SIM-PSK User's Guide
Contents
1. MICHEL MICHEL MICHEL OTH LOCATOR ON2VHF ON2VHF ON2VHF DE F1ABL F1ABL F1ABL PSE KN 5 BUTTON MY_STATION ON2VHF 6 BUTTON MY_STATION F1ABL 7 BUTTON BYE 73 ON2VHP 8 BUTTON BYE 73 F1ABL End of QSO 2nd Round Send 73 bye Tchat Send Info Custom 12 Log Book NB With automatic QSO mode the program does collect and save the information s automatically and then can be uploaded in real time to eQSL cc HRDLog net HAMQTH com and HAMLog eu so there is nothing to do manually during an automatic QSO At the end of automatic traffic we just need to check and correct any possible false info afterwards the Log result can be uploaded to web ham radio login services Format of a QSO withstructured SIM Mode All the fields Callsign Name Qth Locator are initially structured in the program during setup so except on errors the program should get easily and automatically all these infos during a contact afterwards it will display them on the screen and will write each info at the right place into reserved fields without any operator assistance You just have to verify their authenticity and then confirm by clicking the button lt Log gso gt at the end of QSO Save a QSO manually In some rare case eg for not structured messages transmitted in plain text mode or by classic BPSK31 mode you must double click manually one by one on the strings Name QTH LOCATOR in order to2. bauds default mode PSK63 or SIM63 You are ready to use SIM PSK31 Good DX 14 Technical Description SIM31 Structured Integrated Message BPSK31 Name of software SIM PSK Modulation DBPSK Differential Binary Phase Shift Keying Speed 31 bauds 187 char min or 31 25 wpm Pulse shape Similar to classic BPSK31 Bandwidth About 45 Hz Code varicode able to encode characters or messages words or full sentences Demodulation Coherent demodulation Synchronization Automatic on signal Error correction FEC Forward Error Correction tolerates one error bit per character Convolution code NO Interleaved YES Repetition YES only for some structured messages as CQCQ QRZ QRALOC NOM QTH Drift tolerance 10 Hz min depending on signal level Lower limit of intelligibility 17dB in text mode Until 18 5 dB in message mode in presence of white noise with a bandwidth of 3 kHz Reception mode Indifferent LSB or USB Note The freguency adjustment is simplified by staying in USB on all bands Characters set 53 fixed code A Z 0 9 lt CR gt lt SPACE gt No delete character on error nor wait character Lowercase characters are converted to uppercase Special Characters The special characters such as are converted into standard capitals characters in this example E but can be displayed in lowercases locally Messages The messages used as macro by the ham radio ar
3. can also affect the received or transmitted signal so we should first turn off all this AF functions options of course before making any adjustment of level inputs outputs SIM31 Personal info window To configure your personal parameters just select the menu Setting and fill in your personal info s CALL NAME QTH ORA AGE QSL etc NB No more than 12 characters for your Callsign as for Name and OTH Those infos will be used by Macros CALL ON2TSF It s better to avoid as possible the Prefix Suffix NAME BERNARD OTH AUBANGE mas GRID JMS6NU 7 Miles for distance 12 BIRTH 1952 AGE 62 Y YEAR LICENSED 1986 AGE XX YEAR YOUNG LICENCED gt CLUBS EPC 1258 DMC 1256 30MDG 1258 Example SMC 0012 EPC 12365 30MDG 1458 INFO s Y ORZ COM M ORZCA COM TP HRDLOG NET M HAMQTH COM TF CLUBLOG ORG QSLVIA My QSL card will be send via IS Y DIRECT J BUREAU M E_QSLCC LOTW SWL Report accepted Cancel SIM31 Station info window Dialog box for setting up your station infos transceiver power antenna height above ground those infos will be used by Macros M TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC 756PR0 III y OUTPUT POWER 10w y IV ANTENNA MFJ4880T TELESCOPIC80M HEIGHT 12 y METER UP GROUND F INTERFACE RIGBLASTER PLUS STATION INFO N SOFTWARE SIM PSK New SIM31 digimode J UPPER CASE CHARACTERS Epee For PSK31 63 Only Fav
4. copy them one by one into the reserved data fields Then you will press the button lt Log gso gt for saving infos of this QSO into the Logbook data base Remark double click rather on the string NAME before QTH Reserved fields v a MY RSQ 10 20m USB Log menu LOG OPTION SIM CLEAR PSK R CLUSTER HELP SAVE QSO TO LOG DATA BASE EDITLOG in text format right now SEEK CALL IN LOG Please Select the Call to Seek before running this function UPDATE OSO s COUNTERS FROM LOG DATA BASE EXPORT TO lt ADIF gt UPLOAD ADIF for EQSL LOTW HRDLOG Special Mouse Commands SIM RX REPORTER WINDOW Double click any callsign in the SIM Rx reporter window for setting all required parameters and prepare to answer Callsign Mode baud rate and frequency so you are ready to click button lt Answer CQ gt to answer the selected callsign Received text window Double click any callsign to write it into the CALL field before answering Double click any QTH to put it into QTH field for message insertion and before saving to Log Double click onto any Locator to put it into LOCATOR field for saving it to Log SPECTRUM REWIND Left click onto spectrum position rewinds the last 2 minutes signal recorded and decodes it at 31 bauds default mode PSK31 or SIM31 Right click onto spectrum position rewinds the last 2 minutes signal recorded and decodes it in 63
