[RTTY] FSK vs AFSK

[Reid Hill]

--- Bill Turner <dezrat1242 at ispwest.com> wrote:

> I concur with the others that FSK is the way to go,
> but there is one
> small advantage to AFSK:  You can use both AFC and
> NET at the same
> time if you wish.  I don't believe this is
> sufficient advantage to
> choose AFSK, but you should be aware of it.  AFC and
> NET together
> makes tuning less critical, which may be important
> if you're using
> relatively wide bandwidth for receiving.  If you're
> using less than
> about 300 Hz bandwidth, there is little advantage to
> be gained.
> 
> --
> Bill W6WRT
> 

Howdy Ron, Bill, et al.

But this also goes to what others have said about
knowing what you are doing. In a contest with crowded
bands AFC can be an absolute pain. When someone is
running with AFC and starts that drift it can cause a
load of problems to those calling and those around
them trying to hold a freq. RIT works just as well but
it requires a little manual effort and with the
Writelog function in your macro, zeroing the RIT is
easy. NET is a MUST when using AFSK but not AFC at
least not in contesting, DXing and rag chewing, sure.

But FSK has a BIG advantage over AFSK for one reason
in my mind, FILTERS. I like being able to select
between the 500Hz and 300Hz filters when needed,
something my FT1000MP MKV would not let me do in AFSK.
Of course with some of the newer radios (746pro,
756pro, Orion) AFSK filter selection is easier. But if
you do not have a radio that will allow to you roll
your own software filters in LSB then FSK is the way
to go. Believe me 500Hz in contest is a must!

Reid
KC5YKX