I will add that I was monitoring Keyboard to Keyboard Pactor the other night on both the main rig using a soundcard and MixW with Inverted VEE up around 35 feet with ends around 10 feet, using Kenwood TS 2000, while also monitoring same QSO with Portable station using SCS controller and inverted V up 15 feet with ends around 4 feet. FWIW, The copy on the SCS was more accurate, with less dropouts. The rig there was FT-897d. The Contestia mode looks to have some promise as a compromise between speed and ability to work under less than favorable conditions. We had varying degree of success with MT-63 over the weekend. Some stations needed soundcard calibration, but some did quite well. David KD4NUE
-----Original Message----- From: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 9:52 AM To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Re: Is PACTOR I Actually DEAD For KBD - KBD? Elaine and I had some attempts to work each other the past few days as I heard her on the bands but we were always quite weak to each other. If we had been using Pactor modems, especially those from non SCS manufacturers, I doubt that we would have had any luck connecting. We did have a small amount of success with MFSK16 which you would think would work the best. I know that I have more trouble tuning and locking in this mode than I used to but I am not sure why. The really curious thing is that Elaine switched to RTTY which you would think would be much worse of a mode and yet we were able to do some level of success in printing. Then she switched to Hell mode and while not the most sensitive mode, was able to copy about 50% of the characters since there was severe QSB on a barely discernible signal on the waterfall or by ear. It would have been interesting to try FAE 400 though, but maybe conditions were just too poor for even that mode. I could not imagine going back to hardware boxes due to the cost and the vendor lock in issue. At one time we had G-Tor on Kantronics, Pactor on SCS, and Clover II on HAL, and the only mode that had some level of compatibility was Pactor of the three proprietary (or quasi proprietary like Pactor) modes. We all know which one survived to go one and become the most popular of the three on the ham bands? The more hams that can use a given mode, the more chance of success of that mode with additional attributes taken into consideration (sensitivity, ease of use, ability to work under difficult conditons, etc.). 73, Rick, KV9U Patricia (Elaine) Gibbons wrote: > *//* > */I prefer live chat via Pactor-I .. /* > *//* > */The problem is the decline in general usage by /* > */most radio amateurs who prefer to not purchase a /* > */a TNC for this mode, and instead use soundcard/* > */modes .. /* > *//* > */Jus sayin /* > *//* > */Elaine /* > > -- > Patricia (Elaine) Gibbons > WA6UBE / AAR9JA > http://www.qrz. <http://www.qrz.com/wa6ube> com/wa6ube > >
