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MORSE ACADEMY OPERATION MANUAL VERSION 3R2 - APRIL 11th, 1991 Morse Academy is distributed to Radio Amateurs by The W5YI Group P.O. Box #565101 Dallas, TX 75356-5101 Tel: 1-800-669-W5YI (toll free) Morse Academy -- Version 3R2 April 14th, 1991 Index Section Page Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Learning Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Receiving Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Endurance Trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Proficiency Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Morse Keyboard Tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Keyboard Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Weighting Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 View Previous Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Option Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Appendixes A - Amateur Radio Morse Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . 30 B - Frequently Used Q-Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 C - Construction Notes for an External Tone Generator . . 33 Introduction Page 1 Morse Academy is a Morse code teaching program incorporating Computer Aided Instruction (CAI) that is extremely useful in teaching the code. It is designed to help students who have no knowledge of the code or computers. Operation is simple with functions selected by a single key. Different sessions are provided to allow students to vary the way they learn the code. Testing is automated to allow the student to spend more time on learning, and less on the tedious task of checking the result of a session. Morse Academy includes: - on-line HELP for each session (F10 key) - option settings that can be saved on diskette or disk so they are not lost when power is turned off - the ability to edit and sequence the character set used in all sessions - a set of sample code tests for student practice - the ability to generate random Novice, General, and Extra test sessions for practice - the ability to create, save, and reload text for replay - the ability for the student to input his copy via the keyboard during the Proficiency session and have it automatically compared with the generated text at the end of the session - the ability to save all computer generated text for later printing (F9 key) - the ability to select your own desired character weightings (frequency of occurrence of characters) - the saving of the history of mistakes from the last Receiving Game for optional use in computing character weighting - the optional ability to allow the Receiving Game to reorder the character set in worst-to-best sequence - the optional generation of Morse Prosigns in context that helps a student understand their meaning - the ability to adjust the code sending speed for the variances of different PC's - optional use of an external tone generator via the printer port (or other computer ports) Introduction Page 2 Morse Academy's features will help a student learn the code. Some are of use to an instructor accompanying the student thru his short odyssey to code proficiency. It's still true that a small amount of hard work is needed to learn the code. Computer feed back during the process of learning Morse code helps a student, so learning the code is relatively painless with Morse Academy. Developing copying skills takes an effort by the student and the devotion of time to the process. If you have comments or suggestions to improve Morse Academy, I'd like to hear from you. Please write to: Joseph Speroni, AH0A 259 Copper Beach Drive Blue Bell, PA 19424 Introduction Page 3 Installation for a Hard Disk System The first time you use Morse Academy you should carefully follow the steps in this section. Afterwards you will only need step 3 to use the program. There is the possibility of unforeseen problems. It is recommended that before starting you make a backup copy of the discette to insure you always have a readable copy. Follow these steps: Step 1. Create a Directory to hold Morse Academy C: <Enter> CD\ <Enter> MD MA <Enter> CD MA <Enter> Step 2. Copy the discette files to the hard disk COPY A:*.* C: <Enter> Step 3. Execute Morse Academy CD\MA <Enter> MA <Enter> Installation for a Floppy Disk System Before performing the copy operation you must format a new system disk onto which you can copy Morse Academy. Follow these steps: Step 1. Create a system disk to hold Morse Academy FORMAT B:/S <Enter> Step 2. Copy the discette files to the newly formatted discette Replace your DOS discette in drive A with the Morse Academy master. COPY A:*.* B: <Enter> Step 3. Execute Morse Academy Remove the Morse Academy discette in drive A and store it. Mount the new DOS discette with Morse Academy files copied on it (from drive B) into drive A. MA <Enter> G. General Information Page 4 ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Select session from menu by letter ║ ║ ║ ║ Morse Academy Version 3R1, Copyright 11 Mar 91 J. Speroni AH0A/7J1AAA ║ ║ This program was developed based on ideas from AEA's Morse University ║ ║ ║ ║ Select: █ ║ ║ L. Learning menu ║ ║ R. Receiving game ║ ║ E. Endurance trials ║ ║ P. Proficiency session ║ ║ M. Morse keyboard tutor ║ ║ ║ ║ K. Keyboard ║ ║ W. Weighting selection ║ ║ V. View last session ║ ║ O. Option selections ║ ║ ║ ║ D. DOS return ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ Morse Academy is distributed to Radio Amateurs by ║ ║ The W5YI Group ║ ║ P.O. Box #565101 ║ ║ Dallas, TX 75356-5101 ║ ║ Tel: 1-800-669-W5YI (toll free) ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 1. Morse Academy Main Menu G. General Information Page 5 Morse Academy is based on Computer Assisted Instruction concepts from AEA's Morse University. The author thanks AEA, a company dedicated to support of amateur radio, for their help and encouragement in developing this program. Operation is menu driven with a single key selecting the desired session: (L)earning: Selects characters, and provides learning mode. (R)eceiving game: An interactive game to teach the Morse code. (E)ndurance game: An interactive game to increase copying skills. (P)roficiency: Generates actual code tests to improve skills. (M)orse keyboard tutor: An interactive game to develop keyboard skills. (K)eyboard: Used to send Morse practice text from disk files. (W)eightings: Varies the frequency of occurrence of characters. (V)iew sessions: Displays prior session results. (O)ptions: Allows selection of tone, screen, and other options (D)OS return Proper way to terminate and SAVE CHANGED OPTIONS. The ESC key serves as a STOP RUN key. Push it to return from a sub-session to a session, and again to the main menu. The ALT key is a shift key for the European characters. It is shown in line 24 of some menus as an UP-ARROW. The F9 key prints a screen. The F10 key can be used AT ANY TIME to display HELP. A prompt for the next step is ALWAYS shown in reverse video on line 1. L. Learning Menu Page 6 ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ARRL Standard Character Set ║ ║ ║ ║ 1 A 17 M 33 SK [+] ║ ║ 2 E 18 P 34 1 ║ ║ 3 R 19 G 35 2 ║ ║ 4 N 20 F 36 3 ║ ║ 5 AR [*] 21 , 37 4 ║ ║ 6 █ 22 W 38 5 ║ ║ 7 I 23 B 39 6 ║ ║ 8 O 24 BT [=] 40 7 ║ ║ 9 S 25 J 41 8 ║ ║ 10 D 26 / 42 9 ║ ║ 11 H 27 K 43 0 ║ ║ 12 C 28 Q ║ ║ 13 U 29 X ║ ║ 14 Y 30 V ║ ║ 15 . 