HOT PAW 

MORSE CODE DECODER FOR I PHONE

Hot Paw Morse Code Decoder

Screen Snap of Hot Paw Morse Code Decoder

I recently installed a ham radio station in my truck. Since then I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, using SSB mostly, since that is a novelty for me. Most of my operating has been using CW, but taking a side trip into PSK occasionally. Logging is somewhat cumbersome in a truck. I used big elastic bands to attach a small clip board to my leg so I could quickly write down a call sign and very basic information. This information would be then transferred to a computer log at home. I tried using the computer in the truck also, and that proved even more cumbersome, having the laptop jammed into the steering wheel.

I like to use a keyboard to send code but no matter what I used, it was a bit awkward in the truck. At the very least, the laptop stays put when its jammed into the steering wheel.  Using the passenger seat would require my changing the radio head orientation, the antenna control and paddles which are all set up for easy use from the drivers seat.

Occasionally I’d switch to CW and fumbled for a pen to write down a call sign, time, and band. The guy I was chatting with on 40 meter CW was running just a tad too fast for me to copy ‘everything he sent’, so I missed some of it. It seems that the ‘buffer in my brain’ is smaller than I’d like it to be and with FIFO being the rule, the beginning of a word vanishes as I copy the ending.
(FIFO, First In, First Out’) Some folks may complain that using a ‘decoder’ is cheating somehow. Yes, for a contest, but for every day QSO’s its not cheating at all. If you don’t like it, don’t use it!

I discovered this app and tried it last night for the first time. Wowzah, can it copy code! Just lean it up against your radio, or just near it,  and it copies CW. This is a really great help when someone is sending just a ‘tad faster’ than my ability to copy ‘everything’! Its also handy to ‘get the entire call sign’, while I was fumbling with other things in the truck! It works pretty well even in poor band conditions, and has Farnsworth Method as well as regular copy. It has ultra high speed copy, but I have not tried it. 1oo WPM code is hard to come by on the air.

This proves very useful in the truck, but my guess is that other hams will find it handy in other ways.

Two of the big names in radio programming are CHIRP and RT Systems. But which one should you choose?

CHIRP is free, open source software that’s used with a third-party programming cable. RT Systems makes commercial programming kits which include both  software and a radio-specific cable.

CHIRP supports a large number of radios including:

• Anytone
  AT-5888UV
• Baofeng/Pofung
  F-11, UV-3R, UV-5R and variants, UV-6, UV-82/82L/82X, GT-5, UV-82C, UV-B5/B6, BF-666S/777S/888S, GT-1, BF-F8HP
• Icom
  IC-80AD, IC-2820H, ID-800H, ID-880H, IC-208H, IC-2200H, IC-91/92AD, IC-V/U82, ID-RPx000V/RP2x, IC-2100H, IC-2720H, IC-T70, IC-T7H, IC-T8A, IC-Q7A, IC-W32A, IC-746, IC-7200, IC-7000, ID-31A, ID-51A
• Kenwood
  TH-D7A/G, TH-D72, TH-F6A, TH-F7E, TH-G71A, TH-K2, TK-7102/8102/7108/8108, TM-271A, TM-281A, TM-D700, TM-D710, TM-G707, TM-V7A, TM-V71A
• Yaesu
  FT-1D, FT-60R, FT-90R, FT-817/ND, FT-857/D, FT-897, FT-1802M, FT-2800M, FT-1900R/2900M, FT-7800R/7900R, FT-8800R, FT-8900R, FTM-350R, VX-170, VX-2R, VX-3R, VX-5R, VX-6R, VX-7R, VX-8R
• Wouxun
  KG-UVD1P, KG-UV2D, KG-UV3D, KG-UV6D, KG-UV6X, KG-UV8D

The RT Systems software supports a much larger array of radios:

