While I should have been working yesterday I found an interesting QRP blog. I already forgot who's blog it was. Anyway, they mentioned WSPR, commonly called "Whisper".
WSPR implements a protocol designed for probing potential propagation paths with low-power transmissions. Normal transmissions carry a station's callsign, Maidenhead grid locator, and transmitter power in dBm. The program can decode signals with S/N as low as -28 dB in a 2500 Hz bandwidth. That is right down in the noise and, to me, that makes this very interesting. Stations with internet access can automatically upload their reception reports to a central database called WSPRnet.
I downloaded the software to the laptop that I use to connect to my Icom 706. You can get it from WSJT's home page, and it is free. It went in no problem but I could not, for the life of me, get it to connect via the CAT connection to the IC-706. Let me back up just a bit here. There are two connections that need to be made: 1) a radio control connection (which is optional) and, 2) the sound card connection.
I got the call to dinner - which I NEVER refuse - so I left the install configuration to a later time. More on the progress in another post soon.
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