5. 4KO himself thenclick 10 PORTUGAL CO Auto CT4K0 Answer CQ 10 PORTUGAL CQ Auto CT4K0 10 PORTUGAL Double click on a callsign recently recorded the program will prepare itself to start a QSO with this station as follows a The callsign is copied into the CALL field for answering b Rx cursor is positioned on the spectrum at the right frequency c SIM mode and baud rate are updated d The latest infos of your Logbook are displayed Last QSO with this station date Name QTH QRA LOC Nothing else to do just click the lt ANSWER CQ gt button to answer the selected station present on the air Just two mouse clicks without any keyboard entry are sufficient to start a SIM31 QSO Very easy isn t it 10 TX Macro s SIM31 mode is mainly a structured message based mode but it can also handle a classic plain text messages A structured message must be preferred here anyway because it s a lot faster and more robust against noise and large spread distortions Most classic ham radio messages were prepared in a macro list and coded as structured binary messages so they could be sent faster and be less sensitive to noise and QRM You can choose your messages to send among the macro list content simply by selecting each message in a list box You can also prepare messages in plain text mode with free content of your choice Of course in this case as each letter has to be separately encoded it takes more time for transmi
6. 8 3B HEXADECIMAI Manual typed Hexa String for Radio CAT Exit Options referto your Trx user s guide Cat Commands PLEASE CONTACT US IF THE CAT COMMANDS ARE NOT CORRECT Cancel 1 Select your sound driver from the list if it doesn t appear in the list check if you have more than 14 drivers installed in this case you should erase some of them which are not used to reduce the number of drivers then all should be ok Important for an optimal decoding your eye s diagram must be synchronised In other words your signal and those received from other stations must be generated exactly at the same speed 31 25 bit s to be perfectly synchronised A shifting eye s diagram indicates that both signals are generated at different frequencies To avoid possible weakness you are invited to set the system sound card raw sampling at 48000 Hz When running under Windows open the Sound control panel Click on Properties then Advanced and select 16 bit 48000 Hz DVD Quality for both the Recording and Playback devices When using the Windows default sound card be sure to turn off the system sounds so unwanted system sounds are not transmitted on the air 2 It is recommended to set the DAC output level of your sound card from 50 to 90 3 Both modes S M31 and PSK31 require a zero beat frequency for a correct operation correcting TX RX frequency shift could be requi
7. SIM PSK User s Guide June 2014 Copyright O 2013 June 2014 Contents o 2 aig skate dis dre eee Ten entres lee ester ent een ent 3 system R QUIF M NES H54 dd 4 Instala MNAE bd 4 AUdIC and MAP SS GLUING O 5 A O E EEE P T C O 7 Favourite language MENU csccecessessssseessecoesssesecoesscessessesecseeseescaeceeseesaecasaesaesasseesaes cree 8 Status Indica o one aaa a a a SO ai se nior tannins 8 On Screen Controls viii a aii 9 How to select a SIM station for starting a QSO ss 10 TAMOS bt 11 Making OSOS ti 12 EOS BOOKS O do B Ma te aaa etes rl tn 13 Special Mouse Command idees RKK a n 14 Technical DeschiPDE ON Stpe AAEREN oo o o o doo ny 15 Introduction Operating new DSP techniques Digital Signal processor SIM PSK is an experimental computer program designed to facilitate basic amateur radio communications when using a weak signal with the SIM31 a new QRP digimode specially designed for making reliable confirmed OSOs under extreme conditions on all amateur bands SIM31 stands for Structured Integrated Message BPSK 31 bauds This new mode is sharing many advantages with popular modes such as PSK31 and JT9 It is designed to establish human to human contacts by exchanging full structured info with possible plain text option But moreover it also allows to initiate contacts with full automatic stations even under noisy and as weak conditions as 18db S N on 3000 Hz bandwidth SIM needs a narrow bandwid
8. adio service eQSL cc LOTW could be made later at the end of your contacts if you prefer up to you it s in the menu tag Log SIM_PSK also implements a new mode SIM63 running at twice the baudrate of SIM31 System Requirements An usual sound card equipment as for most digital modes SSB transceiver and antenna Computer running Windows XP or later but it should also run under Linux OS X and probably FreeBSD and other Unix like operating systems Linux Any info and help about resolution of serial port and audio problems is welcome 1 0 GHz or faster CPU and 100 MB of available memory Monitor with at least 1024 x 780 resolution more is better Audio input and output devices supported by your operating system Computer to radio interface is using a serial port to switch on off your PTT line and or communicate with the CAT control Or VOX for T R switching Audio or equivalent USB connections between transceiver and computer No need to synchronise your computer clock to UTC Installation and Setup 1 PE a 2M SIM PSK can be downloaded from the SIM31Home page http www on4nb be sim31 ph NB To have the best decoding performance and the last enhanced options please make sure to get the newest daily version V6XXX available from the SIM31 Home page It s necessary to download the rar file for the first installation Create manually a directory of your choice preferably at the root CV Exampl
9. ase the mixing control of the audio output to reach the maximum possible RF output example 100 watt and then decrease the setting until the RF output will fall back to about 30 This will be a good audio level to drive your TX transceiver So 30 Watts will be a good choice for a 100 Watt CW Transceiver SIM31 is a QRP digital mode Please take care not to saturate the transmitter audio input by choosing a too higher audio level on your sound card output moreover make sure to suppress any unwanted RF signal which would return back to the transceiver A bad audio level could generate some spurious and interferences which could be spreading far around your transmitted signal Don t forget it Consider that you should be responsible of any disturbance Input signal level It must be adjusted referring to the yellow vertical barograph try to adjust the level slightly under 0 dB level The background noise should be clearly displayed into the low part of the spectral view Set up a too low signal level can alter the decoding performance and the accuracy of internal estimation of the signal noise S N ratio displayed With the same PC and sound card driver the optimal settings once they are established must remain optimal for all other digital modes regardless of the used software NB it is well known that with BPSK31 as SIM31 you have to reduce the radio AGC gain to the minimum to decrease signal distortions Any other DSP function
10. e c SIM31 only at first installation Remark DO NOT place this directory under the windows directories Unzip the rar file 5 files should be copied into the created folder sim_psk exe pskreporter dil for PSK Reporter option sim_users_guide pdf English user s guide sim users guide fr pdf French user s guide SIMCO wav sound alert when a SIM31 frame was received Create manually a sim_psk exe shortcut on your desktop NB If SIM_PSK has already been installed for daily updating you just have to download and replace sim_psk exe into your c SIM31 folder in order to keep your shortcut valid for the new release Run the created shortcut to start up SIM PSK When starting the program a pop up window allows to set up your interfaces parameters Audio and other TX settings Input Sound Driver Mixage st r o IDT High Definition Audio CODEC Output Sound Driver Enceintes et casque IDT High Definition Audio CODEC Output Sound Level 30 Recommended 50 to 95 PTT RTS DTR COMPot NOCOMPORT RTS Prr ora o gt CAT RIG CAT as Icom 10 375 INPUT Microphone M ENABLE PTT BY CAT M RTS 1 DTR 1 COM Port coma h 9200 bauds Auto Power Manual typed Hexa String for Radio CAT Options Initialising Antenna Power Filter ect see your Tr manual CATTXON Hexa String FE FE 12 E0 1C 00 01 FD 545636 HEXADECIMA CAT TX OFF Hexa String FEFE 2 E0 1C 00 00 FD 52 5
11. e coded and structured 15
