Welcome to NuMorse Pro.

Try exploring NuMorse Pro. Open up each option, click on help and read what the controls do.

For sending practice it is best to enlist the help of someone with some Morse code experience to show you how to hold your Morse key and to analyze your sent code.

There may be some extra text files in your NuMorse Pro directory that suggest alternative approaches to learning Morse code such as the Koch method. The author does not advocate any single method. Different training methods work for different people and so NuMorse Pro has been written to be as flexible as possible and to enable many different approaches to learning the code.

Learning the code can be divided into three stages.

Learning the characters.

Attaining fluency

Gaining experience

In this phase you learn the combination of dots/dashes for each character. You need to associate the sound of the code with the character rather than the visual pattern. For this reason we don’t talk of "dots and dashes" we refer to "dit" and "dah" which gives a much better idea of the sound of each character. So, for K we would use "dah-dit-dah" when describing the code sound to someone. This is much better than "Dash-dot-dash".

One effective method of learning the code is the use of "Sound alike" mnemonics. In the NuMorse Pro "Fist steps" section each character has an associated mnemonic (A short reminder word or phrase) that sounds rather like the code for the character. There is also an associated image for the more common code characters. Here is an example:

OK, you know the code for each character..now what? Given time you can listen to a few dits and dahs and work out what character the group represents. But real Morse code is not like that, try listening to some. The dits and dahs come in a fast torrent and while you are writing down one character another dozen have flown past. This is normal at this stage! Attaining fluency is the process of working towards being able to decode a stream of code without having to think about the individual dits and dahs. There are two main requirements:

A reliable source of Morse code. NuMorse Pro provides this.

Your determination and persistence during hours of practice.

It is helpful for motivation to study the code as a member of a group, preferably with an instructor who is experienced with the code.

The final learning phase is when you go beyond NuMorse Pro and start to use Morse code as a real communication tool. This final phase lasts as long as you continue to use Morse code.

That’s enough theory, now for some practical advice. Here is a possible learning program:

Select Main Menu\View\Code Information (or press Ctrl+I) and take a look at the code characters used in FCC tests. Use mouse left-click to hear the sound of each code character. You can leave this Morse code information sheet open when using other NuMorse Pro features. (In fact you can leave most NuMorse Pro windows open while playing code)

When you have taken a quick look at the code and have a rough idea of how the characters sound then select Main Menu\Play\First steps. This gives access to a small set of lessons designed to give you a jump-start in learning the code characters. Work your way through these lessons.

When you have finished the "First Steps" lessons NuMorse Pro offers a large array of features to help you increase your code proficiency. Most of these techniques are based around the NuMorse Pro on-screen keyboard display. This screen can be accessed via Menu\Play\Play Morse code (or press F9).

In this method you go at full speed right from the start. The idea is to avoid a long painful build up of speed as well as the "learning plateau" effect of conventional methods. You start with just two characters and at your final target speed. When you are copying the two characters with a 90% success rate then a third character is added and practice continues, still at the same speed. The process continues, every time you get to 90% accuracy another single character is added. Eventually, you can receive all of the characters and your speed has never varied from your target. The "First Steps" feature of NuMorse Pro can easily be customized to use the Koch method if you think that this is a better way to learn the code.

View\Code Information Ctrl+I

This is an active quick reference chart that allows you to see and hear Morse code for any selected character.

As you drag your mouse over the chart the selected character and code elements are shown just below the chart.

Left mouse click to hear the code sound

This shows the characters used in FCC code tests.

Some characters may be grayed. This means that the current filter settings have excluded these characters from being played in a code session. You can, however, still left-click on them to hear the code sound.

The basic method is practice, practice and yet more practice. NuMorse Pro can help by making the practice sessions more interesting and by providing feedback on your progress. This topic lists some alternative ways to use your practice sessions. Some techniques may appeal to you more than others. Sometimes a change of technique will revive your flagging interest or allow you to break through a learning barrier.

Learning barriers and plateaus. When trying to increase your code speed you will inevitably reach a stage where you feel as if you are not making progress. Your maximum copy speed will appear to stick for several days. This is normal! Take a break and then continue with practicing the code. Typically, after a period of apparent stagnation your copy speed will begin to increase again.

Select Play\Play Morse code. (or press F9)

Click on the Drill button

Listen to the code, view the on-screen characters.

After a few characters have been played NuMorse Pro will stop. It is waiting for you.

Enter the characters that were just played. They are shown on the screen.

NuMorse Pro will send a fresh block of characters

Continue as long as you want, then click on Reset to stop.

Experiment with deliberately entering the wrong character and see how NuMorse Pro responds.

This practice session is called a Drill Session.

If things didn't go as you expected then the program may need some adjustments. Here are the required settings for the basic drill method described above:

Check user keypresses every 1 word sent

Wait for user to catch up

Show error

Restart drilling every 1 second

Enable Smart Spaces

F.C.C., checked

Dynamic filter, none.

Use preset filters, checked

Random weighting, checked

Random group length, 5

Code source file..Sequential read

Wrap round at file end

Volume, 100

Real Morse Code, unchecked

Click filter time constant, 10 ms

Tone, 800 Hz

So far, the Drill Session has been little more than typing practice and getting used to how the program operates since the characters you are expected to enter are shown on the screen. You need to blank out these "clues" by unchecking the checkboxes next to them. Uncheck some or all of the checkboxes and try the exercise above again.

Not so easy now huh? Your ultimate aim should be to enter the correct characters close to 100% of the time at a code speed somewhat above the speed of the test you are planning to take.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of possible variations on the basic Drill Session method described above. Experiment with your own variations or use several techniques in combination:

Here is a list of "how to" check-lists that can be found in this manual.

A quick way to get NuMorse Pro back to the "Out of the box" state is to go to Help\Restore default settings.

Here is a list of suggested settings to start out using NuMorse, please check through the list if NuMorse Pro does not appear to work as expected. Most of these settings should be NuMorse Pro "Out of the box" settings.

Play\Character Filters (Ctrl+F9)

Play\Code Speed (Shift+Ctrl+F7)

Settings\General Preferences (F6)

Settings\Thermometer (Shift+Ctrl+F6)

Active unchecked.

Settings\Drill Settings (shift+F6)

View\Performance (Ctrl+P)

View\File Window options (Shift+Ctrl+F2)

Play\Character Filters (Ctrl+F9)

Input and Output\Select Output Devices (F4)

Input and Output\Select Input Devices (Shift+F4)

Random Characters selected

Input and Output\Soundboard (F5)

QSO generator\QSO settings (Ctrl+Q)

QSO type Short

After you have checked these settings Select Main Menu\View\Code Information (or press Ctrl+I) and you should see the Morse code characters used in FCC tests. Left clicking on the displayed grid should produce the Morse code for the character and confirm that your PC is set up for playing code.

Select Main Menu\Play\Play Morse code (or press F9) and click on Play. You should now be hearing random groups of letters and numbers as the letters and numbers are shown on-screen.

Menu Commands (Print this topic out for a handy reference sheet)

Certain NuMorse Pro forms can be docked onto the main Play keyboard. To dock a form mouse drag it to the right hand side of the keyboard form (this is called a "Docksite"). The form then becomes part of the keyboard form. If several forms are docked they form the pages of a tabbed notebook.

To undock a form mouse click on the relevant page tab and drag it away from the keyboard docksite.

Forms which can be docked are marked with a thin vertical red line on the left hand edge.

If you access a docked form from the Main Menu or Toolbar then it will undock and the floating form will appear at a default position. You can then move the form to a convenient position which will then be remembered by the program.

Play\FirstSteps Shift+F9

Here is where you will read what the current lesson involves and what you will be expected to do. There are also hints, tips and suggestions for learning the code characters. If you wish, you can add your own text to the lessons or even replace all of the existing text. You are in control.

This is a list of the characters you will be trying to learn in this lesson.

In some lessons you will be expected to guess the code characters. At the end of each lesson you can optionally see your score.

These controls are where you select a lesson. The lesson number is in the center of the VCR controls.

During most lessons the program will ask for your input. If you would rather just watch without entering anything from the keyboard then uncheck this box.

This slider determines how long you get to enter a guess before NuMorse Pro moves on to another character.

Starts up Morse code.

