Suggestion - Scheduler tool
Hi John,
It struck me that many transmissions operate on a scheduled basis - some examples being FAX, Volmet, Weather broadcasts, numbers stations, Broadcast stations and other assorted Utilities.
Some thoughts, ideas and suggestions for further discussion.
A schedule extension that can be pre-loaded with stations and times that will automatically tune the SDR to a specific mode and frequency at a specific time. The FAX extension could have an 'Auto' setting that tunes the SDR to the FAX stations that are known to be operating at a specific time (perhaps adjusting to different frequencies at different times of the day depending upon local time at the SDR and the most likely propagation path. Maybe it could 'scan' between the most likely frequencies and stop when a valid tone is detected.
A schedule with an additional 'scan' option that would cycle around pre-defined frequencies until a signal is detected (level above a pre-defined threshold with some delay parameter to allow for fades). This would be good for the Aero frequencies where for example 'New York' could be selected and the schedule would pick the most likely frequencies for propagation at the local time of day at the SDR. The SDR would then scan these frequencies waiting for a signal to be detected. Some form of syllabic speech detecting squelch would be better, but much more difficult to implement.
Maybe automatic FAX capture or Audio recording could also be scheduled too.
As an example of a schedule here's a link to a numbers station schedule which I think is a good indicator of what could be possible.
Regards,
Martin - G8JNJ