Fldigi

Fldigi

Fldigi main window snapshot
Developer(s)

Dave Freese (W1HKJ) Stelios Bounanos (M0GLD), RemI Chateauneu (F4ECW), John Douyere (VK2ETA), Stefan Fendt (DL1SMF), Leigh Klotz (WA5ZNU), John Phelps (KL4YFD),

Andrej Lajovic (S57LN)
Initial release 2007
Stable release
3.23.16 / 11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)
Written in Fltk (GUI), C, C++
Operating system Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, FreeBSD[1]
Platform IA-32, x64, IA-64, armel, armhf, mips, mipsel, PowerPC, s390, s390x, SPARC
Available in English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Polish, Dutch
Type Amateur radio and DSP
License GPL version 3.0
Website sourceforge.net/projects/fldigi/

Fldigi, the Fast Light Digital modem application,[2] is a free and open-source program which allows an ordinary computer's sound card to be used as a simple two-way data modem. The software is mostly used by amateur radio operators who connect the microphone and headphone connections of an amateur radio SSB transceiver or an FM two way radio to the computer's headphone and microphone connections, respectively.[3][4]

This interconnection creates a "soundcard defined radio" whose available bandwidth is limited by the soundcard's samplerate and the external radio's bandwidth.

Such communications are normally done on the shortwave amateur radio bands in modes such as PSK31, RTTY, Olivia, and CW (morse code). Increasingly the software is also being used on VHF and UHF frequencies.

Using this software, it is possible for amateur radio operators to communicate worldwide while using only a few watts of RF power.

Fldigi software is also used for amateur radio emergency communications when other communication systems fail due to natural disaster or power outage. Transfer of small files, emails, and ICS forms are possible using inexpensive radio hardware.[5][6][7]

Digital Modes Supported

Mode Name Speeds Supported Custom Modes
Morse Code / CW 5 - 50 words-per-minute Yes
PSK 31, 63, 63F, 125, 250, 500, 1000 No
FSQ 2, 3, 4.5, 6 No
IFKP 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 No
Contestia 4/125, 4/250, 8/250, 4/500, 8/500, 16/500, 8/1000, 16/1000, 32/1000, 64/1000 Yes
DominoEX 4, 5, 8, 11, 16, 22, 44, 88 No
Hellschreiber Feld Hell, Slow Hell, Feld Hell X5, Feld Hell X9, FSK Hell, FSK Hell-105, Hell 80 No
MFSK 4, 8, 11, 16, 22, 31, 32, 64, 64L, 128, 128L No
MT63 500S, 1000S, 2000S, 500L, 1000L, 2000L No
Navtex Navtex No
Olivia 4/250, 8/250, 4/500, 8/500, 16/500, 8/1000, 16/1000, 32/1000, 64/2000 Yes
QPSK 31, 63, 125, 250, 500 No
8PSK 125, 250, 500, 1000, 125FL, 250FL, 125F, 250F, 500F, 1000F, 1200F No
PSKR 125R, 250R, 500R, 1000R No
RTTY 45.45/170, 50/170, 75/170, 75/850 Yes
SYNOP SYNOP No
THOR 4, 5, 8, 11, 16, 22, 25x4, 50x1, 50x2 100 No
SITORB SitorB No
Throb / ThrobX 1, 2, 4   /   X1, X2, X4 No
WEFAX IOC576, IOC288[8] No

Portability

Fldigi is based on the lightweight portable graphics library FLTK and the C/C++ language. Because of this, the software can be compiled to run on many different operating systems such as:

The software is also written to be highly portable and can be used on many CPU architectures.

amd64 armel armhf i386
ia64 mips mipsel powerpc
s390 s390x sparc

Sound Systems

Multiple sound systems are supported by Fldigi, allowing the program to abstract the soundcard hardware across differing hardware and operating systems.

Features

RSID

To identify the mode being transmitted a signal called an RSID, or Reed-Solomon Identifier, can be transmitted before the data. Using this identifier the receiving software can automatically switch to the proper mode for decoding. The assigning of these identifiers to new modes is coordinated to ensure inter-operation between programs.[14] Currently 7 soundcard-digital-modem programs support this standard.

