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MARS-ALE SE v2.00 Build B200A0 Quick Start Up Guide

1. Trace RX Words would be of additional benefit to the operator If you are one of the program developer s and or know all there is to know about the details as specified in MIL STD 188 141A FS 1045A and MIL STD 188 110A FS 1052 then perhaps you may understand all the data that can be displayed However even the SDT at this juncture is NOT even fluent in the language of Tracing Trace Fes words ARANING Trace functions bring the Trace Ta words nek of DSF function perormance Hace Glace degradedation and the occasional loss of SLE words Trace Events Trace Commands Unchecking 4 Trace feature does not competely release the feature to OFF Until restarting the tool Tracel imers Trace FS 1052 Using all but Trace FS 1052 the following data was captured on the receiving end of the an Individual Call being made from by a calling station via two radios on dummy loads See if you understand what it all means can you tell where it starts and were it ends and all that took place Event EV RX FRAME END State SCANNING STOPPED RESUME SCAN Event EV RX FRAME END END OF FRAME TWS AAR2EYMARS RX CH 15 START OF NORMAL FRAME State PAUSE SCAN TO LISTEN FOR CALL AFTER WORD SYNC Event EV RX FRAME BEGIN Event EV AQC FRAME END State SCANNING STOPPED 66 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 RESUME SCAN Event EV AQC FRAME END RPT 908DFA RPT F1195E TO AAR TO AAR
2. MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 FS 1052 FTP This is the fastest way to send a file with the tool It will support sending a binary file or ASCII file It is best to only send small files no larger than 10Kb at this time The maximum FTP file is 500Kb as coded At this time after each FS 1052 FTP message the transmitting station needs to break the link then reestablish the link to send the next message The receiving station will find the file if successful in their DOWNLOAD directory where the MARS ALE executable EXE file is located The sending and receiving station may get a lot of messages during this one When completed successfully the sending station will get a message similar to 02 39 50 FRQ xxxxxxxx CLEARED AAR2EY 02 38 14 REMOTE TRANSFER OK temp dnload ALE Iconl jpg 02 39 44 FS 1052 Message Confirm ID 0 AAR2EY 01 47 41 LOCAL SENDING D temp dnload ALE Iconl jpg FED STD 1052 Protocols Messages under MARS ALE FS 1052 can be up to 32KB in size and Terminate when done works will clear the ALE link when the message has been sent FS 1052 BRD with and without Terminate when done works Broadcast BRD will send the message for as many re transmissions are selected under the FS 1052 DLP Appendix B Options menu the default being 1 There is no handshake with BRD FS 1052 ARQ with and without Terminate when done works In ARQ mode the message is
3. TO AAR RX CH 15 START OF NORMAL FRAME State PAUSE SCAN TO LISTEN FOR CALL AFTER WORD SYNC Event EV RX FRAME BEGIN Event EV AQC FRAME END State SCANNING STOPPED RESUME SCAN Event EV AQC FRAME END TO AAR TO AAR RX CH 15 START OF NORMAL FRAME State PAUSE SCAN TO LISTEN FOR CALL AFTER WORD SYNC Event EV RX FRAME BEGIN Event EV AQC FRAME END State SCANNING STOPPED RESUME SCAN Event EV AQC FRAME END TO AAR TO AAR TO AAR RX CH 15 START OF NORMAL FRAME State PAUSE SCAN TO LISTEN FOR CALL AFTER WORD SYNC Event EV RX FRAME BEGIN 23 49 38 FRQ xxxxxxxx AMD AAR2ZEYMARS DE AAR2ZEY BT SITREP PSE BT AR The answer to the above question is likely NO which is why not having all those Trace features enabled is no great loss to you However NOT having them enabled is a BIG benefit as they do degrade the performance of the program at present It is recommended that all Tracing be UNCHECKED except when just monitoring if you are looking to LINK and exchanged data with the least amount of impact to the process do NOT having any Tracing checked It you want to observe the operation of the tool while monitoring other stations or if you are just being experimental and you want observe what takes place while performing casual LINKING and data exchange and understand that the tools performance with be degraded that check the Trace feature you feel that you n
4. ALWAYS are interactive only one state can be selected at a time ALWAYS means the MIL STD 188 110 modem is always operational even when no ALE link pre exists OFF LINKED ALWAYS are interactive only one state can be selected at a time NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESENT Selects MIL STD 188 110A ASYNC operation NOTE ASYNC FS 1052DLP and future modes like SYNC 5066 are interactive only one state can be selected at a time Selects FED STD 1052 Data Link Protocol DLP operation NOTE ASYNC FS 1052DLP and future modes like SYNC 5066 are interactive only one state can be selected at a time BRD and ARQ options are selected from the message dialog when supported SEI MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 5066 ARQ FTP Data Rate Select Button Click select BPS S L PSK Carrier Frequency Symbol Rate Modem Parameters Unchecked 600S 1200hz 1600BPS TBD PLANNED Selects NATO STANAG 5066 operation This data rate selection pull down menu is for FS 1052 ARQ and FTP mode support only at this time At first this button is BLANK When clicked it provides a pull down selection of 75 4800 BPS with combinations of SHORT S and LING L Interleave and NONE for 4800 BPS NOTE At this time the firt ARQ or FTP transmission will always be at 600BPS either SHORT or LONG as the Interleave is selected on the FS 1052 Appendix B Options menu NOTE 75BPS L should be used on the worst
5. Appendix A standard AQC When checked your station will make AQC calls when initiating any ALE call including Sounding All stations that are capable of AQC operation are 18 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Unchecked AQC Burst HE ee 8 This IS Sound Unchecked Display Sounds Display Bad Data Checked always able to receive an ALE or AQC ALE call and respond accordingly NOTE There is a control on the front panel of the tool that will toggle this setting which upon normal program shut will cause the setting to change as well NOTE The ALE Mode indicator which reads NEITHER when the program starts will display ALTERNATE when an AQC call is heard or an AQC LINK is established baseline ALE calls will result in NORMAL NOTE Only 6 character addresses or less can be used AQC ALE for both the transmit and receive Address The software traps for this situation and will alert the operator if the OWN for the current channel is greater than 6 characters PLANNED Sends a PSK burst signal using the settings selected from the MIL STD 188 110 Options menu The standard only supports the 1800hz PSK carrier and 2400bps symbol rate for a full 300 3300hz total bandwidth NOTE There is also a new control on the front panel of the tool that will toggle this setting which upon normal program shut will cause the setting to change as well NOT IMPLEMNTED Linking Protection provides for levels
6. channel conditions 150 300 on poor channels and 300 and above on good channels NOTE 75BPS selection negates the PSK carrier and Symbol Rate selections from the MIL STD 188 110 menu and requires a full 3Khz IF BW Supports the user selection of PSK carrier which along with PSK carrier determines the BW of 1200 1500 and 1800hz The standard PSK carrier per MIL STD 188 110 and FS 1052 is 1800hz For MARS to MARS use 1200hz is recommended as Amateur Radio grade transceivers with less than 3Khz BW IF filtering can not handle the 1800hz carrier and Symbol Rate of 2400BPS which extends to 3 3Khz BW at it is to wide thus the use of 1200hz and 1600BPS for a 2Khz BW covering 200 2200hz total bandwidth is recommended NOTE The next combination would be 1500hz and 1600BPS for 500 2500hz total bandwidth NOTE For 1200hz PSK Carrier only 1600BPS 2 0Khz BW is supported Supports the user selection of Symbol Rate which along with PSK carrier determines the BW of 2400BPS 3Khz BW which is the MIL STD 188 110 and FS 1052 standard symbol rate and 1600 2Khz BW 1800 2 25Khz BW and 2000BPS 2 5Khz BW NOTE For 1200hz PSK Carrier only 1600BPS 2 0Khz BW is supported PLANNED Supports the user selection of various MIL STD 188 110 modem parameters which are currently fixed MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 FS 1052 Appendix B Options Menu The FS 1052 Appendix B Options menu does not exist in LE
7. e Tones N C Syne E a A review of the Tune display reveals that there are 27 vertical bars The 6th one in the audio spectrum represents the beginning the ALE 8 ary at 750hz and then every other one is another tone in the 8 ary which consists of 8 tones stepped at 250hz the discrete tones being 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 and 2500hz The first bar in the display is at 125hz and each bar is a step of 125hz in frequency ranging from 125hz to 3275hz for the last bar Thus the seven frequency marks for the bars between the 8 ary tones are at 875 1125 1375 1625 1875 2125 and 2375hz As can be seen 1625hz is the center to which your radio IF SHIFT needs to be set if you are not using a 3Khz IF BW SSB filter The 8 ary tones are represented by the first GREEN bar for 750hz alternating every other GREEN bar in 250hz steps to 2500hz Thus the bars in between are NOT part of the 8 ary signaling tones and thus during ALE linking etc do NOT turn from GREEN to RED only the 8 ary tones go to RED when SYNC is achieved and held as data is being decoded 62 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 During data reception the amplitude of the 750hz first GREEN bar and the 2500hz last GREEN bar is not totally comparable for passband as these are SYNC levels of the data bits bits in an ALE word being received and not signal audio amplitude being displayed Also the lower tones representing data bits will be used more th
8. in from its internal state tables With AQC ALE the link state can be had from looking at the received frame Thus SYNC for linking and messaging is much improved with AQC ALE Lastly at times when attempting to establish an ALE LINKed state or between handshakes with messages the yellow envelope may be gray rather yellow as seen below This will often happen when the signal is too strong or too weak or during multi path channel conditions or when a very strong signal comes along within your passband or just adjacent When this happens during linking or messaging you may see a delay with the new modem and then it will go Yellow as seen below 65 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 F However it may remain gray in which case you will need to select Tools gt Reset Modem as seen below to manually reset the modem MIL S5STD 188 141 treie Channels Ad Voice ID Radio Control Reset Modem Tracing TRACING DETAILS With respect to MARS ALE its different under PC ALE and not recommended for use at all on the main menu under tools exists the selection of Tracing This feature provides seven check boxes to enable disable the display of data related to Received RX Words Transmitted TX Words program States program Events program Commands program Timers and FS 1052 parameters These are basically Engineering tools The operator normally does not need to have them on at most the
9. in seconds determines how long during Scanning your station RANGE 1 86400 will pause to listen to a channel during an ALE transmission before continuing to scan For normal operation it is recommended that 10 seconds be used to enable monitoring of channel activity Successive ALE channel activity will reset the Listen Timer with each decoded ALE transmission thus the time paused on the channel can be extended well beyond 10 seconds if Listen Calls is enabled MOTD AMD Length Text MOTD stands for Message Of The Day This is an Message item that is NOT an ALE standard capability and should be used with caution It must NOT be used 64 ASCIl only for AQC ALE operation It will cause an unattended station message to be sent upon an ALE LINKed state if MOTD is checked An example being AAR2EY FN20 KAM NOTE MOTD is NOT defined in MIL STD 188 141 A FS 1045A as MOTD however it is permitted by the standards as an AMD However it appears that some commercial ALE controllers are not capable of handling an AMD during a LINKing call setup or an MOTD NOTE Linked TWX which should always be checked for MARS use MUST be checked for MOTD to work properly ALE hardware stations must be configured for Orderwire Handshake ATU Type NONE ATU support is Channel by Channel when the channel is changed in any manor when ATU enabled is checked If NONE is selected then no ATU support is active NONE If no ATU control is desired NONE s
10. select your radio make model directly if not listed refer to Appendix A of the Radio Help Operator Guide for a compatible selection for your make model radio If none contact the SDT with your radio info 3 For a radio under PC control either check RTS or DTR for PTT with an external interface or uncheck both RTS and DTR for or CAT PTT RTS cannot be used for PTT when hardware handshaking is being utilized for any radio type where its mandatory or optionally being used NOTE Selecting DTR for PTT drops the DTR line and removes it as a source of D C power for external level converters NOTE For Kenwood radios where other than 4800 baud operation is desired the Custom Port Parameter must be used Enable Disable Unchecked Only check when you want your station to actually MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 TRANSMIT during Scanning NOTE There is also a new control on the front panel of the tool that will toggle this setting which upon normal program shut will cause the setting to change as well Polling If a station has not been heard for a period of time the software will actively try to exchange LQA RER information It is better not to enable this as it causes congestion and has not been fully tested for Sounding also see Polling above TBD When checked during Scanning ALE linking calls will only be made on channels where the LQA Ranked User Discretion station s being call
11. 0khz FDISTISPNA BROT 1 DIOU I N w S MIN 150 F5 100 RC 10 ARQE00S CAP NUM SCRL With respect to the current status bar as depicted in the above image the breakdown for the coded information display is for the boxes from left to right as follows Boker E HON Ree ee ee er er er ee eee l Channel Mode information always displayed can be frequency or channel number as selected on the MIL STD 188 141 menu using checking Freq Display for full frequency information Scan Link Status etc numerous messages are displayed No changes made here RX or TX after first use No changes made here MIL STD 188 110 modem status OFF LINKED ALWAYS MIL STD 188 110 modem mode AYSNC FS1052 etc MIL STD 188 110 modem PSK carrier frequency in Hertz Hz MIL STD 188 110 modem Bandwidth BW in Kilohertz Khz MIL STD 188 110 modem parameters Data Bits Start Bits Stop Bits Parity None Even Odd Alphabet ASCII Baudot 9 FS 1052 Options Menu BRD Transmissions BRDT 1 50 10 FS 1052 Options Menu BRD Data Rate and Interleave DLP75S to DLP4800 II Immediate Mode I will be displayed if checked otherwise left blank 12 Negotiate Always N will be displayed if checked otherwise left blank 13 ARQ Mode F FIXED V VARIABLE C CIRCUIT 14 ARQ Interleaver S for SHORT or L for LONG a a ee IK Minimum ARQ Data Rate MIN xxxx where 75 2400 16 ARQ Frame Size FS 56 1023 17 ARQ Retry Count RC 1 100 18 ARQ Data Rate Int
12. ALO no link protection and AL1 AL2 linking protection NOTE Access is disabled at present as the link protection configuration as the support is incomplete Checked when Sounding operation is desired if a pause for a response is desired It causes the transmitted frames to be terminated in THIS IS TIS when Sounding After a sounding the controller listens on the channel before returning to Scanning when operating in this mode When NOT checked it causes the transmitted frames to be terminated in a That Was TWS and the tool does not pause to listen for any calls while actively Sounding to allow for all queued channels to be Sounded on schedule When checked causes the display of received sounds on the operator console It must be checked if you want sounding transmissions to be displayed Even with this disabled the controller is saving the information away for later use Unchecked When enabled this displays frames whose CRCs are 19 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 incorrect This was designed to be used for receiving unacknowledged data frames during either DTM or DBM messaging Listen Calls User Discretion Listen to calls between other stations and not to your station Listen Calls needs to be checked and Listen Time needs to be long enough to display the amount of desired channel activity to include AMD traffic If checked a pause will To display DTM and DBM traffic ENABLE take pl
13. MARS ALE HIGH NOISE LEVELS STATIC CRASHES AND MULTIPATH Fast AGC is required for AQC ALE and recommended for ALE but it may not always the best setting AGC reduces the overall gain of our receiver usually in the IF stages but sometimes also in front end RF stages The methods used for AGC gain reduction almost always reduce the usable dynamic range If a high noise level hangs your S meter at S 9 half of your receiver s dynamic range is no longer available If we attenuate the input so that the noise barely activates the AGC we have nearly all the dynamic range available to handle various signals When poor channel conditions exist such as high noise levels static crashes that causes TUNE Sync pulse vertical line to change back and forth rapidly from RED to GREEN the receiving station can try to adjust their AGC setting from the normal FAST AGC to SLOW or MEDIUM AGC if needed even AGC OFF may be tried for ALE however for AQC ALE it must always be set to FAST AGC There is another problem with the effect of noise on AGC AGC reduces the average signal level with its relatively long recovery time but AGC detectors have a fast attack which responds to peaks Noise has a disproportionate effect on AGC since noise has very high peak levels with low average power As a result it takes less noise power to activate the AGC than signal power When noise is reduced ahead of the AGC detector using your attenuator the signal to noise im
14. Port 1 at program start should another antenna switching device such as the DTS series be selected for use in conjunction with the AT200PC in support of more ports Please refer to the appropriate application notes for the hardware details on the AT200PC and DTS x antenna switches IMPORTANT The AT200PC must be trained on all ALE channels prior to use with MARS ALE This simply means that the AT200PC must be used on each antenna port with each antenna that will be used for all ALE channels to save all the data to its memories for Memory Tuning operation How it works The ATU is enabled if checked for a given channel else its turned off When the radio in Scanning Sounding just before it goes into transmit the Fo is sent to the AT200PC just as it is sent to the radio in QS S In single channel operation this occurs each time the user manually changes the channel Thus with the AT200PC trained for all the channels being used for ALE it will instantly be ready for use However as the unit is set for Auto Tuning should the VSWR be higher than the VSWR Threshold MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Setpoint fixed at 1 7 1 for now user selectable in the future then with RF applied Memory Tuning will take place and proceed to a Full Tune if no data in memory achieves a VSWR less than the selected VSWR threshold Thus it is recommended to make use of one of the two forms of ATU tuning tone generation to prevent an
15. Start Guide Released 06 27 08 This guide is designed for the first time user of MARS ALE those with PC Sound Device Modem PCSDM experience using other software and modes Ce MT 63 must NOT make any assumptions that their existing PC to radio interfacing and sound device levels as configured for other digital communication applications previously used will work properly with MARS ALE It is STRONGLY recommended that all directions as to how to configure your audio levels and radio parameters for MARS ALE be followed to obtain the best results as MARS ALE is not just another sound card digital mode program This document provides the basics of ALE and MARS ALE operations for complete details regarding the application of MARS ALE please refer to the MARS ALE User Guide For complete details of CAT Radio Control and PC Sound Device Modem interfacing please see the MARS ALE Radio Help User Guide and appendixes For more in depth technical back ground on ALE please refer to the Federal and Military Standards referenced in the MARS ALE documentation ALE FREQUENCY SELECTION The following is directly quoted from HF ALE MULTI SERVICE TACTICS TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE HIGH FREQUENCY AUTOMATIC LINK ESTABLISHMENT HF ALE RADIOS FM 6 02 74 MCRP 3 40 3E NTTP 6 02 6 AFTTP I 3 2 48 COMDTINST M2000 7 SEPTEMBER 2003 page 21 3 Frequency Selection a For ALE to function properly frequency selection is important When
