fldigi - digital modem program for hamradio operators
Fldigi is a cross-platform multi-modem program for most of the digital
modes used by radio amateurs today: CW, PSK, MFSK, MT-63, RTTY, Hellschreiber,
DominoEX, Olivia, THOR and Throb are all supported. It can also help calibrate
a sound card to a time signal and do on-air frequency measurement tests.
Fldigi features basic rig control, logging, and contest operation,
“panoramic” PSK decoding, a PSK Reporter client, and remote
control via XML-RPC.
Long options begin with two hyphens and are handled by fldigi. The option names
may be abbreviated to any unambiguous substring, and the option argument may
be separated from the name by a space or equals sign, as per getopt(3).
Short options begin with a single hyphen and are passed directly
to FLTK. They may be abbreviated only as indicated.
--config-dir DIRECTORY
Look for and store configuration files in directory
DIRECTORY, which is created if it does not exist. Defaults to
“$HOME/.fldigi”.
--rx-ipc-key KEY
Set the receive message queue key. May be given in hex if
prefixed with “0x”. Defaults to “9876” or
“0x2694”.
--tx-ipc-key KEY
Set the transmit message queue key. May be given in hex
if prefixed with “0x”. Defaults to “6789” or
“0x1a85”.
--arq-server-address HOSTNAME
Set the ARQ TCP server address. Defaults to
“127.0.0.1”. HOSTNAME may be any node name string
accepted by getaddrinfo(3).
--arq-server-port PORT
Set the ARQ TCP server port. Defaults to
“7322”. PORT may be any service name string
accepted by getaddrinfo(3).
Note
The --xmlrpc-* options are only available if fldigi was
built with XML-RPC support.
--xmlrpc-server-address HOSTNAME
Set the XML-RPC server address. Defaults to
“127.0.0.1”.
--xmlrpc-server-port PORT
Set the XML-RPC server port. Defaults to
“7362”.
--xmlrpc-allow REGEX
Allow only the methods whose names match REGEX.
REGEX is a POSIX extended regular expression.
--xmlrpc-deny REGEX
Allow only the methods whose names do not match
REGEX.
--xmlrpc-list
List all available XML-RPC methods and exit. May be
preceded by the --xmlrpc-allow or --xmlrpc-deny options to
verify their effect.
--cpu-speed-test
Perform the CPU speed test that is normally done when
fldigi is run without an existing configuration directory. Results are shown
in the event log and options may be changed to the recommended values for the
measured CPU speed.
--noise
Unhide controls for adding noise to the transmitted
signal.
--wfall-only
Hide all main window widgets except the menu bar and
waterfall (with its associated controls). Meant to be used with external
programs that control fldigi with XML-RPC.
--debug-level LEVEL
Set the event log verbosity. LEVEL is clamped to
the range [0,5]; for Quiet, Error, Warning, Info,
Verbose and Debug. Defaults to “3”
(Info).
--version
Print version information and exit.
--build-info
Print build information and exit.
--help
Print options summary and exit.
-bg, -background COLOUR
Set the background colour.
-bg2, -background2 COLOUR
Set the secondary (text) background colour.
-di, -display DISPLAY
Specifies the X server to connect to; see X(7).
-dn, -dnd or -nodn, -nodnd
Enable or disable drag and drop copy and paste in text
fields.
-fg, -foreground COLOUR
Set the foreground colour.
-g, -geometry GEOMETRY
Set the initial window size and position. Fldigi may
not honour this option.
-i, -iconic
Start fldigi in iconified state. Fldigi may not honour
this option.
-k, -kbd or -nok, -nokbd
Enable or disable visible keyboard focus in non-text
widgets.
-na, -name CLASSNAME
Set the window class. Defaults to
“Fldigi”.
-ti, -title WINDOWTITLE
Set the window title. Defaults to “fldigi -
<callsign>”.
--font FONT[:SIZE]
Set the widget font and (optionally) size. Defaults to
“sans:12”.
Note
The --benchmark-* options are only enabled if fldigi was built
(exclusively) for benchmarking and batch decoding.
--benchmark-modem ID
Specify the modem. Defaults to “25”
(“BPSK31”).
--benchmark-frequency FREQ
Set the modem frequency in Hz. Defaults to
“1000”.
--benchmark-afc BOOLEAN
Enable or disable modem AFC. Defaults to
“false”.
--benchmark-squelch BOOLEAN
Enable or disable modem squelch. Defaults to
“false”.
--benchmark-squelch-level LEVEL
Set the modem squelch level (1—100%). Defaults to
“0.0”.
