Code Readers

Code readers—any useful purpose? Well, if you are receiving keyboard-sent code then there isn’t a problem. What you see is REALLY what you get. However interpreting sent code is all about CONTEXT. You listen to a typical QSO and the first thing you look for is the call sign, followed by (usually) a signal report using three numbers, most of the time being 599 or 5NN, followed by the name of the operator, and finally the QTH or location. So, even if the code is not sent very well, the letters are not evenly spaced or worse yet there is no space between the dits and dahs you know the CONTEXT within which the information is sent and you intuitively interpret what is being sent. A CW reader doesn’t think. The way it is programmed if the code isn’t sent within its programmed parameters you will see a question mark or a bracket instead of the character sent.

For me, personally, the only useful purpose of a CW reader is to see how properly or how poorly a ham is sending CW. If it helps you to send or receive code more properly, so much the better. However there is no substitute for just listening to and sending a lot of CW. It’s like learning a foreign language: you just have to speak it a lot, be willing to make mistakes and not worry about how you sound. You will eventually become proficient and you will even receive compliments from those of the ham community who appreciate good CW.