A Tour of Fldigi by WN3LIF
Fldigi
A tour of a great program!
Table of Contents
Fldigi..........................................................................................................................................................1
Preface........................................................................................................................................................4
Thank You!.................................................................................................................................................4
Change Manifest........................................................................................................................................5
What is Fldigi?...........................................................................................................................................5
How to get Fldigi.......................................................................................................................................9
Windows Operating System..................................................................................................................9
Linux Operating Systems......................................................................................................................9
Using the Linux Repositories...........................................................................................................9
Linux Fldigi Manual Installation....................................................................................................10
Starting Fldigi for the first time................................................................................................................11
Operator Information...........................................................................................................................12
Audio Devices.....................................................................................................................................13
Fldigi Rig Control...............................................................................................................................14
Tigertronics SignalinkUSB.................................................................................................................15
System Sound Configuration...................................................................................................................16
Recording Level and Disabled Devices..............................................................................................17
The Tour of Fldigi's Display....................................................................................................................19
Drop Down Menu Line.......................................................................................................................19
FILE................................................................................................................................................19
MACROS.......................................................................................................................................19
TEXT CAPTURE...........................................................................................................................20
AUDIO...........................................................................................................................................20
OPMode...............................................................................................................................................20
CONFIGURE......................................................................................................................................20
VIEW...................................................................................................................................................20
The View – Channels and Signal Browser.....................................................................................20
LOGBOOK.........................................................................................................................................22
SPOT...................................................................................................................................................22
RxID/TxID..........................................................................................................................................22
Configuring RxID/TxID.................................................................................................................22
TUNE..................................................................................................................................................23
Frequency Display...............................................................................................................................24
Frequency Display..........................................................................................................................24
Mode and Width.............................................................................................................................24
Frequency List.....................................................................................................................................24
Adding to/Deleting from the Frequency List..................................................................................24
Show Active Frequencies...............................................................................................................25
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Log and Station Information...............................................................................................................25
Entering the callsign options..........................................................................................................25
Getting operation information from QRZ, HamQTH, Etc.............................................................26
'Sweep' the fields............................................................................................................................26
Receive Window..................................................................................................................................26
Transmit Window................................................................................................................................26
MACRO BAR.....................................................................................................................................26
Macro Editor...................................................................................................................................27
More Lines of Macros....................................................................................................................27
Waterfall Window................................................................................................................................28
Choosing the station in the Waterfall..............................................................................................28
Changing the scale of the Waterfall................................................................................................28
SQL = Squelch................................................................................................................................29
Having an Fldigi QSO..............................................................................................................................29
Calling CQ with Fldigi...................................................................................................................29
You've been called – answer them..................................................................................................30
Me/QTH and Bragging...................................................................................................................30
Ending the QSO..............................................................................................................................30
Nets..........................................................................................................................................................31
Setting the frequency and mode.....................................................................................................31
Putting the NCS's call in the log.....................................................................................................32
Setup Some Macros........................................................................................................................32
Put the Net in the Frequency List...................................................................................................33
FLMSG....................................................................................................................................................34
FLMSG Menu Bar...............................................................................................................................34
Folders ................................................................................................................................................34
New.................................................................................................................................................35
Open................................................................................................................................................35
Save/Save As..................................................................................................................................35
View................................................................................................................................................35
Q-Forms..........................................................................................................................................35
Wrap................................................................................................................................................35
FORM..................................................................................................................................................37
TEMPLATE.........................................................................................................................................37
CONFIG..............................................................................................................................................37
Fldigi's Use of Flmsg for NBEMS......................................................................................................38
AUTOSEND........................................................................................................................................39
FLMSG Bottom Menu Bar..................................................................................................................39
COMP..................................................................................................................................................39
OP MODE...........................................................................................................................................39
Prepare and Send A Radiogram with Flmsg............................................................................................41
Flamp.......................................................................................................................................................56
Flamp CONFIGURATION.................................................................................................................57
ONLINE HELP...................................................................................................................................58
Flamp RECEIVING............................................................................................................................59
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Flamp TRANMITTING......................................................................................................................60
EVENTS..............................................................................................................................................61
Hamcast Events...................................................................................................................................62
Fldigi's Autostart Function.......................................................................................................................63
PA NBEMS NCS STANDARDS AND CHECK IN PROCEDURES FOR DIGITAL EMCOMM ......64
PURPOSE OF THE PANBEMS NETS .............................................................................................64
GUIDING PRINCIPLES ...................................................................................................................64
STANDARD MODES FOR HF KEYBOARD CHAT: OLIVIA 8/500 AND 16/500 .......................64
STANDARD MODES FOR HF BULLETINS: MT63-1000 AND MT63-500 .................................65
STANDARD METHOD FOR SPREAD SHEET FILE VERIFICATION: FLWRAP ......................65
STANDARD METHOD FOR FORMAL MESSAGE TRAFFIC: FLMSG ......................................65
FORMAL HF NET PROCEDURES ..................................................................................................65
STATION CHECK IN PROCEDURES .............................................................................................66
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL POINTS ON CHECKING IN : ....................................................66
NET CONTROL PRIORITIES ..........................................................................................................67
NET CONTROL STATION PROCEDURES ....................................................................................67
STANDARD MODE FOR VHF/UHF FM: MT63-2000 LONG INTERLEAVE .............................68
FORMAL VHF/UHF NET PROCEDURES ......................................................................................69
TRANSMISSION OF BINARY FILES OR LARGE FILES ............................................................69
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? ................................................................................................69
RESOURCES...........................................................................................................................................70
KB3FXI...............................................................................................................................................70
Fldigi Help Files (added 6/24/2014)...................................................................................................70
Web Sites.............................................................................................................................................71
Videos..................................................................................................................................................71
Yahoo Groups......................................................................................................................................71
Fldigi and Contesting..........................................................................................................................71
SOFTWARE........................................................................................................................................72
NETS...................................................................................................................................................72
Digital Modes – Sounds and Explanations..........................................................................................72
PSK Oriented.......................................................................................................................................73
Putting Fldigi (and other things) on a Thumb Drive by W1HKJ........................................................73
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Preface
The purpose of this work is to help other Hams to skip through the learning curve faster. It is a
work in progress with no foreseeable end because Fldigi keeps growing. The documentation is
wonderful and, if you know what you are looking for, it is easy to use. Hopefully, this article will
whet your taste buds and help you to know what you are looking for in the documentation.
To my friends who use Windows – I am a Linux user so much of this article has a Linux flavor. I
have added as much as I can about Fldigi and Windows but the images are all from Linux. There
should not be too much of a difference inside Fldigi but things like the sound cards may have
some slight differences. Please let me know if there is something that needs to be corrected about
the Windows side of Fldigi.
As the saying goes, I stand on the Shoulders of Giants: W1HKJ and his wonderful team of
programmers who have created this fantastic piece of software called Fldigi and its parts;
KB3FXI whose work has helped me understand how some of the pieces of Fldigi work (If I
hadn't found KB3FXI's QRZ page with all the good information on it, I would still not
understand the TxID and RxID); and all the great people on the paNBEMS and nyNBEMS
yahoo groups who have been kind enough to answer my questions.
Permission is granted to use all or part of this article. Attribution is requested. I have borrowed
from many sourses. The resources section is a list of all the good stuff that I have found. Please
consider it attribution to these authors.
If you see something that is incorrect, unclear, or obsolete, please let me know at [email protected].
Thank You!
If I did not thank my friend, Peter Hoffman, I would be committing a grave offense against a dear
friend. Peter took the time to proof read this article and correct many of my failings as an author. Peter
had only one comment when he finished reviewing this document. “I never knew that there could be
another discipline that had more jargon than the Law.” Thank you Peter!
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Change Manifest
April 4, 2014
1.
Removed resource reference to PA Sitrep Site. Old data.
2.
Added “Prepare and Send A Radiogram with Flmsg”
April 26, 2014
3.
Added W1HKJ's procedures for putting Fldigi on a Thumb Drive.
4.
Added KB3FXI's paNBEMS NCS Standards V1.
May 16, 2014
5.
Add link to Video for configuration of Fldigi and Icom IC-7200 Digital Modes.
6.
Advice on the turning off the Fldigi AFC.
June 1, 2014
7.
Signal Browser and Channel use examples added.
June 26, 2014
8.
Added new Help File Links that were published on the NBEMS Yahoo Forum.
What is Fldigi?
Fldigi is a “sound card” digital modem program for Linux/Free-BSD/XP/W2K/NT/Win 7/OS X. It is
very user friendly and easy to implement. It is FREE as in no cost to the user. It will work with almost
all modes from CW to Thor-22. It is part of a suite of programs that have become a defacto standard for
emergency communications. The support of emergency communications by W1HJK and his team of
volunteer programmers has been nothing short of outstanding.
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Fldigi screen shot
Fldigi can use the sound card in your PC or it can use an external sound card. It is recommended that an
external sound card be used to avoid sounds from the computer's operating system from interfering
with the operation of Fldigi. By using the right protocol MT63-1000L (Long Interleave) it is possible
to hold the microphone of a 2 meter FM rig to the speakers of your laptop and send a message. It is not
convenient but it will work.
Fldigi has several supporting programs. The most used is called Flmsg. This program is the heart and
soul of digital emergency communications. It allows the easy creation, transfer, and reception of
messages. It contains all the well known and well used ICS forms, the ARRL Radiograms (including
ARL numbered messages), weather reporting, and much more. When a message is sent Fldigi uses a
program called FLWRAP to send tell the other Fldigi program what form is in use and how to put the
data into it. It is smooth and seamless.
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Flmsg displaying HICS-203 form
The example above shows Flmsg displaying the HICS-203 status form that can be filled in and sent
digitally.
(New Item: As of March 25, 2014, the Flmsg development team is creating a “forms designer” add-on
that will allow users to create their own forms for use in their own organizations.
The last part of the Fldigi suite that concerns emergency communications is Flamp which uses the open
source specifications (AMP) for transferring files.
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The Flamp program allows the user to add files to its list and send them in the AMP specification
format. The AMP specification allows for chksums throughout the sending. If the receiving station
misses a block of data then the user just has to click on the “report” button and Fldigi will
automatically send the request to repeat just that block of data. The transfer is completed and the
transferred file is stored on the user's computer. This method has been used to transfer Microsoft Word
Documents and spreadsheets.
Fldigi has the ability to send images as well as text data. During a recent test with the “Mighty KBC”, a
shortwave station in Germany, they sent a test image to see how many listeners would receive it and
send a reception report. Here are the results:
It isn't much to look at but it proves that Fldigi has some wonderful and useful abilities.
