Showing posts with label morse code. Show all posts
Showing posts with label morse code. Show all posts

Friday 16 September 2016

How to learn Morse Code

I am often asked,... "how easy is it to learn morse code?"    or " can you teach me morse code?" ...  however, when I tell people that it is as easy as you make it.. but it needs lots of dedication and  practice, they seem to be a bit disappointed...

However... Morse can be learned, in just over two weeks... no..you will not be able to send and receive very fast... but you should be able to read  slow morse ( about  5 wpm ) and send some morse messages .

Here is an excellent guide to what letters to learn.... which order to learn them in...and how to use those letters learned to make up words....


 
 
For "reception" purposes... it will soon become apparent that you, the student, needs to know and understand the sound and "rhythm" of the morse code symbols, before you can actually get to send them on a morse key..

To start off sending, you do not really need a key.... as you hear the sound, and see the symbols on the screen, you can practice, just by tapping on a desktop or even your leg, if you are travelling on a bus or a train... so , you can utilise the spare time when travelling to swot up on your morse receiving, and also practice your sending too !...

Another program that is really excellent for all levels, from beginner to "reasonable" operator standard, is  G4FON Koch Morse Trainer.

For more information click here....




NOTE..... Scroll down below the description text for the actual download button.... 






With the G4FON Koch system, you will learn two letters, at the speed you want to achieve...say 15 wpm... then when you "know" them, you can add another letter, and so on, until you have mastered them all...

Once you have mastered the alphabet, and the punctuation, and the numbers, you can start to "introduce" technical difficulty, such as noise, fading, key clicks etc...

You can even introduce your own text, and have the program send the morse to you...



 To help you  to gain confidence, and learn the rhythm, practice sending 5 letter groups, ....

here is 150 groups of 5 letters, that you can copy and paste into the G4FON program for reception practice...  or you can use this page for practice sending..




You can also use CWCOM to practice with...you do not need to "connect"   .. just click your mouse on screen, and you are in "local" ...  ! .. 


GR 150
BT
26464 ALFA JULIETT BRAVO ZULU
ZULU      MIKE  TANGO  RHZRX SRAKD
SAIDY   VNTGF LEXZN SNGRY YMDKD
LNKTE   JJJCV    LJTKR  PTDOE  MXVFU
JJZOI      DLQQL NYAVD QLWDT WQEHU

FFEOF   LASTB  CCVCB  EEKSA  SSVOQ
KXPKP GVPDU  QYLJJ    WMSAV XLSJH
FILYI    EPMBK  JMBWE SHQSL   GRJYO
JLOLM SCHVG  LAWNJ  FXFHS   YTGCA
JOSAN KICMM TLXWV  JZKAK   WHZAL  - - B 50

ZKILR  VSOHM IRPQT    WTTFP   EOZKD
DQIKQ ZEMJS   BNHYJ   AHYUB YTITI
KFVTQ ITEIC    TRQCX  WOTJS   MWBNB
DAEOF ZGKQP  OLGRQ  OVNOE GDMBX
LVACL EZJSV    JCUUU   BWFBT  DSKSO

JFEPQ     JLUKX   QEMDJ   RXFIM  XBMHE
BWNWC BUNGH GUQXS  BTFST    PZHRX
VIJLX     SCYBG   CAYYP  MEUZI   ACYBG
CAYYP   MEUZI   FUHQJ   VEJMN   CSSXC
JVRRY   PHACI    LAKTZ   LTKLH   OPPUA – - B 100

FHZBM    OAEBB  NRJRQ   UNPHX  FFYUY
FFMRF    NAXHR  YZJZG   TOAAW  LYWXQ
BWIUN   GNSIW   ZJMEF   SGTAX    CEHII
CNRHU  AYJVN    WSQGV GDDQJ   XEBIY
BSAAV   FNVWI   DPVBE   GUACH   JHPLV
JPCXW   PCTEG    INISY    BADPO    ITSXK
HYITX   PNMEJ    XTSTM  VATUM    DPKMF
REBCH  GGREZ   VZDJD    NALTH    HJMEC
ULOWY XIIIS      RMQHM MUOKQ   WGBWP
WEKGD IWTRA  JOQMJ    IMRRL    TRCXE
BT
GR150


If you find this helpful, then I would appreciate any comments.

Sunday 14 August 2016

CWCOM - CONNECTING A MORSE KEY

This section covers how to connect a key, and what settings to use to get it working on cwcom .

EDIT .. ( 27 MAY 2019 )   A TOUCH KEYER CIRCUIT HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE END OF THIS PAGE.... 



Windows 10 users.... check out the Page 7.. Keying with a mouse ..... for an alternative way to connect your key... especially if you use paddle/iambic key or experience keying delays on sound and text. 