External Programs

Fldigi allows external programs to attach and send / receive data by connecting to port 7322 or 7342. When used this way, Fldigi and the computer's soundcard are acting as a "softmodem" allowing text or data sent on one computer to be transferred using the wireless radio link in-between. The following programs have a history of use with Fldigi as the underlying modem:

Awards and Recognitions

At the 2014 Dayton Hamvention the project lead, Dave Freese (W1HKJ), was recognized with the Technical Excellence Award "for his development and distribution of the Fast Light Digital Modem Application (fldigi) family of programs for use in amateur and emergency communications."[15]

In The News

In 2014 the group Anonymous released a communications tool named AirChat, which used Fldigi as the underlying modem. This provided a low speed yet reliable data connection using only moderate radio hardware. The AirChat software allows for anonymous transmissions of both encrypted and unencrypted messages over unencrypted channels.[16][17][18]

Notable users

Following the successful tests by the Voice of America's VOA Radiogram program, international and government shortwave broadcasters began testing and experimenting with digital data over shortwave broadcast channels using the Fldigi software. [19] These tests led to regular weekly digital broadcasts by the broadcasters listed below.


The Fldigi suite of programs has become popular within the U.S. Army and U.S Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio System.[24][25]


The software is also utilized by some organizations for both routine and disaster/emergency relief services.

Decodeable Broadcasts

The broadcasts listed below are transmitted on a regular schedule and can be decoded using Fldigi.

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Beginners' Guide to Fldigi". w1hkj.com.
  2. ↑ "Documentation/FAQ – fldigi". fedorahosted.org.
  3. ↑ http://www.linuxjournal.com/magazine/rolling-your-own-digital-amateur-radio
  4. ↑ http://www.linuxjournal.com/magazine/amateur-radio-survival-guide-linux-users
  5. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=WeGMAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=fldigi&pg=PA228#v=onepage&q&f=false
  6. ↑ http://www.arrl.org/files/file/On%20the%20Air/Tutorials/Introduction_to_NBEMS_ARRL.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.w1hkj.com/NBEMS/PublicService.pdf
  8. ↑ How Do I Decode a Weather Facsimile (WEFAX) Off of my Shortwave?
  9. ↑ FreeBSD port
  10. ↑ https://www.liltechdude.com/portfolio/Data_Networks.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.w1hkj.com/NBEMS/PublicService.pdf
  12. ↑ http://pskmail.org/
  13. ↑ http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.22/config_io_page.html
  14. ↑ http://www.w1hkj.com/RSID_description.html
  15. ↑ http://www.arrl.org/news/dayton-hamvention-announces-2014-award-winners
  16. ↑ http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/anonymous-airchat-aims-allow-communication-without-needing-phone-internet-access-1445888
  17. ↑ http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/25/anonymous-airchat/
  18. ↑ http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/05/14/airchat-secure-wireless-from-anonymous/
  19. ↑ International Broadcasters Reconsider Shortwave
  20. ↑ Radio Australia transmitting digital radiograms this weekend, June 8 – 9
  21. ↑ http://voaradiogram.net/post/148501070787/voa-radiogram-6-7-august-2016-in-thor25x4-news
  22. ↑ How to decode WBCQ’s digital message
  23. ↑ The Mighty KBC tests 9,450 kHz and will send a digital message this weekend
  24. ↑ http://www.af-mars.org/public/
  25. ↑ https://txarmymars.org/downloads/Basic-Soundcard-Training.pdf
  26. ↑ W1HKJ honored for fldigi
  27. ↑ Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System (NBEMS)
  28. ↑ FLDIGI and NBEMS
  29. ↑ https://www.capmembers.com/emergency_services/communications-blog/?new_on_hf_code_group_messages&show=entry&blogID=1407
  30. ↑ https://www.skywarnforum.com/threads/hawaii-skywarn-net-activation.23582/
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