[RTTY] Sound Cards and Software

[Robert Chudek - K0RC]

Bill,

A few years ago "someone" (sorry I don't recall who it was) ran tests on a 
variety of soundcards, from cheap $20 cards to high-end $200+ cards. The 
result was for RTTY use, there wasn't a significant difference in 
performance among all the cards tested. That is not to say the expensive 
cards couldn't do more, it was simply that our RTTY decoding needs did not 
take advantage of the high-end features. The conclusion was to save your 
money and put it toward a second decoder and run it in parallel.

Other fellows have run comparisons between MMTTY and other decoders, and 
specifically high-end standalone units like the HAL products. MMTTY always 
compares favorably to other decoders. The performance difference is always 
small, but the edge will sometimes go to the external unit. Overall, the 
MMTTY decoder continues to be near the top of the list of "state of the art" 
decoders, even though it was developed a decade ago.

Another software decoder that is a strong performer is RITTY by K6STI. Many 
contesters continue to use this soundcard based software even though it is a 
DOS based decoder. I don't think you can buy it anymore. It was taken off 
the market after copyright violations were discovered by its author. This 
was a terrible loss of creative talent for the Amateur Radio community 
perpetrated by some individuals who thought pirating software was an 
acceptable activity.

Regarding "noise" around your ellipsis on the MMTTY display, this is normal 
bandnoise. If you select the FIR decoder the software will provide a crisp + 
(plus) symbol when a station is tuned in properly. This display will also 
have random noise although to a lesser degree.

73 de Bob - KØRC in MN



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Gaines AD8P" <ad8p at wcoil.com>
To: <rtty at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2009 1:27 PM
Subject: [RTTY] Sound Cards and Software


>I am somewhat new at digital RTTY operating. I seem to long for the oil 
>smelling model 28 and 32 I used to have. However I have voluntarily come to 
>the 21st century and have some questions about what to use.
>
> Currently I use an Orion transceiver in FSK mode, Micro Keyer interface, 
> MMTTY for general use and N1MM with MMTTY imbedded for contesting. When 
> tuning I always use the elliptical crosses simply because that is how I 
> learned to do it 40 years ago. However, on and around those crosses I see 
> lots of what I would call noise. Interference of some sort. The elliptical 
> crosses are always much brighter and very easy to see unless the station 
> is pretty weak. Would other software or a different sound card make 
> receiving a weak station better? I am not asking for your opinions on what 
> would operate easier etc because by now teaching this old dog a new trick 
> will be pretty darn hard to do. Just simply, will a better/different sound 
> card or software make me able to hear the weaker ones better?
>
> TIA everyone,
>
> Bill AD8P
>
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