Category: Digital Modes (Inc: FT8, DMR, YSF, DStar, Etc)

  • Digital Modes Are Transforming Ham Radio, So Why Is Everyone Stuck on FT8?

    Digital modes have expanded what’s possible on the bands in ways we could barely imagine a decade ago. But the ecosystem has collapsed into one mode, and we’re leaving most of the magic on the table.

  • Configuring APRS on the AnyTone AT-D878UV II Plus

    The 878 will do APRS, both analog and DMR-APRS through the GPS revert channel, but it is not a one-button affair like the Kenwood. Almost everything worth setting has to happen in the CPS software first, then you fine tune on the radio itself. Here is the setup I actually use. Enable APRS and GPS…

  • Building Your First DMR Codeplug

    A codeplug is the configuration file that tells your DMR radio which talkgroups, zones, and contacts exist. Building your first one from scratch looks intimidating and is actually a very learnable process.

  • Getting on FT8 with the Icom IC-7300 Mark II

    One USB-C cable, no external interface needed. Here’s how to get the IC-7300 Mark II talking to WSJT-X and make your first FT8 contact.

  • DMR vs. D-STAR vs. YSF (and the Rest): Comparing Digital Voice Modes

    Four digital voice ecosystems, four different tradeoffs, and none of them talk to each other. Here’s how DMR, D-STAR, System Fusion, and the smaller players actually compare.

  • Private, Secure, or Obscure? What Part 97 Actually Lets You Do With Your Comms

    FCC Part 97.113 bans encoding messages to hide their meaning, but that still leaves a lot of legal room for OPSEC, signal obscurity, and data integrity. Here’s how privacy, security, and obscurity actually break down across analog, digital voice, and data modes on the ham bands.

  • JTDX vs WSJT-X: Is the Fork Worth Switching To

    WSJT-X is the software running FT8 on my IC-7300 Mark II, and it’s the default recommendation for anyone getting started with weak-signal digital modes. JTDX is a fork of that same codebase, and it’s been around long enough that people regularly ask whether it’s actually worth switching to. Where JTDX came from JTDX started as…

  • Getting Started with Yaesu System Fusion and Wires-X

    System Fusion is Yaesu’s digital voice ecosystem, and Wires-X is the network that links its repeaters and rooms together over the internet. Here is how to actually get on it.

  • What Is P25 Digital? The Public Safety Standard Every Ham Should Understand

    P25 is the digital mode most hams have heard the most about and actually know the least about, mostly because almost nobody in ham radio actually transmits on it. It is not a hobbyist mode. It is the standard that runs the police, fire, and EMS radio traffic you probably scan or listen to, and…

  • APRS on the VGC VR-N76: Bluetooth KISS TNC Setup

    The VR-N76 does APRS completely differently than anything else in my lineup. Instead of an all-in-radio APRS engine like the Kenwood or AnyTone radios, it works as a Bluetooth KISS TNC that bridges to your phone or a laptop, where the actual APRS application lives. That is a real strength for flexibility, but it also…

  • Getting Started with D-STAR

    D-STAR was the first widely adopted digital voice mode in amateur radio, and its reflector and gateway system still works a little differently than DMR or Fusion. Here is how to actually get on it.

  • What Is PSK Reporter?

    PSK Reporter is a free website that shows you, on a live map, exactly where your signal is being heard around the world. Here is how it works.

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