can be solved
 completely by use of RS ID (as in MultiPSK, PocketDigi etc). It amazes
 me we have had this technology for over a year now and very few people
 seem to realize the potential of this.

 Even with s/n ratios down around -15dB MultiPSK will successfully lock
 on to the center frequency of any mode and also switch to the correct
 mode/parameters.

 In the real world there is always going to be some mis-tuning and
 although the IFK modes have excellent tolerance in respect to this if
 someone is 500Hz away they aren't going to decode your transmission,
 especially if they can't see it on the waterfall. Sending an RS ID
 before will get them on frequency instantly.

 73, Sholto
 KE7HPV.