If You use your key on a HF transceiver, it will probably have a line jack plug on it..... so you need to wire a Line Jack Socket ( stereo type) phone connector to the DB9 socket.... as shown below.   

If you use a Laptop as your main computer,.... you will need a USB to Serial Converter (as in pic below).  A DB9 socket, and an "In - Line Stereo Phones jack socket" 

Or ,....you can make up a "mouse adapter"  see page 7 "Keying with a mouse".... of this blog for detailed instructions.


You can purchase a USB to Serial Converter  (PL2303) on ebay, Amazon, or direct from Prolific, in the USA...  however... 

 Windows 8    Windows 8.1  and Windows 10 users should be aware of this warning.....

 NOTE:

    Windows 8/8.1/10 are NOT supported in PL-2303
HXA and PL-2303X EOL chip versions.

 
    Run PL2303 CheckChipVersion tool program in Windows XP/Vista/7 to check chip version.


    Windows Vista, XP, 2000, 98 and Windows ME driver technical support are discontinued.


    Prolific recommends to use 

PL-2303HXD (HX Rev D) or PL2303TA chip.


PL2303 USB to Serial Converter "should" be Plug and Play... your computer should automatically find the driver for it.  
  
 

"Plugable" USB to Serial Converter lead
 Most keys have a 3.5 or 1/4" jack already
 wired, and so,you will need to make a 
"rats tail" connector, rather than re-wire
your key to use on cwcom. 
 
 
 You will need ..... 
 a DB9 socket and...
 a Stereo in-line jack socket....
 and a short piece of 3 core cable, 
as used on `phones



It is important that you get the pin numbers correct, and you should be able to see them on the “face” of the DB9 socket.  

 


 

Although you may need a magnifying glass ! !

 


 

 
        It is also important to make sure the line socket connections are the same as the jack plug, otherwise your straight won`t work properly...

 

 

 

You can use an unused jack plug into the line socket to check the continuity of the connections and all the way back to the DB9 socket, with a multimeter, ( or battery and bulb with a length of wire ! ).

Here is a pic of my "Rats Tail" connector
so that I can plug any key into it that has 
the same size 3.5mm jack plug

 
 Depending on the key you use, 
depends on the connections to the DB9…. 


Straight keys connect only two connections…( pins 4 & 6 ) ...

 Paddle keys require three….

DB9 – 9 Pin Serial Port Connection
  • Pin 6 - manual key or left paddle
  • Pin 4 - manual key or common
  • Pin 8 - right paddle
  • Pin 7 - Sounder Output (This pin - RTS - goes high with morse input/output)
  • Pin 5 - Sounder Ground





DB25 – 25 Pin Serial Port Connection (straight keys only connect pin 6 & 20 )
  • Pin 6 - manual key or left paddle
  • Pin 20 - manual key or common
  • Pin 5 - right paddle
  • Pin 4 - Sounder Output (This pin - RTS - goes high with morse input/output)
  • Pin 7 - Sounder Ground
  •  

 
********************************************************************************
 
Setting up the computer....




Once you have done the soldering... ( and checked all the way through!).. 
You need to set up the laptop to recognise the USB to Serial converter.
this is normally automatic  on WINDOWS ...
       ( but see Linux and MAC pages for special  instructions on how to
 set the comport nummber) 

when you plug it into the usb port.
It should automatically find the driver and install that too !!
  
Setting up the COMPORT number 
      (Linux and Mac users see your special pages on this blog
 
After plugging in the USB converter, it should be automatically recognised,
however, in the settings on the Configurations window, you need to specify
COMPORT on the Morse Key tab... it may not "recognise" it, so you will
need to find out which comport number is allocated.  
 

 so here is how to do that....
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
  Finding the COM port number..... (Windows operating system)
 Plug in the USB/serial adapter

 go to "Start"  > Control Panel > Device Manager > Ports (COM & LPT) 

    

Expand that ( click on the + sign)... and, hopefully, you will see
your USB /Serial adapter ( mine is listed as Prolific USB-to-Serial
Comport (COM2)  .. you may have a different number assigned, 
but that is the number you will need.. 
Go to the CWOM configuration window click on the Morse Key 
tab  , and set that number in the   COMport window'
Note... Any number above 14 will not work.  So you may need to
reset the COMport number..... as follows...
 
Resetting the COMPORT NUMBER 
 
  as above.... START > Control Panel > Device Manger > Ports ( COM & LPT)

Right click on Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port... 

and then click on Properties

 Click on the "Port Settings" tab. 

 then on "Advanced" 
In the window you will have the current COMport number
(it may show "in use" which may be true ... or not ! ! ! ). 
If you want to use COM port 6 just change it, (as below) and 
see if it works  ( it probably will! )    
 
you can change this by using the little down arrow box...

and highlighting another number.... 