As a note of interest, the 'FL' stands for Fast & Light Toolkit which is the development tool that
W1HKJ and his programmers used to create, maintain, and enhance Fldigi.
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How to get Fldigi
W1HKJ Download Page
As stated before, Fldigi and its associated parts are free.
Go to the link above and select the version for your operating system. There are versions for each
operating system listed across the page.
Windows Operating System
Download and save the Fldigi setup.exe on your system in a folder where you can find it. After you
have downloaded it then simply start the setup program and follow the instructions. It will install
automatically. The process for updates is the same. Download the setup.exe file and store it where you
can find it. Open the folder and then start the setup program.
You will probably want to do the same for Flamp, Flwrap, and Flmsg while you are there.
Linux Operating Systems
The installation of Fldigi is different on Linux. The good news is there are many options. The bad news
is there are many options.
Using the Linux Repositories
There are repositories that you can use if you are on Ubuntu, Debian, and others. Check there first if
you are not completely literate with using Linux. The Ubuntu Linux System has the Software Package
Manager:
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There are 2 caveats to using the software manager or repositories. The first is that what is usually in the
repositories is a down level release and not the most current. The second is that when you use the
repositories then the programs, reference files, and configuration files are put in what the Operating
System developers use as the system defaults. This could lead to problems later if you use any of the
add-ons directly from the W1HKJ web site. But it is a fast and quick way to get Fldigi up and running
so you can try it.
Linux Fldigi Manual Installation
The best way I have found for installing on Linux is the following:
(NOTE: If you have installed Fldigi and its parts from a repository then remove it completely
before continuing.)
1. From W1HKJ's downloads web site, download and save in your home directory the following
programs under the Linux Binary heading: Fldigi; Flmsg; Flamp; and Flwrap.
2. Open a terminal window using what ever method you wish.
3. Move the programs that you just downloaded to the /usr/local/src directory by doing the
following:
1. cd /usr/local/src
2. sudo mv /home/<user home directory>/Fldigi*.tgz .
3. sudo mv /home/<user home directory>/flmsg*.tgz .
4. sudo mv /home/<user home directory>/Flamp*.tgz .
5. sudo mv /home/<user home directory>/flwrap*.tgz .
4. Move up one directory level by typing cd .. (Note that is cd space period period)
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5. Extract the compressed tarballs using the following commands
1. sudo tar zxvf src/Fldigi.3.21.80.bin.tgz (note: the 3.21.80 must match the version numbers
of the file.)
2. sudo tar zvvf src/flmsg.1.1.34.bin.tgz (note: 1.1.34 must match the version numbers of the
file.)
3. sudo tar zxvf src/Flamp.2.1.02.bin.tgz (note: 2.1.02 must match the version numbers of the
file.)
4. sudo tar zxvf src/flwrap.1.3.4.bin.tgz (note: 1.3.4 must match the version numbers of the
file.)
That completes the installation and positioning of the files. If you have done it correctly then you
should have the Fldigi file in /usr/local/bin.
At this point you can start Fldigi and follow the setup instructions. I recommend that you close the
terminal window that you are in and either start it from your desktop or open a new terminal window
which is the way I recommend you do it the first time. Do not start Fldigi as the root user. The
configuration files will be owned by the root user and permission conflicts may result later on. Starting
Fldigi in a terminal window will allow the behind the scenes dialog to be displayed so if there is a
problem you can spot it. If all goes well, you are ready to start filling the startup dialog configuration.
Example of starting Fldigi from a terminal window:
/usr/local/bin/Fldigi
The startup dialog will get some basic information from you.
Starting Fldigi for the first time
If you have not used Fldigi on the system then it needs information!
Just click 'next' to move through the dialogue.
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Operator Information
The next screen that you will see if the operator information:
Fldigi Operator Information
The information is pretty self-explanatory. If you don't know your Locater (Grid Square), you can
convert from your home address at this web site:
http://www.levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php
The antenna information is useful but it mainly for the spotting reporter function. Put in as much as you
like or as little. It is free form.
When you are done then click 'next' to audio devices.
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Audio Devices
This screen configures what audio devices that will be used for Fldigi. The ones configured above are
for the Tigertronics SigalinkUSB port audio. The SignalinkUSB adds an external sound card to your
computer and takes away a lot of the annoying headaches that come with using the internal soundcard.
On windows, Fldigi uses only the PortAudio devices. You only need to select the appropriate device
from the dropdown windows.
Details on the sound card configuration can be found here:http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp3.21/html/sound_card_configuration_page.html
The other tabs across the top control various advanced settings. Usually there is no need to change any
of them.
Here is an example of KB3FXI's Windows Sound Card configuration:
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Click 'next' to go to the Rig Control.
Fldigi Rig Control
This is probably the most confusing portion of the setup. Here are some hints.
If you are going to allow Fldigi to control your rig (highly advisable and fun) then you will need a CAT
or CI-V cable between your computer and your rig. They are available from the manufacturer or, in the
case of CAT, it is generally an RS-232 type cable. If you don't happen to have an RS-232 port on your
computer, you'll need a USB-Serial cable. Be sure to look for one that has an FTDI chip in it. These
seems to work the best.
The “device” listed above corresponds to the comm port that is attached to your rig.
(Note: On systems that have been in use for a while there might be extra comm ports that are unused
and extend up into some very high numbers. If you want to clean that up, then here is a Microsoft
article on how to do it safely.
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com-ports-in-windows-7/4bb72733-1be0-4168-9ba5-68dcb72d31d9)
Here is an example of how a Windows Rig Configuration would look:
Again, this might take some time to figure out. Using your rig's manual is the best course of action.
Once you click finish, Fldigi is (should be) ready to go.
On each operating system there is a specific location for storage folders or directories and configuration
files per user. Rather than go into all of that detail I refer you to the W1HKJ web page for the details.
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/html/new_installation_page.html
W11HKJ also has two special sections. One on installing on Windows:
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/html/installing_on_windows_page.html
and the new installation wizard:
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/html/wizard_page.html
Tigertronics SignalinkUSB
Note: on all the examples you will see the mention of “codec” in the audio devices. This is something
that you will probably not see unless you have a Tigertronics SignalinkUSB. This is not random. The
Signalink USB has proven itself to be the simplest and most effective method of getting on to digital
HF.) Others do work. The author has had experience with all of them, usually because one of his fellow
hams has purchased another external sound card or happens to have another sitting around from a
previous attempt. Rigblaster and others do work and work well but there is a much longer learning
curve (author's opinion only). In paNBEMS there is a strong recommendation that if you don't have
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something already, the SignalinkUSB is the way to go. This is for standardization and ease of helping
other members get up and running. You can get information at http://www.tigertronics.com.
System Sound Configuration
There is one last area of configuration that needs to be mentioned. That is setting the sound levels of
the sound card devices in your Operating System. In Linux it would be your “Sound Settings” indicator
and in Windows it is the Playback and Recording devices.
Which device you choose to use depends on your hardware and the examples given below are for
general interpretation. The Windows Operating System is not in general use at my station so the
devices that are not used digital communications are disabled. If you want to play music at your
location, an external sound card device is recommended.
The playback device and its level is what is sent to your rig for play on the air. It is the outgoing signal.
The recommendation is to set that at 100% as illustrated in the image:
Playback Settings and disabled devices
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The Recording level is the audio coming from your rig into the computer via the Recording Device and
then to Fldigi. My recommendation is to set the recording level at 50%. Fldigi contains some very
sophisticated DSP software and you probably cannot over drive it but you'll see the noise in the
waterfall display if you push too hard. The 50% setting is a good starting point and you can work up or
down from there.
Here is an example of the Recording Level Setting.
Recording Level and Disabled Devices
One last sound card issue needs to be addressed. If you are using an internal device, you should enable
the no sounds scheme for system events. Things like errors that cause your computer to go “Bing” will
cause the transmitter to key at the most unlikely times and you do not want that going out of the air. Set
the sound scheme to no sounds.
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No Sounds Scheme
If you happen to start playing one of your favorite tunes and you have your computer mis-configured,
you'll get an immediate warning by your transmitter clicking on and off if the VOX circuit is enabled
such as with the Signalink USB. Check the sound device settings.
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The Tour of Fldigi's Display
The Fldigi's main window is where much of the fun happens. The examples below give a Top to
Bottom description of each menu item and some of the potential usage of each item. Here is the display
just for reference.
Drop Down Menu Line
At the very top is, the menu bar. It works the same way that any menu bar works. Click on it and then a
drop down menu appears. Here is a quick tour of each item.
FILE
This drop down allows several control functions. First, it allows you to access the folders under Fldigi's
various components. The Fldigi configuration section allows you to check downloaded files and
images. You can check the flmsg files that have been received as well as other 'data' files. The data files
are usually for navtex and weather reports that can be copied with Fldigi.
MACROS
Macros Fldigi even easier to use. The macros are right at the top of the waterfall display (that black
color window with the blue lines running through it) and can be selected using the mouse or Alt Key
combinations. More on that later. The FILE/MACROS option allows you to load other macro sets from
that macro folder under the Fldigi configuration. Sometimes you just want to have a special set of
macros for something like a net or hospital drill or similar.
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TEXT CAPTURE
Text Capture allows you to record the text rolling through the yellow (for lack of a better description)
and save it in a file.
AUDIO
Audio is one of the neat features of Fldigi. You can capture the audio that is coming to Fldigi and save
it for later playback. It is useful for training and other demonstrations as well as debugging. The author
has saved the paNBEMS net and when something didn't work exactly as expected, changing the
configuration and playing back the audio was a convenient way to see if the problem was resolved.
OPMode
OpMode is one long menu that lists all the possible modes that Fldigi can use. Go to the
www.w1hkj.com web page for a complete listing of all the modes and their uses. The one mode that
you will probably get the biggest use of is PSK-31. It is probably the most popular mode on HF today.
CONFIGURE
Configure is where you go to adjust the settings. You can do without making any changes because the
author and his staff have fine tuned the settings over the course of development but it is an
experimenters heaven. Note the “SAVE CONFIGURATION” option right at the bottom. You can
change things and change things but when you have it where you want it, click the “SAVE
CONFIGURATION” immediately to store it.
VIEW
View will allow you add or subtract things from the display. One of these options is the datascope that
you see in the lower right corner of the display. It looks like a clock. This is a great tuning indicator for
those modes that need them. The www.w1hkj.com web site has examples of how properly tuned
signals look. Sometimes in a noisy environment it helps because the waterfall is a little cluttered.
The View – Channels and Signal Browser
The Waterfall is a great thing. Lots of little lines going down the window. Some of them are bright
yellow with a very strong signal. Other are just a little brighter than the background of the Waterfall.
