Category Archives: Digital Modes

Trilingual VOA Radiogram this weekend

VOA Radiogram on 17 and 18 August will include our first attempt to transmit Chinese characters. (It’s part of a VOA Chinese story about the future of BlackBerry.) And there will be a VOA News story in Spanish. To view the Spanish accents and the Chinese characters, your character set should be UTF-8. In Fldigi: Configure > Colors & Fonts to change the character set.

The broadcast will also include an Flmsg VOA News story including an SVG-formatted VOA logo created by Mark Hirst in the UK. If you have Internet Explorer, and cannot see the logo, try renaming the Flmsg file with an .xhtml suffix.

If you listen to more than one broadcast of VOA Radiogram this weekend, close Flidigi and restart it between broadcasts. This is because something in Flmsg turns off the UTF-8 character set, even though Fldigi is still configured for UTF-8.

Two of this weekend’s VOA News stories on VOA Radiogram feature VOA journalists who are radio amateurs. VOA Asia correspondent Steven Herman, W7VOA (@W7VOA), is interviewed about his visit to North Korea, and George Putic, KI4FNF, wrote the story about the renewed search for extraterrestrial life.

And there will be a VOA News story about a way to keep older brains healthy — other than experimenting with digital modes.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, 17 and 18 August 2013:

3:04 MFSK16: Program preview
4:50 MFSK32: VOA Spanish logo and news re VOA app
1:46 MFSK32: VOA Chinese logo and sample text
3:26 MFSK32: VOA News re benefits of hot chocolate
1:22 MFSK32: VOA Radiogram logo and addresses
4:43 MFSK64: VOA’s W7VOA visits North Korea
1:18 MFSK32: Photo of W7VOA in Pyongyang
3:28 MFSK64/Flmsg*: VOA’s KI4FNF on search for extraterrestrials
1:18 MFSK32: Photo of Gemini Observatory
1:12 MFSK16: Closing announcements
0:16 Surprise mode of the week

*To make Flmsg work with Fldigi (both can be downloaded from w1hkj.com), in Fldigi: Configure > Misc > NBEMS — Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg.exe file is located.

As always, reception reports are much appreciated and should be sent to[email protected]

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

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VOA Radiogram, 10-11 August 2013, includes MFSK 16, 22, 32

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

In this weekend’s VOA Radiogram, one VOA News item will be in the MFSK22 mode (80 words per minute), a mode we have generally not used for complete VOA News stories.

Another “feature” in this weekend’s program will be five seconds of silence whenever modes are changed. This might improve the performance of the RSID.

The Flmsg-formatted VOA News story in this weekend’s program is 9 minutes, 6 seconds long. That might seem unusually long, but it includes 4 minutes, 20 seconds for a VOA logo in SVG format as part of the html. This was created for us by Mark Hirst in the UK.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, 10-11 August 2013:

2:30 MFSK16: Program preview

3:26 MFSK22: VOA News re import of Apple products

3:12 MFSK32: Greetings to l’Associazione Italiana Radioascolto

2:10 MFSK32 image: AIR logo

9:06 MFSK32/Flmsg*: VOA News re one year of Curiosity on Mars

2:26 MFSK32 image: Curiosity tire tracks

1:10 MFSK16: Closing announcements

2:20 Surprise image, text, image of the week

*To make Flmsg work with Fldigi (both can be downloaded from w1hkj.com), in Flmsg: Configure > Misc > NBEMS — Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg.exe file is located.
VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Please send your reception reports, audio samples, screenshots, comments, ideas, suggestions to[email protected] .

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VOA Radiogram 3-4 August includes MFSK and EasyPal

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

If you are an EasyPal fan, EasyPal returns this weekend with a striking image of the Las Vegas skyline. Don’t be too disappointed if you cannot decode the EasyPal image. A certain signal threshold is required, and the failure rate is rather high.

In recording the program for this weekend, I applied audio compression to my voice introduction and to the music at the end of the show — but not to the digital tones. Perhaps you will notice the difference.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 3 and 4 August 2013:

2:30 MFSK16: Program preview
:45 MFSK32: VOA logo image
5:22 MFSK32: VOA News re 3D printed heart
1:00 MFSK32: Heart image
4:15 MFSK64 in Flmsg* format: VOA News re oxygen in Mars’s past
1:15 MFSK32: Mars image
7:05 EasyPal image** (4-QAM)
1:08 MFSK16: closing announcements
1:17 MFSK32: VOA Radiogram logo image
:55 Surprise mode of the week

*To make Flmsg work with Fldigi (both can be downloaded from w1hkj.com), in Flmsg: Configure > Misc > NBEMS — Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg.exe file is located.

**Download EasyPal software from vk4aes.com.

Please send reception reports to [email protected]

These would be especially helpful:

1) Audio samples of poor reception which nevertheless results in a successful decoding of the text modes.

