QRQ CW over 100 wpm - tips, techniques and specialized QRQcw GEAR

[Chuck aa0hw]

This video is demo’N a setup to create a custom QRQ CW sine wave, raised cosine edged, ‘keyable’ oscillator

There are already 2 excellent programs for LINUX for a software QRQ CW KEYBOARD… FLdigi and TWQRQ...however, neither one of them are ‘keyable’ - this first video in a new video series on “QRQ CW OVER 100 WPM” uses Fldigi as a tool to build a new software QRQ CW pure sine wave, raised cosine edged, ‘keyable’ oscillator...that you can adjust weight both by TIME and by PERCENTAGE…you can also choose the raised cosine ‘window’, adjust pitch, volume, Q, bandwidth etc… NOTE: at QRQ CW over 100 wpm, many of the cw element parameters become critical for good copy… for example, the edge noise, in spite of the cw element having an 8 ms rise and fall time, increases with cw speed and must be reduced...the edge noise can get so loud as to be 50 percent of what you hear… the VSTs filter it out very well...

NOTE: headphones might be needed in order to hear the subtle cw edge changes
NOTE: only one speaker output is used for the video, to prevent 2 speaker phase issues while listening....you can use a STEREO to MONO adapter if you need to hear this video on both speakers..

first a 1000 hertz tone from Fldigi’s RT QSK CONTROL RT CHANNEL audio output goes to the input of the VST HOST’s first VST PLUGIN, a bandpass filter...which is centered at 1000 hertz...the volume of its output is CRITICAL to get the weight by TIME to work in the following plugins… [ - 1.74 db in this setup ]

the bandpass filter connects to the first REAGATE VST Plugin, where again the threshold volume(-.2 db) is critical to get the weight by TIME to work on the next plugin...another REAGATE…

the 2nd REAGATE PLUGIN is used for adjusting the WEIGHT BY TIME on the CW NOTE...the threshold slider in the middle is set to clone Fldigi’s weight and if you raise the threshold slider higher...you get lighter keying...if you lower the threshold slider you get heavier keying…

the next VST PLUGIN is called “sineCW” and is the heart of the system...where the 1000 hertz tone is used to create a new “cloned” cw element..sineCW lets you adjust the CW PITCH, VOLUME, bandpass filter bandwidth and Q, and rise/fall time

the final vst plugin is called the ENGINEERs FILTER, where we remove any remaining edge noise and select the filter ‘window’ to your preference...each window sounds a bit different...and allows more or less edge noise to get through to the audio output…

a text file from TOM’s, W4BQF, article about copying CW OVER 70 wpm is used...and demoN some of plugins while sending...
https://sites.google.com/site/tomw4bqf/copyingcwover70wpm

http://qrqcwnet.ning.com/forum/topics/home-brewed-software-code-pra...
https://www.image-line.com/support/FLHelp/html/plugins/Minihost%20M...
https://www.meldaproduction.com/MFreeFXBundle
https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/
http://www.rs-met.com/freebies.html

[Chuck aa0hw]

Here is a good demo of transmitting QRQ CW at 150 wpm on an Elecraft K3S using AFCW mode and the WA0EIR TWQRQ's "Hamming" Raised Cosine wave shape:

This video briefly demo's a setup using a raspberry pi 2b to key an Elecraft k3s at 150 wpm using the wa0eir "TWQRQ" CW KEYBOARD...the TWQRQ "HAMMING" RAISED COSINE wave shape is chosen to transmit every cw element using the K3S in AFCW MODE - sending an audio cw tone out on LOWER SIDE BAND...(u must be careful to not activate the rig's ALC circuit or harmonic generation and other audio artifacts will also be transmitted...a pure sine wave with lots of smooth edge shaping is utilized to provide a very clean CW NOTE RF signal on HF)

NOTE: all RF from the K3S on this video was going only to a 50 ohm dummy load

the RIG's VOICE VOX circuit is used to activate the PTT...for transmission of the cw audio tones from the RASPBERRY PI/TWQRQ CW KEYBOARD....however, the first 20 milliseconds will get chopped every time the PTT is reset after a pause in sending(semi QSK)...to prevent this, a SUB TONE at 33 hertz is sent ahead of the actual CW TONE(828 hertz) to activate the PTT first, before the CW NOTE arrives at the K3S LINE INPUT....for transmission on LSB(a2 mode) it was found by testing, that it takes about 30 milliseconds of delay of the cw note, to keep it from being chopped off by the K3S VOX CIRCUITs....the K3S VOX DELAY is set to preference for HANG TIME / semi-qsk

- one demo on this video - is sending a dit at 150 wpm and then the delay line is turned on and off to demo that the dit is being successfully sent and fully intact(if 30 ms is used) or not being sent at all(if zero milliseconds is used)

NOTE: the 33 hertz sub tone is at such a low volume and low frequency, that it is rejected by the K3S, and does not get transmitted by the K3S TRANSMIT CIRCUITS...but the 33 hertz tone is still useful to activate the K3S PTT CIRCUIT(at 33 hertz and minus 23 db's of volume)...NOTE: the 33 hertz audio is filtered out of the K3S sidetone MONITOR transmit audio circuits by using a CALF FILTER(LV2 Plugin) in "band rejection" mode, so you do not hear any 33 hertz tone while monitoring the sidetone on the K3S...

for more info or to request a copy of the latest version of TWQRQ, please contact the TWQRQ creator, WA0EIR, via email...

