MultiPSK: A Digital Diamond in the Rough

By Robert Gulley AK3Q

(Graphics courtesy of the author)

T
here are many digital programs available for amateur a radio on the receiving end.
and shortwave radio listeners, from individual modes The soundcard in a typical computer can do a great job
to all-in-one packages, but with MultiPSK I have of handling this conversion process as they are designed to
found a real treasure. I call this a “diamond in the rough” take analog signals as input and convert them to something a
because for many folks the initial configuration screen and computer can understand. The reverse is also true—they take
the program screen seem, well, awkward. We have become digital signals and convert them back to analog signals so
used to very glamorous GUIs, with many programs trending we can hear our favorite MP3 files or the like. Combine this
with ribbon bars and lots of bells and whistles. By compari- ability with a radio and the possibilities are almost endless!
son, MultiPSK seems rather barren. Nothing could be further Fortunately one does not have to understand the process ful-
from the truth! ly to enjoy the benefits, but a little learning is always a good
In this article I will describe the program, highlight thing, and who knows? One of us may just invent the newest
some of the more interesting/unusual features, and hopefully best digital mode for the world to enjoy!
convince you this is a program more than worthy of the time
it takes to get comfortable with the interface! Amateur and Shortwave Radio

First, Some Background Both amateur and shortwave radio offer a lot of oppor-
tunities to explore digital modes and MultiPSK is an excel-
If you are new to working digital modes over amateur lent program for this pursuit. The program’s author is Patrick
radio or shortwave radio, some of the terms may be unfamil- Lindecker F6CTE, an engineer by trade who has been devel-
iar as well as some of the concepts. Digital modes are modes oping the software for a number of years. The program runs
of transmission which either start with digital information under most versions of Microsoft Windows, and should work
(such as a picture or text file or text typed into a computer) fine with Windows emulators such as VirtualBox. After in-
or convert analog input to a digital format (such as sound stallation, the program opens up with a configuration screen
through a soundcard) before being transmitted (modulated) for the initial setup. This can then be configured to open each
by a radio over the airwaves. This digital information can time the program starts, or programmed to go directly to the
then be demodulated (decoded) by a computer connected to main program.

18  The Spectrum Monitor  September 2015

 can also run multiple instances of the program by installing
each instance of the MultiPSK program into separate folders.
Only your CPU speed and number of radios/input options
can hold you back!

