Digital Modes Meanderings
Meander - (verb): to take a winding or indirect course
The Beginning
Hello! My name is Paul Jordan and my amateur radio call sign is KE5CO. I have been an amateur radio operator (ham) since 1980. Like a lot of hams, I started as a Novice on the HF bands. Later I gravitated to the VHF and UHF bands after I upgraded to Advance class. There I stayed for the next 20 years and enjoyed every minute of it. Then in 2002 the XYL (wife) and I moved to a new QTH (location) which was not tower and beam friendly. The thought of working the VHF / UHF bands without beams really bummed me out. Doing low key stealth HF work was not very appealing either. Besides, I had not been on the HF bands in two decades and really was not all that interested in HF operations. In addition, I was also getting bored with the typical SSB and CW operations. I briefly contemplated going QRT (off the air). But you can’t keep a good ham down. A good ham will find a way to stay radio active. By that standard, I am a good ham.
By happenstance, while perusing a stack of radio magazines, I read an article in QST magazine about a digital mode called PSK31 and was intrigued. In years past I had been interested in radio teletype (RTTY) but that mode always seemed expensive and somewhat difficult to get started. PSK31 seemed like a miniature form of RTTY but easier and cheaper to get operational. PSK31 uses the sound card inside a personal computer to assist in the sending and receiving duties associated with PSK31 operations. Although interested, I was a bit leery. I had up to this point always been rather distant with the idea of merging computers and ham radio. I had no problem with using computers for tracking data and such. But physical connections to interact with and control the radio just seemed diabolical. Those thoughts seem laughable now looking back, but that was my viewpoint at the time.
Meander - (verb): to take a winding or indirect course
The Beginning
Hello! My name is Paul Jordan and my amateur radio call sign is KE5CO. I have been an amateur radio operator (ham) since 1980. Like a lot of hams, I started as a Novice on the HF bands. Later I gravitated to the VHF and UHF bands after I upgraded to Advance class. There I stayed for the next 20 years and enjoyed every minute of it. Then in 2002 the XYL (wife) and I moved to a new QTH (location) which was not tower and beam friendly. The thought of working the VHF / UHF bands without beams really bummed me out. Doing low key stealth HF work was not very appealing either. Besides, I had not been on the HF bands in two decades and really was not all that interested in HF operations. In addition, I was also getting bored with the typical SSB and CW operations. I briefly contemplated going QRT (off the air). But you can’t keep a good ham down. A good ham will find a way to stay radio active. By that standard, I am a good ham.
By happenstance, while perusing a stack of radio magazines, I read an article in QST magazine about a digital mode called PSK31 and was intrigued. In years past I had been interested in radio teletype (RTTY) but that mode always seemed expensive and somewhat difficult to get started. PSK31 seemed like a miniature form of RTTY but easier and cheaper to get operational. PSK31 uses the sound card inside a personal computer to assist in the sending and receiving duties associated with PSK31 operations. Although interested, I was a bit leery. I had up to this point always been rather distant with the idea of merging computers and ham radio. I had no problem with using computers for tracking data and such. But physical connections to interact with and control the radio just seemed diabolical. Those thoughts seem laughable now looking back, but that was my viewpoint at the time.
Excellent source for information and projects for Radio Amateurs
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