1CWCP(1) General Commands Manual CWCP(1)
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6 cwcp - curses-based Morse tutor program
7
9 cwcp [-s --system=SYSTEM] [-d --device=DEVICE] [-w --wpm=WPM]
10 [-t --tone=HZ] [-v --volume=PERCENT] [-g --gap=GAP] [-k --weight‐
11 ing=WEIGHT] [-T --time=TIME] [-f, --infile=FILE] [-F, --outifile=FILE]
12 [-h --help] [-V --version]
13 cwcp installed on GNU/Linux systems understands both short form and
15 long form command line options. cwcp installed on other operating sys‐
16 tems may understand only the short form options.
17 There are no mandatory options.
19 Options may be predefined in the environment variable CWCP_OPTIONS. If
21 defined, these options are used first; command line options take prece‐
22 dence.
23
25 cwcp is a curses-based interactive Morse code tutor program. It allows
26 menu selection from a number of sending modes, and also permits charac‐
27 ter sounding options, such as the tone pitch, and sending speed, to be
28 varied from the keyboard using a full-screen user interface.
29 COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
31 cwcp understands the following command line options. The long form
32 options may not be available in non-LINUX versions.
33 -s, --system=SYSTEM
35 Specifies the way that cwcp generates tones. Valid values are:
36 null for no tones, just timings, console for tones through the
37 console speaker, alsa for tones generated through the system
38 sound card using ALSA sound system, oss for tones generated
39 through system sound card using OSS sound system, pulseaudio for
40 tones generated through system sound card using PulseAudio sound
41 system, soundcard for tones generated through the system sound
42 card, but without explicit selection of sound system. These val‐
43 ues can be shortened to 'n', 'c', 'a', 'o', 'p', or 's', respec‐
44 tively. The default value is 'pulseaudio'.
45 -d, --device=DEVICE
47 Specifies the device file to open for generating a sound. cwcp
48 will use default device if none is specified. The default
49 devices are: /dev/console for sound produced through console,
50 default for ALSA sound system, /dev/audio for OSS sound system,
51 a default device for PulseAudio sound system. See also NOTES ON
52 USING A SOUND CARD below.
53 -w, --wpm=WPM
55 Sets the initial sending speed in words per minute. The value
56 must be between 4 and 60. The default value is 12 WPM.
57 -t, --tone=HZ
59 Sets the initial sounder pitch in Hz. This value must be
60 between 0 and 4,000. A value of 0 selects silent operation, and
61 can be used for timing checks or other testing. The default
62 value is 800Hz,
63 -v, --volume=PERCENT
65 Sets the initial sending volume, as a percentage of full scale
66 volume. The value must be between 0 and 100. The default value
67 is 70 %. Sound volumes work fully for sound card tones, but
68 cwcp cannot control the volume of tones from the console
69 speaker. In this case, a volume of zero is silent, and all
70 other volume values are simply sounded.
71 -g, --gap=GAP
73 Sets the initial extra gap, in dot lengths, between characters
74 (the 'Farnsworth' delay). It must be between 0 and 60. The
75 default is 0.
76 -k, --weighting=WEIGHT
78 Sets the initial weighting, as a percentage of dot lengths. It
79 must be between 20 and 80. The default is 50.
80 -T, --time=TIME
82 Sets the initial practice time, in minutes. cwcp stops after
83 generating random Morse code for this period. The value must be
84 between 1 and 99. The default is 15 minutes.
85 -f, --infile=FILE
87 Specifies a text file that cwcp can read to configure its prac‐
88 tice text. See CREATING CONFIGURATION FILES below.
89 -F, --outfile=FILE
91 Specifies a text file to which cwcp should write its current
92 practice text.
93 -h, --help
95 Prints short help message.
96 -V, --version
98 Prints information about program's version, authors and license.
99 USER INTERFACE
101 cwcp is a curses-based program that takes over the complete operation
102 of the terminal on which it is run. If colours are available on the
103 terminal, it will produce a colour interface.