Each one of those trails indicates a signal that Fldigi is hearing and decoding. Each one may be a QSO
in progress, another Ham calling CQ and looking for a contact, or it just might be one of those RARE
stations that you are hungry to work for an award.
You can click on each stream and look at it and see what the QSO is about and if it is not interesting,
move on to another one.
Fldigi has a great facility that allows you to watch ALL the streams while you are in a PSK mode. This
is the Signal Browser.
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The Signal Browser is a pop-out window from Fldigi that has multiple lines where the signals are
decoded and displayed through the entire bandwidth of the waterfall. Looks like a ticker tape on
steroids. OK, most of you have no idea what a ticker tape is so here is a picture of the signal browser.
As you can see the conversations from the 20 meter band are displayed in an easy to read format. You
can quickly see the stations that are calling CQ such as VO1BE or are ending a QSO so you can pounce
on them if you want them.
If you click on a conversation, the waterfall cursor will jump to that frequency and you are all set to
start your QSO on that frequency.
How about a situation where you are looking for a particular station on PSK. At the top of the window
you'll see the Find: field. Just put the call of the station that you are looking for in that field. When
those characters of the call sign appear in any trail that trail will turn a different color to let you know
that the call was found at that frequency.
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How about a practical example. My friend, N1ZZZ/MM, told me he would be on 20 meters on a
Sunday morning. He wasn't sure exactly where other than he would be working the 070 contest. I
opened the Signal Browser while on 20 Meter PSK and put N1ZZZ in the Find: field. In a few
moments there he was. Click on the stream and switch to Fldigi and I was ready to call him. What
could be simpler.
The Channels are an embedded version of the Signal Browser. The window will appear to the left of
the receive window. It is sizable at the expense of the receive window. The Find: field works that same
as it does in the Signal Browser.
The Channels and the Signal Browser are customizable. You can change colors, the number of
channels, the timeout value (clears the channel after no activity), the channel label, how the scrolling
occurs, and much more. You can access the how to configure this information from the
www.w1hkj.com web site at this URL:
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/html/ui_configuration_broswer_page.html
LOGBOOK
Fldigi comes with its own logbook. It is fairly complete with the typical import/export functions. You
can export in ADIF for Logbook of the world uploads or report in Cabrillo format for the PA State QSO
party. Or you may just view the entries.
(Note: When doing the setup be sure to enter the information in the configuration about your
subscription to QRZ.COM or HamQTH. The log book entries can be automatically filled in if you
provide Fldigi with that information.)
SPOT
Spot a toggle button that enables Fldigi to spot any callsign that it hears to the psk.reporter.info web
site. Much like a DX Cluster. If you have a good Internet connection you may want to consider
enabling this.
RxID/TxID
RxID/TxID are important especially for Emergency Communications. The RxID and TxID allow Fldigi
to recognize data traffic by a specific ID transmitted before the data when there is a mode change. This
feature allows Fldigi to do the heavy lifting during traffic or message sending. If the operator is going
to send a message in mfs32, his Fldigi will send the appropriate ID when it changes to the new mode.
The receiving Fldigi will recognize the ID and switch to that mode. It is important for Emergency
Communications for this to be turned on. There is some configuration that needs to be done on the
CONFIGURE menu at:
CONFIGURE:ID:RxID
Configuring RxID/TxID
There are only minor configuration changes needed here. Your configuration should look like what is in
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the image. Disable “search passband” because if there is no signal at all then Fldigi starts to “hunt” for
something and you'll notice the signal selector sliding around by itself. The “mark prev freq/mode”
option is useful because Fldigi will put a mark in the scroll bar of the Receive Window at the point
where the change happened. Sometimes it is helpful to be able to go back and look at what was sent for
debugging purposes.
There are two buttons marked “Receive Modes” and “Transmit Modes” on the configuration window.
The suggestion is click on them to open the modes window, click the “select all” button, and click
close. Do that on both Receive and Transmit. This will enable the ID for all modes that Fldigi handles.
Some recommendation for only selecting the modes used for paNBEMS. If you select all then there is
no chance that you will miss any mode change.
When that is done, click “save” and then “close”.
At this point you should be able to select the RxID and TxID and have the functions of Iding the mode
enabled. Be sure to go to CONFIGURE and save the configuration.
RxID/TxID configuration
If you join any of the paNBEMS nets this RxID and TxID functions are used heavily during message
transfer. If you don't enable it, you will have to be alert to the stations telling you what mode to switch
to and when.
TUNE
This button will cause your transmitter to go into transmit for tuning purposes. This is particularly
helpful if you have an autotuner that requires a bit of RF to get itself ready for a particular frequency.
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Frequency Display
This area of the display has some features that let you know what is going on with the transceiver.
Frequency Display
This is pretty much self explanatory. Your selected CAT or CI-V system will read the transceiver's vfo
that is enabled and display the frequency.
You can change the transceiver's frequency by using the mouse. Place the pointer on the digit to be
changed. If you click the left mouse button it will increment. The right mouse button decrements the
number.
Mode and Width
Below the frequency is the mode that the transceiver is in. This should usually be USB for most. For
Yeasu transceivers it is usually PKTUSB for digital control. The actual mode will be dependent on your
model and make of transceiver. To the right of the mode will be the filter width. This usually is narrow
or NAR but depending on the mode that is used for digital work it may be NORM (normal) or WID
(wide) for some of the higher bandwidth modes. Again, depends on your transceiver.
Frequency List
Above the frequency display is an image that looks like a book. The “book” contains a frequency list.
Fldigi comes with a same list of popular frequencies. After clicking on the book you will see that the
area to the right changes.
The list can be scrolled up and down. When you see a frequency that you want to jump to, just double
click on it or press the green arrow to the right of the book.
Just like any list it needs to be maintained and there will be times that you need to remove or add
frequencies to the list.
Adding to/Deleting from the Frequency List
If you want to delete a frequency, select it and click on the image that looks like a minus (-) sign. If you
want to add the frequency and mode currently displayed by Fldigi, press the plus (+) sign and it will be
added to the list and the list will be sorted by frequency.
Sometimes you just want to clear the whole list and start over. Clicking the wastebasket image does just
that. It isn't reversible so use with care.
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(Note: These frequencies are stored in the .Fldigi directory and the file is named frequencies2.txt. You
might want to make a backup copy of it to be safe.)
Show Active Frequencies
The last item, “show active frequencies” will display a drop down menu with all the frequencies from
the list and the number reports for the grid square that you entered during the configuration steps. For
example, if you entered FN21ci the reporter will show you what is up and running in FN. If you decide
that you want to “go there and get in on the fun”, all you have to do is highlight the frequency and
Fldigi will setup the transceiver and change to that frequency.
Clicking on the book will close out the frequency list window and go back to the normal window.
Log and Station Information
Entering the callsign options
The normal status of this window area is for the logging. The frequency that is displayed according to
where the selection pointer is in the waterfall. This is the center frequency for the QSO. The callsign
can be typed in manually or if you select a callsign in the receive window, Fldigi will put the callsign in
the Call field for you.
Notice that WU0U has been selected and the call sign is now in the Call window. The timer starts for
the QSO. The On value will stay the same and Off value will start incrementing.
(Note: The next functions work only if you have a subscription to QRZ.COM, HamQTH.com, or a CD
with the information in the computer.)
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Getting operation information from QRZ, HamQTH, Etc.
After the Call field has been populated, then by clicking on the CDRom image will load the rest of the
station's information into the log fields.
Example of the fields filled in from QRZ.COM
The In report and the Out report are filled in with the defaults from the configuration of Fldigi. You can
change them.
(Note: These fields are not just for logging. The macros also use them to fill in fields when the macros
are executed so getting this done first helps move the QSO along.)
You can now have your QSO. More on that later.
'Sweep' the fields
Let assume that you didn't make contact with WU0U and you want to clear out the fields. Just click on
the “broom” image to erase all the fields and reset them to defaults.
If you were a good operator and you managed to tag WU0U, you will want to log the effort. Pressing
the “Save” image will log the QSO, clear and reset the fields, and Fldigi will be ready for the next
QSO.
Receive Window
The receive window is the place where the received data that has been decoded is displayed.
Transmit Window
This transmit window is where you type what you want to send out. Typing a Ctrl-T results in the
Fldigi going into transmit mode and sending the data as you type. A Ctrl-R marks the place in the
transmit text where Fldigi should go back into receive mode. There will be more on that later.
MACRO BAR
Macros are simply scripts that make using Fldigi easier. Using them can be a bit confusing until you
remember what each one does.
Macro Bar
There are 12 macros per line and 4 lines of macros. Each macro can be accessed by either the
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corresponding function key or by clicking on the macro with the mouse. Why the function keys?
Contesters don't like to take their hands off the keyboard as it slows things down. You'll be much faster
if you follow that suggestion.
Macro Editor
Each macro contains a script. If you place the mouse over a particular macro and right click, the editor
window will show up.
It is just a matter of typing and selecting the fields from the right panel. The macro above sends the
other Ham's call twice followed by 'de' and your call 3 times followed by a 'kn' and then switches back
to receive mode.
Take note of the Macro Button Label. There is a convention that the @> places a right pointing triangle
in the macro name. A macro with the vertical bar means that it will return to receive mode. This lets
you as the operator know that the if you want to type something then you would select the transmit
macro, in this case 10, and then Fldigi would let you type while it transmitted what you typed and then
to end it you enter a Ctrl-R or select the RX macro with the bar at the end to indicate that you want to
go into receive when the text is finished transmitting.
The detailed explanation of how macros work and are programmed is at W1HKJ's web site.
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/html/macro_page.html
If you are going to edit a macro, then you click the apply button when you are done and then close.
That will ONLY close the editor. It does not save the macro file to disk. You must go to the FILE menu
item and select MACROS and then SAVE to store the macros back into the Fldigi configuration
storage.
More Lines of Macros
If you note the numeral all the way to the right of the macro bar then you will see how to change the
macro line to the next line. Each macro file can contain up to 48 macros which are displayed 12 at a
time in the macro bar window. Just click on it to move to the next line. There are quick moves such as
if you place the mouse over the macro line and then press F1 to F4 it will jump directly to that line of
macros. Or just roll the mouse wheel.
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Waterfall Window
This is where you find the stations. No, really. It is how you select the station that you want to decode
in the receive window and possibly talk to. For this example I am going to use PSK31.
Waterfall Window
The signals are displayed in the waterfall with the strong signals in yellow. The signals in this display
from left to right are weak going to a very strong signal on the right. Selecting a signal is very easy.
This depends on what color palette you chose but that is something with which you can experiment
with.
Choosing the station in the Waterfall
Place the mouse pointer in the waterfall and the red frequency cursor will move along with the mouse.