16. appear in the ADDRESS window of the Data Bar you will need to manually type in for Data Bar use which is always the case with the PC ALE Data Bar To see all stations that you are INLINK with if more than one you must still use the menu ADDRESS gt LINKED or the MMI command LINKED The Data Bar has a few command buttons on it as follows REUSE LAST CLEAR MSG RESET MODEM and MILS BRD the later of which will only be displayed if your increase the default size of the tool on your desktop REUSE LAST when clicked will paste the last MSG CLI text back into the MSG CLI text entry window for editing or immediate reuse which is very handy especially if using an AMD and you did not hear the other station respond at all CLEAR 75 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MSG just clears the Message Window and updates the log if Log to Disk is active RESET MODEM is the same as using Tools gt Reset Modem except now its real handy when if needed MILS BRD is MARS Immediate Link Step MILS Broadcast which I will explain in detail herein The Data Bar operates in three modes one is as an Man Machine Interface MMI Command Line Interface CLI when MMI CLI is checked where you can enter any MMI commands and then just hit ENTER the ENTER key is also supported in the CLI under the TUNE display now to execute the MMI command As the Data Bar can be closed and will like be for most stations running as BBS stations as it takes up valuab
17. data throughput rates than available via basic ALE FSK modem signaling structure may be utilized to include the MARS ALE supported MIL STD 188 110 PSK modem using BRD FEC and ARQ FED STD 1052 Data Link Protocols or via the use of external hardware based Terminal Node Controller TNC Modem ARQ Protocols such as CLOVER x GTOR and PACTOR x OVERVIEW This start up document provides information regarding the installation configuration and basic application of the MARS ALE tool Also contained is a synopsis of information Software Configuration TUNE Display Window ALE Data Protocols and Modes PC Sound Device Modem Radio Parameters and more that will be found in greater detail in the other MARS ALE documentation If your radio station is already configured for digital communications using the PC Sound Device a k a Sound Card as Modem and for CAT HF radio control and you only read and follow the directions outlined within this document you should be able to start using MARS ALE immediately after installing the software and placing your LICENSE DAT file into the same directory you installed the MARS ALE ALE EXE program and after entering all the needed setup parameters and station specific information detailed herein However it is highly recommended that you read all of the documentation especially the MARS ALE User Manual and Radio Help User Guide and appendixes for a complete understanding of the tool MARS ALE v2 00 Quick
18. entered for the Muted audio level if your radio supports CAT RX audio and not CAT MUTE UNMUTE commands Radio 1 Comm Port 1 16 This is the RS 232 Communications port COM port assignment for Radio Control and external interface PTT line RTS DTR as well as external Speaker Muting RTS DTR control Radio and RTS DTR NOTE See the Custom Port Parameters CCP selection section below to use other than default port parameters for radios where supported Full details can be found in the MARS ALE Radio Help User Guide Appendix A NOTE After this has been changed on the MIL STD 188 141 Options menu it is necessary to close the program and restart it for the change to take effect NOTE Most USB port VCP RS 232 devices will likely work at or below 9600 baud Above 9600 baud may require testing more than one unit before finding one that works well The SDT has found that the Belkin F5U109 with the latest drivers performs 100 up to 57600 baud in actual testing Radio 1 Alt PTT Port 0 16 RS 232 Communications port COM port assignment is for Radiol PTT for an external interface PTT line RTS DTR as well as external Speaker Muting RTS DTR control only at this tme Alternate RTS and DTR for PTT MUTE purposes If O is entered then its not enabled and the Radio 1 Comm Port will be used for RTS and DTR purposes if 1 16 is entered then this port will be used for RTS and DTR purposes ATU Comm Port 0 16 RS 232 Communicat
19. file If any errors are made in editing the QRG file the program will display SYNTAX errors when loading the QRG file NOTE To load a QRG file from the Main Menu select FILL click on Load ORG Edit GROUP name Select NO LABEL 0 At the bottom of the dialog select Edit Current or any GROUP of Group Text You will change NO LABEL 0 in interest to rename and this process For practice enter MARS MARS by clicking on that will now be your PRIMARY scan GROUP GROUP radio button Repeat these steps for each scan GROUP you desire to edit for use NOTE If you have the need for more than the GROUPSs supported at one time you can save your GROUPs Channels to a QRG file and LOAD in a replacement set and rotate them as needed Add Channel The Add Channel dialog Edit Channel is basically the same provides access to the selected GROUP to add an additional channel At this time Key are not implemented At least one GROUP must be selected to add the channel parameters From 1 to 16 GROUPS may be selected to associate the channel parameters being added Add Channel Frequency Kode Ta o Hz juse ho Ta dudio Level Usage Permission 8 Key BOTH TXRX Dwn Address o TA Ant Port ATU Enable NO LABEL 8 NO LABEL NO LABEL 10 NO LABEL 11 NO LABEL 12 NO LABEL 13 NO LABEL 14 NO LABEL 15 MO LABEL D MO LABEL 1 HO LABEL 3 HO LABEL 4 HO LABEL 5 NO LABEL 6 NO LABEL 7 H
20. gain adjustments NOTE You MUST use a tool like QuickMix at present to save and refresh the course sound panel volume setting See MARS ALE Radio Help User Guide for full details PC Sound Device Sound Card input level from receiver to sound device Line In For course adjustment with TUNE display in Tones mode adjust PC sound device RX audio level so that the Purple bar is never more than half way NOTE Audio Isolation transformers MUST be used NOTE Normally we do NOT use MIC IN it should be disabled on sound device control panel See MARS ALE Radio Help User Guide for full details When CAT MUTING is enabled for transceivers that support CAT control of RX speaker level audio The use must select the state of MUTING when unmated this entry will be used for the radio RX audio The user needs to enter a value here in the range of 0 100 or 0 255 for pleasant RX audio level when UNMUTED NOTE For radios that provide a CAT MUTE and UNMUTE command even if RX speaker level is supported at present the MUTE UNMUTE commands are automatically used NOTE In the future based on specific radio make model the user will be able to select the MUTE method if their radio supports more than one 27 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 where RTS DTR will be a common selection for all radios Muted Audio Range 0 255 As with UnMuted audio above if RX level is supported by the radio a value needs to
21. hunting for SYNC with each sample the modem was looking for the tone with the greatest magnitude and added a fraction of that to the sum of all previous decayed magnitudes for that symbol position That was stored in a 64 position buffer The SYNC point was considered as the position with the greatest magnitude There are a number of problems with this 1 Multi path degrade the SYNC point NOTE A poor BER reading and a good SN is an indicator of a lot of multi path on the channel and conversely a good BER and poor SN means little to no multi path conditions Both good BER and SN readings are the best situation 2 Timing is required for the Attack Decay constants to allow fast SYNC acquisition and slow SYNC decay so that SYNC it does NOT drop out on fades 3 The ALE tones don t necessarily change on each symbol so you cannot be guaranteed to get 8 ms pulses 4 If the TX RX sample clocks are not the same the symbol positions will drift You may have to add remove bits from the bit stream to maintain symbol alignment 60 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MARS ALE contains an improved modem core over earlier versions with a new bit SYNC routine that copes with PC sound devices that have slightly off frequency sample clocks when using the MFSK ALE waveform It parallel decodes the ALE symbol in 4 positions 0 16 32 48 samples into the symbol When it finds SYNC it chooses the SYNC position that has the biggest ma
22. not at this time enter an ADDRESS and have TNC selected to initiate an external TNC Modem link unless you use the MMI CLI interface selection The use of DBM is in my opinion the better choice vs DTM or AMD for FSK modem keyboarding be it BRD or ARQ with the default Retries and Frame Size settings now being used a typical 80 90 character or less line of text fires off fast and both stations can go back and forth at a nice rate in keyboard to keyboard The selection of BRD vs ARQ when ALE linked will automatically ENABLE DISABLE the LinkedTWX setting for BRD vs ARQ for DTM and DBM however the AMD support is locked into LinkedTWX via the Data Bar also the tool will now automatically set up in LinkedTWX at both program start and when Scanning is started if it was turned off To use the FS 1052 support the MIL STD 188 110 modem must be in LINKED or ALWAYS at this time we still ask that if be set to OFF for all multi channel use of MARS ALE The Data Bar and Data Dialogs for DTM DBM and FS 1052 will now operate in a new MILS BRD mode when the MILS BRD button is pressed on the Data Bar If your station is not already linked or scanning MILS BRD can be utilized When MILS BRD is selected your OWN will appear in the ADDRESS window and should be left alone the ALE standard allows making calls to your OWN Address channel acty will show you sending traffic addressed to yourself when in MILS BRD In MILS BRD your station will be placed into LISTEN mode BR
23. seen above that GREEN vertical line will moving about slightly to random noise and non ALE signals much slower than in the past with the BLACK horizontal line jumping about quite a bit with channel noise and voice signals of all types unless there is some FALSING on digital signals During all this time the amplitude of the Sync wave form shape will mostly be near the bottom of the window but not the flat line of the past it may at times take on the shape of a sine wave with a large pulse of noise while remaining BLACK and the vertical SYNC marker line will remain GREEN when its just noise it may be at the far left or just about anywhere within the window At times that horizontal line will be moving about like a grain a grass in heavy wind producing all types of interesting but meaningless wave shapes If a true ALE signal is heard but it is very weak the GREEN vertical line may jump from one location to another and even turn RED now and then and the BLACK line may start to steadily take shape and rise but not change color to ORANGE You may also see the change to a RED marker line and ORANGE sync waveform start and then change right back to GREEN marker and BLACK sync pulse 64 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 As a true ALE signal is detected with decent signal strength as indicated by the height of the SYNC pulse waveform the program will start to SYNC the BACLK SYNC pulse waveform line will start to rise and chan
24. selecting frequencies to use in a network take into consideration the times of operation and distances to be communicated power level used type of antenna s used and so forth b When using the above parameters a good propagation program should also be used to determine which frequencies will propagate Appendix H lists some of the available propagation software programs and contact information c Consulting with the frequency manager early on in this process may save you a lot of work since the manager may already have lists of approved frequencies that can be used for particular functions in given areas ALE OPERATIONAL LIMITATIONS The following is directly quoted from HF ALE MULTI SERVICE TACTICS TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE HIGH FREQUENCY AUTOMATIC LINK ESTABLISHMENT HF ALE RADIOS FM 6 02 74 MCRP 3 40 3E NTTP 6 02 6 AFTTP I 3 2 48 COMDTINST M2000 7 SEPTEMBER 2003 page 21 4 Limitations a ALE is a tool that automates HF linking and frequency selection It does not replace a properly trained HF operator Knowledge of the specific radio equipment being used propagation antennas and so forth is still essential to use ALE effectively MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 b ALE will not improve propagation If poor propagating frequencies are used ALE will not make them work better ALE only works as well as the frequencies you put into it therefore proper frequency management is ess
25. to enable transmitting If the license file is missing or corrupt the message below is displayed when the program starts as well as the message MARS ALE OPSEC License is missing or corrupt Transmitting is disabled in the engineering data window To enable transmitting you are required you to make sure a valid LICENSE DAT file is installed where the application is located MARS ALE OPSEC License Validation MARS ALE OPSEC License Failed qk TRANSMITTING DISABLED Contact your MARS service MARS ALE point of contact for a valid license File or or see https fgroups yahoo com group MARS 4LEs For details Without a valid LICENSE DAT the tool may be used for monitoring with the exception that it will not print or respond to any calls made to any of the OWN Addresses entered into the system and that it will always respond to any requests to establish a link with the message MARS ALE OPSEC License Validation Failed in the engineering data window and the message box seen below which will require the operator to always click OK to continue with use of the tool MARS ALE OPSEC License Validation E OPSEC license dat Failure 11 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 If a valid LICENSE DAT file is found at program start the licensee information contained within the license file shall be displayed within the engineering data window and the tool will immediately be available for two way communications assumin
26. to the radio B VFO along with the mode if the TX frequency is not the same as last used 4 When Scanning Sounding is terminated so is SLIT VFO operation A simple test to determine if a radio will work with QS S or not is to turn your internal ATU OFF and RIT XIT OFF using VFO A change frequency on your radio using what ever means desired until your hear the BFO relays come into play Then back up in frequency and you will hear the relay s again then enabled SPLIT VFO and once again tune through the frequency cross over point that the BPF relays previously activated if nothing is hear your radio is QS S qualified if its not listed as such in Appendix A herein please send a message to the SDT so that it can be added to the QS S routines and list Like wise if you radio is on the list but does not work please inform the SDT so that it can be removed 83 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 ALTERNATE QUICK CALL AQC ALE MARS ALE provides support of Alternate Quick Call ALE AQC ALE which is an optional form of ALE detailed in MIL STD 188 141B Appendix A AQC ALE provides a link establishment technique that requires significantly less time to link than the baseline ALE system and is significantly better at establishing and maintaining a link on under poor channel conditions This is accomplished by some additional technology and trading off some of the lesser used functions of the baseline ALE sys
27. where ALE EXE now exists add your license dat file to enable transmitting 4 Add the latest distribution Udxxxxxx QRG file to the QRG subdirectory and edit the SELCAL from reading MYADDRESS to your become your proper SELCAL according to current requirements and then save the file The software is now installed and awaiting configuration skip the next section and proceed to STARTING THE PROGRAM INSTALLING MARS ALE UPDATE The process for installation of a MARS ALE update can be one of two methods detailed below NOTE Do NOT just drop the update version into your pre existing MARS ALE directory as any release may have a changed ALE DAT file structure thus your pre existing ALE DAT file will be considered corrupt and will be over written if present by the new version when started NOTE If you have NOT previously installed an earlier MARS ALE version then you MUST run the current full install of MARS ALE before installing an update version With an existing MARS ALE installation that has been properly configured and tested make sure you have an updated QRG file and save it and your existing ALE DAT file to a safe location NOTE Updates often make the existing ALE DAT file obsolete due to a database structure change thus the QRG file being up to date is even more important Either backup your existing MARS ALE installation to modify it or create a new sub directory to copy over the exiting installation to update if you want both t
28. 0 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 The Sync display has been improved in the latest version of the tool In addition the SDT is developing a less processing intensive display of some type that will provide the needed parametric data There are also plans to provide a TUNE mode of OFF as a user selection as going from Tones to Sync provides a huge improvement OFF will provide an additional improvement As ALE is a channel based operation where all stations MUST be on the exact same frequency and there is NOT use made of any tuning of frequency there is no need for any type of tuning display in that regard The displays do however yield parametric data that the operator can interpret which does assist in the diagnosis of station problems and channels conditions as well as when to kill a link or long message or file transfer as an experience user we know its not happening HOW SYNC WORKS The MARS ALE modem must addresses two very difficult problems with respect to SYNC e Tracking Symbol SYNC e Synching in a Multi path environment Hunting for preamble Sync is the most CPU intensive part of the modem processing and the tool is simultaneously decoding both ALE AQC ALE and MIL STD 188 110 signals if enabled If we loose SYNC when we have moved one symbol it then takes 250 symbols to regain SYNC there are 147 symbols in an ALE word thus we need 1 5 ALE words to re SYNC In the previous modem when
29. 06 27 08 Another issue is where QS S would work but we have not found any such radios where it is needed yet is where SPLIT MODE cannot be enabled automatically thus the user would NEED to enable split mode manually For these radios the software will send the frequency and mode information to both VFO A and B even if SPLIT MODE is not enabled in such cases it s in the user s hands to enable SPLIT mode for Scanning Also if the radio has an ATU and it is engaged it will still be playing while Scanning and Sounding some will only do so at TX but most internal ones will do so during RX some are only in line in the TX but some are in line during both RX and TX It is planned to code to only enable the ATU just prior to TX for those radios that support bus control of the internal ATU not all do and some may be to slow to be ready experimentation is still required in this area The approach taken to make QS S work via SPLIT VFO is 1 At startup the radio is placed into normal VFO operation whenever Scanning Sounding operation is started SPLIT VFO mode operation is invoked VFO A is the RX VFO and VFO B is the TX VFO When Scanning Sounding operation is terminated normal VFO operation is automatically resumed 2 During Scanning Sounding and any frequency selection for most radios the RX frequency is written to the radio A VFO along with the mode 3 When it comes time to transmit the radios frequency is written
30. 7 08 TCP IP amp SWALE Configuration IP Address Fort fee fre fo fs a e w Interface Enabled Cancel For the PC in question the use of the DOS command ipconfig all will provide the Physical IP address of the PC Open a DOS window and at the command prompt enter the ipconfig all command and a screen of information will be displayed where we want IP Address 192 168 6 3 MAN MACHINE INTERFACE MMI MARS ALE provides a Man Machine Interface MMI which is a command interpreter that processes structured text commands from specific system files DAT MAC or QRG or via user Command Line Interface CLI entered commands that MARS ALE executes to bring about either configuration or operational command and control Complete details on the MMI and all the commands can be found in the MARS ALE Man Machine Interface Manual Herein we shall cover a few MMI commands either must be understood by all users or will be of interest to many users There are four files that can contain MMI commands that must exist else file found error messages will display the files and their purpose are 1 CONFIG DAT Used to execute MMI commands at program start 2 SHUTDOWN DAT Used to execute MMI commands at program terminate 3 LINKED DAT Used to execute MMI commands when an ALE link occurs 4 UNLINKED DAT Used to execute MMI commands when an ALE link is cleared Example files for all four are provided with the la
31. ALE shall be detailed in the MARS ALE User Manual DATA MODES Below are the combinations of supported data protocol modes within MARS ALE and their current status Automatic Message Display AMD This message protocol is mandatory for all ALE controllers NOTE The confirmation handshake referred to in MARS ALE as Linked TWX often referred in the ALE hardware world as Orderwire Handshake is not supported by all hardware controllers or is often not enabled for more efficient usage of on the air channel time In MARS ALE the last 100 received AMD messages are available for review and will be over written in FIFO order and can optionally be deleted with user confirmation from the Data gt AMD MSG menu selection AMD Orderwire Message Limited to 90 characters Supports 64 ASCII character set LINKED TWX on the MIL STD 188 141A Options menu must be checked on both stations for the receiving station to send and the transmitting station to respond to a confirmation handshake for ALE NOTE AQC ALE AMD does not support the Orderwire Handshake AMD at Individual Call or Individual Clear Also many older hardware ALE controllers do not support these uses of AMD either MOTD Message Of The Day Out Of Office response Basiscally an AMD sent by the station being called after an ALE LINKed state has been established 68 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Limited to 90 characters However shou