104 The cwcp screen is divided into several distinct areas:
106 The Menu Selection window
108 The Menu Selection window shows the main modes that cwcp offers.
109 Use the F10 and F11 or KEY_DOWN and KEY_UP keys to select the
110 mode. F9 or Return start sending, and F9 again or Esc stop
111 sending. Changing mode also stops sending.
112 The Morse Code Display window
114 This window displays each Morse code character after it has been
115 sent.
116 The Speed Control window
118 The Speed window shows the current Morse code sending speed in
119 words per minute. Pressing the F2 or KEY_RIGHT keys increases
120 the speed; pressing the F1 or KEY_LEFT keys decreases the speed.
121 The Tone Control window
123 This window shows the current Morse code tone pitch. Use the F4
124 or KEY_HOME key to increase the pitch, and the F3 or KEY_END key
125 to decrease it. Values change in steps of 20Hz.
126 The Volume Control window
128 This window shows the current Morse code volume. Use the F6 key
129 to increase the volume, and the F5 key to decrease it. Values
130 change in steps of 1%. Note that cwcp cannot control the volume
131 of the console speaker, so the volume control only works effec‐
132 tively for tones generated on the sound card.
133 The Gap Control window
135 This window shows the current additional 'Farnsworth' gaps to be
136 appended after each Morse code character is sounded. Use F8 to
137 increase the gap, and F7 to decrease it.
138 The Time Control window
140 This window shows the selected practice time. After generating
141 Morse code in a particular mode for this amount of time, cwcp
142 stops automatically. Use KEY_NPAGE to increase the time, and
143 KEY_PPAGE to decrease it. During sending, the value in this
144 window counts down to one, and after final minute of sending has
145 elapsed, cwcp stops sending. The timer operates like a
146 microwave or kitchen timer; it counts down on its own, but the
147 time remaining can also be altered manually while the timer
148 operates.
149 The following keys vary the screen colours:
151 { key Changes the foreground colour of the window boxes.
153 } key Changes the background colour of the window boxes.
155 [ key Changes the foreground colour of the window contents.
157 ] key Changes the background colour of the window contents.
159 Eight screen colours are available for each: black, red, green, yellow,
161 blue, magenta, cyan, and white. Use a key to cycle round these colours
162 for the particular part of the display controlled by that key. On a
163 change of colours, the complete screen is repainted.
164 Use Ctrl-L to repaint the complete screen, in case of screen corrup‐
166 tion. Use Ctrl-V to clear the Morse Code Display Window. This command
167 is available only when cwcp is not sending.
168 To leave cwcp, press F12 or Ctrl-C, or select Exit on the mode menu.
170 All of the above command keys may be used while random characters are
172 being sent, and when keyboard input is being sent.
173 If function keys are not available on the terminal, Ctrl-<key> combina‐
175 tions can be used. On the top row of letter keys on the keyboard, the
176 keys Ctrl-Q to Ctrl-I may be used as alternatives for F1 to F8, and on
177 the second row of letter keys, Ctrl-A to Ctrl-F as alternatives for F9
178 to F12. For KEY_PPAGE and KEY_NPAGE, use Ctrl-O and Ctrl-P.
179 RANDOM CHARACTERS AND WORDS
181 cwcp sends random characters in groups of five, with a space between
182 each group. After a period of sending, set in the Time Control window,
183 cwcp stops automatically. It can also be stopped manually, before this
184 time period expires.
185 When sending random words, cwcp sends the complete word, followed by a
187 space. Because short words are easier to copy without writing, cwcp's
188 default dictionary contains only three, four, and five-letter words in
189 its random words list.
190 cwcp chooses at random from a list of around 3000 words in its default
192 dictionary. You can change this text using a configuration file, read
193 at startup. See CREATING CONFIGURATION FILES below.
