[RTTY] Fw: [illinoisdigitalham] ALE Sounding. What is it andhow does it work?

Thu Jan 10 21:57:52 EST 2008

If you want to hear a sound clip of ALE try here,
http://www.kb9ukd.com/digital/
One of many sites with digital mode clips.

73,
Ron  K0IDT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jack West XP" <w7ld at theriver.com>
To: "George Henry" <ka3hsw at earthlink.net>; <rtty at contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 8:15 PM
Subject: Re: [RTTY] Fw: [illinoisdigitalham] ALE Sounding. What is it andhow
does it work?

> Hi All,
>
> Although I have heard the term ALE mentioned in ham rqdio, I had no idea
what it was.
> One of the listed "calling frequencies" falls very close to our RTTY
"RATTS NET" frequency
> which we hold each week night.  This net has been active continuously
since 1948 (we
> think)
>
> Every now and then this strong, weird, digital, signal comes on and
obliterates our
> transmissions.
> Not often, but consistently.  We have not been able to figure out what it
was.  I have a
> strong idea it is one of these ALE calls.
>
> The problem lies near 3.596 Mhz. (an ALE frequency)
>
> 73
> de Jack / W7LD / "Lucky Dog"
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "George Henry" <ka3hsw at earthlink.net>
> To: <rtty at contesting.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 8:08 AM
> Subject: [RTTY] Fw: [illinoisdigitalham] ALE Sounding. What is it and how
does it work?
>
>
> >
> > You guys will get a kick out of this...  I posted a message to the
IllinoisDigitalHam
> > group at Yahoo groups calling the "soundings" by ALE (Automated Link
Establishment)
> > stations illegal one-way transmissions, and this is the response from
our good friend
> > Bonnie Crystal, KQ6XA.  I think you'll all agree that it simply defies
logic...
> >
> > Have a box of tissues handy - you'll be laughing 'til you cry!
> >
> >
> > (BTW, I forwarded her explanation to Chuck Skolaut at the ARRL
Regulatory Information
> > service for his opinion, so I can post an authoritative response to her
BS)
> >
> >
> > 73,
> >
> > George, KA3HSW
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Forwarded Message-----
> >>From: expeditionradio <expeditionradio at yahoo.com>
> >>Sent: Jan 8, 2008 5:34 PM
> >>To: illinoisdigitalham at yahoogroups.com
> >>Subject: [illinoisdigitalham] ALE Sounding. What is it and how does it
work?
> >>
> >>Here is some info about ALE sounding and how it works.
> >>
> >>What is an ALE sounding?
> >>In ham radio, ALE sounding is simply a station ID.
> >>Only the callsign is sent, example "This is AA1BB".
> >>Sounding is ALE jargon for "Station ID".
> >>
> >>What is the purpose of ALE sounding?
> >>The ID is transmitted for the purpose of establishing
> >>and maintaining communications with other stations
> >>and to meet the station identification requirements
> >>of ham radio rules and regulations. Sounding may
> >>also be part of a selective calling process.
> >>
> >>How does ALE fit in the various ham radio rules?
> >>How ALE sounding is applied to the different rules of
> >>various countries depends upon that country. Under USA's
> >>FCC rules, ALE sounding is a station ID and a communication.
> >>
> >>ALE sounding is not "beaconing".
> >>ALE stations are not sending one-way transmissions like
> >>a beacon does. All the ALE stations are transmitting and
> >>receiving communications with all the other ALE stations
> >>in communication with each other.
> >>
> >>What frequencies are soundings used by hams?
> >>In ham-friendly ALE, part of the guidelines for
> >>repetitive soundings is to transmit on "pilot channels".
> >>Pilot channels are ALE jargon for a designated calling
> >>frequency, usually only one channel per band. The pilot
> >>channels are within a segment of the HF bands that are
> >>designated for automatic operation by the national bandplans
> >>or the IARU Region bandplans, depending upon which applies.
> >>
> >>Ham Radio ALE Pilot Channel Frequencies
> >>
> >>Freq kHz SSB INTERNATIONAL REGION - AREA
> >>3596.0 USB NORTH AMERICA - SOUTH AMERICA
> >>3617.0 USB EUROPE-AFRICA-RUSSIA-MIDEAST
> >>3626.0 USB ASIA - AUS - NZ - PACIFIC
> >>7040.5 USB EUROPE-AFRICA-RUSSIA-MIDEAST-S.AMERICA
> >>7102.0 USB NORTH AMERICA - PACIFIC - ATLANTIC
> >>7185.5 USB AUSTRALIA
> >>10145.5 USB GLOBAL
> >>14109.5 USB GLOBAL
> >>18106.0 USB GLOBAL
> >>18117.5 USB EUROPE-AFRICA-RUSSIA-MIDEAST
> >>21096.0 USB GLOBAL
> >>21116.0 USB EUROPE-AFRICA-RUSSIA-MIDEAST
> >>24926.0 USB GLOBAL
> >>28146.0 USB GLOBAL
> >>28312.5 USB EUROPE-AFRICA-RUSSIA-MIDEAST
> >>
> >>Amateur Radio Global High Frequency Network (HFN)
> >>The Amateur Radio Global ALE High Frequency Network
> >>is a group of volunteer operators who have automatically
> >>controlled data stations on the ALE Pilot Channels.
> >>These are known as HFN Pilot Stations, and they provide
> >>interconnect texting services and HF-to-HF Relay services.
> >>The long term objective is to be interoperable with as
> >>many different types of systems as possible. The primary
> >>purpose of the HFN is to provide emergency and disaster
> >>relief 24/7/365 communications. When not in use for the
> >>primary purpose, hams may access any of the HFN stations
> >>for normal use. Another secondary aspect of the
