Topband: Digital mode spurious issues

[Tom W8JI]

I have not been on the air for a year or so, but decided to get back on. I 
was listening to a DX station around 1833 when a digimode station up roughly 
around 1837 came on with a LSB "spurious" signal on 1833. His signal was a 
series of slowly changing stepped tones. I don't know what mode that was. 
His unwanted sideband suppression was about 40 dB, but that was not nearly 
enough. He was 15 dB out of noise with his unwanted sideband.

Does anyone know of a universal software to decode signals? Since the FCC 
does not require a CW ID, I think that is the only way to identify stations.

I assume:

1.) Operators are unlikely to accept they have a problem if they are getting 
good reports on the intentional signal

2.) Some rigs just should not be used for digimodes (this was a sideband 
suppression issue)

3.) Those who unwisely placed digimode subbands next to popular weak signal 
areas, especially when sideband selection produces a supurious that falls in 
weak signal areas, are unlikely to rethink the poor placement or poor advice 
on selecting sidebands

4.) With a little work to convince them, most digital ops with radio 
problems would avoid operating

73 Tom