Project TouCans: First Teletype Over 2 Meters With KO6BTY’s CQ Decode

We pushed the teletype prototype for Project TouCans further today! KO6BTY transmitted a CQ call on 2 meters, and I managed to decode it—at least semi-successfully—through audio from my K6 UVK5(8). It’s not perfect yet, but it’s another good sign that Project TouCans’ RTTY experiment is working.

For those that don't remember, or weren't follwing along, I started workign on the possibility of teletype using Project TouCans back in May. I didn't have the time to add a frequency change relay and possibly a different internal keyer to TouCan's Rockmite, so I settled on converting the microPython code intended for TouCans into JavaScript that could be run on the blog using GPT. It worked. I knew this right away becasue DroidRTTY decoded the audio output of the blog page app. Meanwhile, CW on 2 meters has become kinda popular lately thanks to KI7QCF. My mind put the two topics together today, and voila!

Here's a video that explains it all. The semi-successful decode is at the end.

Note:

I found that W8EMV has also worked 2 meters with RTTY as I was writing this post.

Project TouCans continues to prove that small, experimental steps can add up to something new in ham radio. Getting RTTY across 2 meters using a blog-based encoder isn’t just a fun hack—it opens the door for other lightweight, web-driven digital modes. Stay tuned as we refine the setup, add reliability, and see just how far TouCans can take this.

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