Digital Modes

Digital modes on the amateur radio bands. There are many digital modes used in amateur radio that some ops have never used or even heard of so this page contains a listing of the various digital modes available to us. Most of this information is from the author of MultiPSK which is of course Patrick, F6CTE. For more information on MultiPSK please visit Patrick’s web site: MultiPSK. The various weak-signal modes such as JT9, JT65, FT8 and others from K1JT are covered on this page: weak-signal amateur radio modes.

On further investigating of these modes you’ll soon find they each have sub-modes, speeds available. There are also various frequencies where these digital modes may be found. The mode frequencies are on this page: digital mode frequencies. Be sure to read up on the digital modes frequencies, especially for the Olivia digital mode as it will make a difference whether or not you can make any contacts on the mode.

Some years back PSK was the preferred digital mode in amateur radio. You could work DX, rag chew, contest and even rag chew while running low power. By low power that isn’t to say QRP or QRPP although many do run their stations at those power levels. Then the JT modes came along. First to get popular on HF is of course JT65 and operators discovered a whole new world of radio. Although some detractors make mention of the impersonality of the the JT and now the FT8 modes it’s difficult to argue with the number of contacts one can make running sub-50 watt power levels using less than optimum antenna systems.

  • PSK Modes :
    • BPSK31 and QPSK31
    • BPSK63 and QPSK63
    • BPSK125 and QPSK125
    • PSK10
    • PSKFEC31
    • PSKAM10/31/50
    • MT63 (the MT63 is a PSK mode or rather MPSK meaning Multi PSK)
    • CHIP 64 and 128
  • Another reliable PSK mode which is able to send and receive pictures in DIGISSTV :
    • PSK63F
    • PSK220F
    • DIGISSTV “Run” protocol (in PSK63F,PSK220F)
  • Morse Modes :
    • CW (MORSE) in OOK
    • CCW (CW cohérente) in OOK
    • CCW-FSK (CW cohérente in FSK)
  • FSK Modes :
    • RTTY
    • ASCII
    • AMTOR
    • NAVTEX System (for information as it is AMTOR)
    • PACKET (AX25)
    • APRS protocol
    • PACTOR 1
    • 1382
    • GMDSS
  • MFSK Modes:
    • THROB and THROBX
    • MFSK16 and MFSK8
    • OLIVIA
    • CONTESTIA and RTTYM
    • DOMINO DF (“mode by DeFault”)
    • PAX and PAX2
    • MIL-STD-188-141A (“141A”) + Unproto + ARQ FAE+ALE400
    • DMTF
  • Hellschreiber Modes :
    • FELD HELL in OOK
    • PSK HELL in PSK
    • FM HELL in MSK
    • HELL 80 in FSK
  • FSK and MFSK Modes for transmission of picture :
    • SSTV
    • HF FAX
    • SSTV in MFSK16