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Pocsag Decoder Software Free

PDW Paging Decoder Software

OpenPoc is a Cross-Platform POCSAG - Decoder written in FreePascal/Lazarus. A Radioscanner/-receiver and a Soundcard are needed to decode POCSAG -Transmissions.Please respect the law in your. 'Free Acronym Decoder lets you 'Crack The Secret Code' your teen uses online, in Chat Rooms, online chats,Instant Messages, & Text Messages. This is an awesome software for parents because it gives you an inside look into your teenagers online life.' SkySpy ACARS pop - SkySpy is a cheap Windows 95/98 software program combining a decoder and a database in order to decode ACARS transmissions, the digital data link between commercial aircraft and ground stations, demod ACARS FAX METEO POCSAG HAM.

Introduction

Since 2003, Peter Hunt has developed PDW to the most important (free!) application to monitor POCSAG and FLEX. PDW has many users worldwide, from radio enthusiasts to professionals. After 10 years, Peter considers PDW as finished and he has stopped development. Peter, thank you for all your efforts! Meanwhile, PDW is Open Source. You can read more about that below.

As of March 2013, this site is the official host for PDW.

Download

The latest PDW version can be found here:
  • PDW v3.2b01 (zip) - Beta version with SSL support for SMTP mail client. Executable only
  • PDW v3.12 (zip) - Current stable Open Source release
  • PDW v3.1 (zip) - Final version developed by Peter Hunt
  • LogBrowser (zip) - description

Open Source

Since April 2013, PDW is available as open source software. This enables others e.g. to enhance the functionality, or to develop a Linux version.

You can find the Github project repository here.

Support

I lack the time to give individual support with PDW. Please refer to the Forum on this site.

Donations

Since Peter Hunt took over PDW in 2003, it has been freeware. Although Peter never wanted to earn money with PDW, some people kept on pushing him to offer a donation option.


Version 3.12 (28 July 2013)

Bugfixes:

  • Fixed some deprecated coding techniques so PDW can be compiled with Microsoft Visual Studio 2012
  • Fix to prevent filter array overrun when moving items in window
  • Fix in POCSAG parsing prevent buffer overrun
  • Fixed truncated messages in Mobitex

Cosmetic:

  • Link to PDW-website points to this page
  • Copyright reflects Open Source license

Version 3.1 (26 September 2010)

Bugfixes:

  • Due to a small mistake, Mobitex could not be decoded via the soundcard.

Block Duplicate Messages

This existing option has been extended and can now be configured in three ways:

  • Previous address+message is the same (no timer)
  • Previous message is the same (no timer)
  • Previous address(+function)+message is the same

The first option compares the current capcode and message with the previous. The second only checks the message text.The last option compares the address (and when monitoring pocsag, also the function number) as well as the message text.This last option also enables a timer (1-9 minutes). If a message is repeated within this period, it will be blocked.

Also, you can now enable or disable the blocked.txt file to which blocked messages are logged.


Version 3.0 (10 August 2010)

Bugfixes

  • In ERMES, sometimes the message text was copied after the previous message

RS232

As some of you probably already know, RS232 is a standard for serial data communication. The well-known 2 and 4 level slicerswhich can be used with PDW don't observe the RS232 standard. This is the main reason why additional drivers are needed(comprt.vxd or slicer.sys) and why Serial-to-USB converters are useless. These converters don't only convert the hardware,they also convert the RS232 data to USB-level.

An RS232 interface has been developed especially for PDW, which does observe the RS232 standard. No more drivers are needed, which can solveproblems with serial PCMCIA cards, and the interface also allows conversion to USB.

Below are the modes/bitrates which are currently being supported:

  • Pocsag (512/1200/2400bps)
  • Flex (1600bps)
  • Mobitex (8000bps)

Using two DIP switches on the interface, 4 data speeds can be selected:

  • 512bps (Pocsag)
  • 1200/2400bps (Pocsag)
  • 1600bps (Flex)
  • 8000bps (Mobitex)

This means that ERMES and ACARS are not supported and when Flex and Pocsag are combined on one network,only one mode can be decoded at once. Only a combined Pocsag 1200/2400 network can be decoded withouthaving to change settings.

Invert Data

In the Interface Setup window the data's polarity could be inverted, or set to Auto.This automatic detection will now allways be used, you can't select a manual setting anymore.

RX-Quality

One of the things which could be found in the Debug window (F12) was the RX-Quality (decoding quality).This value is now being shown below the signal indicator and is an indicator for decoding errors.These errors can be either visible (garbled messages or coloured characters), or invisible (correctedby the error correction). If the signal is strong enough (without noise), an RX-Quality of 100% shouldbe possible.


Version 2.60 (24 March 2010)

Bugfixes

  • When using the command file, memory would slowly run short.

Filters

The filters.ini layout has been changed. The numbering has been removed and the FilterCount is not more than an indication.

Loading of the filters should be a bit faster, maybe only noticable on slower systems.

7-digit capcodes can now also be saved without two preceding zeros.

When searching for 'duplicate filters', PDW will keep on running on the background.

After searching a filter, F3 could be used to find the next filter. SHIFT-F3 can now be used to search backwards.

SMTP port number

The default SMTP port number is 25. You can no also define a custom port number.

Wordwrap

The word wrap option has been removed. Internally it is now always enabled, except when monitoring Mobitex.

Logfile

The two icons to open/close the logfile are merged into one icon. This will open the Logfile Dialog in which thelogfile can be enabled or disabled. ALT-L can be use as shortcut to this dialog.


Version 2.53 (11 January 2009)

Bugfixes

  • When monitoring ERMES, it didn't seem to be possible to change the color for time/date. By mistake, PDW seemed to use the color of the Paging time/date (Pocsag/Flex).
  • The daily statistics (ALT-S) were logged to the wrong file (the next day in stead of the previous).

Double click / text selection

Before, at the second click the text below the mouse cursor would be selected, regardless of the position of the first click.Both clicks should be at the exact same position, otherwise you can rapidly click on two different words, causing thesecond to be selected. Should be fixed now.

The double click speed in PDW was fixed, although you can set the double click speed in Windows' Control Panel.This timer is a bit different than the timers in PDW, but I've tried to use about the same time for double clicks in PDW.

Find Filter window

I've made several changes in the Find Filter window. When this window will be closed after searching, you can use F3 to searchagain, using the same search string.

Because of above change, but also on request, PDW will remember the the 'Case Sensitive' selection for as long as it runs.Before, the selection would disappear when the Find Filter window was closed.

The option 'Search while Typing' has been removed. PDW will now always search while typing. Also, the number of hits will appear,the number of times the search string appears in the filters. This number will be updated after each key stroke.

Filter window

Some extra keys can be used in the Filter window. As in other software, the space bar will scroll down, just like the 'PageDown' key.If you wanted to delete a non-consecutive number of filters, this was possible with the 'Delete' button, but not with the 'Delete' key,which should be fixed now. The 'Enter' key would close the Filter window, but now the selected filter will be opened for editing.I don't think you will have to use the mouse often anymore.


Version 2.52 (12 October 2008)

Bugfixes

  • If more than one groupcall was sent in frame 00/000, there was a slight chance that not all of them would be displayed.
  • When selecting more than one filter in the filter window (using SHIFT), sometimes the wrong filter would be used as the starting point.
  • After copy/pasting one or more filters, the last selected filter would remain selected, instead of the pasted filter(s).

Date format

Besides the date formats DD-MM-YY and MM-DD-YY you can now also select YY-MM-DD. (Options -> General)

Block Duplicate Messages in Filter Window

Once again, a little change regarding this option. It seemed desirable to block duplicate messages in the filter window also.Before, PDW only checked for duplicate messages in the monitor window, which could cause situations like this :

1234567 09-10-08 14:57:49 Message-1
7654321 09-10-08 14:57:50 Message-2
1234567 09-10-08 14:57:51 Message-1

Nothing would be blocked in the monitor window, the first and last message are no duplicate because of the middle one.If you wanted to filter Message-1 (code 1234567), but not Message-2 (code 7654321), Message-1 would appear twicein the filter window. This is solved now, a separate comparison will be made for filtered messages. The onlyoddity could be that the second instance of Message-1 would appear in het monitor window, but not in the filterwindow, causing the message to be blocked 'partially'. However, this change will lead to less duplicated messagesin the filter window.


Version 2.51 (16 August 2008)

Bugfixes

Mobitex Base-IDs

In the previous version I've made lots of changes regarding Mobitex. Unfortunately, I've made a littlemistake in decoding the BaseIDs, causing them to be displayed wrongly. So if you have already startedcollecting IDs of base stations in your area, I'm afraid that you will have to start all over again :-(

Double mouse click / text selection

With a double (left) mouse click you can now select a word or address, which you can add to the clipboardusing CTRL-C (or a right click and 'Copy Selection'), so you can easily paste it somewhere else.

Block Duplicate Messages

Regarding this option, I received a request to only check the message text. Before, PDW compared-if this option was enabled- the current address and message with those of the previous.If there was a match, the second would not be displayed. However, it seemed desirable if only themessage text could be compared, so consecutive messages with the same text, but different addresses,could also be blocked.

Next to the option 'Block Duplicate Messages' you will now find 'Only check message text' which willmake PDW only check the message text.

Regardless of this change, the option 'Block Duplicate Messages' blocked a bit too much in Mobitex.Messages with the same MAN, but different TYPEs would also be blocked. This would only occur withso-called status messages when the Mobitex option 'Verbose' was enabled.

Mobitex Verbose / Sweep Frames

If the Mobitex option 'Verbose' was enabled, status messages and sweep frames (containing base stationinformation) would appear. Sweep Frames can now be showed apart from status messages. In the Optionswindow you will now find 'Show Sweep Frames (BaseInfo)' next to 'Verbose'.


Version 2.5 (19 July 2008)

Mobitex

In the previous versions I already made the first changes regarding Mobitex. This version contains onlyMobitex changes. Not everyone likes to monitor Mobitex, since most data is unreadable. But I discoveredthat lots of issues were decoded wrongly.

MANs

Already in the previous version, I was wondering how the 'messages' were addressed. Every message (package of data)has to have a destination, the receiver has to know what data is his, and what isn't.

Mobitex seems to use MANs (Mobitex Access Numbers), 7-digit numbers which can represent the destinationand also the sender. In all previous versions this data was already visible, but was displayed as the firstpart of the data. This first part is in fact a header, which contains the MANs, datatype, amount of dataand can also contain controlling and network information.

Both MANs will now be displayed, along with the data type. This means that I had to get rid of 3 other items,allowing the new items to be displayed. Frame and Bit Sync have been moved to the title bar and you will notfind CRC information anymore. On the one hand, the CRC OK/BAD was based on wrong information, sometimes itwould show OK when the message contained errors, or BAD when the messages seemed OK. On the other hand,the RX-Quality (F12) should offer enough information about bit- and CRC errors. Also, the RX-Quality forMobitex has been improved a bit, so it should be more reliable.

