Sigmira Fix Now Available

The updated features.dat file for Steven A. Harlow's popular (and good) Sigmira program can be obtained at his web site.  Instructions on where to put the updated file are there as well.

Spectrum Lab Works Fine in 64-bit W7

I don't know why I thought it didn't.  It is installed in c:\radio\spectrum and it works just fine.  I also run it as an administrator with full permission set to its folder branch just to be sure.  So far, it's done everything it did in XP.

People might know that I really like Spectrum Lab, so it's nice to have it back.  Its window scales any size one would ever need it to be, and you can spend the rest of your life getting acquainted with all it can do.  I've even made digital art with it.

It's Not You: Sigmira Blows Up Again

Now, I like Sigmira.  It cranks on STANAG 4285, it has a great mode to demonstrate what's really up with the Japanese "slot machine" encrypted data station, and it does HFDL.

It has this one odd issue where every so often the features.dat file becomes obsolete and must be replaced for STANAG 4285 to work again.

This time, though, the problem is not loss of features.  The program starts up very briefly, then shuts down and displays a small window saying something unhelpful along the lines of "it didn't work."  Everyone got the problem at the same time, and it seems as if it might be related to the PC system date.

So far no word on the web site.   I won't be able to duplicate the problem and try for any insight because it never ran on my new 64 bit system anyway.  Too bad, because it IS a great program.

Ham Radio Software Meets Windows 7 #4: The Final Accounting

After much sound, fury, hair pulling, and bad language, the results are in.

Programs that recognize the W7 app data path variable, keep their data outside the program file tree, and work when installed to the default directory (Program Files (x86)):

FLdigi (Note 1)
JVComm32
TrueTTY

Programs that should probably be installed in a different folder you create yourself (I called mine "Radio"):

DSCdecoder (Note 2)
MultiPSK (3)
PC-ALE (4)
PC-HFDL (5)
POSFIX
Spectran

1) Created files under "Users," not in program folder.
2) ITU lookup won't work installed under Program Files (x86).
3) Some confusion over whether or not to run INSTAL.exe after unzipping.
4) Do not leave "create desktop icon" checked.  Create shortcut manually in program's home directory, and drag to desktop.  In fact, do this for all these programs.
5) Go into ground station file, change "AUCKLAND - NEW ZEALAND" to "AUCKLAND - NZ" due to a bug unrelated to platform.

As always, your results will be different.  That's what worked here.

Ham Radio Software Meets Windows 7 #3: Debugging PC-ALE

After uninstalling MARS-ALE and removing various droppings still found throughout my computer, I bravely set out to see what PC-ALE would do in a home directory outside the Program Files (x86) or the virtual machine ("XP Mode").  Others had reported success when installed in this manner.

The version I'd been using is in the 1.07x cycle. I had the installers on backups.  The files are not on HFLINK, but can be found elsewhere.  You install the FI version, then drop the unzipped UD .exe file over the original .exe in your installation.  Then you copy in your .qrg files.  You DID back up your .qrg, right?

Scanning will have to wait until a compatible USB-serial adapter is obtained.  Right now I'm only parking on frequencies.


Here are some issues:

#1: Do not check the "Create Desktop Icon" box in the installer. This creates an incorrect path, which causes PC-ALE to write the files it needs for proper operation to the desktop instead of its home folder. It is then unable to find them there.

Instead, go to the home directory and right-click ALE.exe. Drop down and hit "Create Shortcut," then move the resulting new shortcut icon to the desktop. This solves the problem.  The files are created in the right place.

#2. The problem encountered with the input being pure noise seems to have fixed itself with the install to my custom directory. PC-ALE is finding the right input now.  "First light" here was J14, 003, and D08 sounding on 15867.  BER and S/N were well above minimums for high confidence decode.

#3: For some inexplicable reason, PC-ALE likes to set the gain of Line In to zero at startup and shutdown.  This causes the bars/sync to vanish altogether, because there's no signal.  Do W7's silly sound driver and turn it back up.  The bars/sync should appear, and you should be decoding ALE.  This issue fixes itself after running the program a couple of times.  Presumably, the default level finally gets set to the figure in your 141A config screen.

