Command Reference

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Chapter 3. Command Reference

The main KPSK window

The File Menu

File->Send File (Ctrl+O)

Provides a popup menu to select a text file for transmission via PSK31. Text files can be used for creating "brag" files explaining your station setup or announcing a special event station. It may also be useful for traffic handling where a text message has been received and must be forwarded. This file MUST only contain normal ASCII characters.

File->Send CQ (Alt+1)

Switches the application/radio into TX and sends the following message:


               CQ CQ CQ de <MYCALL> <MYCALL> <MYCALL>
               CQ CQ CQ de <MYCALL> <MYCALL> <MYCALL>
               CQ CQ CQ de <MYCALL> <MYCALL> <MYCALL>
               pse K

This CQ string is currently hard-coded. If you wish to change the length or content, you can do so by editing and recompiling kpsk.cpp. The CQ string is located near line 646. Remember to recompile the file after modification!

File->Auto CQ (Alt+2)

Repeatedly sends the CQ string as above, with a 12 second RX interval between each TX. To cancel the Auto CQ use the button on the countdown dialog. If you wish to change the interval period between each Auto CQ transmission, the interval is hard coded on line 33 of autocqdlg.cpp. Remember to recompile the file after modification!

File->Exit (Ctrl+X)

Saves current configuration settings and terminates the program

The Logbook Menu

Logbook->Save QSO (Ctrl+S)

Saves the information in the QSO information fields. Use this command often if you wish to use the integral logbook functions of KPSK.

Logbook->Erase Fields (Ctrl+E)

Clears all information fields for the current QSO; does not affect database entries that have been saved.

Logbook->Search QSOs (Ctrl+F)

Performs a search of the database, using the currently selected QSO information field for the search term. Any results will be displayed in a separate dialog that will enable editing or deletion of matching entries.

Logbook->Display QSO Information (Ctrl+I)

If information is present within the current QSO fields, and if other database entries for the same callsign are present, this function will present a summary of past QSO information and a variety of other details relative to that call.

The Settings Menu

Settings->Fixedtexts

Enters the fixedtext editing dialog. Use and configuration of fixedtext information is covered in detail in Chapter 2.

Settings->Personals

Displays information fields for Name, Call, QTH, and Maidenhead Locator. This information is used by the menu functions 'Send CQ and 'Auto CQ'. This information is also used in fixedtext construction and for determining station distance, bearing and other details supplied within the Display QSO Information dialog as described earlier in this document.

Settings->Devices

Displays information fields to specify audio/PTT devices (i.e. /dev/audio, /dev/ttyS0) Any changes will require a restart of the application.

Settings->Appearance

The Appearance submenu provides font and color dialogs for customizing the displayed font, the color of the RX and TX fonts and text windows, and the colors used within the waterfall. An option is available for a grayscale waterfall. Grayscale waterfall is particularly good for weak-signal operations. The default configuration for KPSK is to use the grayscale waterfall. To enable the color waterfall, simply select the radio button labeled Color Waterfall.

The scheme used to provide color within the waterfall assigns each pixel a value based on its representative signal intensity, from 0 to 99. The waterfall color labels assigned to pixels of intensity 'x' are: 'background' (0 > x < 1) , 'very low amplitude' (1 > x < 17) , 'low amplitude' (17 > x < 34), 'mid amplitude' (34 > x < 51), 'mid-high amplitude' (51 > x < 68), 'high amplitude' (68 > x < 97 ), and 'very high amplitude' (97 > x < 100). This scheme offers you the opportunity to customize the color scheme of your waterfall at any time of operation.

You can change the color assignment ranges by editing and recompiling waterfall.cpp. The lines of code that affect the color assignments are around lines 466 to 484. If you develop a better color division scheme, please let the development team know by sending a note to <kpsk-develop@lists.sourceforge.net>.

Settings->Band/Frequency

A dialog for entering the actual frequencies (in KHz) used for the various bands of operation. The result of setting an actual frequency for a given band in this dialog is a change in the displayed divisions on the waterfall lineal scale and the frequency display area of the status bar. An example of the configuration of this item, would be to enter 14070.15 in the 20m field. This would change the waterfall lineal scale from the default audio tone scale (0 Hz to 2800 Hz)to an RF scale. If the LSB checkbox is checked for any of the bands, the displayed lineal scale is changed to show LSB frequencies. This setting is linked with the Band dialog of KPSK's logbook area; when bands are changed in the logbook area, the waterfall lineal scale and frequency display are updated to match the entered Band/Frequency information for the band of operation.

Settings->Waterfall Sensitivity

A simple slide button to adjust the waterfall display. A good way to adjust the slider is to experiment; start at the maximum setting (slider at maximum travel to the right) and reduce the sensitivity by moving the slider to the left until weak signals are displayed to your satisfaction.

Settings->Auto Call Check

This configuration dialog enables you to either enable or disable the automatic operation the Call Check function. If enabled in Settings-->Auto Call Check, the state of the Call Check Active checkbox will revert to the enabled state after every instance of Auto CQ, Send CQ, or Save QSO. If enabled, Call Check will cause the first character string after any instance of 'de' to be transcribed into the CALL field of the current QSO logbook fields. The function can be momentarily disabled by manually unchecking the Call Check Active checkbox, presented near the top right corner of the main window. Call Check functions in both TX and RX modes, so it is important to uncheck the Call Check Active box after the desired callsign is first captured. If Call Check is not momentarily disabled, it will overwrite the originally captured callsign with your own callsign when you transmit your call to the distant station!

Automatic operation of the Call Check function can be disabled (leave the configuration dialog box unchecked). If disabled in Settings-->Auto Call Check, the state of the Call Check Active checkbox will revert to the disabled state after every instance of Auto CQ,Send CQ, or Save QSO. The function can be momentarily enabled by manually checking the Call Check Active checkbox presented near the top right corner of the main window.

The Clear RX Menu

Clear RX->Main

Selecting this item will delete all text from Main RX window.

Clear RX->CH 1

Selecting this item will delete all text from Channel 1 Auxiliary RX window.

Clear RX->CH 2

Selecting this item will delete all text from Channel 2 Auxiliary RX window.

Clear RX->CH 3

Selecting this item will delete all text from Channel 3 Auxiliary RX window.

The Clear TX Menu

Clear TX (Alt+T)

Selecting this item will delete all text from the main TX window and clear the TX buffer.

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