31 Z ║ ║ 16 L 32 ? ║ ║ ║ ║ F. First hearing ║ ║ L. Lesson number 1 ║ ║ C. Character speed 16 WPM ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 2. Learning Menu L. Learning Menu Page 7 This menu allows students to chose the characters they wish to learn. This can be done by typing the letter L followed by the lesson numbers to be learned (type the same number twice to select only one lesson). You can also include or exclude characters by using the INSERT or DELETE keys and moving the blinking cursor using the DOWN or UP cursor control keys. Characters selected have their two digit numeric sequence number shown in reverse video. The character set and their order can be modified using Selection and Edit commands in the main menu (O)ption selections. The (F)irst hearing key introduces the characters being learned. Each character is sent four times during which it is displayed in large full screen format. At first display occurs prior to the sending of the character in Morse code, with the time slowly being decreased with successive repetitions. All characters being learned are sent in a random sequence, with the full set being repeated until the session is terminated by ESC. The (C)haracter speed key sets the average speed characters are sent. Morse Academy is set to send at a relatively fast character speed. The default character speed of 16 WPM is a good choice for students aiming for a code speed of 13 WPM. This may seem fast, but learning the individual characters at this rate with pauses between them makes it easier to progress. At faster average sending rates the character speed remains the same but the pauses between them shortens. The ENTER key activates the keyboard and allows a student to associate a single keyboard key with the Morse code sound for it. Students can use this as another way to become familiar with characters as they are added to the practice sessions. The Learning menu is the only one that controls the number of characters being learned. This selection applies to all sessions. The ESC key can be pressed while in the keyboard activate mode (started with the ENTER key) to return to the Learning menu and a second time to return to the main menu. R. Receiving Game Page 8 ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ RECEIVING GAME ║ ║ ║ ║ Select: █ ║ ║ S. Sending speed 5 WPM ║ ║ C. Character speed 16 WPM ║ ║ ║ ║ G. Group size 1 ║ ║ W. Weighting Random ║ ║ R. Resequencing Off ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 3. Receiving Game Menu R. Receiving Game Page 9 The Receiving Game is an interactive game that allows a student to practice code by listening to a random group of 1 to 9 characters, typing the characters on the keyboard, and having the computer check if he or she is correct. If correct, a short high pitch tone is emitted. If wrong, a long low frequency tone sounds, the correct answer is displayed in the center of the screen with an indicator showing the character that caused the error and the incorrect student input displayed below it. This feedback allows students to learn characters thru repetition and correction. The number of characters used during the game is determined by the Learning menu. For the first Receiving Game, use the Learning menu to select just a few characters, say three. Then enter the Receiving Game, and select the (S)ending speed, (C)haracter speed, (G)roup size and (W)eighting as desired before starting a game. The (S)peed key allows the selection of the average speed that text is sent. The (C)haracter speed key sets the speed that characters are sent. Morse Academy is designed to send at a relatively fast character speed. The default character speed of 16 WPM is a good choice for students aiming for a code speed of 13 WPM. This may seem fast, but learning the individual characters at this rate with pauses between them makes it easier to progress. At faster average sending rates the speed of characters remains the same but the pauses between them shortens. The (W)eight key selects different frequency patterns of sending of characters. This allows the student to control the frequency of repetition of characters to stress those requiring more emphasis. Each time the key is pressed one of following four options is successively selected: Random - the character weight will be random (each character having the same probability of being sent). Text - the character weight approximates that of english text with the vowels occurring more frequently. (This will cause the average speed to increase since these characters are short in Morse code). Note that with this weighting, characters sent in sequence are allowed to duplicate. With the other choices duplicate characters in sequence will not occur. History - the characters missed during the last complete Receiving Game will be sent more frequently. Student's - the character weight set by the student will be used to control the frequency of selection. Use the main menu (W)eighting session to display these selections graphically and to create a student's desired weighting. The respective default values of 5 WPM, 16 WPM and 1 character are good choices for a beginning student. R. Receiving Game Page 10 Start the game with the ENTER key and it will randomly generate the letters A, E, R, N, T, or the Prosign AR (If you have started with Lesson number 1). Continue to play the game until you're comfortable with these characters. With only three characters, the character's sound and their position on the keyboard are quickly learned. The number of characters