[digitalradio] The best of all features

2009-06-20 Thread Ed Hekman
It looks like the thread on MixW has run the course but I wanted to make a few 
comments about what I felt were the best features of each of the programs that 
I have used.

I started with Digipan and stayed with it for over 5 years because it was 
simple to setup and use.  The capability to receive in panoramic mode and carry 
on a QSO at the same time has become very important to my style of operating.  
I grew very dependent on the capability to use the F1 key to bring up the 
qrz.com page for the call sign entered in the log.  Unfortunately I experienced 
some crashes with the last version that were too frequent to be ignored.  That 
and the lack of other modes motivated me to try some of the other programs.  
The programs I have tried so far include HRD/DM780, MixW, fldigi and MultiPSK.  

MixW was the next program I used but never as much as Digipan.  The absence of 
a panoramic decoder prevented me from adopting as the only or primary program.  
It is nice that I was able to configure the functions keys to be the same that 
I had become accustomed to with Digipan.  And one uniquie feature of MixW that 
I have used many times is the capability to select many transmissions to 
monitor - each in separate windows - and to be able to select a different 
transmissionj mode for each of those windows.  It is not as straightforward as 
it could be but it can be done.

DM780 was the next program that I spent some getting to know.  Limited computer 
power did cause some problems when DM780 was running concurrently with my 
weather station program, Weather Display.  Weather Display would crash very 
consistently with significant activity in DM780 and even more quickly when 
iexplorer was running.  But now with a much more capable PC I have been 
exploring other very nice features of DM780.  The capability to push a button 
and have the radio shift frequency to put the signal of interest in the center 
of the narrow passband is extremely valuable for operating in crowded band 
conditions.  The capability to carry on a QSO with the screen operating in 
panoramic mode is very important to me.  The automation posting of spots to PSK 
Reporter and the automatic uploading of QSOs to eQSL and LOTW is very nice. The 
one drawback for me is the inability to assign operations to the function keys 
to match the configurations used with Digipan, Mixw, fldigi and MultiPSK.

I dabbled with MultiPSK over the years but began using in daily last year when 
I discovered that it had the capability to capture call signs spotted.  With a 
utility from Sholto, KE7HPV, this is being used to automatically post call 
signs dexcoded to the web page, www.hamspots.net.  I also did some experiments 
with the ALE400 mode with good success.

fldigi comes the closest to replicating the simplicity and ease of use of 
Digipan but it adds many other modes and features.  The ability to open the 
panoramic window and the logbook separately from the main QSO screen is very 
nice since I like to be able to decode other transmissions while I am in a QSO. 
 The radio interface is a nice bonus that was setup quite easily for a couple 
radios.  The capability to automatically post to PSK Reporter is a nice feature 
but I haven't been successful with that yet.  The capability to integrate with 
DXKeeper with a 3rd party bridge is also nice but I haven't succeded with that 
yet either.  And I think the flarq program greatly expands the usefulness to 
methods of operating beyond the normal one on one QSO.  fldigi has been the 
primary program here since last fall until I acquired a more powerful computer 
that could more easily handle DM780.  One very nice feature of DM780 that I use 
frequently is the capability to hit a button and have the radio and the program 
switch the radio frequency and the audio frequency to put the desired signal in 
the center of the radios narrow band filter.

That is a brief synopsys of the highlights of each of the programs for me.

Thing to look forward to:
Panoramic screen decoding over bandwidths of 24 KHz up to 192 KHz.
More SOMR (single operator, multiple radio) capability.
Better integration with logging packages across the various programs to a 
common database on the network.

It is quite late here now so anything I say from now on will probably be 
nonsense so I will terminate this for now and hope that others will offer their 
highlights and lowlights of the currently available software and their 
wishlists for the next generation of radio software.

Thanks,
Ed
WB6YTE



Re: [digitalradio] The best of all features

2009-06-20 Thread Andy obrien
Many good points Ed, thanks for taking the time to write your
comments.  I would like to add that an overlooked application is
Winwarbler.  Winwarbler only does RTTY (AFSK and FSK) plus BPSK and
QPSK 31,63, and 125, but it has in my opinion the best features.  It's
multi-decoding capabilities and layout are superb.  When intergrated
with DX keeper and Spotcollector, it is peerless.



Andy K3UK

On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 4:11 AM, Ed Hekmanehek...@cox.net wrote:



 fldigi comes the closest to replicating the simplicity and ease of use of
 Digipan but it adds many other modes and features. The ability to open the
 panoramic window and the logbook separately from the main QSO screen is very
 nice since I like to be able to decode other transmissions while I am in a
 QSO. The radio interface is a nice bonus that was setup quite easily for a
 couple radios. The capability to automatically post to PSK Reporter is a
 nice feature but I haven't been successful with that yet. The capability to
 integrate with DXKeeper with a 3rd party bridge is also nice but I haven't
 succeded with that yet either. And I think the flarq program greatly expands
 the usefulness to methods of operating beyond the normal one on one QSO.
 fldigi has been the primary program here since last fall until I acquired a
 more powerful computer that could more easily handle DM780. One very nice
 feature of DM780 that I use frequently is the capability to hit a button and
 have the radio and the program switch the radio frequency and the audio
 frequency to put the desired signal in the center of the radios narrow band
 filter.

 That is a brief synopsys of the highlights of each of the programs for me.

 Thing to look forward to:
 Panoramic screen decoding over bandwidths of 24 KHz up to 192 KHz.
 More SOMR (single operator, multiple radio) capability.
 Better integration with logging packages across the various programs to a
 common database on the network.