#4: It is said that MARS-ALE is actually better for receive-only than PC-ALE.  This could be the case.  MultiPSK, however, is better than both of them for receive, though equally user-inscrutable.  It will scan after you do the developer's weird payment procedure and get a license.

#5: ALL MILEAGE WILL VARY!!!!! We are dealing with computers, after all.  If you get a total bomb job, try asking the experts on the HFLINK group at Yahoo.

Ham Radio Software Meets Windows 7

Despite knowing the perils of attempting to use ham radio software with anything newer than XP, I continued in my resolve to enter the modern age with an operating system that has some hope of support after next year.   Since SDRs tend to like all the processor and memory you can throw at them, I loaded up on plenty of both, requiring the dreaded 64-bit operating system.

Dreaded because most ham shareware never heard of it.

After two weeks, results have emerged.  Here we go:

Programs that work with 64 bit Windows 7 (your mileage WILL vary):

FLdigi - No problems so far.

JVComm32 - Works fine; it's going right now.  Complains bitterly about my font sizes, but since I'm using a 1950x1200 graphic arts monitor, it'll just have to understand show biz.

MultiPSK - so far no problems except the need to personally communicate with the programmer to give him his well deserved money.  (And that issue is platform-independent :-) . )  It stopped complaining about the font size when I went to Properties > Compatibility and checked the part about "Disable display settings on high DPI."

PC-HFDL - No problems AT ALL.

Posfix - No problems AT ALL.

Spectran: So far, works perfectly, despite Windows declaring it incompatible.  There was some strange issue with its installer, which is really more like an unpacker.  No matter how bitterly Windows complains, it can be unpacked to anywhere, and moved by hand to an appropriate folder you create under Programs (x86).  There are no registry issues.  The program barely even wastes time on MickeySoft's new sound drivers (more on that later).

TrueTTY/SeaTTY - so far no problems.


Programs that do not work (at least here):

PC-ALE & MARS-ALE - the UI functions properly but it can't seem to find the right sound input.  Only noise displays in the box on the upper left.  Using the virtual machine and "XP mode" does not seem to help.  Also, scanning on many rigs requires a USB to serial adapter, and the older ones don't work on 64 bit W7, which has no driver for them.

Spectrum Lab - it's too bad that this state of the art package was never updated to post-Vista operating systems.  It's fine to declare yourself an XP holdout, and even brag about how much better it is, and in the case of ham radio you are undoubtedly right.  Back in the real world, it's important to keep up with technology.


Programs that work with some fiddling:

DSCdecoder - I think I finally have this one as happy as it's ever going to get.  It's running in compatibility mode, and everything works except the ITU lookup.  The issue with that is mysterious, and it may relate to the font sizes.  Clicking the MMSI does indeed go to ITU and grab the information, as can be seen by picking through the file named ituresponse.txt that gets written to the program's directory. However, it never makes it onto the UI, or into the master lookup database file shipid.txt.

---------------
More on the W7 sound card issue:

The problem is that, from what I can find online, MickeySoft has made it harder, if not impossible, to record from streams. This is undoubtedly a concession to the music industry, which is concerned about copyright.  Every sound card driver is different, but in my case, both the on-board and external sound had Stereo Mix and/or What U Hear missing.

In addition, the external sound card, a venerable Creative Live! they stopped supporting years ago,  did not work well.  It was prone to pops and crackles, and the sound was poor.  The driver available at Creative Labs was a legacy product, and did nothing to solve the problem.  I'll stay with the on-board sound, which is fine in all specs except signal to noise, until I feel like popping for a decent external card.

There is a hack to get Stereo Mix back on some of the sound drivers, at least for the Realtek driver on the Asus motherboard. This is documented all over the Internet, and it works.  It involves going to a certain place in the config, finding Stereo Mix and unblocking it.  However, my Stereo Mix still wouldn't do the right kind of loopback for legally recording and/or decoding audio from remote SDRs and radios.

(Psssst... Spectran, which ignores the sound board nonsense, will listen to Stereo Mix just fine on my box.  AND it records.  AND it's free.  Don't tell RIAA.)

