DE WAØTTN

The WinPSKX ActiveX Control in Action

The differences between my ActivePSK program and Moe's WinPSKX are:

• The zoom control has been removed. This is implemented a bit differently in the WinPSKX ActiveX control, and for this reason no longer needs to be manipulated in the application.
• I replaced the display type tabs with a dropdown combobox selection control.
• I've added checkboxes to enable the graticule and spectrum options on the waterfall display.
• I've added a checkbox to enable the AGC code that is now possible with the multimedia mixer interfaces in the WinPSKX control. The horizontal bar display below this checkbox indicates the audio level of the AGC action.
• I've added the RigX ActiveX control for controlling my radio through the CAT interface. This control lets me read and enter the frequency for the radio and select which VFO to use. I usually set VFO A to 14.070 and VFO B to 14.071 so I can easily jump up to the higher PSK31 lurking area.
• Note that because I'm using the RigX ActiveX control, I have set the graticule display frequency to the exact frequency to which the radio is tuned. Because the RigX control and the WinPSKX control are bound together in this application, as I tune the radio, the current receive cursor is automatically adjusted to stay on the exact receive frequency. Thusly, I can tune the radio while monitoring a QSO and the receive frequency is automatically adjusted to track it.
• You may have noticed a new item on the top menu bar, labeled QRZ. I added this to do a QRZ.com lookup of the callsign that's currently in the "Their Call" textbox. To add a callsign to the Their Call textbox, you simply double-click on the callsign in the receive text window. Then when you click on the QRZ menu item, your Web browser is automatically launched to look up that callsign on QRZ.com. This is a real timesaver at the start of a QSO - you can get all the info on a new contact with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Carpet Plot Display

This screenshot shows a QSO in progress. Note how clearly the received signal trace stands out in the 3 dimensional carpet view. There is also another QSO in progress, clearly visible, at about 14.072.300.

AGC Action

This screenshot shows the same QSO after K6AA signed over to WØIBV. Note how the AGC action has automatically boosted the AF gain now that K6AA's very strong signal went away. The AGC feature means you no longer have to manually tweak the AF gain control on your radio, the WinPSKX control can take care of adjusting the AF input to the best level without overloading the PSK31 decoder input.

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