Modes supported by MultiPSK 4.29.1 (Latest version as

of this writing):
Phase Shift Keying modes:
BPSK: BPSK31-63-125-250 / CHIP (64/128) / PSK10 /
PSKFEC31 / PSKAM10-31-50
BPSK with SSTV: PSK63 F - PSK220F + DIGISSTV “Run”
QPSK: QPSK31-63-125-250
8PSK: VDL2
MPSK: MT63
PACKET BPSK1200-250-63-31 + APRS+ DIGISSTV
“Run”
IL-STD-188-110A - 4285
HFDL
Figure 1 EPIRB-ELT-PLB beacons
ARGOS (beacons/satellites)
The configuration screen above (Figure 1) is where the AUTEX
audio input source is chosen along with the output, and there On-Off Keying Modes: CW / CCW-OOK / CCW-FSK /
are several options. (As an aside, the program does not insert QRSS
entries into the Windows registry file which means it may Amplitude modulation mode: APT faxes (NOAA satellites)
be deleted or copied to another directory without performing Frequency Shift Keying modes:
an uninstall action. Also, virtually all of the program runs PACKET: 110-300-1200 bauds + APRS+ DIGISSTV “Run”
without .DLLs which means it can run under Linux using PACTOR 1 / AMTOR FEC-Navtex / AMTOR ARQ / SITOR
WINE.) A
There are two sets of sound card inputs/outputs al- ASCII / RTTY 45-50-75-100-110-150-200 / SYNOP + SHIP
lowing for multiple sound cards or one sound card and one / IEC 870-5
virtual sound card. Each sound card pair can use whatever 1382 / BIIS / GMDSS DSC / ACARS (VHF) / DGPS / NWR
sound card inputs are available to the computer, such as the SAME / ARQ-E / ARQ-E
physical sound card, audio CODECs and the like. This can Multi Frequency Shift Keying modes:
be particularly useful when there is an external audio device MFSK8 / MFSK16/32/64 (+SSTV)
such as a SignaLink USB or Rig Blaster, and a second audio OLIVIA / Contestia / RTTYM / VOICE
source such as an SDR with direct I/Q input. This might be THROB/THROBX
a good time to mention some of the many ways this program DominoF / DominoEX / THOR
can be used to accept input from an audio source. PAX / PAX2 Automatic Link Establishment (see http://www.
In addition to input from a transceiver or typical short- hflink.com) MIL-STD-188-141A+
wave receiver, audio can be piped in through the sound card ARQ FAE / ALE400 + ARQ FAE
from almost any device capable of sending out audio. This DTMF, SELCAL
means a handheld radio, a portable shortwave receiver, a JT65 (A B and C)
tablet, a phone, Softrock, or an SDR Dongle, to name a few, LENTUS
or a combination of any of the above. COQUELET
For example, using an Internet-connected phone or Base band modes: POCSAG, AIS, Packet 9600 bauds
tablet I can pipe the audio out of my tablet headphone/speak- (G3RUH)
er jack to the input of my non-Internet connected laptop and Hellschreiber modes: FELD HELL / FM HELL (105-245) /
use one of the remote SDR or web-based remote control rig PSK HELL / HELL 80
sites to receive audio. Graphic modes: HF FAX / SSTV / PSK SSTV modes (men-
In my current setup I use both an external sound card tioned above) / MFSK16 SSTV (mentioned above)
and vb-cable virtual audio driver to connect my main trans- PPM (by positioned pulses) modes: mode S (ADS-B includ-
ceiver and my Elad SDR, respectively. A simple change to ed)
the sound configuration in MultiPSK allows me to switch DSP modes: Filters / Analysis / Binaural CW reception
between inputs. I can also use one software program for RTTY, CW, BPSK31, BPSK63 and PSKFEC31 Panoramics
one mode and another software program for another mode Identifiers: Video ID / RS ID / Call ID
if needed, and switch between input/output settings. You TCP/IP digital modem
September 2015    The Spectrum Monitor   19 
Figure 2
Integrated SDR Demodulator/Modulator amateur modes category (I have counted nearly 100 modes
and variants, but there may be more—I have not explored
The rest of the configuration screen offers options for all of the sub modes yet!).
sound recordings (sound files can also be selected as an input On the left upper side of the screen there are numerous
source), the Beacon mode (allowing automated TX/RX in configuration settings based on the mode chosen. While it is
many modes), loading saved program parameters (useful for impossible to include all the options here, I will give a few
starting the program in a particular mode), serial port options examples below to illustrate the program logic. I would also
(if used), panoramic windows (or waterfalls) for various mention here there is an extensive help system based in the
modes, as well as QSO and logbook options. There are also program (you do not have to be online, thankfully!), and nu-
controls for setting the transmit offsets for various modes, merous resources available for particular modes written by
personal data settings, sound mixer control and registration/ users, which may be found here. Most buttons either bring
version history. up a help “bubble” when the mouse is hovering, or a right
mouse click will bring up context-sensitive help.
The Program Screen One other thing to note here is the main screen will
look different on different screen resolutions and/or whether
After configuring the sound card interface and other or not it is opened full-screen. (See Figure 3 below)
useful data it is time to press the [RX/TX screen] button Notice in this smaller screen the professional modes
to go to the main program (I am using the convention of are listed. The button bar underneath which is labeled [Am-
indicating actual button titles in brackets). Depending on the ateur modes] has become an active button to switch over
screen size/resolution there will be several blocks of infor- to the amateur modes, and the reverse is true—when the
mation with dozens of buttons which at first look like an old amateur modes are displayed the [Professional modes] but-
Tetris game (see Figure 2 above). “There is nothing wrong ton is visible which allows switching over to those modes.
with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the pic- I personally like running the program full-screen on a large
ture.” – The Outer Limits (sorry, I couldn’t resist!) monitor, but for those who do not, it is worth knowing what
The buttons or tiles on the upper right upper side of the happened to half the modes!
screen are the various modes that can be chosen depending
on the version of the software. The amateur modes are sepa- Context Menu Options and Help
rated from the professional modes, mainly for convenience,
in that commercial services often use modes contained in the As mentioned above options on the upper left half of
Figure 3