can be increased by adding a few each day. In just a few weeks the student will know all the characters and their positions on the keyboard. A running total of right and wrong answers is constantly displayed on the screen. A total of 20 wrong answers completes a game. During the game the remaining number of wrong answers is graphically displayed as solid horizontal bars on the screen. The game ends when the last bar is gone. The session can be ended earlier by depressing ESC. In either case, the program signals completion by sending the Prosign SK (End of Final Transmission). At the end of the game, the characters sent during the session are displayed on the screen, in order of the worst result. Each character is displayed with the number of incorrect responses, and the number of times the character was correctly copied. For example "F <4,11>" shows the student missed the letter F 4 times and copied it correctly 11 times. This allows the student to review the session and find which characters need more work. The results of a Receiving Game can optionally be used to re-sequence the characters on the Learning menu. Use the (R)esequence key to select this option (default is "Off"). If this option is selected and the Learning menu is brought up after a game is played to completion, the characters will be displayed in order by the worst character, giving the student a history of the characters causing the most trouble. To practice those characters go to the (L)earning menu and set the number of characters being learned so only the ones in the beginning of the list are used. Remember those characters needing more study will be at the top of the list. Another important function of the Receiving Game is its automatic setting of weightings to correspond to the characters missed during the game. NOTE - this occurs only if game goes to completion, i.e. the ESC key is NOT used to terminate the game early. The Weighting option in all menus can be used to select the HISTORY weighting option. The use of this weighting option will allow the student to repeat troublesome characters requiring practice. After the student is comfortable with single letters, but early in his training, the group size should be set to 2 (and later 3 and higher), so memory (copying behind the text) can start to be developed. This can not be over emphasized. Skills in copying depend very much on getting confidence in copying longer sequences. R. Receiving Game Page 11 Mix sessions between the Receiving Game and Proficiency testing to develop the ability to write characters as well as input them on the keyboard. When the Receiving Game becomes too easy try switching to the Endurance Trials to get practice in copying long character sequences without an error. Students can adjust the mix of sessions to match free time and the pace of learning. You should make an effort to spend at least 30 minutes every other day practicing. With only a little effort Morse code skills will come easily. E. Endurance Trials Page 12 ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Press the ENTER key to start the trials or ESC to terminate the game ║ ║ ║ ║ ENDURANCE TRIALS ║ ║ ║ ║ Select: █ ║ ║ S. Starting speed 5 WPM ║ ║ F. Final speed 10 WPM ║ ║ C. Character speed 16 WPM ║ ║ ║ ║ W. Weighting Random ║ ║ T. Transmit Characters ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 4. Endurance Trials Menu E. Endurance Trials Page 13 The Endurance trials send characters or words continuously at the selected speeds until the student errors. The (S)tarting, (F)inal, and (C)haracter speeds can be set before each session. Code is sent as continuous characters or as random length words. Use the (T)ransmit key to select the mode desired. The (W)eight key selects the desired weighting. Use the ENTER key to start the session. A complete session is fifteen trials but it can be ended at any time by pressing ESC. Each trial displays the number of characters received correctly. At the end of a trial the LAST FIVE characters sent just before an error are displayed. The character in reverse video in the middle of the screen is the expected correct one that caused the trial to stop. During an Endurance trial the reason for an error is often not the last character sent, but one of those proceeding the error. A character that causes the student to pause and think can be the real reason for an error even if it is correctly copied. So much time passes trying to recall a problem character that even a simple one following will be missed. Examining the characters preceding the error will give the student information about the characters requiring more work. The computer displays the incorrect response in reverse video in the last column (either the character input or the phrase TIMED OUT indicating a failure to respond within the time allowed.) The expected character is also shown in reverse video. By comparing the reverse video columns and examining preceding characters, the student can determine the reason for the error. One type of error that the student should take care not to make is pressing a key too long. The computer keyboard routine assumes that a key that is depressed a long time is to be repeated. You will be able to spot this problem by comparing the computer reported mistaken character with the second last character sent by the computer. If they are the same, chances are that you are pressed a key too long. Keyboard technique is important to excel in this game. The Morse Keyboard Tutor session can also help develop keyboard techniques. A candidate for an FCC Amateur Radio license can copy one minute of code without error as an alternative to passing a quiz on the contents of a Morse transmission (70% is required) . This game will help you perfect the skills to do that. To pass in this way a candidate would have to copy: 5 WPM - 25 characters 13 WPM - 65 characters 20 wpm - 100 characters Prosigns, punctuation, and numbers count as two characters for the purposes of the real examination and you can go over the text and correct obvious errors from context, e.g. TSE RIG to THE RIG. P. Proficiency Session Page 14 ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Select options, press ENTER to start, or ESC to return to main menu ║ ║ ║ ║ PROFICIENCY SESSION ║ ║ ║ ║ Select: █ ║ ║ S. Start speed 5 WPM ║ ║ F. Finish speed 13 WPM ║ ║ C. Character speed 16 WPM ║ ║ ║ ║ D. Duration 3.0 Minutes ║ ║ G. Group size Random ║ ║ W. Weighting Random ║ ║ ║ ║ U. Use file (Off) ║ ║ T. Text generation (Off) ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 5. Proficiency Session Menu P. Proficiency Session Page 15 The Proficiency session sends character groups at selected speeds. This type of practice simulates actual text transmissions, but with random characters grouped into "words". The start and finish code speeds can be set independently. This allows the student to start at a comfortable code speed and have the computer automatically increase speed during the session. The (S)tart key sets the starting average speed of sending, the (F)inish key the final average speed, and the (C)haracter key the character speed. The character speed can not be set to a value smaller than the start or finish speeds. If the character speed is set greater than the average sending speed, the timing between characters is adjusted, as needed, to maintain the desired average speed. The current average text speed, and elapsed time are constantly displayed during the session. The (D)uration key selects the length of the session. It can be set from 0.1 to 9.9 minutes. If the start and finish speeds are different, the session duration is divided into equal periods (number of periods is Finish-Start+1) and the average code speed is increased by 1 WPM after each period. By depressing the (G)roup key, the character groupings into "words" can be set to either a random length (up 9 characters) or the group size desired. Type zero to select a random length or 1 to 9 for the desired number. Code transmission is started with the ENTER key. It ends with the transmission of the Prosign AR (End of Transmission) after the selected duration expires. The student can copy the text on paper and compare the results displayed at the end of the session, or he can copy along on the keyboard and have the computer display it at the end of the session. If keyboard input is used, Morse Academy compares the student's copy with the computer generated text, and shows differences in reverse video. Missing characters in the student's copy are shown as a "~". The texts are displayed on pairs of lines with the student's copy below the computer's. The compared text can be printed (use the F9 key) with blank lines inserted after each pair to allow easier manual comparison. Screen reverse video (the differences) is shown by printing a character "-" underneath each line pair. The (U)se file key allows the student to select a stored file for transmission rather than generating random code. If selected, the list of files is displayed and input of the desired file's name requested. Starting the session with the ENTER key will cause the file's text to be sent. The (T)ext generation key allows the student to generate random QSO's as another option for practice. The list of text generation options is displayed and input requested - NOVICE, GENERAL, EXTRA, or CALLS (the latter is call sign practice only). The generated text is also saved under the same name as a .KB file that can be reloaded in the Keyboard session. P. Proficiency Session Page 16 For the (U)se and (T)ext options, if the student inputs his copy via the keyboard (rather than copying on paper), Morse Academy gives an opportunity at the end of transmission to correct the text before comparing it with the file's text. This is what a student could do during an actual examination and allows a chance to practice. The copy input by the student during transmission is displayed on the screen, and a prompt invites the student to edit the text. The active editing keys are the same used with the keyboard program: BACKSPACE, the cursor control keys UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, LEFT ARROW, HOME, END, PAGE UP, and PAGE DOWN. The DELETE key functions to remove a character. The INSERT key toggles between insert and overlay modes. The insert state is shown in the lower right hand corner of the screen during editing. Editing is ended by pressing the ENTER key causing a comparison of the student's input text (as corrected) and the contents of the file. Note that neither the (U)se nor (T)ext file name is remembered between sessions. It is always "Off" at the start of a Proficiency session. The Proficiency session can be stopped at any time by pushing the ESC key. Parameters can then be changed and the session restarted or ESC can be pushed a second time to return to the main menu. M. Morse Keyboard Tutor Page 17 ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Select options, press ENTER to start or ESC to return to the main menu ║ ║ ║ ║ MORSE KEYBOARD TUTOR ║ ║ ║ ║ Select: █ ║ ║ C. Character speed 16 ║ ║ ║ ║ W. Weighting Random ║ ║ D. Display text After ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 6. Morse Keyboard Tutor Menu M. Morse Keyboard Tutor Page 18 The Morse Keyboard Tutor allows a student to practice his keyboard skills by having the computer send single characters and wait until he responds on the keyboard. If correct, the next character is sent immediately. If not a short low tone is sounded and the character is re-transmitted. During this session the student should make an effort NOT TO LOOK at the keyboard. Use of a blindfold while a bit extreme, is recommended. Morse Tutor will help develop typing skills in combination with copying code, but only if an effort is made not to watch the keyboard. The (C)haracter speed key selects the individual character transmission speed, and the (W)eight key the character weighting. The (D)isplay option allows selection of the transmitted text either "Before" it is sent or "After". If the "Before" option is selected, the character is displayed for the time required to send a space between words before transmitting the character. Errors are displayed using reverse video. The display can be disabled during transmission by setting this option to "Off". The session starts after pressing the ENTER key and can be ended at any time by pressing ESC. At the end of the session, the text sent is displayed and a summary of the student's reaction time in pressing the key for each character is given in milliseconds (thousandths of a second). By practicing keyboard skills the student can improve reaction time and improve performance in other sessions. K. Keyboard Program Page 19 ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ EDIT mode keys active; Use keys F1-F8 or ESC to return to main menu ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ AS @ AR * SK + KN ^ BK # -- = SN $ ║ ║F1 SEND F2 13 WPM F3 16 MIN F4 CLS F5 LOAD F6 SAVE F7 DEL F8 STAT INS║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 7. Keyboard Program Menu K. Keyboard Program Page 20 The keyboard session allows actual text to be prepared and sent for practice. It is possible to edit, save and reload text to and from diskette or hard disk. The function keys F1 thru F8 select program options. F1 will toggle the keyboard between EDIT and SEND states. In SEND state the text on the screen will be sent in Morse code. Once the last character is sent (marked by the small square character at the end of the text), transmission ends. At any time during transmission of the code, pressing F1 causes sending to be suspended, and the EDIT state entered. If the Prosigns option (in the Options menu) is "On", whenever the program enters the Edit state it sends the Prosign AS (wait) to show suspension of code transmission. The cursor position displayed is the next letter to be sent. Pressing F1 again returns to the SEND state and causes code transmission to resume where it left off. As a memory aid for the operator, line 24 is used to display the keys to send the Morse Prosigns. For example " AR * " means that the Prosign AR is sent using the "*" key on the keyboard. The program MUST be in the EDIT state to use the F2 thru F8 program options. NOTE - the default mode is EDIT mode; you can only enter SEND mode by pressing F1 when in EDIT mode. F2 allows the average speed of transmission to be set in words in minute. F3 allows the character speed of code transmitted to be set in words per minute. If the character speed selected is faster than the average code speed, additional delay is inserted between characters to cause the average speed of transmission to be that selected by the F2 key. The character speed cannot be set below than the average text sending speed. At the end of the message, the elapsed time is displayed on line 23 along with an equivalent characters count (numerics, punctuation, and prosigns count as two characters). This information is used to compute and display the effective sending speed, i.e. WPM=10*(Count)/(Seconds). F4 clears the screen to allow the start of input of new text. F5 allows the loading of previously saved text. Pushing the key displays a complete list of all saved files, and provides a prompt on the bottom line of the screen requesting the name of the file to be loaded. If the file is available, the screen is cleared and the stored text displayed. F6 allows the saving of screen text for later recall. If overwriting of a previously saved file is requested, the operator is given the opportunity to confirm that overwriting is desired. K. Keyboard Program Page 21 F7 allows files to be deleted from the directory. F8 displays character statistics and estimated time for the text displayed. If you wish to add your own ASCII files, just copy them to the your MA discette in the same sub-directory with the other .KB files, making sure that each file has an extension of ".KB". Morse Academy will automatically add them to its directory at the start of execution. In EDIT state the following editing keys are active: UP - cursor up one line DOWN - cursor down one line PAGE UP - cursor to previous line PAGE DN - cursor to next line LEFT - cursor left one character RIGHT - cursor right one character HOME - cursor to home position END - cursor to end of text The ENTER key inserts an end of line symbol (small triangle) at the cursor position and erases the remainder of the line. The INSERT key toggles the keyboard mode between INS (insert) and OVR (overlay) states. The state is displayed on the right of the bottom line of the screen. In OVR state input from the keyboard replaces text on the screen. In INS mode it is inserted into the text and the screen text scrolled to the right to allow space for the inserted character. It is possible to embed in the text, information about the average speed of code to be sent and the character speed to be used during the transmission. This is done by preceding the text with a string of the form "<ww:cc>", where ww is the average sending speed, and cc is the character speed. For example "<5:16>" causes the text to be sent at 5 WPM, but with a character speed of 16 WPM. ESC ends the keyboard session and returns to the main menu. W. Weighting Selection Page 22 ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Select options or press ESC to return to the main menu ║ ║ ║ ║ Select: █ ║ ║ W. Weighting of characters: Random ║ ║ 5.5% │ ║ ║ R │ ║ ║ e 5.0% │ ║ ║ l │ ║ ║ a 4.4% │ ║ ║ t │ ║ ║ i 3.8% │ ║ ║ v │ ║ ║ e 3.3% │ ║ ║ │ ║ ║ w 2.7% │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ e │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ i 2.2% │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ g │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ h 1.6% │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ t │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ i 1.1% │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ n │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ g 0.5% │ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ └ ████████████████████████████████████ ║ ║ 0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 8. Weighting Selection Menu W. Weighting Selection Page 23 The Weighting selections session allows the graphical display of characters by frequency of occurrence for the selected weighting. It also permits the student or instructor to set his own weightings to emphasize particular characters within the text sent. The (W)eight key selects different frequency patterns of sending of characters and displays the result graphically. The graphical display is useful in helping the student visualize the effect of weighting on the frequency of transmission. Weightings allow the student to control repetition percentages of characters to stress those that require more practice. Each time the key is pressed one of following four options is successively selected and graphically displayed: Random - the character weight will be random (each character having the same probability of being sent). Text - the character weight approximates that of english text with the vowels occurring more frequently. (This will cause the average speed to increase since these characters are short in Morse code.) History - the characters missed during the last complete Receive Game will be sent more