dl-fldigi/fldigi_doxygen/user_src_docs/OperatingControls.txt

/**
\page  operating_controls_page Operating Controls and Displays

\tableofcontents


\image html fldigi-controls.png "FLDIGI Controls"
\image latex fldigi-controls.png "FLDIGI Controls" width=6.0in
<br>

The main display for fldigi is the waterfall display shown above in color
and in scale x1.
<br>

The button <b>WF</b> toggles the display between a waterfall, a spectrum
display and an oscilloscope type view of the Rx and Tx signals.  This
button acts as a rotary.  Left clicking moves the display selection in one
direction and right clicking in the other direction.  The three display modes
are <b>WF</b> - waterfall, <b>FFT</b> - spectrum (Fast Fourier Transform)
and <b>Sig</b> - oscilloscope time domain.  Let the mouse cursor hover over
any one of the controls and a small hint box will open to help you navigate
the various controls.
<br>

The <b>Norm</b> button controls the speed of the waterfall drop.   This is
also a rotary type of button control.  The speeds available are SLOW, NORM,
FAST and PAUSE.  The load on the cpu will be directly proportional to this
selection.  If your cpu is slow you might want to select the SLOW
or PAUSE option for the waterfall.
<br>

The scale control (X1, X2, X4) expands or contracts the view into the
fast fourier transform that is displayed on the waterfall or the FFT
display.  fldigi always computes the FFT to a 1 Hz resolution, and
displays the results according to the scale control.
<br>

\image html psk-waterfallx1.png "PSK Waterfall X1 scale"
\image latex psk-waterfallx1.png "PSK Waterfall X1 scale" width=1.75in
<br>

\image html psk-waterfallx2.png "PSK Waterfall X2 scale"
\image latex psk-waterfallx2.png "PSK Waterfall X2 scale" width=2.5in
<br>

\image html psk-waterfallx4.png "PSK Waterfall X4 scale"
\image latex psk-waterfallx4.png "PSK Waterfall X4 scale" width=3.0in
<br>

<br> The next three controls are positional conrols for the waterfall.  The
waterfall can display 4096 data points, where each one can be thought
of as a spectral line at the equivalent Hertz.  The ratio is actually
8000/8192 and is related to the ratio of sound card sampling rate to
Fast Fourier Transform length.  This ratio changes for some modems
that require a sampling rate other than 8000 Hz.  The left arrow key
will shift the display to the right (displays a lower section of the
spectrum).  The right arrow key moves the display higher in frequency.
 These two buttons are repeating buttons.  Hold them down and the
display slews at about 20 shifts / sec.  The center button with
the two vertical block lines is a "center the signal" button.  The current
cursor (red signal cursor in the waterfall) will be centered in the
display area.

<b>NOTE:</b>  these controls are only functional if
the current waterfall or spectrum view is smaller than the full view
available.  This is usually the case when the X2 or X4 expansion
is selected.  But it also might be the case when the width of the
main dialog is reduced so that the waterfall display does not extend
over the entire available width.

Try moving the cursor around in the waterfall
area.  You will see a set of yellow cursor blocks that show the center
point and bandwidth of the current operating mode (psk31 = 31.25 Hz for
example).  To capture a received signal just click near the signal and
the AFC will perform a multi-step acquisition.  This will be very fast
and should not require additional operator intervention.  <i>Casual tuning</i>
 You can take a look at any received signal on the waterfall by
right-clicking and holding the mouse button on or near the signal.
 The modem will begin to decode that signal if it is in the
currently selected mode.  The text will be a unique color on the
Rx text widget so that you can discern the difference between casual
and normal tracking.  Release the mouse button and the tracking
returns to the previously selected normal tracking point.
<br>

<b>Audio History</b> Fldigi maintains a history buffer of the received
audio.  This buffer is approximately 2 minutes in duration.  After tracking
commences on a signal you can decode the audio history for that signal.  The
audio history is invoked by a Ctrl-Left click anywhere on the waterfall.  You
can also invoke the audio history for the casual tuning mode by pressing
Ctrl-Right click on the waterfall.
<br>

The next control is your transceive audio frequency.  In the display above
you can see that the audio signal is 1500 Hz.  The red cursor is
centered beneath 14071.500 Mhz.  The transceiver was set to 14070 Mhz.  The
arrow key pairs move up/down in cycles and tens of cycles.  You can
fine tune the receive point using this control.
<br>

The next two controls to the right of the audio frequency control are for the
receive signal processing.  The one that reads -10 is the max signal
level for the waterfall/spectrum display.  The one that reads 51 is for
the range over which that control will display signals.  Both of these
are in dB.  The default of -10 / 40 is a good starting point, but you
need to adjust these for band conditions.  You can see the impact of
these controls most easily by putting the main display area in the
spectrum mode.  Changes in these controls will effect the
waterfall instantly and for all past history displayed on the
waterfall.  You do not have to wait for new signal data to observe
the affect.
<br>