20  The Spectrum Monitor  September 2015

Figure 4 Figure 7

an amazing 240 possible macros! When in a receive-only

mode the macro options are grayed out as in the HFDL mode
shown above.
The waterfall window also serves as a spectrum win-
dow, and those controls are on the right of the waterfall
shown here. The waterfall can be searched, rewound, and
the frequencies can be adjusted very precisely. The rewind
option is particularly interesting as the user can rewind the
Figure 5 waterfall signal from 10 seconds to 3 minutes (licensed
version). This can be quite useful when a desired signal is
the screen will change depending on the mode selected.
discovered already in progress.
On the top are the configuration options for HFDL (a
kind of ACARS for HF), while on the bottom are options for
Beacon Modes
PSK31. Some of the configuration options remain the same
such as logging options, program integration options with
Two modes worth special mention for amateur use
DXKeeper and DXLab, and TCP/IP networking options. The
are the familiar JT65 mode and the newer, not-so-familiar
red [MODE] button will show what mode is active for both
Lentus mode. JT65 control in MultiPSK is quite a bonus as
TX (if any) and RX. The [QRGs] button brings up a list of
few programs incorporate this into their suite of modes, and
common frequencies used by the mode selected, and also al-
Lentus is fairly new mode (developed by the author of Multi-
lows integration with the free DXLab CAT control program
psk) which is gaining a following as well. This mode is used
Commander. There is, in fact, tight integration throughout
for QRP transmissions (down to a minimum S/N ratio of
the program with DXLab, but there is also support for HRD
-34dB) either in LF, MF and HF (14 MHz maximum). (See
(Ham Radio Deluxe) and several other programs.
Figure 7 above)
As an example of a typical RX, I have captured a screen
Both of these modes are designed with low power
with some of the relevant information and options. In the
in mind, and require precise clock calibration. There are
waterfall area, the signal(s) can be seen and selected with the
instructions and suggestions for how to set your computer’s
demodulated text displayed below in Figure 6.
clock to the required accuracy in the help file along with
With the [RX RS (Reed-Solomon) ID] button checked,
several software solutions, including the author’s own clock
the program will attempt to identify the call and display
program, as well as a discussion of appropriate power levels.
the information in the RX time + callsign + mode window
These are interesting modes to work in that you can see how
on the right. Here CO4SM from Pine Islands (a new one
far extremely low power can take you around the world.
for me!) is shown, along with the mode and time. Note the
They both also have the ability to set “canned” responses
macro buttons below the waterfall. These allow common
to ensure proper amateur contact protocol is followed, but
text strings to be stored for transmit, and multiple sets may
allowing for free-form text as well. Most users will stick to
be configured; up to 10 sets of 12 pairs can be stored for
the automated responses so as to fit within the alternating
Figure 6