Stops playing Morse code and optionally displays your performance score.

At top left. This is where the character being sounded may appear. You can manually switch display of this character on/off or the character display may be automatically suppressed in some of the lessons where you are expected to guess the character.

The dots and dashes of the Morse code may be displayed here.

This is at top right. A picture that reminds you of the code sound or the mnemonic can be displayed in this area. To alter the displayed image you need to go to the code properties page for that character. Not all characters have a picture associated with them. Currently letters and numbers have pictures.

This display gives some feedback on the character you entered from the keyboard.

This is a small bar graph that shows you when the program is waiting for you to enter a character.

This displays your score so far. In addition, a small performance graph is shown to let you know how well you are doing in the current lesson.

You can enter the time as seconds by just entering the number. Or use minute and second format, for example "1m 30s" will set the timer to 90 seconds. The alarm function does not affect code play. After the alarm has sounded play will either continue or stop, depending on the setting of the Stop Lesson option.

Check on the Show speed controls option. A speed control box will appear and you can use the controls to alter speed in the current lesson. Please read the following sections about making changes to the lessons.

You can change any of your current lesson settings including characters to learn and the lesson text itself.. To change the speed open the speed control panel (Shift+Control+F7) and adjust the speed in there. These temporary changes will be lost as soon as you move to a different lesson.

Make the temporary changes as described above. Before moving to another lesson click the Store Lesson button. Select an option from the resulting choices. You might want to add your own notes to the lesson text, or even change the lessons entirely, perhaps to write your own training course.

To make changes to individual lessons you should make the changes directly in the lesson and then click the Store Lesson button. Certain changes can be made to all of the lessons by clicking on the Global button. Be careful, all lessons are affected and you cannot reverse the changes. Be especially careful with the code speed setting. If a set of lessons uses gradual increases in code speed to help attain fluency then all of the speed variations will be lost and the lessons will all run at a constant code speed.

After pressing the Store button your options are as follows:

Store changes to the current lesson

Add the current lesson to the end

Delete the current lesson

Many of the visual features in the Code play keyboard window can be switched off. Just check or uncheck the associated checkbox to activate or deactivate them. You will want to turn off several features when code drilling and you have gotten some proficiency in recognizing the characters by their sounds.

Play button.

Starts up code play. Code will be output continuously and recorded in the Code Sent window. If you wish you can type along with the code. Your typing will be recorded in the User Keypresses window so that you can compare with sent code. What code is sent and how fast is controlled by the Character Filter and Speed control panels.

Pause button.

Allows you to temporarily stop code play. When the code source is a QSO or text file play will resume from the pause point.

Reset button.

Code play or drill will stop. Pressing Play or Drill will restart code from the beginning of a text file or QSO.

The typewriter-style keys.

Drill button.

Keyboard on top check box.

Prevents the Play keyboard from being buried by other NuMorse Pro windows.

CDROM icon.

Close button.

Click here to stop code play and exit from the Play keyboard. If you do this while code is playing there may be a short delay while the current character finishes.

Thermometer.

This is may add some interest to those long practice sessions. The thermometer is the vertical bar to the right hand side of the clock. This component gives instant feedback on your progress during code drill sessions. The thermometer has three different modes:

It can function as a session timer. During a timed session the red region will indicate how much time remains before session end.

A response time indicator. The faster you respond the lower the temperature. The displayed "temperature" is always relative to your slowest response during the current session.

Accuracy indicator. The more accurate your keypresses the higher the "temperature".

Play\Code Speed Shift+Ctrl+F7

The Code Speed window is where text and character speed can be adjusted. You might find it convenient to dock this form next to the keyboard when you are copying code. Code speeds are given in WPM and three main adjustments are provided.

The middle slider controls the amount of extra space inserted between characters and affects the overall text speed. If no extra space is inserted then character speed and text speed are the same and the resulting code is standard Morse code. If space is inserted then the "stretched" code is known as Farnsworth code. Many people consider that Farnsworth code is easier to read for people learning the code and in many countries Amateur Radio code tests are set using Farnsworth code.

The slowest overall (text) speed that NuMorse Pro can send is 2 wpm. If a character-text slider combination results in a speed slower than this then one or both sliders will be automatically adjusted. Maximum NuMorse Pro code speed is 50 wpm.

The bottom slider controls the insertion of extra spaces between words. The number of extra inserted spaces is shown to the right of the slider.

The overall code speed uses the character speed and adjusts this depending on the setting of the other two sliders. The indicated speed is quite accurate when no extra pauses or spaces are inserted into the code stream. If the space between characters is lengthened (Farnsworth code) then the overall speed indication is moderately accurate over the mid range of the character speed slider. It is less accurate at very high and very low speeds.

If extra word pauses are inserted then the overall speed indication is an estimate based on the standard PARIS code string. When sending other text the accuracy will be highly dependant on the content of the text being sent.

You may store and recall up to three sets of speeds using the Store and Recall keys combined with the memory button above them.

Settings\Drill settings Shift+F6

A NuMorse Pro Drill session is a period when NuMorse Pro sends text and waits for you to respond via the keyboard. The Drill Settings control panel determines:

When and how NuMorse Pro checks your keyboard input

What happens when you mistype

What happens after you have mistyped.

(The check user keypresses group)

Morse code does not have a space character and when you are taking the code test you will not be expected to explicitly type or write space characters. So why should you have to do this when practicing at the computer? NuMorse Pro offers a way to relieve you of the chore of having to type spaces during code copy. The SmartSpaces(tm) algorithm tries to add spaces to your typed input in the correct places. All you have to do is copy characters as you hear them without having to remember to depress the space bar. If you would rather use conventional typing then simply disable the SmartSpaces(tm) feature.

If the Wait for user feature is enabled then NuMorse Pro will pause at the end of each character or word ( depending on other drill settings) until you have caught up before checking your typing.

(The Action when errors detected group)

Repeat code just played, up to nn times. This option is fairly self-explanatory. You get further chances to make a better guess after hearing the code repeated.

Play sound name. By default this plays a "no-no" sound if checked and you make a mistake. Select an alternative sound from the available sound list if you wish.

Play speech phonetic for character. On error the international phonetic for the mistyped character is spoken. An example of an international phonetic is "Alpha" for the letter "A". This feature is only available when drilling character by character.

Show error characters or words.

(The After error group.)

Two options are available:

In the case of normal text you may be able to guess how the current word ends and NuMorse Pro allows you to type ahead of the current character. You can type ahead as far as you want and if SmartSpaces(tm) is enabled NuMorse Pro will attempt to insert spaces that you have forgotten. If you make mistakes or miss out characters then NuMorse Pro may remove your typed ahead text following the first mistake. Because of this it is best not to type too far ahead unless you are confident in your code copying and typing.

The word(s) sent by NuMorse Pro are shown in black.

The characters in your response are color coded as shown in the Color key panel. Missing (blue) characters will only be displayed if you have set NuMorse Pro not to wait for your responses to catch up.

This feature allows you to view a mistake and then continue without having to manually close the error analysis box. After a predetermined time the box will automatically close and you may continue with the drill session. A slider control indicates time left while the timer setting allows you to adjust the auto-close time to a period comfortable for you.

Closes the error display and continues with the drill session.

Closes the error display and stops the current drill session.

Displayed in green, this is the character that NuMorse Pro sent.

If you mistyped the character then the character you typed will be shown here in red. If NuMorse Pro is set to not wait for your input then a blue substitute character will be shown here if you could not type the correct character fast enough.

This feature allows you to view a mistake and then continue without having to manually close the error analysis box. After a predetermined time the box will automatically close and you may continue with the drill session. A slider control indicates time left while the timer setting allows you to adjust the auto-close time to a period comfortable for you.

Closes the error display and continues with the drill session.

Closes the error display and stops the current drill session.

This form is displayed when your clock timer alarm is triggered during code play.

Start a new timed session with the same settings.

Continue as a normal (none-timed) session.

Stop playing code.

Go to Settings\Drill settings control panel and check the Every character sent box. In drill sessions NuMorse Pro will now send just one character and wait for your response before moving to the next character.

Here is a set of suggested drill settings to give yourself a real challenge:

Go to Settings\Drill settings control panel

Check the Every character sent check box.