You pick a signal that you want and then click the center of it. If your mode is correct, it will start to
decode in the receive window. The frequency in the logging area will move with the cursor because
your transceiver is at the center frequency and depending on sideband you are either moving up to
down with the cursor. You don't have to worry about it because Fldigi will keep track of things for you.
The size of the frequency cursor will vary by mode. As you can see with PSK31 it is vary narrow. If
you go to Olivia 5/800 it will be much wider. The key however is centering on the transmission. Get in
the center and click. If you notice the 2 red vertical bars of the cursor are on both sides of the yellow, it
is because that is where the information is that needs to be decoded. Don't be put off by a weak looking
signal. PSK31 is meant for weak signals and even the one on the right will decode just fine. There
might be some fine DX lurking there.
Changing the scale of the Waterfall
You can adjust the width of the Waterfall display by clicking on the waterfall scale control in the
bottom menu line. The display shown is x2 which is what is showing in the control. By clicking the
control you can advance through the scales until you find one that you prefer.
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SQL = Squelch
There are three more controls that need to be discussed. The first is the AFC. This is not your radios
AFC. This is Fldigi's AFC. This allows Fldigi to properly track a PSK31 signal. Leave it on unless you
are going to some esoteric mode like Contestia, in which case you will need to read up about how to set
this control.
Additional Note on AFC: After discussion with KB3FXI the recommendation is to leave the AFC
turned off. This is especially true if you are using FM with an FM Transceiver. The AFC will attempt to
track voice or static and move the center frequency causing missed transmissions. So leave the AFC off
unless you want to turn it on while using PSK for a few seconds to allow Fldigi to track the PSK
Signal.
The next is the SQL or squelch control which controls the level at which Fldigi will begin to decode
characters. This should be turned on. When it is on the slider bar at the right end of the window
becomes active. If you are seeing gibberish characters in the display, move the slider up slightly. Don't
get too aggressive with it. If it is too tight, it won't decode anything. Adjust it until you get a minimum
of gibberish being decoded.
That completes the tour of Fldigi. Now lets go through the steps of calling CQ and having a QSO.
Having an Fldigi QSO
After you have set up and configured Fldigi, you are ready to have a QSO. It is fairly easy. First, use
the frequency list at the top of the display to select a spot to see what is going on.
Just click on a frequency and then Fldigi will take you there.
Look around on the waterfall for an empty space and click there. This is just like any other mode of
operation in that you don't want to step on someone having a QSO already.
Calling CQ with Fldigi
Lets call CQ.
Press F1 or click on the CQ macro.
Notice that the CQ macro has the vertical bar at the end of the description. That means it will send the
CQ and then return to receive.
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Fldigi will send:
CQ CQ CQ de WN3LIF WN3LIF WN3LIF
CQ CQ CQ de WN3LIF WN3LIF WN3LIF K
This is exactly what you would do if you had a key in your hand.
If you don't see anyone calling, repeat the procedure.
You've been called – answer them
If someone decodes your signal and wants to talk to you, you will see something like this:
wn3lif wn3lif de nd4z nd4z kn
The kn is old cw shorthand for only you to go ahead.
Immediately click on the nd4z and it will appear in the logging area.
Click on the CDRom image and it will get the info from you call database and display it.
You can then click on the 3rd macro called QSO. Note that the QSO macro has the double right
pointing triangles which means it will send:
nd4z de wn3lif
and do a few carriage returns so that you are ready to type.
In the transmit window, type.
“thanks for the call richard...”
When you are done typing, click on the KN macro. Again the double vertical bars mean that when the
transmitting characters get to the end the transceiver will return to receive mode. In this case the macro
will send:
btu nd4z de wn3lif kn
This will invite nd4z to start transmitting.
Me/QTH and Bragging
Typing “my station is a Yeasu FT-450...” gets might boring. You still want to brag a bit so that is what
the me/qth and the brag macros are for. You can edit them with your information as to when you were
licensed and what kind of station you have. Do that before you get into the QSO.
Ending the QSO
All good things must eventually end. When you decide to end the QSO you can use the SK macro. That
will send:
tnx for qso <name> cu on the waterfall
<ZDT> 73 <call> de <mycall> sk
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The items in <> are replaced with nd4z's name, the Zulu time of the end of the QSO, the call of the
other station, and your callsign. Fldigi will then return to receive mode.
That is it except for one thing. Go back to the logging section of the display and click on the
download/save button to store the QSO info in Fldigi's log book.
Nets
In Emergency Communications we will be involved with nets. This section will discuss the process for
setting up Fldigi to check-in to the net.
Setting the frequency and mode
First the net will have frequency where it is going to be held. Set your transceiver to that frequency and
Fldigi will follow it. Next the net will have what is called a center frequency. That is where the
waterfall cursor should be set. As an example the paNBEMS 80 meter Sunday 10AM net has the
following specs.
paNBEMS Data Net
3.583
Olivia 8/500
1000Hz Center
So your transceiver would be set to 3.583 mHz and Fldigi would be set for Olivia 8/500 with the
waterfall cursor centered on the 1000Hz mark in the waterfall.
To set Fldigi to Olivia 5/800 click on OPMODE on the main menu bar and slide down to the Olivia
entry and down the next drop down menu to the 5/800 entry and click.
Your display should look like the image.
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Putting the NCS's call in the log
When the net starts there should be a net control station. Double click on the NCS's callsign in the
receive window. Don't worry about the CDRom unless you want to log the contact.
Setup Some Macros
You may wish to set up some macros for the net. Here are the ones that I have setup.
PaNBEMS Check-in
<TX>
<CALL> de <MYCALL> <MYCALL> Luzerne Cty PA K
<RX>
Notice the carriage returns between the transmit, the call information, and the return to receive
command. This is a good practice. Remember the gibberish characters that sometimes populate the
screen. Putting the carriage returns in there separates your transmission from the noise and makes it
easier for the NCS to pick you out from the noise.
PaNBEMS QSO
<TX>
<CALL> de <MYCALL>
Again the carriage returns to separate you from the noise. This macro sets up for you to send free form
typing in the transmit window.
PaNBEMS back to net
Back to net...
de <MYCALL> k
<RX>
When you are done typing, press F3 or select the macro with the cursor. It will transmit “back to net”
and then “de” followed by your call sign.
Then the carriage returns to get you away from the noise.
That is just about all you need to do.
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Put the Net in the Frequency List
The one thing that you might want to do after the first check-in is open the frequency list and hit the
plus (+) sign to put your net listing into the frequency list. The next time the net rolls around just open
the frequency list and double click on the entry for the net. Fldigi will setup the frequency and op mode
for you with that click.
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FLMSG
I have not seen any tutorials on how to use Flmsg so I am going to give it a try. It is not hard to use but
there are features and features and features. Note: Always start Fldigi and then Flmsg and Flamp
and reverse the process on shutdown. Flmsg and Flamp may hang if Fldigi is not running. Here is
what the Flmsg window looks like:
I am using the standard ARRL Radiogram for an example but the concepts are the same for any of the
forms.
FLMSG Menu Bar
The menu bar contains several items:
First the FILE menu items:
Folders
This will open the file manager or windows explorer display for moving things around.
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New
If you click “new”, the form that is displayed will be initialized and ready for typing. Each form will
have a different initialization.. A blank form will just be cleared of any typing that has been done. The
ARRL Radiogram will have the message number set to the next message number and the precedence
set to routine.
Open
If you select Open, you can load a previously stored message from the .nbems folders. This is useful if
you are going to relay a message that you received on to another station or if you have several
messages stored and ready to send you can recall them into Flmsg for sending one at a time.
Save/Save As
These menu items allow you to save a message into the .nbems folders. Note: you must first save the
message or form before you can send it.
View
This allows you to create a file from the form on disk in text or html format. This is useful for printing
out messages in hardcopy.
Q-Forms
I don't know what this function is for. When I find out I will update this section.
Wrap
This has two options. Import and Export. When Fldigi receives a message it comes in a wrap form. You
can import the wrap form into Flmsg to view the form as it was created.
This is what the wrap format looks like:
[WRAP:beg][WRAP:lf][WRAP:fn
2014_03_16_kb3fxi_n3fll_NE_NBEMS_Liaison.p2s]<flmsg>1.1.34
:hdr_fm:22
kb3fxi 20141603154823
:hdr_ed:22
kb3fxi 20141603143440
<plaintext>
:tt:25 SE PA Liaison Help Needed
:to:5 n3fll
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:fm:33 kb3fxi - PEMA/ACS Digital Manager
:dt:10 2014-03-16
:tm:5 1030L
:sb:25 SE PA Liaison Help Needed
:mg:391 Frank,
Please spread the word in your area in SE PA that PEMA/ACS could use the help of an NBEMS
Liaison station to gather reports from local nets to move to the paNBEMS PEMA/ACS HF nets on both
80m and 40m.
Please spread the word and feel free to have anyone interested in helping contact me at
[email protected].
Thanks.
-Dave Kleber, KB3FXI
paNBEMS Founder and PEMA/ACS Digital Manager
[WRAP:chksum 1609][WRAP:end]
When you import it into Flmsg this is what it looks like:
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You can export to a wrap format as well. That way you can give the file to a station that does not have
Flmsg or someone who is not using Fldigi and have them send the text to the other station.
FORM
This menu has the various forms listed that are available in Flmsg. Feel free to look around and see
what is there. If you are familiar with NIMS and ICS, you will understand the forms under the ICS
drop down menu.
TEMPLATE
This will allow you to load a special form template that can be used for special operations. The
standard distribution has none.
CONFIG
This is where you tell Flmsg who you are. If there is no configuration available when Flmsg starts it
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will walk you through the process of what is needed just like Fldigi does. Under the Fldigi connection
there are two flags that you want to select/unselect. The “Sync Modem to Fldigi” should be
unselected. “Change Modem with Autosend” should be selected. This will send the modem
change and then send the Flmsg.
Fldigi's Use of Flmsg for NBEMS
There is another spot in Fldigi that affects how messages are handled when received.
On the menu bar of Fldigi select CONFIGURE and then MISC. This will open a window that has
multiple miscellaneous configuration options. Select the NBEMS tab. You will end up with a window
that looks like this image:
The NBEMS stands for Narrow Band Emergency Message System. I'll discuss this in a future revision
of this article. For now just think of NBEMS as the reason that Flmsg exists.
At the top of the window there two options. The first is “Enable” the NBEMS Data File Interface. That
should be selected unless you never have any interest in handling messages with Fldigi. The other
option is “Open message folder”. When Fldigi receives a message it 'exports' it to one of the folders in
the .nbems folder. If the “Open message folder” is enabled it will automatically open the File Manager
for you to work with the message. It is something that is a personal preference. Here is it left
unchecked.
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The next block of options contains information on how Fldigi should handle the message with Flmsg.
The options allow Fldigi to open Flmsg and put the message into it for you and/or to open it in html
format in your default browser. These are your personal preferences. Select as you see fit.
The FLMSG field allows you to indicate to Fldigi where the Flmsg program is located so it can open it.
If you have the “open in Flmsg” option checked, you need to have something in this field and it should
be where the Flmsg program is located. You can use the “Browse” bottom to use the file manager to
locate the Flmsg program.
The TIMEOUT field is to tell Fldigi how long to attempt to work the message. If it exceeds the time
limit set, Fldigi goes on with its business and doesn't complete opening the message. Leave it at 2.0
seconds unless you have an extremely overloaded computer or one that is as fast as a turtle with bad
knees.
Now let us go back to the Menu Bar of Flmsg.
AUTOSEND
Autosend sounds like something should happen automatically if you configured it properly but it is
kind of a misnomer. When you click AUTOSEND Flmsg takes control of Fldigi and sends the message
that is currently loaded. It will do the Iding and everything for you. “Change Modem with Autosend”
tells Flmsg to change the modem.
The form window depends on what form is loaded. You can experiment with that.
FLMSG Bottom Menu Bar
The bottom menu bar has more options:
COMP
This will compress the message into the compression format specified in the next window. If you have
a long message, it is a good idea to use it.
The compression format drop down list allows you to specify how radical of a compression scheme
you want to use. Base64 is the usual standard. This is not encryption since the compressions are all
public domain and no encryption/decryption key is used. It just compresses the message and doing this
is perfectly legal in the Ham Bands.
OP MODE
This is the Op Mode that Fldigi will use when it sends the message. The usual standard is MFSK32. It
is fast but still robust. Olivia is extremely robust and will work no matter what but it is slow and used
only for net operations. When it comes time to send a message, MFSK32 is generally used on HF.
When the AUTOSEND button is clicked, Fldigi will send the TxID for this mode and send the
message. That is why it is so important to have the RxID and TxID configured in Fldigi. See the section
in Fldigi for more information on this topic.
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The final two fields are information fields that tell you the time it took to send the message and the size
of the message.
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Prepare and Send A Radiogram with Flmsg
The steps of preparing and sending a message with Flmsg are the same as writing the message down
and readying it for sending via voice or CW.
Lets go through the steps of sending an ARRL Radiogram Message.
Start the Fldigi and Flmsg programs. If you are going to prepare messages for later sending, you will
only need to start Flmsg for now.
The next step will be to select the ARRL Radiogram form using the Forms option on the menu bar.
Click the Forms button and follow down the drop down menu to the Radiogram selection and click it
as shown below:
This will display the Radiogram form in the Flmsg window.
Select File on the menu bar and click on New as shown below:
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The click on New initializes the Radiogram form with the next message number that is taken from the
configuration file of Flmsg and sets the precedence to Routine. The Flmsg configuration display is
shown below for reference.
The message number is automatically incremented during the process of sending a message. You can
reset it whenever you determine it is necessary to do so.
You are ready to begin filling in the Radiogram.
Start with the Handling Instructions. If you are an experienced ARRL Traffic Handler then you know
how this work and this is not meant to be a tutorial on traffic handling. You can get the ARRL Public
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Service Manual from the ARRL web site for more details on that subject.
http://www.arrl.org/public-service-communications-manual
The Handling Instructions tell the station at the end of the traffic receiving line how to handle the
traffic. The codes begin with an H followed by 2 letters. If you click on the button marked HX on the
radiogram, a window will be opened allowing you to select the Handling Instruction:
You can select the appropriate Handling Instruction code and then press the => and the code will be
transferred into the window. Some of the Handling Instructions need additional information added to
make them complete. For example, HXB which tells the receiving operator to cancel the message if not
delivered within so many hours of the filing time requires a time value to be added. There will be an
indicator in the window for you to replace with the correct value.
The nn needs to be replaced with a value. For out example I will use 48 hours so I replace the nn with
48 by putting the mouse cursor in front of the nn, delete the nn, and type in 48.
Click OK and the Handling Instruction is transferred back to the Radiogram field.
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The next field is station of origin. If you are the station of origin, your callsign goes in that field.
The CK field is the word check for the message. This is how many groups are in the message. For
example the sentence “I am OK” has a check of 3. The Radiogram has the ability to fill this field in for
you AFTER you type in the message. So leave this field blank for now.
The “Place of Orig” is the city and state where the message was written. It may not be your city and
state. If the message was written in Scranton, PA and brought to your home for sending then Scranton,
PA, is the Place of Origin. Just type in the Place of Origin. Do not use a comma in these fields.
Time Filed is the time that the message was originated and not the time that you send it. This time
should be the time that the message was written. If you remember the handling instruction that was
used, that means the message should be canceled within 48 hours of origin and not the time that you
sent the Radiogram on its way. If you click on the button with the “...” on the Radiogram message, the
current time that you configured in Flmsg will be placed into the Time of Origin field. This may the
Time of Origin if the person standing next to you is dictating the message. Otherwise modify the time
accordingly.
The “Mon Dy” field is the Month and Day of Origin. By clicking on the “...” to the right of the “Mon
Dy” field the Radiogram will insert the current Month and Day for you.
The “TO” field is the addressee who is going to get the message at the end of line. This is addressed
just like you would address an envelope for delivery by the U.S. Post Office. Type the address and use
the ENTER key for new lines.
The TELEPHONE Number is the addressee's telephone number including the area code. Just type the
telephone number in that field.
The OP NOTE is for an operator's note about the addressee or the telephone number. It may be that the
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delivering station should not call between midnight and 6AM. If there is an operator's note then put it
there. If there is none, leave it blank.
The checked box “STANDARD FORMAT” indicates how the message will be formatted in the
message box. The “STANDARD FORMAT” is used most of the time so unless you have a really good
reason for changing it, leave it checked.
Here is the Radiogram so far:
Brevity is everything in traffic handling. Long messages take more time to move. The ARRL Traffic
system in its infancy developed shortcuts to move traffic quickly through the system. The HANDLING
INSTRUCTIONS are one example of this brevity system and the ARL message codes are another. In
many Health & Welfare situations the occupants of shelters are handed a standardized form with the
ARL messages listed on them and asked to circle the appropriate messages that they want to send to
their loved ones. In order to continue the brevity theme the Radiogram has a facility for entering these
codes quickly.
Click on the ARL Msg button and this window will be displayed:
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The ARL codes are put into the message in text form. That means the THREE selected above does not
become a 3. It remains a THREE. So by selecting the ARL THREE message the text is displayed in the
message window and the “fill 1:” field is highlighted. There is a blank spot in the message after the
word “in”. It requires that you fill in the hospital name. Just type the hospital name in the “fill 1” field
as shown below:
You can then click the ADD button and the correctly formatted ARL text is inserted into the
Radiogram's TXT field.
If you have no more ARL messages to add, click CANCEL to close the ARL message window. The
Radiogram looks like this now and notice that the CK field has been updated with the count of the
groups so far.
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The CK field contains the letters ARL as in indication to the receiving station that the message contains
ARL messages.
You can continue with the message if there is more to add. I have added some more lines just as an
example on how to do it.
I have used the traffic handling standard of replacing periods with an X. The X counts as 1 group. This
is what the Radiogram looks like at this time in the preparation process:
I just typed the message straight across the TXT field. The standard format is 5 words per line because
that allows the operators to do a quick visual count of the words in the message for verification. You
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must remember that this message may not be handled by Fldigi all the way to its destination.
Conformance to the normal procedures is very important so that when it goes to a CW or voice station
there is not any confusion caused by the format of the message.
Notice that the CK button has turned red. The CK count of the message is incorrect. Press the CK
button and the Radiogram will fix the count and the message format. The Radiogram will look like this
after pressing the CK button:
The message check and the format have been corrected.
The SIG is the signature of who originated the message. This is the person who wrote the message or
who the message was written on behalf of. Just fill in the name of that person.
The OP NOTE is again an operator's note with some instructions or comments. I have noticed that
sometimes if something is missing from the message like telephone number, zip code, or if the address
might be incorrect then an operator's note will list that fact. So you might see something like “sent w/o
phone” so that you can be sure that a mistake wasn't made along the line. There was no telephone
number when the message started.
The fields at the very bottom are listed in the Flmsg section above so I am not going to discuss them
here. They may change depending on propagation, net procedures, capabilities of the receiving station,
and other conditions. As you proceed forward in your knowledge of digital communications and Fldigi
and its parts you will learn when to change these values.
Here is our “ready to send” message:
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At this time you'll want to save the message to your disk file. That can be done by selecting the FILE
option on the menu bar and then SAVE.
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When you click on SAVE the File Manager on your system will open and you can change the name of
the file or just save it. The Filename that is used will be your callsign followed by the message number
of the Radiogram. I recommend using it but if you can think of some thing better, by all means use it.
Click OK to save the Radiogram.
Just a quick note here about the PREVIEW checkbox field. If you have that selected, a pane will be
opened in the right of the file view that displays the message. The form that the message is displayed is
not in the form that you see when you are filling in the Radiogram's fields. It is in the form that Fldigi
uses to send it. It is plan enough to determine what the message is so that you are sure that you are
opening up the correct message.
The message is now ready for sending.
Fldigi should be up and running. It will probably look like this. I am running into dead air right now.
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That means my transceiver is turned off. You can practice this without going on the air.
The current mode shown is Olivia. This is the normal mode used during the nets for operations. Checkins and other net business will usually be conducted in Olivia. At some time during the net the Net
Control Station will tell you to send your message. At that time select your Flmsg window with the
message that you want to send open and showing in the window. Click the AUTOSEND button on the
menu bar and Flmsg will send the message.
You will see the message go out over the air in the Receive Window. You will also notice that the
MODE at the bottom left corner of the screen will change to the mode specified in Flmsg. What you
see will not look like the Radiogram. It is in the raw form that Fldigi uses to send the message. Here is
an example of what you will see. The items in red are explanations of what is being sent.
<STX>... start
[WRAP:beg][WRAP:lf][WRAP:fn wn3lif-1.m2s]<flmsg>2.0.1 ← filename and version of Flmsg.
:hdr_fm:22
wn3lif 20140504032018
:hdr_ed:22
wn3lif 20140504031129
<radiogram> ← The form that was used to create the message.
:nbr:1 1 ← The number of the message.
:prec:1 0 ← The precedence in internal format.
:hx:5 HXB48 ← The handling instruction with the expiration time.
:d1:6 APR 04 ← Day Month and Year of the message.
:t1:5 2204L ← The file of filing of the message.
:to:42 JOHN DOE ← Three lines of the address.
212 SOME ST
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PILGRIM TOWN PA 18561
:tel:10 5705555555 ← Telephone number and how long it is.
:msg:73 ARL THREE MERCY X ROBERT ← Three lines of the text of the message.
TAKING CARE OF HOUSE X
HE WILL CONTACT YOU SOON
:sig:12 FRANK L DIGI ← Signature of the message.
:ck:6 ARL 15 ← The “CK” of the message.
:sta:6 WN3LIF ← Station sending the message.
:org:11 SCRANTON PA ← City and State of Origin.
:svc:1 F ← Service Message Flag is False (not a service message)
:std:1 T ← Standard Message Format.
[WRAP:chksum 7959][WRAP:end] ← Checksum to make sure it all got there.
... end
So why is this the way that Flmsg and Fldigi send the message. The most efficient way to send this
information via digital modes is to strip out what isn't needed and make sure that the data in the
message is sent in a standard form so that the other station can interpret it. This is the same idea that is
used for Electronic Mail even though you never see the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) at
work. For example, the precedence of ROUTINE is 7 characters long. If the receiving station knows
that the code for ROUTINE is a 1 then all that is needed is a 1 and it is 6 less characters to send.
This data is stored in a file in this format both on your system and the system(s) that received it. Flmsg
has the forms stored in it so that when the data says <radiogram> then the Radiogram's form is selected
and filled with the data so that it appears just as you typed it in the receiving station's form.
There is one part of Flmsg that I want to cover before I go to the housekeeping part of the Radiogram.
The message has to be delivered to the receiving party. It does not to any good to work so hard to “get
the message through” if it all falls apart at the end. Flmsg has a facility to enable the final operator in
the chain to display the message ready to delivering.
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Selecting the FILE option on the menu bar and then selecting VIEW there are options to display the
message in various format. The language used by your web browser, HTML, is the most efficient way
of doing this. So select VIEW then HTML Delivery and the web browser will open with the message in
a format ready for reading and delivering to the receiving party.
This is what you will see in your web browser:
The message is formated on a Radiogram just as it would be on an ARRL Radiogram pad. The ARL
message text is expanded at the bottom to make it easy for the receiving station to translate from the
ARL code into plain text for the recipient.
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There is some housekeeping that should be done in message handling. The information on who the
message was relayed to, what net was it handled on, what time, etc., is on the records part of the
Radiogram form. There is a file tab at the top of the Radiogram next to the MESSAGE tab. Click on
that tab and the housekeeping part of the Radiogram is displayed.
Here is what it looks like:
The fields are:
RCVD FM: If you are the station receiving the message for delivery or relay, put the station's callsign
in this field.
NET: Put the name of the net (i.e. paNBEMS Sunday) that was in session when you received the
message.
DT/TM: This will be the date and time that you received the message. The Date and Time will be filled
in for you by clicking the button to the right of the field.
If you send the message on to another station, fill in the SENT fields with the same information.
If you are the ORIGINATING STATION, put the information in these fields as to who gave you the
message. Remember if the message is written by Mr. H. L. Jones but it is given you to send by Mr. B.
D. Smith then put Mr. Smith's information in here. Mr. Smith is the originator as far as the message is
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concerned.
If you are the station that gets to deliver the message to the addressee then enter the information into
the DLVD fields.
The Date and Time fields for ORIG and DLVD can be entered by clicking the button to the right of
those fields. In these cases close is good enough.
When you have filed out the information then select FILE on the menu bar and then SAVE to save your
work.
Sending messages with Fldig and Flmsg is a fun and fast way to move message traffic. I have taken
apart the steps but in practice they move smoothly and quickly. This is true for the sending of the
message. Practice makes this an effortless and easy way to handling the message. Go practice it and
you'll see for yourself.
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Flamp
Flamp is a program that utilizes the Amateur Multicast Protocol (AMP) to transfer files. Don't know
what AMP is? Well, I really don't either. I have not read enough about it to be literate on the subject.
That doesn't mean I can't use Flamp. That is the nice thing about the Fldigi suite of programs. You can
make use of these things without being an expert on what happens under the covers. After all, most of
you use email without any understanding of SMTP and you manage to write, read, send, and receive
email without any problem. It would be nice to understand it all but then again all of us have our own
particular calling in life and being a network engineer is may not be one of your forte's.
Flamp is used to transfer files - files like HTML, PDF (short ones), and other files that don't lend
themselves to the normal message protocols. Flamp was used during the recent testing of a new Flmsg
feature to transfer HTML files that were being used for forms. Each user needed to have copy of the
form before Flmsg could be used to transfer the form message. The holder of the file loaded the file
into Flamp, sent it, and all who were listening on the 40 meter frequency received it. One of the nice
thing about the file transfer was the ability of Flamp to request a “fill” of a missed part of the file. The
receiving stations just pressed the “report” button on Flamp and Flamp via Fldigi told the sending
station what was missed with very little operator interaction.
The Flamp program has some valuable options for the emergency communications function and
N5PVL and KB3FXI have discussed a system in which Flamp would be used to broadcast information
to emergency communicators via a simplex frequency. The receiving stations would be listening to the
transmissions and storing the files. When the communicator got back from a lunch break or other break
all he would have to do is read the files. There would be no need to be glued to the radio listening for
voice updates. Imagine how this would be of benefit to the communicators. There would be no need to
waste air time getting the status of things. They would have the information right there.
Here is a link to Charles' idea:
http://www.sgarn.org/forum_library/index.php?topic=24.msg25#msg25
Now let us get on the “using” of Flamp.
You can download the Flamp program from the W1HKJ web site. Installation is according to your
favorite operating system.
There is one caveat that I have found on Linux with Flamp. Start Fldigi before starting Flamp or
Flamp becomes a bit stubborn about doing anything. It hangs up and you have to “kill” it or
reboot to fix the problem.
Additionally you need to stop Flamp before shutting down Fldigi.
This may or may not be true with Windows. I don't know because at this station Windows has been
relegated to the back burner.
So start Fldigi and then start Flamp. I will list a method by which you can have Fldigi start programs
when it is started later in this document. Again, Fldigi has a myriad of features that you only find via
exploration. Don't be afraid to look around and try different things.
Flamp is just like all the other programs in the Fldigi suite of programs. First start up means no
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configuration files will be available. This means that when you first start Flamp you will have to do
some configuration.
Flamp CONFIGURATION
This is the configuration screen. The Callsign and Info field can be set as usual. Your callsign (Flamp
will tell Fldigi to send your Callsign so put it in to keep it legal. The Info field can be your name,
location, grid, or whatever else you wish. It is free form. So put what is important there. Name and
location seems to be the preferred information.
The settings below the Callsign and Info need some explanation.
The main purpose of the first two configuration items allow for modem synchronization between Fldigi
and Flamp.
The “Autosync Flamp to Fldigi Mode Selector “ - setting tells Flamp to set the mode for transmission
in Fldigi from what you set in Flamp.
The “Autosync Flamp from Fldigi Mode Selector” tells Flamp to synchronize with Fldigi and use what
ever mode it has enabled.
The “Change Fldigi Mode before Transmission” - when selected will change the Fldigi mode to what
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the Flamp mode that selected immediately before sending the file transfer.
“Enable Transmit on Report” - The “report” button was mentioned earlier. Let me give you a refresher
on “report”. When a file transfer is done Flamp breaks the file into blocks and each block has its own
error information. If a “block” doesn't make it, Flamp will flag it as missing on the receive end. At the
end of the file transfer the receiving operator can click the “report” button and Flamg will tell the
transmitting station what blocks it missed or it may just say “confirmed” which is a succesful file
tranfer. The “Enable Transmit of Report” allows Flamp to put Fldigi into transmit mode and send the
report automatically. If it is not selected, the report is put in the transmit window ready for transmission
manually. It is an operator's choice.
The rest of the options have been left at default at WN3LIF with no problems. You can click another
tab to move out of the configuration options when you are done.
ONLINE HELP
Remember that all the Fldigi programs have a very detailed online help page. By clicking HELP and
then ON LINE HELP will take you to the web page for that program.
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Flamp RECEIVING
Receiving with Flamp is about a simple as starting it and sitting back while it does the work. There are
times when a Lawnmower that does that would be welcome. Flamp is intended for hands off receiving.
There have been times when I could not make a net. I set up Fldigi on the appropriate frequency,
started Flamp, and went away. When I came back the messages were in the appropriate directory and a
file that had been sent via Flamp was waiting for saving. It really is hands off receiving.
When a file is received via Flamp it will be placed in the Receive Queue. The procedure to save it just
requires selecting it with the mouse pointer and clicking the “save” button above. A file manager will
open and you can either rename the file, leave it as it was sent (recommended), or add something to the
file label to make it more meaningful.
You can then remove it from the queue by clicking on the remove button. Or if you don't want the file,
click the remove button without saving it.
Again, to receive a file there is not much you need to do other than let Fldigi and Flamp do their work.
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Flamp TRANMITTING
Transmitting a file with Flamp is again mostly hands off after Flamp has been configured. It is not a
strenuous thing to do.
Get to the transmit window by clicking on the “Transmit” tab.
The “Send To” field is usually left at QST if it is for all stations to copy. You can put a callsign in there
but at this time it usually left at QST. It is a broadcast to all Hams but as the W1HKJ manual points out
there are some countries that have different laws. Guide yourself accordingly.
The files to transmit must be added to the Transmit Queue. That is done by clicking on the Add button
and using the file manager that opens to select the file to be added. You can add as many as you like.
Removing a file from the Transmit Queue is relatively simply to do. Highlight it with the mouse and
then click on the Remove button.
When you are ready to transmit the file, click on the “Xmit” button. Flamp will transmit only the
highlighted file. If you want to send all the files in the queue, click on the “Xmit All” button.
Flamp will proceed to send the files via Fldigi.
A word about the “Comp” field. Leave it checked. There are times when Flamp will decide that the file
needs to be compressed to send it. If you uncheck this field, you may be at odds with what Flamp needs
to do. There is a bit about this in the On-line Help files and I suggest that you take a moment and read
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it.
The mode is determined by your conditions. MTS63 1000 long interleave seems to be the best for VHF
use but there are other options. Experience and practice with the nets will give you a good idea what is
best to use and then you can set your default to that.
“FETCH”
No this isn't something that you tell your dog to do. Remember the “Report” option in the receiving
section. After the file has been sent and the receiving stations have “reported” any missing blocks, the
FETCH button can be clicked and Flamp will consolidate the reports and set up the blocks that were
missed by the receiving stations and send them as fills. This pretty much automates the “request for
fills” function to the point that everything gets moved as quickly as possible.