September 2015    The Spectrum Monitor   21 

TX/RX time-sharing windows. (1800 bps) / 0 (1200 bps) / 0 (600 bps) / 5 (300 bps)SPDUs
received without error: 80SPDUs received with errors:
Professional Modes 1MPDUs transmitted: 0 (1800 bps) / 0 (1200 bps) / 0 (600
bps) / 6 (300 bps)MPDUs delivered: 0 (1800 bps) / 0 (1200
For me the most interesting part of the program are the bps) / 0 (600 bps) / 5 (300 bps)No frequency change since
professional mode options for utility listening. There are the last “performance data” HFNPDU<End frame><300
numerous modes within MultiPSK, which simply are not bps 1.8 sec 1447 Hz> 02/17/2015 18:37:03MPDU CRC
available on other free or relatively inexpensive software control: OKMPDU (Media access control Protocol Data
suites, and I am not in a position to pay thousands of dollars Unit) - DownlinkLPDU CRC control: OK[Unnumbered Data
for programs such as Hoka (would that I could!!). There are LPDU] [Performance data HFNPDU] UTC time: 18:36:58
modes here that I had never heard of before getting this pro- UTC Flight identifier: BAW191 Latitude: 56-31.57N
gram, and this makes things all the more exciting. Longitude: 073-30.29WPerformance version: 10 “Flight
The ARGOS satellite system was one such mode, leg”’: 143Ground Station Identifier: 4 - Riverhead, NEW
where a system of beacons and satellites transmit scientific YORK, USA (072-38-22W 40-52-47N)Frequency number:
data measuring temperature, pressure, humidity and sea lev- 4 (11387.0 KHz) Previous frequency search count: 0Current
els. The system is also used to track yacht races and animals. frequency search count: 15Previous HF data disabled time:
Very nice! 1102 secCurrent HF data disabled time: 8826 secMPDUs
If you are like me, you enjoy listening to commercial received without error: 0 (1800 bps) / 0 (1200 bps) / 2 (600
and military aircraft, and MultiPSK has several very useful bps) / 17 (300 bps)MPDUs received with errors: 0 (1800
modes for this purpose. One of favorites is HFDL mentioned bps) / 0 (1200 bps) / 0 (600 bps) / 0 (300 bps)SPDUs re-
above. ceived without error: 36SPDUs received with errors: 1MP-
High Frequency Data Link protocol (HFDL) is defined DUs transmitted: 0 (1800 bps) / 1 (1200 bps) / 0 (600 bps) /
in ARINC specification 635-3, and it is operated by ARINC 0 (300 bps)MPDUs delivered: 0 (1800 bps) / 1 (1200 bps) /
as GLOBALink service through a worldwide network of HF 0 (600 bps) / 0 (300 bps)No frequency change since the last
stations, with a standard protocol: “performance data” HFNPDU<End frame>
Abbreviations:
• Transmissions on HF are in USB on a sub carrier of BDU - Basic Data Unit
1440 Hz with a symbol speed of 1800 baud. HFNPDU - High Frequency Network Protocol Data Unit
• Modulation is 2-PSK, 4-PSK or 8-PSK with effective bit LPDU - Link Protocol Data Unit
rates of 300, 600, 1200 or 1800 bits/sec. MPDU - Media access Protocol Data Unit
• Several ground stations provide global network coverage SPDU - Squitter Protocol Data Unit
and system status updates.
One of the more useful MultiPSK features available
The HFDL network has 17 nodes (ground stations) in modes like HFDL is the [Explanations] button which
covering aviation worldwide, and provides a LDOC (voice attempts to give hints as to some of the abbreviations/codes
network) providing phone patch services and more. Each used in an HFDL transmission. These are offset by parenthe-
node (or ground station) has a pool of frequencies available ses in the body of the text, such as “MPDU (Media access
for use, and chooses two depending on Ionospheric condi- control Protocol Data Unit) – Downlink” and “Frequency
tions. Ground stations transmit a status approximately every number: 4 (11387.0 KHz)” making things a bit clearer. Also
30 seconds on the two active frequencies in order to allow convenient is the [HFDL frequencies] button, which gives
aircraft to know which frequencies are in use. a quick reference set of current frequencies of the ground
stations. This is updated with each software revision of the
Sample HDFL Display Captured with Multipsk 4.28 program.
<300 bps 1.8 sec 1439 Hz> 02/17/2015 18:37:01MPDU A similar mode is VDL2 (VHF Data Link mode 2),
CRC control: OKMPDU (Media access control Protocol which captures automatic transmissions between planes and
Data Unit) - DownlinkLPDU CRC control: OK[Unnum- ground stations exchanging positional and logistical informa-
bered Data LPDU] [Performance data HFNPDU] UTC tion through AVLC frames. These are best captured through
time: 18:36:54 UTC Flight identifier: VS103M Latitude: an SDR Dongle or similar device using PSK, but can be
180-00.00N Longitude: 180-00.00WPerformance version: 3 captured with standard receiver in USB mode. These trans-
“Flight leg”’: 149Ground Station Identifier: 4 - Riverhead, missions are only found on 136.975 MHz.
NEW YORK, USA (072-38-22W 40-52-47N)Frequency
number: 3 (13276.0 KHz) Previous frequency search count: SELCAL
15Current frequency search count: 76Previous HF data
disabled time: 0 secCurrent HF data disabled time: 0 sec- SELCAL (SELective CALling) is another mode, which
MPDUs received without error: 0 (1800 bps) / 0 (1200 bps) is interesting for aircraft monitoring. It is in essence a paging
/ 14 (600 bps) / 28 (300 bps)MPDUs received with errors: 0 system for aircraft. The use of SELCAL allows an aircraft
22  The Spectrum Monitor  September 2015
Figure 8

