Posted: 1/4/2014 6:00:21 PM EDT
I can't get DM780 or fldigi to decode any RTTY signals. And there are tons of them out there right now with the contest going. Is there a decent program out there for RTTY, or perhaps some special setting I am missing in the programs I have to make them decode properly? My IC-7100 has a built-in RTTY decoder, which seems to be working quite well - but it's an awful small screen to be looking at. Or maybe I'll just stick to JT65  (I also have an old Theta-9000 console in the basement, I suppose I could find a monitor and wire it up and see if it works...) |
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I've been having the same problem. I run fldigi and it has been surprisingly easy to copy digital stuff, but for some reason today I struggle to decode anythign. I've found that switching to the opposite sideband from the usual phone signals (i.e., run LSB on 20 m) is working.
Is it common to run the opposite sideband for digital? Also, if I put my radio in RTTY mode it seems to work much better. The radio (ic-7000) is doing a pretty good job of decoding with its built in modem. |
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Quoted:
I've been having the same problem. I run fldigi and it has been surprisingly easy to copy digital stuff, but for some reason today I struggle to decode anythign. I've found that switching to the opposite sideband from the usual phone signals (i.e., run LSB on 20 m) is working. Is it common to run the opposite sideband for digital? Also, if I put my radio in RTTY mode it seems to work much better. The radio (ic-7000) is doing a pretty good job of decoding with its built in modem. On FLdigi at least, you can click the "reverse" button so you don't have to change sidebands. Remember RTTY is a very old mode so conventions are a bit different than new modes. This might explain some of the issues. |
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I've also had this exact same problem. I can never get RTTY to decode properly in Fldigi. This thread motivated me and I worked quite hard on this today and determined that it had nothing to do with REV settings or whatnot. Once I figured things out it decoded just fine without REV set, even on USB.
I screwed around with all of the RTTY modem settings in Fldigi and a bunch of other stuff. None of it seemed to make any difference. What I figured out is that the only thing that mattered was that the signal had to be PERFECT. RTTY is definitely not a weak signal mode, and doesn't even appear to be a mediocre signal mode. The contest today certainly had no end of signals to choose from and as long as I chose one that looked solid and strong things seemed to work OK. I also found that I had to put the Fldigi "squelch" control about halfway up the scale instead of leaving it way down near the bottom as I normally do with digital modes, otherwise it decoded a lot of crap. Is this basically everyone else's experience with this mode, or does it sound like I'm still doing something wrong? I jumped in and made 3 or 4 contacts in the contest, just to satisfy myself that things were working properly. I even made a couple of contest macros so I could keep the contesters happy with the super-quick optempo they like 
One thing is certain: to win one of these RTTY contests you need a VERY high level of automation. |
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I have messed with RTTY for a while now and never have had great luck. I think you're right that is not a hey very good week signal mode. My radio does tend to do better on lower side band though and like you said with the squelch cranked up higher than normal.
I read a lot of guys using q r o amplifiers on our tty I would rather use 30 what's on a mode like Olivia and have just as much speed and way better signal to noise ratios. And a step it up another notch you something like contestia and get FEC. |
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I read a lot of guys using q r o amplifiers on our tty I would rather use 30 what's on a mode like Olivia ... I typically run 30-50 watts on RTTY when my 590 fan starts working, I crankt it down, when rare DX shows up, I might crank it to 100watts for a short bit I never liked using my SB-200 amp in contests, because I move around between bands too much. ( ended up selling it) a 100 watt rig is fine on RTTY you're right, it's not a weak signal mode, like Olivia or JT-65, but if the bands are open, it's a great way to make a lot of contacts RTTY contests can be a lot of FUN |