The control is divided into 4 major areas:

• Control Buttons including user definable MACRO buttons,
• The receive data window will also provides a echo to each character sent by the host,
• The transmit data window for inputting characters to be sent to the host and then over the radio when TRANSMIT is enabled, and
• The received spectrum waterfall and status indicators for the actual transmit frequency and the quality of the signal lock of the PSK demodulator software.

Getting Started:

First set up the radio:

• Select the PSK mode in the radio
  
• Select a frequency for PSK operations.  While most PSK is still concentrated in 20meters, there are pockets of activity on both 80m, 40m and occasionally on 30m. Set the frequency to the BOTTOM of the desired PSK range, e.g. 14070kHz and this will all PSK operations in the USB audio range from approximately 14070.300 - 14072.800kHz, or approximately a 2500 Hz range. Typical frequencies you might use are 14070kHz, 7070kHz, 3580kHz
  .
• Initially the RF power setting will be 30W. Since PSK is great for low power and there are many operators using 1 to 5 watt PSK only transceivers made from kits, there is not need to crack up the wattage. You can increase the power using the power drop down control. Maximum power may be limited by the remote stations, e.g. W4MQ has set a 75W max, so even if you select 100W it will be reduced to 75W.
  

You should see a waterfall display with signals appearing varying colors from light blue (weak) to yellow (stronger).

• Left clicking your mouse on a signal should start the demodulation process and you should see characters appearing in the Receive Window. Note that in addition to the left clicking there are two arrow buttons at the top of the waterfall that can be used to automatically search the spectrum and find signals. They work, but not perfectly!!.
  
• The two indicators below the waterfall are indicative of the demodulation process. The LEVEL is a measure of the signal to noise in the Demod and the QUALITY is a measure of the phase lock. For those expert operators who are used to the phase angle display, this is just a single number version. Thus high quality is a measure of nearly constant phase, i.e. great signal strength and stability, while a varying quality indicator is a sign of a varying phase, thus lots of phase noise and resultant Demod errors.
  
• The scale above the waterfall represents the audio passband of the USB signal. Please refrain from transmitting below 300Hz in the passband. The yellow frequency at the right of the scale is the current cursor level.
  
• The PSK FREQ indication on the bottom is the actual transmit frequency, i.e. radio frequency plus the audio frequency offset
  
• The IMD provides the Intermodulation Distortion measurement. This is an indication of the quality(width, sidelobes,etc) of the received signal spectrum. Values less than -10 are considered poor, -10 to -20 fair, -20 to -30 good, and less then -30 outstanding.
  

Your first transmission

• Select a clear frequency on the waterfall and LEFT click the   mouse
  
• Click the TRANSMIT button. You will see the button change color and title and also see the TRANSMIT illuminated red over the Transmit Window. Also the receive waterfall will stop when transmitting. 
  
• Start typing in the Transmit Window
  
• When all your data has been sent, i.e. has appeared in the Receive Window, then click the STOP XMIT button. There will be a 2 second carrier tail following the command.  So those red indicators should take a few seconds to go off and the waterfall to restart.
  

Now while that was not hard,  you probably don't want to retype CQ each and every time it is sent. Also repetitive actions like signing on and off could be automated. Thus the invention of MACROs

MACROS

Now that you are ready to go, it is good to set up a few MACROs to reduce the tedium of continually typing in the same thing and to make the switchover between transmit and receive a little easier. For those operations used to the extensive MACRO capability of the DigiPan, etc this interface will appear quite simple, but it should be adequate for normal remote ops (e.g. non-contesting).Several MACROs used at W4MQ are shown below

• <TX>  -- Start Transmit
• <RX>  -- End Transmit
• <MC> -- Insert My Callsign here
• <OC> -- Insert the Other Callsign here (There is a little box just above the waterfall to input the other callsign.) Also double clicking the right mouse button over a callsign will capture it an put it into this box.

Note that I have chosen to put my transmissions on new lines and to end them on new lines so the received text will not run into my own transmissions in the Receive Window. Experiment, experiment, experiment!!

Each MACRO is settable by selecting the MACRO button using the RIGHT mouse click. The editing windows illustrated above then appear. Remember to SAVE when you are finished.

To activate the MACRO you must either LEFT click on the MACRO button or use the key combinations CNTL+1 through CNTL+ 0 to activate the MACRO (you must use the  standard number keys and not the numeric keypad). The top five buttons are numbered  as 1 through 5 and the bottom five buttons are numbered as  6 through 10 (0),

Abort

The ABORT button will immediately stop the transmit at the host end and clear out all transmit buffers. If you hit a MACRO by error or the wrong stuff is going out-- this feature is very convenient!!

Operating Hints

• Short CQs
  
• Text like transmissions. Those 'formatted' lists of equipment take too much time. Does anyone really care or need to know what soundcard you are using anyway!!
  
• Please set  up a MACRO to explain the Remote Base that you are using
  
• Lots of RagChewing -- PSKer's like to talk!!
  

Using the Narrow IF Filter

I have found that even with the very efficient bandlimiting capabilities of the PSK demodulation software, the quality of receptions for marginal signals can be significantly enhanced by limiting the IF bandwidth. Previously most SSB receivers provided only voice bandwidth IF filters, e.g. 2.4kHz, or even 1.8kHz. Today many radios allow even narrower filters for SSB, but still not the 100 or 200 Hz that are available  for CW. The Kachina radio (while now extinct) allowed any IF  filter to be used on any mode. While the TS2000 is not that versatile, it does provide a variable IF filer capability which can be adjusted to a minimum bandwidth of approximately 400Hz (unfortunately centered at 1200Hz above the carrier frequency). Through the magic of computer control and software this is brought to the PSK interface transparent to the user. When the narrow is selected, the radio actually adjusts its receive frequency so the desired signal is at 1200Hz in the passband (note transmit does not change) and the waterfall display is adjusted to that the filter appears to be centered on the original signal.  Thus with a little software "lights and magic" the IF filter bandwidth is made smaller and reception is improved!! The example below shows the results.