32. BLISHMENT HF ALE RADIOS FM 6 02 74 MCRP 3 40 3E NTTP 6 02 6 AFTTP 3 2 48 COMDTINST M2000 7 FTSC Test Plan for Interoperability and Performance of HF ALE Radios NIST Special Database 17 NIST Automatic Link Establishment ALE Tones per FED STD 1045A and 1046 1 NIST Special Database 21 NIST Automatic Link Establishment ALE Degraded Tones Per Fed STD 1045 JITC MIL STD 188 141B CONFORMANCE TEST PROCEDURES November 2003 JITC MIL STD 188 110B CONFORMANCE TEST PROCEDURES July 2004 NOTE Most of the above references can be found in many places on the internet most can be found at www n2ckh com MARS ALE FORUM Or http groups yahoo com group MARS ALE files MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 INSTALLING MARS ALE FOR THE FIRST TIME MARS ALE may be installed to any Windows directory on your computer The process for installation of a MARS ALE is rather simple 1 Unzip the distribution archive file MARSALExxxBx ZIP which contains two files a read_me txt and INSTALL EXE into a temporary directory 2 Run the INSTALL EXE and accept the license agreement then follow all the on screen prompts NOTE If the full INSTALL EXE used is not the most recent then before running the ALE EXE file acquire updated version and run any provided UPDATE INSTALL EXE if any or just unzip the contents of an update archive into the sub directory where MARS ALE was installed on your computer 3 To the directory
33. Configuration Sound Card Input Device Select the PC sound device to be used for your ALE modem by name Select the PC sound device to be used for your ALE modem by name Checked Output Device Line In Unchecked Parameter Description Comments and Notes Main Menu select gt Configuration Click on Sound Card NOTE All PC sounds MUST be turned OFF if you are using the primary default Windows sound device for your modem Sounds that are generated by other programs none should be running except MARS ALE and the Windows Operating System will go to the transmit These sounds will also mix with ALE transmissions which will cause problems The best course of action for many reasons is to install a second sound device for MARS ALE All stations MUST make sure that under Windows the Sounds and Audio Device Properties have the Sound Scheme set to No Sounds to prohibit systems sounds from be transmitted Use the MIL STD 188 141A Options panel numeric RX audio entry to set the RX audio level rather than the slider control for precise settings Use the MIL STD 188 141A Options panel numeric TX audio entry to set the TX audio level rather than the slider control for precise settings Checked which means your radio audio is connected to the sound card LINE IN input NOTE Mute the Mic In on the Windows Sound Device control panel NOTE Only use Mic In if Line In does not offer enough ga
34. D FEC will checked and you will note the simulated ALE linked state by the YELLOW Envelope and RED Offhook Phone At this point your station is ready for keyboard use with as many other stations so configured without the need for an ALE link using all supported PCSDM BRD protocols to include AMD just ignore the Handshake fails which can be eliminated if you click on the Yellow Envelope and use that AMD text entry block at present Any receiving station just needs 76 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 to be in LISTEN mode thus not only can you send a one line message you can select Data gt DTM or Data gt DBM to send long messages Broadcast to all members of net even if they don t yet have a license dat file for transmitting when selecting the Data Dialogs just click the Address pull down to select your OWN which will be the only Address present or type it in directly and the BRD will be sent Thus with the coming release of MILS BRD we can not start using the tool on any MARS nets to keyboard or send broadcasts to all hands without the need of ALE linking one on one or in nets As far as understand the ALE hardware systems if there is no ALE link they will not decode any AMD DTM or DBM traffic can t state that for sure so likely this is another area where MARS ALE offers a bit more flexibility When using MILS BRD a third party station could come along and make a linking with your station which will immediately cause a
35. ICLI REUSE Last CLEAR MSG MSG CLI Wee RESET MODEM MILS BRD The Tool Bar could be floated and docked top default bottom left or right but if closed it could not be accessed again without restarting the tool I have added code to re launch the tool bar that works up to a point at present the buttons work but all the icons are grayed out The Data Bar on the other hand will reopen without any issues and it can be docked at bottom default or top Charles Brain first added a Data Bar to PC ALE some time back but his implementation and ours is Somewhat quite different Those differences run much deeper than just appearances and the fact that his Tool Bar and Data Bar not static First to undock either of these you either double click on area where there is no control or you click on the same area and drag the bar away from its docked position Both bars can be docked top or bottom together by the way Both bars can be some what resized in centering but not increased or decreased in overall size Both bars can be floated completely off the tool if it is not opened to full screen and re docked by dragging into position of via use of the Dialog Bars menu The bars function 100 when docked or not and the Data Bar being closed does not create any issues with OWN ADDRESS data being sent to it However if the Data Bar is closed and your station becomes ALE linked and you then re open the Data Bar the OWN ADDRESS of the linked station will not
36. MARS ALE are setup using the ALE 8FSK modem Testing performed by the SDT and core ALE Test Team has determined that the best QOR is achieved with absolutely NO amount of ALC which typically equates to about 35 of your SSB voice RF on the AFSK modes This ALC setting is significant in reducing distortion and thus improving performance Also you MUST only use the Left Channel of stereo audio via wiring or mono settings and you MUST use audio isolation transformers for both input and output and your MUST use Line in and Line Speaker Out To setup the TX audio using the ALE AFSK modem first adjust your SSB transmitter with any SSB RF Power Control to 100 and your MIC gain for good ALC range any speech processor or speech compressor MUST be OFF with your voice peaks or a two tone test is you have such Next starting with your MARS ALE TX audio level set at say 40 and any external adjustment such as in an external interface such as the RigBlaster set wide open enable and adjust the volume levels on your PC sound device Windows Playback Volume Control panel main control sometimes called Playback Master Primary Volume or other things this is the course control the WAVE volume control is fine control its adjusted by the MARS ALE TX audio level set the course control to about 50 Then on the MIL STD 188 141 Options menu set SCLC to about 20 for this process next while making a linking call note your transmitter ALC if it s not moving at al
37. MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 ARRILIATE Rue fe S MARS ALE SE v2 00 Build B200A0 Quick Start Up Guide POC for this document is NNNOWWL NNNOASL 14 NC nnnOww navymars org nnnOww l marsale org and NNNOBQG dgabler prairieinet net MARS ALE support forum http groups yahoo com group MARS ALE This MARS ALE User Guide supersedes all previous edition s of this guide All previous edition s should be destroyed MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 WARNING Installing this or any release of MARS ALE on your PC to an existing directory where you have a working MARS ALE installation MAY wipe out your existing ALE DAT file It will NOT harm your LICENSE DAT file however You should always export to a QRG file and keep a backup of your ALE DAT and license dat files A QRG file should be created whenever GROUP Channel settings are or NET OWN and OTHER address changes are made WARNING MARS ALE SE supports direct control of certain types of external and internal Automatic Antenna Tuner ATU and Antenna Switch make models where there use is selected by as combination of configuration choices on the MIL STD 188 141 Options dialog and the Channel Add Modify dialogs and come into on a channel by channel basis The operator must take the time to read and understand the documentation associated with these advanced ATU and antenna selection features to properly configure for their sta
38. MD Dictionary AQC ALE offers additional tactical features not found in baseline ALE such as Quick AMD Dictionary operation QAMD works from three dictionaries in a code book fashion where no actual text of the message is being sent out over the air It is a table lookup value in the code book which are the dictionaries There is no data encryption going on here Using a combination of a fixed dictionary for most commonly needed words and mission specific expressions in the additional two dictionaries which can be changed to fit the scenario of the Exercise or non Exercise AMD Dictionary is a quick mouse double click system of selecting words and phrases to create an AMD when using AQC ALE The operator can not enter any words on the fly the word or phrase must pre exist in the dictionaries In the example below the message SEND WATER AND FOOD ON TRUCK WITH MEDICINE AND RADIO ZOF FEMA ZEK ZEU was created pretty fast and when sent would be pretty secure Quick AMD Message SEND WATER AND FOOD ON TRUCK WITH MEDICINE AND RADIO ZOF FEMA ZEK ZEU Ed Dictionary 0 Dictionary 1 Dictionary 2 Add Address AIA FORCE gy BES E BRAD CAM CMD Delete Address CONUS sl DBM Gg wv Ack This SE Unda F000 FTF HEDIONE a E ec OK If all the users are not using the same dictionaries then the receiving station will not print the proper message thus if a MARS member or third party does not have or is not using the proper Dictionar
39. MIL STD 188 110 Controller Clear Fill Help Fie Edit ToolBar Configuration Tools Channels Addresses Scan Call Data Eise z e 3 F R ite id ari W 4 be T C Tones MIL STO 186 1704 Serial Mode E sane E MIDDAY CHANNELS Tat 7 f Gyne Terminate Other ITE fo E Le l a EE i SCLC a Operator ACK REQ Linked Twa 4 Operator ACK ete lt DA alee Meet Me Channel Definition Slok Assignment It is permitted to make an AQC ALE linking call to any AQC ALE station that supports AQC ALE be that a MARS ALE based or hardware very few are active within MARS at this time based AQC ALE station that is Scanning Sounding as AQC ALE stations can always receive and reply to either a baseline ALE or AQC ALE call However AQC ALE has a very fast calling handshake and all parties must be using FAST AGC and the Scanning Sounding station MUST be operating at a 5 ch sec scan 84 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 rate for best results A 2 ch sec scan rate will work depending on the number of channels in the Scan Group and timing considerations as to when the calling station starts transmitting and when the Scanning station comes to that channel next a 1 ch sec scan rate will not work reliably An AQC ALE call will reliably capture a station Scanning that is using a 6 channel or less Scan Group at a 2 ch sec scan rate and has Listen Calls checked and Listen Time set to 400 Quick A
40. OFF and 512MB RAM or better and no use of virtual memory and at a minimum an on board AC 97 PC Sound Device along with one RS 232 port for HF SSB transceiver command and control where the computer host system is dedicated to MARS ALE and optional supporting tools but is otherwise not running other software applications Upon completion of the ALE 3 way handshake to establish an ALE linked state the MARS ALE user has the ability to exchange information using the selected frequency until interference and or propagating conditions result in unreliable information exchange or the ALE link state times out due to no data transmissions Follow on message exchange can be in the form of Voice or Data modes of operation When and ALE station the ALE Advanced Message Display AMD protocol can always be used All MARS ALE users can also make use of Data Text Message DTM or Data Binary Message DBM protocols via the ALE 8FSK modem in BRD FEC or ARQ protocols Many ALE hardware users also support DIM ARQ and some support DBM ARQ protocols however it has been determined that the DBM ARQ protocol in MARS ALE is not at present compatible with ALE hardware DBM ARQ systems tested and DTM ARQ is only compatible with Frederick Datacom ALE controllers It seems that due to the way in which the ALE standards are written and DTM DBM being optional hardware manufacturers have not implemented it all the same Additional data signaling protocols supporting higher
41. R EE EE EEE EEE EE EE TE EEE EEE EEE EEE EEE EEE EEEEEEEEEEEEE 35 FRO 02046500 Be sure to use widest IF BY filters and or set IF SHIFT to 1625hz_ 35 FRO 02046500 Uncheck MOTD for hardware ALE stations or AQC ALE interoperability 35 FRO 02046500 HARS ALE SE v1 03 Beta B103A1 will expire 01 01 08 ADDRESS 7 G AMD C DTM C DBM C TNC Fam BRD FEC 7 MMICLI REUSE LAST CLEAR MSG MSG CLI Po O Ol RESET MODEM MILS BRD FRQ 02046500 USB STOPPED RX LINKED F51052 1200hz2 2 0Khz 7DISTISPN4 BRDT 3 BRD6O0S I N S5 MIN 150 F5 100 RC 10 ARO6OOS STATUS BAR The status bar as seen below from the bottom of the main program window provides a number of systems parameters Under the new 8Khz LE the MIL STD 118 110 parameters are not displayed as such support does not exist This capability will be expanded in the future to allow for user selected views of the current data so that only items desired are displayed and support for additional configuration parameters At present it always provides the current Channel Frequency amp Mode Operating Status and RX TX 13 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 state in the first three blocks followed by the parameters of both the MIL STD 188 110 and FS 1052 Appendix B menus and the status of the Caps Lock Num Lock and Scroll Lock keys in the last three blocks Box 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 FRO US24 2000 USE STOPPED OFF EFSI 1200hz 2
42. R WW WM E m j e Cancel i 47 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MARS ALE SE Configuration Parameters Updated 6 22 08 POC NNNOWWL NC e mail nnnOwwl marsale org Notes Add Channel These are the steps to Main Menu select Channels click on add a Channel to a Add GROUP NOTE Each GROUP needs at least one channel For Scanning Sounding you need at least two channels For proper Sounding timing you need 4 to 6 channels NOTE No more than 6 channels should be used if its desirable to accept AQC ALE linking calls when using the 2 ch sec scan rate NOTE Whenever the tool is started the first channel of the selected default GROUP is what your radio under computer control will be set to Operate on NOTE MARS ALE is Channel rules based If the channel selected has not been configured for TX or RX TX the tool with NOT make your radio transmit Furthermore use of the Manually Controlled Radio Assets dialog for direct frequency entry will NOT permit transmissions on the selected frequency you need to use the GROUP Channel selection interface to make an ALE transmission fF NOTE All data should be entered RX 0000000 RX Operating frequency entered in Hz Mode USB LSB Select mode from pull down USB D LSB D NOTE Mode selection does not matter for the FT817DIG and VX1700J2B radio types as the mode is selected in radio setup NOTE USB D and LSB D apply
43. SOURCES are released the Radio 1 ALT PTT Radio 1 ALT PTT COM port will be closed until resources are reclaimed User Discretion When checked and RESOURCES are released the PC Sound Device ee Sound Device modem is closed Data Parameters AMD Retries Determines ee number of times the tool will send an AMD message before a handshake fail For Range is 0 10 unattended BBSlink operation a higher setting than 3 may be used DTM Retries 30 Determines the number of times the tool will send a DTM message before the link is terminated The Range is 0 30 highest setting should always be used in case of 23 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 poor channel conditions especially for unattended station operation When a frame is successfully resent the retry counter is reset Max frame time 10 Length in seconds allowed for a DTM ARQ frame The lower the number the shorter the frames Shorter frames are best for poor channels Range is 10 30 DBM Retries 30 Determines the number of times the tool will resend a DBM message frame before the link is terminated Range is 0 30 The highest setting should always be used in case of poor channel conditions especially for unattended station operation When a frame is successfully resent the retry counter is reset Max frame time 10 Unattended Length in seconds allowed for a DBM ARQ frame The lower the number the shorter the frames 10 Poor Channel Shorter f
44. TTENUATOR Some receivers have additional IF stage selections where one button drops or adds a stage of amplification again the user can make use of these as best fits their receiving needs TUNE WINDOW The TUNE window mode of Sync should always be used when actually attempting to establish an ALE link or to send receive data with MARS ALE when using less than a 866Mhz PC Also under the MIL STD 188 110 Options menu keep OFF LINKED ALWAYS set to OFF if using less than 866Mhz CPU or LINKED if using 866Mhz CPU or greater but never to ALWAYS if running multi channel The reasoning behind these statements is that both the Tones display and serial modem loads the CUP OS and testing has shown much better ALE performance in the above configurations For systems with less than 866Mhz CPU after you have established a link and desire to work with the FS 1052 DLP simply enable it and proceed This procedure does prohibit using the initiation of and FS 1052 MSG to make the ALE LINKing call The TUNE display when in Tones mode accounts for about a 10 or greater degradation in the performance of the tool with respect to the use of the Sync mode of TUNE window display This is attributed to the overhead in processing data and updating the TUNE display window to provide the user interface a near real time activity display This is very noticeable on legacy computer systems below 866Mhz MARS ALE v2 0
45. ace based on LISTEN would also need to be active any external Listen Time on each TNC Modem is always in PACTOR I listen mode channel when ALE activity is present If Listen Calls is not checked the controller will immediately return to scanning after it is determined that the call is not to your station which means that your may or may not display who is calling whom or any AMD traffic let alone any other traffic If Listen Calls is checked your system will pause scanning for the duration of your Listen Time setting when ALE signals are detected not addressed to your station and Listen Timer will be reset all ALE activity heard while paused and listening to other stations thus the amount of time your system can be paused on a channel is determined by the activity on the channel until such activity ceases long enough for the Listen Time to elapse Thus if it not the interest to decode and display all channel activity Listen Time should be set to 10 seconds or less or Listen Calls should not be checked Listen Mode User Discretion Listen Modes allow for the intercept and display of DTM and DBM messages in BRD and ARQ in a manor similar to GTOR Monitor or PACTOR Listen modes When intercepting ARQ messages between stations parts of the message may be repeated as the listening station is not party to the ARQ process NOTE Listen Mode is automatically disabled when Scanning is started but can be user overridden by the use of MMI comman
46. an the higher tones in that regard When looking at the display and monitoring noise or other signals it is the length of dwell time at a particular tone in a time domain that is causing a pip to display in the frequency spectrum however amplitude does factor in as the overall amplitude of the display decreases as the input level from the receiver is decreased 63 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 TUNE Window Sync Mode The Sync mode displays a Sync waveform that is representative of the preamble code reception of a short sequence of symbols at the beginning of a coded sequence used to achieve synchronization This sounds simple however the truth is that it is not those interested can read about it in more detail in FS 1045A Section 5 Detailed Requirements refer to http www its bldrdoc gov fs 1045a 45 detr htm During MIL STD 188 110 modem operation this display has no meaning as its basically noise to the algorithms The TUNE window in Sync mode provides feedback on the incoming signals Sync lock status which provides an experienced ALE operator with a visual indication of the current channel conditions an the likelihood of achieving and maintaining a LINK The SYNC display uses the same color scheme of the TONES window During transmitting the window switches to the following mode which is easily seen from any viewing position When the TUNE window is in Sync mode as
