CQ100 First Meet Up

foggycoder

foggycoder

Super Member
I'm going to be away for a few nights camping but I'll be back for Thursday evening 7:30pm and will be on CQ100 frequency 14.030 (or nearby if that frequency is in use).

I'd be very pleased to attempt a first meet up with anyone.
 
Change of Plan - I can't make Thursday evening.

I'll be on tonight (21 July) at 7:30pm, and again on Saturday and Sunday at 7:30pm.
 
Unfortunately, I'm having Morserino+Windows 10 sound problems. Until I get them fixed, I can't use CQ100. So no skeds until advised.
 
Okay. I believe I've got it working. The USB sound card I'm using is not always recognised by Windows 10. I just have to unplug and plug it back in repeatedly until it is recognised.

So Saturday 7:30pm and Sunday 7:30pm on 14.030 is back on. I'll get set up early just in case.
 
foggycoder said:
Unfortunately, I'm having Morserino+Windows 10 sound problems. Until I get them fixed, I can't use CQ100. So no skeds until advised.
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Is the idea to use the Morserino for sending, receiving (decoding), or both?

I did have a look at the Morserino info around the web but it all seemed to point to the unit being essentially a code trainer of some sort (or have I missed the boat on this one?)
 
I suspect the Morserino was being used as the practice oscillator which fed the tones into the computer through a sound card.
 
The Morserino has a "Transceiver" mode where it transmits a tone via the built-in capacitive touch paddles or an external key (straight or paddles), and then de-codes what it hears. So I'll be using it as both a sounder and a de-coder (hopefully).

The Morserino also has a "Morse Keyer" mode which is just a sounder. And a "Morse De-coder" mode, which is just a de-coder.

It's a device of many modes.
 
I hope someone will be able to join me on 14.030 at 7:30pm tonight.

If anyone is unsure of their ability to send and to copy, please give it a go anyway. I'm no expert myself and I'll go a slow as is needed, and repeats, to achieve communication.
 
Well, that was all very interesting.

Managed to have a long (one hour) QSO with G0KZZ, who gave me some tips for CQ100 operating which I'll put elsewhere on this forum to help others.

MI0PYN attempted to join us but was having problems and disappeared.
 
I heard you guys, sounded good.

I was having issues with VOX so the suggestion to use the Lock TX bar is a good one to remember.

Even at 10wpm I was still struggling to copy you consistently, so it highlighted some areas to work harder on.

I'm glad it was a success overall though.
 
This evening's meet up on CQ100 was not a success - both G0KZZ and I were on frequency but we were both having audio problems. I caught a couple of sentences of his transmissions but I don't think we had any sort of exchange. These audio problems are a pest - very frustrating. Not CQ100's fault (I don't think) - more likely Windows 10.

MI0PYN:
I'd be very happy to QSO with you on the programme of your choice. I can slow it right down by giving you lots of Farnsworth spacing - that usually does the trick 'cos it gives you thinking time. If we met up on CWCOM (assuming you don't have the same issues with it as G0KZZ!) then you'd have the screen decode to help you too.
 
Yup, a weird one.

Your marker was showing, and the white noise I get with the 'squelch' off disappeared, but no CW audio?

In the end I restarted the keyer and CQ100 itself, but I think you had moved on by then.

I did retry the Thunder Bay beacon and could hear that fine.

Not sure about this one at all. :-*


*EDIT* Just thinking, was your s-meter moving on TX?

Mark...
 
Yes, when I hit the space bar it moved up to 8.5 and stayed there until I hit the space bar again. I'm fairly sure the power needle should bounce up and down with the key presses, as seen with the Thunder Bay beacon transmissions. As far as I can tell from the Windows 10 Settings/Sound page, the microphone may be stuck on (sending a constant tone?). I can't hear any tone (and nor, would it seem, could you) and the microphone level isn't modified by key presses.
 
I've just tried it again. The microphone is working now (the power meter is jumping up to 8.5 on key presses)...but there is no sound from Thunder Bay despite the mixer and Windows 10 Settings telling me the sound is coming through.

Okay, so I put a splitter cable in the line between the Dukabel sound card and the Morserino. Now I can hear Thunder Bay and the Squelch white noise...but now there is no transmission coming from the Morserino (although its screen shows it functioning correctly and there's keyer sound coming out of its internal speaker). I have no idea why this is happening. It's not the splitter cable - as soon as I unplug the headphones the transmissions work again. I'll try another USB sound card.
 
I've tried another sound card. I can hear the Thunder Bay beacon but my microphone is dead again. Grrr.

I have other things to do this morning other than go round in circles with this. It'll have to wait for another time.
 
Okay. I've used Mumble (the iCW platform) to experiment with set-ups and I have one working just now: the Morserino is transmitting through the Dukabel sound card (I think but I can't be sure until I get hold of someone, and iCW has just as few participants at this time of day as CQ100); and I'm listening through the PC headphone socket.
This is not the set-up that worked the day-before-yesterday so let's see how long it lasts for.

When we get back from the supermarket, I'll call CQ on CQ100 and see if I can get hold of anyone.
 
Well, amazingly enough, I've just had a QSO with VE3SO. I called CQ on 14.058, he answered (after a number of false starts - obviously a few problems at his end), and we went to 14.030. He was going a bit fast for me so I asked him to QRS, which he did but then speeded back up again. So I wasn't able to copy much at the end (I think he had a phone call and had to go).

Still, it was a QSO and shows that this set up is working (no on-screen decode though, so it's old school morse).

I think this has exhausted the "CQ100 First Meet Up" thread so I'll post any further CQ100 comments on the main thread.
 
foggycoder said:
Still, it was a QSO and shows that this set up is working (no on-screen decode though, so it's old school morse).
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Oh yes, seat of your pants head reading!

It's what panic was invented for. ;D
 
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