[Lowfer] Basic Argo settings?

N8OOU n8oou at meekfarm.us
Sat Sep 11 16:59:47 EDT 2021 

Frank

There are many ways to use Argo. The way I do it is to set the receiver 
to USB mode, then tune the next 1000+ Hz lower. So to listen to my 
beacon which is at 185300, I tune the receiver to 184000. Then I go to 
the Argo Setup - Calibration menu and put 184000 in the OFFSET input box 
and click ok.  Also to watch for 1750m beacons, go to Mode and click on 
Qrss30 or Qrss60.  The Speed menu selection can be of your choice. 
Normal is fine.  Now use Setup - Save Settings as.. to store this 
configuration. Multiple configurations are handy, to go between Part 15 
lowfer, Hifer, Part 97 Hambands, and other.

There are valid reasons to use the CW mode or other narrow filter 
options over USB, I like to have the additional bandwidth to be able to 
slide the Argo screen up or down without re-tuning the radio.

Other points to be aware of are that slow modes like Qrss30 or higher 
require a very stable receiver. Low audio level input to Argo is 
critical. To monitor my beacon locally, where it is 40 to 60 over S9, I 
must reduce the PC audio gains, reduce, the RF gain on my radio to 
almost nothing, click the "Hi" Visual Gain button on Argo, and slide 
sensitivity and contrast to low levels to get the thin trace on the Argo 
screen.

Lopora and Qrsspig are two other programs that I have used in Linux. I 
don't do windows. Good Luck, there is a learning curve to Argo.

Mike N8OOU  73

73   de   N8OOU - Mike Meek

On 9/11/21 3:18 PM, Frank O'Donnell wrote:
> Thanks, Steve. As far as BFO goes, I'd have to launch a search of SDR 
> Console's fairly elaborate menus to determine if it has this feature. I 
> was thinking of going with the option suggested by Lyle Koehler in his 
> 2003 post to use USB and tune, say, 1 kHz down. But I could try to sort 
> this out in order to use CW.
> 
> If frequency precision is a top priority, I might want to use our most 
> precise (GPS-controlled) local AM BC station rather than WWV. The former 
> is accurate to a very small fraction of a Hz, but WWV has a way of going 
> through much larger swings due to Doppler at various times of day.
> 
> Another consideration is that the SDR I was thinking of using may be a 
> Hz or two off. I have a couple of others that take external frequency 
> references, but would have to dig them out.
> 
> Re it being a long time since you've used Argo, are there other options 
> that might be worth looking at for lowfer rx?
> 
> 73,
> 
> Frank
> 
> 
> On 9/11/21 12:46 PM, STEVE MCDONALD wrote:
>> Frank you may want to just try tuning in WWV on any frequency (rx in 
>> CW mode) and see where it is displayed on the Argo screen. You’ll 
>> probably need to crank the levels down so its strong signal becomes a 
>> narrow line on the display.  If your BFO offset is, say 600Hz, then 
>> you will see the WWV signal at the 600Hz line. That point, 
>> effectively, is ground-zero for signals that are tuned in on the rx. 
>> You can also see how far accurate your rx is since you know that WWV 
>> is accurate to XX.0000. If you intend to use Argo only on the lowfer 
>> band, you can also recalibrate the display so that instead of the 
>> waterfall displayed as audio frequencies it will display the radio 
>> frequency that you have set the rx dial at. Without touching the rx, 
>> you can then scroll up or down in the Argo screen for other signals, 
>> but only within the passband of your rx filter (usually set to a wider 
>> one in CW mode)
>>
>> I seem to recall a help menu in the software but may be thinking of 
>> another spectrum viewer as it’s been a long time since I used Argo.
>>
>> Steve 73
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>>
>> Thanks, Steve, found the thread in the archive. Will see how it works
>> out tonight,
>>
>> On 9/11/21 11:31 AM, STEVE MCDONALD wrote:
>>> Frank ..
>>>    I can see it was a thread on the Lowfer forum from Feb 2003. All 
>>> of their stuff is archived and the complete thread is here. Look for 
>>> the ‘rx setup’ thread.
>>>
>>> http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/lowfer/2003-February/thread.html
>>>
>>> There’s likely a lot of other Argo info there as well but would 
>>> require searching. I found the quickest way to learn about Argo was 
>>> to just play with it on HF and see what it does! I love its 
>>> simplicity and reliable performance but don’t use it much anymore now 
>>> that QRSS modes are rarely seen on LF.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Steve Ratzlaff <ratzlaffsteve at gmail.com>
>>> To: STEVE MCDONALD <ve7sl at shaw.ca>
>>> Sent: Sat, 11 Sep 2021 12:05:43 -0600 (MDT)
>>> Subject: Re: [Lowfer] Basic Argo settings?
>>>
>>> And too bad you have to have a paid subscription to see the whole file
>>> there.   :(        I guess you're a paid member; I'm not.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>> On 9/11/2021 11:02 AM, STEVE MCDONALD wrote:
>>>> Frank you may find something helpful here:
>>>>
>>>> https://www.scribd.com/document/205707180/Argo-
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Frank O'Donnell <lfr at inkbox.net>
>>> To: LowFER (US European <lowfer at mailman.qth.net>
>>> Sent: Sat, 11 Sep 2021 12:26:25 -0600 (MDT)
>>> Subject: Re: [Lowfer] Basic Argo settings?
>>>
>>> Thanks, Steve.
>>>
>>> Is there any way to get that document without giving a credit card
>>> number to scribd.com for a "30-day free trial" account?
>>>
>>> On 9/11/21 11:02 AM, STEVE MCDONALD wrote:
>>>> Frank you may find something helpful here:
>>>>
>>>> https://www.scribd.com/document/205707180/Argo-Tuning
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Frank O'Donnell <lfr at inkbox.net>
>>>> To: LowFER (US European <lowfer at mailman.qth.net>
>>>> Sent: Sat, 11 Sep 2021 11:50:40 -0600 (MDT)
>>>> Subject: [Lowfer] Basic Argo settings?
>>>>
>>>> Hi, total LowFER and Argo newbie here.
>>>>
>>>> I'm interested in setting up a receiver using an SDR controlled by SDR
>>>> Console software, virtual audio cable, and a copy of Argo v1 build 149a
>>>> newly downloaded from weaksignals.com. I've set SDR Console to 185.3 
>>>> kHz
>>>> in CW mode with a 1 kHz bandwidth. In Argo, I've filled in my callsign
>>>> and grid, and set the soundcard input to the virtual audio cable that
>>>> the SDR outputs to.
>>>>
>>>> Anything else I need to configure? I see Argo defaults to QRSS 3 -- any
>>>> tweaks to that and/or frequency desirable?
>>>>
>>>> I'd seen a post to the effect that a basic user guide comes with Argo,
>>>> but I haven't been able to find it.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks much,
>>>>
>>>> Frank K6FOD
>>>> DM04wc
>>>> Southern California
>>>>
>>>>
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