NOTE: by using the AFCW CW TRANSMIT mode, it is possible to key QRQ CW on the K3S over 100 wpm(since by itself, the K3S transmits CW very poorly above 100 wpm)

[Chuck aa0hw]

Use the ZamGate CW Keyer for better QRQ CW audio when training on FABIAN's Learn CW online

Brief demo of using the ZamGate CW Keyer's CW OUTPUT instead of the default website audio from Fabian's Learn CW Online QRQ CW training website...https://lcwo.net/plaintext

the ZamGate CW Keyer will help you to get better audio for copy by ear training .. the ZamGate CW Keyer can be adjusted for a customized rise and fall time and weight, to help eliminate as much of the QRQ CW element edge noise as preferred, adjust the cw pitch and volume on the fly...and make the cw keying as hard or soft as you might find useful for improving the qrq cw audio tones for your copy by ear QRQ CW training...especially above 120 wpm to 130 wpm high speed Morse code...where the edge noise starts to be almost as loud as the actual cw tone - if the edge noise is not filtered out...

[Chuck aa0hw]

Here is a video demo using FLdigi's RT QSK CONTROL to adjust "cw element weight by time" for QRQ CW being sent at speeds above 100 wpm:

Being able to adjust "weight by time" in tiny increments; i find to be very effective at improving the "sound" and clarity of QRQ CW tones being sent at speeds above 100 wpm..."weight by time" sounds different than "weight by percentage"(the usual type of weight control in cw keyers)

to homebrew a "WEIGHT BY TIME" setup....FLdigi's RT QSK 1 KHZ TONE is used to "key" another CW KEYER - The "sineCW" a VST PLUGIN
http://qrqcwnet.ning.com/forum/topics/home-brewed-software-code-pra...

this video demo's the setup at 111 words per minute speed from FLDigi sending a text file ...then the FLdigi "RT QSK" control is used for coarse adjustment of the "weight by time" and the FLdigi "EDGE TIMING" control is used for fine adjustment of the "weight by time"
(.5 to .1 millisecond increments for COARSE and FINE)

the Mbandpass filter is demoD and turned ON and OFF to show how effective it is at eliminating virtual all of the qrn // qrm from cw element edge noise, where above 100 wpm, the cw element edge noise can get quite loud and distracting...and can almost be as loud as the actual cw tone...

the usual CW REGENERATION VST PATHway is used as shown in many previous videos...REAGATE(which performs audio to cw midi conversion...a midi message is created and transmitted to the sineCW keyer...sineCW makes a very well constructed cw note with adjustable pitch, volume, bandpass filtering, rise/fall time, TONE(SINE,SQUARE,TRIANGLE...etc) and raised cosine waveshape (Linear/exponential/ etc...)(i find the EXPONENTIAL raised cosine edges from sineCW to have a slightly "better" sound above 100 wpm)

You can of course also adjust the typical FLdigi controls for weight by percentage AND dot/dash ratio....and combing all these standard options with the "new ones" as shown in this video... makes for a very versatile QRQ CW STUDIO for high fidelity, high quality CW AUDIO TONE listening...

[Chuck aa0hw]

QRQ CW over 100 wpm - 150 wpm copy test - using "WEIGHT BY TIME" adjustment for better copy by ear

short demo of how using a slight adjustment of "weight by time" to make copying CW OVER 100 wpm by ear, a bit easier

the ZamGate CW RE-KEYER is used to provide the ability to adjust "weight by time" at 150 wpm...NOTE: it seems that even a tiny change is the length of a cw element can make a significant difference on how the ear-brain perceives morse code audio tones at these high speeds

FLdigi is used as a comparison, FLdigi does not allow adjustment of "weight by time"...FLdigi's RT QSK control, is used to "key" the ZamGate CW-RE-KEYER software CW KEYER app

[Chuck aa0hw]

the INGEN software CW KEYER, specifically designed for QRQ CW at 150 WPM and below

INGEN is an amazing LINUX AUDIO APP, that will let you gather all sorts of LV2 plugins inside its connection bay to create many types of AUDIO FUNCTIONS...and FEATURES...and then SAVE them all as one single LV2 plugin...saving the settings and all the plugins you used AND all the connections to all the ports...

this video shows using some AMS-LV2 plugins along with TRIGGER MIDI MONO and CALF FILTERS to create a high performance QRQ CW KEYER with high fidelity audio output...

to "key" the INGEN CW KEYER, you can use any kind of audio sidetone input to the sound card(line input or mic input) AND
you can also use MIDI INPUT to key the INGEN CW KEYER