> >>HFN stations is that they provide a continuous feed
> >>to the internet, reporting all other ALE stations they
> >>receive. This includes soundings and all other types of
> >>ALE calls. These reports get logged into a permanent
> >>database, and are visible on "ALE Channel ZERO".
> >>http://hflink.net/qso
> >>
> >>Many other ham radio ALE operators are transmitting
> >>soundings on the ALE pilot channels. The more operators
> >>who are active on ALE, the better everyone is able
> >>to connect with each other.
> >>
> >>The Ham Radio ALE Guidelines are included below in this
> >>message. You can get more info about ALE and sounding
> >>on the web at:
> >>http://www.hflink.com/sounding/
> >>
> >>73---Bonnie KQ6XA
> >>
> >>HAM RADIO SOUNDING INFORMATION
> >>
> >>What is Sounding?
> >>In Amateur Radio ALE, a sounding is simply a 10 second ALE
> >>transmission of your callsign (station identification). A sounding is
> >>different from a beacon because the ALE station uses 2 way
> >>communications; and the ALE sounding transmission is part of a
> >>selective calling process for calling and actively maintaining
> >>communication with other stations in the global ham radio ALE net and
> >>individually.
> >>
> >>Why are Soundings Used?
> >>The reception and communication through soundings enables other ALE
> >>stations to know which frequencies or bands your station is active on.
> >>When you first turn on your transceiver, you can send some soundings
> >>so that other stations will copy your transmissions, and then may
> >>selectively call you on the best channel, using the minimum number of
> >>call attempts. The scanning ALE receiver listens to the soundings of
> >>other stations each time they are heard and stores them in memory with
> >>channels and times.
> >>
> >>How Are Soundings Transmitted?
> >>Soundings can be manually transmitted, or set by the operator to
> >>transmit repetitive soundings every hour. Usually, if repetitive
> >>soundings are set, when the ALE controller or radio is first turned on
> >>then there is a delay of a few minutes before the first soundings are
> >>transmitted.
> >>
> >>Ham-Friendly ALE Soundings
> >>In the ham radio ALE network, there are Pilot Stations in different
> >>areas of the world that send soundings 24/7. This system transmits
> >>sounding only on the Pilot Channels in the automatic station
> >>sub-bands, and this strategy forms part of the basis of ham-friendly
ALE.
> >>
> >>ALE Sounding Guidelines for Amateur Radio
> >>
> >>1. As an Amateur Radio Operator, you are responsible for all
> >>transmissions of your station.
> >>
> >>2. Before sending soundings, or any transmission, listen carefully  to
> >>all your transmitting channels with your receiver. Avoid interference.
> >>
> >>3. Sounding is not CQ. If you want to call CQ, use the HFL or QRZ
netcall.
> >>
> >>4. Manual or attended soundings may be transmitted on any ALE channel.
> >>
> >>5. For repetitive sounding, program your ALE to sound only on the
> >>designated Pilot Channels marked PILOT in the Amateur Radio ALE
> >>Channel List, for your IARU/ITU Region, and within your license. There
> >>is one Pilot Channel per ham band in each Region.
> >>
> >>6. Program your ALE controller to use TWS Sound if possible. Using TWS
> >>Sound increases the efficiency of ALE nets. Please DO NOT use This Is
> >>Sound (TIS) on the ham bands.
> >>
> >>7. The optimum duration of a sounding transmission is approximately 10
> >>to 15 seconds. Test and verify your sounding transmission duration
> >>with your watch. A sounding transmission should NEVER be longer than
> >>30 seconds!
> >>
> >>8. The optimum repetitive sounding on a channel is about once every 60
> >>minutes. Please DO NOT sound repetitively on a channel more than 2
> >>times per hour.
> >>
> >>9. The optimum scan rate is 1 or 2 channels per second. If you scan
> >>more than 10 channels, use 2 channels per second.
> >>
> >>10. Check your transmitter operation and antenna system SWR regularly
> >>on every channel in your scan group!
> >>
> >>11. Take care in programming your ALE controller (software) and
> >>transceiver. Test it carefully and verify it for proper operation on a
> >>dummy load before connecting your antenna.
> >>
> >>12.  Use the Polite or Voice Detect or Busy Detect feature of your ALE.
> >>
> >>
> >>===END===
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>Yahoo! Groups Links
> >>
> >><*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> >>    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/illinoisdigitalham/
> >>
> >><*> Your email settings:
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> >>
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> >>
> >><*> To change settings via email:
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> >>
> >><*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> >>    illinoisdigitalham-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
> >>
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> >>
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > RTTY mailing list
> > RTTY at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rtty
> >
>
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>
> -- 
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1:32 PM
>
>