PACTOR 1-4

JakinJakin
in KiwiSDR Discussion

Hello,

could you add PMON-PACTOR (free Linux version https://www.scs-ptc.com/pmon.html) as a decoder in KIWISDR?

There are many PACTOR 1-4 services on shortwave.

Thanks and 73 

Josef

DE3JGA

Comments

  • WA2ZKDWA2ZKD
    edited September 2021

    the private use clause may thwart this

    This tool is strictly for private use only! This means non-commercial applications, by private persons, e.g. radio amateurs. The monitored data may be published without restriction by those users - if not prohibited by law!

  • jksjks
    edited September 2021

    As I understand it (and I am no expert) PACTOR 2-4 are proprietary with no open source implementations, and this will likely never change (too much money involved).

    I've never used it, so I don't really know what I'm talking about. But from the little bits I've read it seems people are more interested in Winlink/wl2k-go/Pat + ARDOP/VARA these days. VARA has it's own closed-source/$ issues. But it looks to be very similar to the modern modulation methods used in, for example, DRM.

  • JakinJakin

    Hello, 


    I have asked the SCS-PACTOR team Martin Clas (DL1ZAM) if they agree to add their PMON PACTOR decoder to KIWISDR. 


    SCS-PACTOR has nothing against it! Here is the e-mail in German language. SCS is a German company. 


    73 Josef

    DE3JGA

    Von: Martin Clas - SCS <martin.clas@scs-ptc.com>

    Gesendet: Donnerstag, 16. September 2021 07:03

    An: 'Josef Garcia' <Josef.Garcia@hotmail.de>

    Betreff: RE: PMON - ein PACTOR ® Überwachungsdienstprogramm für Linux

     

    Hallo Josef,

    da spricht nichts dagegen. :-)



    --

    73, Martin, DL1ZAM, SCS-PACTOR-Team

    <<>>  http://www.scs-ptc.com <<>>

    <<>>  http://www.p4dragon.com <<>>




    > -----Original Message-----

    > From: Josef Garcia [mailto:Josef.Garcia@hotmail.de]

    > Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2021 5:59 PM

    > To: info@scs-ptc.com

    > Subject: PMON - ein PACTOR ® Überwachungsdienstprogramm für Linux

    > 

    > Hallo SCS-PTC,

    > 

    > KIWISDR http://rx.linkfanel.net/ hat Weltweit viele RX im Einsatz mit Unterschiedlichen Decodern.

    > Dürften wir Ihr kostenloses Produkt https://www.scs-ptc.com/pmon.html hinzufügen?

    > 

    > Besten Dank im Voraus für Ihre Antwort.

    > 

    > 73

    > Josef Garcia

    > DE3JGA

  • jksjks

    Okay, I spent some time reading the PMON page and I think I understand better.

    Unfortunately this won't work with the Kiwi ecosystem. PMON would run as a separate Linux process alongside the Kiwi software. It's almost certainly a program that has heavy cpu demands given the PACTOR modulation schemes and use of decompression. This will utterly destroy the Kiwi realtime requirements because the Kiwi code assumes it is the only significant Linux process and has complete control of the Beagle. This is far different than PMON running on a pc where it has essentially no impact.

    PMON seems to only be distributed as a Linux binary. The only reason things like ALE, WSPR, DRM etc. work as Kiwi extensions is because open source code is available, and, with considerable effort, can be integrated into the Kiwi framework with all its realtime requirements.

    They publish source for a Windows tool called PMON_LZH, but that seems to only be a simple program for talking to one of their hardware modems and adding LZH decompression capability.

  • JakinJakin

    Ok thank you very much for your work!

    73 Josef

    DE3JGA

Sign In or Register to comment.