Wednesday, August 09, 2006

New PCALE Version Now In Beta Testing Phase

From the HFLink #1 Newsletter (see full edition on my Btown Blogspot.

PCALE software author Charles Brain G4GUO has been working on the new version over the past year. Charles has been collaborating with Steve N2CKH (MARS-ALE) on the software and radio support, and with Bonnie KQ6XA on some of the innovative new features. A small group has been working behind the scenes using the experimental software. The exciting release of the new improved PCALE is dependent upon the
successful testing of the PCALE Beta Version. A group of volunteer ALE amateur radio operators is now using it on the air. The PCALE Beta Test Group is looking for more operators, but membership is limited. If you are an experienced operator with PCALE or MARS-ALE, please consider it. Beta Test Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pcale/

Some Of The New PCALE Features Now In Beta Testing:
1. Separately programmable sounding and scanning channels
2. Sounding/traffic associated channels (similar to 3G ALE)
3. New Text Keyboarding window for real time texting
4. GPS interface with ALE-GPR (Geo-Position Reporting)
5. Automatic station status reporting (80 Character text)
6. Ambush (auto message, link when a specific station is heard)
7. Easy channel scan groups and alphanumeric group labeling
8. Improved spectrum scope display, sync, and audio AGC
9. Improved user interface and option setup
10. Improved scanning reliability and timing
11. Improved and expanded radio interface
12. CAT support for more transceivers
13. Improved callsign (address) input
14. Improved modem operation and decoding
15. Other features and improvements.