194 NOTES ON USING A SOUND CARD
196 By default, cw tries to open default PulseAudio. If PulseAudio server
197 is not accessible, cw tries to open OSS device "/dev/audio" to access
198 the system sound card. This is generally the correct device to use,
199 but for systems with special requirements, or those with multiple sound
200 cards, the option -d or --device, combined with -s or --system can be
201 used to specify the device and audio system for sound card access. If
202 the sound card device cannot be set up, cwcp prints the error message
203 cannot set up soundcard sound
205 and exits.
207 Sound card devices, when opened through OSS sound system, are usually
209 single-access devices, so that when one process has opened the device,
210 other processes are prevented from using it. In such cases cwcp will of
211 course conflict with any other programs that expect exclusive use of
212 the system sound card (for example, MP3 players). If cwcp finds that
213 the sound card is already busy, it prints the error message
214 open /dev/audio: Device or resource busy
216 and exits.
218 The sound card device is not used if cwcp is only sending tones on the
220 console speaker.
221 AUDIO OUTPUT - DEFAULTS AND SELECTION
223 cwcp first tries to access sound card using PulseAudio sound system,
224 using default device name, unless user specifies other audio device
225 with option -d or --device.
226 cwcp then tries to access sound card using OSS audio system and default
228 OSS audio device name ('/dev/audio'), unless user specifies other audio
229 device with option -d or --device.
230 If opening soundcard through OSS fails, cwcp tries to access the sound
232 card using ALSA audio system, and default ALSA audio device name
233 ('default'), unless user specifies other audio device with option -d or
234 --device.
235 If opening soundcard through ALSA also fails, cwcp tries to access sys‐
237 tem console buzzer using default buzzer device '/dev/console', unless
238 user specifies other audio device with option -d or --device.
239 It is very common that in order to access the console buzzer device
241 user has to have root privileges. For that reason trying to open con‐
242 sole buzzer almost always fails. This is not a program's bug, this is
243 a result of operating system's restrictions. Making cwcp an suid
244 binary bypasses this restriction. The program does not fork() or
245 exec(), so making it suid should be relatively safe. Note however that
246 this practice is discouraged for security reasons.
247 As stated, user can tell cwcp which device to use, using -d or --device
249 option. Which device files are suitable will depend on which operating
250 system is running, which system user ID runs cwcp, and which user
251 groups user belongs to.
252 CREATING CONFIGURATION FILES
254 cwcp contains a default set of modes and practice text that should be
255 enough to begin with. It can however read in a file at startup that
256 reconfigures these to provide different character groupings, word sets,
257 and other practice data.
258 To read a configuration file, use the -f or --infile command line
260 options. The file should introduce each cwcp mode with a section
261 header in '[' ... ']' characters, followed by the practice text for
262 that mode, with elements separated by whitespace. Lines starting with
263 a semicolon or hash are treated as comments. For example
264 ; Simple example mode
266 [ A to Z ]
267 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
268 cwcp will generate five character groups for modes whose elements are
270 all single characters, and treat other modes as having elements that
271 are complete words. As a starting point for customized modes, cwcp
272 will write its default configuration to a file if given the undocu‐
273 mented -# option, for example "cwcp -# /tmp/cwcp.ini".
274
276 cwcp owes its existence to the DOS Morse code tutor CP222C.EXE, by
277 VU2ZAP. CP222C.EXE seemed to offer the right range of facilities for
278 learning Morse code in a simple, easy-to-use, and compact package.
279 cwcp is very much modeled on that DOS program, and should prove useful
280 both for learning the code, and for experienced CW users who want, or
281 need, to improve their receiving speed.
282 Curses may impose a delay when recognizing the Esc key alone, as this
284 character is often the first of a sequence generated by a function key.
285 cwcp responds instantly to F9.
286 The characters echoed in the Morse Code Display window may be ASCII
288 representations of Morse procedural signals; see the cw(7,LOCAL) man
289 page for details.
290 HINTS ON LEARNING MORSE CODE
292 Here are a few hints and tips that may help with the process of learn‐
293 ing Morse code.