crew to be notified of incoming communications even when

the aircraft’s radio has been muted. If the tones match the
programmed code for the aircraft then a chime or gong
will sound in the cockpit and a light will come on the radio
panel to indicate which radio (HF1, HF2 etc.) received the
SELCAL tone. If the tones do not match the programmed
ones they are ignored.
On reception, the program overlays the possible let-
ters and the tones are spaced to align with the proper letter. Figure 9
It takes a bit of practice to see the slight level differences
between the two pairs, but eventually it becomes fairly easy Modes, Modes, and More Modes!
and the patterns become obvious. (See Figure 8 above)
On several of the aircraft modes such as SELCAL There are a number of other modes in the program such
and HFDL there are program links to connect with Internet as POCSAG for pager systems, FM/RDS for FM broad-
databases for aircraft identification based on the information cast stations, National Weather Service SAME broadcasts,
received such as the www.airframes.org database which can ACARS, AMTOR/SITOR modes, improved GPS signals
be queried by registration, SELCAL or ICAO identifications. with DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System), NAV-
There are several maritime modes such as GMDSS (Global TEX, ALE (Automatic Link Establishment), Digital Voice
Maritime Distress and Safety System), SYNOP/SHIP, and and Packet/APRS modes.
AIS. The mode AIS (Automatic Identification System) is There are simulated DSP filters that may be applied to
used in VHF for maritime navigation. The main aim of this a variety of signals, as well as channel separation filters for
system is to identify ships and their position. Navigational specialized audio needs. There is an I/Q window when using
information is transmitted from one ship to another or to SDR devices with its own waterfall, modulation schemes,
coast stations. This system secures maritime routes by seek- and sampling frequency adjustments. There are also several
ing to avoid collisions but has other uses such as search and tools available for signal analysis including a dual-trace os-
rescue operations. cilloscope function and a dual-trace spectrum analyzer func-
SYNOP/SHIP mode offers information about surface tion. There are even network/Internet integration options for
meteorological observations from a land station (manned or satellite tracking, webservers for various modes, and more.
automatic) and from other sea stations. You can use as many or as few of the modes/options/
The program will identify the stations and place them functions that fit your needs or the interest. I have little doubt
on a map (there are a number of modes which make use of if a person spends some time learning the interface and
built-in or user defined maps). Just make sure the desired taking advantage of the context-sensitive help, there will be
map option is selected before data reception as the mapping more here to explore than most folks have time for, including
features are usually done in real-time for most modes, which myself! The usual disclaimers apply–I have no connection
make use of this feature. with the author of the program and I did indeed pay full price
GMDSS is designed to transmit search and rescue for my registered version. I can say without hesitation it is
information, logistical information, and bridge-to-bridge some of the best software registration money I have ever
communications between vessels. While the system has been spent, period.
around a number of years, more and more ships are using When I started this article, I noticed on the Yahoo Mul-
this mode as the use of Digital Selective Calling (DSC) VHF tiPSK group a new mode getting ready to be added to the
radios increases. next release (I started this review in late April), which would
A similar system for both maritime and aviation dis- feature a chat mode. Before finishing this piece it has been
tress/SAR services is the ERIB (Emergency Position Indi- tested by users, tweaked, and already added into version
cating Radio Beacon) network located on 406 MHz. There 4.29. This is the mode description given by the author:
are three types of beacons used to transmit distress signals, “The AUTEX modes permit to organize a meeting
EPIRBs (for maritime use), ELTs (for aviation use), and between 2 or 4 people maximum (7 and 13 people in the
PLBs (used for land-based applications). A ship and plane next test versions). Text messages can be transmitted from
database can be used to identify broadcasts and mapping any person to any other person participating to the meeting,
functions are available for this mode as well. in pseudo full duplex (protocol one, not physical one), each
person being sure that his messages will be read by the other

