Yes, folks, SIM-31 is here.
Fair play, it's a good new take on PSK, seemingly much more robust in the face of poor conditions than plain PSK-31. There aren't many using it as yet, but it's very early days.
What SIM-31 doesn't have is charisma! Whilst it has a chat mode, its set macro offerings are very 'Spanglish' in nature, and the whole package feels just a bit sterile.
That is pushed even further in that SIM-31 includes a fully automated setting that can initiate and complete a QSO without any operator input whatsoever. I mused on that type of 'amateur radio' in yesterday's post, and the distinct feeling you get when you see an automated 'CQ' call is one that highlights the pointlessness of 'conversing' with a machine with no human at all on the other end.
I'm not sure if SIM-31 will take off in the community. For my money, I much prefer the quirky but very robust ROS mode for when conditions are poor (ROS was developed for this purpose.) Despite the powerful benefits of ROS, very few use it. I suspect SIM-31 will discover the same ground.
You can download SIM-31 from this site.
2 comments:
Just discovered yor blog. And was reading through it....discovered my call in the picture ;-) . I think SIM31 will "die" just like PSK will within time. The JT modes get far more populair lately. And you never know what the future is getting. Anyway, SIM31 has it's own facebook page and the program is updated almost every day. 73, Bas
The internet is a small world, indeed ;-) I haven't looked at SIM31 since writing that post, so I think that says it all. It just lacks any form of 'character'. Digital mode takeup is very strange, because the best ones - like OLIVIA, for example - are used only by a very small 'core' of operators, despite the perfect copy on very weak signals available to everyone.
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