47. ange 10 43200 NOTE 43200 is a full months of data Sync Errors 0 Number of errors allowed when hunting for ALE word Sync Sync errors are returned from the Golay Range 0 2 algorithm and can only detect up to 7 errors or correct 3 not both If you set the threshold to high it will Sync on random noise Number of errors allowed when receiving a frame Range 0 3 TX Audio Level 1 10 typical PC Sound Device Sound Card drive level output to transmitter from Line Out or Speaker Out as Range 1 99 labeled Most radios are inthe NOTE Audio Isolation transformers MUST be 1 30 range used Single Channel Linking Call This sets the LINK request frame length during ALE calling in seconds for synchronization When set to 0 the tool automatically calculates the length based on the number of channels in the scan GROUP being used if that is the same number of channels as the station you are attempting to link with and that station is not being paused during scanning through the channels then automatic will work well most of the time For single channel operation it can be set to anything the lower the better 4 works well However it needs to be longer when calling a station operating in Scanning Sounding 8 works well however for the best chance of capturing a station that is Scanning Sounding 12 16 is better At times 20 or greater may be needed as the station you are attempting to call may be scanning a large group and or being paus
48. annel operation Resume Scan Double Greater Than symbols Causes SCANNING or SOUNDING to Resume Individual Call Telephone On Hook icon Initiates an Individual call Send AMD Envelope Icon When LINKED with a YELLOW Envelope icon initiates sending an AMD message Individual Clear Telephone OFF Hook icon When LINKED clears the LINK Kill Current Link or Outgoing Call Black Axe icon When LINKED KILLS the LINK Manually Control Radio Assets Keypad icon Initiates the Manually Control Radio Assets operator interface panel not used for single channel operation Manual Voice ID ID icon Initiates the sending of the voice_id wav file by placing the radio into PTT for as long as it requires to the play the voice_id wav file If the voice_id wav is NOT present it will simply cause the radio to toggle PTT NOTE Do NOT click the ID icon unless you desire to make an on the air transmission of the contents of the voice_id wav file The Icon Tool Bar can be un docked allowed to free float or snapped to the sides or bottom of the window as well as the top or hidden altogether To undock the tool bar you need to double click or click and drag the tool bar between above or below the icons the area to the far right where there are no icons will not allow this When un docked and free floating the tool bar will have a blue top border and a Red X Close button When free floating either on or off the tool using the ma
49. art Guide Released 06 27 08 Current Group Setup The Current Group Setup dialog provides for both the selection of the current default GROUP with associated Channel s for use as well as to edit the naming convention of any of the 16 GROUPS using Edit Current Group Text The MARS _SHARES QRG distributed with the software can be loaded as a starting point It provides for individual ARMY AIR FORCE and NAVY MARINE CORP MARS and SHARES groups as well as mixed groups of MARS channels predicated on day night propagation changes Stations that are NOT authorized for SHARES operation must not use the SHARES group with anything but RX rights assigned Current Group Setup a HO LABELO HO LABEL 1 NO LABEL 2 NO LABEL 3 NO LABEL 4 NO LABEL 5 NO LABEL 6 NO LABEL 7 NO LABEL amp NO LABEL 9 NO LABEL 10 NO LABEL 11 NO LABEL 12 NO LABEL 13 NO LABEL 14 NO LABEL 15 Edit Current Group T ext r ele me be we me ie e geiw oie once MARS ALE SE Configuration Parameters Updated 6 22 08 POC NNNOWWL NC e mail nnnOwwl marsale org Notes Ea a GROUPS GROUPS NOTE The fastest way to populate two GROUPS to begin working with the tool is to load the MARS_SHARES QRG file NOTE Before loading any QRG file from a third party you need to edit it with NOTEPAD so that 46 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 all instances of OWN is that assigned to your station and then resave the
50. attended operation such as 180 3 minutes or 300 6 minutes If TWA is set to zero O and Scanning is started the system will automatically set it to 180 There is now a new list box control on the front panel of the tool for rapid changes of this parameter with selections of 0 60 120 180 240 and 200 seconds Time allowed in milliseconds for the transmitter system to settle after frequency change before keydown and ALE tone transmissions start May need to be higher than the default when using a linear amplifier external ATU or other in line switching devices for settling please check your equipment manuals for settling time recommendations NOTE Higher settings can affect timing and cause failures of AIE and AQC ALE linking or AMD DTM ARQ or DBM ARQ data mode operations This determines the DCD detect sensitivity when scanning a suitable value is between 3 and 5 If it is set too low the controller stops on every channel and if it is set too high is never stops Maximum number of non unanimous votes allowed when searching for word sync Maximum number of non unanimous votes allowed when receiving a frame 25 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 SCLC 12 Range 0 100 Set to 0 for automatic operation based on the number of channels in the current Scan Group in use For other settings use a value between 4 12 LQA Timeout User Discretion 1440 for 24 7 ops 10080 for occasional use R
51. ch can be captured in digital form is half the sample rate thus with a 44 1Khz samples per second sample rate you can cannot convert more than 22 05 Khz audio signal However there are significant effects at lower frequencies so it is desirable to work at a higher sampling rate when practical Most audio recording is done at 48Khz and professional mixing is often done at 96Khz The MARS ALE software is using a 48Khz sample rate or rather 48000 samples per second for MARS ALE SE and 8Khz sample rate or rather 8000 samples per second for MARS ALE LE PC Sound Device Sample Rate Error Although the MARS ALE 8FSK modem provides algorithms that compensate for sample clock errors it 1s still recommended that you test your sound device to determine how close to being within 10Hz of being on frequency for both transmit and receive by using the popular MMSSTYV software procedure commonly used in the Amateur Radio and MARS communities in conjunction with the Time and Standards signals transmitted on WWV The sound device clock for the sample rate needs to be as close as possible to being on frequency Some Amateur Radio digital mode programs provide a method of entering a correction factor when the sound device clock is in error See the Radio Help Operator Guide for details on how to determine if your PC sound device is suitable for MARS ALE 55 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 SETTING UP TX AUDIO The TX Audio levels for
52. d ENABLE LISTEN Checked Linked TWX Three Way xchange MUST be checked for AMD except for AQC ALE MOTD DTM ARQ DBM ARQ and DBM FTP to trigger the full initial handshake acknowledge ACK NAK response If unchecked AMD MOTD DTM ARQ and DBM ARQ won t trigger a response All stations should have the same setting The latest MARS ALE will automatically enable and disable Linked TWX when sending a DTM or DBM BRD Linked TWX or ARQ message Linked TWX must be checked for ALL MARS ALE to MARS ALE operation with the above modes but it may not work with all hardware controllers From testing to date it has worked with most but not all ALE hardware based systems as 20 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Freq Display Checked Display Date Unchecked Linked Batch File Unchecked Unchecked Voice Detect Unchecked Log to disk Checked Unlinked Batch File many do not have support for Orderwire Handshake NOTE There is also a new control on the front panel of the tool that will toggle this setting which upon normal program shut will cause the setting to change as well NOTE Linked TWX must NOT be checked for AQC ALE AMD NOTE There is some ambiguity in the MIL STD over this point consequently some commercial controllers do and some do not provide handshakes on AMD messages This option when enabled will display the full frequency and mode on the lower left corner of the screen rather than j
53. e audio level indicator bar will be higher at times during channel activity than for a relatively quiet frequency with low noise levels Tuned to WWV during the 1Khz tone the audio level indicator bar it should go to about one half vertical height During MIL STD 188 141A FS 1045 reception it should go to about half height and no more that three quarters of the height maximum For MARS ALE the typical receive audio level setting on the Configuration Options menu is less than 10 for most make model radios however ICOM radios will require about 50 or more A number of things can be observed when using the Tones TUNE mode with experience the user can actually see these details noted below of the ALE waveform in the display and the characteristics the radio IF BW filter skirts on the tones can also be seen in the amplitude of the tones The ALE waveform is designed to pass through the audio passband of conventional SSB 3khz channel bandwidth radio equipment The waveform is an 8 ary frequency shift keying FSK modulation with eight orthogonal tones Each tone is 8 milliseconds in duration period and ranges in frequency from 750 Hz to 2500 Hz with 250 Hz separation between adjacent tones Each tone represents three bits of data resulting in an over the air data rate of 375 bits per second b s or 125 tones symbols per second a k a 125 BAUD i MARS ALE Standard Edition MIL STD 188 File Edit ToolBar Configuration Tools Channels i
54. e the PSK Carrier Frequency Symbol Rate and ARQ FTP Data Rates and Interleaver settings are selected For the MIL STD 188 110 native data modes SYNC and ASYNC and STANAG 5066 when released the data rate interleaver settings for these modes will be selected from the FS 1052 Appendix B Options menu as are FS 1052 BRD The FS 1052 ARQ data rate interleaver is selected on this menu from the pull down menu within the Mode area the dialog MIL STD 188 110 Options Ge OFF C LINKED C ALWAYS Mode 0 ASYNC IK e FS 1052 DLP PSE Carrier Frequency 1800hz STD e 1500h2 STD2 1200hz MARS Symbol Hate Band width IBUUBPS TSUUBPS 2U0UBPS 2400BP5 2 0K hz LZ Z khsl 2 50Khz 3 0K hz Cancel The PSK Carrier and Symbol Rate settings apply to all modes used with the MIL STD 188 110 mode and data rates except 75BPS which uses a spread spectrum technique within a full 3Khz channel For MARS to MARS communications the combination of 1200hz PSK Carrier and 1600BPS Symbol Rate which equates to a 2khz bandwidth for an overall bandwidth of 200 2200hz is the best choice for radios having less than 2 7Khz SSB filters the next best choice is 1500hz and 1600BPS the military standard combination of 1800hz carrier and 2400BPS symbol rate for an overall bandwidth of 300 3300hz exceeds the filtering of most Amateur Radio grade radios used by MARS operators Since MARS ALE was released in September 2005 the 1200hz PSK carrie
55. ectrum technique using several base band correlators to individually process multipath signal components where the outputs from the different correlators are combined to achieve improved reliability and performance that constructively adds the multipath components so you get individual symbol diversity on top of the overall diversity of the 75 BPS mode Also the PSK Carrier and Symbol rate settings do NOT affect 75BPS operation This is the number of times the message will be sent Setting to greater than is recommended for extremely poor channel conditions MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Sound Card Configure The Sound Card Configure dialog is where the PC Sound Device to be used for the ALE modem is selected along with the recommended use of Line In as the audio port MS Windows and MARS ALE can support multiple PC sound devices and you must select which device you have interfaced as your ALE PC sound device modem There are many advantages to using a second sound device for your ALE modem as detailed in the Radio Help User Guide however it must be noted that on some installations predicated on the combination of Windows version in use sound device hardware and drivers being used that MARS ALE may sometimes start with both the Input and Output or just one selected as Default Device rather than the actual name of the sound device you have selected regardless of whether you only have
56. ed has an LQA ranking in the current LQA database if no LQA ranking no calls will be made TBD When checked during Scanning an ALE l linking call will only be made to the station s Best LQA Ser Discretion selected on the Best Ranked LQA channel if one exists Allcalls Allows the reception of All Calls NOTE Many ALE networks ban the use of Allcalls An Allcall is a general broadcast that Unchecked does not request responses and does not designate any specific address NOTE Also if when Scanning your station is NOT always capable of transmitting on all Channels being monitored this should not be used Anycalls Allows the reception of Any Calls NOTE Many ALE networks ban the use of Anycalls An Anycall is a general broadcast that requests responses without designating ENEE any specific addressee s NOTE Also if when Scanning your station is NOT always capable of transmitting on all Channels being monitored this should not be used Wild Cards Unchecked Allows reception of calls using wild card addresses A caller may use the Wildcard character to address multiple stations with a single wildcard address Responses to a call containing an address with wildcard characters are generated in pseudorandom slots to avoid collisions NOTE On outgoing calls only one character in a wild card address is accepted at the moment Unchecked Alternate Quick Call AQC ALE is derived from the MIL STD 188 141B
57. ed on one or more channels due to activity There 1s now a new list box control on the front panel of the tool for rapid changes of this parameter with selections of 0 4 8 12 16 and 20 NOTE Has no affect on AQC ALE Timeout period in minutes before Link Quality Analysis LQA data for any station last heard is considered un reliable for aging purposes and is reset 1440 for 24 hours is recommended for a station running 24 7 For stations that periodically make use of MARS ALE 7 days 10080 or longer is recommended 26 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 RX Audio Level UnMuted Audio NOTE Most ICOM radios require higher drive levels Please refer to MARS ALE Radio Help User Guide for full details 1 5 typical Range 1 99 Range 0 255 NOTE Set radio RF power control for full output and all speech processors compressor s OFF and mic gain for good ALC range with normal SSB voice transmissions Then with the PC Sound device control panel Main Speaker Playback or whatever the course output level control is called and the MARS ALE TX audio level you will see the WAVE control on the sound panel change control adjust for about 35 or less of your full SSB RF output power level while checking for NO ALC moment NOTE RF output power during ALE and MIL STD 188 110 modem usage must ONLY be controlled by the use of this setting do NOT use the radio mic gain or radio RF output power
58. eed 67 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 ALE BASICS The basic operation of ALE involves a calling station attempting to establish a link with a remote ALE station where an ALE linking call is placed where upon the successful completion of a 3 way handshake the HF radios will have the ability to exchange information using the frequency selected for the ALE link until such time interference and or propagation conditions result in unreliable information exchange or the ALE link state times out due to lack of data communications The information exchange can be in the form of Voice or Data If Voice is the follow on mode of communications and the MARS ALE RED PTT is not used to key the radio the ALE link timer is counting down thus the TWA during the link should be changed to O to hold off a the timer expiring Any supported Data modes used either native ALE FSK signaling protocols or higher data throughput rates available with MIL STD 188 110 PSK modem and optional protocols or via external TNC Modem protocols In addition other PC Sound Device communications software can be used for attended follow on data communications The RESOURCES button in MARS ALE can be used to release PCSDM and CAT RS232 resources if required to make use of 3 part communications software The details of placing a basic ALE linking call and basic messaging with MARS ALE shall be covered herein however the full scope of application of MARS
59. ential c ALE makes the linking process more automatic allowing a novice HF user to use the radio effectively However ALE in some cases takes more time than it takes two highly trained HF operators to establish a link d ALE determines only the best channel to pass traffic and tries to establish a link between radios The ALE function in itself does not provide data capability other than a simple automatic message display AMD in the ALE header signal or other equipment specific features e Depending on the specific equipment used ALE may not determine if the channel is busy with voice or data traffic before it transmits An operator has no indication if two other stations are currently linked MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 REFERENCES MARS ALE SE v2 00 User Manual 25 June 2008 MARS ALE SE v2 00 Radio Help User s Guide Appendix A 25 June 2008 MARS ALE Application Note Training and Operation of the LDG Electronics AT 200PC for use with MARS ALE Version 1 01 24 March 2006 MARS ALE Application Note RS 232 Computer Control Interface for LDG Electronics DTS 4 DTS 6 Desktop Coaxial Switches Version 1 01 23 February 2006 FED STD 1045A 18 OCTOBER 1993 MIL STD 188 141A and Appendix A MIL STD 188 141B Appendix A AQC ALE 31 AUGUST 2001 MIL STD 188 110A FED STD 1052 Appendix B Data Link Protocol HF ALE MULTI SERVICE TACTICS TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE HIGH FREQUENCYAUTOMATIC LINK ESTA
60. er LISTEN MACRO1 MAC END 54 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 PC SOUNDS AND ALE MODEM In the Radio Help User Guide there is a more extensive version of this section with the same title which explores the details of how to check your sound device suitability as an ALE modem All PC sounds MUST be turned OFF if you are using the primary default Windows sound device for your ALE modem For those that are using other digital modes and are using a VOX type interface which is NOT allowed with MARS ALE this is a critical item to prevent on the air transmissions from your station that will cause interference and eventually be tracked back to your station If this is not done all sounds that are generated by other programs none should be running except MARS ALE and the Windows Operating System will go to the transmit These sounds will also mix with ALE transmissions which will cause performance problems The best course of action for many reasons is to install a second sound device in your PC for all digital modes including MARS ALE All stations MUST make sure that under Windows the Sounds and Audio Device Properties have the Sound Scheme set to No Sounds to prohibit systems sounds from be transmitted The only exception to this is when a second sound device is being used for MARS ALE and is NOT selected as the default sound device PC Sound Device Sample Rate The highest frequency whi
61. erleaver from MIL STD 188 110 menu ARQxxxL or ARQxxxS 19 21 The last three status bar boxes are the standard keyboard CAPS CAP 14 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 NumLock NUM and Scroll Lock SCRL key indicators i MARS ALE Standard Edition MIL STD 188 141A amp MIL STD 188 110 Controller File Edit ToolBar Configuration Tools Channels Addresses Scan Call Data AQI Clear Fill Help The tool provides the standard Windows top level menu structure for access to all setup operational menus For the purpose of setting the primary configuration parameters as detailed in the configuration charts to follow the Configuration Tools Channels and Addresses menus shall be utilized The Fill menu selection is utilized to load GROUPS Channels from an existing QRG file as well as to add OWN OTHER and NET addresses This can done from a QRG that is user exported to restore a system configuration or from a distribution QRG from a third party such as the supplied MARS_SHARES QRG example file where you MUST edit your OWN address with NOTEPAD EXE before using provided with the distribution of the tool Next if you are beginning with a distribution QRG file be sure to use an ASCH editor such as NOTEPAD EXE and edit the OWN to that of your station and save the resulting edited QRG file Next run the MARS ALE software check that the license passes and then use Fill gt Load to read