Data Types

Mobitex supports 4 different data types :

  • DATA
  • HPDATA
  • TEXT
  • STATUS

By default, they will all be shown. You can enable/disable these items in the Options window (CTRL-O).TEXT should mostly contain readable text, I've never actually seen the type STATUS myself, and DATAand HPDATA mostly contain unreadable data, with sometimes a little bit of readable text.HPDATA stands for Higher Protocol DATA, which allows the user to use their own data protocol.The decimal identification of this protocol (HPID) can be displayed by enabling 'Show HPID' in theOptions Window.

Mobitex Packets (MPAK)

Like GSM and other cell switched networks, a radio device doesn't only communicate with another device,but also with the network. After all, when switching on a device, it sends a notification, so the networkknows that this device is available and via which base station the data has to be sent.These 'Mobitex Packets' (MPAK) can be enabled via the Options window.

Controlling / network information

Since Mobitex is two-way traffic, things as acknowlegdements also need to be transmitted.These are very short messages, which also were displayed in a wrong way. I don't want to go into thistoo deeply, but you can enable this type of information by enabling 'Verbose' in the Options Window.

People who already monitor will certainly know the periodic, long and unreadable messages which always seem tocontain about the same data. Again, a wrong interpretation, in fact these are so-called 'Sweep Frames' whichcan contain network parameters, or neighbour channel information.

Unfortunately, I don't know the exact meaning of all parameters, but what gets to be shown in the newversion comes a lot closer to reality. What also should be displayed correctly are the neighbour channels.Again, like in other digital networks, each base station transmits his neighbour channels once in a while.This offers the mobile stations to periodically check these neighbours to see if one of these signalsbecomes stronger than the current base station. This prevents the mobile from checking all availablechannels, which of course takes a lot more time.

Base-IDs

Once again, like in other digital networks, each base station transmits its own unique identification.Mobitex uses so-called Base and Area-IDs. These two will be shown in the title bar as one hexadecimal ID.When knowing the exact location of different base stations, this ID can let you know on which base stationyou are currently tuned. It would be even better if it would be possible to link a name to these IDs,well that is possible! The file base-ids.txt offers the possiblity to enter BaseIDs and a label, suchas the location.

Junk at the end of messages

More or less a bugfix, but again a bad (or missing) interpretation. The earlier mentioned headersalso contain the length of a message. Since Mobitex data is transmitted in blocks, the last charactersof the last block would be filled with junk characters. Now, knowing the exact amount of data, thisissue should be solved.


Version 2.4 (16 March 2008)

Bugfixes

Bugfixes

  • Some advanced soundcards are being listed as two virtual soundcards. One for input, one for output. PDW would display the wrong one (output), but now the input will be displayed
  • Mousewheel scrolling didn't work from all screen positions

Column order

In previous versions the mode/type/bitrate column could be hidden. This option is now replaced by Display ->Screen Options which allows you to enable/disable any column in any order you like. Ofcourse, one columncan only be selected once and at least the message column has to be visable.

For FLEX networks which use dynamic groupcalls the options Use 'FLEX Group Mode' and 'Log groupcodes,but don't show them' can be selected. But as far as I know, dynamic groupcalls are only used in the Netherlands.

Commandfile / commandline

Using the commandfile external software can be called. The number of characters which could be sent throughthe command line had a certain limitation, but should now be encreased.

Also the commandfile can now be used with monitor-only messages. Before, this was only possiblewith filtered messages.

2x PDW via the serial port (VXD)

Through the years I received lots of questions if it would be possible to run 2 sessions of PDW viatwo serial ports. The problem is that a VXD-driver can only be loaded once, on one serial port.It has to be possible to install Slicer.sys more than once, but somehow this also doesn't seem to work.However, someone tipped me that the driver Slicer.vxd (originally used with other software) could possiblybe used for the second comport. After some testing this seemed to work, and after renaming it to Comprt2.vxd,PDW would automatically use this second driver if the first (Comprt.vxd) was already loaded on an otherserial port. In this way it is now possible to run two PDW sessions using two comports with W98 or ME.

MOBITEX

All those years Mobitex didn't change a bit. Recently I noticed that not all characters were beingdisplayed. PDW would skip non-printable ASCII (ASCII-31 and below). In fact, these characters are'non-printable' and shouldn't be displayed, but it seems that these characters are being useddifferently in Mobitex, causing some messages to be displayed shorter than they should be.In this version these non-printable ASCII is being replaced by other characters so all messageswill keep their original length.

Also, the RX-Quality should now be more correct in Mobitex.

Fragmented FLEX messages

Since FLEX messages are being sent in 'frames' (numbered data blocks), there is a maximum number ofcharacters that can be sent in one single frame. If the network needs to send lots of messages at once,it can happen that one message can not be completed in one single frame, causing the messages to be splitin two (or more) parts which will be sent in a next frame. If this happens, the message is 'fragmented'.

When receiving such a message on a pager, you normally wouldn't notice this, because in most cases the secondpart will be received before you are able to read the message. When monitoring with PDW, it would seem thatone capcode is receiving more than one message, because the fragmentation-bit is not being displayed.

In this version, some additional information will be displayed when receiving the second (or third/fourth)part of a message, so it is clearer that you are receiving a fragmented message:


Version 2.3 (19 December 2007)

Bugfixes

  • Text filtering didn't work correctly
  • Sorting filters by label/description didn't work correctly
  • Already fixed in v2.16, but forgot to mention:
    When monitoring Pocsag, some numeric messages weren't displayed
  • When monitoring Pocsag, biterrors in numeric messages weren't displayed. Also the first alphanumeric characters weren't displayed as biterrors if needed
  • When monitoring a FLEX network with 9 digit capcodes, some messages/capcodes were displayed garbled, or weren't displayed at all (since v2.14!)
  • After adding the new option, which allows the filters in the filter window to be displayed using the same colors as their descriptions, it was difficult to see where a dragged selection would be dropped

Edit filter : + and -

By request I added a - and + button in the Filter Edit Window which allows you to make a quicIn thisk jump tothe next or previous filter. You need to push 'Apply' first, if you want to keep the changes.

Using the mousewheel to scroll

Some users could already use the mousewheel to scroll through the received messages. This depended on themouse driver. For those who couldn't use the mousewheel before, it should be possible now.Also there is a new option within 'Scrollback', which allows you to determine the scrolling speed.

Commandfile / commandline

Using the commandfile, users can execute external programs via the commandline. The maximum number of characterswhich could be used as commandline command seemed a bit too short for longer messages. This limit has been increased tosuch an extent that I don't expect any more problems.

The commandfile can now also be used for monitor-only messages too.Before, the commandfile was only enabled for filtered messages.

VXD Resets

Now and then I receive reports that PDW sometimes stops decoding after a while, when using the serial port.In some cases, the needle keeps on moving, but no more messages would appear. In other cases, the needlestops and in those cases it would be possible to reactivate decoding by selecting the soundcard,then reselecting the serial port. I tried to detect this 'stop' and give PDW an interal reset if detected.If this ever happens, the counter '# of VXD resets' in the Debug Window should keep track of it.

If you ever see any other number than 0, please let me know...

Separate filterfiles

In version 2.15, I introduced 'mutiple separate filter files', which allowed you to enter up to 3 separatefilter files for each filter. When pusing 'more', an extra edit control would appear and the pushbuttonsbelow would move automatically a bit lower. As this didn't always seem to work correctly, all three controlsare now visible, but read only. To enter a file, you'll need to select one via the browse button, which alsoallows you to enter a new filename.

Separate SMTP (per filter)

Since the introduction of SMTP, I received lots of requests for separate SMTP so one can select perfilter whether it should be emailed. Finally, this is possible! In the Mail Window (CTRL-M) you'll needto select 'Selected Filters Only'. Then the 'Send Email' checkbox will be enabled in the Edit Filter Window.

POCSAG message types

Sometimes I get reports that some POCSAG messages aren't displayed correctly.The problem is that POCSAG messages don't contain the actual message type.Only the network and the pager(s) both know for sure the correct message type.

According to the POCSAG specifications the function bits should be used as :

  1. Numeric
  2. Tone-Only
  3. Tone-Only
  4. Alphanumeric

Unfortunately, some networks don't stick to these specifications and use the function bits differently,which makes it a bit more difficult to determine the correct message type.

Tone-Only messages will always be displayed correctly, as they are just an 'empty message'.Also, longer messages will also be displayed correctly, as there is a limit to the maximumnumber of numeric characters, making all longer messages alphanumeric.

The most difficult messages are those which are shorter than the maximum number of numeric characters,they can be numeric or alphanumeric. PDW uses some tricks to 'guess' whether a message is numeric oralphanumeric. In most cases PDW makes the right decision, but unfortunately sometimes a alphanumericmessage gets to be displayed as numeric, or numeric messages as alphanumeric.

Some examples of incorrecty displayed messages:

0007210 23:16:45 29-10-07 NUMERIC 1U 5]27830
0600000 22:50:59 29-10-07 NUMERIC 0UU- *64U91 000
0611289 22:52:26 29-10-07 NUMERIC 1U85 00000
0164986 13:14:17 08-12-07 NUMERIC ]3[95[99 161U91 42397 300
0116896 02:01:14 05-11-07 ALPHA ?n
0115875 02:01:14 05-11-07 ALPHA E?
0122088 02:01:16 05-11-07 ALPHA ?'
0115875 02:01:24 05-11-07 ALPHA !2

Above messages should have been displayed as:

0007210 23:16:45 29-10-07 ALPHA 19998
0600000 22:50:59 29-10-07 ALPHA 0735430
0611289 22:52:26 29-10-07 ALPHA 111
0164986 13:14:17 08-12-07 ALPHA >>>VOICEMAIL<<
0116896 02:01:14 05-11-07 NUMERIC 41730
0115875 02:01:14 05-11-07 NUMERIC 54900
0122088 02:01:16 05-11-07 NUMERIC 01110
0115875 02:01:24 05-11-07 NUMERIC 12910

One of my (US) users explained to me a bit more about the Pocsag protocol and gave me some tipswhich allow PDW to correctly display 95% of the messages, which means that only 5% needs to be 'guessed'.Lots of tests showed that accuracy is now about 99%, which is a huge improvement from the previous version's90-95% accuracy!

Despite the improved accuracy I added a new option which allows PDW to decode the 4 function numbers asprescribed in the pocsag protocol specifications. In the Pocsag part of the Options (CTRL-O) you will findthe new option 'Decode function numbers allways as default (1=Numeric 2=Tone 3=Tone 4=Alphanumeric)'.Please be sure to know that your network uses the function numbers as 'NTTA', otherwise some messageswould be displayed incorrectly after all...

