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Posts Tagged ‘Morse Code’

Books

May 1st, 2017 |

Books. I love books. Books and reading are a love that was passed down to me from my Mom. When my sister and I were little kids, my Mom would "treat" us with a trip to the local public library. We would bring home stacks of books to read, and I loved every minute of it. A trip to the library, or even better - the book store, was always enthusiastically welcomed.

That habit stayed with me all my life. When I first became interested in Amateur Radio as a teenager in high school, my "bible" was "The Radio Amateur's Handbook" by Collins and Hertzberg. That book was my constant companion in my teen years and I must have read it, cover to cover, at least a half dozen times. It fueled my wishful dreams of becoming a Ham Radio operator, making contacts with people from all over the world.

I still have that book, and it holds a place of High Honor on my Amateur Radio book shelf.

A few weeks ago, I came home from work to see a rather large package sticking out of my mail box. As I was bringing it into the house, I noticed it was from Schiffer Publishing. I thought that this was kind of odd, as I hadn't ordered anything from Schiffer. After dinner, I opened the package to find a most wonderful book entitled "Compendium Of Automatic Morse Code". I couldn't believe my eyes! The book was sent for me to look over and to offer a review. It is a wonderful piece of work by Ed Goss N3CW. The amount of work and detail that he put into his book is phenomenal.

Granted, this is a niche book. Not every Amateur Radio operator will gravitate towards an edition like this. If you have a love for Morse Code and for the keyers, paddles and other devices that produce it, then this book is for you.

It is exhaustive in its content and detail and everything about this book screams "quality". From its size, 9 X 11 inches, to the feel of the heavy stock of the pages, to the rich and highly detailed color photography, everything about this book says, "Coffee Table Book for Ham Radio".

The table of contents includes chapters on

Chapter 1: An Overview of Telegraphy and Early Keys - History
Chapter 2 - Code Readers, Oscillators and Morse Trainers
Chapter 3 - The Electronic Keyer
Chapter 4 - The Single-Lever Paddle (Without a doubt, my favorite chapter!)
Chapter 5 - The Dual-Lever Paddle
Chapter 6 - Portable/Miniature/QRP Paddles (My second favorite chapter!)
Chapter 7: Commemorative Paddles
Chapter 8 - Combination Key and Paddles
Chapter 9 - Convertible Paddles and Paddle Modifications
Chapter 10 - Automatic Mechanical Keys
Chapter 11 - The Elements of Paddle Design
Chapter 12 - Paddle Adjustment and Maintenance
Chapter 14 - Telegraph Machines, Keyboard Keyers and Terminals
Chapter 15 - Computer Interfacing and the Internet

And various appendices and a bibliography as well as a list of recommended reading.

Pretty exhaustive, eh? If you're thinking,"Well really, how much is there to write about on this subject?" I'll answer that question by saying, "Over 300 pages, as a matter of fact!"

It's not hard to tell that writing this book was a labor of love for N3CW. It's one of the best if not THE BEST book to come down the pike on the subject. It has earned an honored place on my book shelf, right next to my beloved Hertzberg and Collins. However, I can tell you that it doesn't stay on the shelf for long. It has been in my hands a lot and will be for a long time to come.

I would highly recommend adding the "Compendium of Automatic Morse Code" to your Amateur Radio library if you're as much as a devotee of CW operating as I am. I can see this book as a golden answer to that age old question that every Ham gets asked every now and then ....... "Honey, is there any Ham stuff that you'd like for your birthday? Or Christmas, or Hanukkah, etc, etc, etc.

Thanks to Ed N3CW and Schiffer Publishing for sending me a copy! It was a very pleasant surprise and is appreciated more deeply than you will ever know.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

Dit, dit!

LHS Episode #185: Second. Worst. Episode. Ever.

March 13th, 2017 |

Author: Russ K5TUX

In the latest episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, which is in fact better than the title would suggest, we tackle a bunch of different and interesting topics. There's information on driving while hamming, openness at the FCC, Belarussian nanosats, open-source documentation, Firefox returning to Debian, Chinese Linux distributions, things Linux doesn't have that it should, CW clocks and more. Thank you for listening and please donate and share our Hamvention 2017 funding campaign. Thank you!

73 de The LHS Crew

LHS Episode #183: All the Acronyms

February 6th, 2017 |

Author: Russ K5TUX

Hello, listeners! In this episode the Linux in the Ham Shack crew talks about topics including new 60-meter allocations, updates to codec2, the Batbeam antenna, quantum computing, an amateur radio-related cape for Raspberry Pi, morse code decoders, Hamvention and much more. Thank you for downloading this episode and giving it a listen. Don't forget to send us feedback. We're on all the social media networks and we even have a call-in feedback line at +1-909-547-7469.