Happy computing......

Digital Mode Programs That Work #4: PC-ALE

It's not hyperbole to say that PC-ALE was the one program that totally revolutionized utility radio listening. It feels like forever since Charles Brain, G4GUO, suddenly appeared on the scene with a very functional Windows program for receiving AND transmitting in what was then the fairly new radio mode of Automatic Link Establishment.

A full description of PC-ALE would require a book. It's a big program, though it doesn't look it. It has a lot of parameters, and no one has ever fully explained some of them. There's no PC-ALE For Dummies. This makes it one of the more intimidating programs available to hobbyists free of charge.

Fortunately, the hams have taken it up in a big way, and they're driving most of the program's evolution. A few years back, it bifurcated into two major variants. These are a continuing refinement of PC-ALE, and a split-off called MARS-ALE.

As the names would suggest, this was due to the different needs of worldwide use in amateur bands (HFLINK) vs the more structured nature of the Military Auxiliary Radio System. Both of these programs are being actively supported by N2CKH.

Both of these have dedicated Yahoo groups. N2CKH maintains that MARS-ALE is actually the best of the two for receiving. I've experimented with it, and also with the newer PC-ALE versions, but the one I like best for completely personal reasons is still PC-ALE 1.071 Alpha.

MARS-ALE comes with transmitting blocked unless you have DoD authorization. Don't even try transmitting with PC-ALE until you've joined the HFLINK group, gone to its site, and read up on how to do this without destroying amateur-grade equipment.

PC-ALE comes fairly well configured for receiving right out of the box. I tweak a few things having to do with radio control, but these are different for every installation out there. Mostly, you want to make sure you've enabled the logging of soundings (propagation checks).

Frequencies are entered by a clunky interface and then you go to the "QRG files" menu and save them. QRG? means, "What's the frequency?" A QRG file is basically a freq list with associated parameters and network addresses to be used with that list.

You'd think that all the bugs in PC-ALE's basic engine would be out by now, but you would think wrong. As noted, the innovation has been driven by other needs, such as getting it scanning with all even semi-popular radios, or using IP networks with 3rd-party additions.

One nasty bug I've always had goes as follows. Stay with me, because this can really mess up your loggings. Let's look at an extract fresh from today's log:

[20:11:20][FRQ 23337000][SND][ ][TWS][ADW ][AL0] BER 0 SN 00
[20:11:20][FRQ 18003000][SND][ ][TWS][ADW ][AL0] BER 30 SN 08
[20:11:20][FRQ 17976000][SND][ ][TWS][ADWSPR ][AL0] BER 27 SN 07

What has happened here is that PC-ALE has created three different hits from what was one single long sounding on 17967. Most people will say wow, three freqs in one second. Well, no, because I've watched these appear on the screen and there have never, ever, been actual transmissions on these extra logged frequencies.

The dead giveaway is that the third of these shows a bit-error rate and SINAD of zero. Such a case wouldn't even decode. It's an obvious program malfunction caused by resuming scan while data from the sound is still being processed.

To be safe, I go through PC-ALE logs and eliminate doubles or triples with the same time and 00 measurements in the last one. Accurate frequency logging is worth it.

Just to confuse things more, the second two have truncated off the last part of ADWSPR due to technical reasons having to do with how all but the first three letters of ALE addresses are sent. Since ADW is also in use by Andrews AFB, it's easy to get confused here. These truncations can occur in any incomplete decode, not just mishandled sounds.

Another issue (not a bug) is the clattering of relays in many radios when they're being scanned. These peak the front-end circuit by switching filters as frequency is changed. If you're going to leave it scanning for hours or days at a stretch, this no doubt shortens their life.

Newer versions of PC-ALE have a "silent" mode which is said to stop this on some radios. I haven't tried this. On the NRD-545, I turn off the relays manually before starting PC-ALE.

Now that I've scared EVERYBODY off of PC-ALE or MARS-ALE, don't be deterred. The rewards are great if one gets the hang of either of these. Happy gurgling.