Uncheck the Wait for user check box

In the Action when errors detected group leave all boxes unchecked. Optionally check the Play Sound box

In the After drilling group check restart and set the number of seconds to 0

Using these settings code drilling will resemble trying to copy a real QSO. Code will not wait for you and you should not hang about trying to correct errors. If you miss a character move on to the next character. Often you can deduce the missing characters when reading through your copy later. In a real code test you will have some time to correct your written copy before the examiner checks it.

The Auto Speed feature allows NuMorse Pro to vary sent code speed during a code session.

When playing code the speed increases by 1 wpm at the time interval you specify. The speed increase timer is suspended when you are viewing an error analysis window. This is available in both Play and Drill modes. You can choose whether to increase overall code speed or to periodically decrease the length of pauses between characters when using Farnsworth code.

If this feature is active then NuMorse Pro monitors your performance and increases or decreases code speed depending on how many errors you make. The increase and decrease rates can be adjusted to suit your learning pace using the controls described below. This is available in Drill mode only.

The Decrease speed every xxx slider controls the rate at which code slows down when you make mistakes in copying code.

The Increase speed every xxx slider control does the opposite. It counts how much error free text you have typed and slightly increases code speed every xxx error free words.

What counts as an error depends on whether drilling is in character or word mode. If in Drill word mode then a misspelled word is counted as one error even though several characters may be incorrect or missing. You can see if words or characters are being counted by looking at the label next to the Increase speed slider.

If you move the Decrease speed every xxx slider fully to the right (maximum) then it will become inactive and code speed will slowly increase regardless of how many errors you make.

View\File Window Options Shift+Ctrl+F2

This panel controls various attributes of the three main file windows:

Nearly all characters start out by being placed in the Code source file window after being generated or read from file. They then pass though some filtering before being sent to the soundboard. For example, you may have specified that only numbers should be played as code. In this case the character filter will pass only numbers to the soundboard. All characters that make it through the character filter are recorded in the Code sent file window. If you press any keys while code is playing then they are recorded in the User responses window.

The default filename is Source.txt. You may change this to read Morse code from your own files. Caution under some circumstances NuMorse Pro can write to the code source file so always keep a backup of any files that you use for code source. See also the Query when closing section below.

The characters from a file are read sequentially from start to finish. You can, however, mouse click in the code source window while code is playing. This will cause code reading and sending to continue from the new position in the file where the cursor is located.

NuMorse Pro can pick words at random locations in a source file. If you have a list of words in a file and you wish to practice copying them as code the order of the words soon starts to be learned as well. This randomize feature prevents you from knowing what word is due to be sent next.

This feature works in different ways depending on the nature of the code source. In the case of text files NuMorse Pro will automatically start again at the beginning of the file if this option is checked and the end of file is encountered.

The contents of the Code source window are frequently modified by NuMorse Pro and you may or may not want the changes to be saved when you exit from the program. This set of options allows you to specify how changes are handled when exiting. Remember, you can do a manual save of the Code source window contents at any time while the program is running.

If this option is checked then you will be asked what to do with the code source edit window contents if they have been modified. You can choose whether to discard the changes or to save them.

Any changes will be discarded when the program exits. You can still do a manual save of the changes before exiting from the program. This is the safest option but don't forget to do a manual save if you want to record any file window contents that are created by NuMorse pro.

Changes to the code source edit window contents will always be silently saved to the current filename when exiting. This is a convenient option, but be careful that you don't allow any important text files to be overwritten. Here is one pitfall to beware of:

• You open a useful file of common words to practice and set the Code source option to "Text file".
• After a while you decide to practice some random characters and change the Code source setting to "Random characters"
• NuMorse will fill the Source file window with random characters and play them.
• You exit from the program.

Since the code source window has changed it will be saved to your useful word file without asking you! Your word list will be overwritten.

This is the name of the file where a record of code sent is stored. You shouldn’t need to alter this, but the option is provided if you have a reason to do so.

During code play the file is constantly being added to and would eventually become enormous. This slider prevents the file size from getting very large.

This option determines if the previous record of sent characters is erased when a new code session is started.

This is the name of the file where a record your keypresses is stored. You shouldn’t need to alter this, but the option is provided if you have a reason to do so.

Whenever you press a key this file is added to and would eventually become enormous. This slider prevents the file size from getting very large.

This option determines if the previous record of your keypresses is erased when a new code session is started.

File\Select code source Ctrl + X

Select a file for NuMorse Pro to play. The file should be text and can be any length. If NuMorse Pro was installed into directory C:\Morse then by default the file name and path will be:

C:\Morse\NPDefault\Source.txt if default user profile is selected.

View\Code Source F2

All of the usual text editing commands are available in the NuMorse Pro file windows. The most important ones can be accessed from a toolbar while certain others are available as Hot-key combinations and menu items.

View\Code Sent Ctrl+F2

This is the file where NuMorse Pro to stores a record of characters sent. If NuMorse Pro was installed into directory C:\Morse then by default the file name and path will be:

C:\Morse\NPDefault\Sent.txt if default user profile is selected. This file is not always the same as the code source file. For example, some of the source characters may be skipped due to the character filter settings. Or the source may not be a file at all, it may be an internal source such as a QSO or random character generator.

View\Code Sent Ctrl+F2

This window shows characters that were sent by NuMorse Pro and after some characters may have been removed by the code filter. This form provides a record of all characters actually sent and it does not wrap round but grows until a predetermined size is reached.

View\User keypresses Shift+F2

This is where NuMorse Pro to stores a text file containing your keypresses. If NuMorse Pro was installed into directory C:\Morse then by default the file name and path will be:

C:\Morse\NPDefault\Responses.txt if default user profile is selected. You can arrange the user keypresses and code sent files to compare what NuMorse Pro sent with what you typed. Note, all keystrokes are recorded, even when NuMorse Pro is playing code and not waiting for your keypresses.

View\User keypresses Shift+F2

Your typed characters are always sent to this window and are always added to the end of text when code is playing. You should stop or pause code play if you wish to edit text in this window.

This feature compares the text in the Code sent and User Keypresses windows. It is great for showing you how well you are doing in a code practice session. The windows do not have to be open for this feature to work. The comparison is "live". It changes dynamically as NuMorse Professional sends text and you type responses.

You might be surprised to know that comparing two pieces of text is quite complex. Surely it is possible to simply check which characters match? Well, here is an example to show that things are not so simple:

Code sent:

THE CAT SAT ON THE MAT

You typed

HE CAT SAT ON THE MAT

Perhaps you missed the first character because you weren't quite ready when the code started. Using simple character matching would give you a score of 0% correct. No characters match place for place. This is a harsh comparison, after all you made just one mistake. There are other possible complexities, such as missing spaces, extra characters typed in error and so on. NuMorse Professional offers two alternatives to work around these problems. They both have advantages and shortcomings depending on the type of mismatches that occur.

Based on the Levenshtein string distance; a similarity index defined as the minimum number of single character edits (insert/delete/replace) necessary to transform one block of text into the other.

The Ratcliff/Obershelp pattern matching method. Conducts an exhaustive examination of the two blocks of text and returns a percentage representing their similarity.

Experiment with the two methods and see which one gives results closest to those you would expect. Both methods are restricted to comparing the first 1000 characters of the text and are more accurate at less than 255 characters.

To view what was sent:

Select Main Menu\View\Code sent (or Ctrl+F2)

To view what keys have been pressed:

Select Main Menu\View\User Keypresses (or Shift+F2)

Settings\Thermometer Shift+Ctrl+F6

The on-screen performance thermometer has three different display modes:

This is where you specify session time when the thermometer is functioning as a session timer.

This is a master switch that enables or disables all thermometer display functions.

If you want an alarm to sound at the end of a timed session then check this box.

The sound list allows you to choose which time out sound should be played. The selection here is also used in the written test alarm timer.

To get an automatic comparison figure between Code Sent and User Keypresses (User keypresses) open the View\Compare window. (Ctrl+Alt+C)

View\Performance Ctrl+P

This panel has five sub-pages giving a wealth of information about your current and previous performance.

Here is a description of the controls that are common to all pages:

Clear log file button. This permanently removes all performance details from the logfile. Only the logfile for the current user is erased.

The details on the current page are printed out. For some of the pages a print preview screen is shown first.