• Alinco
  DJ-A10, DJ-A40, DJ-100, DJ-175, DJ-G7, DJ-G29, DJ-V17, DJ-V27, DJ-V47, DJ-V57, DR-03, DR-06, DR-135, DR-138, DR-235, DR-435, DR-635, DR-638, DX-SR8
• Anytone
  AT-398, AT-518UV, AT-588, AT-3208, AT-3318UV-A, AT-3318UV-C, AT-3318UV-D, AT-3318UV-E, AT-5189, AT-5888UV, ANILE-8R, NSTIG-8R, OBLTR-8R, TERMN-8R
• Baofeng/Pofung
  997-S, BF-F8, BF-F9, BF-388A, BF-530, BF-888, GT-1, GT-3, GT-5, UV-B5/B6, UV-5R, UV-E5, UV-8HX, UV-F11, UV-66, UV-82, UV-89, UV-920, UV-TEN4
• Icom
  IC-R2, IC-T2, IC-R6, IC-Q7, IC-T7, IC-T8, IC-V8, IC-R10, IC-R20, IC-W32, IC-T70, IC-80, IC-V80, IC-T81, IC-U82, IC-V82, IC-V85, IC-T90, IC-91, IC-92, IC-208, IC-746, IC-756 PRO, IC-2100, IC-2200, IC-2300, IC-2720, IC-2730, IC-2820, IC-7000, IC-7100, IC-7200, IC-7410, IC-V8000, IC-9100, ID-31, ID-51, ID-51+, ID-800, ID-880, ID-5100
• Kenwood
  TH-K2, TH-F6/F7, TH-D7G, TH-K20, TH-D72, TM-V7A, TM-V71, TM-271/281, TM-471, TM-D700, TM-G707, TM-D710, TM-D710G, TS-480, TS-590, TS-590G, TS-2000
• TYT
  TH-UVF1, TH-UV3R, TH-UV6R, TH-UV8R, TH-UVF9, TH-UVF9D, TH-UVF8000D, TH-9000,  TH-9800
• Wouxun
  KG-UV23, KG-UV1DP, KG-UV5D, KG-UV6, KG-UV8D, KG-UV899, KG-UV920P, KG-UV950P
• Yaesu
  FT-1D, FT-50, FT-60, FT-90, FT-250, FT-270, FT-277, FT-450, FT-817/D, FT-847, FT-857/897/D, FT-950, FT-991, FT-1500, FT-1802, FT-1807, FT-1900, FT-1907, FT-2600, FT-2800, FT-2900, FT-3000, FT-7100, FT-7800, FT-7900, FT-8000, FT-8100, FT-8500, FT-8800, FT-8900, FT-DX3000, FT-DX1200, FTM-350, FTM-400, VR-160, VR-500, VX-1, VX-2, VX-3, VX-5, VX-6, VX-7, VX-8/D, VX-8G, VX-110/150, VX-120/170, VX-127/177

Both CHIRP and RT Systems support several other less popular radios not listed above.

Here are my questions:

Have you used CHIRP or RT Systems programming software? What are your thoughts?

If you’ve used both, is it worth spending $49 on the RT Systems programming kit if your radio is supported by CHIRP?

Leave your answer as a comment!

Radio Memories
By Lawrence E. DeMilner W1TA

The benefits of amateur radio would eventually pay lifelong dividends for a 12 year-old boy, sitting for his Novice license exam 62 years ago. After being interviewed on the Today Show as a Boy Scout, he would later spend seven months as an American ham in the USSR at the height of the Cold War. Later still, he would spend three years as one of the scarcest DX calls in the world. It was all because of amateur radio.

XER – King of the Mexican Border Blasters
By John Schneider W9FGH

From its inception, radio has attracted more than its share of schemers and outright con artists. The story of John Brinkley and his questionable medical services, which allowed him to mass a personal fortune, is the story of one man dodging lawsuits and legislation designed to bring him down. But, before that could happen, he had built the most powerful radio station in the Western Hemisphere and turned it into a cash-generating machine.

When Our Vintage Radios Fought in the Air War
By Richard Fisher KI6SN

From post-war radio frenzies, created by a massive military-surplus market, grew a thirst among shortwave listeners and radio amateurs to acquire the gear that served so admirably in the skies—especially during World War II. Most of these receivers, transmitters and their accessories were top performers, and yet they were quite inexpensive on the surplus market. They were golden back then, just as they are today. Richard charts the history of radio and aviation.

Watts Up? Line Voltage for Vintage Radios
By Rich Post KB8TAD

Recently, Rich Post measured the AC voltage in his home electric circuits: 123.5 volts. According to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), that is well within the accepted service range of 114 to 126 volts for line voltage, which is nominally 120 plus or minus 5%; a range hasn’t changed since the original ANSI standard was published in 1954. He asks, “My refrigerator and microwave oven might be happy at 123.5 or even 126 volts, but what about my vintage radios?” Rich shows us how to safely reduce the voltage that our vintage sets work best at.

Multiple Satellite Reception from a Single Ku-Band Dish (Part 1)
By Mike Kohl

Direct Broadcast Satellites, such as DirecTV and DISH Network, are positioned close enough in the Clark Belt to allow several LNBFs mounted on a single dish to receive the satellites that make up their programming lineup of hundreds of channels. But, Free-to-Air satellites are spaced considerably further apart and transmit at considerably less power. Can FTA hobbyists employ this same technique? Mike has been experimenting with this for years and has achieved some pretty amazing results. He tells us how it’s done.

