CW Ticker

Revised 5-4-2014

Computers are often used in amateur radio contests to handle tasks such as logging and checking for duplicate contacts. If the operating mode is Morse code (CW), the computer can also decode and display the received text. Observers who do not know Morse code well, or even at all, can then follow along with the action. Morse code decoding software can also be used to help fill in missed information, although the human brain usually does a much better job copying when confronted with problems such as fading, static, sloppy sending, etc.

CwGet by Sergei Podstrigailo, UA9OV, is a very popular Morse code decoder program for Windows. In my opinion it is one of the best. One nice feature of CWGet is its ability to make the decoded text available to other applications.

Space on the computer screen is usually at a premium due to the amount of information displayed by typical contest software. The problem is even worse for computers with small displays such as a notebook or netbook. To help deal with this problem, I wrote CwTicker, a small application that displays decoded text from CwGet on a single line at the bottom of the screen in a scrolling ticker-tape manner.

Here is a screenshot of CwGet and CwTicker in operation.

CwGet is decoding a CW bulletin being transmitted by W1AW on 20 meters. A copy of the decoded text is being simultaneously displayed at the bottom of the screen by CwTicker.

The next screenshot demonstrates the usefulness of CwTicker.

Contest software, in this case N3FJP's Georgia QSO Party Contest Log, is consuming almost the entire screen. CwGet is executing in the background, and the decoded text is being displayed by CwTicker.

CwTicker can be downloaded from the links below. It can be used freely with no registration required. You will need to obtain your own copy of CWGet, though.

CwTicker has no special installation procedures. Simply save the .exe file someplace on your hard drive. You may want to create a shortcut to the program to make it more convenient to start.

To use, start CwGet first and make sure it is operating properly. Then start CwTicker. That's all there is to it.

CwTicker has two small buttons. The arrow button on the left clears the ticker display. The X button on the right closes the program.

CwTicker was developed using CodeGear (Borland) Delphi 2007 for Win32.

Downloads

CwTicker.exe This is the executable program ready to run.

CwTicker.zip This zip file contains the executable program and full source code.

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