The contents of the logfile for the current user are sent to the printer. This printout is in semi-graphical format.

The logfile is sent to a file in a format suitable for importing into a spreadsheet such as Excel(tm). The file is generated in Comma Delimited Format.

This feature smoothes some of the displayed charts to make it easier to spot trends and longer term changes. Chart smoothing is not retrospective. It cannot be used to smooth data that has already been recorded. Here are the available settings:

Code session results are always recorded in the temporary Session summary, Performance and Histogram pages. The options here determine if the session statistics are recorded in the more permanent logfile for later recall and viewing.

Results for the most recent session are shown in numerical format

Most of the data should be self-explanatory. Here are some notes:

In the case of a drill session using word analysis the response times are for characters but time-averaged over each word.

If the most recent session was not a drill session then certain data will be missing or replaced by zero.

This applies to all of the charts in the performance Statistics section of NuMorse Pro.

To scroll horizontally (pan) you drag on the chart with the right mouse button.

Vertical panning is not needed since all of the charts are automatically scaled in the vertical axis.

To zoom in on data of interest you drag left to right with the left mouse button.

To zoom out you drag right to left with the mouse button.

All of the charts are "live". They respond to changes in real time and you can keep them open while code drilling and watch how your performance varies.

The results for the most recent session are shown in graphical format.

This check box determines how the data is displayed along the horizontal axis. If checked then the axis is scaled to show all data points. If unchecked then only part of the data may be displayed and you will need to pan to areas of interest.

The right axis shows your response time throughout the session.

The left axis indicates your success rate during the session with 100 percent representing all correct keypresses.

The histogram display is wider then the available horizontal display area so it is not possible to clearly show all of the histogram characters at the same time. During code play this feature pans the display so that you can always see the most recently modified part of the chart.

This button sends the currently displayed session results to the logfile. If this button is grayed it means that either there are no results to send or that you have not selected the Add on demand option in the Add sessions to logfile group.

The chart data is shown in three colors:

If a histogram column is shown as green and red then this means that some of your keypresses for that character were incorrect. The red area shows the number of incorrect keypresses for the character while the green area shows the total number of characters sent. The blue column indicates average response time for the character.

This shows logfile data from the time the logfile was last cleared or a lesser number if you have reached the maximum specified logfile size.

The left axis represents success rate and code speed. For example, a code speed shown as 40 actually represents a speed of 20 wpm. For technical reasons it was not possible to provide a separate vertical axis for code speed.

The right axis shows average response time for each recorded session in ms.

This page shows logfile data session by session. VCR style controls are used to navigate the logfile records. The number in the center of the VCR controls is the currently selected record number. The chart data is presented in the same way as the session histogram described above and the To custom buttons also work in the same way.

The time and date of the selected record is shown and the type of record is also shown:

A play session is one where code plays and you listen but need not respond.

A drill session is where NuMorse Pro waits for your input and compares it with what code was sent.

This score display is replaced by a more comprehensive display when you have worked through the First Steps lessons and begin to use other NuMorse Pro features.

Written tests\Set a test Ctrl+T

This is the control panel that determines the format of code tests. NuMorse Pro tests can be used by students for test practice or they can be used by VEs to set real code tests. A serial number system helps examiners keep track of the various test materials. You have the option to produce a new code test each time or to re-use a previously generated test.

Clicking on this button causes NuMorse Pro to assemble a new unique QSO and other test materials in memory instead of re-using an existing test. The new test is saved to disk. The new test becomes the current test which will be printed and used as the test code source. If you wish to set the same test several times then do not click on this button between tests.

Click on this button to print out test materials as specified in the Print Options group. You need to have the printed materials available before you start a test. If this option is grayed out then there is no test ready. You will need to either generate a new test or load a previously stored test.

The same as print, except the test is "printed" to the screen. You can print a test element from this print preview screen.

You should click on this button when you are set up to take a code test. If you are a student you will need a students question sheet and if you have specified a multi choice test you will also need a Multi-choice answer sheet. You will also need a pen or pencil, of course! NuMorse Pro starts sending test code after an optional count-down period. Test QSOs always start with a series of Vs to help the student prepare for decoding the following text.

Other things to check when setting a test:

• Have you set up NuMorse Pro for the correct speed for the test you are about to take?
• Have you set up NuMorse Pro for the correct type of QSO? In the real test you will be set a short QSO at low code speeds and longer QSOs for the higher speeds. The three types of QSO generated by NuMorse Pro are of the correct length for 5, 13 and 20 WPM U.S style code tests.
• Maybe this is just a practice and you would like some extra help. Do you want to see the text that is being sent as code? If so then several NuMorse Pro options allow this.
• Do you wish to see an indication of how much code has been sent?
• If you have selected the Count Down option then the test will not start straight away. You will have ten seconds to get ready for the test to start.

A file open dialog allows you to select a previously prepared test instead of generating a new one. This opens a previously generated test and generates appropriate test materials in memory. The test can be viewed using the print preview button. Test filenames have the following format:

Tstnnnnn_mmddyyyy.txt

Where:

nnnn is the test serial number allocated by NuMorse Pro and appearing on printed test materials.

Mmddyyyy is the date the test was generated.

You will notice that all generated QSOs start with the sequence VVV VVV. This test sequence gives you time to 'tune in' to the code before the real QSO starts. There are currently two ways to remove this test sequence if you would prefer not to hear it:

For a single QSO edit the sequence from the file with a text editor.

For all generated you need to edit the Phrases.txt file found in your NuMorse Pro working directory. Here is the procedure:

1. Make a backup before you start.
2. Open the file with a text editor. This must be a plain text editor, not a word processor.
3. Remove the contents of the second line. Before editing this reads 'VVV VVV'
4. Save the file.

The Questions in test option should be increased with caution. Program limitations mean that multi-choice tests with more than ten questions may not be correctly generated. If a question and answer or multi-choice test is generated then ten questions will be set by default.

In all of the code tests students should concentrate on getting as much of the code as possible written down as plain text on a sheet of paper while it is being sent. After the code is finished students will have some time to tidy up their text and try to complete any sections that they missed during code play. This is the time that students should complete the Multi-choice or "Question and answer" format of test. In the case of the "One minute of solid copy" test the student can write directly onto the test sheet.

Three test formats are supported:

This group of options determines what components of a test are printed out. Not all test formats require the same printed materials and so some of the options may be grayed out. Examiners might wish to print out multiple copies of a student question sheet but just one Examiner grading sheet.

Test serial numbers are automatically generated by adding one to the existing serial number. You can change the sequence by typing in a number in the serial number box. Serial numbers are used as part of the stored test filenames and they are also printed on the written test materials. You should take care to use a unique number if you type them in manually.

Before setting a test select code and text speeds:

Select Main Menu\Play\Code Speed (or Shift+Ctrl+F7)

Set character and text speed sliders as required.

Close any open file windows if you do not wish to see the test QSO.

Select Main Menu\Written tests\Set a test (or press Ctrl+T)

To generate a new test or if any buttons are grayed out then click on "Make a new test"

To re-use a test click on Select test file and choose the test.

Written tests\Options Ctrl+Alt+T

This is where selected text that appears on printed test sheets can be altered. Most of the usual text editing features are available .

Here is where you select one the printed test sheets to edit.

This is a group of miscellaneous options affecting how tests are displayed.

All aspects of the test materials can be customized. To customize an individual test you can directly edit the test with any text editor or use a NuMorse Pro file window as an editor.

Don’t forget that NuMorse Pro can play text files produced by other software such as word processors. You might consider setting up a directory of code lessons based on text files.

NuMorse Pro can produce audio files. These files can be copied to CDROM for subsequent replay on audio equipment or via Windows built-in multimedia accessories. Students with limited computer skills might find this more straightforward than using the NuMorse Pro application.

QSO Generator\QSO settings Ctrl+Q

This check box list allows you to specify which characters will always be present in generated QSOs. The program was developed using the 43 characters specified for the US FCC code tests as follows:

The letters A..Z

The numbers 0..9

The period, the comma, the question mark.

The prosigns AR SK BT DN

You may change these default settings but the QSO generator may not always be able to produce QSOs containing all of the characters required especially when generating short QSOs. If this happens an error message will appear.

