How to Find the Digital Mode of PSK31 on the Amateur Radio Bands

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Know what it is.

   PSK 31 stands for phase shift keying.
   
   The 31 is the bandwidth in Hertz (31.25 Hz to be precise) of the transmitted signal.
   
   The mode can be found on all amateur bands but the most popular seems to be on 20 metres at
   14.070 Megahertz.
   
   An appealing aspect is that high power is not needed or encouraged.
   
   The author uses 40 Watts and a dipole antenna.
   
   Here is what is needed to start a digital station:
   An amateur radio capable of all bands.
2. 2

   Step 2: Get a digital interface network.

   This is needed to connect either a desktop or a laptop's sound card to your amateur radio.
   
   There are many different models of interfaces available from RigBlaster, MFJ and others., The sound card is probably the most important part because the software you will be using uses the computer's sound card to transmit the necessary tones to send and receive PSK 31 messages., There are many freeware programs on the internet.
   
   The most popular are DigiPan
   2.1; and HamScope.
   
   There are payware programs with more modes and features for very little money.
   
   For example, there is MixW
   2.19 and other software.,
3. 3

   Step 3: Have a desktop or laptop computer with at least a 400 MHz Pentium II processor

4. 4

   Step 4: 256 Megabytes of ram and a sound card.

5. 5

   Step 5: Find PSK 31 software.

6. 6

   Step 6: Here are some popular digital frequencies: 10 metres 28.070-28.130 MHz 12 metres 24.920-24.930 MHz 15 metres 21.060-21.099 MHz 17 metres 18.100-18.110 MHz 20 metres 14.060-14.099 MHz (very active) 30 metres 10.120-10.150 MHz 40 metres 7.060-7.099 MHz 80 metres 3.580-3.640 MHz

Detailed Guide

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