Some struggle with code that varies in speed–for example, it might expect received code at the same speed your keyer is set to. Transceivers decoders are typically pretty basic and not terribly adaptive. I’ve reviewed numerous transceivers with built-in CW decoders. This particular reader was asking about using their transceiver’s built-in CW decoder along with pre-programmed CW exchanges. The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) uses CW skimming to spot CW activators 24/7. In the field, you could also use a laptop or tablet to do the same thing. Built-in transceiver decodingĪt home, you can also use powerful CW skimmers on your computer–sometimes via SDR applications–to decode CW across the bands. It’s not always as easy and straight-forward as the example above (sometimes, for example, the DX may only send back a portion of your callsign with a question mark) but it is possible to work short exchange DX and DXpeditions without knowing much CW at all. The reason why this procedure is so easy is because you only need to recognize your own callsign in CW the DXpedition at the other end is doing all of the hard work by picking callsigns from the pileup and replying.Īnyone could learn how to work these short DX exchanges in CW over a weekend. My only skill would be knowing what my callsign sounds like in CW at 20-30 WPM. When the DXpedition sends back my callsign and possibly a signal report (“ K4SWL 5NN“), I then press the memory button with my reply (“ 5NN TU“). I simply press the memory button with my callsign to call the DXpedition. “ 5NN TU DE K4SWL” or ” K4SWL 5NN TU” or even simply “ 5NN TU“.To work a DXpedition in CW, for example, I would only need to program the following two messages in my CW memory keyer: How do they do this? It’s simple, really: DX exchanges are incredibly simple and formulaic.įor example, in order to work a typical DXpedition the only CW one really needs to know is what one’s own callsign sounds like in CW at a relatively high speed. There are a number of DXers who effectively rely on CW skimmers, keyboard sending, and pre-programmed exchanges in order to work DX. It would likely be frustrating.”īefore getting into a field activation, let’s talk about one area where even modest CW skills can be used to snag contacts. His question was simple, “Could I activate a park with this sort of setup?” At present, he doesn’t know CW at all, but he’s starting to learn. The idea would be to get on the CW bands for experience as he’s learning CW. He even thought about using a keyboard-based keyer as opposed to paddles or a straight key. The learning curve is actually more modest than you might think, which is the reason there are so many new operators employing this earliest of communication modes.Ī reader recently asked if he thought he could get away with doing a park activation for POTA using the built-in CW decoder in his transceiver and an external memory keyer pre-programmed with a wide variety of exchanges and signal reports. Thing is, CW is a skill so there is a learning curve associated with it. The Xiegu G90 in CW Decode mode (note the text at the bottom of the display)Īs more and more radio operators hit the field to activate parks and summits, many want to turn to CW to benefit from Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) spotting and also to take advantages of the inherent efficiencies of CW at QRP power levels.
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