For those networks which don't use the function numbers as prescribed, there is also a new option inPocsag Options : 'If PDW can't make an accurate guess, display message both as numeric and alphanumeric'.This will cause messages being both numeric and alphanumeric 100% valid to be displayed as numericand alphanumeric. Logically, those messages would also be counted twice in the statisticsalthough actually one message was received. Anyhow, in those cases you can be sure that as least oneof the two messages is correct :-). When displaying a message twice, they will be 'grouped', using anempty line before and after these two messages, also if the 'separate messages' option is disabled.


Version 2.2 (23 August 2007)

NO MORE HTML AND FTP

I'm very sorry to announce that from now on PDW doesn't support HTML and FTP anymore.Those options were originally meant to give the PDW users better access to their log files,since plain text files don't support colors and HTML files do. Also, you could access the HTML loggingon a local network or on the internet, protected with a password. Nowadays, there are lots of publiconline PDW monitors which was never my intention. Although PDW users are responsible for republishingpaging messages, I decided to end HTML and FTP support.

By ending HTML and FTP support the (public) online PDW monitors will not disappear automatically.I just want to bring to ones attention that public publishing is not really what I had in mindwhen I started HTML and FTP.

However, who really wants to continue the HTML logging, you could use the external command file.I have ZERO experience with HTML logging outside of PDW, so I can't (and will not) give any supporton this particular subject, but it is possible!

Check for duplicate filters

The external program PDW-Filter.exe was written to edit and reorder the list of filters (and some extra options),but when most of these options were integrated in PDW, we stopped PDW-Filter.exe. I received some requests that somewere missing the option of checking for duplicate filters, which PDW-Filter offered them. PDW-Filter only comparedcapcodes, and since you can use more than one filter with the same capcode (but with different text filters),my first thought was that it might be difficult to make a good comparison. Later, I thought of comparing bothcapcode and text filter. If both are equal, we have a duplicate, and one of the filters can be removed.

In the filters dialog (CTRL-F) you can access this new option with the right mouse button (or with CTRL-O).Only two duplicates at once can be displayed, if there are more than 2 equal filters you'll just have tocheck again. If PDW finds a duplicate, both filters and their labels will be displayed. Those filters areclickable so PDW can display them in the filter window and you can decide which one has to be removed.

Colors in filter window

Especially when the filters are 'grouped' per user and the label colors per user are the same,I thought it would be nice to display the label colors in the filter window. The background wouldget the same color as the main PDW background (default=black) and the filter items the color ofthe filter labels. At first it might look a bit too colorful, but I got used to it myself afterusing it for a few days. When scrolling, you can see in just a glimpse which user(s) the filtersbelong to and also if a filter label might have the wrong color.

By default this option is enabled, but if you'd rather not use it, it can be disabled via theFilters window (CTRL-F) -> Options -> uncheck the 'Show label colors also in filter window' box.

Just like in the filters window the filter label colors will also be displayed in the filter edit window,in the 'Color' box. Again, the background has the same color as the main PDW background (default=black)and the color names will be colored just as their name so you can see in one glimpse what that particularcolor would look like on the PDW background.

Multiple text filters

I've made up a nice name for this new option which arised out of the changed lay-out of some messageson one of my local paging networks. If you want to filter messages which contain the words 'call' and 'asap',but these words are not connected like 'Call 012-3456789 asap' or 'Call the office asap', it wouldn't bepossible to filter those messages rather on the word 'Call' or 'asap'.

To make filtering possible on words which don't connect, you can now filter on strings like 'call&asap'.The &-character indicates that the first and second string can appear separately, but can also be connected.You can use the &-character up to 9 times in one filter, so you can filter on 10 strings at once.


Version 2.16 (01 February 2007)

Bugfixes

  • When the filterlist was empty, no filters could be added
  • When the PDW window was being resized, sometimes a message could appear regarding a driver error

Minimize to Systemtray

PDW now offers the possibility to minimize to the systemtray, so it won't be visible anymorein the taskbar. PDW can stay in the tray until you doubleclick the tray icon, or it canrestore automatically when a certain message is received.

Via the menu item 'Display' you'll find the Systemtray settings :

If you don't want PDW to restore automatically, only select the first option. Else, you can alsoselect the second option and choose one of the 3 options below.


Versie 2.15 (11 January 2007)

Bugfixes

  • When using SMTP, the TCP/IP stack would hang after a while, until PDW was restarted
  • When monitoring networks which use a different characterset, and the file language.df is used, the characters would only be remapped on the screen but not in de log files
  • If a complete wildcard filter was needed, ????????? didn't work for 7-digit capcodes. In that case, 00??????? (2 preceding zeros) was needed. Now, ????????? also works

Empty lines between messages

In this version, the option is now selectable for the filterwindowand the separate filterfiles : Options (CTRL-O) -> General.

Before, only the message text was compared to determine if an empty line was needed. Now you can selectif you want to check message&time or only the message. Again : Options (CTRL-O) -> General.

This 'empty lines option' has also been improved a bit. When using 'date log files' a new log file will becreated automatically when the first message of a new day is received. In the previous version that newlog file would start with an empty line. Also, PDW won't show an empty line on the screen after thescreen has been cleared (CTRL-D).

Clear Screen (CTRL-D)

In the previous option I already mentioned 'clear screen'. In this version you can choose whether you wantto clear only the monitor window, the filter window of both windows. By default, both windows are selected.

CAPCODE.WAV

As in almost every update, the CAPCODE.WAV has been changed a bit.
Now PDW uses priorities which allow to 'override' an already playing wavfile :

  1. Complete capcode.wav
  2. Capcode.wav with 1 wildcard (like 000000X.wav)
  3. Capcode.wav with 2 wildcards (like 00000XX.wav)
  4. Capcode.wav with 3 wildcards (like 0000XXX.wav)
  5. Capcode.wav with 4 wildcards (like 000XXXX.wav)
  6. Capcode.wav with 5 wildcards (like 00XXXXX.wav)
  7. Capcode.wav with 6 wildcards (like 0XXXXXX.wav)
  8. Capcode.wav with 7 wildcards (like XXXXXXX.wav)
  9. SoundX.wav (filtered)
  10. Monitor-only.wav

If the priorities are the same, the length of the new file will be used to decide whether the playingfile will be stopped. A larger file will have a higher priority and will stop a smaller file.

Filtered messages only in filterwindow

Normally, all messages would be displayed in the monitor window, and the filtered messages alsoin the filtered pane. Now you can select whether you want to see a filtered message in both panes,or only in the filter window, which causes the 'normal' messages and filtered messages to be fullyseparated. Filters (CTRL-F) -> Options.

Switching pane sizes (F11)

Via Display -> Scrollback the size of the monitor and filter pane can be defined.
When pressing F11 these sizes will be switched.

SMTP character sets

When using SMTP, you can now select other character sets. Before, a default 7-bits ASCII charset was used,which didn't recognize special characters like 'üôöâ'. The default charset is now ISO-8859-1 (West-European).

You can select these character sets :

  • US-ASCII (Standard)
  • ISO-8859-1 (West-European)
  • ISO-8859-2 (East-European)
  • ISO-8859-3 (South-European)
  • ISO-8859-4 (North-European)
  • ISO-8859-5 (Cyrillic)
  • ISO-8859-6 (Arabic)
  • ISO-8859-7 (Greek)
  • ISO-8859-8 (Hebrew)
  • ISO-8859-9 (Turkish)
  • ISO-8859-10 (Nordic)
  • ISO-2022-KR (Korean)
  • KOI8-R (Russian)
  • EUC-KR (Korean)
  • Shift_JIS (Japanese)
  • ISO-2022-JP (Japanese)
  • EUC-JP (Japanese)
  • GB2312 (Chinese)
  • Big5 (Traditional Chinese)

Text filtering at the start of message

Sometimes it can be useful to filter based on text, but only if that text is the first part of the message :

1420076 08:59:55 24-08-06 kunnen jullie een A1 doen?

Sorry for the Dutch example, but on my local network, lots of messages start with 'A1'.In this example you will find 'A1' in the middle of the message, and when filtering on 'A1',this message will also be filtered. I added the possibility to add the ^ character beforethe filtered text, which forces PDW only to filter that text if it is the first part of the message.In the above example, you would have to filter on ^A1 in the filter 'text' field.

The ^ character can also be used in capcode.wav file names. In the example above you can use this file namewhen filtering the capcode '1420076' and text '^A1' : 1420076-^A1.wav

Multiple separate filter files

I received lots of requests for the possibility to define more than one separate filter file.From this version you can define up to 3 separate filterfiles per filter. When adding/editting a filter,you will see the button 'more' next to the separate filterfile. When clicking this button, you can enter an extra file.

Wavfiles only enabled for filtered messages

When using lots of wavfiles, it can sometimes be usefull only to hear files played by filtered messages.Via the option 'Filterbeep' you can also enable the sounds for filtered messages only. Just like themultiple edit, this box has now 3 options :

  • On : Filter Beep / Wavfiles (enabled)
  • Off : Filter Beep / Wavfiles (disabled)
  • Greyed : Filter Beep / Wavfiles (enabled for filtered messages)

Version 2.14 (22 June 2006)

Bugfixes

  • If 'Hide Mode Column' was selected the first message didn't always appear correctly
  • If 'Hide Mode Column' was selected with higher screen resolutions, PDW did not always use the full line length, which resulted in messages being cut off before the end of the line
  • When monitoring ERMES sometimes junk / ghost messages would appear

Extra information in titlebar

Normally, the PDW version and current mode would appear in the titlebar. When monitoring FLEX / ERMESit was already possible to see some extra information : the cycles/frames.

From this version, you can select 2 extra options (via Options, CTRL-O), to get some extra informationin the title bar :

  • Rejected / blocked messages :

CAPCODE.WAV

Again, the CAPCODE.WAV has changed a bit. Before, a code had to be filtered if you wanted the capcode.wavto be played. Now this also works for monitor-only filters.

Empty lines between messages

On some networks, more than one ric/capcode gets to receive the same message.PDW now has the option to add an empty line when the current messages differs from the previous message.In this way, all messages with the same text are being 'grouped' and offers better readability.The option 'Add linefeed after ALPHA/GROUP messages' can be found in Options (CTRL-O) and can beseparately activated for the monitor and the log file. This only works for alphanumeric and group messages.

Soundcard selection

PDW now displays all available soundcards in the Setup (CTRL-S)and the user can select which soundcard to use for data input.

Fonts

I've received several emails in which people tell me that they are not able to change the font.Actually, this IS possible, but if PDW detects that the characters will become too large to fitin their columns, the change of font is ignored. I can see that users could think that this issome kind of bug, but it is, in fact, protection to ensure maximum readability.

From now on, the selectable font sizes are limited, and when selecting a font size which wouldcause the characters to become too large, the user will receive a messagebox with a warning.

Font in Filter window

I always thought that the filters in the filter window were a bit messy. The characters used anon-proportional font, which caused one character being larger than the other. This caused not all filtersto line up as they should. PDW tried to display all filter options in columns, but that didn't really work out.

