Filipe Lopes, CT1ILT / F4VPX, prevádzkuje contestovú stanicu CR6K zo São Martinho da Gândara v Portugalsku a patrí k najaktívnejším európskym contestmanom. Licenciu získal v roku 2002 v čase, keď bol CW still mandatory at the exam. His amateur radio beginnings were unusual – he learned CW secretly, with his left hand, on his father's Bencher paddle when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, so that his father CT1CJJ wouldn't know that he was working on his brand. Since then, Filipe has regularly participated in the most important contests from CR6K or CR5E, was the team leader of the first Portuguese participant in WRTC 2014 and worked from DX stations as K1LZ, 6Y1V, VP5X či TI5W. V súčasnosti žije a pracuje vo Francúzsku, kde prevádzkuje stanicu vzdialene a aktivuje SOTA under the call sign F4VPX. He is a member of CWops (number 2699) and the author of the CW4EVER project, within which he produces 3D printed CW paddles and now an online training tool.
Callsign Training Platform
The platform is available at cw4ever.eu/trainer a funguje priamo v prehliadači bez inštalácie. Po zadaní volacieho znaku a mena si operátor selects one of three training modes: Typing Trainer, SSB Trainer and CW Trainer. The training duration can be set to 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes.
In Typing Trainer mode, real call signs from the DXCC database are displayed on the screen and the operator describes them as quickly as possible on the keyboard. SSB Trainer plays a synthesized voice and the operator describes the call signs heard. CW Trainer generates Morse code with an adjustable speed from basic WPM to 80 WPM, adjustable pitch (default 700 Hz) and character weight (weight, default 50%). Scoring takes into account typing speed, call sign length, transcription time and letter errors. Skipped or incorrect call signs reduce the score.
The platform stores the results globally and displays them in a ranking filtered by mode, training length and continent. For each callsign, the top five attempts are displayed in the ranking. The current version of the platform is 2.3.0 from June 2026. Recent updates include extended DXCC validation, improved support for mobile keyboards including iPhone, stabilization of the training screen during write-off and more reliable CW and SSB audio output on mobile devices.
Who leads the rankings?
The ranking is live and changes with each new attempt. The platform displays operators from all over the world with country flags, scores, accuracy (Acc) and speed in WPM. The current ranking is always available directly on the coach's page in real time - this article intentionally does not mention specific names or scores, because with performance rankings of this type, any static numbers are immediately outdated.
The scoring criteria take into account not only speed, but also the length of the call sign and the number of errors. A short call sign written flawlessly at a high WPM will yield a different score than a long call sign with typos - so the system trains not only speed, but also accuracy and the ability to work with complicated call signs.
Will you try better?
Platforma je určená predovšetkým contestérom, ktorí chcú zlepšiť zachytenie značiek v reálnych contestových podmienkach – či už na CW, SSB alebo čistým písaním. Tréner je voľne dostupný, bez registrácie, bez inštalácie, fungouje na počítači aj na mobile. Stačí volací znak, meno a odhodlanie posunúť sa v rebríčku vyššie.
The training platform is available at cw4ever.eu/trainer.