Make a test QSO button

This allows you to see the output of the NuMorse Pro QSO generator. Normally the QSO is sent to the Code Source window for code play but when testing the QSO text is sent to the test display area instead.

This allows you to select from three types of QSO:

Select Main Menu\QSO Generator\QSO Settings (or Ctrl+Q)

Select Short from the QSO type drop-down list.

Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or shift + F4)

Check that QSO generator is selected.

Select Main Menu\PlayCharacter Filter (or Ctrl+F9)

Select F.C.C. from the Preset filters group

Make sure that "Use preset filters" is checked

Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)

• Click on the Play button

A QSO will now be output as Morse code.

QSO Generator\Callsigns Ctrl+C

The callsign generator generates the callsigns used in NuMorse Pro QSOs and also when the code source is switched to "callsigns". By default, US callsigns are produced according to the FCC rules.

In NuMorse Pro call signs are generated using a "decision tree". This is displayed here as a tree on its side with the trunk at the left and the smallest branches to the right. This control panel allows editing of the callsign decision tree. You could edit the tree to produce callsigns from other countries or to reflect changes in FCC callsign allocation rules.

To generate a callsign the program starts at the left (at the "root") and travels along branches collecting letters and numbers at each branch point until it reaches a branch tip at the right of the diagram. The possible characters collected at each point are also shown on the diagram. You alter the tree by adding or removing branches and specifying the characters to be collected at each branch point.

The callsign control panel controls:

To alter a branch point (also called a "node") it must first be selected by left-clicking on it. This single-line editor allows the characters that may be collected in the callsign at each branch point to be specified. Use the comma as a separator and the dash (-) to specify ranges of letters or numbers. Lower case letters are ignored which allows annotations to be made to the tree diagram.

Specifies that the node should generate letters ‘A’ to ‘Z’.

Specifies that the node should generate numbers ‘0’ to ‘9’.

This generates a callsign in "slow motion" so you can see it being built up character by character on the tree diagram.

When you click on the test button the resulting callsign is displayed here.

Deletes the currently selected node. Use with care, changes are permanent.

Add a new node.

Provides a way to specify how branching is to take place at a node.

This causes some callsigns to use the USA license upgrade indicator. This is a temporary designator appended to a callsign that indicates that the operator has operating privileges of a higher class callsign. For example, a general class callsign followed by /AE indicates that the operator has Extra Class privileges but is temporarily using a General Class callsign until the Extra Class callsign is allocated.

Play\Character Filters Ctrl+F9

Preset filters group

Letters. Only the characters A to Z will be output.

Numbers. The numbers 0 to 9 will be output.

Punctuation. This allows punctuation characters: , " . and ?

Prosign. These prosigns will be output: * + / and = (or SK AR DN and BT)

FCC. A combination of the above will be output.

Group1 The characters E T M A N I S O * . will be sent.

Group2 The characters + 0 5 ? C D R U will be sent.

Group3 The characters K P B G W F H 8 = , will be sent.

Group4 The characters Q L Y J X V Z / 1 2 3 4 6 7 9 will be sent.

All. All Valid Morse code characters will be sent.

Notes:

You must always select at least one group. NuMorse Pro will prevent you from unchecking all of the preset filter options.

The options can be used separately or combined to produce your own combinations of characters.

Dynamic filter group

NuMorse Pro gathers comprehensive statistics about your performance while drilling. These statistics can be used to influence what characters are emphasized during subsequent drill sessions. Here are the available options.

None. The feature is switched off.

Current session. Your performance is monitored and mistyped characters will start to be sent more frequently during the current session.

Currently displayed log record. The Performance statistics window can display information from previous drill sessions. This option automatically uses displayed information from a selected previous session to determine what characters are sent more frequently.

The dynamic filter operates via changes to the custom filter settings and so the "Use custom filter" option must be checked for dynamic filtering to function. The custom filter is described elsewhere in this topic.

Select Filter type

Preset filters. Use the preset filter group settings to determine what code characters are sent.

Custom filter. Use the Custom filter settings to determine what code characters are sent.

Random Weighting settings.

If the random characters option is selected as a code source then these settings affect what characters are sent.

Natural language. The mixture of random characters generated will be similar to the mixture that occurs in normal English text.

Uniform weighting. All characters will be generated in similar quantities over a period of time.

Note:

Regardless of the Random Weighting setting the character filters will still determine what characters are sent as code.

Random Group length.

This setting determines the block length when random characters are being sent. A random block length can be selected by dragging the slider setting to the left hand side.

The custom filter

Clear Custom button.

Removes all custom filter settings.

Invert Custom button

Reverses custom filter settings.

Preset to Custom button

The current preset group settings are used to set up the custom filter. This can be a convenient way to quickly set up the custom filter before making manual adjustments.

These examples all assume that you will be starting from the Main menu.

Input and Output\SelectInputDevice Shift+F4

Here is a list of available input devices (code sources) and a summary of how each one works. For some of the code sources the characters are sent to the Code Source window before being read by NuMorse. If you have the Code Source window open while playing code then you can watch the cursor moving through the characters as they are read. You can manually move the cursor around using mouse clicks to direct NuMorse Pro to read from specific parts of the text.

In this mode whatever you type gets converted to Morse code. For this feature to work the NuMorse Pro Keyboard form or the User Keypresses form must have the input focus. Just click on either of these windows before starting to type.

This is similar to the From Keyboard feature except that you can type characters into other Windows programs such as word processors and NuMorse Pro will play the characters as Morse code. This could be a handy way to learn the code while doing other work!

Some examples in this manual:

Input and Output\SelectOutputDevice F4

As well as the sound card NuMorse Pro can send code to other "devices". This control panel allows you to select the devices.

Check the Active check box to allow NuMorse Pro to send code to a hardware port. This will usually be the printer port at I/O address 888 (default) although any port address can be selected if the required hardware port address decoding is present.

The mark bits display indicates the bit pattern sent to the port during code mark (logical high) conditions. By default this is set to all data bits ‘on’. You can mouse click to toggle the individual bits if required.

The space bits indicate the bit pattern during code space (logical low) conditions. This defaults to all bits ‘off’ but each bit can be toggled using mouse clicks.

NuMorse Pro can send audio to a wave file for subsequent playback by other multimedia utilities. You could even record your own Morse code CDROM for audio playback.

The Wave File Name can be selected using the browse button and the resulting file open dialog. A feature is provided to allow you to place a limit on the audio file size because audio files can quickly grow to enormous sizes, if no audio file compression is used. Audio file size limits can be removed by setting the slider to the right but please be aware that the first indication of a disk full error message will probably result in you having to shut down your system and reboot before deleting the file.

The Windows ACM (Audio Compression Manager) provides a set of audio file compression utilities and NuMorse Pro is able to take advantage of them. Click on the Compress button to list and select the compression methods available on your system. Here is a brief summary of some compression types available on most Windows systems:

Experiment with the available audio compression utilities to find a suitable balance of quality and compression. You can play the compressed NuMorse Pro audio files back using the standard Windows media player utilities.

Note: If NuMorse Pro is recording an audio file then a small CDROM icon will be shown on the code Play keyboard. If this icon suddenly "grays out" then it means that you have reached the maximum file size.

Check this box to display a semaphore window that flashes on and off while code is playing.

Check this box to send code to the PC speaker.

Note: NuMorse Pro requires that a soundboard and soundboard drivers are correctly installed even if you will be using the PC speaker for code output.

Input and Output\SoundBoard F5

Your Sound board driver details are shown at the top of this control panel. This information might be useful if you need to troubleshoot a sound problem.

The click filter time constant is a compromise. You need to reduce clicking as the code tone switches on and off but too much filtering will give a blurred effect to the sound of the code. Experiment to find a setting that sounds good to you. A setting of 1ms is recommended. The small chart gives an indication of how each time constant affects the envelope waveform of a typical Morse code dot.

If you are planning to take a test soon then try to find out what tone frequency will be used on that test and select the closest one from the displayed options. If you are not planning to take a test soon then select the sound that you feel most comfortable with.

This controls the volume of Morse code but does not affect any other sounds produced by NuMorse. If the Morse code output is too loud or quiet compared to the other sounds then use this control. If you want to adjust the volume of all NuMorse Pro sounds then use your soundboard’s physical volume control or your Windows Volume Control. The code volume control also affects NuMorse Pro generated audio files.

