Interest Groups
Digital Modes
It could be argued that digital communications has been around since the mid-1800's when Morse code, which uses patterns of tones to represent characters, came into use.
However digital communications exploded in the amateur radio hobby, as in the rest of the communications world, in the latter part of the 20th century. It is still evolving at a blistering pace.
Faces of Digital
Elsewhere on our site you can read about various ways in which digital communications are used in our hobby for internet linking - including remote operation - and about a digital protocol called APRS that is typically used for short bursts of digital information.
In addition to these, a family of digital communications methods are used for more-lengthy, even conversational, communications.
Life Before Twitter
Before Twitter, IM, and SMS, we had PSK31, Hellschreiber, and Pactor, along with numerous other digital modes. While all of them share at least one advantage over radio voice communications - they permit communications with weak signals and/or in adverse conditions - each of the digital modes has strengths and weaknesses. Invention and experimentation with them is in the nature of our hobby, leading to innovation which has benefitted not only the hobby but radio-based communications generally.
Like the recently-popular cell-phone-based digital modes, digital-mode communication in the amateur world is usually nearly-instant, sending text and other information around the world in seconds. Transmission of pictures and other binary files is supported by some of the modes. And since these modes are radio-based, they can be used when the internet and/or cell phone networks fail.
Faster, Clearer, Quieter
Some amateurs prefer using digital modes over other modes. Digital-mode communication can be faster, clearer, and quieter than communication by voice or Morse code. Since much of the digital communications software used in this aspect of the hobby supports macros, which can automatically generate and transmit pre-configured strings of information, a ham can sit relaxed at his/her station, the only sound being the quiet "click-click" of the computer mouse, while participating in the furious competition of an international digital-mode contest.
There are many facets to the amateur radio hobby, and this is but one of them. Some of our members are avid users and contesters in the digital modes, and are happy to share their knowledge with others. For more information, come out to one of our meetings or contact us via our Contact Us page.
