WinWarbler RTTY Settings

WinWarbler Online Help Contents

The RTTY tab provides settings that control operation when WinWarbler is sending and receiving RTTY via the soundcard using the MMTTY RTTY engine. (screenshot)

enabled check to enable RTTY operation using the soundcard (this setting can only be changed when the main window's Mode panel is set to RTTY)
Model displays the soundcard model name (read only)
Speed specifies the RTTY baud rate (standard value is 45.45)
Default Low Tone

specifies the default RTTY low tone frequency in Hertz, which is set when starting soundcard RTTY operation or by clicking the Default button (standard value is 2125)

  • if operating LSB, this is the mark frequency

  • if operating USB, this is the space frequency
Shift specifies the default RTTY shift in Hertz, which is set when starting soundcard RTTY operation or by clicking the Default button (standard value is 170)
unshift on space check to return to letters mode after receiving a space character

 

reverse panel

transmit check to transmit reverse RTTY (ignored if modulation is FSK)
receive check to receive reverse RTTY

Changes to either of the settings in this panel will update the reverse checkboxes in the Main window's Receive and Transmit panels.

 

Keyboard mode panel

character check to transmit each character as it is entered
word check to wait until a word has been entered to transmit it 

 

Modulation and transceiver mode panel

Settings on the AFSK and FSK sub-panels determine which form of modulation, which sideband, which transceiver mode, what frequency compensation, and what optimal offset is used during Soundcard RTTY operations:

AFSK sub-panel

LSB

  • configures WinWarbler for AFSK RTTY operation on the lower sideband

  • selects the specified transceiver mode (if Commander is running and soundcard RTTY is active, switches the transceiver to the specified mode)

  • directs the MMTTY engine to generate AFSK via the soundcard

  • sets the external modem's RTTY modulation setting to lower sideband (so that if simultaneous soundcard RTTY and external RTTY modem operation is utilized, both mechanisms use the same sideband)

  • transmit tones can be reversed

USB

  • configures WinWarbler for AFSK RTTY operation on the upper sideband

  • selects the specified transceiver mode (if Commander is running and soundcard RTTY is active, switches the transceiver to the specified mode)

  • directs the MMTTY engine to generate AFSK via the soundcard

  • sets the external modem's RTTY modulation setting to upper sideband (so that if simultaneous soundcard RTTY and external RTTY modem operation is utilized, both mechanisms use the same sideband)

  • transmit tones can be reversed
Mark Offset an offset (in Hertz)  that aligns the displayed RTTY receive frequency with a known mark frequency when operating in AFSK mode; negative values are accepted. This can be used to compensate for an offset between your transceiver's VFO display and its actual frequency.
Optimal Offset specifies the optimal receive offset frequency (in Hertz) used by the Optimal Offset function when operating in AFSK mode
  • when the Optimal Offset function is invoked, the transceiver is QSY'd so that optimal receive offset falls midway between the mark and space frequencies


FSK sub-panel

LSB

  • configures WinWarbler for FSK RTTY operation on the lower sideband

  • selects the specified transceiver mode (if Commander is running and soundcard RTTY is active, switches the transceiver to the specified mode)

  • directs the MMTTY engine to generate FSK via the port specified by the FSK Control

  • sets the external modem's RTTY modulation setting to lower sideband (so that if simultaneous soundcard RTTY and external RTTY modem operation is utilized, both mechanisms use the same sideband)

  • transmit tones cannot be reversed
USB

  • configures WinWarbler for FSK RTTY operation on the upper sideband

  • selects the specified transceiver mode (if Commander is running and soundcard RTTY is active, switches the transceiver to the specified mode)

  • directs the MMTTY engine to generate FSK via the port specified by the FSK Control

  • sets the external modem's RTTY modulation setting to upper sideband (so that if simultaneous soundcard RTTY and external RTTY modem operation is utilized, both mechanisms use the same sideband)

  • transmit tones cannot be reversed
Mark Offset offsets  (in Hertz)  that align the displayed RTTY receive frequency with a known mark frequency when operating in FSK LSB mode or FSK USB mode; negative values are accepted. These can be used to compensate for an offset between your transceiver's VFO display and its actual frequency. If your transceiver's VFO displays the RTTY mark frequency, then the correct value for this setting is -2125.
Optimal Offset specifies the optimal receive offset frequency ( in Hertz) used by the Optimal Offset function when operating in FSK mode
  • when the Optimal Offset function is invoked, the transceiver is QSY'd so that optimal receive offset falls midway between the mark and space frequencies
FSK Control specifies the means by which FSK information is conveyed to the transceiver
None no FSK information is conveyed
COM1-8 FSK information is conveyed via the specified serial port's TxD pin (sets the PTT port to this serial port)
COM9-16 can not be used for soundcard RTTY operation
EXTFSK FSK and PTT information is conveyed via the EXTFSK application, which can utilize selected serial port or parallel port output pin (sets the PTT port to "None")

 

Tuning display panel

waterfall selects a waterfall tuning display
spectrum selects a spectrum tuning display
frequency trace width determines the width in pixels of the tuning display traces that indicate transmit and receive frequencies 
gain determines the sensitivity of the waterfall and spectrum displays
waterfall display specifies how signals in the waterfall tuning display are colored
mono specifies a monochrome waterfall tuning display
synthetic specifies a false color waterfall tuning display, using a color lookup table devised by AE4JY 
XY display

 

enabled enables the XY tuning display in the RTTY receive panel
reverse rotation reverses the direction that the XY tuning display's crossed ellipses rotate when you change frequency

 

Clicking the MMTTY Setup button displays MMTTY's Setup dialog, which provides low-level control of the RTTY modulator, demodulator. and associated mechanisms; for a description of these settings, consult the MMTTY help file. If you have more than one soundcard on your PC, you must use the MMTTY Setup dialog to chose which soundcard is used for soundcard RTTY operation.

Note that controls in the MMTTY Setup dialog allow you to enable or disable Automatic Frequency Control and the Bandpass Filter. WinWarbler's AFC and BPF control boxes will not reflect changes made via the MMTTY Setup dialog until you click the MMTTY Setup dialog's OK button.

While the MMTTY Setup dialog provides control of settings otherwise not accessible from within WinWarbler, it also results in there being two different ways to specify some parameters, like the serial port used to control PTT. Making a change from either WinWarbler's Config window or MMTTY's Setup dialog will have the advertised effect, but its the WinWarbler settings that persist from one operating session to another.

 

Defining Custom RTTY Sub-bands

If sub-band highlighting is enabled, the frequency scale above the tuning display is rendered in green for frequencies within RTTY sub-bands, and in red for frequencies outside of RTTY sub-bands. By default, RTTY sub-bands are defined by the contents of the file DefaultRTTYBands.txt in WinWarbler's Databases folder. Each line in this file defines the RTTY sub-band within a named band:

160M, 1.800, 2.000
80M,  3.500, 3.750
40M,  7.000, 7.150
30M, 10.100, 10.150
20M, 14.000, 14.150
17M, 18.068, 18.110
15M, 21.000, 21.200
12M, 24.890, 24.930
10M, 28.000, 28.300
6M,  50.100, 54.000
2M, 144.100, 148.000

To specify your own sub-bands, make a copy of DefaultRTTYBands.txt in the Databases folder and name it RTTYBands.txt. Edit the frequencies in RTTYBands.txt as desired, and save your changes; you can also define sub-bands for the 6M and 2M bands. In the Main window's Mode panel, select a mode other than RTTY, and then select RTTY. the tuning display's frequency scale will be colored as specified by your custom sub-band definitions.