frequently. Student's - the character weight set by the student will be used to control the frequency of selection. When the Student's option is selected, three additional functions are provided to allow setting character weightings. These are: (I)nitialize - sets character weightings equal so all characters have an equal chance of being selected, i.e. random selection. (+) - requests the input of characters whose weightings are to be increased. (-) - requests the input of characters whose weightings are to be decreased. The algorithm used to select weightings assumes the selected characters will be sent 67% of the time while the others being learned will occupy 33%. If only one character is selected it will be sent very frequently - two-thirds of time! If six characters are chosen then each will be sent 11% of the time and the remaining letters will be sent 33% of the time. Weightings are displayed graphically so the student has a pictorial representation. The characters being learned are displayed as a bar graph showing the frequency of selection vertically by character horizontally. ESC can be pressed while in (W)eighting edit mode to return to the sub-menu and again to return to the main menu. V. View Previous Session Page 24 ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ VIEW LAST SESSION ║ ║ ║ ║ Select: █ ║ ║ R. Receiving game ║ ║ E. Endurance game ║ ║ P. Proficiency session ║ ║ M. Morse keyboard tutor ║ ║ ║ ║ L. Log all history ║ ║ D. Delete all log's ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 9. View Last Session Menu V. View Previous Session Page 25 Morse Academy remembers the text and statistics generated for the last (R)eceiving game, (E)durance, (P)roficiency, and (M)orse keyboard tutor sessions. The View menu allows the student to recall these previous sessions of computer generated code for review or printing. Note that the total history log is cumulative and use over a long period will take up a lot of disk storage (even more critical for discette only systems). Periodically you should use the File commands in the Option menu to copy the historical log to a discette (for review by your instructor) and/or to clear it. If you know DOS commands you can do this directly by operating on the files LOG-α.VW, where α is R, E, P or M for the respective sessions. The (L)ogging option allows the student to disable all logging, to select logging for the last session only, or to save each session in a cumulative log. Press "L" to cycle thru the three options. The (D)elete option deletes ALL log history. Prior to executing this command Morse Academy will ask for confirmation of the command. Press ENTER to delete the log's, or ESC to cancel the command. You can press the F9 key at any time to print the screen contents and save it for later review. Pressing ESC at any time will cause Morse Academy to return to the main menu. O. Option Selections Page 26 ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ Options: █ ║ ║ I. Initial help menu: On ║ ║ R. Reset ALL parameters to default ║ ║ P. Prosign cues in Morse: Off ║ ║ ║ ║ S. Select character sequence ║ ║ E. Edit character sequence ║ ║ ║ ║ C. Color selections ║ ║ T. Tone adjustment ║ ║ ║ ║ Character sequence 0: Student's Personal Set ║ ║ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │AERN*TIOSDHCUY.LMPGF,WB=J/KQXVZ?+1234567890│ ║ ║ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Figure 10. Option Selection Menu O. Option Selections Page 27 The (O)ptions session allows the student or instructor to tailor parameters to make the sessions more effective. The default options supplied with Morse Academy are thought to be best for a new student so it is not necessary to use this session. But as students progress they may wish to learn about the options available, so they can adjust the program to their needs. The (I)nitial Help Menu option allows the initial Help message to be skipped when starting Morse Academy. Successively depressing this key will set the option "On" or "Off". If new students are going to be using the program, it would be better to set it on. Once the information on the initial Help screen is known, operation is more convenient without it. The (R)eset key causes Morse Academy to set all parameters to their default values for a new student. Prior to execution, confirmation is requested. The (P)rosign Cues option allows the generation or suppression of Morse Prosigns automatically generated by Morse Academy to cue operation of the program. By setting this option "On", the student can be introduced to the use of all the context options listed below. By setting this option to SESSIONS, only the last three apply. For newer students it may be preferable to suppress all Prosign usage if it causes confusion. This can be done by setting the option to "Off" (all except for the last one, which is always selected). The context options are: - returning to the main menu causes sending the Morse letter "K" (Go ahead). - entering HELP using the F10 function key or exiting it is cued by the Prosign "BK" (Break). - Help continuation cued by the Prosign "=" (double dash, meaning pause). - the suspension of sending of text during the Keyboard session (toggled with F1) is cued by the Prosign AS (wait). - the completion of the Morse Receiving and Endurance sessions is marked by the Prosign SK (Final Transmission). - the completion of the text generated by the Proficiency and Morse Keyboard tutor sessions are marked by the Prosign AR (End of Transmission). - incorrect input or an input requiring confirmation causes "?" to be sent. The (S)elect Character Sequence key allows the character set to be selected from those provided with the program. Repeatedly pressing this key will select from four different sets. The set number currently selected is displayed just above the box containing the sequence. The sequences are: - Sequence "0" is your personal sequence that can be edited as you desire. - Sequence "1" is the ARRL recommended sequence. - Sequence "2" is the Morse Academy recommended sequence. - Sequence "3" is the complete Morse Academy code set, including the special European characters rarely heard on the U.S. amateur bands. O. Option Selections Page 28 When ESC is pressed, the character set being displayed will be copied to set "0" (your personal set). Be careful to select the set you want before ending this sub-session or you may have to reedit your personal set. The (E)dit Character Sequence