62. essage of the Day MOTD If used it should only be enabled when your station is unattended but available for a connection in either Single Channel or Scanning Sounding operation When a call is received if this option is enabled an AMD message will be sent in response to a LINK You can use it to inform callers of your location and modem status of the station such as WWLNNN FN20 KAM NOTE Only the 64 ASCII subset of ALE should be used in an MOTD NOTE Linked TWX must also be checked NOTE MOTD is NOT compatible with some older ALE hardware based controllers and radios especially if other an 64 ASCII is used NOTE MOTD is NOT compatible for AQC ALE Call Alarm TBD Audio alarm of an incoming ALE linking call AMD Alarm User Discretion TBD Audio alarm of an incoming AMD message Use RTS for PTT User Discretion This is the Normal selection for PTT for external interfaces when not using CAT PTT When it and DTR for PTT are NOT checked then CAT PTT is 22 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 used if the selected radio type supports CAT PTT NOTE Radios that require RTS CTS handshaking such as the Ten Tec Pegasus and others or where a choice is provided and selected such as Kenwood radios need to use DIR for PTT with external interfaces NOTE Selecting DTR for PTT drops the DTR line and removes it as a source of D C power for external level converters Use DTR for PTT User Discretion DTR
63. et a MSG SENT indication as seen below 00 43 05 FRQ xxxxxxxx MSG SENT AAR2EY 00 43 05 HANDSHAKE FAILED 00 42 54 HANDSHAKE FAILED DBM BRD when Terminate when done checked FAILS Does not clear the receiving station only the sending station The Message or may not get through you will receive HANDSHAKE FAILED indication for the number of retries you have set and you will always get a MSG SENT indication as seen below 69 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 00 57 04 FRQ xxxxxxxx CLEARED AAR2EY 00 56 58 FRQ xxxxxxxx MSG SENT AAR2EY 00 56 58 HANDSHAKE FAILED 00 56 47 HANDSHAKE FAILED File Transfer Protocol FTP This capability is only for use between stations using MARS ALE It is not to the RFC 959 File Transfer Protocol standard specified in MIL STD 188 141B Appendix E DBM FTP LINKED TWX is REQUIRED checked at both sending and receiving stations This is not the fastest way to send a file with the tool It will support sending a binary file or ASCII file It is best to only send small files I would not send anything larger than 10Kb at present The maximum FTP file size as coded is 500KB The receiving station will find the file it successful in their DOWNLOAD directory with ALE EXE is located The sending and receiving station may get a lot of messages during this one You may get HANSHAKE FAILED you may and recover a number of times depending
64. factory setting may be due all the years of that baud rate being the only one supported and these selections supporting all Kenwood models It is recommended that the highest baud rate be used which any particular make model radio supports for the best channel scan rate performance Typically all baud rates support 1 ch sec 4800 baud or better is recommended for 2 ch sec 4800 baud or better is recommended for 5 ch sec 19200 baud or better is recommended for the To DO 10 ch sec of MIL STD 188 141B Some radios due to their CPU ability to process serial port data may not meet a given Scan Rate regardless of the RS 232 baud rate being used 33 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 The selection of Disable Radio Pre Configuration can be made alone for any make mode radio to disable most in some cases all pre configuration data sent by MARS ALE to the radio at program start Any data may be entered into the setup note section up to 38 characters to note which radio the CCP settings apply to and perhaps why they are being used in lieu of the default settings 34 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MIL STD 188 110 Options Menu The MIL STD 188 110 Options menu does not exist in LE is where the state of the MIL STD 188 110 for use is chosen as OFF LINKED or ALWAYS It is also where the modem operating modes FS 1052 DLP and future modes like ASYNC SYNC and STANAG 5066 DLP are selected and wher
65. g it has been properly configured Lastly all releases of the tool and carry an expiration date any use of the tool where the PC system date has been set back will result in an OPSEC Back Dated violation and the tool will immediately terminate upon clicking OR MARS ALE OPSEC License Validation X System has been Back Dated Program will terminate upon Ok 12 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MARS ALE CONFIGURATION The following descriptions screen captures and configuration charts provide all the needed information to configure the MARS ALE tool and its parameters for proper operation It also describes changes to menus and screens from a previous release For full details on all program menus see the MARS ALE User Manual For details on radio and sound device interfacing see the MARS ALE Radio Help User s Guide gt MARS ALE Standard Edition MIL STD 188 141A amp MIL STD 188 110 Controller Heras MIL STD 188 1104 Serial Modem Sean Group TRI SERVICE w 50 300 SPL Twa 0 a MACRO1 a f Sync ALE Mode NEITHER el MACRO2 e stuc MACRO3 RX Error as AQC BURST MACRO4 erak MACROS RESOURCES SOUNDING Linked TW aroe E nao EI D About MARS ALE d beermat gie PC ALE Copyright 2004 Avila Electronics 22 42 35 FROQ Portions developed by Tri Service MARS MARS ALE Software Development Team Ee 42 35 FRO 02046500 27736000 Hz USB 277360 e MARS ALE Standa
66. ge color to ORANGE and shape to that of a sine wave and the vertical SYNC marker line will change to RED as the black line changes to ORANGE and the RED SYNC line will stabilize near the center of the peaking signal pulse as the SYNC pulses build to where SYNC is achieved Then as SYNC lock is achieved the waveform changes to a stable peaking condition and the screen background changes to YELLOW as seen below The more stable the SYNC the more stationary vertical SYNC mark indicator is while remaining RED if the SYNC is poor it will flash between RED and GREEN and the SYNC line may flash between ORANGE and BLACK and the SYNC pulse shape may also fall apart There may be some amount of jittering about the top of the window indicates one or more problems with achieving and maintaining SYNC that the modems algorithms are compensating for this includes sample close error weak signals very strong signals fading signals multi path signals and severe amounts of QSB noise static crashes and various types of interference The new modem even under the worst of conditions will usually continue to hold SYNC lock unless the channel conditions offer no hope of supporting the ALE protocol Then either a channel change is in order or the use of AQC ALE can be made which provides for improved protocol parameters between it and baseline ALE will allow for use under worst channels conditions With baseline ALE the receiver has to work out what state it is
67. gnitude as the real SYNC The main thought behind this is simply adding or subtracting one sample to the sample block size to get the sync to move The sync errors are actually the Golay error correction level The more errors you can detect the fewer errors you can correct and the more errors you can correct the fewer errors you can detect So the lower the error correction level the more likely it is to detect errors The maximum number of errors Golay can fix is 3 hence the 0 2 in setup For Sync its best to set it to 0 for fix no errors but detect 7 The number of errors you can detect is 2X 1 the number of errors you can correct So a 24 12 Golay code can detect 7 errors or correct 3 errors The GREEN maker of the new SYNC display does not seem to move much is because the SYNC routine is aggressively trying to keep it stationary with the hump in the middle With the previous modem the left side of the display was always at a fixed point in the SYNC buffer the start So different SYNC points would have the peak at different places With the new modem the display is locked to the sync position so the hump should always be in the middle and not move if the feedback loop in the SYNC routine is functioning correctly as will be seen in image captures herein FFT Reset With the previous modem there was an FFT rounding error that would cause the modem to lock up and cease working after many hours or days of operation the slower the CPU speed the
68. he reception of data transmissions depending on what combination of trace functions are enabled and how much traffic there is on the channel NOTE It is recommended that the TRACE functions only be used while monitoring and NOT actively involved in communications unless you have been directed by the MARS ALE Software Development Team to gather certain data during testing 44 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Trace RX Words Unchecked Trace TX Words Unchecked Trace States Unchecked o Trace Commands Unchecked n Trace FS 1052 Unchecked 45 NOTE After any TRACE function has been Checked the tool should be shut down and restarted which will completely kill and reset the TRACE functions to off just un checking the features does not completely do so This option allows the RX Words decoded it is a good way of seeing commands and start and end of frames and AMD and DTM ASCII messages when receiving See MIL STD 188 141A FS 1045A for details This is the only TRACE option that user s would find of any use NOTE RX Words does not display anything with respect to the MIL STD 188 110 modem This option allows the TX Words to be broken down and displays the commands being sent and the outgoing address and all parts of the AMD DTM ASCII message It will NOT display the DBM outgoing ASCII message See MIL STD 188 141 A FS 1045A for details The information is only of interest to the SDT NOTE TX Wo
69. he existing and update installs on your system Next depending on the distribution install the update or copy the files for the update to the directory desired If the update has not been announced as having a new ALE DAT structure MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 when run you will immediately be able to use the new features of the tool If a new ALE DAT structure is the case or if for some reason your existing ALE DAT is not recognized you will need to then load your QRG file and perform the configuration steps 10 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 STARTING THE PROGRAM NOTE Under newer updates of Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP versions the following screen may be displayed when starting MARS ALE for the first time or when updated just click unblock Addition add on Anti Virus or other such tools may also need adjusting to allow the MARS ALE executable to run Windows Security Alert M EE To help protect pour computer Windows Firewall has blocked some features of this program Do you want to keep blocking this program Name MAHG ALE Publisher US mm MARS Region 2 Keep Blocking Unblock Ask Me Later Windows Firewall has blocked this program from accepting connections from the Internet or a network IF you recognize the program or trust the publisher you can unblock it When should unblock a program A license file license dat is required for MARS ALE
70. his is the data packet frame size Retry Count 3 The number of resends upon packet failure Increase for poor channel conditions Range 1 100 NOTE Resends start from the beginning of the message not just the last failed packet Minimum ARQ Rate 150 BPS The slowest data rate in ARQ mode that will be allowed when in Variable ARQ mode Range is 75 1200 BPS NOTE 75BPS selection negates the PSK carrier and Symbol Rate selections from the MIL STD 188 110 menu TT ARQ Mode The ARQ protocol was designed to handle and prioritize military messages from multiple sources Like a gateway between a coastal station and a ship If a flash message comes through lower priority messages will be suspended and the flash message sent Then the lower priority messages will resume without needing to resend the whole message from the beginning that is if you have a priority field in your messages that should determine the DLP message priority a Fixed Unchecked Fixed causes the use of fixed control frame sizes NOTE Fixed Variable and Circuit modes are interactive only one can be active at a time Variable Checked Variable causes variable control frame sizes NOTE Fixed Variable and Circuit modes are interactive only one can be active at a time Circuit Unchecked PLANNED When released circuit mode will cause the channel to be kept busy with idle null ACK signals sent back and forth to alert everyone the channel is in use It provides fo
71. hould be selected NOTE Selecting NONE precludes support of other features of some devices such as ANT SW support for the AT200PC 29 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 RADIO CAT Supports control of an internal ATU for those supported CAT transceivers that provide CAT commands for ATU control No RS 232 port selection for ATU Comm Port is required in this instance IMPORTANT The radio s ATU must be trained on all ALE channels prior to use with MARS ALE This simply means that the ATU must be used on each antenna port with each antenna that will be used for all ALE channels to save all the data to its memories for Memory Tuning operation Should the ATU not have enough memories for all of the ALE channels or no be a memory type ATU then one of the ATU tune tone methods MUST be enabled How it works The ATU is enabled if checked for a given channel else it is turned off When the radio in Scanning Sounding just before it goes into transmit the ATU is turned on and if required started For all units it is recommended to make use of one of the two forms of ATU tuning tone generation for some ATU units few or no memories the tone prior to data being sent will be required to prevent tuning while sending data AT200PC Supports control of the LDG AT200PC external RS 232 interfaced ATU A proper port selection for ATU Comm Port must also be entered for proper operation The AT200PC is always set to Ant
72. ial Modem Scan Group ALL MARE MIDDAY CHANNELS TWA N e Sync ALE Mode MEITuER P E fo ot Rx Eror AOCALE EEEN SOUNDING Linked TW TAs fe lt i gt p imei e The front panel as detailed elsewhere proves main menu the TUNE window MIL STD 188 110 status window Scan Group and ALE mode windows in addition front panel controls are provided in support of rapidly changing some parameters on the fly that are found on the MIL STD 188 141 Options menu The name entered for the currently selected Scan GROUP will always be displayed in the Scan Group window The current ALE mode will always be displayed in the ALE Mode window where NEITHER indicates that since the tool has been started it has not heard any ALE and has not been used to make any ALE call thus it is not committed to either mode NORMAL indicates that the tool is in baseline ALE mode from either an intercept of an ALE transmission or having made and ALE call ALTERNATE indicates that the tool is in AQC ALE mode from either an intercept of an ALE transmission or having made and ALE call Scan Group ALL MARS MIDDAY CHANNELS DWA 0 ALE Mode NEITHER 60 SS en TW The four push button controls below the ALE Mode window are toggles for AQC AQC BURST SOUNDING and Linked TWX enabled disabled status When a push button is pressed the state will toggle and a message will appear in the lower Engineering window that announces the cha
73. ich is not recommend the 2 scenario can make a mess of things and you may be using the wrong Ant Port for the ones where 0 is used NONE __ No antenna switch is being used RADIO CAT Supports control of the internal Antenna switches for those supported CAT transceivers that provide CAT commands for control No selection of ANT SW Comm Port is required in this instance How it works See DTS 4 below NOTE Some radios offer 2 3 and 4 ports for TX RX antenna selection if number is entered into GROUPS Channel exceeding the radio capability no 31 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 change will take place and an error message will be printed in the engineering window NOTE At present the following radios are supported for CAT antenna port JST145 JST245 R 5000 TS 480 TS 570 TS 870 TS 2000 TS B2000 IC746 IC746PRO IC756PRO IC756PROII IC756PROIII 1C7400 IC7700 IC7800 FTdx9000 LDG DTS 4 LDG DTS 6 LDG AT200PC ACOM 2000SW RS232 LINES models The K505DSP is TBD Supports the LDG DTS 4 4 port manual push button TLL interface antenna selection switch A user supplied RS 232 to TTL interface is required details of the designed used by the SDT in development shall be provided A proper port selection for ANT SW Comm Port must also be entered for proper operation NOTE Support of the DTS 4R in a Y cable arrangement with the DTS 4 and PC is under development How
74. ich the user never sees displayed but which does make the Address longer and thus less efficient In Army MARS at present on the MARS network the ALE SELCAL and the hardware TNC when used are the same and truncated per directives for club stations The Primary ADDRESS is your full Army MARS callsign e g for an Army MARS station AAR3BB the ALE Primary ADDRESS would be 3BBAAA Should your Army MARS callsign exceed 6 characters it will be truncated in accordance with the 1 DECEMBER 2005 Net Plan thus AAR2CAB would become AA2CAB For SHARES ALE operations the ARMY MARS ALE SELCAL break down is 1 AAR AA AAR ZZ SHARES call sign is HAA AAA ZZ AAA The space is used to show the suffix Example AAR4AB SHARES call sign is 4ABAAA 2 AAT AA AAT ZZ SHARES calls sign is A A AAA Z Z AAA The space is used to show the suffix Example AAT4LL SHARES call sign is L4LAAA 3 AAV AA AAV ZZ SHARES call sign is AA AAA ZZ AAA The space is used to show the suffix Example AAV4BA SHARES call sign is BA4AAA 50 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 All Air Force MARS stations use the six characters of their call signs for a unique SELCAL for ALE in MARS and SHARES operations in the format of xxxAFA e g for AFAIBU the ALE SELCAL is IBUAFA In AFMARS the TNC SELCAL is AF nnn e g AFAIBU All N MC MARS stations use the unique ALE SELCAL format of xxxNNN for ALE in MARS and SHARES operations and the SELCAL fo
75. in for your radio receiver audio output 43 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 TRACING MENU The Tracing dialog provides engineering tools that are of little interest to the end user of the tool and should be left Unchecked as detailed below due to additional loading of computer resources when enabled If used as few as possible should be used at any one time and the program should be restarted immediately after use All Tracing features will automatically be reset to off upon normal program termination Tracing Trace Res words SANING Trace functions bring the Trace Ta words isk of DSF function performance degradedation and the occasional Joss Trace States of ALE words Trace Events Trace Command Unchecking a Trace feature does not competel release the feature to OFF Trace Timers until restarting the tool Trace F5 1052 MARS ALE SE Configuration Parameters Updated 6 22 08 POC NNNOWWL NC e mail nnnOwwl marsale org Notes TRACING TRACING NOTE All TRACING functions should normally be Unchecked They place a heavy load on processing and produces large quantities of output on both transmit and receive The use of these functions are known to cause some problems with the DSP functions in the software and occasional cause the loss of ALE words On computers that are less than 1Ghz CPU and 512MB of RAM and less than Windows XP Home they will likely cause a program freeze or crash during t
76. in menu Tool Bar selection and Dock Home will return the Icon Tool Bar to its normal position When the tool bar has been snapped docked to another area of the screen Dock Home has no effect Should the tool bar be closed Dock Home has no effect and the toolbar shall not be accessible again during the current session 80 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 isle lt gt gt 2 imei F The big advantage of having the Icon Tool Bar dockable is that more vertical space is provided for the display of Messages and Engineering information This is especially true when the tool bar is away from the tool area altogether NOTE When floating it will stay on top unless moved off 81 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 QUIET SCANNING SOUNDING Most Amateur Radio grade transceivers and many Commercial and even some Military make models use Band Pass Filters BPF to meet spectral purity which are either switched with diodes or relays With ALE operations employing Scanning Sounding those relays will take one heck of a beating in a relatively short period of time Quiet Scanning Sounding QS S is a method used by MARS ALE only during Scanning Sounding operation and only with radios that support it to keep those relays from energizing and de energizing for the switching m and out of the BPF needed for a new frequency range each time the MARS ALE controller changes the RX frequency they wil
77. ions port COM port assignment is for external ATU support when required If O is entered then it is not enabled Please refer to the appropriate application note for the given RS 232 ATU hardware details ATUDTRIBYPASS 10 1000ms ATURTSTTUNE Wen ANT SW Comm Port 0 16 RS 232 Communications port COM port assignment is for external Antenna Switch support when required If O is entered then it is not enabled When RS232 Lines are selected as the ANT SW type RTS is used for ANT port 1 and DTR is used for ANT port 2 Please refer to the appropriate application note for the given ANT SW hardware details MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 TNC Comm Port S RS 232 Communications port COM port assignment is for external TNC Modem support If 0 is entered then it is not enabled Please refer to the appropriate application note for the given RS 232 TNC Modem hardware details TNC Baud Rate 9600 Select a baud rate setting that matches the configuration of the attached TNC Modem TNC Handshaking CTS RTS Select the type of handshaking required if any CTS RTS configuration is recommended TNC Type GENERIC Select the make model of the TNC Modem actually attached or GENERIC if your make model is not listed The GENERIC model selection results in no programmed commands being set to the device the user must provide all control using MMI commands 10 Listen Time If Listen Calls is checked Listen Time