[digitalradio] please unsubscribe from this group

2009-06-20 Thread kenneth ferguson
please unsubscribe from this group



Re: [digitalradio] Praise for Buxcomm

2009-06-20 Thread wb4...@teara.org
At 04:08 PM 6/19/2009 -, you wrote:
I called Buxcomm on Monday morning to order an interface for the computer
to the sound card modes.  Talked with a very nice man.  I ordered a Rascal
GLX interface for my Icom 746Pro.  It arrived in the Thursday mail.  I
installed it and it workes just fine.  I just thought I would give a good
word for a company that did me right.

http://www.packetradio.com/

Is the URL for them.


Ditto that...ordered one, got it right away, and was on in 30 minutes of
receiving it. Running it on a 756, and love it.

Dave WB4IUY



[digitalradio] Re: Praise for Buxcomm

2009-06-20 Thread Thomas F. Giella NZ4O
I've been a customer of Buxcomm for a good number of years and can't say 
enough good about them. Their customer service is outstanding and that 
includes timely shipping.

73  GUD DX,
Thomas F. Giella, NZ4O
Lakeland, FL, USA
n...@arrl.net

NZ4O Amateur  SWL Radio Autobiography: http://www.nz4o.com

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17:56:00


Re: [digitalradio] The best of all features

2009-06-20 Thread J. Moen
This is a terrific review.  You identify what's important to you so we can 
understand your thinking, and you give your reasons for preferring one program 
over another.  Very useful for all of us.  

Jim - K6XZ

  - Original Message - 
  From: Ed Hekman 
  To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 1:11 AM
  Subject: [digitalradio] The best of all features


  It looks like the thread on MixW has run the course but I wanted to make a 
few comments about what I felt were the best features of each of the programs 
that I have used.

  I started with Digipan and stayed with it for over 5 years because it was 
simple to setup and use. The capability to receive in panoramic mode and carry 
on a QSO at the same time has become very important to my style of operating. I 
grew very dependent on the capability to use the F1 key to bring up the qrz.com 
page for the call sign entered in the log. Unfortunately I experienced some 
crashes with the last version that were too frequent to be ignored. That and 
the lack of other modes motivated me to try some of the other programs. The 
programs I have tried so far include HRD/DM780, MixW, fldigi and MultiPSK. 

  MixW was the next program I used but never as much as Digipan. The absence of 
a panoramic decoder prevented me from adopting as the only or primary program. 
It is nice that I was able to configure the functions keys to be the same that 
I had become accustomed to with Digipan. And one uniquie feature of MixW that I 
have used many times is the capability to select many transmissions to monitor 
- each in separate windows - and to be able to select a different transmissionj 
mode for each of those windows. It is not as straightforward as it could be but 
it can be done.

  DM780 was the next program that I spent some getting to know. Limited 
computer power did cause some problems when DM780 was running concurrently with 
my weather station program, Weather Display. Weather Display would crash very 
consistently with significant activity in DM780 and even more quickly when 
iexplorer was running. But now with a much more capable PC I have been 
exploring other very nice features of DM780. The capability to push a button 
and have the radio shift frequency to put the signal of interest in the center 
of the narrow passband is extremely valuable for operating in crowded band 
conditions. The capability to carry on a QSO with the screen operating in 
panoramic mode is very important to me. The automation posting of spots to PSK 
Reporter and the automatic uploading of QSOs to eQSL and LOTW is very nice. The 
one drawback for me is the inability to assign operations to the function keys 
to match the configurations used with Digipan, Mixw, fldigi and MultiPSK.

  I dabbled with MultiPSK over the years but began using in daily last year 
when I discovered that it had the capability to capture call signs spotted. 
With a utility from Sholto, KE7HPV, this is being used to automatically post 
call signs dexcoded to the web page, www.hamspots.net. I also did some 
experiments with the ALE400 mode with good success.

  fldigi comes the closest to replicating the simplicity and ease of use of 
Digipan but it adds many other modes and features. The ability to open the 
panoramic window and the logbook separately from the main QSO screen is very 
nice since I like to be able to decode other transmissions while I am in a QSO. 
The radio interface is a nice bonus that was setup quite easily for a couple 
radios. The capability to automatically post to PSK Reporter is a nice feature 
but I haven't been successful with that yet. The capability to integrate with 
DXKeeper with a 3rd party bridge is also nice but I haven't succeded with that 
yet either. And I think the flarq program greatly expands the usefulness to 
methods of operating beyond the normal one on one QSO. fldigi has been the 
primary program here since last fall until I acquired a more powerful computer 
that could more easily handle DM780. One very nice feature of DM780 that I use 
frequently is the capability to hit a button and have the radio and the program 
switch the radio frequency and the audio frequency to put the desired signal in 
the center of the radios narrow band filter.

  That is a brief synopsys of the highlights of each of the programs for me.

  Thing to look forward to:
  Panoramic screen decoding over bandwidths of 24 KHz up to 192 KHz.
  More SOMR (single operator, multiple radio) capability.
  Better integration with logging packages across the various programs to a 
common database on the network.

  It is quite late here now so anything I say from now on will probably be 
nonsense so I will terminate this for now and hope that others will offer their 
highlights and lowlights of the currently available software and their 
wishlists for the next generation of radio software.

  Thanks,
  Ed
  WB6YTE

  . 

  

Re: [digitalradio] please unsubscribe from this group

2009-06-20 Thread FRANCIS HODGE






From: kenneth ferguson ken_fergu...@fsmail.net
To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, 20 June, 2009 9:54:55 AM
Subject: [digitalradio] please unsubscribe from this group





please unsubscribe from this group




[digitalradio] digitalradio-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com

2009-06-20 Thread kenneth ferguson
To the moderator and the group S0RRY for the confusion I made a MISTAKE I meant 
for ME to be unsubscribed from the group that is all No offence or insult to 
anybody inferd.
ken