Going Digital No License Required!
I will say first of all this post is for SWL’s that like working HAM bands and interacting with HAM operators and that have a big interest in Digital Modes!
I have been around radio since the mid 60’s and I love that radio has no boundaries. Radio signals do stop in 1 city or country; they keep travelling until they fade away into wherever. We have done shortwave – CB – my dad was into HAM for a bit as well and he amazed me with being able to decode Morse code from our Hallicrafter radio. From then on I was hooked – I would tune in radio stations around the world and add them to my log. I would send some a post card to get one back (yes I’m an idiot I lost them as I got older) – I think my girlfriend got in the way LOL..
After leaving the US Navy in the 1989 & moving to Australia, I slowly started getting back into radio again and the thing that started exciting me is slowly and slowly technology started catching up with radio – This is where it started getting exciting to me! This means that when you hear PSK31 on your radio that you could open your phone or tablet to the PSK31 app (NO INTERNET NEEDED) and instantly decode what was being said OMG!
If you believe what many HAM operators tell you – you would feel to enjoy these modes you would really need to get a HAM license Not Necessarily True! Now while I am looking at getting my basic foundation license since I am now living in Australia, that has not slowed me down from enjoying the Digital modes & connecting with HAM operators.
SWL’s that enjoy working the HAM bands today because of technology can do so much more than when I was a kid, OMG the sky is the limit and the cost of entry is very reasonable as well. The setup we use at home is great and we can also be portable so take most of it anywhere. (Will show our setup below).
What I Like About Doing Digital Modes As An SWL:
- Low cost setup with gear – depending on what you want to do and choosing the right equipment that fits your budget. We started with $350 spend – XHDATA D-808 radio – Old Laptop – $20 tablet – RTLSDR Dongle with Antenna’s supplied & MLA 30+ Loop antenna & Apps we paid for full version $25 AUD (DroidPSK – Pocket RXTX- RTLSDR & Drivers – AVWare – DroidRTTY- FT8RX – Morse Code Player – DroidSSTV ) & on our computer FREE – SDR Sharp is great but my favourite is HDSDR – RTL 1090 & Virtual Radar for Air Traffic – WSJT-X – JS8Call – FLDIGI- MMSSTV – Gridtracker & we report logs through PSK Reporter & send QSL Cards with eQSL they actually let shortwave radio people have an account and win awards in their eDX department! * You gotta admit this is a lot for around $350 spend* (We will show you what we do with all of this below) **Best Part No Monthly Or Yearly FEES**
- No Band restrictions – when I do get my HAM license here in Australia it will be a foundation license and will limit me to 70cm /2 meter / 40 meter /80 meter /10 meter/15 meter & the power currently is 10 watts max. With SWL I can work any band no restrictions & because of the RTLSDR using 3rd party applications things like P25 – DMR – DSTAR and other modes can be listened to as well, Air Traffic Tracking & Monitoring & More!
- The new apps being built today are so smart you only need your radio source and the app no internet and they do the work. Decoding FT8 / PSK31 you name it. This means we can literally go anywhere in the world and set up and start decoding.
- Portability – I carry everything I need in my 13 inch laptop bag that I take everywhere I go. I am a geek so when people see me without my bag they say what’s up? In there I have a Surface pro loaded with HDSDR and my other apps / mini antenna setup / RTLSDR dongle / and mini cabling for antenna, so I can set up and do things from anywhere.
- QSL Cards: When you’re in radio the 1 thing we all appreciate is receiving QSL cards from people and places we have visited in our youth or places we have never been to! Anyone that tells you differently is either just burnt out or insane LOL.. I have collected and confirmed contacts using digital modes from eQSL from 50 plus countries. I have also received eDX awards from eQSL which is cool and all contacts are logged. What I really like is so many HAM operators when they see what I am using and where I am are blown away that I picked them up, I get this all the time in the reply’s & it’s great. **We pay $12 a year for this service & we upgraded to Silver $25 per year**
- PSK Reporter – We love this service because when we send a QSL card on our card its known that we use PSK reporter with our programs. This means the PSK reporter website posts in real time what our antenna is actually picking up globally!! So when HAMs see yes we did pick you up & they can see on our QSL card the antenna, most are blown away!
I love doing this so much that it’s not a rush to get my HAM license but I know I will get it eventually only to be able to actually message back some people and try things like VARAC – Winlink – modes that you can send eMails directly via radio peer to peer that excites me LOL…
If you like what you are reading here why not join us we have started a Digital Radio Club – DRC and we walk you through how to get started – we also have some cool awards and certificates. We do projects like Tiny Ground Station for tracking Low Earth Orbit satellites and reporting – LORA / Meshtastic comms off grid communication that will blow your mind…
NOTE If this sounds fun and you took the time to read this post why not have a look at our website www.swlqsl.com scroll down to the DRC ad and click more info!
We show you lots from getting a SWL call sign FREE and more, hope to catch you on our chat group and ZELLO chat if you become a member!
73’s CJ VK2021SWL / GMRS WRYG735
We write rarely, but only the best content.