The <b>QSY</b> button is very specific to transceivers interfaced with either 
hamlib, rigcat or when fldigi is used with flrig.  Each transceiver has a sweet 
spot associated with its bandwidth controller.  For the FT950 is 1500 when the 
transceiver is set to PKT-U.  As the transceivers bandwidth is changed the 
changes occur centered at this frequency.  Set the "Sweet spot" frequency 
(Config / Misc / Sweet Spot) to 1500.  Let's say that I just started copying a 
rare dx at 1758 Hz and I wanted to put the signal at the sweet spot so I could 
easily narrow the receiver bandwidth.  Click on the signal on the waterfall. 
Let the AFC capture and then press the QSY button. The tranceiver frequency 
will be shifted and the fldigi audio tracking point shifted in unison such 
that the signal is now at the receivers sweet spot. Very fast and very 
convenient! The QSY button will be dimmed and not activated if you do not have 
a method of transceiver control enabled for your transceiver.  Right click on 
the QSY button to undo the action.
<br>

This can also be achieved with the \<QSYTO\> and \<QSYFM\> macro tags.  If  you 
combine these two with the \<FILWID:nnn\> command you can center the signal in 
the passband and also narrow the transceiver passband, i.e. when used with the
FT950
<br>
<ul>
<li>\<QSYTO\>\<FILWID:200\></li>
<li>\<QSYFM\>\<FILWID:2400\></li>
</ul>

The <b>Store</b> button allows you to
store, recall and manage mode/frequency pairs.  If you want to
save the current mode and frequency simply left click the button.
 A right click will enable a popup menu from which you can select
a previously stored set.  You can quickly move between modes and
audio sub carrier using this technique.  A shift-left click will
clear the memory.  When the popup menu is visible you left click
on an entry to select it.  You can shift-left click on an entry to
delete that single entry.
<br>

The <b>T/R</b> button should be self-explanatory.  It's your
transmit/receive button. Action is immediate, so if you were transmiting some
text and hit the button the PTT is disabled, the transmit text area cleared
and the program returned to receive mode.  The T/R button is a
"lighted button" that shows when transmitting.  All other lighted buttons
show YELLOW when they are in the active state.
<br>

The <b>Lck</b> button locks the transmit audio frequency to its present
value.  You can then continue to QSY around your transmit position.  I have
used this to reply to a DX station that wanted a +500 Hz  response.  The DX
was at 690 Hz audio, and wanted a response at +500.  I moved the display
cursor (or the audio frequency control) to 1190 Hz.  Hit the Lck button
and then went back to 690 with the waterfall cursor.  Now the program
is receiving on 690 Hz and transmitting on 1190 Hz.  Caught him on the
first try.  Use this button also as a <i>Master Station</i>
control.  Not all rigs are equal in their VFO performance.  Some
exhibit a shift between receive and transmit.  If this occurs then the
stations find themselves chasing each other with every t/r exchange.
 Locking your transmit frequency with this control will inhibit that
from happening.  Be sure to disable the control when that qso is over or
<b>you may forget and transmit over top of another qso!</b>
<br>

If the "Lck" is enabled the TX frequency does not follow the AFC action
applied to the RX frequency.
<br>

For transceivers which are either hamlib or memmap enabled, if the "Qsy"
button is pressed BOTH the RX and TX frequencies are changed to synchronize
to where the RX was positioned.
<br>

Perhaps some numbers will help to make that a little clearer.
<br>


"Lck" | Before "Qsy"    | <br>            | After "Qsy"     | <br>
:----:|:---------------:|:---------------:|:---------------:|:---------------:
<br>  | RX              | TX              | RX              | TX
OFF   | 1002 / 7071.002 | 1002 / 7071.002 | 1500 / 7071.002 | 1500 / 7071.002
ON    | 1002 / 7071.002 | 1000 / 7071.000 | 1500 / 7071.002 | 1500 / 7071.002
ON    | 1000 / 7071.000 | 1800 / 7071.800 | 1500 / 7071.000 | 1500 / 7071.000

<br>

With "Lk" off the TX audio frequency is always synchronized with the
RX frequency.
<br>

With "Lk" on the TX audio frequency is fixed with respect to the RX
frequency UNLESS the "Qsy" button is pressed in which case it shifts to
the RX frequency, the Transceiver VFO is shifted and both the RX and TX
audio frequencies are shifted to put both into the middle of the
transceiver passband.  The TX continues to be locked, but at the new
audio frequency.
<br>

If the "Lk" is ON moving the cursor around will ONLY AFFECT the RX
frequency and NOT the TX frequency.
<br>


\image html sql_kpsql_level_control.png "SQL/KPSQL Level Adjustment"
\image latex sql_kpsql_level_control.png "SQL/KPSQL Level Adjustment" width=1.5in
<br>

The <b>AFC</b> and <b>SQL</b> buttons enable or disable the respective
function in the software.  The slider just above the AFC \& SQL controls
is the squelch level control.  The bar indicator just above it is the
equivalent of received signal level and relates on a 1:1 basis with the
squelch level slider.  The SQL button illuminates YELLOW when the SQL is
selected, but the signal is below the squelch level.  It illuminates
GREEN when the the SQL is selected and the signal is above the squelch level.
<br>