September 2015    The Spectrum Monitor   23 

SSTV image captured with Multipsk via the International Space NOAA weather facsimile depicting wind speed and direction over
Station during the April celebration of Yuri Gagarin, first human the Caribbean Sea from April 2015 via MultiPSK. (Courtesy of
in space. Note the RS0ISS call sign indicating Russian cosmo- the author)
nauts were manning the ham gear.
• Volume of data received or transmitted limited to 60
participants. So, each one will be sure to read all the texts Mb with automatic back-up beyond 60 Mb.
sending by the other participants to the meeting. It is a mode
without errors (if an error is detected, the frame is re-trans- I would call this revision impressive! I would also
mitted until complete reception). So, it can be considered as add questions within the MultiPSK Yahoo group are often
an extended ARQ mode.” answered by the program author himself, and he is extremely
And, as an example of “minor” version releases, here is responsive to bug reports and requests for software addi-
the list of changes from 4.29 to 4.29.1: tions.

• New message mode in all ARQ modes Wrap-up

The “Message mode” button, in pushed position, allows
the user, for all “ARQ” modes (Packet FSK110-300-1200 I hope you will give this program a try. I am confident
bauds/Packet PSK31-63-250-1200 bauds, PAX, PAX2, you will find it as amazing as I do. I have it running on
141A(ALE), ALE400, AUTEX 2, 4, 7,13) to prepare the two old XP machines (1.7 MHz Dual-core Intel processor
message and then to send it when it is ready. The transmis- laptop and a 2.4 MHz Pentium 4 desktop), a Win7 2.4 MHz
sion is done with the “Send” button or with the <Esc> key. quad-core AMD machine, and a Win10 quad-core Intel I5
If not in “message mode”, the message is sent as and when machine. I have been extremely happy with the performance
it is written (previous way to do). In “message mode”, the on all the machines and have yet to find it stressed by low re-
“Transmission on <Enter>” option is ignored. sources. My only problem is the lack of additional antennas
so I can have more instances of the program running! There
• Display of the GMDSS coast stations positions on are more modes to track than I have antennas!
maps. This is indeed the Swiss Army knife of digital mode
software, and I cannot wait to see what Patrick will come up
• Update of the Shipdata.txt file and display of the with next!
ship type, if known, in GMDSS and AIS.
Learn more about MultiPSK here: http://multipsk.eqth.info
• The “CPU” button (at the top of the RX/TX screen)
gives the number of cores of the CPU, followed by the CPU
theoretical speed and the volume of data (RX/TX). It allows
the activation of the CPU and memory measurements of the
PC.

• New macro <ALIGN> (for “Alignment on an AF

frequency”) allows an action equivalent to push on the
“Align” button of the “Transceiver” form.

T S M
24  The Spectrum Monitor  September 2015