Scanning America By Dan Veenaman
EDACS, Talkgroups and RF Explorer

Federal Wavelengths By Chris Parris
FBI Aircraft in the News

Utility Planet By Hugh Stegman NV6H
U.S. Navy-Marine Corps MARS Closes

Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze
By Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU
Swiss Diplomatic Network undergoes Changes

HF Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Six Meters: A New Twist on the Old Magic

Radio 101 By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
The Wi-Fi Scanner, SWL Option

Radio Propagation By Tomas Hood NW7US
The 10.7-cm Radio Flux

The World of Shortwave Listening By Keith Perron
Community-based Radio helps Nepal Recover after Earthquake

The Shortwave Listener By Fred Waterer
Sputnik Radio, BBC and the VOA

Maritime Monitoring By Ron Walsh VE3GO
Maritime Station Consolidation

The Longwave Zone By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
BBB-4 Wrap-Up

Adventures in Radio Restoration By Rich Post KB8TAD
Powering the Zenith 5K037 “Farm” Set with AC and Forming a Dial Cover

The Broadcast Tower By Doug Smith W9WI
License? I don’t need no stinking license!

Antenna Connections By Dan Farber AC0LW
Round and Round, Part II: Jolly Green Delta Loop

Radio Horizons
Channel Master DVR+ Adds Streaming to OTA-TV

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription (12 issues, beginning with the January 2015 issue) is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

As part of my recovery I usually do a short 5 minute walk morning and night.  When out this evening I did a “hard” reset of my 10m and 6m WSPR stations.  All power was removed, the PC (used with the FT817 on 6m) was turned off for the duration of the walk. Now home again both the 6m and 10m WSPR kits were turned on again and the whole lot sync’d to Internet time.

I hope to stay on both bands overnight, although, so far, I have not managed to catch any transatlantic Es openings. I remain hopeful. Because of the high thunder risk later in the week I may have to go QRT though, which will be a pity. Hopefully this will be a short break only.

Pofung UV-6R 136-174MHz & UHF:400-470MHz Dual Band Handheld FM Professional Two-way Radio

Lots of radio in a small package. Built well and performs well.

http://www.radioddity.com/

http://www.radioddity.com/skin/frontend/default/lanting/download/UV-6R%20User%20Manual

Brilliant Easy to read display

The first thing that impressed me aside from the size and quality was the brilliant and easy to read display of this radio. The two line display and the choice of display color make this radio easy to use and navigate through the menu system. The various option for screen color lighting also make the radio easy to read. The fact that the display lighting can be changed to suit the operator is a nice feature.

Superb audio quality

I have to say that after owning a few of the big 3 brand of radios I was thrown back by the outstanding and loud audio this radio has. I was not sure what to expect at first with such a small radio but the audio is outstanding, sounds great and no distortion even at full volume.

Features and Specifications:

• Dual Band Transceiver
• Brilliant L.C.D. Display
• D.C.S. and C.T.C.S.S. encoding
• VOX function
• Flashlight/Alarm feature
• FM radio band receive
• 128 memory channels
• Dual watch
• Menu driven programming
• Software available for programming (cable sold separately)
• Drop in Li-On charger
• 7.4v 1800mah Li-On battery
• High (5w) and Low (1w) power settings
• Accessory ports for adding speaker microphone (sold separately)
• Belt clip ( Soft case also sold separately)
• Selectable frequency steps
• Selectable repeater offsets
• Adjustable squelch via menu
• Adjustable TOT (Transmission Timer)
• Cross band receive/transmit
• Dual VFO
• Narrow and Wide FM selectable

And much more to even include in features.

The radio itself is great little performer. Battery life on receive is fantastic, battery life on transmit has yet to be determined. Looks rugged and fits nicely in the hand.

For the price of this radio (under $50.00 with free shipping to Canada and U.S.A.) you cannot go wrong for a radio to throw in your shirt pocket or your backpack as a take along radio to listen to N.O.A.A. weather stations, FM stations and monitor local repeaters. Accessories are all about one third each of the cost of the radio, which makes the low price of this radio even more impressive. The small antenna with SMA connector though lacks in receive performance of course, but other antennas can be purchased and used with this radio to get out of those fringe areas.

The Pofung UV-6R is a great introduction to the increasing line of radios on the market. It makes it affordable for the first time user and easy to operate; it also performs well and gets great audio reports into the repeaters. It’s light weight and long battery life make a great emergency radio for that go-kit or to have on hand when needed for that last minute hike.

Fred Lesnick

VE3FAL

**** (4 out of 5)