[GreenKeys] Fwd: [MF Monitors] KSM Granted RTTY Frequencies

[Roy Morgan]

At 12:25 PM 10/31/2006, you wrote:
>Well I tried Google and I still do not know what to expect for a NBPD
>signal.
>
>FEC/SITOR mode B and is also known as Narrow Band Direct Printing
>(NBDP).

Stan,

I think NBPD is a typo.

Here is a website with info, schedules and frequencies for the US Coast 
Guard SITOR broadcasts:
http://www.weather.gov/om/marine/hfsitor.htm

>What are the technical specs ?   I would think anything that was FEC
>would not be plain English printing ?

My guess is that the technical specs for the Beaudot RTTY broadcasts from 
KSM will be the same as for amateur RTTY, but that's a guess!  The SITOR 
broadcast specs are likely a quite different matter.  I have no idea what 
the specs are but I'd expect a complete definition of them to be many pages 
long.  It appears that  SITOR-A is equivalent to AMTOR.

It appears to me that "FEC" is a mode of digital transmission, and would 
not indicate a human language to be used. Note: as I understand it English 
is the international language used for weather information and for aviation 
control.

>Can someone explain what we can actually decode (print) with our model
>28s ?

You can expect to get open ocean weather forecasts and condition reports 
from the US Weather service broadcasts on the above web site.

I think your Model 28 will not decode much of anything. It will print lots 
of stuff once the "stuff" is decoded by something else, such as a little 
computer with software able to decode SITOR or AMTOR

At this website I see a list of  such software:
http://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Software/Multimode/

Two of the three most popular are:
# MixW ver. 2 - PSK31, RTTY, SSTV, MFSK, MT63 and other modes, Log, 
DXCluster, Rotor, CAT and whatever you dream in a single program

# HamScope - HamScope is a freeware windows multi-mode communications 
package for amateur radio that supports: PSK31 BPSK and QPSK RTTY ASCII 
MFSK16 PACKET CW. Support radio control interface for several ICOM, TenTec, 
Kenwood, and Yaesu transceivers. Compatible with DXbase LOGic 7 RYLogit 
TRX-Manager YPLOG. By KD5HIO Glen

Neither of these listings mentions SITOR, but the MixW is claimed to "do it 
all".  It costs some money, such as under $100 but I cannot find the price 
easily.

The third most popular software listing on the above site specifically 
mentions SITOR:
# HamComm 3.1 - DOS Freeware popular program for ham radio communications, 
supports reception and transmission of radio teletype RTTY, AMTOR ARQ/FEC, 
SITOR A/B, NAVTEX and Morse code (CW) signals. A decoder for SHIP and SYNOP 
reports from weather stations is also included. This program is 
discontinued and unsupported. Originally developped by Schroeder DL5YEC.


This is about all I know so far.
Roy



- Roy Morgan, K1LKY since 1959 - Keep 'em Glowing
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