menu allows you to change the character sequence. The active edit keys are: HOME - sets the cursor to the beginning of the character string END - sets the cursor to the end of the character string LEFT - the cursor LEFT arrow key moves left one position RIGHT - the cursor RIGHT arrow key moves right one position If any character (contained in the string) is typed, it will first be sent in Morse to confirm the selection, and then inserted into the string at the position of the cursor with the remaining characters being re-sequenced as required. This allows the character string to be set in any desired order. When you are finished editing and the sequence of the string is acceptable, press ESC to return to the sub-session menu and again to return to the main menu. The edited sequence will then be permanently stored in your Personal Sequence "0". The (C)olor option allows setting colors for displaying Morse Academy's menus. Depending on your PC's display controller, up to any of 16 colors can be assigned to the characters, background, or the prompt line (first line on the screen). The program will not allow the same value for characters and background since the text would not be visible. The (T)one option invokes a sub-menu that has two modes, depending on which method of tone generations is used - the PC's internal SOUND generator or an external tone generator connected to your PC's parallel port. (see appendix 3 for details on the tone generator). The (C)hange command in the Tone sub- menu allows switching between these two modes. If you have selected the PC's internal sound generator the active keys are: (+) Increase the tone 10 Hz (N) No tone generated (-) Decrease the tone 10 Hz (S) Sounds the current tone (D) Reset tone to 800 Hz (V) Selects session initiated (UP) Increase sending speed random variable tones (DN) Decrease sending speed (ranges ± two 10 Hz deviations) (UP and DN are the cursor UP arrow and cursor DOWN arrow keys). If you have selected use of an external tone generator the options to change or suppress the tone frequency are not available (+, -, D, and N). O. Option Selections Page 29 For details on how to construct an external tone generator for use with Morse Academy, see Appendix C, "Construction Notes for an External Tone Generator". The port selection, and the functions to select the different frequencies used by Morse Academy are defined in the element PORT on the program discette. See Appendix C for more detail on these values. The external tone generator code speed accuracy depends on the PC's clock. This sub-menu provides a method to increase or decrease an adjustment factor for the code speed, by using the or keys. For the best results, use of a highly accurate external time piece is recommended. The word PARIS sent 5, 10 or more times, can be timed to determine the accuracy of your PC as modified by the clock adjustment factor. Support of the external code generator requires a compatible AT or PS/2 Series computer with BIOS dated 1/10/84 or later. It will NOT operate on a PS/2 model 30, or XT computer. The BIOS date applies to IBM PC's, but other compatibles MAY have approximately the same date codes. (See Appendix C for information on how to find your PC's BIOS date). Appendix A - Amateur Radio Morse Abbreviations Page 30 MORSE CODE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN AMATEUR RADIO QSO's After you have advanced to the point of being able to copy some QSO's (message exchanges between two Amateur radio stations) you will find that many of the words in the text copied are abbreviations. To help you in learning to copy QSO's a list of commonly used abbreviations is printed below. ABT >ABOUT OPR >OPERATOR ADDR >ADDRESS OT >OLD TIMER AGN >AGAIN PSE >PLEASE ANT >ANTENNA R >RECEIVED SOLID OR YES BCI >BROADCAST INTERFERENCE RCVR >RECEIVER BCNU >BE SEEING YOU RCVD >RECEIVED BK >BREAK RFI >RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE B4 >BEFORE RPT >REPEAT CFM >CONFIRM RTTY >RADIO TELETYPE CK >CHECK RX >RECEIVER CL >CLOSING STATION SASE >SELF ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE CPY >COPY SIG >SIGNAL CQ >CALLING ANY STATION SKED >SCHEDULE CUL >SEE YOU LATER SRI >SORRY DLVD >DELIVERED SSB >SINGLE SIDE BAND DN >DOWN SVC >SERVICE DR >DEAR SWL >SHORTWAVE LISTENER DX >DISTANCE TFC >TRAFFIC (MESSAGES) ES >AND TFX >TRAFFIC (MESSAGES) FB >FINE BUSINESS TKS >THANKS FER >FOR TNX >THANKS FREQ >FREQUENCY TU >THANK YOU FRM >FROM TVI >TELEVISION INTERFERENCE GA >GO AHEAD OR GOOD AFTERNOON TX >TRANSMITTER GB >GOODBYE UR >YOUR GE >GOOD EVENING URS >YOURS GM >GOOD MORNING VY >VERY GN >GOOD NIGHT VFO >VARIABLE FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR GND >GROUND WKD >WORKED HI HI>LAUGHING WKG >WORKING HR >HERE WL >WILL HV >HAVE WPM >WORD PER MINUTE HW >HOW WRK >WORK K >GO AHEAD WRKED>WORKED LID >POOR OPERATOR WX >WEATHER MSG >MESSAGE XCRV >TRANSCEIVER NCS >NET CONTROL STATION XMTR >TRANSMITTER NIL >NOTHING XTAL >CRYSTAL NR >NUMBER XYL >WIFE NW >NOW YL >YOUNG LADY OB >OLD BOY Z >UNIVERSAL COORDINATED TIME (UTC) OM >OLD MAN 73 >BEST REGARDS OP >OPERATOR 88 >LOVE AND KISSES Appendix B - Frequently used Q-Signals Page 31 Q-SIGNALS FREQUENTLY USED IN AMATEUR COMMUNICATIONS The following "Q signals" are common in Amateur communications. The list is far from exhaustive, but knowing just these few can increase the understanding of exchanges between radio amateurs. Code Meaning Example of usage ──── ───────────────────────── ─────────────────────────────── QRL ARE YOU BUSY? QRL? (Is this frequency in use?) QRM IS MY SIGNAL BEING INTERFERED WITH? UR RST IS 599 WITH QRM (your signal is Readability 5, Strength 9, and Tone 9 with interference) QRN ARE YOU TROUBLED BY STATIC? UR RST IS 579 WITH QRN (your signal is Readability 5, Strength 9, and Tone 9 with static) QRP SHALL I DECREASE TRANSMITTER POWER? I AM RUNNING QRP 5 WATTS (I am running low power 5 watts) QRS SHALL I SEND MORE SLOWLY? PSE QRS (Please slow down) QRT SHALL I STOP SENDING? I HAVE TO GO QRT NOW (I have to stop now) QRU HAVE YOU ANYTHING FOR ME? I AM QRU (I have nothing more to say) QRV ARE YOU READY? DO YOU QRV ON 20 MTRS? (Do you operate on the 20 meter band?) QRX WHEN WILL YOU CALL AGAIN? PSE QRX (Please standby until I call you again) QRZ WHO IS CALLING ME? QRZ? (Who is calling me?) QSB ARE MY SIGNALS FADING? UR 569 WITH QSB (Your signal is Readability 5, Strength 6, and Tone 9 with fading - increasing and decreasing of signal strength during the