Truthfully, Christian, my goal is to find the modes that work the best under different conditions. There are not that many.
The most common mode of PSK31 is not that good really, although is very narrow and easy to tune and use. But it is not very robust. RTTY is not the best for robustness either. So I rarely work those modes. I like MFSK16 if both stations have good frequency stability, since it is about the narrowest robust mode with good throughput. In order to get Olivia to work well, you need to use at least the 500 Hz wide version and the 16 tone has very slow throughput and has similar robustness to MFSK16. Sometimes Olivia may work better, sometimes not. But it is easier to tune in and decode. When we use some of the newest modes, such as Domino EX and THOR, for all practical purposes aren't we using a modern version of piccolo and other similar FSK modes? My understanding is that they improve upon those older modes that go back to the 1950's and 1960's, prior to computers. The oldest technology that still works well and is the simplest is definitely CW and I sometimes use that mode. Even though there is a fraction of the number of ops as there once were, you can pretty much figure a near 100% chance of a contact on a band that is even slightly open, HI. For the best chat (and simultaneously messaging) mode, I like FAE400 but you will rarely find anyone else who will use it. It is only available on Multipsk which may be part of the reason. If it was on the other multimode programs, I think you might find it used more. This evening I noticed a 500 Hz wide MT-63 station on 80 meters, but it is not that robust and selective fading was hurting the print that I monitored. I had no takers after trying THOR, DominoEX, and FAE400, but I do try every so often and sometimes will work a station. 73, Rick, KV9U Christian Crayton wrote: > If you could experiment with a mode for the first time, would you rather > try a new mode like Thor, or an old-school mode like CROWD or Piccolo? > I've been thinking about fiddling with FFT and programming, and have > thought about bringing some of the original digital modes used by > various diplomatic and military organizations back to life. A bit like > Hell, but not that old school... > > I always get stuck between old and new, I guess that one of the things I > like about amateur radio. There's about a 100-year technology range > that you can play with in one afternoon! > > > >