78. is located DALOG files is saved under dalog If you just install the update you will 21 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 need to manually create these subdirectories to use logging The file extensions for these files has been changed from Gr to ow and da respectfully however the files are still plain ASCII files The file naming convention for is mmddyyyy ow where we are creating the file handle based on the current Greenwich Mean Time Zulu date Thus for an OWLOG file started on 10 January 2005 the file would be named 01102005 ow and will remain so until such time the software is restarted Should the software be restarted a number of times during the same Zulu day the file is appended to thus no previously saved data is lost The convention many change inn the future to yyyymmdd OWLOG Files Contain all ALE activity monitored and shown on the screen so even if you clear the receive screen first icon on the ALE taskbar the data isn t lost DALOG files All ALE messages except FIP files are saved in the dalog da files So even if you clear the receive screen first icon on the ALE taskbar or anything occurs that kills the program the data isn t lost As both file types are ASCII files you can read them with any text editor such as Notepad if it has not grown to large and print for later analysis if required but only when the file is not in use MOTD User Discretion M
79. is the alternate selection for PTT for external interfaces When it and RTS for PTT are NOT checked then CAT PTT is used if the selected radio type supports CAT PTT NOTE Currently except for radio type NONE and any radio using hardware handshaking the DTR line is held high for the purpose of powering external level converters for PC to radio RS 232 control when NOT checked If DTR is checked for PTT then the line is taken low until used for PTT and removes it as a source of D C power for external level converters Use RTS for Mute Used for Speaker muting with additional interfacing User Discretion when not used for PTT All that applies to RTS for PTT applies to RTS for Mute operation Use DTR for Mute User Discretion Used for Speaker muting with additional interfacing when not used for PTT All that applies to DTR for PTT applies to DTR for Mute operation TBD Unchecked Checked when it is desired to use the TX Audio Level setting for each GROUP Channel rather than the master TX Audio Level value to allow for a constant RF output on all Channels Use Group TX Audio Level Checked When checked PTT ACTIVE and RELEASED PTT Status messages are displayed to the Engineering Window during all two way activity Release Resources FT User Discretion When checked and RESOURCES are released the Radio 1 Com Port Radio 1 COM port will be closed until resources are reclaimed User Discretion When checked and RE
80. is where a number of FS 1052 DLP parameters that effect both ARQ and BRD modes are setup as detailed in the chart below FS 1057 Options Iw Immediate Mode Iw Negotiate Every Series 100 Frame Size E Retry Count 300 BPE 7 Minirurn ARG Datarate AAG Mode Fred C Long Interleave e Variable a e Short Interleave Broadcast Mode 3005 Datarate Transmissions cancel MARS ALE SE Configuration Parameters Updated 6 22 08 POC NNNOWWL NC e mail nnnOww 1 marsale org Parameter Description Comments and Notes Configuration FS NM Main Menu select Configuration Click on 1052 Options FS 1052 Appendix B Options Immediate Mode Checked Requires FS 1052 to be in LINKED or ALWAYS as selected from the MIL STD 188 110 menu Supports starting an FS 1052 session by just entering the message and clicking on OK from the FS 1052 message dialog without first having established an ALE link When OK 1s clicked the tool will automatically make the ALE LINKing call to establish the ALE LINK NOTE The new MARS Immediate Link State 39 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MILS does not require an actual ALE LINK to be established Negotiate Every During ARQ handshaking FS 1052 DLP will Series negotiate new data rate and interleave at present the interleave does not change more code is needed based on channel conditions and parameters selected below Frame Size 100 Range 56 1023 T
81. it works Each time a channel change is made the Ant Port number entered will be selected if O or a number in excess of the device capability will result in no change Supports the LDG DTS 6 6 port manual push button TLL interface antenna selection switch A user supplied RS 232 to TTL interface is required details of the designed used by the SDT in development shall be provided A proper port selection for ANT SW Comm Port must also be entered for proper operation NOTE Support of the DTS 6R in a Y cable arrangement with the DTS 6 and PC is under development How it works See DTS 4 above Supports the LDG AT200PC ATU and its 2 antenna port selections only if the AT200PC is also the selected ATU type The proper port selection for ATU Comm Port must be made No com port for ANT SW Comm Port is required How it works See DTS 4 above Supports the ACOM2000SW remote antenna switch with its 10 ports The ANT SW Address must be set to xO51h 51 Hex The proper port selection for ATN SW Comm Port must be made Supports the use of RTS for ANT port 1 and DTR for ATN port 2 via the RS 232 port selected as the ANT SW Comm Port This capability in support of user provided interfacing and antenna switching device MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 CUSTOM PORT PARAMETERS CPP On the MIL STD 188 141 options menu next to the COM port entry COM ports 1 16 are supported for CAT co
82. itch this switching is audible The use of these types of radios with an ALE controller hardware or software can make these relays sound a bit like a machine gun cycling In addition the extra amount of relay activation decreases the overall life of the relays However as these BPF are used for filtering transmitted signals they are engaged on the transmit VFO of most radios that offer split frequency operation thus if we operate the radio in SPLIT MODE the BPF relays for most make model radios will not come into play during Scanning Sounding If split mode is selected then during Scanning and Sounding these BPF relays are not energized until the radio in Sounding goes into transmit mode thus the noise is reduced and the wear and tear on the life of the relays is minimized The SDT has found that the QS S approach works perfectly on many of the newer radios however it does not work on all radios examples being the Ten Tec radios the ICOM Marine Grade radios and most Yaesu radios fail to comply many of the Commercial radios tested also fail to comply The ICOM IC 7800 partially supports QS S in that the BPF relays work for QS S by there are front end mixer relays still be switched with relays When you start software it announces if the radio selected for use complies for QS S at program A comprehensive list of radios know to comply is provided in Appendix A of the Radio User Help Guide 82 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released
83. ith both overall channel number and frequency parameters Then follow the directions above for adding a channel beginning with RX ALE ADDRESSES The Primary ALE Address is entered into the OWN ADDRESS database in slot 00 as your primary MARS ALE Address It is the Primary ADDRESS that is normally used as your OWN when making ALE Linking Calls and that OTHER stations will see when your station is making an ALE Linking Call or Sounding However any OWN address in the database is active to receive a call at at all times The software on the calling station side will limit the OWN and OTHER Addressing permitted to only 6 character of less Addresses for AQC ALE operations and will advise when an OWN Address for the current GROUP Channel is not suitable for AQC ALE operation All ALE Addresses should be 6 characters 2 ALE words or less as such addressing provides the greatest probability of achieving and maintaining an ALE linked state The use of 6 character Addresing also supports the use of MIL STD 188 141B Alternate Quick Call ALE AQC ALE which only supports a 6 character 2 word maximum address However for ALE an address can be as long as 15 characters 5 ALE words but such an address provides poor results in linking An Address should always be as short as possible and on even ALE Words 3 characters if possible The ALE standard provides automatic stuffing of one or more signs on the end of an address that is not an even ALE Word wh
84. ition MIL STD 188 141A amp MIL STD 188 110 Controller Sele 7 Pi e EE EE w u e Sune ALE Mode ALTERNATE 60 z VW 2 fo Ax Error dE ale d SE IL i ia ID E Meet Me E Dei Frequency Hz Add Address Delete Address 10163600 M LSB T sg 19 58 56 e 19 58 53 Ta Frequency Hz ut 19 58 19 i GEES 10163500 LSB Ack This GE 19 58 17 op 19 58 15 19 58 11 19 58 08 FRO 06907000 AQC ALE INDIVIDUAL CALL LIHE The Meet Me capability requires that all stations in the link be under computer control and all are using the exact same GROUP Channels configuration then the NCS or any station can steer the group or individual station to a new channel instantly without the need for a voice announcement or even an AMD message The process simply requires entering the RX and TX frequency in Hz channel based pull down from current GROUP is planned and checking LSB if required and clicking OK then an Ordewire message is sent and all the stations will QSY to the new frequency mode pair if entered correctly and if existing in the current GROUP of all linked stations Optionally stations may be added or deleted from the linked stations and an acknowledgement Ack This may be requested 86
85. l you can bring up with the course control until you just see ALC move then back off for no ALC Then you can take a look at your RF output power it should be at least 30 35 or more of your full output power some may be much more NEVER exceed these ALC levels unless you check with someone else that your signal is not distorted You may need to interactively work with the course and fine audio levels you may even need to use the external adjust potentiometer should you have one to get things just right as some PC sound device drivers have poor linearity When complete at any time should you need to reduce your RF power you MUST do so with the TX audio level adjustment within MARS ALE and NOT the radio mic gain or RF power control You may also want to use QuickMix or the like to save the course Playback PC sound device setting for TX audio and reset it prior to use of the tool as MARS ALE does not do so at present Power levels of 10 20 watts work very well with these modes SETTING UP RX AUDIO The RX audio is also first setup using the ALE AFSK modem You need to set your radio audio level if not a fixed port to a level that is comfortable listening and NEVER NEVER NEVER change it If you can t abide by this then you need to use a fixed audio level port on your radio Some radios with fixed output on dedicated ports have been found to have way too MUCH 56 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 output you may need
86. l then only do so when the TX frequency is changed QS S either uses a pre existing control code is sent to the radio to bypass BPF relays such as the Harris RF 350 RT 1446 series or a transceiver is placed into SLPIT VFO operation with VFO A being used for the RX frequency and VFO B being used for TX frequency The TX frequency is sent to the transceivers TX VFO just before TX during Sounding or any type of Call or other transmission under computer control for the given GROUP Channel selected That frequency change will only cause the BPF relays to work if the frequency is different from the last TX frequency sent to the transceiver In addition it is planned that for those radios which support computer control of the internal antenna tuner ATU that when the program has been coded to support the addition of ATU information on the GROUP Channel setup dialog that the program will also manage the state for the ATU so that it is only engaged when the TX is called Most modern Amateur Grade radios use mechanical relays for BPF switching some use expensive linear or less expensive non linear semi conductors which can cause distortion if the best devices are not used which are costly as these less expensive mechanical relay prevent 2nd order distortion at the primary stage of signal processing most manufacturers use relays However when the radio is subjected to rapid frequency changes that exceed the current BPF range the relays sw
87. ld be kept as short as possible Supports 64 ASCII character set Best used for announcing station operation of the day Callsign Maiden Head Grid Square MIL STD 188 100 modem if OFF and any external TNC Modem NOTE MOTD is not part of the ALE standard as such it must always be OFF for AQC ALE use Older hardware ALE controllers may not handle an MOTD Data Block Message DBM This is an optional message protocol that most ALE hardware systems do not provide as standard DBM messages can be up to 32KB in size in MARS ALE NOTE ALE hardware units tested to date are not compatible with MARS ALE or PC ALE DBM ARQ DBM ARQ This protocol will send a short message of EEI length usually in one piece however longer messages will display piece by piece depending on the size the system may exchange multiple ACK NAK sequences prior to completion This protocols has a musical quality to it toward the end the sending station will get a confirmation message similar to 00 31 33 FRQ xxxxxxxx MSG SENT AAR2EY DBM ARQ with Terminate when done checked Does NOT clear the link when done Sending station will see a message similar to 00 50 58 FRQ xxxxxxxx MSG SENT AAR2EY DBM BRD Broadcasts the message no automatic feedback regarding success LINKED TWX is NOT to be checked If you have it checked you will receive a HANDSHAKE FAILED indication for the number of retries you have set and you will always g
88. le Engineering Window area the small CLI will be retained With the new Data Bar MMI CLI you just type the commands and any supporting arguments and don t need to worry about text case The Data Bar operates in a keyboard fashion when in a normal ALE or AQC ALE linked state for the PCSDM modem protocols where all that is sent via the MSG CLI text entry AMD s are limited to 90 characters no matter how many are typed and the text is converted to upper case automatically as a single line message when ENTER is hit is displayed as an outgoing message in the Message Window intermixed with any responses from a Remote ALE station thus if Log to Disk is enabled you get a full two way exchange log The Data Bar is in data mode by default at program start and is in ARQ mode for BRD mode you need to check BRD FEC which only affects PCSDM protocols Any use of the Data Bar for the external TNC Modem support can be made at anytime whether ALE linked or not When not ALE linked entering an OTHER ADDRESS into ADDRESS and selecting AMD DTM DBM or FS 1052 and entering a message will cause an ALE linking call to commence this is NOT supported for AQC ALE with an AMD as you can NOT send an AMD during an AQC ALE linking call and after the ALE link the message in the selected mode will be sent and the link will be maintained as there is no provision at this time for a Terminate when done selection as there is on the Data Dialogs for the PCSDM protocols You can
89. lready linked you can send an AMD and if you are not yet linked and are in baseline NORMAL ALE you can initiate a LINKing call with an AMD message CTRL F Opens the File Transfer dialog where if you are already linked you can send a file using FS 1052 FTP or DBM FTP and if you are not yet linked and are in baseline NORMAL ALE you can initiate a LINKing call with an AMD message CTRL I When a linked state exists opens the Individual Clear dialog CTRL L Lists up to the last 100 AMD messages received CTRL M Opens the MSTD 188 110 Message dialog where if you are already linked you can send a FS 1052 message and if you are not yet linked and are in baseline NORMAL ALE you can initiate a LINKing call with an AMD message Optionally you can utilize the MILS capability NOTE Not applicable to MARS ALE Legacy Edition CTRL Q When an AQC ALE link has been established opens the Quick AMD Dictionary dialog to send a QAMD message CTRL T Opens the Send DTM Message dialog where if you are already linked you can send an AMD and if you are not yet linked and are in baseline NORMAL ALE you can initiate a LINKing call with an AMD message 78 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 i MARS ALE Standard Edition MIL STD 188 141A amp MIL STD 188 110 Controller File Edit ToolBar Configuration Tools Channels Addresses Scan Call Data AQC Clear Fill Help 7 S Tones MIL 5TD 188 1104 Ser
90. mbedded radio equipments which require extensive training to master Do expect to put some effort into the MARS ALE learning curve as this is a sophisticated communications tool developed to work within the MS Windows environment rather than the normal embedded hardware implementation of an ALE modem controller Do fully read this and other MARS ALE documentation before attempting to make any use of MARS ALE Do follow all the directions and recommendations of the MARS ALE documentation Don t allow your MARS ALE license dat file to get out of your safe keeping Don t assume MARS ALE doesn t work as advertised and if must be a problem with the software just because other PC Sound Device Modem software works on your system and MARS ALE does not seem to work Don t assume MARS ALE is just another digital mode program and should work with your current radio station PC Sound Device interfacing and settings because other applications work as configured MARS ALE has timing requirements that preclude use of VOX interfaced switching and directly interfaces with the PC Sound Device driver Don t assume that all ALE stations are using MARS ALE many are using ALE hardware solutions and that only support AMD for messaging and rely on other protocols for follow on data Thus when ALE linked with an attended station always agree on the follow on data protocol prior to transmission Don t have any screen saver s or system hibernate or resource
91. nge of the state for the particular parameter In the future the state of the push buttons being depressed will indicate that the parameters is Enabled at present there is no correlation P The two list box controls provide for the selection of values for TWA and SCLC a mouse double click of the left mouse button will cause the selection of the highlighted parameter and a message in the lower engineering window indicating the change has taken place jaj lulz pD ame The Icon Tool Bar as seen above resides just above the two messaging windows from left to right icons are 79 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Clear Screen White Square icon Clears all text from both the Message window and Monitor windows Toggle Receiver Muting Black Speaker icon Mutes receiver audio as operator has configured Push To Talk Red Square icon Immediately toggles Radio PTT line as operator has configuredfor PTT Step Back a Channel Less Than symbol Causes the controller to reset the radio frequency and move to the most previous channel in the currently selected GROUP not used for single channel operation Pause Scan Double Vertical Bars Causes SCANNING or SOUNDING to Pause not used forsingle channel operation Step Forward a Channel Greater Than symbol Causes the controller to reset the radio frequency and move to the next channel in the currently selected GROUP not used for single ch
92. ntrol is a button labeled Radio 1 Comm Port this selects the Custom Port Parameters setup dialog IW Radio 1 Comm Port The CPP serial port settings are only enabled when the baud rate is other than 0 which tells the tool not to use the hard coded parameters when O regardless of other entries on this dialog the default coded parameters are used CPP can be entered for only one instance of use thus when CCP settings are changed for the currently selected radio type selected if they do not apply to another radio type that may later be selected where said other radio type supports CPP settings if the parameters selected do not apply they would need to be updated At present there is NO support for any custom Radio Address selection only the default factory radio address as listed below for any model which requires such is supported Radio 1 Custom Port Parameters E Here we can add 4 note on the radia Setup Note 3600 Baud Hate i x Stop Bits E ll Data Bits R ll Parity Radio Address Disable Radio Pre Contiguration Cancel If a particular radio model supports CPP selection then an appropriate Baud Rate along with Stop Bits Data Bits and Parity can be entered The use of CPP is a must for any Kenwood radio that supports greater than 4800 baud if such higher baud rate operation is desired as the default baud rate for all Kenwood models in MARS ALE the starting default is 4800 baud regardless of what the
