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1 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- CwDrill 1.4 (c) Copyright AYMON & CO 1376 Goumoens-la-Ville Switzerland 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2. Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3. Paddle Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4. Starting CwDrill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5. Keying with the paddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5.1. Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5.2. Keying of numerical parameters . . . . . . . . . . 4 5.3. Choice of a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6. Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6.1. Skill Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6.1.1. Paddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6.1.2. "World" parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6.2. Keying practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6.3. Copying practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6.4. Default values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6.5. Colour, Black-White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6.6. Fran ais, English, Deutsch . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7. Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7.1. Several configuration files . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction CwDrill is an interactive program which allows to connect a paddle directly to a serial port of a PC, the user thus being able to exercise and improve both keying and copying. Its Menu-oriented style makes CwDrill especially userfriendly. CwDrill does not consider any keyboard input (except for Ctrl Break), it is controlled by the paddle only. Each copy is personalized by its owners callsign. 2. Installation CwDrill is supplied on a 3 1/2'' (720KB) disk containing at least the following files: CWDRILL.EXE the program as such PADDLE.EXE a test program, which controls the paddle connection (see below) CWDRILL.QSO a file containing a list of callsigns xxxx.CFG a configuration file which contains all the program parameters. It is automatically rewritten by CwDrill after each use and therefore contains the last used values. CWDRILL.DOC this file CwDrill does not need any special installation. On hard disk systems, the supplied files can be copied into a directory specially created for this purpose. A backup copy should always be made. CwDrill is not copy protected. 3. Paddle Connection The paddle is to be connected directly to a serial port (port 1 or port 2) of the PC. The cable for this purpose has to be made by the user. For this, two 10K resistances are needed. The following connections have to be made: 1) RTS and DATA CARRIER DETECT by a 10K resistance. 2) RTS and RING INDICATOR by a 10K resistance. 3) the "dot"-contact of the paddle to RING INDICATOR. 4) the "dash"-contact of the paddle to DATA CARRIER DETECT. 5) the paddle common to TD. The keyed morse code is output to DTR (RS-232 levels, abt. +- 10V) The pins of a 9 (25) pole plug are as follows: - RTS pin 7 (4) - DATA CARRIER DETECT pin 1 (8) 3 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- - RING INDICATOR pin 9 (22) - TD pin 3 (3) - DTR pin 4 (20) - GROUND pin 5 (7). The cable is then connected to port 1 of the PC to be tested with the PADDLE program which indicates the state of the paddle: Dash : contact "dash" activated Dot : contact "dot" activated Dot Dash : both contacts activated If problems occur, the tensions of the "dot" and "dash" contacts of the paddle against the computer ground must be checked. Open contact: more than 3 Volt (generally 3.5 V); closed contact: less than -3 V (generally -9 V). If necessary, the resistance values have to be reduced. Warning: paddle common is about -10 V to computer ground. CwDrill can only be started if the paddle is properly wired and plugged in. 4. Starting CwDrill Before starting CwDrill: - set the directory containing CwDrill as the current directory - plug the paddle into port 1 or port 2. Then start CwDrill with the command: CWDRILL config port config: name of the configuration file to be used (extention .CFG). This file has to be in the current directory. port: number of port into which paddle is plugged. It can be 1 or 2. This parameter can be left out if it is port 1. Examples: CWDRILL HB9DBC cwdrill hb9dbc 2 During the starting phase CwDrill checks if the paddle is properly plugged in. It is important not to close the paddle contacts during this phase, otherwise the message "Keyer not connected (port x) will appear. The message "Illegal configuration file" appears if the file name is not correct, if the file has been modified or rewritten by a program other than CwDrill (using a text editor e.g.) or if the file date is a later one than the system date. In such cases, the 4 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- original configuration file supplied with the program has to be used or the system date must be corrected. When CwDrill is started correctly it shows its identification. To go to the Main Menu, key anything. 