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CW_PLAYER
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Written by G. Rivat F6DQM
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This freeware program generates the standard Morse caracters, Q codes,
abbreviations, random series of characters and text files. It controls
your knowledge through a Quiz test and helps you to get a good keying
by monitoring your CW signals. Keying off air and verifying your
transmission on the screen will let you go on air with less stress and
more confidence.
It generates Wave sound files (*.wav) of morse characters that can be
played by any media software.

Local characters can be created by yourself.
20 lessons are proposed to learn the Morse code. You can modify their
contents as you like.

CW_Player needs a sound card and Win95 or more.

IMPORTANT : If this program is to used under WinXP/NT/2000, it is mandatory
to copy IOCTRL.DLL in the Windows/System32/directory and the driver zntport.sys
in the Windows/System32/Drivers directory.
If running Win2000, please run port2000.reg
Then restart computer.

Besides the Help files, a few hints are displayed when the mouse points
on controls or boxes.

Windows features such as Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) can be
used to select part of a random serie and replay it by copying in the
Text box or save it in a file by using the Paste with your favorite
editor. (Note that the TEXT window accepts only ONE record so, only ONE
line of an ASCII file can be pasted in this window.)

This program is mainly intended to be downloaded by WEB surfers from
radioamateur sites.
Its purpose is to initiate non-radioamateur people and no-code licensed
hams with Morse code and help them to get on the HF bands.

So, don't hesitate to propose this software to your visitors if you
manage a radioamateur WEB site.

However, this program may also be used for your own morse training, for
CW instructors or for training on the air by connecting one of the output
of your sound card to the audio input of your SSB or FM transceiver.


Version 1.5 features :
======================
- more Q codes

- choice between English and French Language.

The language may be choosen in the command line by typing the following
parameter : /e for English, /f for French. If no parameter, CW_Player
starts with English.
For example, to start in French, type c:\cw_player.exe /f ,assuming the
executable file is named cw_player.
BE AWARE that under Win95, when using the Execute command or creating a
short, the command line is displayed between doub le quotes.
Then, the parameter must be typed AFTER the last double quote :
"C:\CW_Player.EXE" /f

Version 1.6 features :
======================
- minimum speed at 10 words/mn

- correction of a system error that appears in a very particuliar case.


Version 1.7 features :
======================
- possibility to open and play any ASCII file of your system.

- Inhibition of all choices whenever a file, a text or random series are
being executed. The STOP button has to be depressed to recover choices
and controls.

- Supplying of PTT command signals to your TRX from a COM port.
A circuit example is drawn in file PC_TX.BMP. The scheme assumes that a
positive voltage is present on your TX PTT terminal when in RX mode.
In old valve TRX, negative voltage appears in RX mode on the KEY
terminal.
The scheme has to be modified consequently.

-Suppression of clicks which appeared in version 1.6.

Version 1.71
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- Minimum speed set to 5 wpm.

Version 1.72
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-Variable spacing between caracters (simple, double, triple) to be
chosen in the Options menu

-list of the most used CW abreviations

Version 1.8
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-Speed from 5 to 50 wpm (for high speed CW operators
only)

-Variable setting of the weight between dash and dot : 3/1 (normal), 4/1
or 5/1 to be chosen in the Options menu

-possibility to inhibit sound when entering a text and play it later as
an option in the Options/Text menu,

-possibility to replay a text continuously as an option in the
Options/Text menu

-Creation of Help files : CWPenglish.hlp and CWPfrench.hlp.
These two Help files must be in the same directory as CW_Player.exe for
a good functionning of CW_Player.

-Treatment of error when opening a file which does not exist.

-possibility to set speed at start up with the parameter /=x in the
command line. x is the value of the speed.
example : CW_Player /=10 starts CW_Player at 10 wpm.

-adding a Quiz to test your knowledge

-adding an adjustable delay between the PTT command and the play of the
first caracter,

-When depressing STOP, release the PTT command after the end of the
caracter in progress.

Version 1.8.1
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-Creation of keyboard shortcuts for all controls and choices. This was
requested by blind OMs.

-Possibility to replay a file continuously such as the Text.

-Up dating related to WinNT and Win2000 specificities.

-The PC-TX.bmp file includes a simple circuit to key a transceiver from
the 800 Hz tone on the outputs of the sound card.

Version 1.8.2
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- The number of choosen characters for random and quiz modes is extended
to 50. This allows greater character combinations. Characters may be
repeated several times, that way they will be played more often than
others.
For example, the list may include the 26 letters and some of the most
difficult to copy may be tripled. Then they will be played three times
more often than the others.

- Back-up and restart of the program with the last "Choosen characters"
configuration. The back-up file is CWPLAYER.DAT.

- Availability to create your own local characters such as stressed
vowels.
Many countries have got such local characters which specific morse
codes.
This also allows you to assign dedicated keys to specials characters
such as SK (end of work) or AS (wait).
These local characters will played in all modes. When existing, they
are saved in the back-up file CWPLAYER.DAT.

