Ham4CW
Administrator
Out of all the internet based communication programs I've tinkered with, CQ100 stands out by a mile.
It is not primarily intend as a Morse Over Internet program, as it can carry speech too. The look of it, the layout and the functionality are all excellent. There are regular nets from various areas of the world, at different times of day or night. It is not over populated, and some times you may find nothing at all for some hours.
A novel feature is the sister program QSO-TV which allows you to send images while talking. The 'TV' can be positioned anywhere on the desktop as can the 'radio' interface itself.
For Morse Code there are two ways you could send. One would be to use the inbuilt keyer (you can vary speed and pitch), but this does not use a paddle key, you type your message on the keyboard. This is the one down side, you cannot use a key, and it does not use a single button or the space bar like other programs do.
However, because the program can send normal audio it is easy enough to use a side tone oscillator or the monitor tone output from a keyer. The virtual radio has a VOX mode, so again, TX/RX switching could be done by simple audio without the need to put together any special wiring. Also you have most of the controls of a real HF radio.
The internal microphone in a standard laptop is more than sensitive enough for most purposes, or you could use a goose neck PC microphone, or maybe adapt a true Amateur desk microphone. I guess you could go really crazy and even use or make a small audio mixer of some type, mixing an external microphone and the Morse audio tone together.
Many of the programs on the web allow anyone to use them, but CQ100 is only available to licensed Amateurs. When you register you have to send a photograph of your licence for your account to me validated. Also, this program is not free, it costs $39 (about £31) per year.
I have been using CQ100 for a number of years now and have found it to be excellent. It would be nice if there were more UK Amateurs using it, as many of the nets and operators are based in the US or Canada, with others scattered around the world.
If you do have a licence you can have a thirty day trial of the program (that's how I started with it), to see if you like it and whether or not it's for you.
While typing this up I was having a listen to the "Rusty Nail Net", and before that another small net of mainly Canadian stations. All of the groups I've heard over the years will always happily accept folks calling in from anywhere, the only limiting factor would generally be whether or not you 'qualify' for a particular net. For example you would look pretty foolish checking in to a net for Ontarian Firefighters if you were an Ice-cream seller in Bournemouth! ;D
There is a recognised 'phone' calling 'frequency', an also a set 'CW' calling frequency. I've listened to that on and off over time and you do hear stations calling. The general ethos on CQ100 is treat it as though you really were on-air.
But for a high quality medium for Morse practice over the internet it's hard to beat, and trust me I've tried a few over the years. This is the only one I've stayed with even though you do have to subscribe. Renewal is up to the individual operator, there is no money taken from you year after year until you cancel. You pay for one year's access at a time and if after one year you decided not renew then you don't have to do anything, your account expires and you simply loose access to the service. If you then want to go back on the system at a layer date, just log in, pay your years subscription, and away you go again.
You can find the info, and program here > http://qsonet.com/programs.html
73, Mark... :w:
It is not primarily intend as a Morse Over Internet program, as it can carry speech too. The look of it, the layout and the functionality are all excellent. There are regular nets from various areas of the world, at different times of day or night. It is not over populated, and some times you may find nothing at all for some hours.
A novel feature is the sister program QSO-TV which allows you to send images while talking. The 'TV' can be positioned anywhere on the desktop as can the 'radio' interface itself.
For Morse Code there are two ways you could send. One would be to use the inbuilt keyer (you can vary speed and pitch), but this does not use a paddle key, you type your message on the keyboard. This is the one down side, you cannot use a key, and it does not use a single button or the space bar like other programs do.
However, because the program can send normal audio it is easy enough to use a side tone oscillator or the monitor tone output from a keyer. The virtual radio has a VOX mode, so again, TX/RX switching could be done by simple audio without the need to put together any special wiring. Also you have most of the controls of a real HF radio.
The internal microphone in a standard laptop is more than sensitive enough for most purposes, or you could use a goose neck PC microphone, or maybe adapt a true Amateur desk microphone. I guess you could go really crazy and even use or make a small audio mixer of some type, mixing an external microphone and the Morse audio tone together.
Many of the programs on the web allow anyone to use them, but CQ100 is only available to licensed Amateurs. When you register you have to send a photograph of your licence for your account to me validated. Also, this program is not free, it costs $39 (about £31) per year.
I have been using CQ100 for a number of years now and have found it to be excellent. It would be nice if there were more UK Amateurs using it, as many of the nets and operators are based in the US or Canada, with others scattered around the world.
If you do have a licence you can have a thirty day trial of the program (that's how I started with it), to see if you like it and whether or not it's for you.
While typing this up I was having a listen to the "Rusty Nail Net", and before that another small net of mainly Canadian stations. All of the groups I've heard over the years will always happily accept folks calling in from anywhere, the only limiting factor would generally be whether or not you 'qualify' for a particular net. For example you would look pretty foolish checking in to a net for Ontarian Firefighters if you were an Ice-cream seller in Bournemouth! ;D
There is a recognised 'phone' calling 'frequency', an also a set 'CW' calling frequency. I've listened to that on and off over time and you do hear stations calling. The general ethos on CQ100 is treat it as though you really were on-air.
But for a high quality medium for Morse practice over the internet it's hard to beat, and trust me I've tried a few over the years. This is the only one I've stayed with even though you do have to subscribe. Renewal is up to the individual operator, there is no money taken from you year after year until you cancel. You pay for one year's access at a time and if after one year you decided not renew then you don't have to do anything, your account expires and you simply loose access to the service. If you then want to go back on the system at a layer date, just log in, pay your years subscription, and away you go again.
You can find the info, and program here > http://qsonet.com/programs.html
73, Mark... :w:
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