Digital Mode Programs That Work #3: SeaTTY

Recently, I read a rather impromptu test done by WZ7I. It seemed to indicate that a popular ham program called TrueTTY actually had better "sensitivity" than a tweaked version of the older MMTTY, which I'd always figured was the hot setup.

This got me interested, since I'd used TrueTTY in the past, and liked it. So I went to the DXSoft site where the clever Russian programmer Sergei Podstrigailo, UA9OSV, has his latest stuff.

What I noticed, though, is that his other NBDP program, called SeaTTY, was starting to look like a better deal for users who wanted to concentrate on receiving, especially in the maritime bands. Needless to say, I grabbed it, in version 2.30.

SeaTTY looks like TrueTTY, with the same sleek user interface showing the FFT amplitude plot at the top and the bit scope at the bottom. Its purpose, though, is not making ham QSOs. It's listed as a "weather messages decoder," and indeed it's set up to facilitate the unattended grabbing and filing of same.

Modes decoded are RTTY, Navtex/ Sitor-B, DSC (HF/VHF), HF FAX, and NWR-SAME. The latter is a VHF signaling mode used by weather broadcasts to target specific areas.

I put SeaTTY to work on the longwave RTTY weather broadcast from Hamburg/Pinneberg Meteo in Germany, as received by the WebSDR in the Netherlands. It started up, spat out a few garbage characters, then happily produced a steady 100% decode. I ran MMTTY and SkySweeper alongside, and MMTTY was also 100%. SkySweeper was good, but produced the inexplicable character errors I've come to expect from its RTTY mode.

This was too easy. I waited for propagation, and gave it the RTTY weather from CFH in Halifax, NS. This is never a good path to SoCal, and the geomagnetic storm had left some extra fading. Interestingly, SeaTTY and MMTTY produced about the same percentage of characters decoded, but messed up in different places. While the decode rate was about the same, SeaTTY actually produced somewhat more readable copy.

SeaTTY was about as good as DSCDecoder on Navtex and HF Sitor-B weather. It files successful Navtex decodes in a slick directory tree structure, with the copy showing in a window alongside. The save is automatic, as long as the Telex start code (ZCZC) and end code (NNNN) are detected.

DSC decode shows as a numeric dump of the raw symbols, but clicking the time stamp produces the message. The only missing feature compared to DSCDecoder is the instant lookup of MMSI numbers in the ITU database.

Where I really had fun, though, was the FAX. It's a very well thought out interface for this mode. Finally, there's a FAX decoder as intuitive and generally slick as the old JVComm, but which doesn't print "Demo" all over your faxes until you pony up. (SeaTTY, like DSCDecoder, waits a set number of days, then sulks until you pay. It's $35 and easy to register.)

I'd long since learned how to play SkySweeper's fax interface like a musical instrument, and turn out awesome copy, but right now I think I'll switch to SeaTTY. Once I get used to it, I suspect it'll be just as good, and with less general fuss to get working. Faxes, like Navtex messages, get time stamped and autosaved, accessible from the directory tree. Good stuff.

To sum up, SeaTTY is a keeper. I gladly paid up. Now I go forth into the Ether with some good tools.

Digital Mode Programs That Work #2: Multipsk

Multipsk is a multimode receive/transmit program that works with the PC sound card in Windows or Linux. It's rapidly becoming the big gun in freely available ham/SWL software for these platforms.

The program is by Patrick Lindecker, F6CTE. It can be downloaded from Patrick's F6CTE web site, which is in English. A Yahoo group (also in English) for users is reachable at Multipsk (at) yahoogroups.com. I haven't looked at this group, but I keep meaning to.

Just about everyone I can think of who uses Windows or Linux for serious utility work has at least tried this program. Now that SkySweeper is no longer supported, Multipsk is the most viable PC multimode package for under $3000 US. WAY under, in fact, since a perfectly acceptable version is available free. As in $0000 US. This is not crippleware or nagware. When you pony up the $45 (last I looked), you get more features, and lose the time limits on some others.

New versions come out on a regular basis, and most add at least one new mode. The latest is 4.18. The major change from 4.17 is the addition of US weather radio SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) decode. I've played with SAME on my scanner a bit. Its purpose is to alert local areas for bad weather.