Version 1.9.0
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- Creation of a Tools menu with the folloing functions :
* Clear MemoRandom window
* Save MemoRandom window : The contents of the
MemoRandom window is saved in a text file that
can be replayed at any time with the File choice
and Play File button.
* Local characters : to create your local characters
(see version 1.8.2). The local characters are now
non-case sensitive.
* Local lessons : to modify the contents of the basic
lessons of CWPlayer.
The lesson definition is save in the CWPlayer.dat
file and restored when rerunning the program.
* Quit : same as the Quit button but without
confirmation

- Creation of the "Masked option" in the menu Options/Text. This option
allows you to create two specific characters between which text will
not be played.

- In the "Chosen characters" menu, a choice of 20 basic lessons is
given to the user in addition to the previous 50 characters. When
restarting the program, the last session lesson is chosen by CW_Player.

- Fix a system error that could happen at very low speed.

- Miscellanous improvements to discover by yourself.

Though this new release should be compatible with your older
CWPLAYER.DAT file, it is recommanded to delete or to replace the old
data file with the joined one before running this new release for
the first time. You will have to redefine your local characters but
the job is not too hard !

VERSION 2.0
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- Introduction of a Monitoring function that decodes the audio Morse
signals that the user will inject at the Mic or Line input of the
sound card. This is to control and improve the keying of the trainee.

- Option to introduce a group of 5 "V" at the beginning of each random
serie. This is to synchronize the trainee on the very first random
character.

- Fix some errors detected by users.

VERSION 2.1
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-Implementation of a new tool that record a text as a Wave sound file
(*.wav) that can be replayed by any media player software. This
allows the creation of text beacons, CW identificators etc with a great
facility;

VERSION 2.2 & 2.2a
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-Add errors messages in case of abnormal behaviour of the program.
-Fix problems that occured with some exotic sound cards (SoundBlaster
incompatibility or performance incompatibility with regards to the
processor speed)
Many thanks to Sebastian, Daniel and Mukesh (India) for their help in
solving these problems.

VERSION 2.3
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-Add german in the Menu/Language
Note that the Help file CWPdeutsch.hlp is just a copy of the english
help file. I need a translator !
-Add an option to generate random length words when playing random
characters
-Add the possibility to save the memoRandom window into a Wave file
-Save and restore the last parameters (language, speed, level, last
choies etc).

VERSION 2.3.1
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-Fix a possible error when creating the CWPlayer.dat file.

VERSION 2.4
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-Enlarge spacing and compute actual mean speed.

VERSION 2.5
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-test version

VERSION 2.6
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-introduction of a limited number of characters when playing in random
mode
-possibility to hide the solution in File or Random mode
-possibility to generate non-mixed words in random mode
-possibility to generate quick random serials without sound for rapidly
creating lessons .
-Change of font in File and Random window for a better reading.

VERSION 2.7
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-add italian language thanks to Paolo IW2DGS and Andrea IW4EGQ.
-add menu "Save monitoring as Text file"

VERSION 2.7.1
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-Minor modifications

IMPORTANT NOTE : Some screensavers require very high CPU ressources.
When running they could highly affect the sound quality of characters.
It is highly recommanded to disable such screensavers when running
CWPlayer in random mode for long periods.

VERSION 2.7.2
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-Add the possibility to choose the word length in random mode from 2 to
8 characters
-Possibility to reduce the delay to answer in Quiz mode to 0
(actually=400ms)

VERSION 2.8
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- Add possibility to pause and to resume the Text replay
- Save the Monitoring window parameters
- Non proportionnal font in the Monitoring window
- Possibility to add blank Noise and QSB on the Morse signals when
playing Random or File
- Possibility to mask the mark in Quiz mode
- Add the word option named "Callsigns" to generate callsigns in Random
mode
- Other minor modifications and corrections

VERSION 2.8.1
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- Add Portuguese in language menu

VERSION 2.8.2
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- Add the special character @

VERSION 2.8.3
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- Add adjustable CW note between 600 and 1000 Hz

VERSION 2.8.3a
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- Save the delay to answer in quiz mode

VERSION 2.8.4
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- Number of lessons up to 60
- Fix an error that might happen with WinXP

VERSION 2.8.5
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- Add intermediate values of delay to answer in quiz mode

VERSION 3.0
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- TX keying from the serial port
- Character counter in Quiz mode
- Text shortcuts
- Text rubber
- Local messages
- Spanish language (thanks to LU8HPY, Fer)

VERSION 3.0.1
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- Fix some minor errors

VERSION 3.0.2
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- Possibility to play non-standard characters in random and quiz modes

VERSION 3.0.3
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- TX keying from the parallel port. This function requires IOCtrl.dll in the Windows/system32 directory and the file zntport.sys in the Windows/system32/drivers directory
- Miscellanous improvements
- Add the character "*" as an international morse character .
Many thanks to Alan, F6ENO, for his help in testing this new release

VERSION 3.1.1
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- Add word spacing setting
- Add french exam simulation. If you need a simulation of your local exam in terms of tone, speed ans spacing, please send a wav or mp3 record that reproduces the exact tone, speed ans spacing of your local exam.

VERSION 3.1.2
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- Add adjustable CW note between 100 and 1500 Hz

VERSION 3.1.4
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- Add possibility to limit some functions if the instructor requires it.
- to maximize the file window

VERSION 3.1.6
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- Fix errors

VERSION 3.1.7
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- To choose the sound card

VERSION 3.2.0
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- Add options to automatically hide file text and random characters when playing.


Enjoy CW and make others enjoy CW

G. RIVAT
http://www.f6dqm.fr
e-mail via Web site