Charlie Davy, M)PZT has taken a discussion from his local weekly 2 metre net, and built a new piece of software to make explore amateur radio easier.

The EssexPSK application is a simple receive-only data decoder that can display conversations in the common PSK and RTTY modes.

The application runs on the Windows platform, is less than 1.5MB and has just two controls. Once the operator’s rig is connected to the PC’s soundcard, the EssexPSK waterfall starts showing activity to give users a taste of what PSK31 and RTTY have to offer.

Charlie M0PZT is the creator of the free contest-friendly logging application PZTLog, and has released EssexPSK as a free application to help to encourage easier access to the world of data:

“Often, digimode applications can be a bit daunting to a new user, so this program aims to make it very straightforward. All you need to do is set the incoming soundcard and then just select from the various PSK/RTTY modes”

— Charlie Davy M0PZT

Pete M0PSX from the Essex Ham website sees this simple tool as a great way for amateurs new to the world of data to dip a toe in:

“Data modes are a fascinating and absorbing part of the hobby.

Packages such as Ham Radio Deluxe are great, but they can be expensive, resource-hungry, and expensive, not to mention, tricky to set up. The EssexPSK app offers a quick and easy way to get started in the world of data, and is a great asset to the collection of material we’re offering to help new entrants to the hobby. Charlie’s done a great job in making this available as a free tool to allow PSK and RTTY to be demonstrated without fuss ”

The EssexPSK application is available free - http://www.essexham.co.uk/essexpsk

Charlie M0PZT - http://www.m0pzt.com

Essex Ham Introduction to PSK31 - http://www.essexham.co.uk/psk31-the-basics