hfmodem

ALE and selcall with the console

For installation and guided radio setup, start with the operator guide.

hfmodem console hflink station runs a foreground 2G ALE station: scan selected channels, answer calls, hold a link, exchange native text, and optionally sound hourly on selected pilot channels. hfmodem console ale station is the same command. hfmodem console selcall station runs held-channel HF selcall, including native text pages. Incoming messages appear directly in the terminal; no Winlink connection or separate messaging application is needed.

The existing ale monitor and selcall monitor commands remain passive.

Use your station file with the correct rig, rigctld endpoint, separate RTS PTT port, callsign, audio devices and drive. HFMODEM_STATION selects that file; --config FILE overrides its path. Select the FTDX10 with HFMODEM_RIG=ftdx10 or --rig ftdx10. The console uses the existing shared transmitter, callsign identification, emission checks and shutdown path. It claims the same locks as console flights and monitors. It does not start rigctld for you.

Set USB or PKTUSB on the radio before starting. The console checks the sideband, preserves the filter, and accepts a 4 kHz receive passband. This does not widen the ALE or selcall transmitted waveform. Frequencies below are USB dial frequencies in kHz, including below 10 MHz.

Preview a three-channel HFN base station:

hfmodem console hflink station --channels 7102 10145.5 14109 \
  --pilot 7102 10145.5 14109 --dry-run

Replace --dry-run with --execute to run. The file must already have [station] transmit = true; the execute flag cannot override it. A dry run opens no hardware, sockets or session files. The launch applies automatic control to the selected emission profile because this station answers and sounds on its own; the source file is unchanged. Only the ALE lane is enabled for this session, regardless of the file's other enabled protocols.

The channels and pilots are explicit so an old saved list cannot unexpectedly choose where you sound. Verify them against the HFLINK channel plan before operating. The published HFN data channels include 7102, 10145.5 and 14109 kHz. The plan is not a report of present activity. HFL calling/voice channels and HFN mobile/portable stations use --no-sound instead of --pilot.

Pilots must be members of the scan list. The HFLINK preset uses 15-second scanning call preambles, TWAS sounds, hourly sounding and a six-minute link idle timeout. The first scheduled sounds are staggered through the first hour, then each pilot is due hourly. A busy channel defers a scheduled sound. Link activity holds the channel; scanning resumes after hangup or idle expiry. See HFLINK sounding.

The foreground terminal remains the control point. quit closes the station; Ctrl-C uses the existing rig panic path. Closing standard input also stops the station. Do not run it with stdin redirected from /dev/null. ALE shutdown returns to the first channel selected for this session. While scanning, the console owns tuning; use scan off or channel before manually moving the radio. ALE refuses transmission if the actual dial differs from its selected channel. A passive monitor remains the appropriate command for free manual retuning without an ALE controller.

Calls and native messages

At the hflink> prompt:

status
heard
channels
call KQ6XA
msg KQ6XA HELLO FROM W9SSJ
hangup
net HFN
channel 14109.0
sound
scan on

call ADDRESS [text] searches the configured channels using measured link quality, or sends within an existing link. Incoming individual and supported net/group calls are answered by the existing ALE controller. net HFN and net HFL use its HFLINK response-slot convention. heard lists recent stations, channels and quality; status shows link and scan state.

channel accepts the printed channel index or exact name (for example 14109.0); it tunes and stops scanning. A linked or busy controller refuses a channel change: hangup a link, or wait for the current call to finish. scan off holds the current channel. With scanning off, new calls and scheduled sounds stay on that channel, even if other pilots are overdue. scan on restores the scan and full pilot schedule.

To run a manual held-channel ALE session without scheduled sounds:

hfmodem console ale station --freq 14109 --no-sound --execute

msg ADDRESS text sends ALE AMD, within a link or carried by a new call. AMD permits up to 90 characters from the expanded 64-character alphabet (ASCII space through underscore); lowercase is transmitted as uppercase. Incoming AMD messages print as AMD ADDRESS text. Text needs no shell-style quotes at the interactive prompt; quotes entered there become message content. Unsupported characters and oversized messages are refused rather than cut off. The configured key-up watchdog may impose a smaller practical AMD limit, especially when a long message accompanies a scanning call. A refusal is shown.

For a peer supporting ALE data messages, dtm ADDRESS text and dbm ADDRESS text use the existing native DTM/DBM ARQ implementation. They split text into protocol blocks and acknowledge/retry them. Incoming text prints as DTM or DBM; DTM SENT/DBM SENT report completed ARQ. These paths remain self-tested, with external-radio interoperability limits described in ALE. Both ends need matching support; AMD is the first practical HFLINK messaging test.

OK means the modem accepted the command. TX complete means the burst finished. Neither proves the peer received an AMD or page: request a text reply. A completed ALE link proves the handshake, while DTM/DBM ARQ has its own completion/failure events. All commands and terminal messages use printable ASCII on one line.

Selcall and paging

Run selcall on the radio's current USB dial, or supply a dial once:

hfmodem console selcall station --address 1234 123456 --dry-run
hfmodem console selcall station --address 1234 123456 --freq 14094 --execute

Replace the numeric IDs with your assigned IDs. Four- and six-digit IDs are supported, at most one of each. The originating ID must have the same length as the called ID. The default dot preamble is six seconds (--dots SECONDS). This lane never retunes the radio after the requested initial tune, so you can retune the rig yourself while listening. Finish a call/page before moving it.

At the prompt:

selcall 5678
page 5678 HELLO FROM W9SSJ
ack 5678
beacon 5678
status
quit

call 5678 also works in a selcall-only session. Pages permit 1–32 printable ASCII characters, uppercased on transmission. Received pages show sender, recipient and text. Calls to one of your IDs are marked MINE; calls to other IDs still appear. ack ADDRESS sends the implemented acknowledgment call. Add --acknowledge to opt into automatic acknowledgments of individual calls requesting them. This is the implemented acknowledgment-call format, not a claim of compatibility with every radio's proprietary revertive tone. See selcall formats and evidence.

You can enable both lanes on one held ALE channel with, for example, console hflink station --freq 7102 --no-sound --selcall 1234 --execute. Selcall alongside a multichannel ALE scan is refused: its receiver cannot yet hold an ALE scan throughout a selcall preamble/page. Use a separate held-channel selcall session for the published SEL channels. This also keeps ALE sounding on the intended ALE channels.

Output and retained evidence

Normal output shows heard stations, state changes, incoming text, calls, responses, completed links, sounds, transmit starts/completions and refusals. Repeated heard reports are thinned to once per station/channel per 30 seconds; messages and transmit failures are always printed. Repeated identical tuning failures are also thinned, with the first failure visible. Routine retunes are summarized by station status every 30 seconds. --verbose prints every retune and repeated event; --summary-seconds 60 slows the heartbeat and 0 disables it.

The console prints its session directory under [audio] capture_dir. Every event, including hidden repeated reports and retunes, is flushed to events.jsonl; plan.json records the launch settings. --log-dir PATH selects a new directory explicitly. These files retain exchanged text. This station console journals events; it does not record receive audio. Use an independent receiver/recording when you need on-air waveform evidence.