PSK Reporter

[K7VZ]

I was reading HERE (http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?t=251011)and saw someone posted a link to PSK Reporter. http://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html I punched my call sign in and was last heard 5 days ago. It looks like it only maps back 24 hours, so I'm going to try it again tonight and see what my propagation is.

[W6SDM]

That is a cool link! Thanks.

[K7VZ]

Here's the chunk of relevant text from that thread.


Send cq, a short two by two is sufficient. Wait about 10 to 15 seconds to repeat. Two by two is this:

cq cq de call call
cq cq de call call

Make sure all of your macro's have your call twice after the de. That is how the automatic detection works. If you only have your macro's set to

de call

instead of

de call call

you will not be picked up by the automatic detection monitors that are all over the world. You can see who is picking up your signal by sending cq or having a conversation and then going here:

http://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html

Enter your call and press go.

[KE7KUS]

The cross-platform digital mode software fldigi contains a lot of PSKReporter support:

http://www.w1hkj.com/Fldigi.html

Specifically, you can turn on automatic reporting and leave the program running, which will turn your station into a receiving station that automatically uploads stations heard to the server. (The PSKReporter website even keeps track of stations heard by country...leave it up and running for a few days and you'll be amazed at the number of DX stations that actually make it to your QTH. It also keeps track of stations heard by time, which can help you figure out when windows to certain DX locations are open.) VERY useful.

[W6SDM]

Okay, for us remedial PSK types, if I call CQ on 20 meters around 14.070 using PSK31 and the two-by-two format, I should get picked up and displayed on the PSK reporter, or is there something else I have to do?

Also, I am using FLDigi but I don't see anything related to automatic reporting.

[KE7KUS]

Automatic reporting in fldigi is enabled by clicking the "Spot" button at the top right corner of the main screen. (Should see a green dot in the button when spot reporting is enabled.)

You'll probably have to call CQ several (3-5) times to get picked up accurately enough to generate a report. I usually do 3 iterations of 3x2 several times and you should get picked up by someone.

[K7VZ]

It looks like I was picked up by 3 stations to the east tonight. Had a great QSO with Vic in Bettendorf, IA also. See screenshot.

624

[W6SDM]

Automatic reporting in fldigi is enabled by clicking the "Spot" button at the top right corner of the main screen. (Should see a green dot in the button when spot reporting is enabled.)

You'll probably have to call CQ several (3-5) times to get picked up accurately enough to generate a report. I usually do 3 iterations of 3x2 several times and you should get picked up by someone.

For some reason, my Spot button is greyed out. RxID and TxID are okay. I have checked every setup menu I can find... time for a little research.

[W6SDM]

Ah, a couple of spoonfulls of Geritol worked wonders. It's under configuration, misc, spotting. DUH!

[W6SDM]

Success. I left the radio and computer hooked up all day today and was, for most of the day, the only spotter in PSK Arizona. I guess I was hearing stuff all over the planet. You can check PSK reporter for stations heard by a particular station, which is what I did from work. Some guy in Texas sent me an e-mail and wanted to know how I could report the frequency accurate down to the 10Hz level. Actually, the Flex tunes and measures down to the 1Hz level, sending the Frequency via CAT to FLdigi.

So, here it is: Steve figured out a way to play with his ham radio from his desk at work. Slick, eh?

[W6SDM]

Here is a link to a pretty decent article about PSK reporter. http://f1jxq.passion-radio.org/ham-radio-amateur-2/psk-reporter-dx-propagation-tool-in-real-time/