Now, the filter window uses a proportional font, so all characters have the same size and all filtersline up correctly with all filter options being displayed in 'columns'.

Some screen resolutions caused a horizontal scrollbar to appear in the filter window.Other resolutions caused the filter line to be cut off before the end of the line.Now, in all resolutions, the full line length will be used and '...' will be displayedat the end of the line if the line is too long to display completely.

Also, the current selected filter is being displayed in the titlebar (capcode/label/text).

Multiple Edit

In the filter window, you can now perform a multiple edit. All filter options will be checked,and for example, if all filters are monitor-only, this box will be checked. If some filters aremonitor-only, and others aren't, this box will be grayed meaning that it will be ignored whenchanging the selected filters. You can still check this box so selected filters will become monitor-only.

In this way, all checkboxes (as well as the colors, sounds and separate filterfile) can ben changedfor all selected filters at once. The capcode/labe/text cannot be changed via multiple edit.


Versie 2.13 (27 August 2005)

Bugfixes

  • Both slicer.sys and PDW have been updated, because the slicer.sys didn't allways seem to work properly
  • The first digit of StNum messages (in FLEX) was sometimes mismatched

Hide 'Mode / Type / Bitrate' column

After some requests it is now possible to hide the column containing mode, type and bitrate information, creatingmore space for the messages. This option Hide 'Mode / Type / Bitrate' column can be found in Options (CTRL-O)

Size filter window

The size of the filter window (CTRL-F) was only fullscreen when using 800x600 resolution. In lower resolutionsthe window would become to big, in higher resolutions it would be a bit too small. From this version on, thesize of the filter window (and the buttons) will be resolution dependent.

Find filter

The filter window (CTRL-F) now contains an find-option. You can enter a search string (capcode or label)and PDW will search in the list of filters for possible matches. When found, you can jump to the nextby simply hitting 'enter'. This Find-option can be found via the button 'Find', the right mouse buttonor CTRL-F in the filter window (yes, twice CTRL-F :)When using the find option in the browser Firefox, I noticed that it already starts searching when typing,and this inspired me to make the same option in PDW. When selecting 'Search while typing', PDW will do thesame and this option will be saved in PDW.INI for future use.


Version 2.12 (07 March 2005)

Match only EXACT text

I got a request for an option which makes it possible to filter pages only when the filter textexactly matches the received message. Before, you could use the text filter 'fire' and filtermessages like 'fire, please call..'. With this new option the message only has to be 'fire'before it will be filtered.

SMTP : Multiple email addresses

Now, multiple email addresses can be used. There is no limit for the numer of addresses, but thereis a limit of 500 for the number of characters. Since most addresses are about 20 characters long,you can now enter about 25 email addresses. The addresses can be seperated with either , or ;

SMTP : Message in subject/body

It is now possible to choose if the message will be put in the subject, the body or both.


Version 2.11 (20 January 2005)

Bugfixes

  • Numeric pocsag messages were sometimes displayed as alpha
  • Filtering/rejecting didn't work well for pocsag and Mobitex
  • Mobitex messages weren't allways received correctly
  • When copying PDW to a CD-ROM to copy the program to an other PC, the files will turn read-only, and the files filters.ini and pdw.ini couldn't be updated anymore

Extra option for capcode.wav

I got a request from someone who would like to use wavfiles for filters which contain a capcodeand text. When filtering the code 1234567 and the text 'fire', you can use the file '1234567.wav',but from this version on, you can make it more specific by using '1234567-fire.wav'. In this way,you can use '1234567-accident' for the same capcode and '1234567.wav' for all messages which don'tcontain those 2 words.


Version 2.1 (30 December 2004)

Bugfixes

  • When monitoring FLEX, 'SH/TONE' messages would allways be displayed als TONE-ONLY. In fact, these messages can also contain numeric information.
  • The FLEX phase (A, B, C of D) wasn't allways displayed correctly.
  • When exiting PDW, the XP/W2k driver SLICER.SYS would not allways be unloaded correctly, causing the comport not being able to be used for other software.

Filter window modified

The filter window (CTRL-F) is now only being used for the list of filters.All other options have been moved to a seperate window which can be accessed via the 'Options' button.

Default filter type

Via the Filter 'Options' button you can define the default filter type (POCSAG, FLEX, etc).When adding a new filter, the default filtertype will automatically be selected.

Logging labels

Logging labels in the monitor-section was already possible, this can now also be enabled/disabledfor separate filter files.

Also you can define if the label has to be placed on the same line as the message, or on a new line.

Block duplicate messages

I received some requests for this option. On some networks, the same message seems to be transmitted severaltimes, and if you get to see the message once, that'll be enough. Blocking duplicate messages is onlypossible if the last message (and capcode) is the same as the current message (and capcode), example :

1. 1234567 Please Call home
2. 1234567 Please Call home
3. 0125447 Call 123-12345
4. 1234567 Please Call home
5. 2255147 Hi, how are you?
6. 2255147 Hi, how are you?

In this example, the messages 1, 2 and 4 are the same. 1 and 2 are adjacent, so 2 will be blocked.Message 4 is the same again, but is being preceded by a different message, so none of these 2 willbe blocked. Also 5 and 6 are the same, so message 6 will be blocked.So, in this example the messages 2 and 6 will not be displayed.'Block duplicate messages' can be found in the Options window (CTRL-O).

Wildcards in capcode.wav

It was already possible to define a separate wavfile for each capcode (CAPCODE.WAV), but now you canalso define a wavfile for a filter which contains a wildcard. In stead of a questionmark, an 'x' hasto be used. Example: The capcode 1234567 is being filtered via the filter '001234???'. The file1234xxx.wav can be used together with this filter. As you can see, the preceding zero's are not needed.

Preceding zeros are also not needed anymore for the CAPCODE.WAV. When receiving and filtering the code1234567, the file 1234567.wav can be used. When 1234567 is being filtered via the filter '001234???,PDW will first seek for the code specific file 1234567.wav, if not found, it will seek for 1234xxx.wav,if also not found, the selected soundx.wav will be played.

Rejecting text or capcode+text

After several requests, it is now also possible to reject text strings, or capcode+text.Also, the hitcounter will keep track of the number of hits (and time/date of the last hit)for rejected filters.

FlexTIME

Some FLEX paging networks broadcast the 'FlexTIME', which contains the current date and time,which can be used by the pagers, so time and date don't have to be set manually.It took some time to discover the FlexTIME format, but we did it. From this version on,the FlexTIME can be used to correct the PC systemtime.

This option can be found in the Options window (CTRL-O). First, PDW has to detect the FlexTIME.If not detected, the option will be disabled. If the option stays disabled, the FlexTIME isapparently not being used on that particular network. If used, the option can be selected andthe system time will be checked/adjusted every hour.

Monitor_only.wav

One of the new options in the previous version was 'monitor_only.wav'. One sound for alle messageswhich are being filtered as monitor-only. This sound can now be enabled/disabled for each filter.Default, the monitor_only.wav is disabled. If you were using this sound, you'll have to enablethis 'new' option for all desired filters.


Version 2.0 (10 November 2004)

Bugfixes

  • Filtering of capcode+text didn't work as it used to

SLICER.SYS for Win2K / XP

At last, we can offer a driver for Win2K / XP.

Use 'install.exe' to install the 'slicer.sys' driver. Reboot, and the comport can be used!Unfortunately this driver doesn't work for the NT operating system.

Filters / PDW-Filter.exe

The program PDW-Filter.exe was written to edit and reorder the list of filters, but from this version on,all extra options are added to PDW. Using the mouse, filters can be dragged/dropped. CTRL-A can be usedto select all filters to sort them by capcode or description (right mouse button). CTRL-C & CTRL-V canbe used to copy a filter, these options are also available via the right mouse button. When copying afilter, the hitcounter can be reset to start counting over again.

Label colors

The number of label colors has been extended to 16.

Label variables

Some paging networks are used by public safety. In some cases, the last digits of a capcode are similarto the number of the ambulance/firetruck which is being paged. On the Dutch P2000 network the last 2 (or 3)digits mostly match the ambulance number. In this case, it could be useful if a single filter withwildcard can be used, and the last digits being placed in the label. To do this, make a filter like :

Capcode : 10230?? (wildcard) , Label : 'Ambulance %67'

When receiving a page for capcode 1023024, you will get this label :

'Ambulance 24'

The digits following the '%' represent the positions within the capcode which have to be placedin the label. The 6 and 7 in this example represent the last 2 digits : 24.

Pane sizes

Before, there were only 3 selectable pane sizes, 35%, 50% and 65%.Now you can enter all values between 20 and 80%.

ACARS

Again, we fixed some minor ACARS bugs, the layout has been improved, updated df-files are available,and PDW can also provide some extra information on the flight-route, using 'routes.df'.

It is also possible to filter on registry numbers.

Month numbers

I received some requests regarding the name of the log files. If they are completely numeric,the order will always be 'correct' when sorting by name. In Options (CTRL-O), you can select'use month number for log file names'.

Directory for log files

By default, the log files will be placed in the directory 'log files'. This directory can nowbe changed via Options (CTRL-O).

Monitor-Only.WAV

I thought that it could be useful to hear a sound when a Monitor-Only page is being received.Not a selectable sound, but one sound for all Monitor-Only filters. When a message matches aMonitor-Only filter, PDW will play 'monitor_only.wav', which has to be placed in directory'Wavfiles'. If not found, no sound will be played.


© 2003-2020 discriminator.nl

RADIORAFT 3.21
RADIO SIGNAL DECODER SOFTWARE
Copyright (c) 1996-2002 by FrancoisGuillet
All rights reserved.

MODES AND OPTIONS USER'S GUIDE

The 30 modes ofRadioRaft

ACARS-VHFARQ-EARQ-E3ARQ-M2 (+si-fec)ARQ-M4
ARQ-NARQ-6/90ARQ-6/98ASCIIAUTOSPEC
BAUDOTCIS11CW (Morse)DGPSDUP-ARQ (Artrac)
FEC-A (FEC-1000)GMDSS-DSCHNG-FECPACKET (Ax25)PACTOR-I
POCSAG (1)POL-ARQRUM-FECSI-ARQ (Arq-s)SITOR-A (Amtor-A)
SITOR-B (Amtor-B)SPREAD (11, 21, 51)SWED-ARQUOSAT Oscar-111382
BaudMeterDIGIT

(1) Pocsag needs an interface with hysteresis adjustment

Contents: See also the RADIORAFT USER'S GUIDE

The menu 'Modes' in RadioRaft allows you to select a mode. Thecommand 'Options...' in this menu allows you to access options available for thecurrent mode.
The key F6 permits you to access directly to the menu 'options'.