--benchmark-input INPUT
Specify the input. Must be a positive integer indicating
the number of samples of silence to generate as the input, or, if fldigi was
linked with libsndfile, the name of the input audio file. The filename must
contain non-digit characters.
--benchmark-output FILE
Specify the output data file. Non-textual output (i.e.
Hellschreiber or MFSK images) cannot be saved. Default: decoder output is
discarded.
--benchmark-src-ratio RATIO
Specify the sample rate conversion ratio. Defaults to
“1.0” (input is not resampled).
--benchmark-src-type TYPE
Set the sample rate conversion type. TYPE is an integer
in the range [0,4]. Defaults to “2” (“Fastest SINC
Interpolator”).
Warning
The following options should not be relied upon. They are
listed here only for the sake of completeness, and may be replaced by GUI
settings or removed altogether in a future version.
--wfall-width WIDTH
Set the waterfall width.
--wfall-height HEIGHT
Set the waterfall height.
--window-width WIDTH
Set the minimum window width.
--window-height HEIGHT
Set the minimum window height.
--exit-after SECONDS
Run for approximately SECONDS seconds.
--frames-per-buffer FRAMES
Set frames per buffer option to FRAMES when
creating PortAudio streams. Defaults to “0” (let PortAudio
choose).
Fldigi uses several environment variables, mainly set for child processes
created by the <EXEC> macro and the notifier.
FLDIGI_BROWSER
The web browser to use for http and file URIs. Overrides
$BROWSER and xdg-open(1).
The following variables are created in the environment of the child process that
is forked by the <EXEC> macro. They are empty if values are not
available.
FLDIGI_RX_IPC_KEY
The receive message queue key.
FLDIGI_TX_IPC_KEY
The transmit message queue key.
FLDIGI_XMLRPC_ADDRESS
The XML-RPC server address string.
FLDIGI_XMLRPC_PORT
The XML-RPC server port string.
FLDIGI_ARQ_ADDRESS
The ARQ server address string.
FLDIGI_ARQ_PORT
The ARQ server port string.
FLDIGI_VERSION
The version string.
FLDIGI_PID
The process ID of the parent fldigi process.
FLDIGI_CONFIG_DIR
The configuration directory.
FLDIGI_MY_CALL
The operator’s callsign.
FLDIGI_MY_NAME
The operator’s name.
FLDIGI_MY_LOCATOR
The operator’s IARU (Maidenhead) locator.
FLDIGI_MODEM
The short modem name.
FLDIGI_MODEM_LONG_NAME
The long modem name.
FLDIGI_DIAL_FREQUENCY
The rig (radio) frequency.
FLDIGI_AUDIO_FREQUENCY
The modem (audio) centre frequency.
FLDIGI_FREQUENCY
The actual receive/transmit frequency, i.e. the sum of
rig and modem frequencies taking into account the rig sideband.
FLDIGI_LOG_FREQUENCY
The text (frequency in MHz) contained in the QSO
Freq log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_TIME_ON
The text (QSO start time) contained in the (time)
On log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_TIME_OFF
The text (QSO end time) contained in the (time)
Off log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_CALL
The text (other station’s callsign) contained in
the Call log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_NAME
The text (other station’s name) contained in the
Name log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_RST_IN
The text (received RST) contained in the (RST) In
log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_RST_OUT
The text (sent RST) contained in the (RST) Out log
field.
FLDIGI_LOG_QTH
The text (other station’s QTH) contained in the
QTH log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_LOCATOR
The text (other station’s Maidenhead locator)
contained in the Loc log field.
FLDIGI_LOG_NOTES
The text (free-form notes) contained in the Notes
log field.
FLDIGI_AZ
The text (azimuth in degrees to other station) contained
in the Az log field.
The following variables are created in the environment of child processes
created by the notifier.
FLDIGI_NOTIFY_STRi
These variables (i in [0,9]) contain substrings matched
by capturing groups in the event’s regular expression. 0 contains the
whole matched text.
FLDIGI_NOTIFY_STR_NUM
The number of substrings available.
FLDIGI_NOTIFY_CALLSIGN
Builtin event types that match callsigns will place the
callsign in this variable.
FLDIGI_NOTIFY_TEXT
The complete string that matched the event’s
regular expression.
FLDIGI_NOTIFY_AUDIO_FREQUENCY
The modem frequency.
FLDIGI_NOTIFY_EVENT
The event type.
FLDIGI_NOTIFY_COUNTRY
The station’s country name (for events of type
"station heard twice").
The following variables are only used if fldigi was built with debugging support
(--enable-debug), or they are only useful when debugging specific
modules.