The indicator just to the left of the AFC button is the overload
indicator.  It will be GREEN if your audio drive to sound card is
satisfactory, YELLOW if the audio signal is marginally high and turn red
when it is in overload.  Back down the mixer control or the audio pad from
the rig to computer.  Fldigi will not perform well if the sound card is
over driven.  You will see ghost signals on the waterfall and the modem
decoders will not work correctly.
<br>

\image html sql_kpsql_kiss_io_enabled.png "KISS IO enabled"
\image latex sql_kpsql_kiss_io_enabled.png "KISS IO enabled" width=3.4in
<br>

\image html sql_kpsql_kiss_io_disabled.png "ARQ IO enabled"
\image latex sql_kpsql_kiss_io_disabled.png "ARQ IO enabled" width=3.4in
<br>

<b>KPSQL</b> squelch operates on the power aspect of a signal unlike SQL which
measures the reception quality of the signal. For KPSQL to operate correctly
the waterfall speed setting must set to either NORM or FAST, FAST being
the better option. The level setting slider is active for KPSQL when the
KPSQL button is enabled (indicated by either a yellow or green square on the
button surface).  When disabled the slider adjustment effects SQL. KPSQL
operates using two different threshold detection methods. With
KPSQL button selected the user sets the threshold using the slider to the
right of the vertical level indicator. With KPSQL deselected the detection
level reverts to the histogram method. This method automatically adjust
the threshold to just above the noise level and is used when the utmost
signal sensitivity is desired.

<b>SQL</b> and <b>KPSQL</b> functional differences:
<br>
<b>SQL</b> - Inhibits character reception.<br>
<b>KPSQL</b> - Inhibits the data transfer to the modem modulator.<br>

Receive audio level should be adjusted so that the overload indicator does
not illuminate red.  When observing the received signals on the oscilloscope
view you should expect that they do not exceed a peak-to-peak amplitude of
3/4 of the full display height.
<br>

\section mode_status_indicators Mode Status Indicators

The lower left corner of the main display (MFSK-16) in the view above is
actually a button disquised as a status panel.  This button
responds to the mouse in several ways:
<br>

<ul>
	<li>Left Click - opens a quick pick list of associated modem types; you can
	switch to a new modem type from this popup menu</li>
	<li>Right Click - opens the configuration dialog at the tab associated with
	the current modem type</li>
	<li>Scroll Wheel - rotates forward and backwards through the various modem
	types in accordance with the modem menu heirarchy.  Stop at the one you
	want and you are now in that mode</li>
</ul>

The next status indicator to the right provides information relative to the
current modem, for PSK it indicates the received signal strength in dB.
<br>

The third status indicator from the left provides additional information
relative to the current modem, IMD for PSK measured in dB.
<br>

Note that for PSK these values are only measured during periods when the
PSK idle signal is being received.
<br>

\section transmit_level_attenuator Transmit level attenuator
<br>

\image html TX-level.png "TX level"
\image latex TX-level.png "TX level" width=2.5in
<br>

It is often difficult to adjust the audio drive for the point where ALC
is just barely active.  Mixer controls are OK, but not usually
designed for very small changes.  They are after all designed for
adjusting listening levels.  fldigi provides the ability to
control the audio drive in increments of 0.1 dB over a 30 dB
range.  This control is located in the bottom right corner of the main dialog:
<br>

Set this control for -6 dB and then adjust the sound card mixer control
for the best ALC level you can achieve.  Then adjust the Tx-level
control for best "just visible" ALC on the transceiver.  That
should give you a very clean PSK signal.
<br>

\section operating_split Operating split with fldigi / flrig
<br>

\image html tty-split-ops.png "TTY Split Ops"
\image latex tty-split-ops.png "TTY Split Ops" width=4.5in
<br>

Note: In the above example most features are disable as they are not
available for the indicated radio.


On flrig:

Unless specifically supported by the transceiver and implemented in flrig.

<ul>
	<li>VFO A is always the RX frequency.</li>
	<li>VFO B is always the TX frequency.</li>
	<li>Left Click on the A/B swaps A & B VFO frequencies.</li>
	<li>Right Click on the A/B assignes A VFO frequency to B VFO.</li>
	<li>Using the mouse wheel adjust VFO B to where you want to transmit.</li>
	<li>Click the SPLIT button, it will change color when it is active.</li>
	<li>Press the VFO B button to listen on the Tx frequency,
	be sure to press Split again before capturing that rare DX station.</li>
</ul>

On fldigi:

<ul>
	<li>Tune the waterfall cursor to the Rx signal</li>
	<li>Transmit as usual, be sure you are not doubling.</li>
</ul>

See <a href="http://www.w1hkj.com/flrig-help/index.html">FLRIG Help</a> for
specific operating procedures.

Some additional information can also be found here
\ref rig_control_page "Rig Control Page"

<br>
\ref operating_controls_page "Return to Top of Page"
<br>
\ref main_page "Return to Main Page"

*/