ASYNCHRONOUS orQUASI-SYNCHRONOUS MODES

These modes use a start bit (0) at the beginning of each character, and one or severalstop bits (1) at the end. Each character can be transmitted at any time. The stop bit hasduration of 1 or 1.5 times the duration of other bits. Transmissions of this type arenumerous, especially those using the Baudot code.

Nevertheless many stations use a stop bit of normal duration and transmit charactersconsecutively, resulting in a quasi-synchronous transmission.

Modes of this type that RadioRaft decodes are:

ASCII

The names of ASCII modes in RadioRaft are:

  • ASCII-1: 7 bits code, 1 stop bit, no parity.
  • ASCII-1-0: 7 bits, 1 stop bit, even parity
  • ASCII-1-1: 7 bits, 1 stop bit, odd parity
  • ASCII-2: 7 bits, 2 stop bits, no parity.
  • ASCII-2-0: 7 bits, 2 stop bits, even parity
  • ASCII-2-1: 7 bits, 2 stop bits, odd parity
  • ASCII8-1: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, no parity.
  • ASCI8-1-0: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, even parity
  • ASCI8-1-1: 8 bits, 1 stop bit, odd parity

ASCII characteristics

Protocol: 1 start bit (0), 1 codeword, 1 or none parity bit, 1 or several stop bits(1) of normal duration.

Code: 7 bits ASCII characters also known as ITA 5 or IRA (128 characters set). 8bit characters are also sometimes used (256 characters set).

Current speeds: 110, 200, 300, 600, 1200 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

ASCII options

Parity check (enabled by default)

This option enables or disables the parity check.

If it is disabled, erroneous characters are displayed as they would have no parityerror. A wrong character can be displayed in place of the right one.

If it is enabled and there is a parity error, an error character is displayed (ASCII126, ~).

This option has no effect on ASCII modes without parity.

Synchronous treatment (enabled by default)

RadioRaft supposes that characters are transmitted consecutively with no delay betweenfollowing characters, resulting in a quasi-synchronous transmission. This improves thedecoding.

You must disable this option with pure asynchronous transmissions (for ex. manualtransmission with delay between characters).

Invert ASCII code

Inverts the order of low and high bits in the ASCII code. Generally you don't need toenable this option because ASCII transmissions send always the low bit the first, whatRadioRaft is expecting.

UOSAT

UOSAT-Data Oscar-11 characteristics

Code, protocol: same as ASCII-2-0 or ASCI8-1-0

Current speed: 1200 bauds

Pdw Pocsag

Current modulation: FFSK 1200/2400 Hz

Use: UOSAT data from the satellite OSCAR-11: information or telemetry.

UOSAT options

Same as ASCII. UOSAT data transmissions send ASCII text with or without a parity bit.By default RadioRaft doesn't check the parity.

BAUDOT

The names of Baudot modes in RadioRaft are:

  • BAUDOT: pure asynchronous Baudot mode.
  • BAUDOT-1: Baudot mode with 1 stop bit and handled as a synchronous mode.
  • BAUDOT-2: Baudot mode with 2 stop bits and handled as a synchronous mode.
  • BAUDOT1-1: Baudot mode with 1 stop bit and 1 odd parity bit and handled as a synchronous mode.

Baudot characteristics

This mode is sometimes named RTTY.

Protocol: 1 start bit (0), 1 codeword, 1 or several stop bit (1). Generally thestop bit has duration of 1.5 times the duration of other bits.

Code: Baudot or ITA2, 32 characters set, 5 bit words. Well known code, it is themost commonly used (telex, press agencies...).

Current speeds: 45, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: press agencies, aeronautical weather report, radioamateur, military,ship traffic

This name comes from J.BAUDOT, French engineer who invented in 19th century the 5elements telegraph (1 element for each finger, a character was coded with the hand!)

Baudot options

These options are available only in manual mode (by clicking on 'Manual' inthe main menu or hitting key F4) and in the pure Baudot mode (not available in Baudot-1,Baudot-2, Baudot1-1).

Auto-shift (enabled by default)

RadioRaft finds automatically the right shift

Reversed shift

Clicking on 'Reversed shift' inhibits the automatic shift detection, and thenswitches to the normal or reversed shift, which can improve the decoding if the signal isdisturbed.

ARQ SEMI-DUPLEX MODES

These modes are only used in bilateral transmissions. A station transmits the text inblocks of several characters, then switches to reception and waits for an acknowledgmentof its addressee (ARQ = Automatic Repetition reQuest).

The code or the protocol permits to know if errors occur in a block.

In case of negative acknowledgment, the block is repeated.

The 2 stations are synchronized.

The direction of the transmission can be reversed by the transmission of a particularcharacters sequence. The 2 stations are generally on the same frequency, but it is not arule (for ex. ship traffic uses separate transmission/reception frequencies).

RadioRaft receives the blocks and ignores acknowledgments.

Repetitions are canceled to obtain a very readable text (in case of bad link betweenthe 2 stations, repetitions can indeed be very frequent, up to several minutes). Howeveran option allows you to view the repetitions and the special characters (menu'Display/Display control codes').

Modes of this type are:

ARQ-6/90, ARQ-6/98

Protocol: transmission of blocks of 6 characters. Duration of a block 210 ms, timebetween 2 blocks 240 ms for ARQ-6/90 and 280 ms for ARQ-6/98.

Code: CCIR-476-4, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speed: 200 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: diplomatic traffic

DUP-ARQ

Protocol: transmission of 32 bit blocks containing:

  • 1 parity bit
  • 5 bits checksum word (Hamming code)
  • 2 codewords
  • 1 bit
  • 3 codewords

The checksum and the parity bit permits to detect errors in the whole block.

Code: Baudot (ITA2), 32 characters set, 5 bit words.

Current speed: 125 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: diplomatic traffic

PACTOR-I

RadioRaft decodes only PACTOR version I.

Pactor-I characteristics

Protocol: transmission a phasing byte followed by 96 or 192 bits block containing:

  • a header byte
  • 8 or 20 data bytes (8 at 100 bauds, 20 at 200 bauds)
  • a status byte
  • a 16 bits CRC (cyclic redundant checksum) based on a polynomial code that allows error detection.

Code: none. Any type of data can be placed in the data bytes. When text istransmitted, either ASCII 8 bits is used or text is compressed with an Huffman code.

Current speed: 100 and 200 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: radioamateur, humanitarian organisations, miscellaneous

Pactor-I options

Checksum

If you disable this option (enabled by default), RadioRaft will not check the CRC andcould display blocks with errors.

Auto CRC

Some PACTOR-I versions use special CRC for a private use. With this option enabled,RadioRaft decodes the common 'public' version (CRC=0) or all other'customized' version by detecting the right CRC.

Custom CRC

RadioRaft displays in this field the CRC it detects. You can also enter yourself theCRC. This permits to reduce the time to synchronize or to prevent RadioRaft from decodingother Pactor mode (Auto CRC must be set).

SI-ARQ

Protocol: transmission of blocks of 4, 5, 6 or 7 characters with alternatepolarities except in case of repetition. The time between 2 blocks is equal to the time ofa block.

Code: CCIR 342-3, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speed: 96 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

RadioRaft particulars: In RadioRaft the modes are named: SI-ARQx with x=4, 5, 6or 7 depending on the block size.
The masking of repetitions, contrarily to SITOR-A, never entails a loss of text.

SITOR-A

Protocol: CCIR Recommendation 476-4. Transmission of blocks of 3 characters.Duration of a block 210 ms, time between 2 blocks 240 ms.

Code: CCIR 476-4, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speed: 100 bauds

Current modulation: FSK (current shift: 170 Hz).

Main use: ship traffic, radioamateur, police

RadioRaft particulars: If 2 successive blocks are similar, RadioRaft considersit is a block repetition, and does not display the second block. This criterion ofdecision that there is repetition can sometimes entail the loss of text (for ex. duringhighlighting, several blocks '---' are transmitted, and RadioRaft wronglyconsiders there are repetitions. Nevertheless this event is rare.
RadioRaft identifies the transmission of a selective call and display the callsignfollowing by the text: {Selcall}.
RadioRaft doesn't not translate the 4 letters callsign in digits for the maritime stationidentification.
RadioRaft doesn't support the new CCIR Recommendation 625-2 for the 9 digits ship stationidentification.

The ear can easily identify this mode: it sounds like the chirping of the cricket.

SWED-ARQ

Protocol: transmission of blocks of 3, 9 or 22 characters.

  • Duration of a 3 characters block 210 ms, time between 2 blocks 240 ms.
  • Duration of a 9 characters block 630 ms, time between 2 blocks 240 ms.
  • Duration of a 22 characters block 1540 ms, time between 2 blocks 240 ms.

Code: CCIR 476-4, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speed: 100 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: diplomatic traffic

RadioRaft particulars: The change of block length and timing is automaticaccording to the link conditions. RadioRaft detects automatically the change of blocksizes.
When block is 3 characters length, this mode is strictly identical with SITOR-A. RadioRaftdecodes the 3 characters block of the SWED-ARQ mode as the SITOR-A mode, the onlydifference being that a selcall is not identified.
Repetitions are canceled as in SITOR-A.

ARQ FULL-DUPLEX MODES

These modes are generally used for bilateral connections and need these stations havesimultaneous transmission and reception on separate frequencies.

They are used for the military and diplomatic traffic and were used on internationaltelex circuits. In case of bad links between the two stations, there are repetitions bycycles of 4, 5 or 8 characters.

As with ARQ semi-duplex modes, RadioRaft inhibits repetitions, except if the oppositeoption is set (menu 'View/Display control codes').

ARQ-E

Protocol: 3 or 7 erect characters follow 1 reversed character, and so on. In caseof repetition, a special character RQ is transmitted. It is followed par 3 or 7 repeatedcharacters.

Code: ARQ-E, 35 characters set, 7 bit words. 32 characters are formed by: 1 bit0, 5 bits of the Baudot code and 1 odd parity bit for the detection of errors. 3supplementary characters are added (RQ and synchronization alpha and beta).

Current speeds: 96, 192 bauds

The characters polarity indicator is always 0101 or 1111 or respectively 7F7F or 7777if the shift is reversed.

Main use: military and diplomatic traffic

ARQ-E3

Protocol: 1 erect character is followed by 3 or 7 reversed characters, and so on.In case of repetition, a special character RQ is transmitted. It is followed par 3 or 7repeated characters.

Code: CCIR 342-3, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speeds: 48, 96, 192 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: military and diplomatic traffic

RadioRaft particular: the characters polarity indicator is always 0101 or 1111or respectively 7F7F or 7777 if the shift is reversed.

ARQ-M2, SI-FEC

Arq-m2 characteristics

Protocol: CCIR 342 and 242. It allows the division of the link in 2 transmissionchannels, characters interleaved. The characters have a normal or reversed polarity.

