Communication In, and Below the Noise
Bill Fairchild, WO2V
This talk is partly history–from 1948 (Claude Shannon) to 2014 (Joe Taylor). Various digital modes, including RTTY, PSK, CW, CCW, Olivia, MT63 and JT-9, will be compared. Some of the aspects of this talk may contain surprises. For example, did you know that worldwide communication is possible WITH LOW POWER AND COMPROMISE ANTENNAS? This is made possible by a technique called “Forward Error Correction”. Did you also know that when you operate digital modes you are also a beacon? Sites like hamspots.net have solved one of the “dead band” problems!
Two pieces of free software will be illustrated, FLDIGI, and WSJTX. Both of them run on Windows or Linux/Mac. There will be a plug for NBEMS/ARES (Narrow Band Emergency Messaging Service/Amateur Radio Emergency Service).
Bill Fairchild, WO2V got his Novice ticket in the 50s, and his General soon after. Amateur radio helped him to get his first job which included a 13 month stay at McMurdo Sound Antarctica (he called home using KC4USV), and two cruises on the Eltanin. After that he wandered on the East Coast and Midwest doing mathematics and teaching, mostly as Professor of Math at Union College. Luckily he moved next door to Phil Bradway, KB2HQ in the 80s, and Phil had a spare receiver. This resulted in code practice, a new ticket, and a lifetime membership in ARRL. Then something happened: Joe Taylor, K1JT gave a talk on weak signal communication to the Albany club. Bill is still recovering from that event — spending his time with CW, FLDIGI, WSJT-X, and contemplation of Joe’s paper “The JT65 Communications Protocol.
If Niskayuna High School cancels evening classes and activities the SARA meeting will normally also be cancelled and possibly rescheduled. Listen in on the SARA 147.060 repeater for meeting status information and whether it is to be rescheduled.
The SARA meeting is held in the Little Theatre of the Niskayuna High School on Balltown Road. Attendees should enter the school through the cafeteria entrance located on the side of the school, adjacent to the Nott Street Extension school parking lot.
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