![]() ![]() ![]() PSK in particular offers further advantages. They are the amateur radio HF equivalents of instant messaging. First of all, other than the original equipment setup, using these modes is as easy as typing at your keyboard and reading from your computer screen. There are several reasons why “sound card” digital modes are growing in popularity. The new modes are proving as popular with long time hams as they are with new hams, like me. Older digital modes like RTTY have been revitalized as “sound card” modes, and completely new modes like PSK and MFSK have appeared. It’s called PSK, for Phase Shift Keying, and it’s known as a “sound card” digital mode because it uses a computer’s sound card to encode and to decode the transmitted signal. In 1999, a new kind of digital mode appeared. #Level meter to use with fldigi code#The FCC has recently decided to do away with the code test, and beginning in February of 2007, it will no longer be required. #Level meter to use with fldigi license#You could get a beginner’s license without passing the code test, but you couldn’t progress to the next higher level without it. Learning Morse code and passing a test on it has long been a barrier to entry for new hams. Over time, the popularity of morse code - also called simply code or CW - has waned and interest in voice communications - an analog mode as opposed to the on/off digital of CW or RTTY (radio teletype) - has grown. They chat, they invent, they have contests to see how many stations they can contact within a given time frame, and when natural or man-made disasters occur, they are usually the first to establish any kind of communications between the stricken area and the rest of the world.Įarly hams used Morse code sent by CW almost exclusively. Hams communicate by radio, but only on government-allocated frequency bands where they are allowed to operate. The ARRL, which is the national association for amateur radio in the United States, was founded in 1914 and counts 150,000 active members today. There have been amateur radio operators for as long as there has been radio. I’ve included a brief glossary of terms used in this story, but for the inquisitve, here is a link to a more complete reference work explaining ham jargon.Īccording to Wikipedia, there are about 3 million amateur radio operators - or hams - around the world. Here’s the story behind both the rising popularity of “sound card” digital modes in amateur radio and how Fldigi lets you enjoy enjoy them on Linux.Hams use their own jargon, which is just as obscure to non-hams as IRQ, USB, or DDR are to non-computer geeks. Dave Freese has just released version 1.2 of Fldigi, a popular new program for Linux and FreeBSD which enables amateur radio operators to join their radios and their computers at the hip and create a new kind of ham shack: a digital ham shack. ![]()
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