[Ham-Mac] Mac and PSK-31 (N5XRD 25 Oct 2003)

[W0YKZ]

I have been using a Beige G3 upgraded to a 466 MHz G4 on PSK-31 with a 
Kenwood TS-440S.
Tuning is very difficult with the 10 Hz steps and MutiMode. Also 
station location and acquisition is very time consuming as compared 
with DigiPan.

Unix software is available (darwinpsk 0.7.1.1 and fftw 3.0.1) and 
appears to be what we need. I have yet to get it up and running (I am 
not Unix literate). I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has this 
operating.

Another approach is to use DigiPan (or equivalent) with Virtual PC 6 
and Windows 98 on either OS9 or OSX. Your only option is OSX and it 
will run this setup. If you want RS232 T/R control Windows 98 will 
assign Com 1 or Com 2 ports to the Macintosh printer or modem serial 
ports. I understand that this will also work with the Keyspan RS-232 
serial adapters for the Mac and OSX. Of course manual or VOX T/R 
operation would eliminate the need for an RS-232 port.

On the down side Virtual PC seems roughly equivalent to about a 200 MHz 
Pentium when run on a 466 MHz G4 on OS9. Its operation on OSX 10.2x 
appears to be slower, but it does work. DigiPan is the only Windows 
program I use, and, quite honestly, I would rather be free of it. Your 
hardware and software investment to do it this way is in the $300 - 
$400 range for your G5.

Thanks for the tip on the G5 shielding. I have some RFI problems with 
the Beige G3 with outdoor antennas. I hope to be using my setup with a 
Titanium G4 and hope the results are a bit better.

Please let me know how you solve this.

73
Bob Springer
W0YKZ