PhosphorFAX

PhosphorFAX receives radiofax, the HF weather fax that coast stations broadcast around the clock, and paints each chart line by line on a phosphor CRT display. Hold your iPhone near a shortwave receiver tuned to a weather fax station and watch surface analyses, wind and wave forecasts and ice charts arrive the way they do on a ship's recorder.

It sends as well. Turn a photo, a received chart or the built-in test card into radiofax audio through the speaker, or export it as a WAV.

No internet connection. No external hardware. No account. Just your iPhone and a radio.

HOW TO RECEIVE Tune your receiver 1.9 kHz below the station's listed frequency in USB, so the signal sits around 1900 Hz. Then on the DECODE screen:

ARM: wait for a start tone, then receive automatically START: receive now, without waiting for a start tone STOP: end the chart and save it CLEAR: discard the chart in progress Drag to look around the chart, and LATEST takes you back to the newest line Pinch to zoom, double-tap to fit

The same guide is on the DECODE screen until a chart appears.

HOW LONG IT TAKES Radiofax is slow, and that is part of its charm. • The start tone lasts 5 seconds and is recognised within a second or two. • Phasing follows, up to 30 seconds, while PhosphorFAX locks onto the start of each line. If no phasing is heard, receiving begins anyway after 40 seconds. • A chart paints from the top at two lines a second at 120 LPM. A full chart takes about 10 minutes, 20 at 60 LPM and 5 at 240 LPM. In the first minute you will see only a thin strip, so give it time. • On the stop tone the chart is saved to the log and the receiver re-arms for the next one. • Sending takes as long as receiving: about 10 minutes for a chart at 120 LPM, longer for a tall photo. PhosphorFAX shows the duration before anything plays.

FEATURES • Real-time radiofax receive at IOC 576 and 288, 60 to 240 lines per minute • Automatic start and stop, re-arming after every chart • Phasing lock and automatic slant correction for straight charts • Automatic centre tracking • Charts can be re-slanted and shifted after the broadcast has gone • Live spectrum, waterfall, line scope and signal health panel • Station list for 22 coast and met stations worldwide, with USB dial frequencies • Chart log with zoom, levels, rotation, invert, share and save to Photos • Send a photo, a chart or a test card, or export it as a WAV • Paper, phosphor or negative chart rendering • Green and amber phosphor CRT themes • No accounts, no tracking, no network access

SENDING PhosphorFAX produces audio and never keys a transmitter. Putting that audio on the air needs an appropriate transmitting licence. Sending into a second phone, or exporting a WAV, needs none.

Colour fax is not supported.

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