5. Keying with the paddle 5.1. Menus The Menus are presented in a list of elements. Each element is identified by a number. One element is highlighted. By keying "E", the highlight moves downwards. By keying "T", the highlight moves upwards. To select the highlighted element, "K" has to be keyed. Disregarding the highlight, each element can also be selected by keying its number. To leave a menu without selecting anything, "I" has to be keyed. 5.2. Keying of numerical parameters If a numerical parameter needs to be changed, CwDrill opens an editing window and shows the highest and lowest possible values as well as the current parameter value. To edit new values, it is quite sufficient to key these and then "K". The new value is only accepted if contained within the allowed range. The letters "O" and "T" can replace "0". Mistakes can be corrected using the "Error" sign (8 dots or more). To leave the editing window without modifying the value, "I" must be keyed. 5.3. Choice of a file For file choice CwDrill opens a window in which all or a part of all possible files appear. One file is highlighted. To move the highlight forwards, "E" has to be keyed, to move it backwards, "T" must be keyed. To chose a file, the highlight must be placed on its name and the "K" must be keyed. To leave the window without chosing, "I" has to be keyed. 5 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- Should the window be empty in spite of the fact that there are files in the directory, "T" has to be keyed several times to move the highlight backwards. 6. Main Menu The Main Menu contains the following choices: 1 Skill Drill 2 Keying practice 3 Reading practice 4 Set default values 5 Colour/Black-White 6 Fran ais, Deutsch 7 Back to DOS 6.1. Skill Drill This is the main CwDrill exercise. It is not only the most difficult one, but also the one that shows the interactive possibilities of CwDrill most clearly. This exercise contains the following menu: 1 Begin 2 Paddle 3 "world" parameters 4 Duration (Min) 5 QSO File 6 Main menu The exercise starts by chosing "1". It runs as follows: A callsign randomly chosen from a given file (QSO file parameter of the menu) is "transmitted" by the loudspeaker at random speed, pitch and style. The user has to immediately repeat this callsign. If he waits too long or makes a mistake, the callsign is repeated up to 3 times. If he repeats correctly, his answer time is taken and stored in a statistic. The exercise continues with a new callsign. The duration of the exercise is determined by the user. The main window shows the exercise log. After each callsign a new entry is recorded in the exercise log. It contains the callsign and the keying speed as well as the given answers. A missing answer is symbolised by "~~~". If the answer has been correct, time needed and number of attempts are noted. If no correct answer is given, the exercise is temporarily interrupted so the callsign that was not copied can be read on the screen. A mistake can be corrected (as is done in normal transmission) by keying a numer of "E" (at least 4) and then the callsign again. As long as the delay between two signs keyed (including the series of "E" in case of mistakes) is not longer than the "patience" parameter (see 6.1.2), the correspondent will be waiting. 6 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- Instead of a callsign, QRS or QRQ can be keyed to change the speed of the correspondent. Also, QSD can be keyed to improve the correspondent's keying style. To temporarily interrupt the exercise QRX or "EB" can be keyed. A menu appears: 1 Continue 2 Paddle 3 Abort "2" changes the paddle parameters (see 6.1.1). "3" or "I" return to exercise menu. The "statistics" window indicates how much time is left, how many callsigns have been transmitted, how many callsigns have been copied correctly, the average copying time as well as the number of callsigns copied per hour. After the set duration ("Duration" parameter, default value 3 minutes) or by keying QRT the exercise is interrupted and the exercise menu displayed. If the log is not empty, there are two more choices: 6 Explore log file 7 Save log file Keying "6", a log window appears. To move forwards within the log, "E" is keyed, backwards with "T" and return to the beginning with "B". The "7" saves the log into a file the name of which should be a number between 1 and 9999 with the extention ".LOG". The statistics appear in the log files as well. Note: The QSO files (extension ".QSO") are text files with one callsign per line and contain up to 3'000 lines. The callsigns can be replaced by figures or words. The file taken as default file is CWDRILL.QSO. It contains callsigns of OM contacted by the author during contests. 