BestPractice1

Getting ready for a RTTY Contest

This article describes how to set up a Kenwood TS-850, a microHAM USB II Interface and accompanying software for use during a RTTY contest. This should give you some idea on what areas to look at when you are going for this relatively complex scenario.

This is a step-by-step approach with a little test at the end of each step to make sure things are working on the lower level before we go up to the next. I wrote it down after a number of debug sessions at various locations, where a lot of hair was torn out.

Kenwood TS-850 settings

• Low Tones
  • What does it mean?
  • Why do we want low tones and not high tones?
• Filters

microHAM USB Interface II

• Cables
• Audio Level

mircoHAM USB Device Router

• Virtual Ports
  • Don't use same port for radio control PTT/CW/FSK switching - use two different ones, like COM5 and COM6
• Testing PTT, CW and FSK

MMTTY

• Low Tones
• XY-Scope
• Test Receiving signals
• FSK - why do we want it?
  • cleaner signals
  • reference to AA5BT's excellent articles
• ExtFSK.dll
  • Download and Install
  • Configure and Test
  • Configure MMTTY - TX and Misc submenu
• Radio Control from MMTTY - don't!

Win-Test

• Start up MMTTY
• Configure MMTTY.EXE startup path
• Configure Radio Control