Morse

Speed, key and paddle on the USB-C socket

Videos on this topic

Morse in V6

Morse (or CW) is the language made of dots and dashes. With V6 you can listen to it, transmit it and learn it.

I want to	I need
Transmit in Morse with the big key of the radio	Nothing: set the VFO to CW and use PTT as the key.
Transmit with a real key or a paddle	The key or the paddle on the USB-C socket, and the CW Paddle module (explained below).
Learn Morse	The CW Trainer module.
Read the incoming Morse	The CW Decode module.
A beacon that transmits the callsign by itself	The Beacon module: you turn it on and set it from its own screen.

Morse with PTT

Hold down 0: the mode opens. Choose CW and press MENU.
Now PTT is a Morse key: pressed = signal, released = silence.
The radio stays in transmission between one stroke and the next and goes back to listening by itself about half a second after the last one.

The speed: CW Spd

In the SYS menu the item CW Spd says how fast the Morse made by the radio is: from 5 to 30 words per minute. Factory value 15. It applies to the paddle, the beacon, the Morse messages and the gym. The lower the number, the slower it is.

Connecting a key or a paddle

The key or the paddle connects to the USB-C socket of the radio, the one where you usually plug the computer cable. You do not need to open the radio: all you need is one USB-A socket mounted on the key, four small capacitors and a normal USB cable, like the ones of a phone.

A USB-A socket on the key, three wires to the levers, four capacitors near the socket and a normal USB cable to the radio. If there is RF feedback, also a ferrite on the cable near the radio.

Inside a USB-A socket (or inside an old USB cable cut open) there are four coloured wires. Looking at the socket from the front, the contacts are counted from the left:

Contact	Wire	Goes to
1	red (VBUS)	NOTHING. Cut it short and insulate it with tape. It must not be connected to anything, ever.
2	white (D-)	the dash lever
3	green (D+)	the dot lever (or the straight key)
4	black (GND)	the common of the two levers

Get a female USB-A socket, or cut an old USB-A cable.
Insulate the red wire: it is not needed.
Connect the green to the dot lever, the white to the dash lever, the black to the common of the two levers.
Put two ceramic capacitors, one of 10 nF and one of 1 nF, between the green and the black, and two more of the same kind between the white and the black. Short legs, close to the socket.
Do you have a straight key instead of a paddle? One contact between the green and the black is enough. Then in the menu you will set Paddle to KEY.
If the radio stays in transmission by itself when you transmit (it happens mostly at high power: it is RF feedback), a clip-on ferrite on the cable, near the plug that goes into the radio, is recommended. Wind the cable twice through the ferrite and then close it. A cable that is not too short also helps.
Connect the key to the radio with any USB-A / USB-C cable. If the computer was on the socket, unplug it first.

Why the capacitorsWhen the radio transmits, especially at high power, the cable of the key works as an antenna and picks up its own signal: without the capacitors the radio can stay in transmission by itself. If it happens even with the capacitors, a clip-on ferrite near the radio plug is recommended, with the cable going twice around inside it, and a cable that is not too short. The white must never be connected directly to the black: the paddle would not switch on.

Are the levers the wrong way round?Do not redo the wires: in the menu set PAD REV instead of PAD NOR.

While the key is connectedThe radio does not talk to the computer and does not charge from the USB-C socket. Do not hold the levers pressed while you switch the radio on.

Paddle or computer, not bothThere is only one USB-C socket. When the paddle turns on, the radio cuts the link with the computer. This is on purpose: someone doing Morse is not using the computer. To get the computer back see further down.

The Paddle item

In the SYS menu the item Paddle tells the radio what you have connected:

Value	What it does
OFF	No key, no paddle.
PAD NOR	Paddle with two levers. Hold one lever and the radio makes a row of dots by itself; the other, a row of dashes, all exact at the speed of CW Spd. Squeezed together: dot, dash, dot, dash.
KEY	Straight key: the signal lasts as long as you hold it down. You make the timing.
PAD REV	The same, but with the two levers swapped. For those who use the other hand or have swapped the wires.

