RSQ is an attempt to improve signal reporting information for the various PSK modes and may be used as an alternative to the traditional RST report.
Just as traditional RST describes the tone of a CW signal
in terms of the presence of unwanted modulation heard as hum, key
clicks, chirping etc, so RSQ describes the quality of a PSK
signal in terms of the presence of unwanted modulation observed as visible
unwanted sidebands.
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R5 |
95% + Perfectly readable |
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R4 |
80% Practically no difficulty |
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R3 |
40% Considerable difficulty |
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R2 |
20% Occasional words
distinguishable |
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R1 |
0% Unreadable |
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Strength S meters measure the
average strength of all signals in the receiver passband. So for
situations where multiple signals are present, and NB IF filtering is not
applied, then RSQ suggests a visual measure of relative waterfall
trace or spectrum amplitude is more meaningful for the strength of
the decoding signal. |
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S9 |
Very strong trace |
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S7 |
Strong trace |
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S5 |
Moderate trace |
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S3 |
Weak trace |
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S1 |
Barely perceptible trace |
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RSQ describes the quality
of a PSK signal in terms of the presence of unwanted modulation observed
on the waterfall or spectrum as visible unwanted sidebands. Note re Strong Signals: When viewing very
strong signals, well-suppressed additional sidebands may be seen above
the noise floor. In this case, an IMD reading may assist in determining
their status. If the IMD reading is about –25db or better, then any
additional sidebands can be assumed as below the interference threshold,
disregarded, and a Q9 report given. If the IMD reading is about –20db or
worse, then the additional sideband modulation is undesirable, may cause
interference to other stations, and an appropriate value from the PSK
Quality table can be applied to the signal report. Note re IMD: It is
suggested that IMD readings only be given to the other operator when
requested, and then only as a supplementary report. This is because IMD
is only likely to be valid for strong signals at idle, and after careful
adjustment of receiver settings. Click here for further detailed
information on measuring IMD from the PSB website. . Unwanted sidebands |
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Q9 |
No visible pairs (Clean signal) |
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Q7 |
One barely visible pair |
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Q5 |
One easily visible pair |
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Q3 |
Multiple visible pairs |
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Q1 |
Splatter over much of the spectrum |
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This is an experimental web page, the content of which is under consideration to compliment the recently developed PSB reporting process 73, de Graeme VK3BGH |
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