PSK31 Interface
This interface circuit is a compilation of the information
contained in the HELP files found with the distribution of digipan 1.6d with
some changes mainly due to available parts from the “junque box” and or
improvements due to the simplicity of the above-mentioned descriptions. The parts and a little project box to put it
in are easily obtained at most any Radio Shack, Fry’s Electronics or other
electronic hobby outlets.
The commercial units that are available on the market are a
bit more complicated using relays and opto-isolators and audio transformers but
of course they cost a bit more and some require an external power source. I haven’t as of yet run into a situation
that would require the more costly circuit so if the cost of a commercial unit
is keeping you from trying some of the sound board modes here is a cheap and
dirty way to get in on the fun.
The circuit is a bi-direction audio coupling circuit and a
dc coupling circuit that
1.
Couples and controls the receiver output circuit to the
sound card of a personal computer (PC).
2.
Couples and controls the PC sound card output to the
audio input of the transmitter.
3.
A circuit that converts a control lead on the RS-232
serial interface output on the PC to a ground going signal for a positive
potential Push to Talk (PTT) circuit.
This circuit is not just for PSK31 but can be used for any
mode that can be generated and decoded by a PC sound card. Software is available for any digital mode
from RTTY to AMTOR and Pactor.
The receive circuit (Red)
Originally I just connected the output of the receiver
directly to the input of the sound card through the interface. The software control of the waterfall
display level had to be placed at the bottom of the control display and was
very touchy to adjust. I incorporated a
potentiometer in the interface to adjust the output level to the sound card to
a level that is easier to adjust. Quite
a few transceivers have an accessory jack(s) on the rear panel for connecting a
digital terminal unit (TU) for RTTY or Packet.
The audio out is most often a fixed level not controlled by the AF Gain
control with a typical level of 0.5v p-p.
This is quite high for most sound cards. If you are forced to use the speaker out connection then this
control is probably not necessary.
The receive control is a set it and forget it control. Subsequent units I replace the control with
a T-pad using two 470 ohm and one 100 ohm resistors. 1/8 or ¼ watt are quite adequate in this circuit. Use what you
have. It’s a “junque box” project remember.
The transmitting circuit (Green)
The transmitting side has a few more parts in it. The control of the input level to the mike
input has to be controlled very carefully.
The output of the sound card is way to hot to feed it directly into the
mike jack (or the audio in of the accessory jack) without causing trouble. Originally I used a 5K pot. but the
adjustment was very touchy. In the next
unit I found a 500 ohm pot and series it with a fixed resistor gave me some
latitude of adjustment. A ten turn trim
pot. of 1 or 2K could be used here for a set it and forget it control but
personally I like an external control for the transmit.
The .001 mfd capacitor is added to bypass any RF energy to
ground. A little ceramic will work
here. The .22 mfd capacitor is used to
prevent any voltage from the mike input to couple to the sound card. Some equipment has a small voltage on the
mike input to power an electret mike.
Any non-polar cap of that value or greater will work here. If yours doesn’t leave it out.
Program control of your transmit/receive function is
provided by activating a lead on your
serial port. The pin 7 (RTS) of the DB9
is negative 8 or more volts when inactive which is shunted to ground by the
diode cutting off the NPN transistor.
When pin 7 is active the voltage becomes positive and back biases the
diode and cause the transistor to saturate pulling the push to talk (PTT) line
to ground and activating the transmitter.
Components here are not critical. The series resistor can be 1.8 to 2.2Kohm. The diode is a common
silicon diode like a 1N4004 or 1N4148.
Any NPN transistor like a MPS2222A or equivalent will work fine. The LED was an addition on the second unit
as I liked seeing if the computer was activating the RTS lead but it is
optional and easily left out.
The Input/Output (I/O)
When I changed from my MFJ multi-mode TU. to the AEA
DSP-232-MB I found that the 5 pin DIN pinout was the same for both units. I
decided that to keep from having to make up another cable I would use a 5 pin
DIN jack on the interface so that I could just move the cable from the back of
the TU to the interface when I wanted to work PSK. You may not want to do it this way because you have different
interfacing requirements on your rig. One version I saw just brought out a
cable and put a 8-pin mike connector on the end as both the audio in and out
were on the front of the transceiver so you can see that your situation will
dictate your connecting scheme.
On the computer side you have less flexibility. I chose not to put connectors on the
interface box but brought out two cables of sufficient length to reach the
location of the computer through grommets.
On the one cable I wired a DB9 female connector as shown in the
schematic. If your computer has a DB25 serial port, see the inset on the
schematic. On the other cable I split
out two pair for a couple of inches, tight twisted them and terminated them in
1/8 stereo phone plugs as shown (wire to tip and sleeve only).
The DB9 will plug into your serial port and the phono plugs
will plug into the jacks marked either line in or mike and line out or
speaker. As a precaution, I put a split
ferrite bead on each cable. I colored
my phono plugs red and green as an old navy man I can always remember, “red,
right, returning.”
Your software help files will give you more detailed
instructions on how to optimize but basically you start by checking out the
receive side. Turn on your transceiver
and tune to a quiet place on a band.
Optimize your waterfall display by adjusting the level to the sound card
for a light speckle of yellow on the blue background. Now tune to 14.070 MHz USB. You will hear a number of tones
(usually) that have a funny warbling sound. You should see a fuzzy line moving
down the display. Use the mouse to move the red diamond over the line and text
should appear in the receive box.
This next step should be done into a dummy load for best
results. Setup your transceiver with
the mike gain control where you would normally set it for a phone contact using
your mike. Set the interface transmit control to minimum. Under the mode menu on the screen
select (left click) tune. The
waterfall display will stop and the transceiver should change to transmit.
Observe the power output meter and slowly increase the interface control until
the meter reads about 50% of the rated output of your transceiver. Terminate tune mode. Left click on TX (at
the bottom of the screen) or the T/R at the top and monitor your
transmit. You will here a warble
sound. Press a key on the keyboard. The
warble will change every time you do and you will get a feed back on your
screen of the key pressed. Toggle back
to RX and the waterfall display
will start working again. Switch back to the antenna and start having fun. Don’t worry about being a newcomer. Most people you talk (type) to will be a
newcomer too.
The unit can be built in a number of different ways. Perf board is popular and easy. Just the
leads of the component through the holes and run wire between them. Hot melt
components upside down a square of unetched circuit board “dead bug”
style. The circuit layout is not
critical so any mode will work. Don’t
panic if it doesn’t work first time.
It’s simple circuitry and only a wiring error or a broken wire causes it
to malfunction. Use your imagination
and have fun building something.
There are a number of software programs on the Internet.
Some are freeware and some give you a limited demo and you can, for a nominal
fee, get a working copy by download or on disk. My experience has been limited to digipan, a freeware program so
I can’t recommend anything.
To put out a clean PSK signal on the air requires a control
of the level of the signal applied to the input. The trouble in a lot of cases is the audio input amplifier. The transceivers that use conventional mikes
have high gain input stages. The mike gain control is usually located at a
later stage so over driving this input amp will drive it into non linearity
causing distortion on your signal and high IMD (intermodulation distortion)
products. A clean PSK signal will look
like a single railroad track when no keyboard input is occurring. A distorted signal will have additional side
tracks sprouting out the sides. These
signals are being over driven. While
you should be OK using the adjustment procedure outlined above have some one
give you a evaluation and an IMD reading.
You may have to back off the input control a little more to achieve an
acceptable signal. An IMD of –12 to –15
is acceptable but an IMD below –20 is very good and something to strive for.
Read the HELP files that come with digipan. They are very informative.
Ed Clulow N7TL