CW QSO over the Internet - you don't believe it?

Technical evolution has experienced a huge boom in the last decade thanks to the Internet. There has been an enormous increase in transmission speeds, which caused a boom in the transmission of voice over this network. In the radio amateur sphere, this meant the implementation of several communication systems, which connect radio amateurs and broadcasters (EchoLink ai.). There are already radio stations on the market, which can be operated remotely - through voice transmission (VoIp) and management instructions.

Although it is possible to use any of these systems to communicate in CW, it is not the most efficient in terms of the volume of data transferred. I managed to find two programs, which allow CW QSOs to be connected via the Internet. That we once wrote in the box "2x WAY: Internet“?

CW Communicator:
is a freely distributable program, which allows establishing CW connections in real time with other stations via the Internet. Requires Windows 95 and newer, Internet connection and computer speaker. Received and transmitted text is displayed on the screen. It is broadcast by pressing a key or mouse buttons. In addition, a dongle or trap can be connected via the serial port. You can read how to do it in the help of the program.

All the control elements of the program are concentrated in the upper bar of the program. In addition to keying parameters (which can be linked with AirScout and operability 5 – 50WPM, dot ratio:comma, pitch, spaces) and the keying device can also influence the received signal - its speed and pitch. A text file can also be sent, or directly from the keyboard.

Connecting to the network is not difficult, but I recommend reading the help first. First, connect to the Internet, so that the program can detect your IP address. If you choose the server morsecode.dyndns.org, it is also possible to choose a virtual frequency, which you will work on. The default value is 1000, which is a general call channel. The others already follow the "band plan". Fill in the tag and join…

Which I liked? The program works very well, I didn't find a single flaw. Adjusting the receive speed is a great thing for beginners. Broadcasting by pressing an arrow on the keyboard is absolutely impossible. On the contrary, "iambic mouse" is perfect. It's a shame though, that the keying speed is set via the menu. I also lacked memories. Who is online you can look at: www.morsecode.dyndns.org/index.htm.

MorseMail:
is a small freely distributable program. Also requires a Windows PC 95 and newer ones, neither program is yet in a version for another platform. Among the requirements is also an Internet connection and a sound card.

The program transfers numbers through the server, which represent the length of a key press. When received, this data is converted back into dots and dashes flowing from the speaker. This server works roughly like a packet bulletin board, so communication may not be real-time. You can easily download a message from a friend in a moment, when you feel like it.

After the installation consisting of extracting the compressed file into the prepared directory, you can run it. The entire control of the program is available from the main window. The difference with CW Communicator is that, that the program does not display the text, but it only plays sound.

After connecting to the Internet, the connection to the brasspounder.com server is activated, and after loading the data, you can select a channel and a specific message. The advantage of this system is, you can replay it as many times as you like, how much you need and such parameters, which suits you. Loading and sending messages is fast, it's worse with drop-down menus.

I like the idea, how MorseMail is implemented. Preparing and sending a message requires a bit of research, but otherwise the program environment is easy to control. However, the look is a little too gray.

Both programs, CW Communicator aj MorseMail, you can download at CQ.sk