73 de The LHS Crew

The Best CW training app for Android

April 20th, 2016 |

Author: Richard AA4OO

Morse Trainer for Ham Radio

I'm always on the lookout for useful tools to help increase my copy speed and enjoyment of CW/Morse Code. Training applications for beginners that teach letters and letter groups are great to get started but after you're making QSOs and copying at useful speeds those apps get a little stale.

I recently wrote about using the "Morse News" RSS reader application for PCs. What I liked about Morse News was that it would send the text of news articles as CW. I found it useful as a natural language trainer but I didn't like being tied to my PC during training.

I wanted a similar application for my smart phone.

Just the mobile ticket to CW training

I'm not sure how I missed the "Morse Trainer for Ham Radio" app up to now but I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and really find it useful.

Morse Trainer in QSO Text Mode

Training Modes

This app has all the standard Morse Code training tools such as letter training, letter groups, callsign training etc. It also can send the most common 500 words as well as a random sample QSO training mode. That's all great but what I really find useful is the ability to send your own text that you type or paste into the app and even... wait for it... an ebook reader!

I must really be a geek but I find the ebook reader makes this a must have CW training app for me. I converted some of my ebooks into plain text (using Calibre) and placed them in the CWTrainer's application folder on my smart phone. I then choose the ebook mode, choose a book and it will send it as CW to me and keep track of where I left off. I use this ebook reader mode to break the monotony of my long drive time.

ebook mode

It's great fun to witness the expression of the person beside you at a stoplight hearing Morse Code pouring out of your car. Priceless.

I keep the speed higher than I can comfortably copy so I'm missing some of what is sent. There's nothing like reading an action novel where you're missing half of what's going on. Did Tex get shot or not? I missed that word, hehe.

While this app doesn't read RSS feeds like Morse News application for PC's the text and ebook reader modes more than make up for it. The only bug to-date that I've noticed on my phone is that if I rotate the phone while it's playing it will reset where it was reading from back to the beginning.

Here's a video from the application's author describing it's functions...

And here's a link to the application in the Google Play store.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wolphi.morsetrainer

I have no affiliation with the maker of this application. I just wanted to share.

That's all for now

So lower your power and raise your expectations

73/72
Richard, AA4OO

How-To: Send Perfect Morse Code by Hand (Vintage Video)

March 4th, 2016 |

Author: Tomas NW7US

What is the proper (and most efficient) technique for creating Morse code by hand, using a manual Morse code key? Ham radio operators find Morse code (and the ‘CW’ mode, or ‘Continuous Wave’ keying mode) very useful, even though Morse code is no longer required as part of the licensing process. Morse code is highly effective in weak-signal radio work. And, preppers love Morse code because it is the most efficient way to communicate when there is a major disaster that could wipe out the communications infrastructure.

While this military film is antique, the vintage information is timeless, as the material is applicable to Morse code, even today.

More about Morse code, at my website: http://cw.hfradio.org

Thank you for watching, commenting, and most of all, for subscribing. By subscribing, you will be kept in the loop for new videos and more… my YouTube Channel: https://YouTube.com/NW7US

See my Video Playlist for related Morse code vidoes:

I Need You in My Log! SKCC K3Y/0 Special Event (January 2016)

January 15th, 2016 |

Author: Tomas NW7US

I need your help!

Come meet me on the shortwave (HF) ham bands for the Morse code (CW mode) special event, the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) celebration, with special callsign, K3Y. During the shifts (time slots) listed below, I am the control operator as K3Y/0.

I need you to make a contact with me.

This special event takes place every year during January. We celebrate the legacy of Morse code, and promote Morse code and manual creation of the code by any non-electronic (digital) device and method. Which means that we love mechanical bugs, straight keys, two ends of a wire, or any other manual device, if Morse code is generated. The Straight Key Century Club is a free membership group. The link to their website is below.

I need you to make a contact with me, during my scheduled times, listed below.

NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE (free) SKCC GROUP. To get into my logbook, you meet me on my frequency, and use Morse code to communicate with me. It is painless. If you must, you can use computer-generated Morse code. Or, you can tap it out on any Morse code signalling device, like a bug, a set of paddles, or a straight key; whatever you choose to make Morse code emanate from your HF transmitter.

