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RTTY / ASCII

Now that you've entered the desired mode (let's assume RTTY), we'll walk through a sample of
RTTY operation. The same procedures will apply to ASCII operation. First, let's see how we can call
CQ in RTTY. Since we entered the RTTY Mode without any other parameters, we are operating at
45 baud (default and most commonly used) with a 170 Hz shift (again default and most common).

Next, we must place our transmitter into the transmit mode and enter the CQ message. To do this,
we first enter a

Ctrl-C T

directive, which places the transmitter in transmit. Then we would type:

RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY
CQ CQ CQ DE WK5M WK5M WK5M
CQ CQ CQ DE WK5M WK5M WK5M
CQ CQ CQ DE WK5M WK5M WK5M K K K

After we've typed this, we need to return to receive mode, but we want to be sure that the entire
message is transmitted (the transmit buffer is empty) so we'll use the

Ctrl-C E

directive.

When the transmitter turns off, we now tune the receiver, looking for a station answering our CQ.
Tuning RTTY and ASCII signals is simplified by use of the LED bargraph. While observing this indi-
cator system, tune for an alternate blinking of the end segments of the bargraph. Once the station
is tuned in, the terminal will begin to display the characters being received.

When the other station indicates, that it is our turn to transmit, we would again enter the

Ctrl-C T

directive to again begin transmitting. The data we type will now be sent over the air to the receiv-
ing station.

At the point we are ready to end the QSO, we simple shut down the transmitter using the

Ctrl-C E

directive and the QSO is ended. We can return to the command prompt (

cmd:

) and thus the Pack-

et Mode of operation by entering the directive

Ctrl-C X

Perhaps you would prefer to just monitor RTTY transmissions, looking for someone else who may
be calling CQ. After you have entered the RTTY Mode, simply start tuning (you're already in receiv-
ing mode). Again tune the receiver slowly until you receive the alternate blinking ends of the bar-
graph tuning indicator. If you fail to obtain this indication, try selecting a different shift. If you still
fail to obtain this indication using the standard shifts, the station may be using non-standard tones
which could be decoded by selecting MODEM SHIFT and using the MARK and SPACE commands to
set various tones until the tuning indicator gives the proper indication, it is still possible that the
signal may be at the wrong baud rate or the signal may be inverted. If the signal is at the incorrect
speed (baud rate) you may change your receive speed while receiving by using the

Ctrl-C

direc-

tive. If you think the signal may be inverted, you can invert the received signal by using the

Ctrl-C I

directive. This directive is a toggle type of operation – that is, the first time will invert the

signal and a second entry will return the signal to normal.

Now lets examine each of the commands relating to RTTY and ASCII operation to see the effect
each will have on these modes.

The ASCBAUD command sets the baud rate to be used when entering the ASCII Mode from the

cmd:

prompt with no speed specified. This setting is also used to set the baud rate when the

Ctrl-C Ø

directive is issued.