Digital HF modes - when is there high activity?

[jrpascucci]

My question is, when is a reliable time and freq to get *PSK, Contestia/Olivia/RTTM traffic in Metrowest Massachusetts.
I've gone by the various calling frequency lists (internal to software and external) and literally no soup.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

73, kc1mnc

Spoiler: Details of my setup and summary of things I've tried to date.

I've had perfectly fine luck with ft8 using wsjt-x and wspr, and I think I once caught an RTTY FSK in the wild. ALso, JT65. And, of course, CW decoding is fine.

However, I've been looking for the last almost month for Contestia/Olivia/RTTM, or B/QPSK, using both mutipsk (which I bought because I like to support smaller creators) and hrd (which I would buy if I could get it to work). I've definitely heard a handful of digital signals that I couldn't figure out how to decode (even comparing them in the signal identification wiki) - (I think they might be pactor IV?, which I can't decode). And I've heard a few things that sound like Contestia/Olivia is supposed to sound, but no dice.

I've gone through various advice about how to use digital modes - I've got a 7300, DXCommander, Multipsk and WSJT-X running simultaneously, AT200ProII tuner, 80m ocf dipole but only about 20' up.

I've usually turned AGC off, attenuated, rgs, or preamp as needed, turned off IP+, AGC to off, Notch, NR, NF, filter1 wide, usually used the data mode (even though multipsk insists on switching back). I know signal is getting through to the thing, it's coming up reasonably on the waterfall.

I've switched all kinds of settings for the *PSK modes, reverse and no reverse, lsb and usb, with and without IP+, various modes and offsets/bandwidth, AGC, and some other settings, just to see if anything would trip it. I've poked all over the bands approximately where people say the calling stations are, at high traffic time. I've used websdr.org to find signals and have been able to see various data mode signals that it also picks up.

So, I'm kind of out of ideas -the next planned event is I intend to put up an MFJ-1777, maybe 50' up over the chimney, but I don't immediately think that's my problem. I've also tried SDRs, no dice.

 

[AHM]

I can't comment on gear or practices
(although you seem to have been going at this methodically).
However there are dozens of digital modes nowadays -
are you looking for signals that are at all common?

A year or two ago, someone sent around pareto charts
of the most popular digital modes measured two or three times.

The point of sending them around was that FT8 variants
were shouldering everything aside (despite the fact that
back then it was nearly only good for contesting).
However IIRC, on every chart all of the modes less popular than
the top ~five (PSK31, RTTY, ...) were really out in the tails.

If you can locate such a recent chart, you can be more confident
about how common or rare those modes are. It might well be
derived from band monitoring networks, so it would be very accurate.

If the modes are rarer than you appreciated, I agree that continuing to
look at centers of activity is the way to go; particularly if some
fans encourage artificial things like "Olivia Thursday" (<= I just made that up; jus' sayin').

Another possibility is to decide on who is the most active on the Intarwebs
for one of the modes on some ham forum,
and ask if they can think of any Southern New England fans
who might be willing to arrange a sked with you;
especially if you say it's for station debugging purposes.

Heck, maybe there's a weekly regional net even if no fan
has reserved a day of the week nationwide for their favorite mode.

 

[Jim Poulette]

Hi Jason,

The short answer is that it's not as much about apparatus as much as it is about frequency, and if you're looking for "close-in" digital QSOs (in MA) then that makes it a little more interesting. This is a band synopsis that I've found helpful. For example: frequencies like 30m will rarely (if ever) see contacts within 100 miles - but QSOs at 1500 miles with a modest dipole are easy. Also, with the prevelence of FT8/JS8/WSPR2, the older modes that you are talking about have seen dramatically lower use. This PODSX club may be helpful on the PSK side. OPERA may be another alternative.

Keep in mind that we have just started Solar Cycle 25 with peak sunspot activity expected in 2025 - so things are changing. I use propagation tools such as VOCAP and ACE-HF. Below are images from the later. It can display propagation for most amateur bands, and allows you to change variables (such as time, date, antennas, power, locations, reliability, etc.).

Good luck !
73
Jim, WQ2H

 

[jrpascucci]

Hi Jason,
...
Jim, WQ2H

Thanks, Jim.

Recently , between having some wrong settings (multipsk kept resetting the mode from digital, and that kept switching where the microphone was coming from, whereas wsjt-x didn't do that), and being less shy about calling CQ on different modes, I started making various contacts on calling frequencies: PSK31, Olivia, RTTY, a couple others. I am next fiddling around with SSTV and HELL. I think that PSK31 was on 160m, others more on 80m and then some 20m.

I've gotten a lot more sensitive to the effects of SWR and keeping the output under the midpoint of the ALC meter, and the interaction between the tuner on the 7300 and my AT200-II.

I've also had good luck using a hackrf+hamitup connected to a discone for wideband analysis and perusing through stuff and finding things that sound good, and then diving in on interesting signals on the 7300. Similarly, another thing that's been useful is websdr.org: I can see what other stations are picking up in various places.

 

[Jim Poulette]

Well, between Milford & Dublin would be tough on HF. I was in an 80m net a few years ago - stations from all over New England and the one guy from Milford (the closest) was the hardest to hear. Give me a shout if you'd like to hook up on N1IMO some time - not sure if you can hit ours from your QTH.

Easy to overdrive the amp even at "half scale ALC" for both digital and SSB. I noticed a huge improvement when lowering the ALC threshold WAY down. This is a good read, specifically "....experts advise keeping ALC activity low—setting the mic gain so the meter just shows ALC activity on your voice peaks.....".

73
Jim, WQ2H