This feature adds noise (QRN) and fading (QSB) to the code output so that the signal sounds more like what you would hear on a real radio. Real Morse Code is best used in Continuous play mode where the supply of code characters is continuous. In Drill mode the noise stops while NuMorse Pro waits for your input and this can be distracting. The same applies to modes which use characters from the keyboard where there can be long pauses between characters.

If you hear pauses and gaps in the noise or code then this means that you have a sound board with an appreciable switch-on time. In NuMorse Pro each code character is sent as a separate sound sample. Some soundboards cannot seamlessly stitch together these samples into a continuous sequence without a short period of silence. Without background noise this is not a problem since the hand-over from one sample to the next occurs during the inter-character silence. Suggestions for a fix:

Make sure you have the correct and up to date soundboard drivers.

If you have a slower PC (133MHz or less) then try closing any programs not in use.

Testing here suggests that Win 98 and later gives better results than Win 95.

This set of options allows you to simulate a variety of conditions frequently encountered when listening to code on the amateur bands. Here is how the controls work:

Fade depth controls the amount of fading. Long distance signals often vary in signal strength as ionospheric and tropospheric changes occur. Select values near min. for small variations or no fading at all. Settings near max allow the signal to occasionally fade so much that it is inaudible.

Background noise level. This controls the amount of broadband noise present in the received audio. This noise originates both in the front-end components of the receiver and the atmosphere. The contribution from each source varies depending on frequency. In NuMorse Pro you can vary the noise from zero to a level which renders the signal inaudible.

Add impulsive noise. Impulsive noise can be generated by electrical machinery and also by electrical storms. This noise is characterized by sharp pulses at irregular intervals. Most amateur radio receivers have circuitry to reduce the effects of impulsive noise.

Add ignition noise. Ignition noise pulses occur at regular intervals, they are generated by vehicle and other petrol engines. The effect can be reduced by noise blanking circuits in the receiver.

Play real Morse Code. This is a master switch that enables/disables all of the noise functions.

This provides a flashing lantern effect like the flashing semaphores used to communicate in Morse code between ships.

This brings up a color selection chart which selects the "lantern" color during code "space" periods. The text on this button indicates the currently selected color.

This brings up a color selection chart which selects the "lantern" color during code "mark" periods. The text on this button indicates the currently selected color.

You can use NuMorse Pro to drive a code oscillator or a transmitter via a hardware port. You can either add an extra port as an ISA or PCI card or use the existing printer port on your system. Here are the data pinout details for a Centronics parallel printer port, this view is looking into the rear of the PC.

Pin Signal

2 Bit 0

3 Bit 1

4 Bit 2

5 Bit 3

6 Bit 4

7 Bit 5

8 Bit 6

9 Bit 7

33 GND

A simple code oscillator has been tested with NuMorse Pro by the author. The circuit diagram is shown in the NuMorse Pro online help.

Connect it to your PC between GND and any printer data pin. On a Centronics parallel printer port this would be between pin 33 and any other pin in the table above.

For learning the code you should always use the internal tone generator. This is a pure sine wave with an amplitude envelope that has been carefully tailored for maximum readability.

The code samples feature allows you to select some alternative code sounds to give you an idea of what CW transmissions might have sounded like in the past and to demonstrate faulty CW transmissions. The feature does not attempt to give completely authentic renditions of code and the speed displayed in the speed control box is an approximation based on the size of the selected external sample.

The feature works by playing dits or dahs from external audio files and stringing them together along with spaces to generate Morse code. You can select which files to use for the dits and dahs. An assortment of ready made files is provided but you can easily make your own. Instructions on how to make your own samples are provided below.

Here is what the controls do:

Use internal/external group. This is the master switch that controls whether code is internally generated or if the code is based on the selected samples.

Each browse button allows you to select samples of code. A dot and a dash sample are both required. NuMorse Pro will add character and word spaces. The files that come with NuMorse Pro have filenames ending with Dot... or Dash... and they all have filename prefix .wav to indicate that they are Microsoft PCM wave files. Normally you would select dot and dash files with the same name in front of the dot... Dash... Part.

Most of the included spark transmitter samples were derived from longer recordings at the website of David Ring, Jr. n1ea. David says that the audio was obtained using transmitter and receiver components that would have been in use at that time. A modern tape recorder was used to record these sounds. Please note that the output from NuMorse Pro will differ from the original transmissions in several ways:

1. The code will be "neutral" and perfectly consistent. NuMorse cannot replicate the style or "fist" of the original hand-sent transmissions. The original operators often varied the code element timing and spacing from standard and the resulting code was often almost musical and wonderful to hear.
2. The original transmissions from which these samples were taken used American Morse code which differs from the International Morse code used in amateur radio in several important respects. To those people familiar with American Morse code the output from NuMorse professional will sound very odd.

Here is a list of the sample Dot... files provided with a short comment on each. For each Dot file there is a corresponding DASH FILE.

SparkCW Dot.wav. A basic spark generated carrier. Early radio transmitters used a high voltage spark gap in air to excite a tuned circuit which was coupled to the antenna. The resulting signal was relatively broadband and noisy.

SparkTransformer Dot.wav. Some transmitters used a transformer to raise an AC supply to the high voltage required for the spark gap. This sample gives an idea of the rasping sound that a transformer based spark transmitter would produce due to the modulation of the spark by the AC waveform. This sample has strong components at multiples of 60 Hz.

DotSparkCoil1.wav. One way to generate the high voltage for the spark was to rapidly switch the current through an inductor, or coil. A vibrating actuator acted as the switch and this could be adjusted to give a reasonable quality tone as in this sample. It was helpful to have some sort of amplitude modulation on the carrier due to the relatively simple crystal detectors used as receivers. A pure carrier would result in no audio output from a crystal AM detector.

SparkCoil2 Dot.wav. This is an example of a coil type spark transmitter that is badly adjusted and sounds mushy. Both the vibrating actuator and the spark gap required frequent adjustment for a good tonal output.

RotarySpark1 Dot.wav. Another way to modulate the transmission was to use a rotary interrupter instead of a vibrating actuator. This sample simulates the sound of a rotary spark transmitter.

RotarySpark2 Dot.wav. This is another rotary spark transmitter. The rotor is spinning at a different speed. Receiver selectivity was limited and so several CW transmissions would often be present in the audio output. It was useful to have a distinctive sound from each station to allow operators to distinguish between them.

QuenchedGap Dot.wav. This type of spark transmitter used an arrangement of several spark gaps to obtain the modulation tone.

GKZ Dot.WAV. Samples derived from a transmission by radio station GKZ. I do not know what technology was used to generate this sound.

Chirp1 Dot.wav. This is a transmission that has chirp. This fault is usually caused by poor power supply regulation. During a dit or dah the transmitter draws extra current from the power supply and the voltage drops. The fall in voltage causes the oscillator frequency to shift. The cure is to improve the transmitter power supply regulation or improve the regulation to the transmitter oscillator circuitry or both. Mobile/portable equipment with failing batteries sometimes displays symptoms of chirp.

Chirp2 Dot.wav This is the same problem as in DotChirp1.wav. In this case the receiver is tuned to the other side of the CW signal.

Clicks Dot.wav. The click is caused by faulty shaping of the carrier envelope. This fault is mainly heard in older or home-brew equipment.

Ripple Dot.wav. The carrier is being amplitude modulated at 60 Hz line frequency. This is a symptom of a problem with the power supply smoothing circuitry. The smoothing capacitors in older power supply units are often the culprits.

Ripple2 Dot.wav. In this case the carrier is being frequency modulated at 60 Hz line frequency. Again, power supply smoothing is probably inadequate.

Sounder Dot.wav. Here is what code might have sounded like on a telegraph sounder. This uses a "Click-Clack" system to mark the start-end of each code element. In fact, International Morse Code would not have been used by telegraphers in the U.S.A. They would probably have used American Morse Code instead.

Marconi Dot.wav This sample was derived from an actual transmission from vintage Marconi ship based equipment.

The requirements for producing your own samples are simple, but must be adhered to. Any deviation from the requirements below will cause NuMorse Pro to reject the sample:

Microsoft PCM wave Format, uncompressed.