EVENTS
This is where Flamp shines. Flamp has the facility to transfer files on a time basis or continuous basis.
The Events Tab is where this happens.
The setting of the events is flexible. It can be scheduled every so many minutes or it can be repeated
constantly. It can be set to do it only at certain times. It can send whatever files are loaded in the Tx
Queue or from a special directory. There are many options here.
One option for a local club would be to send club announcements or other club information on a once
per day basis. Or it could be where to go for assignment in case of an emergency activation. The only
limiting factor is your imagination.
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Hamcast Events
I probably should say “Wait! There's More!” It would be true.
The Hamcast tab allows for rotating various the modems used for transmission. Sometimes one mode
isn't good for all. In Texas they are using this to send information to club members and ARES members
and vary the modes to insure that everyone gets a clean copy.
Remember, this is really being done unattended for the most part.
When you enable this function Flamp calculates the time it takes for each mode and if your interval
isn't long enough it will tell you to either change the mode or increase the interval. Pretty good
programming if you ask me.
Flamp has a world of possibilities. If you don't take advantage of them, you are missing out on a great
opportunity to use Fldigi to its fullest potential.
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Fldigi's Autostart Function
There are programs that depend on Fldigi being up and running. There are also programs that it is
desirable to run with Fldigi for convenience. The two that are used the most for Emergency
Communications are Flamp and Flmsg.
Fldigi has an “autostart” configuration feature that will start programs after Fldigi has completed its
startup sequence.
You can access the “autostart” configuration by clicking on the CONFIGURE option on the menu bar
and then selecting “autostart”. The window below is displayed:
The configuration window has entries for the Fldigi suite of programs and 3 additional entries for any
other programs that you might want to start when Fldigi starts.
The “Locate” button will open a file manager that allows navigation to the program's location on your
computer. Once you have located it in the file manager, click open and the field will be populated with
the absolute path to the program. If you know where the program is located then you can type it into
the field without using the “Locate” button.
The “enable” check box must be checked for Fldigi to start the program. If it is not checked, Fldigi will
ignore the entry.
The “Test” button will start the program. This will allow verification that the path to the program is
correct.
This is a useful function to start all the programs that you will need in support of Fldigi. It works well
at WN3LIF but if I stop Fldigi and don't stop the ancillary programs then when I start Fldigi again I
have multiple copies of them running. Fldigi does not have an “auto stop” configuration option.
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PA NBEMS NCS STANDARDS AND CHECK IN PROCEDURES
FOR DIGITAL EMCOMM
Version 1.0
23 Jan 2011
David Kleber, KB3FXI – paNBEMS
PURPOSE OF THE PANBEMS NETS
The paNBEMS working group was formed for the purpose of testing and training in the use of
digital sound card modes for use in emergency communications in sending both short formal
messages and detailed logistical data.
The primary goals of the paNBEMS nets are to hone our skills in digital radio emergency
communications and gain a sufficient number of qualified Amateur Radio station operators to
support served agencies in times of communications outages, local or regional emergencies and
disaster situations.
Our Net Operation standards have been adopted based upon extensive on the air experimentation
with different modes of operation and net protocols.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The goals of our digital sound card emergency communications nets are to:
•
Build participation
•
Practice net discipline
•
Accurately move information as quickly and efficiently as possible
•
Coordinate between in state and out of state net liaisons
•
Meet the needs and wants of our potential served agencies to the best of our ability
•
Distribute information relevant to emergency communications to our net participants
STANDARD MODES FOR HF KEYBOARD CHAT: OLIVIA 8/500 AND 16/500
The standard mode for short messages/files and keyboard to keyboard chat over HF/SSB is
Olivia. When conditions are adequate, we will use Olivia with 8 tones within a 500 Hz
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bandwidth at the start of the HF nets. If conditions are poor or deteriorate, we will use 16 tones
within a 500 Hz bandwidth.
STANDARD MODES FOR HF BULLETINS: MT63-1000 AND MT63-500
MT63-1000 or MT63-500, depending on band conditions, will be used for the transmission of
larger messages on our HF nets.
STANDARD METHOD FOR SPREAD SHEET FILE VERIFICATION: FLWRAP
NCS, and net participants, should use FLWRAP, whenever possible, for the transmission of
spreadsheet data or other large files.
Flwrap will be used to ensure data integrity under the following circumstances:
o When transmitting critical data where any error is not acceptable.
o When transmitting data such as spreadsheets where any error could result in file
corruption.
o Whenever directed to by the Served Agency.
STANDARD METHOD FOR FORMAL MESSAGE TRAFFIC: FLMSG
NCS and net members should use Flmsg for formal message handling in either the ICS-213,
NTS/Radiogram or Blank form tabs, but plain text messages should be accepted by NCS and
other members of the net.
FORMAL HF NET PROCEDURES
The standard HF digital emcomm frequency for Western PA is 3.583.5 MHz with 3.592 and
7.072 MHz as backup frequencies. These frequencies are dial frequencies for the HF
transceiver VFO in USB mode with a center waterfall frequency of 1000 Hz.
The VFO dial and waterfall frequency of 1000 Hz is critical to the smooth transition between the
Olivia and MT63 1k long modes with stations utilizing RSID and should be followed at all
times.
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The initial mode for the HF net will be 8/500 or 16/500 Olivia, depending upon band conditions.
When changing modes to MT63-1000 to pass high-speed traffic, NCS will announce the change
in mode and then transmit a carrier tone at 1000 Hz in the waterfall for 20 seconds. Stations will
then change modes and should already be centered at 1000 Hz waterfall frequency. MT63 500
Hz long will only be used under heavy static crash conditions, such as those that may exist in the
summer months during heavy electrical storm activity, and the center waterfall frequency is 750
Hz.
In rare cases - and only under extremely poor band conditions - NCS may switch to 8/250 Olivia.
If the switch to 16/500 or 8/250 Olivia is necessary, all traffic should be as short as possible and
limited to priority or emergency messages.
STATION CHECK IN PROCEDURES
It is very important for all participating stations checking in to the digital nets to follow the
direction of net control at all times and only use break in procedures for legitimate authorized or
confirmed priority or emergency traffic. While general check-ins with or without out traffic are
often encouraged, please remember to pause a few seconds to give priority to stations checking
in with traffic when NCS calls for general check-ins.
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL POINTS ON CHECKING IN :
•
Stations should enter a hard return (keyboard enter key) prior to and following their call sign,
county and statement of traffic. This separates the station’s check in information from the
random characters (diddle) at the receiving stations, including NCS.
•
DO NOT check in with extraneous text, general macros or character leaders prior to your text.
Here is an example of an improper check in: (i.e. “............. Net Control de KB3XYZ, good
evening from Allegheny County, I have no traffic for the net tonight. Back to you, KB3FXI
NCS de KB3XYZ kn”). Check in time goes from about 6 seconds when checking in properly to
almost 30 seconds in the improper example above. In the example above, the proper check in
should have been: KB3XYZ, Allegheny
•
Whenever possible, prepare your message by typing it ahead of time and prior to transmitting in
order to speed up the net keyboard to keyboard operations.
•
NCS may need to change procedures during a net to accommodate changing conditions or
situations. PLEASE follow the direction of the net Control Station.
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NET CONTROL PRIORITIES
Priorities of NCS (in order of importance) are:
1. Maintain net discipline to the best of your ability
2. Select the proper modes of operation according to band conditions and traffic volume
3. Identify and acknowledge, to the net, one or more designated stations who will act as
relay through the duration of the net session
4. Effective management of emergency and priority traffic
5. Check in and log net liaison stations
6. Check in and logging of stations by location
7. Direct the traffic handling of routine traffic
8. Direct the transmission of informational bulletins of interest to the net
9. Encourage participation in the net by calling any stations with or without traffic,
conditions permitting
10. Adapt Net procedures according to conditions and situations, giving clear direction to the
net participants
During drills and actual activations, Net Control Station operations should not be combined with
station operations at key locations such as Emergency Operations Center or Official Relay
Stations and should have backup emergency power capabilities.
NET CONTROL STATION PROCEDURES
Whenever possible, NCS should call for early check-ins 30 minutes prior to the net. From the
early check ins, NCS should also request that one or more of the early check ins act as
designated net relays, assuming that they will be available at their station for the duration of the
net.
Upon the start of each net, NCS will call for stations with Emergency or Priority traffic only.
Depending upon the anticipated number of check-ins or band conditions, the Net Control Station
(NCS) may decide to first ask for check-ins from stations with traffic only, followed by stations
with traffic, and then check-ins by ARES Region or other geographical criteria as established by
NCS. Participating stations should closely follow NCS instructions.
NCS will advise all stations checking in to transmit only their call sign, county (or if out of state,
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their general location), and statement of traffic. The statement of traffic will consist of the
number of messages and the call sign of the station, or general location (i.e. county or location)
to which the traffic is directed.
For example, if W3YJ is checking in and has one piece of traffic for KB3FXI, W3YJ will check
in as follows:
W3YJ, Allegheny, 1- KB3FXI
If W3YJ had one message for KB3FXI and one general message for Armstrong County, he
would check in as follows:
W3YJ, Allegheny, 2- KB3FXI, Armstrong
It is recommended that NCS record check-ins via paper log in to ensure they maintain this data
in the event of a computer crash or short power interruption, which could lead to the loss of any
electronically logged data.
In the instance of an actual emergency activation, NCS may prioritize check-ins from stations in
specific affected areas or facilities (i.e. NCS calls for stations in Armstrong County or EOC
stations in Clarion and Mercer).
After listening for check-ins, NCS will acknowledge stations checked in and may ask for relays.
Whenever possible, NCS will specifically designate one or more relay stations, prior to net start,
to help prevent doubling when calling for relays. Participating net stations NOT designated as
relays, should not respond to NCS calls for relays from NCS designated relays. NCS may ask for
any stations to relay. Do not respond to relay requests unless you have solid copy on both NCS
and the other station.
Should a station need to get the attention of NCS for a break-in, the station should transmit a
1000 Hz carrier tone for 5 seconds by using the “Tune” button at the upper right hand corner of
the FLDIGI screen. This procedure should be reserved for stations breaking in with emergency
or priority traffic only. The 1000 Hz “Tune” tone may be transmitted over (on top of) an existing
Olivia or MT63 transmission without negative affect to receiving stations, but breaking stations
using this procedure should attempt to transmit the tone, starting immediately, or just prior to, the
end of the current transmitting stations transmission.