Code: CCIR 342-3, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speeds: 96, 192 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: military and diplomatic traffic, formerly international telex circuits

RadioRaft particular: the characters polarity indicator in hexadecimal indicatesthe polarity of the 16 latest received characters (for more details see 'The firstscreen line' in the main documentation).
These bit patterns are defined by the CCIR but some stations use different patterns.RadioRaft decode all of them.
In CCIR-342, the pattern is 1D1D (1717 with reversed shift).
In CCIR-242, 5555.

Arq-m2 options

This menu allows you to select the channel. You can select 1 of 2 channels, named A andB.

The choice 'All' allows to simultaneously view the 2 channels: it isinteresting to see if there is traffic without having to switch from one channel toanother. In this case 2 channels being character by character interleaved, you have not aclear text, except if the traffic is transmitted on only one channel, while idlecharacters are transmitted on the other one.

SI-FEC

This mode is unusual. It is not implemented in RadioRaft as a full mode, but the ARQ-M2RadioRaft routine can automatically decode it, without undertaking the error correction.
The choice of the channel has no importance: the 2 channels transmit the same message.
The polarity indicator is 5555.

ARQ-M4

Arq-m4 characteristics

Protocol: it is defined by CCIR 342 and 242 and allows the division of the link in4 transmission channels, characters and bits interleaved.

Code: CCIR 342-3, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speeds: 96, 192 bauds

Main use: military and diplomatic traffic, formerly international telexcircuits.

RadioRaft particulars: characters have a normal or reversed polarity. Thepolarity indicator in hexadecimal indicates the polarity of the 16 latest receivedcharacters (for more details see 'The first screen line' in the maindocumentation).
The bits patterns are defined by the CCIR but some stations use different patterns.RadioRaft decode all of them.
In CCIR-342, the pattern is 1D1D (1717 with reversed shift).
In CCIR-242, 5555.

Arq-m4 options

This menu allows you to select the channel. You can select 1 of 4 channels, named A toD.
You can also see the traffic of both channels A and C, or B and D.

The choice 'All' allows to simultaneously view the 4 channels: it isinteresting to see if there is traffic without having to switch from one channel toanother. In this case the channels being character by character interleaved, it isdifficult to have a clear text, except if the traffic is transmitted in only one channel,while filling characters are transmitted in the others.

ARQ-N

Protocol: all characters are transmitted consecutively with the same polarity. Arepetition consists of the RQ character followed by 3 repeated characters.

Code: ARQ-E, 35 characters set, 7 bit words. 32 characters are formed by: 1 bit(0), 5 bits of the Baudot code and 1 odd parity bit for the detection of errors. 3supplementary characters are added (RQ and synchronization alpha and beta).

Current speed: 96 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

The polarity indicator is always 0000 (or FFFF if the shift is reversed).

POL-ARQ

Protocol: all characters are transmitted consecutively with the same polarity. Arepetition consists of the RQ character followed by 4 repeated characters.

Code: CCIR-476-4, 35 characters set, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1for the detection of errors if this criterion is not verified.

Current speed: 100 bauds

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: diplomatic traffic

Some stations use a similar mode at 50 bauds. RadioRaft can decode itbut messages are always encrypted.

FEC MODES

These modes are used for broadcasting (e.g. transmission from a station tothe destination of one or several others, with protection against errors: FEC = ForwardError Correction).

AUTOSPEC

Protocol: characters are transmitted consecutively.

Code: Bauer code, 32 character set, 10 bit words (5 bits like ITA2 and 5 bitsfor the error detection and correction by a Hamming code).

Standard speeds: 62.3, 68.5, 102.6 and 137 Bauds.

Current modulation: FSK

CIS11

Protocol: characters are transmitted consecutively.

Code: 11 bit words, 32 characters set (5 bits of the Baudot code, 2synchronization bits and 4 bits for the error detection and correction by a Hamming code).

Current speeds: 75, 100 bauds.

Current modulation: FSK

Main use: aeronautical weather report from eastern Europe.

DGPS

Dgsp characteristics

Protocol: transmission of frames of codewords. The number of words in a framedepends on the message type and is variable in the same type, not exceeding 33.
The first codeword contains an 8 bits preamble, the message type (6 bits) and the stationId (10 bits).
The second codeword gives the 'Modified Z-count' (13 bits) which is the starttime of the next frame preamble, the sequence number (3 bits), the length of the frame (5bits) which is the number of codewords following this one and the station health (3 bits).

The 2 first codewords are common to all messages. The meaning of the next ones dependson the message type.

Code: 30 bit words:

  • 24 data bits
  • 6 bits for the CRC (cyclic redundant checksum), based on a polynomial code that allows error detection.

Current speeds: 100, 200 bauds. Other rates are also possible but not used.

Current modulation: MSK

Main use: worldwide transmissions of corrections to improve the accuracy of datareceived from GPS devices. The transmitters are located on the costs and intended to themaritime service. They transmit in the hectometric band around 300 Khz, with a rangearound 100-200 Kms.

RadioRaft particulars:

  • A real MSK demodulation would require the receiver passes audio frequencies as low as 100 hz. The most of the receivers doesn't permit it. So RadioRaft demodulates DGPS by using the ordinary FSK demodulation routine.
    IMPORTANT: tune preferably your receiver to low audio frequencies around 300-800 Hz to get the best results. It is due to the very low shift used by MSK (50 hz at 100 bauds).
  • RadioRaft decodes each field of the 2 first words which are common to all messages and give the identity of the station. The next words are displayed as 3 hex data bytes. Nevertheless RadioRaft decodes the whole messages 3 (reference station parameters), 5 (satellite constellation health), 7 (station almanach) and 16 (Ascii plain text). The occurence of these messages depend on the stations. Messages 16 are rare.
  • MSK is very sensitive to noise and interferences. Use narrow filter with your receiver.

Dgsp messages display

Refer to recommendation ITU-R M.823 to interpret the different fields. Herethey are in brief:

  • First line:

MSG xx Station463 Z-Time 37:4.2 Sequence:0 Length:12 Health:0

MSG: xx is the message type
Station: reference station number
Z-time: modified Z-count, time at which the corrections are computed in unitof 0.6 sec. See the options.
Sequence: sequence number (0-7), increments on each frame
Length: frame length, number of words following this one (0-31)
Health: station health (0-7)

  • Other lines:

    • All messages but 3, 5, 7, 16, data are displayed as hex values:

Data: 012345 6789AB 1A2B3C...

  • Message 3 (reference station parameters, coordinates according to WGS84 format):

Station coordinates (mtrs): X=4296717.12 Y= -263398.80 Z= 4690668.64

Pager Decoder Software

  • Message 5 (satellite constellation health):

Satellite 23 IOD:0 Datahealthy Sat S/N not tracked Sat healthy
No new IOD Loss of satellite warning in (mn): 35

For each satellite:

Satellite number
IOD: Issue Of Data
Data healthy (or unhealthy)
Sat S/N not tracked (otherwise the signal to noise ratio is given inDb(Hz))
Sat healthy (consider sat healthy even if data unhealthy)
No new IOD (or New IOD soon)
Loss of satellite... if scheduled, time remaining before loss

  • Message 7 (station almanach):

Position: 47°38'48.1' North 3°30'36.0'West
 Range: 170 Km Frequency: 298.0 KhzR/beacon operation normal
Tx.Id: 332 100 Bauds MSK synchronous No added coding

For each beacon in the almanach:

Position: lattitude and longitude of the station
Range: beacon service range
Frequency: beacon frequency
R/beacon operation normal: health of the beacon as plain text
Tx.Id: transmit station number. Don't confuse with 'referencestation number'.
100 bauds: data rate of the beacon
MSK: the modulation the beacon is using (also FSK)
Synchronous: synchro type (also asynchronous)
No added coding: broadcast coding (also 'FEC coding')

  • Messages 16, ASCII text information follows this header.

    • Dgsp options

    Stop on error

    If an error is received in a word and this option is set, the next words are notdisplayed. RadioRaft is waiting for the next frame.

    Display hex data

    You may avoid to display hex data by disabling this option. Only the 2 first words in aframe are displayed.

    Z-count in time format

    Option by default: the time is displayed in the MM:SS.t format (t = tenths of second).If this option is not set, the time is displayed as received, i.e. in multiple of 0.6 sec.This is the time elapsed since the previous round hour, at which the corrections arecomputed.

    FEC-A

    Protocol: transmission of 2 channels, bits interleaved. The characters of a messageare transmitted in one of the 2 channels and the bits of an error correcting cyclic codein the second one.

    Code: FEC-A, 7 bit words, 34 characters set. 32 characters are formed by: 1 bit(0), 5 bits of the Baudot code and 1 even parity bit for the detection of errors. 2supplementary characters are added (RQ and beta).

    Current speeds: 96, 144, 192 bauds

    Current modulation: FSK

    Main use: military and diplomatic traffic, news.

    RadioRaft particular: RadioRaft does not provide error correction.

    HNG-FEC

    Hng-fec characteristics

    Protocol: each bit of a character is spread on 64 bits and is interleaved with thebits of other characters.

    Code: 15 bit words for 5 effective data bits (redundancy for the errorcorrection), 32 characters set.

    Current speed: 100.05 Bauds.

    Current modulation: FSK

    Main use: diplomatic traffic.

    RadioRaft particular: if the shift is reversed, the decoding will be correctbecause a reversed code word is also a valid code word. On the other hand erroneouscharacters will be displayed. To alleviate this difficulty, RadioRaft attempts to find theright shift by understanding some transmitted characters. This needs time, and even failsif the transmitted message is encrypted or if it contains some particular sequences.

    Hng-fec options

    Auto-shift (enabled by default)

    To enable/disable the automatic detection of the shift (enabled by default).

    Reversed shift

    Clicking on 'Reversed shift' inhibits the automatic shift detection, and thenswitches to the normal or reversed shift.

    POCSAG

    Pocsag characteristics

    Protocol: transmission of lots of one synchronization word followed by 16 codewordscontaining addresses and numerical or alphanumerical data.

    Code: 32 bit words:

    • 1 bit for indicating the word is an address codeword (1) or a message codeword (0)
    • 18 address bits and 2 function bits, or 20 data bits
    • 10 bits for the CRC (cyclic redundant checksum), a polynomial code that allows error detection and/or correction.
    • 1 even parity bit for the whole codeword

    Bits for data can contain numerics or alphanumerics, depending on the pager service.

    Current speeds: 512, 600, 1200 and 2400 Bauds.

    Modulation: DFSK at +/- 4.5 Khz.
    IMPORTANT:As in DFSK the data signal directly modulates the HF carrier, youwould need to connect directly the interface to the FM discriminator of your receiver,without capacitor. This permits to keep the continuous component of the data signal whenlong series of 0 or 1 are transmitted.
    Another simpler way is to use the classical interface connected to the speacker output buthaving a hysteresis adjustment. It allows to maintain the right level when the data signalis constant. In the Diagram of the interface shown in theRadioRaft user's manual, the resistances R2/R3 permit to adjust the hysteresis.
    You must adjust the signal level just above the threshold of hysteresis.
    If you are using an ordinary interface, you will not be able to receive POCSAGexcept if your receiver passes audio frequencies below 50 Hz which is a bit out ofordinary.