The list of other modes is boggling:

110A (MIL-STD-188-110A/B), 1382 (1200 baud MSK), STANAG 4285, VHF ACARS, ALE, AMTOR/SITOR, ASCII, BPSK/QPSK 32/63/125/250, CHIP 64/128, Contestia, Coquelet, CW (OOK/Coherent/FSK), DGPS, Domino, DSC, DTMF, FAX, Hellschreiber (Feld/PSK/FM), JT65, MFSK8/16, MT63, Olivia, Packet/APRS, Pactor-I (used mostly for calling), PAX, PSK10/63F/220F, PSKAM, QRSS, RTTY, SELCAL, SSTV, and THROB.

Whew.

Hams will be able to take advantage of many features for logging, radio control (with 3rd-party software), and display of things like maps. For utility, the later versions have steadily added "professional" modes, such as SITOR-A, non-amateur RTTY speeds and shifts, and a SYNOP decoder (time limited w/o registration). Now, if I could only get good skip on Hamburg Meteo when the SYNOP codes are on.

The package includes another program called Clock, which decodes the data hidden in most time signals and GPS. After registration, it can set your computer clock. I've used this on several low-frequency European time signals via the WebSDR in Holland. This is close to a worst case for decode, given the Internet link's general instability. With considerable patience, though, I've managed decodes on nearly all stations at one time or another.

Anything this complicated is going to have a learning curve. Also, many people have been intimidated at first by the user interface. Now, I have come to like this. It's way faster than going through menus or trying to remember presets when you're in a hurry to grab onto some signal. The downside, though, is that there really are a lot of little buttons.

The colors have also turned some people off, though I don't mind them at all. They help group the aforementioned little buttons in a fairly logical manner.

How do the decodes stack up against other programs? Most of the time, just fine. I like SkySweeper better for FAX, but a lot of people hate it. DGPS might be better than SkySweeper, though DSCdecoder beats them both. SIGMIRA is somewhat better than either for STANAG 4285, though that mode really pushes the edge for any sound card decoder.

Where Multipsk has the general edge, for me anyway, is its use as a tool for attacking completely weird signals. This is especially true for the PSK variants.

I realize that the high-end government packages are often pretty good at this. But they aren't free/ $45. Case closed.

Digital Mode Programs That Work #1: DSCdecoder

DSC stands for Digital Selective Calling. It's an automated mode used with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). DSCdecoder is a small, sleek little utility which does exactly what its name promises. It decodes DSC calls, on all three bands (MF, HF, and VHF). These are output to the screen with the MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) of the calling and called station, plus the message type and any optionally transmitted data such as the reply frequency and mode. You can have the program search over the Internet for the MMSI and substitute it with the station/vessel name, if found.

DSCdecoder is good to just leave going and see what accumulates. DSC is not a busy mode, but it's a fun one to DX. This program does a really nice job of grabbing the real weak stuff.

There's more, though. This program also decodes Navtex (Navigational Telex) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). It does a similarly bang-up job on these. It's the best one of several ham-level programs that I use.

Navtex is a Sitor-B service on three primary frequencies. These are 518 kHz (main freq, nearly always in English), 490 kHz (specific nations and languages, not used in the US), and the more lightly used HF frequency of 4209.5 kHz. The Sitor-B waveform is very close to DSC's (on HF), though other parameters are quite different. Therefore, the decoder performs well on it too. Those who like to tweak things, and who can tune accurately, can set up the advanced decoder. The improvement is slight, but definite.

Navtex stations take turns broadcasting schedules of short, highly formatted, maritime safety and weather messages, from different coastal locations. These rotations typically repeat several times a day, usually every 4 hours. Professional GMDSS equipment keeps a list of headers and typically only prints new messages. Most large vessels will have a Navtex printer somewhere on the bridge.

Navtex is useful for weather forecasts, and it's also fun to DX. Navtex stations are designed for specific local coverage areas, but at night they can propagate amazingly well for this type of station.

The extra dividend is that any Sitor-B decoder that can handle Navtex will work on most other transmissions in this mode. These are all over HF, coming from coast guards and meteo services worldwide.