Transmitting with the paddle

You need the CW Paddle module loaded in the radio. It has no screen and you do not open it: it starts by itself.

Set Paddle to PAD NOR, PAD REV or KEY.
Choose the mode of the VFO. In CW only the carrier goes out, like a real Morse transmitter. In FM an 800 Hz note goes out (modulated Morse, MCW), which anyone listening in FM can hear, even through a repeater.
Leave the levers alone for a moment. PD? appears at the top and right after PDL: the paddle is ready.
Key your Morse. The radio starts transmitting at the first mark and goes back to listening by itself after the last one. While you transmit, a line under the bar shows the last letters you sent (21 characters), with the paddle and with the straight key.
To stop: put Paddle back on OFF, or switch to a mode that is not CW or FM (for example AM).

In FM the item must be confirmedIn FM the paddle works only if you chose the Paddle item yourself from the menu. If it already shows PAD NOR but you never touched it, go into the item and confirm with MENU. This way, whoever does not use the paddle does not risk the radio transmitting with the computer cable plugged in.

PDL in the top line: the paddle is ready.

The first time, try without a real antennaThis function turns the transmitter on from an external contact. The first time, try it with a dummy load in place of the antenna, and check that the radio transmits only when you touch the levers.

All the transmitting rules applyIf Txp EN is off, if you are in the aircraft band or if Tx TOT runs out, the paddle does not transmit. If Tx TOT runs out you read PADDLE OFF and the paddle switches off: to switch it on again put Paddle back on OFF and then on your value again. The PTT keeps working as a key.

USB BUSY and USB CABLE

The radio always checks that there really is a paddle on the USB-C socket and not the computer cable. To the radio, a computer cable looks like a paddle with both levers pressed: without this check it would transmit by itself.

What is connected to the socket, and what the radio answers.

Message	It means	What to do
USB BUSY	The computer is switched on and plugged into the socket, and people are talking. The Paddle item goes to OFF and the computer stays connected.	Unplug the computer cable, plug in the paddle and set the Paddle item again.
USB CABLE	The radio saw the two levers pressed together for too long: it is not a paddle, it is a cable (or a charger). The Paddle item goes to OFF and the socket goes back to the computer.	Take out the cable, plug in the paddle and set the Paddle item again.
PD? that does not become PDL	The radio is waiting to see the levers at rest.	Do not touch the levers. Check that the little cable is not shorted.
PADDLE OFF	The maximum transmission time has run out, or you opened the USB module from the list of applications (the socket went back to the computer and the Paddle item went to OFF).	Check that a lever has not stayed pressed, then put Paddle back on OFF and again on your value.

You too can trigger USB CABLEIf you hold both levers pressed for more than 4 seconds in a row, the radio thinks it is a cable and turns the paddle off. It is a safety.

Getting the computer back after the paddle

Put Paddle back on OFF.
Unplug the paddle and connect the computer cable.
Press MENU, 6, choose USB and press MENU. You read USB ON.
Or, simpler: switch the radio off and on again.

The beacon

The Beacon module transmits by itself, now and then, your callsign in Morse. In V6 it has no items in the menu: you turn it on and set it from its own screen (APP menu, Beacon).

On: the last line says how long until it transmits.

Line	What MENU does
Beacon	Turns it on (ON) and off (OFF).
Every	How often it transmits: from 5 Sec to 20 min.
Mode	CW = real Morse (the VFO must be in CW). FM = a beeping note over FM.

The arrows choose the line, EXIT goes back to the main screen. When on, the beacon keeps working in the background (code BCN) and starts again by itself when you switch the radio back on. The first transmission starts after 30 seconds. Any key stops the transmission in progress. The speed is that of CW Spd. The rest is in its data sheet.

Learning: CW Trainer

The Morse gym. It never transmits: it only plays from the loudspeaker. It is explained in its data sheet: you find it in the list of modules. In the gym you turn the paddle on and off by holding down side key 1; while it waits for the levers to be at rest you read PDL WAIT. The speed is that of CW Spd: the arrows change it.

At the start it asks you to key three Vs.

← The modules If something goes wrong →