6.1.1. Paddle The choice of this option allows the modification of paddle parameters. The following menu appears: 1 Speed 2 Pitch 3 Dash-Dot ratio (x1000) 4 Interval-Dot ratio (x1000) 7 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Connection 6 Memory The default speed is 120 signs/minute (based on the reference word PARIS). The pitch default value is 800 Hz. The dash-dot ratio (x1000) default value is 3000. The interval-dot ratio (x1000) default value is 1000. The choice of option 5 (connection) changes the polarity of the paddle contacts. The default value is "Normal". The choice of option 6 (memory) enables (or disables) the memorisation of an element (dash or dot) during the sending out of a dot or dash. The default value is "Active". Warning: A modification of paddle parameters may create a situation where nothing can be keyed correctly any longer. In a case like this, nothing else remains to be done except pressing down the keys Ctrl Break and then to key anything in order to leave the program without the parameters being saved. 6.1.2. "World" parameters The choice of this option allows the changing of the correspondent's characteristics. The following menu appears: 1 Maximum speed 2 Minimum speed 3 Highest pitch 4 Lowest pitch 5 Delay between calls 6 Patience 7 Category 1 8 Category 2 9 Category 1 maximum speed As explained above, the callsigns of the correspondent are chosen randomly from the QSO file. The correspondent's speed is chosen randomly between "max. speed" (default 250) and "min. speed" (default 50). If the chosen speed exceeds the "Category 1 maximum speed" (default 100), the correspondent is automatically considered as belonging to category 2 (rather fast), otherwise as category 1 (rather slow). The categories 1 and 2 allow to classify the keying style of the correspondent randomly but according to certain percentages. 8 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- There are four possible styles: electronic, bug, straight good and straight poor. The percentages of each style can vary from one category to the other. The default percentages are as follows: Category 1: Electronic 30% Bug 10% Straight (good) 30% Straight (poor) 30% Category 2: Electronic 60% Bug 30% Straight (good) 10% Straight (poor) 0% This means that in category 1 there is a 30% probability of encountering a correspondent with an electronic keying style, a 10% probability of a bug style etc... These percentages have been chosen in such a way that in category 1 (rather slow), there is more of straight keying to be encountered than in category 2 (rather fast). If one would like e.g. that all correspondents use the "electronic style", the following parameters have to be chosen: "Maximum speed category 1 = same value as "Maximum speed". Therefore all correspondents will be classified in category 1. One then fixes the "Electronic" percentage of category 1 to 100%. If one desires that all correspondents should have one and the same speed one fixes "Max. speed" = "Min. speed". The parameter "Delay between calls" (default 3000 milliseconds) fixes the time interval between two consecutive calls of the same correspondent in case there should be no anwer, i.e. it fixes the maximum amount of time available until the beginning of the answer. The "patience" parameter (default 1000 milliseconds) determines the time a correspondent will wait after having "received" at least a sign. This time is therefore identical with the interval between signs without the correspondent supposing that the answer is finished. 6.2. Keying practice In this exercise the keyed signs appear directly in a window. The menu allows the changing of the paddle parameters (see 6.1.1): CwDrill is very tolerant towards the keying style of its user. His style does not need to be perfect in order to be recognised correctly. To describe this tolerance with words is, however, impossible. Only the actual trying out can show this clearly. 9 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- CwDrill knows the shortcuts commonly used like e.g. "QR", "QS", "CQ". The sign last keyed can be deleted by keying "error" (8 dots or more). By keying "SK" one returns to the exercise menu. There option 7 allows to return to the main menu. 6.3. Copying practice In this exercise CwDrill transmits text read from a file. The menu offers the following choices: 1 Begin 2 Speed 3 Pitch 4 From the file 5 Duration (Min) 6 Main menu The speed is defined by option 2 (default 150), the pitch by option 3 (default 800), the text file (extention ".TXT") by option 4 (no default) and the duration by option 5. To return to the main menu one can either chose option 6 or key "I". Begin exercise with option 1. During the "transmission", the "statistics" window shows time left and number of signs transmitted. The transmission can be interrupted by keying any sign. A menu permitting to change the transmission parameters or to abort the exercise then appears. 6.4. Default values This choice sets the parameters to their default values. Default values are explained in the appropriate places of this document. 6.5. Colour, Black-White This option allows to chose a colour or black and white screen. The type of screen is saved in the configuration file. 6.6. Fran ais, English, Deutsch CwDrill speaks 3 languages. The choice of this option allows the changing into another of the specified languages. 7. Miscellaneous 7.1. Several configuration files 10 CwDrill 1.4 Page ----------------------------------------------------------------- If severals people use the same program, each one of them can have his (or her) own configuration file. To create a new configuration, simply make a copy of the original configuration file.