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Operating RTTY
This was my old RTTY station, I'll change the picture to the new radio after I get the
new web pages up and running. It consist of a computer, the TS140S, and the Signalink sound
card interface. The software I use is MixW, which allows you to operate a large number of
digital modes. I also use this same set up for operating CW.
You can see the Signalink above the radio and antenna tuner in the left center of
the picture. It is only about the size of a pack of cigarettes. The monitor shows the MixW
screens as I use them, though it is a little faded. I will get a better picture up soon.
RTTY is one of the digital modes that has been around for a while. There
are many computer programs around that will use the sound card in your computer
to generate the RTTY signal. In addition to the program you will also need a
Sound Card Radio Interface between your computer and radio. The program
generates the signal and sends it to the interface. The interface controls your
radio. All you have to do is type in your message to send, and read what is
received. Until very recently I had never operated RTTY. Having recently
purchased an interface and software I decided to give it a try.
Although it is not the best time to try out new software or a new mode, I
operated my first RTTY in the 2002 CQ/RJ RTTY contest. I didn't make it a
serious effort because I had other commitments that weekend, but I did want to
try the mode out and I figured there would be many stations on during the
contest.
After I finally figured out, more or less, how the program worked and how to set
the radio, I really enjoyed RTTY. My first contact was with HC8N in the
Galapagos Is. on 20 meters, which I didn't think was bad for a beginner. I'm don't remember
but I may have gotten through on the first call. There were several
stations that on CW or SSB would have had a pileup calling them, such as Jordan
or French Polynesia, but on RTTY it was one or two calls to get through. During
my limited time I worked 89 stations in 49 different countries. Not too bad for
50 watts and wire antennas.
The program I was using has Command Buttons and macros so it was point and
click. You edit the macro to contain the information you want to send when you
click that button. Once in a while you may have to type in information from the
keyboard, but in contesting that doesn't happen very often. Of course for operating
outside of contest you would probably want to type in most of the information
from the keyboard and only use the macros for repetitive information.
If you've never operated RTTY give it a try, I think you'll like it.