STANDARD MODE FOR VHF/UHF FM: MT63-2000 LONG INTERLEAVE
The standard mode for use over FM repeaters or on FM VHF/UHF simplex channels is MT6306/24/14 A Tour Of FLDIGI Version 0.6 Page 68 of 74
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2000 with long interleave.
FORMAL VHF/UHF NET PROCEDURES
On VHF/UHF we will use the same procedures that we use for voice nets because we are
allowed to intermingle digital and voice communications.
County Emergency Coordinators should designate one repeater and one simplex frequency for
their county as digital VHF/UHF channels. We should seek permission from the repeater trustee,
and not allow digital transmissions through a repeater prior to obtaining authorization from the
trustee with the only exception being emergency traffic involving the protection of life or
property.
TRANSMISSION OF BINARY FILES OR LARGE FILES
Transmission of binary files such as Word documents or Excel spreadsheets is to be discouraged
because of the large size of these files and our limited bandwidth. Instead, we should convert
Word files to text format and Excel spreadsheets to Comma Separated Values (CSV) text format.
NCS should move stations with large data files designated to another specific station on the net,
off the primary net waterfall frequency (i.e. up 1500 Hz) so as to not disrupt the net with
excessively long data transmissions.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
paNBEMS Net Control operations will continue to expand and change as we learn more.
Although at times decisions and changes will have to be made, it is hoped that we can arrive at
these standards through consensus and open-minded constructive discussion, and that these
decisions can be validated through on-the-air testing. The best way to participate in the standardsetting process is to join the paNBEMS working group and get involved with the mailing list and
on the air testing, both on HF and at the local level.
(WN3LIF Note: I was going to “link” to this resource but with the ways of the Internet it is not known
whether or not this resource would be available in the future. I thought it best to include it in its entirety
and if KB3FXI updates it in the future I'll do the work of incorporating it in its new form.)
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RESOURCES
This is a list. It points to people, web sites, PDF files, forums, and groups. There is an effort to group
like resources together. As I stumble, literally, across things I put them here for my own benefit. If I
look in my browser's list of bookmarks it is a jumble but I know what I am looking for so I usually can
find it. You, on the other hand, may not know what you are looking for so this section is meant to help.
I wish I could say “designed to help” but that would be awarding me with an honor that I don't deserve.
KB3FXI
Yes I am listing Dave as a resource. Log on to QRZ.COM and look up his page. You will find examples
of his efforts with Fldigi and several presentations in PowerPoint format. Good reading and lots of
information. Dave and the paNBEMS nets have been one of the places where I have obtained much
useful information. It is a learning experience. Without Dave and this group Flmsg and Flamp would
have stayed as one of those “what the heck are they for” items for me.
Fldigi Help Files (added 6/24/2014)
Application
flwrap
flmsg
flwkey
flrig
fllog
flnet
kcat
HTML on line Help
PDF document
http://www.w1hkj.com/Flwrap/index.
html
http://www.w1hkj.com/flmsghelp/index.html
http://www.w1hkj.com/flwkeyhelp/index.html
http://www.w1hkj.com/flrighelp/index.html
http://www.w1hkj.com/flloghelp/index.html
http://www.w1hkj.com/Nethelp/index.html
http://www.w1hkj.com/kcathelp/index.html
http://www.w1hkj.com/Flwrap/FLWrap_Users_M
anual.pdf
http://www.w1hkj.com/flmsghelp/FLmsg_Users_Manual.pdf
http://www.w1hkj.com/flwkeyhelp/FLwkey_Users_Manual.pdf
http://www.w1hkj.com/flrighelp/FLRig_Users_Manual.pdf
http://www.w1hkj.com/flloghelp/FLlog_Users_Manual.pdf
http://www.w1hkj.com/Nethelp/FLnet_Users_Manual.pdf
http://www.w1hkj.com/kcathelp/KCat_Users_Manual.pdf
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Web Sites
There are lots of these. I'll try to organize them for you as I go but... Well, you know.
NBEMS/Fldigi Sound Card Calibration
http://www.pa-sitrep.com/NBEMS/Fldigi_calibration.htm
Fldigi setup and sound card checks – files are rather old but the information is still useful
http://www.ground-tech.com/Fldigi_files.htm
Strafford County New Hampshire ARES Fldigi Basics
http://www.scares.arrl-nh.org/pdf_files/Fldigi%20basics.pdf
YouTube Video on configuring Fldigi and Flmsg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psP489NOkg0
Videos
Link for configuring Fldigi with the Icom IC-7200 for Digital Modes. Recommended by KB3FXI
http://youtu.be/szFnnwBCilI
Yahoo Groups
There are several Yahoo Groups where Flgidi advocates hang out. I recommend that you join them and
even if you are not interested in getting the individual emails then a summary email would be helpful.
Many of the questions that you have usually have answers in these groups. The members have been
very friendly to me and the experience of being in the groups has been very useful.
The Pennsylvania NBEMS Group:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/paNBEMS/info
The New York & East Coast NBEMS Group:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ny-nbems/info
The NBEMS Testing Group – This group is bleeding edge with Fldigi.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/NBEMSham/info
All the groups require membership and approval to join.
Fldigi and Contesting
This is how I got started in Fldigi. It is an excellent digital contest program. If you don't like something
then there are ways to change it. The W1HKJ's web page on contesting is a good place to start:
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.22/Contest-How-To.html
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SOFTWARE
W1HJK Web site – The place where it is all explained.
http://www.w1hkj.com/
W1HJK Downloads – Where you get the bits.
http://www.w1hkj.com/download.html
NETS
Tennessee Amateur Ham Radio (T.A.H.R.) Digital Nets
http://tnham.wordpress.com/digital-nets/
Western Pennsylvania Operations and Procedures – setting up various modes.
http://www.pa-sitrep.com/NBEMS/Fldigi_ops.htm
This is a list of nets obtained from the ny-NBEMS Yahoo Group. Not all the nets have been verified as
active but it is a good starting point.
Net Name
paNBEMS 80m Net
paNBEMS 80m Net
MI Digital Traffic Net
Maine NBEMS 80m Net
Tri State NBEMS net (PA)
Chautauqua County ARES Digital Net (NY)
Virginia Digital Net (VDN)
NYNBEMS 40m Net
Southern Territory SATERN Net
North america Quick NBEMS Net
East Coast NBEMS Net
MN ARES Digital Net
Arkansas ADHNN NBEMS
Day
Sunday
Tuesday
Tues,Thrus & Sat.
Wednesday
Saturday
Saturday
Nightly
Saturday
Saturday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Tuesday
To help keep list current please forward any or all updates to:
Time
10:00
19:30
19:00
18:30
09:30
14:00
19:15
10:00
12:00
21:45
19:00
20:00
19:00
Frequency
3.5835mhz
3.5835mhz or 3.5920mhz
3.5830mhz
3.590mhz
3.9530mhz
3.5830mhz
3.578.5mhz
7.036mhz
14.065mhz
60 meters any free channel
7.036mhz
3.5835mhz
3.582 or 7.070
(c)
1kz
1kz
1kz
1kz
Mode-1
Olivia 8/500
Olivia 8/500
Olivia 8/500
Olivia 8/500
1kz Olivia 8/500
1.3kz Olivia 4/500
1.5kz Olivia 8/500
1kz Olivia 8/500
1.5kz USB/PSK31
1.5khzOlivia 8/500
1kz Olivia 16/500
1Khz MT-6300L
Mode-2
MT63-1K
MT63-1K
PL Echolink Contact
[email protected]
[email protected]
MT63-1K
[email protected]
MT63-1k
[email protected]
MT63-1k
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
MT63-1K
Olivia 8/500
Fred VE3FAL [email protected]
Andy K3UK
[email protected]
Dave KB3FXI [email protected]
Digital Modes – Sounds and Explanations
WB8NUT Digital Modes Information Page
http://wb8nut.com/digital/
DXZone Radio Sounds
http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=4657
W1HKJ Digital Modes – Sights and Sounds
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/Modes/index.htm
KB9UKD – Digital Modes Reference
http://www.kb9ukd.com/digital/
DXZone Audio and Sounds – Radio Amateur and Communications
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http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=8861
PSK Oriented
The PSK Reporter – Listens to reports from stations all over the world. If you are “spotted” on this web
site that means your signal is getting out.
http://pskreporter.info/
Putting Fldigi (and other things) on a Thumb Drive by W1HKJ
The Yahoo Groups mentioned above are a wealth of information about Fldigi and its associated
programs and other items. As I see items of note I'll add them to this compendium. The purpose is not
to supplant the Yahoo Groups as they are the best source of recent and ongoing efforts to improve
Fldigi. These are here for the “new comer” so that they have a quick resource of things go by.
On 04/15/2014 05:44 PM, w1hkj wrote:
I do this at least twice a year, so here goes. Try to remember where you saw this.
I took a 128 MB thumb drive (it's over 14 years old).
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Formated it using Win8 to FAT32.
Opened the drive using MS file explorer
Created an empty text file (right click), naming the file to NBEMS.DIR
Windows warned me that changing the ".txt" extension might make the file
inaccessible. Put it where the sun don't shine Bill. I'll name it what I want.
Copied the following files from the Win8 C drive to the little thumb drive
• fldigi.exe
• flmsg.exe
• flamp.exe
Renamed these C: drive folders
• fldigi.files ==> a_fldigi.files
• flamp.files ==> a_flamp.files
• NBEMS.files ==>a_NBEMS.files
Double clicked on the fldigi.exe icon on the D: drive
Configured fldigi and saved the config (Configure | Save)
Started flmsg
Started flamp
The required folders were created on the D: drive. No new folders were created on the C:
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drive.
This does not work for flrig unless you create a desktop icon to the thumb drive flrig
executable and add the parameter --config-dir X:\ where X is the thumb drive location
(which will probably change the next time you plug it in).
The following worked just fine on the Win8 machine
• Copied flrig.exe to the thumb drive.
• Right clicked on fldigi.exe and selected "Send to | Desktop (create shortcut)"
• Dragged the new desktop shortcut to the thumb drive.
• Deleted the new desktop shortcut (icon)
• Opened the propertied dialog for the thumb drive flrig shortcut.
• Changed the shortcut Target to D:\flrig.exe --config-dir D:\flrig.files
• Double clicked on the flrig shortcut, not the original exe. Consider moving the flrig.exe to a
folder on the thumb drive if you find it hard to remember which one to use.
• Flrig started and created the folder flrig.files on the thumb drive. You'll have to update the short
cut properties each time you move to a new computer.
There might be an easier way to do this, but I don't know of one. Remember that I am not a Windows
wizard. I much prefer Unix, Linux or OS X.
73, Dave, W1HKJ
06/24/14 A Tour Of FLDIGI Version 0.6 Page 74 of 74

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