HOWEVER: For those of you who want to get fully immersed in the spirit of this event, you are invited to use a straight key. And, as a bonus, you may and can join the SKCC group for FREE. Then, you would have your own SKCC number. That’d be cool; we SKCC members use that number in our exchange during our QSO information exchange. But, you don’t need that. Since it is free, why not?

What is needed is simply you, getting on the shortwave band, finding me, hearing me, and responding to me with Morse code. In other words, we need to have a QSO using Morse code. I am not a fast operator, so no problem if you are not very fast. I’ll meet your speed.

In any case, here are some of the times I will be on the air as K3Y/0… please dust off your straight key, bug, paddles, whatever, and make a QSO with me. Thanks!

My current schedule:
UTC Start/End (remember, these are NOT your local times, but are the UTC (GMT) times!)
(revised times, as of edit date)

00:00 - 02:59 19-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 20-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 21-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 22-Jan-16 00:00 - 05:59 23-Jan-16 14:00 - 18:59 23-Jan-16 20:00 - 21:59 23-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 24-Jan-16 14:00 - 18:59 24-Jan-16 21:00 - 21:59 24-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 25-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 26-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 27-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 28-Jan-16 00:00 - 02:59 29-Jan-16 00:00 - 05:59 30-Jan-16 13:00 - 18:59 30-Jan-16 20:00 - 21:59 30-Jan-16 00:00 - 03:59 31-Jan-16 13:00 - 23:59 31-Jan-16
Now, what frequency will I be on?

To find out what frequency I am on:

Visit http://g.nw7us.us/sched4SKCC and look on the right side for my callsign, NW7US. I usually post my frequency of operation right after my call sign.

Typically, evening operation is 30m, then 40m, and then possibly 80m.

If you are trying to alert me to your presence, you may message me on my personal Facebook profile, under my “Tomas David Hood” profile messages, but I may not see that right away.

Here is the detail covering the K3Y operation and the SKCC group: http://skccgroup.com/k3y

73 de NW7US
dit dit

This was last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfRvITFpTb4

Finer than a frog’s hair split twice

December 29th, 2015 |

Author: Richard AA4OO

Elecraft AF-1 Audio Filter Kit

I've been working a lot of SKCC CW stations during the holidays and adjacent stations really interfere with my ability to use the vintage Ten-Tec Century/21. Its built-in audio filter is relatively effective if the band isn't too crowded but if I'm working a station and others pop up within a 1kHz on either side I have a real hard time keeping track of which QSO to listen to. I wanted some relief from the relatively porous audio filtering provided by the old girl.

A kit from Elecraft seemed to be the ticket to better signal isolation for my old radio.

Elecraft AF-1 Audio Filter Kit

Building the kit

This kit is about $60 and is pretty easy to build There are a couple of ICs to solder so it will be easier if you have a temperature controlled, fine tipped soldering iron. Santa brought me a nice soldering iron for Christmas so this was my first chance to make some use of it. Everything about the kit is very straightforward and Elecraft has wonderful build instructions along with a well laid out board. Their instructions list components in the order that you will be installing them on the board, left to right and even include the color coding or numbering for resistors and capacitors right there in the instructions so you don't have to keep going back to look up the coding. I've only built one other kit previously and the Elecraft instructions are better.

My only gripe is that this kit has been out for quite some time, but for some reason they shipped me a Version "A" board that required a trace to be cut and a couple of jumpers installed to correct a board error. I would hope that they would ship new versions of the board but apparently you can get an old version. Next time I order a kit from them I may specify that I want the latest revision of the kit.

Performance

The board powered up and worked right as the last of the solder smoke was wafting away. I connected it to the Ten-Tec and tried to find some adjacent station operations to test against but the bands were not terribly busy tonight. I did manage to get a decent audio test on a calling station and created a video to demonstrate the board's capabilities.

Summary

This is the first kit I've built from Elecraft. It was a simple one. The instructions were excellent, the silkscreen layout on the board was straightforward and all the parts were in the bag. The kit does not come with an enclosure so it looks a bit unfinished and the knobs are a bit wobbly on their tall, plastic shafts. That is my only negative concern regarding the finished kit. Putting it in an enclosure would also require the battery holder to be moved to the bottom of the board to clear the shafts exiting the top of an enclosure. Certainly not a big deal but I would be willing to pay an extra $10 for a ready made enclosure because when I've tried to make them they look like junk.

But the bottom line is that if you have an older radio that lacks good filtering or you've built a homebrew radio that you want to be more usable on the air, the Elecraft AF-1 is an excellent addition. I think it is going to serve me well with my vintage radio. Now to find a project box to fit it.

That's all for now

So lower your power and raise your expectations

73/72

Richard, N4PBQ