NOTE: the video view of TRIGGER MIDI MONO did not show the settings correctly...here are the settings i used:
https://imgur.com/qsXxCBT

https://libremusicproduction.com/tools/ams-lv2
http://drobilla.net/software/ingen
https://fkurz.net/ham/qrq.html
http://www.w1hkj.com/
http://lsp-plug.in/?page=manuals&section=trigger_midi_mono
https://calf-studio-gear.org/

for more info on QRQ CW above 100 wpm see our article here:
http://qrqcwnet.ning.com/profiles/blogs/qrq-cw-over-100-wpm-tips-te...
and playlist here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfFan4sDonOfYgekqoqcLClSBF1q...

i have found that the AMS VCA EXPONENTIAL module was "key" to
making it easier for me to "hear" and "copy" QRQ CW at 150 wpm during the FABIAN QRQ APP word training and the FLdigi text file CW sending training...(the RT CHANNEL of FLdigi's output was used to "key" the INGEN CW KEYER's audio input) working with the AMS ENVELOPE module...The AMS ENVELOPE settings can be viewed here: https://imgur.com/6EgnmYp

[Chuck aa0hw]

a High Performance QRQ CW file player using TWQRQ & the INGEN CW RE-Keyer

TWQRQ provides many CW timing controls that allows you to fine tune your QRQ CW ELEMENT TIMING

The INGEN CW RE-Keyer provides many CW adjustments to fine tune the "sound" of the CW audio output

combining these two software APPS, creates a very high performance QRQ CW Keyer audio output for best possible COPY BY EAR ...that you can "TUNE" to your preference ...on the "FLY"

please contact the developer of TWQRQ if you would like to have the latest version of TWQRQ http://wa0eir.bcts.info/twcw.html
Ted - WAØEIR

[Chuck aa0hw]

Here is a short video demo introducing a new software QRQ CW KEYER - the AD5DZ CW KEYER, which allows for many more options than any other software CW KEYER, to custom create an ideal CW NOTE.  This video shows a test between FLdigi and the AD5DZ CW KEYER at 101 wpm...the AD5DZ CW KEYER is using a specialized raised cosine window combination with the HANN WINDOW as the base and then adding a GAUSSIAN WINDOW on top of the HANN WINDOW...which creates a new type of CW NOTE that has some significant advantages over a HANN ONLY raised cosine window(FLdigi uses HANN only)

the AD5DZ "RECRI KEYER" by having the GAUSSIAN window added to the HANN "raised cosine" cw element edge shaping function, makes for "clearer" cw audio tones with less edge noise... the RECRI KEYER CW NOTE, is slightly "thinner", with steeper curves on the rise & fall time...so...the Recri Keyer's addition of the Gaussian Window to its base HANN WINDOW, allows for just a little more "breathing room" between characters...ALL IN ALL, the Recri Keyer HANN*GASSIAN "raised cosine" window, is giving COPY BY EAR//brain, a few tiny advantages over a "HANN ONLY" window...

here is an IMAGE showing a comparison between the FLdigi and Recri Keyer dit construction at 101 wpm:
https://imgur.com/HSuVzEa

ALSO NOTE that:
the addition of a basic LP/HP audio filter - cleans up the edge noise significantly on both FLdigi & RECRI KEYER

- both FLdigi and the RECRI KEYER were set to 7ms rise/fall time

- FLdigi was only using the HANN "raised cosine" window
- RECRI KEYER was using the HANN*gaussian "raised cosine" window

- CW SPEED was 101 wpm on both KEYERs
- text file being sent was the same, from W4BQF's famous article:
https://sites.google.com/site/tomw4bqf/copyingcwover70wpm

here is the GITHUB site for AD5DZ RECRI CW KEYER:
https://github.com/recri/keyer

[Chuck aa0hw]

Here is a video to show you how to build the AD5DZ CW Keyer from its source code:

This video shows how to build the RECRI KEYER from source code:
https://github.com/recri/keyer

Required packages - install the following first:
NOTE: (this video demo was recorded on a laptop using Lubuntu 16.04 64bit OS)

build-essential
git-core
libasound2-dev
jackd2
gladish
libfftw3-dev
libjack-jackd2-dev
tk8.6-dev
tcllib
tklib
tcl-udp
libusb-1.0-0-dev
libgsl-dev OR it could be named libgsl0-dev

optional:
patchage - jack audio connection bay

[Chuck aa0hw]

Here is a video to demo the features & functions of the AD5DZ CW Keyer:

this video goes over the features and functions of the AD5DZ software CW KEYER

https://github.com/recri/keyer

[Chuck aa0hw]

here is a video to demo the AD5DZ QRQ software CW KEYBOARD - and how to adjust some of its menu settings for better QRQcw copy by ear:

This video demos adjusting some of the AD5DZ software CW KEYER menu options & their settings - to help with copying qrq cw - using the AD5DZ - CW KEYBOARD - module

to hear the tiny changes these settings make, it may require the use of headphones while listening to this qrq cw example

the qrq cw text file being sent by the AD5DZ CW KEYBOARD is from TOM's famous QRQcw article: https://sites.google.com/site/tomw4bqf/copyingcwover70wpm

The AD5DZ software CW KEYER:
https://github.com/recri/keyer