93. on retries When completed successfully the sending station will get a message similar to 01 13 47 FRQ xxxxxxxx LINKED AAR2EY 01 13 45 REMOTE TRANSFER OK download ALE Iconl jpg 01 13 32 FRQ 05711000 Good Msg 01 13 32 FRQ 05711000 DB NORMAL ALE 01 13 32 FRQ 05711000 dtm crc word Data Terminal Message DTM This is an optional message protocol that most ALE hardware systems do not provide as standard DTM messages can be up to 32KB in size DTM BRD LINKED TWX is NOT to be used The sending station end will default to OFF When active on the receiving end it will signal a handshake failure as the receiving station its not to send a confirmation handshake for DTM BRD DTM BRD Terminate when done Clears the LINK when done the sending station will get an additional set of messages similar to the following 22 59 54 FRQ xxxxxxxx CLEARED AAR2EY 22 59 48 FRQ xxxxxxxx MSG SENT AAR2EY DTM ARQ LINKED TWX is REQUIRED checked at both sending and receiving stations During the sending of the message depending on the size the system may exchange multiple ACK NAK sequences prior to completion The receiving station will see even short messages of a few lines display piece by piece on their terminal NOTE ALE hardware DTM ARQ tested to date is 100 compatible with MARS ALE DTM ARQ Terminate when done Fails Until further notice do not bother to use this option 70
94. one or not Thus for best operation every time you start the tool this dialog should also should the sound device you have selected by it naming convention In addition due to additional algorithms added to the new modem core not only does the recommended use of PCI or better yet external sound devices work well such as USB port sound device support for most PC s using AC 97 based on the board sound chip sets as found in laptops and other computers as long as audio isolation transformers are used on both input and output and all other connections between the PC and radio are properly shielded grounded isolated and filtered work very well for the 8FSK modem and up to 600bps using the MIL SDTD 188 110 modem However the best choice for a sound device remains one of the various external units such as USB PC Card FireWire etc details can be found in the Radio Help User Guide Although the fine tune Volume Levels used for adjusting both RX and TX audio can be adjusted on this dialog with the slider controls it is recommended that it be done on the MIL STD 188 141A Options menu until such time as this dialog displays the actual numeric value Soundcard Configure Input Device USE Audio ll Output Device USB Audio W Line In Mie In 42 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MARS ALE SE Configuration Parameters Updated 6 22 08 POC NNNOWWL NC e mail nnnOwwl marsale org Parameter
95. ovides a full listing of all supported radios and which selections support various make models that are not specifically listed on the Radio Type pull down menu No parameters selected on this dialog are changed until the used selects OK As a MARS ALE build release usually leads documentation release screen captures herein may not 100 match the latest software screen MIL STD 188 1414 Options Scan Rate Radio Type We ob eer SE Di MCOM R2 RADIO HELP EnablesDigable Release Resources ATU Type i Sounding This 1S Sound Voice Detect UseRTSforPTT fw PTT Status Display i Radia 1 Com Port w Polling Display Sounds jw Log to disk C Use DTR tem EEN AT200PC M LO Display Bad Data 7 iv Pe Sand be Listen Calls M MOTD Use BTS for Mute CMG VICE ANT Switch Type Listen Mode al Use OTR for Mute Linked TWX T Use CAT for Mute NONE S Freg Display f i Display Date Linked Batch File Unlinked Batch File i Use GROUPYChannel TX Audio Level e e El Allcalls Anpcalls Wild Cards AGC ALE AQC Burst TETIN ESE Pk Parameters 60 Sounding Period 300 Twa la Scie 1 Radio 1 Comm Port E Resound Period 30 PTTD ms io Listen time D I Radio 2 Comm Port ER Sounding Attempts 1440 LOA Timeout 5 T Audio Level D Radio 1 ALT PTT Port Best LOA Attempts 30 Frame votes 49 AX Aude Level Z ATU Comm Pot DLY ton MSOTR fog msATS ag j2 BYPASS TUNE ALE Data Parameters 2 Attempts 3 FrameEnors O UnM
96. poor channel conditions In extensive testing at our 2Mhz channel with signals just barely above the noise floor only a 30 success rate using the a radio IF SHIFT center detent position as labeled above as TOO LOW was achieved Using that same IF SHIFT setting if the signal level is raised to optimal 100 success rate is then had However when the signals are just above the noise floor that IF SHIFT open setting which is labeled CENTER 1625 above achieves 100 success rate using DBM DTM ARQ and DBM DTM BRD message protocols Without either 3Khz IF BW filters or proper IF SHIFT adjustment the modem does not see the full spectrum of ALE waveform required and results will suffer Receiver AGC should either be set to FAST or OFF obviously for attended operation OFF would be annoying so most stations will use FAST however SLOW MED or other than FAST or OFF will not provide optimum results Receiver NOISE BLANKERS for pulse type noise can be ON Receiver DSP NOISE REDUCTION either Audio or IF can be ON 58 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Receiver NOTCH FILTERING of any type must be OFF Receiver SQUELCH should be wide open However it can be adjusted so as to quiet channels where the user suffers from a high noise floor to the point where the channel with the lowest noise level is squelched Receiver RF GAIN should be full open however the user can adjust it to quiet the receiver if needed The same is true of A
97. provement is larger than the amount of the attenuation A more down to earth way to put this is if you can add enough attenuation to limit the noise level to S 1 or S 2 you will hear many more signals that were previously inaudible because the noise was keeping the AGC 73 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 unnecessarily high For example tune in a channel between 2 and 5Mhz and listen for poor channel conditions now add the 30 dB or more of attenuation to get the S meter down to the low end of its range You will almost certainly discover that your receiver works a lot better than you expected Although the receiver RF Attenuator can be utilized most radios do not provide a sufficient range of attenuation steps alone to be the answer However most newer radios provide better way to derive improved dynamic range from a reduced noise floor level which will make the difference between success or failure The receiving station can make use of their IPO AIP PREAMP or RF gain settings depending on the make model radio being utilized Depending on your radio if you have IPO Yaesu Intercept Point Optimization or AIP Kenwood Advanced Intercept Point or RF PREAMP choices on ICOM radios or whatever your make model calls the ability to provide an improved dynamic range also reduces adjacent signal interference should that be a factor from a reduced noise floor by decreased RF gain at the first receive RF amplifier use it as
98. r a link to be established and maintained in the absence of traffic The ARQ variable length frame protocol is used along with a technique to maintain the data link connection in the absence of user data between the two connected stations until data is ready to send Long Interleave Unchecked Long interleave is best for poor channel conditions 40 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Short Interleave Checked Broadcast Mode Data Rate Transmissions 1 Range 1 50 41 At present does not work well on a good channel although it should NOTE This setting over rides the selection for data rate and interleave for ARQ FTP operation on the MIL STD 188 110 menu for the first transmission only by the interleave selected here and at 600BPS data rate Short interleave is best for good channel conditions NOTE This setting over rides the selection for data rate and interleave for ARQ FTP operation on the MIL STD 188 110 menu for the first transmission only by the interleave selected here and at 600BPS data rate Combinations of 75 2400 BPS with SHORT or LONG interleave are available NOTE 75BPS should be used on the worst channel conditions and by those with 3Khz BW 150 300BPS poor to good channels selecting the most appropriate PSK Carrier and Symbol Rate from the MIL STD 188 110 menu NOTE The 75BPS mode is extremely robust as it is implemented using a pseudo RAKE receiver Spread Sp
99. r selection 35 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 has become the defacto standard for MARS to MARS communications using the MIL STD 188 110 modem as all radio used in MARS operations will support that required bandwidth 36 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MARS ALE SE Configuration Parameters Updated 6 22 08 POC NNNOWWL NC e mail nnnOwwl marsale org Parameter Parameter Configuration MIL STD 188 110 Unchecked ALWAYS Unchecked ASYNC Unchecked FS 1052DLP Checked Parameter Main Menu select Configuration Click on MIL STD 188 110 Options OFF disables MIL STD 188 110 modem none of the protocols will be active OFF LINKED ALWAYS are interactive only one state can be selected at a time NOTE At this time OFF should be the default mode only enable when use of the MIL STD 188 110 modem is planned NOTE OFF can not be the mode in effect when the use of a standard immediate FS 1052 message to establish an ALE LINKed state or a MILS message is desired NOTE The MIL STD 188 110 modem is a hog on system resources for legacy computers under S66MHZ CPU it will have a dramatic loading affect when not OFF and on such systems it may not be able to decode any transmission being sent however transmitting will still function thus FS 1052 BRD can be used to send off a message fast LINKED allows MIL STD 188 110 modem operation only when LINKed OFF LINKED
100. rames are best for poor channels as any 100 Good Channel needed resends will be short DBM ARQ is deeply interleaved and will usually send a standard EEI Range is 10 1800 length message with 3 exchanges when set to 100 if channel conditions are good The range is 10 1800 overall compression ee Sounding Period 60 The Period in minutes between sounding transmissions when Sounding is Checked and the Range is 1 300 tool is actively Scanning Aside from NCS approved pre check beaconing modified form of Sounding this value should never be less than 60 Some ALE networks prefer 120 NOTE For information on NCS _ pre check in Beaconing please contact AAR3BB AAA9HT 5 Period in minutes after which an attempt will be made to sound on a channel if a scheduled sound failed Aside from NCS approved pre check Range is 0 300 PP P J beaconing this value should never be less than 5 Sounding Attempts 5 This is the number of times the ALE controller will try all GROUP Channels for scheduled sounding Range 1 5 pass or fail TBD The number of linking calls to make on the best LQA ranked channel 2 LQA Attempts TBD The number of linking calls to make on the second best LQA ranked channel Attempts All Chans 1 10 TBD The number of calls to make on channels beyond the Best and Second Best LQA ranked channels ATU Tune Words 0 2 When set to 0 ATU Tune Words is off When set between 1 27 and ATU Tone Tune is NOT User Di
101. rd Edition SE v1 03 Beta Build 10341 f 20740000 Hz USB 207400 MIL STD 188 1414 HF Link Establishment Controller 25 13473500 Hz USB 134735 d MIL STD 188 110A4 Serial Tone Modem 24 11098500 Hz USB 110985 d FED STD 1052 Appendix B Data Link Controller 23 9224000 Hz USB 922400 4 22 7642000 Hz USB 764200 Een Aa UER EE MARS ALE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TEAM 19 3349000 Hz USB 334900 LEAD PROGRAMMER NNNOVWYLINJ 2046500 e mail nnnOwywi marsale org RX FREQ Send an e mail to REIDMAH aol com to arrange technical assistance 35 FRO 02046500 Join the technical forum at http groups yahoo com qroupMARS ALE 35 FRO 02046500 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 35 FRO 02046500 TESTED IT HAY NOT BE 35 FRO 02046500 SR ALE SDT VIA EHAIL TO 35 FRO 02046500 NNNOVWL MARSALE ORG VITH AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE FOR ITS ANALYSIS 35 FRO 02046500 Sete eeeeeee cece cee eecELELETETETTELELELELELTTAEAELELELELAEAEAERELEREEEETELES 35 FRO 02046500 For a listing of QS S supported radios in see Radio Help Guide Appendix A 35 FRO 02046500 Se eee eee ee eee EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEE EE EEE EE TELE EEE EEE EEE EE EEE EE EE EEE EEEEEEEEE 35 FRO 02046500 222 eee eee eee SESEEEETEEEEE EEE EEE E TEE EEE EE EEE EEE EEE EEL ETE EEE EEE TEE EEEEEEEEEEE 35 FRO 02046500 HARS ALE Standard Edition SE v1 03 Beta started Running build B103A1 35 FRO 02046500 eee eee eee cece EEEEEEEEEEE TEE
102. rds does not display anything with respect to the MIL STD 188 110 modem This option is a window into the tools State Machine as it changes from state to state based on user input and messages being sent and received with commands and data This option produces very heavy output especially during Scanning Sounding operation The information is only of interest to the SDT This option displays all Events TX Timers Frame Begins Ends Transmissions Complete etc it produces very heavy output The information is only of interest to the SDT See MIL STD 188 141 A FS 1045A for details This option allows command strings to be decoded It is a good way of seeing AMD and DTM ASCII messages when receiving Displays very little during DBM messages Also LQA and some other cmds will de displayed The controller can identify all the 141B command messages but can only decode and display a subset of them such as TIS and TWS etc See MIL STD 188 141 A FS 1045A for details The information is only of interest to the SDT This option displays the timers such as TWA TWRT TWT etc not of much interest to the user unless directed to provide feedback to the SDT The information is only of interest to the SDT See MIL STD 188 141A FS 1045A for details This option provides heavy data flow during MIL STD 188 110 transmit and receive and a little data during ALE states The information is only of interest to the SDT MARS ALE v2 00 Quick St
103. response if itis NORMAL ALE you need to be in AQC ALE ENABLED if its an AQC ALE call and it a link is established your station will immediately drop out of MILS BRD and enter regular ALE linked mode if the linking call from the OTHER station fails you will remain in MILS BRD When in MILS BRD you can make a linking call to an OTHER station an if that succeeds you will drop out of MILS BRD automatically T1 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 ACCELERATOR KEYS AND FRONT PANEL CONTROLS MARS ALE Standard Edition MIL STD 188 1414 amp MIL SID 188 110 Controller File Edit ToolBar Configuration Tools Channels Addresses Scan Call Data AQC Clear Fill Help As covered elsewhere the tool provides the standard Windows top level menu structure for access to all setup operational menus ALT letter accelerator keys are provided for each selection hold down the ALT key and the letter for each selection will be exposed such as ALT C for the Channels menu In addition the following accelerator key combinations have been added to speed certain functions that are even quicker with a key combination than a mouse ALT Z In the spirit of the Z Signal ZAT opens the Send AMD Message dialog where if you are already linked you can send an AMD and if you are not yet linked and are in baseline NORMAL ALE you can initiate a LINKing call with an AMD message CTRL B Opens the Send DBM Message dialog where if you are a
104. ress Insert your ALE MARS SELCAL Address as the PRIMARY address which is address 00 For AQC ALE the currently active OWN must be 6 characters or less Click on Add Other Enter Address Here you enter any legitimate ALE SELCAL Primary or Secondary for stations that you will be calling must be 6 characters or less for AQC ALE Telnet Address If you will be using LQA Builder BBSlink or any Telnet application with MARS ALE for command and control you must provide an IP address and Port to connect with MARS ALE The standard Telnet Port Address is 23 which can always be used The standard loop back IP Address of 127 0 0 1 will suffice if the Telnet application communicating with MARS ALE is running on the same PC Interface Enabled must be checked and OK clicked and MARS ALE must be restarted for the Telnet address to become effective TCP IP amp SWALE Configuration ID Address Fort far fo fo fv a yf w Interface Enabled o Cancel If your Telnet application will be running on another PC on your network then you must determine the IP address of the PC which MARS ALE will be running on and 1f that address is not static then whenever that PC is restarted its IP address much be checked to determine 1f the IP address in MARS ALE needs to be updated Most PC networks at home use IP addressing of 192 168 0 x where x is 2 through 255 for the PC s on the network 32 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 2
105. rmat NNOxxx for TNC usage For exclusive use in NMCM Net Call Star Net operation the last three characters of their MARS call sign may be used as it provides a unique address through out the organization and provides the most benefits with ALE Addressing Examples PRIMARY NNNOBCI BCINNN AQC ALE SELCAL NNNOBCI BCINNN STAR NET NNNOBCI BCI Add Addresses The OWN Address is your MARS callsign and any extension or modification as directed by operational directives for use by stations that will be calling you and for your station to identify with during all ALE transmissions such as Linking Calls Sounding TIS and TWS and the sending of all ALE 8FSK modem protocol based messages Add Own Address Eg rea The OTHER address is the SELCALL of the station that you will be calling Add Other Address E Address 1045 TT ms 2048 twp ms The TT and TWR parameters on the Add Other Address dialog are TT tune up time delay of antenna tuner or coupler and TWR wait for reply time The default values are acceptable for both ALE and AQC ALE These parameters if not set the same by all stations within a group of stations can cause failures in timing needed for Linking and Messaging its best for all to use the defaults 5I MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Notes Add Addresses These are the steps to Main Menu select Addresses Add an OWN and OTHER Address Click on Add Own Enter Add
106. s power down while running MARS ALE Don t hesitate to provide the MARS ALE SDT feedback on the tool and its documentation MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 TABLE OF CONTENTS ES 5 ALE FREQUENCY SERLECTION 7 ALE OPERATIONAL LIMITATIONS 7 REPERENC EE 8 INSTALLING THE SORIARR 10 STARTING THE PROGRAM 11 MARS ATECONRIGURATION 00 cece ec eee 14 MIL STD 188 141A OPTIONS MENU 17 MIL STD 188 110 OPTIONS MENU 34 FS 1052 APPENDIX B OPTIONS MENU 37 SOUND CARD CONFIGURE 0 0 c cece cece eee 40 RAC EN Gr VEIN Wy a onsite eens ocdsncarein sd dantacarate oscspasisplatuaro tenable a 42 CURRENT GROUP SETUP wisi uscnosedscevvezedovneaubiaeindsd 44 ADD CHANNE enee EN 45 ALE ADDRESSES EE 47 ADD ADDRESSES EE 48 PC SOUNDS AND ALE MODEM 49 SETTING UP TX AU DIO EE 50 SETTING UP RX AUDIO E 51 RECHERCHER EE 52 HOW SYNC WORKS EEN 53 TRACING RE E EE 58 DA RE TEE 60 RADIO ADIUSTMENTIS 0 cece ee cee cece cee cee eee 64 ACCELERATOR KEYS AND FRONT PANEL ON TTR Sais hee E eee ee 66 QUIET SCANNING SOUDNING 0 0 0 c cece ee 70 ALTERNATE QUICK CALL OOALE 72 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 PREFACE MARS ALE is a software based ALE Controller Modem which requires at a minimum an MS Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 based host computer system running no less than an 866Mhz Pentium CPU perhaps as low as a 450Mhz CPU if the MIL STD 188 110 modem is set to
107. scretion checked it is active and will provide a tone to ATU tuning using the ALE AFSK modem using any PC sound device in the system for a duration based on Range 0 27 the value entered However the entered value is 24 Resound Period MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Use greater than 2 for ATU training only User Discretion Range 1 100 ATU Tune Level Flush Logs Hour TBD 300 Range 0 1000 Automatically set to 180 if 0 at Scan Start PTTD ms 30 30 75 typically Range 3 100 000 DCD Threshold 4 Range is 0 20 Sync Votes 10 av Range 0 30 Frame Votes 30 Range 0 30 NOT exactly in 1 second increments as its based on the Tribit buffer for an ALE data Word 1 equals about 33 of 1 second or so thus a value of 3 is about one second and 27 is about 10 seconds PLANNED Adjusts the drive level for RF output power when ATU Tune Words is being used When 0 minimum drive based on the setting being used for ALE tones will be generated NOTE At the moment this is not yet working TBD The Zulu time of day when the log files will be automatically flushed and new ones created based in the Zulu Date Time This action takes place only once during each 24 hour period Timeout Wait for Activity in seconds If no PTT activity has taken place the LINK will time out Sets the LINK timeout time period in seconds Set to zero 0 your LINK will never time out Set higher for un
108. sent once and the speed can be locked or allow to change with channels conditions in an async manor The number or re transmissions for errors are selected under the FS 1052 DLP Appendix B Options menu There is no handshake with BRD MIL STD 188 110 MARS Immediate Link State MILS The MARS ALE tool beginning with BOO7A8 has the ability to make use of the MIL STD 188 110 PSK modem by creating an artificial LINKed state and using any protocol and mode supported by the MIL STD 188 110 modem FS 1052 DLP MILS Operation A When you have an ALE or AQC ALE LINK established MILS is disabled B When you do NOT have a ALE LINK established MILS is an option C The RX station simply clicks DATA gt FS 1052 gt MILS RX and they are ready to receive You no longer need to select the address of the station that will be sending the message just as you do NOT in ALE D The TX station simply clicks DATA gt FS 1052 gt types pastes the message and selects ARQ or BRD default and clicks on MILS TX 71 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 E When the message has been sent successfully or NOT the TX station will send the ALE CLEAR to break the link The ALE CLEAR has been improved and works much better However should it fail the RX station should hit their AXE to CLEAR If you don t you will still be in MILS RX and LINKed to the station that sent you the message as your system now knows who that station is from Addres