transmission) Appendix B - Frequently used Q-Signals Page 32 QSL CAN YOU ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT? PSE QSL VIA THE BURO (Please send me your QSL card by mail via the QSL bureau) QSO CAN YOU COMMUNICATE WITH ... DIRECT? TNX FOR THE QSO (Thanks for this radio contact) QSP WILL YOU RELAY TO ... ? PSE QSP MY NEW CALL TO BILL (Please tell bill that my new call sign is ....) QST GENERAL CALL TO ALL AMATEURS! QST QST QST (General call preceding message addressed to all Amateurs and ARRL members. Also the name of the monthly magazine published by the ARRL for all Radio Amateurs) QSY SHALL I CHANGE FREQUENCY? PSE QSY UP 5 AND CALL ME (Please increase your frequency by 5 Kilohertz and call me) QTH WHAT IS YOUR LOCATION? MY QTH IS LOS ANGELES (The location of my station is Los Angeles) Appendix C - Construction Notes for an External Tone Generator Page 33 Support of an external code generator requires a compatible AT or PS/2 Series computer with BIOS dated 1/10/84 or later. It will NOT operate on a PS/2 model 30, or XT computer. This BIOS date applies only to IBM PC's, but other compatibles MAY have approximately the same date codes. Use the DOS DEBUG command to get the BIOS date of your PC to see if you can use this feature. C>DEBUG -D FFFF:0000 The date is in ASCII starting at FFFF:0005. Type Q to exit DEBUG. The operation of an external tone generator is controlled with parameters in the file PORT. It contains five numbers, the first of which is used to select the port used to control the tone generator. The default setting 888 (378 Hex) is for LPT1, the standard printer port. If your PC has additional printers, it can be set to other ports by editing the ASCII file PORT. <───Port Number───> Printer Hex Decimal ─────── ─── ─────── LPT1 378 888 LPT2 278 632 LPT3 3BC 932 No testing has been done with communications ports, but logically keying those ports would seem to be possible with the coding provided in Morse Academy. Those hardware ports are: <───Port Number───> Serial Hex Decimal ────── ─── ─────── COM1 3F8 1016 COM2 2F8 760 The program is written to support sending four different tones needed for the full support of Morse Academy sessions: Frequency Purpose Hex Decimal ───────── ───────────────────────────────── ─── ─────── 0 Hz Keyer off FF 255 300 Hz Low pitch long tone for error FE 254 800 Hz Keyer on FD 253 1800 Hz High pitch short tone for success FC 252 The choice of frequencies and function codes is arbitrary and can be changed to accommodate any hardware implementation. These four values are stored immediately after the port address in the element PORT in the Morse Academy directory. They can be modified to support other hardware designs. Appendix C - Construction Notes for an External Tone Generator Page 34 The author would prefer that any hardware built for Morse Academy support all four frequencies so the full functionality of the program is preserved. There are however many approaches to providing the necessary keying, and many different possible uses. Although the author has not confirmed it, the simplest circuit may be to drive a keyer or transceiver thru a diode directly from the parallel port, e.g. connect of the anode of the diode to the positive side of the keyer and the cathode to pin 2 of the parallel port, and pin 25 to the keyer ground. (This works only with keyers that operate by closing a +5 volts to ground at less than 10 mA.) Appendix C - Construction Notes for an External Tone Generator Page 35 SAMPLE CIRCUIT To debug the program, a simple circuit was designed which fits onto a circuit card about one inch square. Power was taken from the parallel port. This is the reason that all function codes indicated above had the high bits set. The top six bits were set to have their power output in parallel to drive the circuit. Care must be taken in the design to not overload the PC's outputs. Drawing excessive current will damage the port driver chip. The pin assignments for the 25 pin parallel port are: Pin Bit Output ─── ─── ───────────── 25 Ground 2 0 Function 0 3 1 Function 1 4 2 +5 volt power 5 3 +5 volt power 6 4 +5 volt power 7 5 +5 volt power 8 6 +5 volt power 9 7 +5 volt power An alternative design could have used three master bits for tone selection using only five power supply pin outputs. A note of caution on use of the output pins as a power source. While the circuit can be designed to represent "keyer off" as the absence of function bits, depending on the circuit you may still want to select all power bits to insure a constant voltage. Keying all bits may result in chirping. The sample circuit uses a single sound manufactured by Radio Shack called a LED flasher that almost meets the three-tone requirement of Morse Academy. The part is an eight pin LM3909 - Radio Shack part number 276-1705. Only fourteen parts are required: Part Qty Description ────── ─── ────────────────────────────────────────── LM3909 1 LED Flasher Chip, Radio Shack P/N 276-1705 Socket 1 Eight pin IC socket 1N270 6 Germanium diode (or similar) Resistor 1 ¼ watt 100 Ω Resistor 1 ¼ watt 12,000 Ω Capacitor 1 10 µf (electrolytic) Capacitor 1 0.1 µf (mylar) Connector 1 25 pin parallel port connector (male) Connector 1 audio phone jack Circuit board 1 about one inch square (length of 25 pin connector) Appendix C - Construction Notes for an External Tone Generator Page 36 (from parallel port 25 pin connector) 0.1 µf ┌────┤ ├───────────────┐ ┌──────25 │ │ │ 12 kΩ │ ┌───────────────┐ │ 100 Ω │ 2────/\/\/\────────┴───┤8 2├──┴──/\/\/\──┐ (to phone │ 3───────────────┐ │ │ │ jack) │ │ ┌───┤4 3│N/C │ │ 4────├────┐ │ │ │ LM 3909 │ └─── + │ │ └──────┤1 5├───────────────── - │ 5────├────┤ │ │ │ │ │ ├───┤6 7│N/C │ 6────├────┤ │ └───────────────┘ │ │ │ │ 7────├────┤ │ │ │ │ Current drain is approx. 1 mA (max); │ 8────├────┤ │ 12 kΩ resistor and 0.1 µf capacitor │ │ │ set tone frequencies │ 9────├────┤ + │ │ ─┴─ │ │ ─┬─12 µf │ (Ground) └─────────────────┴───────┘ Sample Tone Generator Circuit. In testing this circuit on various computers if was found that the tone frequencies are very sensitive to the parallel port output voltage. This is especially true for battery powered laptops and notebooks, where in some cases the tone off function actually generated a low frequency tone. Adjustment of the circuit values may be necessary to generate the proper frequencies. A different circuit design may be more appropriate to the wide range of computers on the market.