It used to be that 5 watts on PSK31 was all that was needed, most all
operators were using low power because it worked well. Most advice was
to keep the power low - below 20 watts if I recall. As time went by,
the power levels used on PSK31 have crept up and many operators are now
using 100 watts or more. That kind of power in the narrow bandwidth of
common PSK wattering holes will take over the AGC in the receiver
because most are using bandwidths of 2.5 kHz or greater to see the full
waterfall display.
The AGC will respond to the strongest signal within the filter bandwidth
and will make weaker stations more difficult to copy. Sometimes turning
off the AGC will help, but concentrating on the station you wish to copy
and narrowing the IF filter bandwidth will help even more. If you only
want to work one station, there is no need to see the entire PSK31
band. Narrow the receiver filter and use the VFO to tune the desired
station to the center of the IF passband.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 1/11/2013 6:13 PM, Ariel Jacala wrote:
5 watts on PSK will work if you are in an empty section on the waterfall. In a
crowded situation with strong signals nearby, you will be stepped on and
obliterated by the strong signal. Certain DX stations are notorious for
overdriving the waterfall and wiping out other signals. You are better off
calling CQ in location away from nearby strong signals. At 5 watts your
printing on the waterfall can be faint depending on propagation. I did get
Hawaii once on PSK with my K2. My luck with PSK has always been better at
25-30 watts. That is just the nature of this mode. At QRP power, CW is much
more efficient. Make sure you have enough drive to just trigger the ALC
circuit. You are also better off decoding the PSK signal with Fldigi or DM780
- just a better PSK experience with the macros and all.
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