109. sing You will NOT be able to send anything until you clear the link I2 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 RADIO ADJUSTMENTS During Single Channel operation the experienced operator can make certain radio receiver adjustments to improve operation When poor channel conditions exist such as high noise levels static crashes and weak signals that causes problems during a LINKing attempt where NORMAL ALE fails to link use of AQC ALE can also be made to overcome such channel conditions the operator s can often compensate for the poor channel conditions with radio receiver and transmitter adjustments WEAK SIGNALS When weak signals that causes TUNE Sync pulse waveform vertical line to go from GREEN to RED to GREEN and jump about the receiving station can request that the sending station increase RF output power this is actually supported in MIL STD 188 141B as an ALE command in support of an ALE hardware radio capability to reduce power during linking automatically but is not implemented in MARS ALE STRONG SIGNALS When strong signals causes TUNE GREEN Sync pulse waveform vertical line to go from GREEN to RED to GREEN and jump about the receiving station can request that the sending station decrease RF output power this is actually supported in MIL STD 188 141B as an ALE command in support of an ALE hardware radio capability to reduce power during linking automatically but is not implemented in
110. sooner this would occur This is no longer the case the program will no run for as long as the Windows OS remains stable To cure this problem an FFT Reset routine as been incorporated into the new modem that periodically resets the sliding FFT algorithm which is called when we scan to a new channel when ALE word SYNC is lost every 60 minutes if not in Word SYNC hunting TUNE Window Tones mode During ALE reception the TUNE Tone display provides a visual indication of the audio spectrum passband where the 8 ary ALE tones will alternate between GREEN YELLOW and RED as SYNC is achieved discussed in more detail later in this section and the Sync section and data is being demodulated During MIL STD 188 110 modem operation this display has no meaning other than showing the deviation from center frequency of the serial waveform A MARS MIL STD 188 141A amp MIL STD 188 1 Fie Edit Configuration Tools Channels Addresse msc H The Tones mode also provides feedback regarding your receive audio level indicator being fed to the PC device a k a sound card modem via the last vertical Purple bar which will indicate 61 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 audio level from the receiver at all times This audio level indicator should be about one quarter to one third of the height of the window as seen above when the ALE 8 ary tones are being received during ALE linking and messaging Th
111. tem for a faster linking process The primary focus of AQC ALE is to establish a link between two or more stations as rapidly as possible Once linked information can be exchanged in the most efficient manner as is common between stations AQC ALE is basically a tactical tool in that although it supports Scanning Sounding and most things that baseline a k a NORMAL ALE supports AQC ALE is usually used in small tactical network operations rather than fixed point 24 7 ALE Network operations MARS ALE is always listening for the baseline ALE call and shall automatically respond and operate in that mode or AQC ALE when called However to initiate an AQC ALE contact the operator must select AQC from the MIL STD 188 141 Options menu by checking AQC This selection is NEVER to be checked when Sounding on standard ALE networks at this time AQC ALE allows for a maximum of a 6 character 2 ALE word address for both the OWN OTHER and NET address and MARS ALE has been written to fully trap for any addressing in excess of 6 characters In addition AQC ALE does NOT support AMD DTM or DBM during link set up or an AMD at link clear or an MOTD or initiating an AQC ALE link by use of a MIL STD 188 110 modem associated link request MARS ALE has been written to exclude these types of messages when initiating or clearing an AQC ALE link however it is up to the user NOT to use MOTD when using AQC ALE ZE MARS ALE Standard Edition MIL STD 188 141A amp
112. tering most Miltary radios offer an IF passband of 300 3300hz most Amateur Radio and Commercial grade SSB transceivers only offer 2 4Khz filters from 300 2700hz The 8FSK ALE system tones are 750 2500hz with a full bandwidth out 1 75hz which means that a 1 8Khz filter would even work if the IF shift was correct but no less than 2 1Khz should really be used Filters of 2 8 3 0Khz work much better and the IF SHIFT can be left center and ignored Radios that have no IF SHIFT really need to have wide 3Khz IF filters Radios that offer some type of cascade SLOPE FILTERING to bring in the passband much be open all the way to their widest settings Radios with less than 3Khz IF BW filters require their IF SHIFT be properly adjusted for best ALE results Below is an image of the TUNE Tones display and the affects of IF SHIFT settings The lower left image depicts IF SHIFT set too low for best ALE results such as center 2 4Khz passband or less whereas the center the image depicts IF SHIFT properly set up for 1625hz center passband for ALE needs and at lower right is when the IF shift up to high such as 1800 1900hz which no one likely does As one can easily see only the middle image comes close to providing the full BW needed for the 750 2500hz ALE tones as seen just listening to channel noise TOO LOW CENTER 1625 TOO HIGH This issue of IF BW or Passband Centering manifests itself on poor quality signals especially weak or fading signals or very
113. test full install of MARS ALE where no commands are active thus they are dummy files and need to be present to suppress the error messages The format of these MMI files is that a pound sign is a remark and all after it on the line is ignored by the MMI interpreter For a line without a pound sign an MMI command string is expected with no more than 20 words or 1 000 characters which ever comes first with a maximum limit of 255 lines per file 53 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 When MMI commands are processed an error message will be displayed in the engineering window for each MMI command line when the line contains an error Any illegal commands will result in SYNTAX ERROR Any command that is legal but not in the correct order will generate an AMBIGUOUS COMMAND Any command that requires parameters after will generate NOT ENOUGH PARAMETERS when the arguments are missing LIMIT CALLING ENABLE LIMITCALLING Enable the use of SET MINTIMECALLING and SET MAXTIMECALLING DISABLE LIMITCALLING Disable the use of SET MINTIMECALLING and SET MAXTIMECALLING CMD SET MINCALLTIME n Where n is in seconds CMD SET MAXCALLTIME n Where n is in seconds LDG AT200PC The line LDG MANAUAL when not remarked out places the LDG AT200PC ATU into MANUAL When an ALE link takes place It will automatically go back into AUTO when the ALE link is cleared LDG MANUAL MACRO Ee EE MACROI MAC i Enable Listen Mode
114. the ORG file to be used at that point your OWN ADDRESS and all of your Scan GROUPS have been configured All items added from an imported QRG file and all changes to configuration made manually are saved to the tools ALE DAT database file which is automatically created if missing or corrupt with default settings for most parameters however many parameters must still be user entered The only time all changes to data affecting the ALE DAT file are written is when the tool is normally terminated Changes made by loading a QRG will NOT be made until normal program termination Changes made while using the MIL STD 188 141 or MIL STD 188 10 Options dialog are made when OK is selected on the respective dialog 15 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MIL STD 188 141A Options Menu The MIL STD 188 141A Options menu selected under Configuration as seen in the following screen capture has the bulk of the parameters that are required at initial setup However some of these parameters require revisiting periodically during operational use of the tool e g Scan Rate for Scanning and SCLC predicated on calling a station on frequency or Scanning Sounding through the frequency as two examples As this menu is where the Radio Type and its com port are selected there is also a hot link to the Radio Help Operator Guide another Adobe PDF file which provides full details on radio related matters Appendix A pr
115. tions equipments The configuration settings for these devices are automatically saved to the ALE DAT file but must be manually exported to a QRG file WARNING If you use any FULL install of MARS ALE and select a path different than an existing installed version it WILL change the path settings for your standard MARS ALE desktop icons Thus if you added the installation to a new sub directory like MARS ALE_SE when you click on the ICON you will fire off that build and NOT the previously installed build Thus make your own icons to the build s that you may want to work with WARNING ALE was developed with specific radio characteristics defined for its proper operation clean undistorted audio on both TX no to little ALC and RX are critical parameters Receiver Bandwidth Filtering IF SHIFT AGC and other parameters must also be properly selected If the HF SSB transceiver is not ALWAYS properly configure for ALE operation results will be poor It is recommended that the Host PC running the MARS ALE software the HF SSB radio equipments be properly configured and dedicated to ALE operations or that a detailed check list be followed prior to such equipments use for ALE much like a pilot performing a pre check prior to take off MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MARS ALE DO s and DON Ts Don t forget that Automatic Link Establishment and supporting standards and protocols are normally implemented using very expensive e
116. to either open the radio and adjust or put in a potentiometer or other means to attenuate the receiver audio to the PC sound device if this is so On the Windows Sound Device Recording Panel you need to select Line In the MARS ALE tool when selected for this should make this happen for you some drivers under some OS s are problematic and you may need to it from the control panel You will need to manually use the balance control to select the Left Stereo Channel of audio or Center of Balance all the way to the Right Channel kills the Left Channel From within the program you need to bring up the RX audio level until you are able to reliably make a NORMAL ALE Link with one of the 24 7 stations on the ALE channels Then you need to work with another station and make sure that you can reliably and consistently receive AMD messages and then DTM BRD and ARQ don t worry about DBM that one will work as soon as you can make a link happen When you have the RX audio level setup for this level of performance on good channels you then at present need to increase the RX audio level by about a factor of 2x to 3x for the PSK modem to work consistently well When you are always seeing the full FS 1052 BRD status messages and RX error being displayed as well as printing the messages on good channel conditions then you have got it setup 57 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 RADIO RECEIVER SETTINGS ALE was designed for 3Khz IF BW fil
117. to various model ICOM FlexRadio and Yaesu transceivers to support dedicated data port operation 0000000 TX Operating frequency entered in Hz If nothing is entered the RX frequency will automatically be saved as the TX frequency Mode USB LSB See RX mode above for details on mode selection USB D LSB D j NOTE If TX mode is not provided RX mode 48 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 i selection willbeused SS DATA VOICE or BOTH If you select Voice you will not be able to perform Usage ES Scanning Sounding or transmit data on the channel Permission RX TX or TXRX If only RX you will NOT be TXRX able to transmit on the channel Checked for Attenuator On and Unchecked for OFF On radios that support ATTN or next best e g PREAMP IPO AIP over the CAT bus when implemented it shall control the use of the ATTN on a channel by channel basis ack ERERSSSE The use of ATTN in MARS ALE is only recommended where the user finds themselves in the on going situation of have near by interfering signals to the channel in question on a regular basis and they are using a baud rate in excess of what is needed for the scan rate being used TX Audio Level Supports TX Audio Level setting on a channel by channel basis to maintain a constant or close to it Was previously Power Range 0 100 RF output level across the MF HF spectrum The Watts Use Group TX Audio Level on the 188 110 dialog
118. under Enable Disable must be checked if not then the TX Audio Level value on the 188 110 dialog which can be considered the master value will be used for all channels ke LI O Encryption Key NOT IMPLEMENTED TX RX Ant Port Selection of radio antenna port at first will be where radio supports more than one port via CAT 0 bus If set to 0 no change will be made from 1 10 Range 0 10 the corresponding port will be selected Later shall support additional means of antenna selection outside of radio ports via a separate setup facility ATU Enable Enables ATU on a channel by channel basis when checked The type of ATU support is predicated KREEER on selections made from the MIL STD 188 141 Options dialog Own Address All OWN addresses entered into the system are available Select the OWN address that you want to associate with this particular channel assignment and GROUP s to be used as your OWN Address when initiating an ALE LINK or using the MIL STD 188 110 message using a protocol that requires an OWN Address Select from Pull down NOTE The OWN Address specified here at present is your RX OWN Address when using MILS RX 0 15 Check each of the 16 GROUPs that you want the Groups added channel to be active for instance the MARS GROUP and any others oO O MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 Edit Channel NOTE From the Modify dialog select the channel displayed w
119. ust the channel number and operating mode NOTE Displays the frequency information from the Group Channel being used however radios not under computer control or those using Radio Memory channels may not follow what is being displayed This option when enabled will display the Zulu DATE and TIME whenever data is displayed in the Engineering Window that contains TIME NOTE For the proper display of Zulu DATE and TIME the PC must be properly setup for Time Zone TBD Executes the LINKED BAT file that must reside in the same directory as the MARS ALE EXE at the time of an ALE link TBD Executes the UNLINKED BAT file that must reside in the same directory as the MARS ALE EXE at the time of the ALE link CLEAR or Time Out The purpose is to detect if there is voice activity on the channel and if so inhibit transmission Best to use during unattended Sounding operation When checked all engineering data in the lower window is saved appended to the current OWLOG files and message data in the top window is saved appended to the current DALOG log file in their respective sub directories Each time the program is run on a new Zulu day a new file is started for that session until the program is terminated and restarted Thus if the program is run over a period of days all data will be contained in one file for those days The OWLOG files are stored in the sub directory owlog which must exist under the directory in which ALE EXE
120. uted Audio D ANT SW Comm Fort Attempts AllChans 10 SyneVotes f MutedAudo E TNC Comm Port M PASSI 7 AMD Fetries i ATU Tune Words o Synce Errors Flush Logs Hour S600 CIS ATS sl 30 DTM Retries ATU Tune Level 4 io IR DCD Threshold Do A Freq Difset Khel 10 Max frame time KAN USB OD 20 DBM Retries 10 Max Frame time Cancel 16 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 MARS ALE SE Configuration Parameters Updated 6 22 08 POC NNNOWWL NC e mail nnnOwwl marsale org Parameter Value Parameter Description Comments and Notes Configuration MIL Main Menu select Configuration click on STD 188 141 MIL STD 188 141A Options Options Scan Rate 2 A setting of 2 ch sec is pretty much the standard used and all radios operating at 4800 baud or better should support it Don t use 5 ch sec unless the radio operates at 9600 baud and above In the future a 10 ch sec scan rate will require 19200 baud minimum NOTE AQC ALE uses 2 ch sec minimum if 1 ch sec is selected 2 ch sec will be used as defined in MIL STD 188 141B Appendix A 5 and 10 ch sec can also be selected Radio Type NONE 1 Select NONE for single channel use of a radio that is either not capable or currently attached to the PC for control Either RTS or DTR must be used for PTT when NONE is selected NOTE With radio type NONE is selected DTR is NOT held High for D C power on the DTR line 2 For a radio under PC control
121. y files they will not be able to intercept the message in whole All users must be using the same set of Dictionaries it s a tactical thing If you do not have the proper set of dictionary files you will still print words just the wrong words of if you have no dictionary files installed or too few words in your dictionary then you will just print the place holder index location such as 1 96 for should have been a word at that 85 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 location in your dictionary which is the place holder of the word in the dictionary that is missing in your dictionary For testing the Dictionary capability a sample integral Dictionary DICTO which is the same for all users and two sample external Dictionaries DICT1 and DICT2 which must all always named the same These files in content and format are subject to change they are only for testing at this time You will note that Q and Z signals are used in the sample DICT 2 These dictionaries can hold 32 words each up to 10 characters long as the tool is currently coded The number of entries can not be changed so 32 entries by 3 dictionaries yields a total of 96 selections However the number of characters per selection for longer phrases can be changes AQC ALE MEET ME AQC ALE provides the Meet Me dialog for rapid frequency changes that can steer an entire net on the fly the Meet Me Orderwire command capability MARS ALE Standard Ed
122. y possible tuning from taking place while sending data If a Memory Tune takes place and data is found that works the tuning time is less than 0 1 seconds however a Full Tune can take 0 5 to 6 seconds NOTE Clicking on LED AT200PC in the future will bring up a full setup and utilities dialog that is TBD RS232 LINES The RTS and DTR lines are used for signal an external ATU for RX BYPASS and TX INLINE LDG PRO Supports the use of LDG PRO model ATU s via their Radio Interface port using a simple DTR line driving reed relay logic line circuit for BYPASS during Scanning The ATU will exit BYPASS automatically under MARS ALE control when Scanning is stopped The ATU will also exit BYPASS at each TX state when RF is applied and upon returning to Scanning MARS ALE will place the ATU back into BYPASS ANT SW Type NONE Antenna switch support is Channel by Channel when the channel is changed and when an Ant Port entry greater than 0 is made on the GROUP Channels Add Edit The Ant Port entry will accept range of 1 10 however not all supported devices provide for 10 antenna ports It is recommended that if Ant Port is used is should be filled in for all channels such as 1 1 2 2 2 2 and not 1 0 2 0 0 O although that would also work when ant 1 is desired for the first two channels and 2 for the last four channels when those channels are being used in the GROUP that they were designated however if they were reused in other GROUPS wh
123. you can increase the dynamic by 100db or more on some receivers Another method that works well if your radio has no fixed selection is to adjust your RF gain to reduce the noise floor but unless your RF gain has an on off and most don t its a lot of knob twisting when stations are coming in at various signal strengths 74 MARS ALE v2 00 Quick Start Guide Released 06 27 08 DATA BAR The MARS ALE Data Bar provides the facility for rapid messaging using any supported protocol where the entire message to be sent is typed into the MGS CLI area of the Data Bar this facilitates rapid sending or resending of a message without the need to navigate the menu s for access to the Data Dialogs In addition the Data Bar provides for direct entry of MMI commands by the operator where an Enter key stroke completes the command sequence Here is the Data Bar docked at bottom of the tool display ADDRESS AAR2EY f AMD C DTM C DBM TNC C FS1052 BRD FEC IT MMICLI REUSE Last CLEAR MSG MSG CLI eee RESET MODEM MILSBRD CHN 24 USB LINKED RX OFF F51052 1200hz2 _2 0Khz 7D1ISTISPN4 BROT 2 BRD6BOOL I N Y 5 MIN i50 F5 100 RC 10 A4RO6005 NUM Just as can the Tool Bar the Data Bar can be docked or floating or closed altogether Code has been added for a new menu selection of Dialog Bars which replaces the previous Tool Bar menu selection for the docking and access of the bars if closed ADDRESS f AMD C DTM DBM TNC FS1052 BRD FEC MM

MARS-ALE SE v2.00 Build B200A0 Quick Start Up Guide

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