[Elecraft] K3 PSK-D Split Operation

Bill Coleman aa4lr at arrl.net
Sat Mar 30 10:30:28 EDT 2013


On Jan 6, 2012, at 4:32 AM, Gary Gregory <garyvk4fd at gmail.com> wrote:

> *Bill,
> 
> By all means educate me please.
> 
> Why would split be used on a narrow bandwidth signal such as PSK31?
> 
> Would you not be just consuming twice the amount of bandwidth as needed?
> 
> I have casually operated PSK31 and I have not seen the band so crowded that
> operating split would be needed.
> 
> Curious


I didn't see an answer to your original question, but I think it deserves an answer. 

Quite often, when working DX, a simplex pileup can cause problems. Stations calling the DX can cover up reception of the DX station. The DX station works someone, but that someone can't hear because of all the other stations calling. This is true in CW and Phone, but is especially true in FSK and PSK modes, where only the strongest signals are decoded. 

By going to split, the DX stations keeps his frequency clear, so that all stations can hear him respond. This greatly speeds up the pileup, as those doing excessive calling won't interfere with a response from the DX.

While such pileups aren't common in PSK, they are pretty common on FSK RTTY. 


Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Web: http://boringhamradiopart.blogspot.com
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
           -- Wilbur Wright, 1901



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