8000 samples per second

16 bit Mono

Maximum file size is 14.6Kb

Minimum file size is 768 bytes

Sources of suitable waveform data are:

Files from the internet.

Files recorded by you.

Files generated by audio editing software.

You will normally need third party audio editing software to get your samples into the above format so that they can be used by NuMorse. A good shareware audio editing program is Cool-Edit by Syntrillium Software.

David Ring, Jr. n1ea. http://www.qsl.net/n1ea David has a great web site with many resources for those interested in historical radio equipment and sounds. He gave much help and provided the files on which I based the spark transmitter and other historical samples. Some of the files on this site were originally produced by Mr. John Belrose.

John Belrose, VE2CV, wanted to record exactly what Canadian spark transmitter and pioneer Fessenden heard in his headset. A web page of his work is here:

http://www.physics.otago.ac.nz/ursi/belrose/spark.html

Jim Farrior, w4fok Radio Amateurs and railroad and telegraphy enthusiasts are invited to download his program, "The Mill". http://www.net-magic.net/users/w4fok "The Mill" and supporting documents provide many features for those interested in CW, especially American Morse. The dialog feature of this program allows you to listen to various fists and CW sounds with the simulated stations having authentic conversations using the correct operating procedures.

"The Telegraph Office" at http://fohnix.metronet.com/~nmcewen/tel_off-page.html A Tribute to Morse Telegraphy and a Resource for Wire and Wireless Telegraph Key Collectors and Historians by Neal McEwen, K5RW

"The RMS Titanic Radio Page" http://www2.dynamite.com.au/rmstitanic/ Specializing in the radio aspects of the Titanic disaster

"The Antique Wireless Association" at http://www.antiquewireless.org/ Some of the samples were based on AWA original files.

"The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy A Manual For Learning, Using, Mastering And Enjoying The International Morse Code As A Means Of Communication" by William G. Pierpont N0HFF This is a "Must Have" book for anyone serious about Morse Code. The online version can currently be obtained free from http://www.raes.ab.ca/book/

A French language version is available at http://radioamateur.f1rfn.online.fr/jcm_livre_nohff.htm Traduction et adaptation de l’Anglais par M. Colombani-Gailleur Maurice F6IIE – UFT 061

Play\Calibration F7

I doubt if calibration is really needed since NuMorse Pro derives its code timings from your PC and soundboard timing hardware which should be independent of processor speed. On all of the PCs tested the calibration process resulted in an adjustment of a few percent that could not be detected in normal use.

Code speed in NuMorse Pro is based in how long it takes to send the standard PARIS word. At 10 wpm it should take exactly one minute to send the word PARIS ten times. NuMorse Pro calibration does exactly this. PARIS is sent ten times and the overall time taken is measured using the system clock. Any necessary adjustment is then calculated and made. All you have to do is start the process and wait for it to end.

Use a code source file containing the word "PARIS" repeated ten times. At 10 WPM this file should take 1 minute to play. The built-in calibration feature of NuMorse Pro will do this for you automatically.

Settings\Code properties Ctrl+F6

These settings alter the appearance and sound of code characters sent by NuMorse. People living in the USA will probably not need to make any changes to the default code properties settings.

This is a drop-down list of all of the available characters and is used to select the character to be modified. The number to the right is the ANSI code used to represent the character within your PC.

This is a number used to represent how often the character occurs in standard English text. Spaces are treated as characters in NuMorse Pro and so these are given a value of 100 because they occur more often than other characters. The next most frequent character is ‘E’ which is set to 54. The least often used characters are all given a value of 1. The language weighting value is used to generate random strings of characters with character distributions similar to normal English text.

Keyboard mapping is the method used by NuMorse Pro to allow maximum flexibility in presenting code characters, prosigns and other characters. I wanted NuMorse Pro to properly display prosigns and other characters but these characters vary between different countries. Often, you will be able to find the character you need in the character selection list. All you need to do then is enter your required code characters in the Code String for Character field.

However, sometimes there is no suitable key and this is where keyboard mapping can help.

Here is an example:

The "End of work" prosign is written as the character pair [SK] in the USA. In many computer programs a ‘*’ sign is substituted for this. NuMorse Pro automatically translates the ‘*’ symbol to [SK] to relieve you of the extra translation effort. If you select the ‘*’ character in the code properties page you will see that it is mapped to the [SK] character pair. Wherever "*" would appear in NuMorse Pro there is a [SK] instead.

In some countries such as Britain the "End of work" prosign is written as [VA]. This is no problem for NuMorse Pro. If you are British then simply alter the keyboard mapping of "*" to [VA] and this new mapping will then be used throughout the program.

To disable keyboard mapping uncheck the Enabled check box.

To set the mappings to the USA defaults click on the "Defaults" button. This gives the following mappings:

I have included a variety of prosigns and other symbols in the NuMorse Pro character list to cater for a wide range of international variations on the implementation of Morse code. Also, since standard Morse code uses only upper case alphabetic characters the lower case characters are available for none-standard usage.

This can be used to select the character you want to map from. It is an alternative to the Mapped from selection list and allows you to simply press the required key instead of scrolling down a list of characters.

This permanently removes all keyboard mappings. The only mappings available after using this button is the default set described above. To temporarily suspend keyboard mapping it is better to uncheck the mapping enabled checkbox.

When code drilling NuMorse Pro can be set up to correct your mistakes by speaking the correct International Phonetic via your soundcard. This button is provided to allow you to test the speech phonetic that is associated with the currently selected character. If you have "A" selected the default phonetic should be spoken as "Alpha"

You will have noticed that the NuMorse Pro code characters are categorized into groups such as prosigns, letters numbers and so on. This list allows you to alter the category of any code character. If you need to add some new characters then this list allows you to choose a category for the new character.

First steps image files should be of type bmp and the required image size is 80 x 80 pixels.

You can alter the code elements for any character. Normally the standard Code characters would not be altered and this feature is intended for those who want to add none-standard codes and characters to the default NuMorse Pro character set.

The default mnemonics were created by the author whose native language is British English. If they don’t work for you then you can alter them or switch them off. If you alter the mnemonic then you may need to alter the associated image.

On the Edit menu, click Search then Find.

In the Search Text box, enter the text you want to search for.

Click OK.

Replace text

On the File Edit menu, click Search, then Replace.

In the Text to find box, enter the text you want to search for.

In the Replace with box, enter the replacement text.

Click OK, or Replace all.

Text editing in NuMorse Pro is best done when no code is being sent. In NuMorse Pro the program often adds text as code is playing. If you and NuMorse Pro are modifying the text at the same time things can get confusing!

Help\About

The program version number and other messages are displayed here. In the case of an unlicensed program you will see some information about program usage and registration inducements.

Input and Output\Sounds Ctrl+F5

There are several places in NuMorse Pro where you can choose sounds from a list of available sounds. This control panel lets you add new sounds or remove sounds from the list.

This plays the selected sound.

A file open dialog is displayed. Choose a .wav file to add. The list name is derived from the filename with the .wav file extension removed.

You should add sounds that have been compressed using one of the audio file compression utilities supplied with Windows. The preferred compression method is GSM 6.10.

Here is one way to compress an audio file:

Start up your Windows Sound Recorder accessory

Open the audio file to compress

Select File\Save as

Click on the Change button

In the Format list select GSM 6.10 then OK

Click Save and exit from Sound Recorder

You can now add the compressed audio file to the NuMorse Pro sound list.

Permanently removes the selected sound from the list

Settings\General preferences F6

The preferences controls are all fairly self-explanatory.

NuMorse Pro startup time is not affected by this option.

Again, startup time is not affected when an audio file is played on startup. This option is useful for giving an indication that your system sound is set up OK before starting to play code.

All alphabetic Morse code characters are upper case. In NuMorse Pro code drilling the lower case characters are treated as different from their upper case counterparts and will therefore be treated as mistyped characters. The reason for treating lower case characters separately is that they can be used as supplemental characters if you need them. Most people will need to use uppercase for inputting characters so this option is checked by default.

Many code teachers prefer to refer to code elements using 'Dah' and 'dit' sounds rather than 'dots' and 'dashes'. The reason is that 'dah' and 'dit' sounds are a closer match to the sounds of the code and this helps students to build up a correct character-to-sound association rather than trying to 'see' the code dot-dash elements. This feature controls the representation of code elements in certain NuMorse pro features.