    RadioRaft particular: RadioRaft is able to correct 2 errors per word even in thesynchronization word.

    Main use: POCSAG is used on VHF and UHF for message transmissions topagers.

    Pocsag message display

    RadioRaft displays the address of the pager in octal, followed by the service number(0: numerics, 3: alphanumerics), then the message. Examples:

    6154773-0| 003312345678
    7610321-3| Midnight! It's time you go home. Mummy.

    Pocsag options

    Checksum (enabled by default)

    The display of messages is interrupted when a CRC error is encountered in a codewordand the error cannot be corrected.

    Error correction (enabled by default)

    RadioRaft corrects possible errors. RadioRaft can correct 2 erroneous bits by codewordeven for the synchronization word.

    End of message on {nul} (enabled by default)

    The reception is stopped if an ASCII character NUL is encountered.

    All messages (enabled by default)

    The options 'All messages', 'Alphanumerics', 'Text only'and 'Numerics' are mutually exclusive.
    If 'All messages' is active, RadioRaft displays all messages (numerics oralphanumerics).

    Alphanumerics

    RadioRaft displays only alphanumerical messages.

    Text only

    RadioRaft displays only alphanumerical messages that contain at least one letter.
    The option permits to cancel pure numerical messages that are transmitted toalphanumerical pagers.

    Software
    Numerics

    RadioRaft displays only numerical messages.

    Disable empty messages

    RadioRaft doesn't display messages without data.

    RUM-FEC

    Rum-fec characteristics

    Protocol: each bit of a character is spread on 129 bits and is interleaved with thebits of other characters.

    Code: 16 bit words for 5 effective data bits (redundancy for the errorcorrection), 34 characters set.

    Current speeds: 164.5 and 218.3 Bauds.

    Current modulation: FSK

    Main use: diplomatic traffic.

    RadioRaft particular: if the shift is reversed, the decoding will be correctbecause a reversed code word is also a valid code word. On the other hand erroneouscharacters will be displayed. To alleviate this difficulty, RadioRaft attempts to find theright shift by understanding some transmitted characters. This needs time, and even failsif the transmitted message is encrypted, or if it contains some particular sequences.

    Due to the wide spread, the scanning needs at least 16 seconds of signal beforeRadioRaft synchronizes.

    Rum-fec options

    Auto-shift (enabled by default)

    To enable/disable the automatic detection of the shift.

    Reversed shift

    Clicking on 'Reversed shift' inhibits the automatic shift detection, and thenswitches to the normal or reversed shift.

    SITOR-B, NAVTEX

    The SITOR mode B is also known by radioamateurs as AMTOR mode B or TOR/FEC.

    Sitor-B characteristics

    Protocol: CCIR Recommendation 476-4. Transmission of 2 channels, charactersinterleaved. One channel transmits the same message as the second one but with a delay of4 characters.
    Error correction: if a character in the first channel is erroneous, it is taken from thesecond channel.

    Code: CCIR 476-4, 7 bit words, 4 of which are always set to 1 for the detectionof errors if this criterion is not verified.

    Current speed: 100 bauds

    Current modulation: FSK

    Main use: weather reports, warnings to navigators and call lists for ships,radioamateurs.

    NAVTEX

    NAVTEX is not a mode but a particular SITOR-B transmission of messages for the urgentwarnings to navigators, on 518 kHz.
    The headers of such messages are formatted and the rest as plain text.
    RadioRaft displays the headers as they are (no decoding of the numerical fields) and themessage body as plain text.

    SPREAD

    Protocol: each character is spread on 11, 21 or 51 bits, each bit of a character isinterleaved with the bits of other characters.

    Code: Bauer code, 10 bit words (5 bits like ITA2 and 5 bits for the errorcorrection by a Hamming code), 32 characters set.

    Standard speeds: 62.3, 68.5, 102.6, 137 and 218.3 Bauds.

    Current modulation: FSK

    Main use: formerly diplomatic trafic

    RadioRaft particular: the modes are named SPREADx where x=11, 21 or 51 dependingon the spread.

    1382

    1382 characteristics

    Protocol: transmission of a bit pattern for the bit phasing, then a 32 bitsynchronisation word followed by the codewords

    Code: 64 bit words containing 48 data bits and 12 bits for the error detectionby a cyclic code.
    The 48 data bits may also include a convolutional code for the error correction (notimplemented in RadioRaft and not used by the pagers).

    Standard speed: 1200 Bauds.

    Current modulation: MSK 1200/1800 Hz. Warning: this modulation is verysensitive to noise or interferences.

    Main use: used in France to transmit messages to pagers in emergency services(similar to Pocsag). 1382 is also used to pass signalling in private radiotelephonenetworks.

    RadioRaft particular: 1382 is the reference of the protocol. RadioRaft decodesonly the version of 1382 used in emergency services, particularly by firemen.

    1382 Options

    Start on {Stx}

    Option by default : no text is displayed until ASCII code 02 (STX) is received.

    Stop on {Etx}

    Option by default : text is not displayed after receiving ASCII code 03 (ETX).

    Stop on error

    RadioRaft stops the display after an error is encountered. This option is disabled bydefault.

    PACKET MODES

    These modes don't need that transmitting and receiving stations aresynchronized. A packet can be sent at any time.

    ACARS-VHF

    Acars-vhf characteristics

    Protocol: Refer to ARINC characteristic 597-4. Packets contain:

    • 'Pre-key' 16 characters of data at 1
    • Bit sync: 2 ASCII characters '+' and '*' to enable bit ambiguity resolution to be accomplished
    • Character sync: ASCII control code SYN to establish character synchronization
    • Start of heading: ASCII character SOH
    • Mode: 1 character. Refer to ARINC Characteristic 597-4.
    • Address: 7 characters. Aircraft identification or aircraft or filght number registration mark
    • Acknowledgement: ASCII character ACK or NAK
    • Label: 2 characters to identify message routine and type.
    • Block: Uplink block identifier (1 character)
    • Text: ASCII character STX followed by the text of the message. Text is not always present in a message.
    • Suffix: ASCII character ETX.
    • BCS: block check sequence. Polynomanial code for the detection of errors (2 bytes).
    • BCS suffix: ASCII character ETB

    Code: ASCII 7 bits + 1 even parity bit.

    Current speed: 2400 bauds

    Modulation on VHF: FFSK 1200/2400 Hz. The presence of 1200 Hz indicates abit change from the previous value, the presence of 2400 Hz indicates that there is no bitchange.

    Particular: you need a receiver with a good audio quality to decode ACARSmessages, specially flat frequency and phase response.
    On HF the modulation is very different. RadioRaft doesn't demodulate ACARS HFmodulation. It doesn't decode ACARS-HF.

    Use: earth/planes aeronautical information exchange.

    Acars-vhf messages display

    Pocsag Decoder software, free downloads

    RadioRaft doesn't decode data fields of the Acars protocol. It displays the field namesfollowed by their contents as they are.

    For example:

    ----Mode:J---Address:.F-ABCD---ACK:{NAK}---Label:Q3---Mode:A---Block:3
    Text: Please book 2 seats tonight at Moulin Rouge. Landing Paris soon.

    See above the ACARS protocol for the meaning of the fields. Text is displayed as plaintext but it can appear unclear when it is formatted for technical information exchange.

    Acars-vhf option

    Checksum (enabled by default): the checksum control of the whole frame is active.When disabled, frame including errors are nevertheless displayed as well as characterswith parity error.
    In normal functioning, 'Cheksum' must be enabled.

    GMDSS-DSC

    Gmdss-dsc characteristics

    Protocol: ITU-R M.493. Characters are transmitted by packets with an error-checkcharacter for the entire sequence. Each character is transmitted twice in a time-spreadmode. The repetition of a character occurs 4 character after its first transmission, as inSITOR-B.

    Code: 10 bits words allowing error detection, 128 characters set. Symbols 0 to 99 are used to transmit numerical values. The meaning of characters 100 to127 depend on their position in the message and on the message format.

    Current speeds: 100 bauds (hectometric and shortwaves), 1200 bauds (VHF).

    Current modulation: FSK. HF: shift is 170 Hz. VHF: shift is 800 Hz(Mark/space: 1300/2100 Hz).

    Main use: DSC is the selective calling mode of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System.

    IMPORTANT RadioRaft particular: RadioRaft decode all DSC messages except: distressrelay, distress relay acknowledgement and selective call to a group of ships ina particular geographic area. It decodes distress calls.

    Gmdss-dsc messages display

    Examples:

    SelCall>Address: 123-456789 Category:Safety
    Self-Id    : 987-654321
    Message: F3E/G3E simplex telephone {RQ}

    SelCall>Address: 123-456789 Category:Routine
    Self-Id    : 987-654321
    Message: None
    Rx frequency    : 16419.5 Tx frequency:16419.1 {BQ}

    <<<DISTRESS CALL>>>
    Self-Id: 123-456789
    Nature: Collision
    Coordinates (lat/long): NE 04°29' 033°15' Time: 12:47
    Message: J3E telephone

    Refer to recommendation ITU-R M.493 to interpret the different fields.

    In brief:
    The message begins with the format specifier of the message as plain text(SelCall, Distress call...)
    Address: 9 digits address of the ship or 10 digits address of a group of ships
    Category: category of the message (distress, urgency, safety, ship's business,routine)
    Self-Id: self-identification of the calling station. It is the maritime mobile serviceidentity (MMSI)
    Message: message as plain text (coordinates, frequencies or channels, type of communication...)
    {BQ} or {RQ}: RQ if the call requires acknoledgement, BQ if it is an answerto a call with RQ, nothing in other cases.

    Nature: nature of the distress, in distress messages only.
    Coordinates: position at the time of the distress call.
    Time: time of the distress call.

    RadioRaft adds {Checksum error} if the message contains at least an erroneouscharacter.

    PACKET (Packet radio)

    Packet characteristics

    Protocol: AX25 (X25 variant protocol). Packet frames contain:

    • 1 or several 'flag' byte
    • 7 bytes for the destination address including 1 SSID byte (Secondary Station IDentifier)
    • 7 bytes for the source address including 1 SSID byte
    • 0 up to 8 repeater addresses of 7 bytes each including 1 SSID byte
    • 1 control byte
    • 1 PID byte (protocol identifier)
    • none or several data bytes
    • 2 bytes for the CRC, based on a polynomial code.
    • 1 'flag' byte

    Code: none. Any data types can be placed in the data bytes. When text istransmitted, ASCII is used with the 8th bit at 0.

    Current speeds: 300 (shortwaves only), 1200, 2400, 9600 bauds

    Current modulation: FSK (except above 2400 bauds)

    Downloads

    Packet messages display

    For each PACKET frame, RadioRaft displays the call signs with the SSID of the stationof destination, of source and of possible repeaters, then the control byte and the PID inhexadecimal format. Finally the possible information text of the frame is displayed. Apacket appears as follows:

    A3XYZ -0<F6FLT -0EA8XYZ-103/15/ HI ELMER! WHAT'S UP DOC?

    (for ex. a message from F6FLT to A3XYZ via EA8XYZ, with the control byte = 03, and thePID = 15). Any information type can be transmitted in PACKET (pictures, computer programs,text or sound files...).

    The ASCII code is generally used for text transmissions. RadioRaft displays theinformation content of a PACKET frame with the 8-bit ASCII code. If you view frames ofinformation containing a program or a picture, codes of the file will be interpreted asASCII characters and displayed as cabalistic signs!

    Packet options

    Cheksum (enabled by default)

    The checksum control is active. If disabled, frames including errors are neverthelessdisplayed. In normal functioning, 'Cheksum' must be enabled.

    Whole packet (enabled by default)

    Options 'Whole packet', 'Data only', 'Address only' aremutually exclusive.
    In normal functioning, 'Whole packet' is enabled, and therefore all frame dataare displayed, with addresses.

    Data only

    Only call signs of destination, source and possible repeater stations with their SSIDwill be displayed. Information data of the frames are not displayed.

    Address only

    Only information data of the frames will be displayed. In association with the filter,this option allows to follow the traffic from or to a particular station.

    Destination filter, Source filter

    When you select 'Destination filter' and/or 'Source filter',displayed messages are only those of a particular source station to a particulardestination station, of which you specify the call signs (during this selection, RadioRaftpositions automatically the cursor at the beginning of the field for the text input).

    If the 2 filters are active at the same time, only messages having both destination andsource call signs as addresses will be displayed.

    Note - you must enter the call signs in upper case. If you indicate no call sign, nomore packets will be displayed because RadioRaft will be expecting call signs with 6spaces!

    In normal functioning 'Destination filter' and 'Source filter' aredisabled. At any time you can enable or disable the filtering while the call signs remain.

    OTHER MODES

    BaudMeter

    The BaudMeter measures the speed of synchronous modes up to 300 bauds within 0.5 baud.Speeds of asynchronous modes are generally not found, except those having 1 start bit, 5data bits and 1 or more stop bits as Baudot. For other asynchronous modes, use the'DIGIT' mode.

    The speed is in fact the 'modulation rate'. A small window appears anddisplays the last measurement when it is available.

    You can also use the 'DIGIT' mode to measure the modulation rate (see thismode).

    BaudMeter option:

    Synchronous mode (enabled by default): you must disable thisoption to measure speed of asynchronous transmission as Baudot. Only speed of asynchronousmodes with 1 start bit, 5 data bits and 1 or more stop bits can be measured.
    To measure any other asynchronous modes, see the option 'Synchronous' of theDIGIT mode.

    CW

    This is the well-known Morse code.

    WARNING: If you are using a MODEM, check that the 'shift' specified in the'Options' menu is right. The polarity indicator must indicate 1 when the signalis present, 0 when there is no signal.

    With the interface, the shift must be normal (not marked).

    Protocol: none.

    Code: Morse (invented by Samuel Morse)

    Speed: any. RadioRaft adapts itself automatically to the transmission speed. Thespeed is displayed in Bauds.

    You can fix the speed by disabling the 'scan-baud' or by entering a value inthe baud input field (menu 'Bauds').

    Usually, the CW speed is in Wpm, words per minute, but this is imprecise. The Morsereference element is the duration of a dot. The 'CW Baud' is therefore theopposite of this duration. For ex: 20 Bauds correspond to a dot duration of 1/20=50 ms(approximately 22 Wpm).

    Modulation: AM, sometimes FSK.

    RadioRaft perfectly decodes automatic transmissions in this mode, and 'does whatit can' for manual transmissions by operator: most operators have indeed a veryconsistent send rate, with the main default to paste letters together. In these conditionsonly a trained human brain can distinguish the meaning of --.--.... between:

    QTH (--.- - ....) or QNS (--.- -. ...) or GT6 (--. - -....) or ...

    DIGIT

    Digit characteristics

    This mode is unique to RadioRaft. It allows you to view a transmission bit-by-bit, in abinary or hexadecimal format, and to measure its speed. The bits are grouped in words tofacilitate viewing. When you start the program, the display is initialized for 7 bitswords, and 8 words rows (see the options about this subject).

    There is no correlation between these words and any character codes that would bereceived: for example in the case of the reception of a CCIR-476 code, the 7 bits of acharacter can be in between 2 words. 'DIGIT' ignores the nature of thetransmission. Keys F9/F10 allow to shift left or right the bits display.

    'DIGIT' is essentially a tool for analysis, to show exactly what is received.This tool can also be used to decode unknown modes. It requires the knowledge of thetransmission speed. DIGIT automatically seeks the valid speed.

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    Digit does not display anything as long as it has not found the speed. If the scanningof the speed fails, you have to select it manually in the 'Bauds' menu. Thatforces the display of the received bits.

    For the asynchronous modes, see below the option 'Synchronous mode'.

    Digit options

    Words size

    This option sets the number of bits by word (1 to 252). The display in hexadecimalformat does not allow for exceeding 16-bit words. Above 16-bit words, only the last 16bits are processed. Click on the digits in the word size field: a left click increases thevalue, a right click decreases it. You can also press + or -.

    Words by rows

    This option sets the number of words in a row (1 to 32).

    Code...

    This command opens a menu for choosing the translation code you can use to display thecharacter corresponding to the last x bits (x is the number of bits by character of thecode. If x is minus than the size of words, only the last x bits of words are taken forthe translation.

    For ex. RY transmitted in Baudot:

    1001010 R|1010101 Y|1001010 R|1010101 Y...

    For each word, the first bit 1 is a stop bit of the previous character. The following 0is the start bit of the character. The next 5 bits (01010 or 10101) are the baudot code ofthe character, used for the translation.

    The menu 'Code...' permits also to:

    Invert H/L bits in words

    It inverts the bits of high and low order before the translation.

    Reverse 0/1 on error

    It allows you to reverse all the bits and resume the translation, after a firsttranslation fails with an erroneous character (e.g. ratio 4/7 unchecked in CCIR-342 or476, or word not found in the code set). This allows you to display modes that usecharacters reversals (ARQ-M, ARQ-E).

    Acars type

    With FSK or FFSK modulation, a bit at 0 corresponds to the lower frequency, a bit at 1to the higher.

    If you activate this option, the low frequency indicates a bit change from the previousbit, the high frequency indicates that there is no change.

    Synchronous mode

    You must disable this option (enabled by default) to view bit-by-bit an asynchronoustransmission or to measure its speed.

    In this case the knowledge of the number of bits by character is necessary: you mustset it in the option 'Words size'. If you want to view a Baudot transmission forexample, set 'Words size' to 7 (=1 start bit + 5 bits of the Baudot code + 1stop bit). The speed of the transmission cannot be found if the word size is not properlyset.

    Stop on missing signal

    The bits display will be stopped if no data signal transition is encountered within thetime fixed in the menu 'Options/Strategy/Time' (4 sec by default).

    Delta

    'Delta' allows you to display the transitions from the input signal insteadof the state of bits (an absence of transition corresponds to 0, a transition to 1). Forexample enable this option to view a frame of an AX25 packet.

    Parity

    'Parity' allows you to display the parity of the last n received bits, nbeing the number of bits by word.

    Reverse 0/1

    Reverses the display 0/1 in 1/0.

    Even / Odd bits

    To enable 'odd or even bit' forces the display of only one by two bit of oddor even rank, which allows you to view one channel of a transmission with interleavedbits, like the ARQ-M4 or FEC-A modes.

    Binary / Hexadecimal

    The display is in binary or hexadecimal format. The hexadecimal is limited to 16-bitwords.

    LIST OF SOME FREQUENCIES

    For more informations about utility radio stations (list of frequencies, transmissionmodes...), please refer to the following guides and publishers

    - Guide to utility radio stations
    - Shortwave frequency guide
    by Joerg Klingenfuss

    Klingenfuss Publications
    Hagenloher Str. 14
    D-72070 Tuebingen
    Germany
    Phone ++49 7071 62830
    Fax ++49 7071 600849
    WEB http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Klingenfuss

    		- Ferrell's Confidential Frequency list
    by Geoff Halligey

    PW Publishing Ltd
    Arrowsmith Court
    Broadstone
    DORSET BH18 8PW
    United Kingdom
    Phone (01202) 659910

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      GLOSSARY

    • ACARS: Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System
    • AM: amplitude modulation
    • ARINC: Aeronautical Radio, INC, 2551 Riva Road, Annapolis, MAryland 21401, USA
    • ARQ: Automatic Repetition reQuest
    • BPS: Bit Per Second, e.g. real traffic flow (data rate).
    • BAUD: unit for the modulation rate, e.g. the opposite of the duration of the smallest transmitted element (for example, 50bauds corresponds to 20 ms elements). Not equal to 'BPS', because some types of modulation (for example MFSK) allows transmission of several bits simultaneously.
      The unit 'baud' comes from the name of the French engineer Baudot who created the first 5 elements telegraph in the 19th century.
    • CW: Continuous Wave
    • DFSK: Direct Frequency Shift Keying (no subcarrier)
    • DGPS: Differential GPS
    • DSC: Digital Selective-Calling. In GMDSS, mode specified by recommendation ITU-R M.493-6.
    • FEC: Forward Error Correction
    • FFSK: Fast FSK
    • FSK: Frequency Shift Keying
    • GMDSS: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
    • GPS: Global Positioning System (or Satellite)
    • INTERFACE: circuit transforming the audio signal from the speaker into the same but square signal compatible with the electric levels RS232 of serial COM ports.
    • LSB: Low Side Band
    • MARK: data level 1 of a signal corresponding to the lower frequency
    • MMSI: Maritime Mobile Service Identity
    • MODEM: modulator/demodulator (only the demodulator function of a modem is needed for RadioRaft).
    • MODULATION: transformation of a data signal into a signal compatible with a transmission circuit. The process makes the data signal varies one or several parameters (amplitude, phase, frequency) of one or several 'carriers' that form the transmitted signal.
    • MSK: Minimum Shift Keying
    • POCSAG: Post Office Code Standardization Advisory Group
    • RQ: repetition request
    • SHIFT: frequency displacement of FSK signal within the lower and the higher frequencies
    • SPACE: data level 0 of a signal corresponding to the highter frequency
    • SYNCHRONIZATION: indication of a RadioRaft state in which a right bits pattern, characteristic of a mode, has been detected. RadioRaft is phasing with it.
    • TOR: Telex Over Radio.
    • USB: Up Side Band.
    • 1382: ST/PAA/TPA/1382, specification of a data and signalling transmission system from the 'Centre National d'Etudes de Telecommunications' of France Telecom.

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