Here's yet another way to use your FLEX radio with VAC to drive your CW
decoder....
http://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxlabwiki/DDUtilPowerSDRN1MMSkimmerCommander
hearing aides in both ears, auditory nerve damage; anything other than
digital modes I need ALL the tools I can use!
73 ES DX,
Gary -- AB9M
-----Original Message-----
From: Ray, K9DUR
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2012 4:17 PM
To: 'Robert Logan' ; 'dan edwards'
Cc: 'Flex Radio Mailing List' ; 'William Speedie'
Subject: Re: [Flexradio] PSDR and CW Get settings
Bill,
I too use CWGet to reinforce my copy & here is the way I have it set up.
The key to my setup is that I am using my PC speakers to listen to my
FLEX-5000A. I simply plug a cable between the PWR SPKR OUT jack on the
radio & the Line/Mic In jack on the PC. Then you can select the default PC
soundcard in CWGet & copy until your heart's content. I know that the extra
cable adds a potential for ground loops, but I haven't problems yet. At one
time I tried using AudioRepeater that comes with VAC instead of the hardware
cable, but the latency was too high. I understand that the latency is a lot
less in VAC v4.11, but haven't taken time to try it yet.
A couple of comments on those who merely ranted about the philosophy on
using a CW copy aid rather than answering your question.
I will have been licensed 52 years next month, but never was much of a CW
operator. The fact that I passed the 20 wpm code test was more due to luck
& multiple choice questions than it was due to my copying skills. About 4
years ago, I decided it was high time to start operating CW. (One point
that needs to be made is that almost all of my HF operating is chasing DX or
contesting.) I got CWGet & used it to copy while listening. About 99% of
what I copied was with CWGet & only about 1% by ear. As time progressed, my
copying skill improved & my dependence on CWGet lessened. Now, the
percentages are nearly reversed -- I copy about 90% by ear & only rely on
CWGet less than 10% of the time. That, I believe is what you are wanting to
achieve by using CWGet.
Someone made the comment, "CW machines take away the starts and stops and
misspacings and plain mistakes of real code. That's what is really on the
air in actual QSOs." In conversational CW, that is probably a true
statement, but I seldom operate that way. I would say that in contests at
least 99.99% of what you hear is machine generated using macros in the
contesting software. I know that it is a shortcoming in my CW skills, but I
REALLY can't copy some of the stuff that passes for CW when it is sent by
hand.
The same person also said, "...just listen to real code." I agree
wholeheartedly. However, I gathered from your original e-mail that you
intended all along to use CWGet to supplement, not replace, copying by ear.
As I found out from my own experience, CWGet is an excellent tool for
improving your copy skills.
I applaud your desire to improve your CW skills. You are where I was 4
years ago. After I started working on CW, I was able to achieve DXCC on CW
in about a year, even from my "little pistol" station. If you had told me
back then that today my favorite contest mode would be CW, I would have
thought you were crazy, but you would have been right.
73, Ray, K9DUR
http://k9dur.info
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