DGPS is an interesting mode, using minimum-shift keying (MSK). It takes some tuning around in its low band to find strong stations. Fortunately, these are being implemented pretty much worldwide.

Stations use two different baud rates, identifiable from their bandwidth. DGPS decoders for our use turn its packetized data streams into lines of rather cryptic text data. I mostly use this for DXing, and I have checked off an amazing number of DGPS stations, considering that it is designed as anything but a DX mode.

Not many PC programs do DGPS. (Mac users are lucky. They have MultiMode, an excellent program.) Two that do are this one and the no longer supported SkySweeper. I've run them side by side, and most of the time DSCdecoder has successfully recovered more packets.

DSCDecoder is available from www.coaa.uk. The first 21 days are free, so you can try it out, get over a bit of a learning curve, and see if it's for you. After that, it's 25 Euros (a little over 32 bucks at today's exchange).

How To Fix Sigmira

Sigmira is a popular and free Windows program that does a nice job on several digital modes, notably the difficult STANAG 4285 (a form of 8-ary 2400-symbol/sec phase-shift keying used by many NATO militaries). It's a neat little package written by a knowledgeable guy.

Unfortunately, Sigmira has developed a problem of unknown origin. Here, STANAG 4285 simply stopped working. Clicking the button in the menu did nothing. Others have had an error message relating to a "control window not available," even though it had been available the last time the program was run.

The programmer is aware of the issue and has a fix that has so far worked for myself and everyone I know of who has done it. It is necessary to replace a config file in Sigmira's home folder called features.dat so that the missing features become available again.

Go to (Sigmira's web page), and scroll down. You'll see the following:

2010/1/26
The features.dat file needs to be replaced. The replacement can be obtained here: features.dat Place it at /bin/features.dat.

Click the link (which will be available on the web page) and replace the defective features.dat in the directory mentioned. Start up Sigmira and watch it work right.

BREAKING NEWS: SkySweeper Decoder Program Is Discontinued!

This terse announcement was posted on Saturday to the SkySweeper mailing list:

Hello All,

All sales, marketing and development of SkySweeper Std, SkySweeper Plus and SkySweeper Pro will be discontinued from 1st of June 2009.

SkySweep Technologies LTD is now fully concentrating on the SkySweep Messenger product family and some other professional systems development.

SkySweeper support continues as it is until 1.1.2011.

The latest versions and manuals can be downloaded here:
http://www.skysweep.com/index-6.html

We would like to send our warmest thanks to all the SkySweeper users!

Mikko Huttunen

General Manager
SkySweep Technologies

Given the time difference between here and Finland, where the program was produced, June 1 has already come. SkySweeper is no more.

SkySweep Messenger is a commercial-grade messaging suite based on STANAG 4285, 4539, and 5066. It is also capable of the American MIL-STD-110A/B and MIL-STD-141 (more commonly known in the hobby as "ALE"). It has the usual e-mail and Internet connectivity. It is aimed at government users and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

SkySweeper was intended for either the more geeky hams or the hard core digital utility fans (in other words, us). It was a good deal for the price. It contained a great number of highly modular sub-programs, some working better than others, which could be combined in endless ways at the will at the user. More money got you more modules, not better code.

Dedicated, more specialized programs could often produce more accurate decodes of a few modes at a time, but with the loss of this modularity. SkySweeper allowed the user to string together decoders, analyzers, filters, processors, and transmitters into truly mind boggling series and parallel configurations. One could spend years experimenting with all this.

Best of all, Mikko was always available on the mailing list to answer newbie questions, gripes, and bug reports.

Mac users are lucky to still have Chris Smolinski's excellent MultiMode package. On the PC side, however, the departure of SkySweeper leaves a real gap in the market. There are still MixW and MultiPSK, both excellent multimode packages, but obviously aimed more at hams. On the high end, we still have the professional multi-mode products by HOKA, Wavecom, et al, but these are rightfully priced well beyond the means of most hobbyists.

I'm hoping that I'll still be able to move SkySweeper to new computers, because I'll be using it for a long time to come.