294 Firstly, do NOT think of the elements as dots and dashes. Instead,
296 think of them as dits and dahs (so 'A' is di-dah). If you think of
297 them in this way, the process of translating sound into characters will
298 be learned much more easily.
299 Do not learn the characters from a table. Learn them by watching the
301 groups appear on the screen, and listening to the sounds produced as
302 each is sent. In the very initial stages, it may be beneficial if you
303 can find a person to take you through the first stages of recognizing
304 characters.
305 Do not waste your time learning Morse code at 5 WPM. Set the speed to
307 12 or 15 WPM, but use extra spacing (the Gap window) to reduce the
308 effective speed to much lower - around four or five WPM effective
309 speed. This way, you will learn the rhythm of the characters as they
310 are sent, but still have plenty of time between characters. As you
311 practice, decrease the gap to zero.
312 Learn in stages. Start by learning the EISH5 group, then progress down
314 through the menu as each group is mastered. The groups contain charac‐
315 ters which are in some way related, either by sound, or by type of
316 character.
317 Once you have completed all the groups EISH5 to "'$(+:_ (or 23789 if
319 you do not want to learn procedural signals yet), use the full charac‐
320 ter set options, and the words and CW words options, to sharpen your
321 skill. If you have difficulties with particular characters, return to
322 that group and practice again with a smaller character set.
323 Resist the temptation to try to learn or improve your speed by copying
325 off-air. You will not know what speed you are working at, and much
326 hand-sent Morse is not perfectly formed. What you can gain off-air
327 though is a general 'resilience', a tolerance for Morse code where the
328 timing of individual elements, or spacing between characters and words,
329 is not 100% accurate.
330 If working to attain a particular speed for a test, always set the
332 speed slightly higher. For example, if aiming for 12 WPM, set the
333 tutor speed to 14 or 15 WPM. This way, when you drop back to 12 WPM
334 you will feel much more relaxed about copying. Be aware that cwcp is
335 not necessarily going to send at exactly the speed you set, due to lim‐
336 itations in what can be done with UNIX timers. It often sends at a
337 slower speed than you set, so be very careful with this if you have a
338 target speed that you need to reach.
339 Use the program to make cassette tapes that you can take with you in a
341 walkman or in the car, for long journeys. You do not have to write
342 down everything you hear to practice Morse code. Simply listening to
343 the shapes of characters over a period will help to train your brain
344 into effortless recognition. In fact, slavishly writing everything
345 down becomes a barrier at speeds of 15-20 WPM and above, so if you can
346 begin to copy without writing each character down, you will find
347 progress much easier above these speeds. But do not over-use these
348 tapes, otherwise you will quickly memorize them. Re-record them with
349 new contents at very regular intervals.
350 Try to spend at least 15-30 minutes each day practicing. Much less
352 than this will make progress glacially slow. But significantly more
353 than an hour or so may just result in you becoming tired, but not
354 improving. Recognize when it is time to stop for the day.
355 Do not worry if you reach a speed 'plateau'. This is common, and you
357 will soon pass it with a little perseverance.
358 At higher speeds, CW operators tend to recognize the 'shape' of whole
360 words, rather than the individual characters within the words. The CW
361 words menu option can be used to help to practice and develop this
362 skill.
363
365 The calibration option is a bit ropy. It simply sends PARIS repeat‐
366 edly, and relies on you to time the sending and then work out if any
367 adjustment to the speed is really necessary. Automatic calibration by
368 making measurements over a given period would be a lot better.
369 Generating random CW QSOs would be fun to do.
371 A facility to allow a user to key Morse into the system, and to have it
373 send code, and measure the accuracy of keying, would be nice.
374
376 Man pages for cw(7,LOCAL), libcw(3,LOCAL), cw(1,LOCAL), cwgen(1,LOCAL),
377 and xcwcp(1,LOCAL).
378cwcp ver. 3.5.1 CW Tutor Package CWCP(1)