G0HYN - Robbie Robertson



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Although I have a UK class A license, having passed a 12 wpm morse test. I have done almost no cw operating.

I always put this down to the way I'd learned morse as a child i.e. dad gave me a table of the code, and I learned it starting from A and ending with Z.
I was also very nervous of completely screwing up QSLs live, so I moved on to other modes at the time which were more related to computers which I had a strong interest in.

That said, I have always wanted to relearn morse such that I could operate qrp long distances (well I can dream...), and since I retired early, have had a bit of time to revisit HAM (mostly the newer digital modes which I find fascinating), and the possibly of cw operating.

I knew that there were better ways to learn the code, and so started researching possible software that could help me (just love the Internet as a seemingly endless supply of information) and came across good PC Windows based program from ZL1AN (Gary). ZL1AN - Teach 4.1 Learning Morse Program

After playing about with it, I had a thought... It would be nice if this was on my Android phone, so that I could practice learning when any opportunity arose e.g. on a train, bus, or doctors waiting room..
I contacted Gary to see if there was an Android version available, but unfortunately there wasn't. Having 'dabbled' with Android development a little, I thought I might have a go at creating a facsimile of Gary's program in my Nexus 7.
Gary (kind sole that he is) was good enough to email me the original PC based code for me to peruse, which has certainly helped me along in my quest. The original program was developed under Delphi, and although I'm not familiar with Delphi or have a version upon which to run it, just having the main code has been enough to get a grips with the main trust of how the teaching program works.

So far I have been working part time on this for a few months, of which most of it has been about learning how to do things under Android, such as:
  • Not having a full sized keyboard to provide input
  • The sound system calls not working as advertised (and changing with Android updates, V5 for example)
  • Differences between devices (namely Asus and Samsung) for sound and external storage
  • Dealing with different screen size i.e. phone versus tablet
  • System text editors changing text files in ways not prediced
I have now got to the point where I have something that works, and needs some user testing to see if it breaks...

Here's a couple of screen shots captured from my Samsung Galaxy S3 phone:


Lanscape mode on the S3 has been much more of a challange to fit everything in:



And in File mode (Start screen and Running):

I have posted a couple of test videos on YouTube which I made mainly to show progress to Gary, but it gives your idea of where I'm going with this:


Link to Morse app download page.

On the morse side itself, I have continued trying to relearn morse, but I still find it hard to read...
That said I'm still keen to get myself back to a  point where I can try a few CW QSOs, asuming I can find someone who is willing to go slowly :o)

I've even dug out and dusted off my old morse keys ready for action:


Having talked to Gary ZL1AN regarding autospace, and the FT-767gx's lack of such. I've ordered one (well two actually) of Bryan's (ZL1NI) morse keyers, and looking forward to wiring it up once it lands here in the UK.
Update: Keyers have arrived, and I have one 'lashed up' to a CR2032 3v battery for testing, and it's working fine.
I've ordered some CR2032 battery holders from Chine, so I'll have to wait for these to arrive before I look at what type of enclosure I'll use (i.e. need holder sizing).