2) Reception of the digital modes on less expensive portable radios, and any advice you have on how to feed audio from those radios to your PC and the decoding software.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina

Thanks for listening and decoding.

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VOA Radiogram this weekend

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

Some listeners were impressed with the performance of last weekend’s surprise mode: MT63-1000 long interleave, especially as it was mixed with music. For that reason, VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 20-21 July will include a VOA News story in the MT63-2000L mode (200 wpm), followed by the same story in the MFSK64 mode (240 wpm).

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, 20-21 July 2013:

2:20 MFSK16: Program preview

4:31 MFSK16: VOA News about quartz glass for data storage

2:04 MFSK32: Image of data stored in silica glass

3:59 MFSK32: VOA News about end of India’s telegram service

2:42 MFSK32: Image of sign at telegram office

2:53 MT63-2000L: VOA News about new materials for solar cells

2:32 MFSK64: Same VOA News about new materials for solar cells

1:10 MFSK32: Image of molecularspace.org logo

1:08 MFSK16: Closing announcements

1:11 Surprise image

The audio processor will not be used this weekend.

Please send reception reports to [email protected].

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VOA Radiogram includes EasyPal comparison this weekend

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

During the weekend of 29-30 June 2013, VOA Radiogram will continue experiments with the EasyPal digital image software. EasyPal will be transmitted in both its 4-QAM and 16-QAM settings to see if the former can be decoded in conditions where the latter cannot. Download EasyPal from vk4aes.com.

VOA Radiogram for 29-30 June 2013:

2:31 MFSK16: Program preview

4:19 MFSK32: VOA News: “super-earths”

2:05 MFSK32: Accompanying image

:23 MFSK32: Introduction to MFSK64

2:15 MFSK64: VOA News: China space mission

2:53 MFSK32: Accompanying image

:33 MFSK32: Introduction to EasyPal

7:00 EasyPal 4-QAM: “super moon” in Greece

2:40 EasyPal 16-QAM “super moon” in Singapore

1:08 MFSK16: Closing announcements

:24 Surprise mode of the week

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule (all days and times UTC):

Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz

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VOA Radiogram this weekend mixes bad noise with good noise

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VOARadioGram (Source: VOA Radiogram)

During the past weekend, we experimented with mixing music with MFSK text modes. Reducing the MFSK modes by 9 dB was not a problem if the signal level was good, but the MFSK text did break up for some listeners if reception conditions were marginal.

This weekend, 15 and 16 June, we will mix some actual noise taken from shortwave with MFSK text. After the noise begins, a VOA News story in MFSK16 will first be transmitted at full level, then reduced to -6 dB, then reduced to -12 dB. I will probably lose many of you when the level is reduced to -12 dB, but please stay tuned: the audio level will soon be restored.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, 15 and 16 June 2013:

2:10 MFSK16: Program preview

1:58 MFSK16: Introduction to noise experiment

10:09 MFSK16: At -0 -6 -12 dB versus noise

:59 MFSK16: Image of VOA logo

:47 MFSK16: Introduction to MFSK32

:51 MFSK32: Image of VOA logo

3:19 MFSK32: VOA News re Curiosity Rover on Mars MFSK32: VOA Radiogram logo

2:40 EasyPal Image of the week

1:10 MFSK16: Closing announcements

:20 Surprise mode of the week

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule

(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz

All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Please send reception reports to [email protected]

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Radio Australia transmitting digital radiograms this weekend, June 8 – 9

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Most encouraging to see Radio Australia sending digital text over shortwave. Their 12:30 UTC broadcast should be easily heard in North America on 9,850 kHz:

(Source: VOA Radiograms)

Radio Australia will transmit digital text and an image during three special broadcasts the weekend of 8 and 9 June 2013.

The seven-minute broadcasts will consist of…

MFSK16 text
MFSK32 text
MFSK32 in Flmsg* format (creates Radio Australia logo in browser window)
MFSK32 image (ABC logo)

*Fldigi and Flmsg from www.w1hkj.com must be used together. In Fldigi, click Configure > Misc > NBEMS: Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg program file is located.

Transmission schedule

All dates/times are in UTC, all frequencies in kHz

Saturday/Sunday 8/9 June 2013

Nominal target areas are listed. Reception beyond these target areas is likely.

0850-0857 UTC

7410 kHz (PNG & south-west Pacific)

11945 kHz (south Pacific, NZ, central America, Europe)

1230-1237 UTC

6080 kHz (PNG, west Pacific, Philippines, Japan)

9580 kHz (central Pacific, NAM)

12065 kHz (central Pacific, NAM)

2150-2157 UT C

11695 kHz (south-east Asia, Europe)

21740 kHz (central Pacific, NAm)

Each broadcast begins with with 40 seconds of Radio Australia interval signal (Waltzing Matilda).