KENTUCKY PORTABLE CLUB • MORSE CODE
CW PRACTICE ROOM
Work a park or a summit from the couch. Be the hunter or the activator, run copy drills, or check your fist — with a straight key, paddles, or your keyboard.
Copy Drills
Tip: copy at your real character speed and lower Farnsworth to add space between letters while you learn.
QRQ Speed Ladder
QRQ is ham shorthand for "send faster." Start at an easy speed. Every one you get right speeds up, and every miss slows it back down. Three misses and the run is over. Your score is the fastest speed you got right.
Key it with paddles or a straight key (set under Your Key). Paddles run at the ladder speed. With a straight key we measure your speed, so send at the speed shown. Stop keying, press Enter or tap DONE to send it in.
Pick Straight key or Paddles under Your Key to use the send ladder.
Copy ladder: hearing it again is fine, but that one won't speed you up. The ladder plays a clean signal (no noise or fading) so everyone's scores compare fairly.
🎓 Learn CW: from zero to 30 WPM
One step at a time: meet a new character, copy it by ear, then send it with your key. Characters are always sent at full speed (20 WPM) so you learn the sound, with extra space between them at first. After all the letters, numbers and signs come words, call signs, POTA exchanges, then speed steps to 30 WPM. Tap any dot on the map to jump around. Your progress stays on this device.
⚔️ Expert Gauntlet
For seasoned ops. Five rounds, each harder: 1 fast copy (35 WPM and up) · 2 cut numbers and tricky calls · 3 pileup from hell · 4 rough band · 5 sloppy fists. No hints, one AGN per item, 30 seconds to answer. Three busts and you're out.
CW Games
With a key or paddles (pick under Your Key), send each letter to clear it. With the keyboard, the letters are hidden: you hear each one and type it. Miss three and the game is over. It speeds up as you go.
Activator Keyer
Big buttons for the messages you send over and over in the field. Tap one to hear it as CW at your speed. Tap it again (or press Esc) to stop. On a computer, F1 to F8 work too. It's for practice and for drilling your messages: it doesn't key a radio.
EDIT THE BUTTONS
Use {MY} for your call, {THEIR} for the box above, {REF} for your park and {ST} for your state (set at the top of the page).
Decoding a tab needs Chrome or Edge on a computer. On a phone or tablet, use the microphone.
Auto-find follows the strongest signal. Turn it off to stay on one signal: tap its trace in the waterfall (it snaps onto the trace), or slide the tone to match it. Weak signal? Use the Narrow filter and tune right onto it. SIGNAL shows about what your ear hears in a normal 2.5 kHz receiver: the decoder copies down to around 0 dB at normal speeds.
COPY TEST — CHECK YOUR EAR AGAINST THE DECODER
Press start, write down what you hear, then compare.
Live CW Spots: Click to Listen
POTA and SOTA stations spotted on CW in the last 30 minutes, newest at the top. Pick what to SHOW, pick the receiver to LISTEN ON, then tap 🎧 LISTEN on a spot and that WebSDR opens already tuned to it.
AUTO picks the receiver at a good distance from each station (radio signals skip over nearby receivers: a Pennsylvania station on 20 m is often hard to hear in Pennsylvania). You can still pick a receiver yourself. Strong signals decode best. Weak or fading signals decode poorly or not at all, so if the text is garbled, try another receiver or a stronger station.
Where to Listen
- Open a WebSDR (a spot's 🎧 LISTEN button, or a band below). It opens in its own tab. Use Chrome or Edge on a computer; phones and Safari can't share tab audio, so on a phone use 🎤 USE MICROPHONE next to your radio instead.
- In the WebSDR tab, make sure CW mode is on and the volume slider is up. If the WebSDR has a narrow CW filter, use it. You should hear the tone clearly; if you can't hear it, the decoder can't either.
- Come back to this tab and tap 🖥 DECODE A TAB (WEBSDR).
- In the pop-up, choose Chrome Tab (Edge calls it Tab), click the WebSDR tab, turn on Also share tab audio, then click Share. Keep the WebSDR tab open; you can switch back here.
- The CW shows as a bright line in the waterfall. AUTO-FIND locks onto the strongest one; turn AUTO-FIND off and tap a line to stay on a different station.
- Strong, steady signals decode best. Weak, fading or crowded signals will come out garbled or blank. Try another receiver or a stronger station.
Want someone specific? Live spots → shows who's on CW right now with the best receiver for them.
At the park or shack: use the microphone next to your radio's speaker — it decodes the real thing too.
How good is it? Great on clean, steady signals. Fading, interference and sloppy fists will fool it, and it may miss the first letter or two while it learns the sender's speed — just like every CW decoder. Your ear is still the best decoder.
Your Key
Great for learning the exchange. Switch to a key when you're ready.
Keyboard: Space or either Ctrl. USB key adapters that act like a keyboard work too.
For left-handed or "backwards" paddles.
Keyboard: Left Ctrl/Right Ctrl, [/] or Z/X. Squeeze both for iambic.
Your over is sent when you stop keying for the end-of-over pause (set below), or tap DONE or press Enter. A shorter pause means faster replies.
For USB key adapters in MIDI mode.
Your Log
| # | TIME | CALL | SENT | RCVD | ST | PARK / SUMMIT | TOOK |
|---|
Practice contacts only — the stations are made up and nothing is logged anywhere. Don't upload these to POTA or SOTA.
SOUND, SPEED, PILEUP & FADING
Tip: for keying, use wired headphones or the device speaker. Bluetooth adds a delay you can hear.
Get Outside. Get On The Air.
HOW REAL CW CONTACTS GO, PLUS CLUBS, CLASSES & APPS
CW INFO & LINKS → SEE WHO'S ON THE AIR →