FLDIGI_NO_EXEC
If set, this variable disables glibc’s malloc
debugging, which fldigi enables by default when built for debugging.
FLDIGI_TRACE_LOCKS
Traces Fl::lock() calls.
FLDIGI_HAMLIB_DEBUG
Initialises hamlib in debug mode.
Fldigi is licensed under the GNU GPL, which grants you the right to run the
program for any purpose (freedom 0). However, permission to use it for the
transmission of radio signals can only be obtained from the communications
authority of your country. When given, this permission almost always comes in
the form of an amateur radio license.
If you do not have an amateur radio license you can still have fun
using fldigi as a shortwave listener. One way to do so is by using the
builtin PSK Reporter client to submit realtime spots of transmitting
stations; see RESOURCES below. All you need is a computer, homebrew SDR
receiver, and simple wire antenna!
Various files and subdirectories are created in $HOME/.fldigi. Some of the most
interesting ones are listed below.
fldigi_def.xml
The main settings file.
fldigi.prefs
The “status” file. Stores window
geometries, button states, current modem, current audio frequency, squelch
level, and so on.
status_log.txt
The event log.
macros/macros.mdf
The default macro file.
palettes/
This directory contains waterfall palettes.
scripts/
This directory is added to the PATH environment variable
of the child process that runs <EXEC> macros.
logs/
This directory contains logged received and sent text
(when such logging is enabled), including the default logbook database,
logbook.adif.
images/
Received MFSK images are automatically saved in this
directory.
freqanalysis.csv
This file is written by the frequency analysis modem. The
fields are dial frequency, audio frequency, and offset. See documentation for
details.
Note
The following files are used if present. They must be downloaded
and copied to ~/.fldigi/ by the user.
cty.dat
List of DXCC entities and callsign prefixes; used to
display tooltips in the received text buffer, and also to auto-fill the
Country, Locator and Azimuth log fields. Available at
http://www.country-files.com/cty/.
lotw1.txt
List of known LOTW users (one callsign per line); used
for the received text tooltips. Available at
http://www.hb9bza.net/lotw/.
AGMemberList.txt or eqsl.txt
List of “Authenticity Guaranteed” eQSL
users (one callsign per line); used for the received text tooltips. Available
at http://www.eqsl.cc/QSLcard/Programming.cfm.
fldigi --wfall-height 144 --font sans:11 -fg "#c0c0c0" -bg
"#5f5f63" -bg2 "#19213b"
This is how the author of this document invokes
fldigi.
fldigi --xmlrpc-deny "main.(tx|tune|run_macro)"
Unregister XML-RPC methods that may transmit.
ssh -L 7362:localhost:7362 remote-host xvfb-run fldigi -display
:99
Start fldigi on remote-host under a
“fake” X server. (The xvfb-run(1) utility is available on Debian
systems). The remote “headless” fldigi is then controlled via
XML-RPC on port 7362, i.e from flrig, flamp etc.
fldigi --benchmark-input 480000 --benchmark-modem 1
Benchmark the DominoEX-4 modem with 480K audio
samples.
fldigi --benchmark-input audio.wav --benchmark-modem 25
--benchmark-frequency 1500 --benchmark-afc 1 --benchmark-squelch 1
--benchmark-squelch-level 5.0 --benchmark-output out.txt
Read audio.wav (whose sample rate must be 8000Hz
in this case) and decode BPSK-31 signals at 1500Hz. AFC is enabled and the
squelch is set to 5%. Decoded text is saved to out.txt.
fldigi-shell(1), gmfsk(1), gpsk31(1), grig(1), rigctl(1), xlog(1),
getaddrinfo(3), getopt(3), regex(7), X(7)
Main web site: http://www.w1hkj.com/Fldigi.html
Sourceforge project page:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/fldigi/
Wiki and bug tracker: https://fedorahosted.org/fldigi/
More information on MFSK16, DominoEX and other digital modes can
be found at http://www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/ and
http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp/Modes/index.htm
The PSK Automatic Propagation Reporter site can be found at
http://www.pskreporter.info/
Fldigi was written by
•David Freese, W1HKJ.
•Stelios Bounanos, M0GLD.
•Leigh L. Klotz, Jr., WA5ZNU.
Fldigi also includes code written by others. Among them are
•Tomi Manninen, OH2BNS.
•Pawel Jalocha, SP9VRC.
•Hamish Moffatt, VK3SB.
This manual page was written by Stelios Bounanos
<sb[at]enotty(dot)net>.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later.
Visit the GSP FreeBSD Man Page Interface.