When code is playing the keyboard window records the last few characters sent. This option simply clears previous contents when you press the Drill or Play buttons.

These options are provided to allow operation using a variety of different operating systems and soundboards. The default settings work on most systems. If your code output sounds OK then leave these settings alone.

This option causes NuMorse Pro to abruptly switch off code output as soon as a code stop button is pressed. If you would like the current character to finish after a stop button then Uncheck this option.

This works like the above option, except that it does the reset whenever the code pauses. An example of this is when an audible error message is to be sent during code drilling. This is checked by default. You may hear clunks and clicks every time code output is paused, if so then try unchecking this option. If this option is unchecked then you may get some error messages, especially when using very slow code.

This option causes the soundboard to be temporarily released by the program whenever code pauses. As soon as code resumes the soundboard is placed under control of NuMorse Pro. This option must be checked when running under Windows 2000 or NT. Under other operating systems you can try unchecking this option to reduce the amount of clicking when code is playing.

Enter a user name here. A default name is given which you can alter if you wish. Allowed characters are letters numbers and spaces.

File\User profile Ctrl+U

User profiles are groups of program settings which are stored in separate folders. This feature allows you to select whole groups of program settings at start up. In fact, the normal program settings of NuMorse are stored as a user profile called "Default". The profile settings are stored in folders beginning "NPD" Thus, the Default settings are in NPDDefault.

When you click on this button you will be asked to enter a new user profile name. When the new name is entered a new data directory is created for the new user where program settings and other information is stored. The new data directory is initialized with data from the currently selected profile.

Example: You select a new user named "John". NuMorse Pro creates a new directory called NPDJohn and copies certain data from the current user directory into it.

The following information is unique to each user name:

Code properties settings

The NuMorse Pro desktop settings...position and size of all open forms.

The contents of the file windows

A log of previous performance

The lessons and other information used in the First Steps feature.

Most program control settings.

The First Steps lesson data.

Use this to remove a user profile that is not needed. You cannot remove the "Default" user profile.

Copy the contents of your required profiles folder to the NPDDefault folder. (But back up the existing contents first!)

This area is used to display ToolTip information in more detail than the standard ToolTips.

This is the section of the program that converts characters into sounds using a lookup table and calls to the Windows multimedia sub-systems. Information from various parts of NuMorse Pro are used to assemble the waveform. These include:

The tone frequency.

The shape of the code envelope.

The speed and spacing of the code.

Characters to convert to code

The following examples are listed in this manual:

Add a Ñ character to the letters group.

Select Main Menu\Settings\Code Properties (or Ctrl+F6)

Use the drop-down Character selection list to select Ñ

In the Code string for character editor replace the existing code with - - .- -

We will map "n" to the new Ñ character. To the right of the Mapped from button is a character selection list. Select n in this list to map from n to Ñ

The new Ñ character needs to be added to the letters group. To do this go to the letter n by clicking on the mapped from button. Scroll the "This character in" control and check the Alpha check box.

You need to specify how frequently the new character should be generated. Set the Language weighting for the letter n to a none zero value such as 10.

The new Ñ character can now be used like any other code character except that you press n on the keyboard whenever you enter it into the program.

• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or Shift + F4)
• Check that Random characters is selected.
• Select Main Menu\PlayCharacter Filter (or Ctrl+F9)
• Select Letters from the Preset filters group
• Make sure that "Use preset filters" is checked
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button

• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or shift + F4)
• Check that Random characters is selected.
• Select Main Menu\Play\Character Filter (or Ctrl+F9)
• Select Group 2 from the Preset filters group
• Make sure that "Use preset filters" is checked
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button

• Go to View\File Window Options (Shift+Ctrl+F2).
• Select randomize characters in the Code Source file group.
• Open the code source file window. View\Code Source F2
• Type in the characters + 0 5 ? C D R U
• Go to input devices and select text file. Input and Output\SelectInputDevice Shift+F4
• Now play Morse code. Play\Play Morse Code F9

• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or shift + F4)
• Check that Random characters is selected.
• Select Main Menu\Play\Character Filter (or Ctrl+F9)
• Click on the Clear all button
• Click on X, Y, Z in the custom filter display
• Make sure that "Use custom filter" is checked
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button

• Go to View\File Window Options (Shift+Ctrl+F2).
• Select randomize characters in the Code Source file group.
• Open the code source file window. View\Code Source F2
• Type in the characters X Y Z
• Go to input devices and select text file. Input and Output\SelectInputDevice Shift+F4
• Now play Morse code. Play\Play Morse Code F9

• Select Main Menu\View\Performance
• Click on the Histogram Log page
• Use the VCR controls to get to a histogram of yesterdays drill session
• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or shift + F4)
• Check that Random characters is selected.
• Select Main Menu\Play\Character Filter (or Ctrl+F9)
• Click on the Clear all button
• In the Dynamic filter select Currently displayed log record
• Make sure that "Use custom filter" is checked
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button

• Select Main Menu\Files\Select code source
• Select the file
• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or Shift + F4)
• Check that Text File is selected.
• Select Main Menu\PlayCharacter Filter (or Ctrl+F9)
• Select F.C.C. from the Preset filters group
• Make sure that "Use preset filters" is checked
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button
• Your file will now be sounded as Morse code.

• Select Main Menu\Files\Select code source
• Select the file
• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or Shift + F4)
• Check that Text File is selected.
• Select Main Menu\PlayCharacter Filter (or Ctrl+F9)
• Select F.C.C. from the Preset filters group
• Make sure that "Use preset filters" is checked
• Select Main Menu\View\File Window options (or Shift+Ctrl+F2)
• Make sure the Randomize words box is checked.
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button
• Your file will now be sounded as Morse code.

To select individual letters at random use randomize characters instead of randomize words.

• Select Main Menu\Files\Select code source
• Select the file
• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select input device (or Shift + F4)
• Check that Text File is selected.
• Select Main Menu\PlayCharacter Filter (or Ctrl+F9)
• Select Numbers from the Preset filters group
• Make sure that "Use preset filters" is checked
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button
• Your file will now be sounded as Morse code.

• Select Main Menu\Settings\Code Properties (or Ctrl+F6)
• Use the drop-down Character selection list to select *
• This is mapped to SK by default
• To the right of the Mapped to button is a character selection list.
• Select VA in this list

• Select Main Menu\Settings\Code Properties (or Ctrl+F6)
• Use the drop-down Character selection list to select $
• Scroll the "This character in" control and check the Prosigns check box.
• By default the character $ is not mapped and the mapped to button is grayed out
• To the right of the Mapped to button is a character selection list.
• Select AS in this list
• Click on the Mapped to button to go to the AS prosign character.
• In the Code string for character editor replace the existing code with .-...

• Choose Koch from the list of user profiles
• Go to First Steps Shift+F9
• Follow the lesson instructions.

• Check "A minute of solid copy"
• Check "Student question sheet"
• Click on "Print" and find a sharp pencil.
• Read the question sheet.
• Click on start and try to copy the sent code as handwritten text.
• Check "Examiner grading sheet"
• Click on "Print"
• Read the grading sheet to see how well you did.

• Select Main Menu\Input and output\Select output device (F4)
• Make sure that the Wav file output Active box is checked.
• Click on the browse button and select the name of an audio file to record.
• Click on the compress button and select a compression type
• Select Main Menu\Play\Play morse code (F9)
• Click on the Play button

Prosigns (Procedural Signals) are special symbols or symbol groups intended to convey commonly used code signals. In FCC tests you will be expected to know the following:

This is a way to make yourself understood better when voicing your callsign and other alphabetic information. Under poor signal conditions it is easy to confuse "F" with "S" and "P" with "B" and so on. A system was devised called "International phonetics" to overcome this problem. Here is the complete list:

Do not confuse International Phonetics with the Mnemonics used in the NuMorse Pro First Steps feature.

International phonetics are an officially agreed way to communicate letters by voice.

NuMorse Pro mnemonics are a way to help you remember the Morse code sounds for alphabetic characters. They have no official status.

I would like to thank the following people for their help. This list is in no particular order and I will have forgotten to mention some folk: