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Jul 5, 2008  

Why do we care about PSK31

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Overview

The digital mode PSK31 is a method of transmitting information using a very small portion of bandwidth, typically 31 Hertz. Using such a small portion of band width allows a vast number of simultaneous communications to occur. Furthermore, as very little power is needed to get a signal out (and copyable), it is applicable for QRP.

PSK31 is typically considered a "digital" mode, one that typically involves using a personal computer to generate tones that are then fed into a ham radio to make this mode possible. Most of these pieces of software make use of the digital sound cards (found in many desktop and laptop computers by default these days) to make the very specifically shaped wave forms necessary for this mode of communicaitons.

Additionally, this mode is considered a "live" mode. This refers to the fact that there is a live human at the keyboard typing the text to be transmitted. There are other digital modes that require no human interaction while messages are being transmitted.

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PSK Software/Sites

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Singal Reporting

As described on http://www.rsq-info.net/, RSQ signal reporting has developed from the CW RST reporting. Standing for Readability, Strength and Quality, PSK31 users use this system to report to each other their respective radio reception of the other party in the conversation.

READABILITY
R5 95%+ Perfectly readable
R4 80% Practically no difficulty, occasional missed characters
R3 40% Considerable difficulty, many missed characters
R2 20% Occasional words distinguishable
R1 0% Undecipherable
STRENGTH
S9 Very Strong trace
S7 Strong trace
S5 Moderate trace
S3 Weak trace
S1 Barely perceptible trace
QUALITY
Q9 Clean signal - no visible unwanted sidebar pairs
Q7 One barely visible pair
Q5 One easily visible pair
Q3 Multiple visible pairs
Q1 Splatter over much of the spectrum

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Common Abreviations

Many of the abreviations used during PSK31 traffic originated in the CW arena. Some of the more popular ones you are likely to run across are dented here:

BTU
Back To You
U
You
 
- this page by KC5UNL

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Member Found Links For This Area

http://www.qrparci.org/content/view/4521/118/lang,en/  [ found by 'kc5unl' ]
Here is a good YouTube introduction to PSK31 from the QRP Amateur Radio Club International's web site.
http://myweb.cableone.net/bobfro/  [ found by 'aa5iw' ]
AA5iw's with a few links to ham radio tech. information.

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