Last Thursday’s Do night, JustBill brought in his HF rig to try out on our club antennas. Bill is an expert user on several digital communications modes including PSK31. PSK31 or "Phase Shift Keying, 31 Baud" is a digital radio modulation mode, used primarily in the amateur radio field to conduct real-time keyboard-to-keyboard informal text chat between amateur radio operators. After we got his rig set up and interfaced to Ham Radio Deluxe running on the club computer, we started a session on 40 meters and keyboard chatted with a guy in Spain. We also chatted with a Ham in Wisconsin and another in Alabama. We heard a Russian station but not quite enough signal to get to him with 50 watts. Here’s a link to a wiki onPSK31:
[caption id="attachment_753" align="aligncenter" width="300"
caption="JustBill at the controls….with aliens
supervising"]
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We also got an old Radio Shack HTX-202 operating APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) with UI-View32 (an ancient client software for radio packet hosting) and the ProComm TNC to communicate to the radio. K2HAX is on the map! APRS is an important tool for position reporting, remote telemetry, text messaging anyone anyplace, and local coordination of emergency training events. For a cool view of current APRS activity around K2HAX, go here.
’73 – N2ZVP - rochbert