12. ourite language menu Select a favourite language that sim psk31 will use to translate and display the received SIM31 structured messages only macros could be translated MODE SETTING LOG OPTION CLEAR PSK R CLUSTER HELP Upper Case for SIM typed ted IPLY gt Display all received SIM Repetition ENGLISH to display SIM Message in local FRANCAIS pour affichage Messages SIM en locale NEDERLANDS weer te geven SIM berichten in de lokale RUSSIAN to display SIM Message in local DEUTSCH Auf SIM Nachricht in lokalen Anzeigen ESPANOL para mostrar el mensaje SIM en local ITALIANO per visualizzare il messaggio di SIM in locale PORTUGU S para exibir a mensagem SIM no local Disable Automatic RX SIM Reporter Status Indicators On Screen Controls CALL NAME QTH LOC RSQ Log qso Clear 20m USB 1044 45 Hz RxS N 5dB o 10 22 26 Auto CQ Waiting sec 32 4 Auto SIM QSO s mode 4 gt input output Tune How to select a SIM station for starting a QSO The easiest and most convenient method to select a SIM station is probably to use the automatic report window See the screenshot below Automatic report window Mode Setting Log Font View SIM Clear Psk R Links Help Double Cick Walt County Go CTHKO obleci PORTUGAL C Auto Crago VON CRE Over PORTUGAL CQ Auto CT4KO the calltoletthe 19 PORTUGAL CQ CT4KO program prepare 10 PORTUGAL CQ Auto CT
13. red if the transmission and reception seem slightly different refer to your transceiver user s guide NB For most of the new transceiver models there are generally no frequency offset problems between TX and RX less then 1 Hz offset 4 USB auto powered for some USB interfaces it is necessary to force the state of RTS and DTR to 1 to provide it the needed power SIM_PSK Main Window Mode Setting Log Font View SIM Clear Psk R Links Help 10 CQ Auto CT4KO 10 CQ Auto CT4KO 05 CT4KO 11 CT4KO 08 CT4KO 03 CT4KO 07 CT4KO JM56NU gt dist 0 km az 0 JM56NU gt dist 0 km az 0 JM56NU gt dist 0 km az 09 35 y Licenced since 2004 EUROPEAN PSK CLUB EPC 1258 DIGITAL MODES CLUB DMC 1258 30 METERS DIGITAL GROUPE 30MDG 1258 My Station TX RX YAESU FT 1000D Real Power 10W ANTENNA MFJ 1840T TELESCOPIC 40M at 12m up INTERFACE RigBlaster Plus SOFTWARE SIM PSK Version 6744 May the forces of the ionosphere be with you To set up the output audio level adapted to your transceiver click the Tune button on the main screen The Transceiver will be switched in transmit mode for a few seconds with a steady audio tone equivalent to the level of a real sim31 signal as used during a QSO Listen to the generated audio tone using the RF monitoring of your radio or any other method The tone should be perfectly smooth and constant with no clicks or glitches Incre
14. th of less than 45Hz No need of external modem just a windows compatible sound card Using a 48KHz high quality sound card model could be a very good choice Compared to other digimodes SIM31 is probably the only one to have that new kind of Automatic OSOs mode with possible translation functionality Automatic translation of included structured messages only Languages English French Russian Dutch Spanish Italian German Portuguese Remark for the moment due to our software limitation only Latin characters are used even for Russian Sorry guys Then you can set your software in Automatic mode lt Auto SIM QSOs gt and initiate a full automatic call SIM PSK will reply to the callsign who just answered manually to your callsign afterwards it will detect and fill in all received infos concerning the current QSO Name QTH LOC RSO at the end all infos about the QSO will be saved into the SIM Logbook and optionally uploaded automatically in real time to one or more services of your choice eQSL cc HRDLog net HAMOTH com and HAMLog eu The program does all that automatically without any operator assistance Note it s recommended never leaving your transceiver working alone without any presence As you can guess it is only possible to upload a QSO in real time when you have enabled this option and if an internet connection is available Remark uploading your ADIF File into an amateur r
15. tting exactly like a PSK mode Or it remains possible to type a text in real time during a contact at keyboard exactly like any other classic mode as BPSK31 7 Welcome OM lt NAME gt x gt Good Day Dear OM Thanks for this QSO it Has been a pleasur y good signal 100 copied HEADER RTE My info name ath loc wx START KEYB gt TX My station trx ant interface ALL gt TX NOW 11 Making QSOs By long standing tradition and or legal obligations a minimal valid QSO requires to exchange callsigns a signal report and several other infos which are also generally sent SIM PSK is particularly designed to facilitate such QSOs thanks to the short structured messages But please be fair play don t initiate an automatic calling before having answered manually to other interesting automatic callsigns on the air The process works best if you use the structured formats and follow recommended standard procedures as in the following example Example of QSO 1 BUTTON CQCQ CQ CQCQ DE ON2VH ON2VHF ON2VHF 2 BUTTON ANSWER ON2VHFON2VHFON2VHF DE F1ABL F1ABL F1ABL R 12 3 BUTTON MY INFO F1ABL F1ABL F1ABL DE ON2VHF ON2VHFON2VHF RR 9 Hi dear OM Happy to meet you in SIM31 mode NAME LAURENT LAURENT LAURENT QTH LOCATOR F1ABL FIABL DE ON2VHF ON2VHF PSE KN 4 BUTTON MY INFO ON2VHF ON2VHF ON2VHF DE F1ABL F1ABL F1ABL RR 12 Hi dear OM LAURENT Thank you for call answer NAME
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