I suggest you use number 6 ( or any other number not "In Use" !)

 
 Then EXIT every window by clicking " OK  "
*******************************************************************************


So now your are ready to go….
Call up CWCOM and 
click on the Icon to the right of the 
on top of the screen, this is the "Configurations" window.
You will need to do this every time you start CWCOM. 
You should not need to reset the comport number as it is 
automatically selected. 
Set your Morse Input to COMport
Set your  "Morse Key" to the type of key you are using
i.e Manual = Straight key and use "Reset Method"
    Iambic =   Paddle keys, sideswipers etc (incl. mouse) and 
use "Looping Method" 
Uncheck Dit Memory
 
If your keying produces TTT  T TTT  T TTT TTTTT TTT 
or corrupted letters ( not what you are sending ! ). then you
will need to check your "Transmit" speed ... 
(You can do this on the CONFIG window  ( icon to right of black
letter A at top of screen)  
 Usually this occurs when using the down arrow key.. 
(it needs to be set less than 10wpm ) 
Reset the speed to what you think your normal transmit speed is,
then try again.  You may need to do several test runs of 
"Brown bread tastes best with butter and strawberry jam" until
it shows a good copy.      
Once you have a good copy on screen, then for straight keys 
can put at check mark in the LOCK box.. and write down the 
speed settings for future reference, if you need to reset them.
       

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 
 (NOTE>..... you do not need to "connect" to the internet
to do practicing....  just click your mouse cursor on the 
screen... your practice will only be heard and seen by you 
 To chat to other users... you will need to connect
 to the internet.
On the top of the screen.. click on the blue world icon
A new window will open showing connection details..
channel 1000 is the default ( calling ) channel, and your
I.P address number will be in the Callsign box window
 If you have a Ham Radio Callsign, you can enter it there,
and it will show whenever you are sending, If you do not 
have a ham call, you can make one up using your initials
or your name.
click "Connect".. and you should see 
DE IONOSPHERE    Connected
on your screen...        
You may also see other stations that are working, 
so please be patient, and hopefully they will see your call, and as
you if you want to join in, or they may decide to qsy to another channel
 
When you have finished with cwcom,.. you should always click on the
world icon and "Disconnect"  before clicking on the X at the top right
of the screen to close down cwcom properly.
 
    Doing this, clears your call, from the "webview" of all users....
 
IF all that goes according to plan.... then you will be able to 
communicate using very old digital sending  equipment, as they did
on the original internet in the late 1800`s.. on the modern version of 
internet, today !... how about that for "progress"    ? ? 
 **************************************************************

 Landline Sounder users......


If you are intending to use a "Sounder" as on the old "landline/railway telegraph" you can make up an interface from the circuit diagram below




Please read the note below the schematic.....

and observe the "new" circuit layout  
 
The serial port provides output pins that can be connected to a Sounder (early Morse receive device) or used for an external flashing light. Here is the interface Circuit you can use: 

 This circuit was taken from the original help page on the CWCOM main window icons. (See the updated version below)

 
 Updated version.... 27 January 2019
 
Courtesy of Frank
 
As drawn the 1N4005 will not protect the 2N2222 keying transistor from the positive voltage spikes which appear at the collector whenever the transistor is turned off.



This situation is normally addressed by use of a "free-wheeling diode" as drawn on the attached amended schematic.  The free-wheeling diode as drawn limits the maximum collector voltage to the supply voltage plus one diode voltage drop (say Vsupply + 0.7V).



Be aware that there will be a very slight increase in the sounder / relay's release time however this is unlikely to be noticeable even at the blazing Morse speeds some are capable of and will certainly be less noticeable than a failed 2N2222.
 

revised circuit, showing differences  

WARNING... Be very careful connecting this circuit to your serial port or adapter
GND & RTS use different pin numbers, depending on whether it is 9 pin or 25 pin 

 
Enjoy your new program.. and Enjoy Morse !
Good Luck...  and   73`s   DE G3MS va dit dit     
 ******************************************************
 
 
 HERE IS A "TOUCH KEYER" CIRCUIT, 
AS PROVIDED BY GRANT/VK2GEL
 
Thank you, GRANT !. 
 
I have received an interesting email from Grant/VK2GEL in Australia.  He has designed a small PCB to accommodate a few components, and make a nice little tidy interface for Touch Keyers.

Here is his website page...  (click the linky 

http://members.westnet.com.au/page3/touch_keyer_interface.htm

Thank you Grant....


If anyone has any other useful ideas..... please email me... and I will see if they are appropriate to add to this page. (or a new page ! ).