Software I use in my shack
Online serivces
Online services help us to keep in touch and train, the following are a lit of websites that I use.
| Website | Description | URL | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| QRZ | QRZ acts as a call sign yellow pages, you can find a lot of call signs and a “home” page for each user if they fill it out, you are also able to store your log book online & has an active forum. | www.qrz.com | Free |
| PSK Reporter | This fantastic service enables you to see how far a FT8 signal has travelled, while I have not used this service to see my signal propagation, I often look at other call signs to see how they travel. | www.pskreporter.info | Free |
| Esex Ham | Essex Ham have been a real help in getting me into Amateur Radio and the only place during the Covid 19 lockdown (20/21) that has been offering free on-line training, they also have a wealth of information on their site for anyone to look at and learn from. | www.essexham.co.uk | Free |
| PSK Reporter | This fantastic service enables you to see how far a FT8 signal has travelled, while I have not used this service to see my signal propagation, I often look at other call signs to see how they travel. | www.pskreporter.info | Free |
| Echolink | Not too sure if this belongs in this section but this software acts as an amateur radio transceiver over the internet allowing you to talk to operators all over the world., available on a desktop and your mobile phone. | www.echolink.org | Free |
Data modes
While not strictly correct I am classing data modes as a signal that sends data over the air and when it is decoded is displays something on my screen.
The software I am using at the moment is via a software defined radio and will probably change as I get my licence and begin transmitting.
| Software | Description | Download location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDRUno Plugin | This plugin enables the SDRUno to decode the ADS-B signals and display them to the screen. | Provided with the install | Free |
| Virtual Radar Server | This server takes the output from the SDRUno ADS-B plugin and displays a map of local aircraft in your location and provides aircraft & flight information. | www.aha-soft.com | Free |
| WSJT-X | I have used the WSJT-X software in line with the SDRUno software to listen into different data modes including FT8, FT4. | www.physics.princeton.edu | Free |
Software Defined Radio (SDR)
The SDR is a fantastic little enabler, I have been able to use it to discover what is going on with the different bands and as a receive only device there is no need for a licence to use it.
I have been able to watch the interactions over the different data modes and listen in to the chatter across all of the different bands tuning into local chatter on the 70cm & 2mt band and also tuning into radio stations from the People’s Republic of China and watching local aviation flying around via the ADS-B system.
| Software | Description | Download location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDRUno | SDRUno is SDR software that presents a visual representation of a frequency band, from there you can select a frequency and it will decode so you can hear what is going on. SDRUno in conjunction with some of the foundational software enables you to monitor all sorts of data that is sent over the air including the data modes (FT8 etc) and aircraft signals. SDRUno can also be used to drive a base station switching frequencies inline with the visual display. | www.sdrplay.com | Free but you will need a SDRPlay device to use it. |
Foundational
This software in this table help prepare a desktop computer to function as a controller for a Amateur (Ham) Radio Shack, they will enable communication between the different packages of software that will be run to provide different functionality in the station.
| Software | Description | Download location | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Serial Ports Emulator (64 Bit) | Used to created a serial port pair for use when running the SDRUno software for Data mode decoding with WSJT-X. | www.eterlogic.com | £24 (GBP) |
| VB Audio Virtual Cable | Virtual Audio Cable used with SDRUno & and other software. | www.vb-audio.com | Free |