Decoders are very tone sensistive. If it is set for 670Hz and the radio tuning makes the tone 700 Hz you will get garbage. As shown backing off on the signal does help but tone is important. The largest problem with decoders is simply the no spaces, all dits, bad code on the air. Decoders are a good check for your sending, especially for spacing. If you send a A N and decode a P you have work to do. Some OM are very animated that decoders and other gagets are BAD. While I will agree they may be a distraction and add time to properly learn CW anything that gets someone to listen to CW is good. Given enough time they will learn code inspite of the toys. TMI - Most decoders use a PLL to detect the CW, the loop bandwidth can be very narrow, the tone must be close.
Although it has its short comings why not do some experimenting by making different filters to improve the incoming signal. if the radio is picking up a lot of noise , ' As HF does" why not compare try it on an SDR qrp radio or similar where the back ground noise has been improved by the use of digital filters . And for the cost of few dollars what do you expect, isn't ham radio about experimenting and trying different things or has that time now come and gone overtime with our expectations. We are now spoilt with new radios and equipment as new items flood the market of choice as new improved technology moves forward . Our forefathers that used ham and those who had no choice to use what they were given or build what had to work with , what would they think now if they seen what we have to day ?. It will be the same with the next generation in another 20 years as they look back , and the next after that one and so on. I like seeing reviews and I think t is great people go out there away to show others but at the same time, there are a lot of wingers over a few dollars..... instead of taking a problem and looking in way of improving it as a project, Ah its from China its crap ill just through it i the bin , where is most of your equipment made today? back to basics is always a good refresher to see how far we have come.
This video was made over three years ago and this item is still being sold, and still without instructions. Thanks for this video Steve. After spending a lot of time on it, I could not get the key input to work and did not try the audio input, which as you said, is not very good in any case. I would not recommend the purchase of this item.
The 'char/min' is an abbreviation for 'characters/minute' or 'characters per minute'. So 93 char/min would mean 93 characters per minute...as in sending or receiving speed, depending on what you're using the decoder for.
Thanks so much for this review! I was about to buy one as I thought it might serve as a practice oscillator for an iambic paddle - but alas no paddle inputs.
I appreciate you making this video. I purchased one of these yesterday at an estate sale for $2.00. I'm a retired Navy CTT so I knew what it was. I also recognized the value of the parts alone. I'm planning to make a 3D printed case for mine.
Thanks for telling us the connections. I just bought one, I knew it was 9-12 volts centre positive socket, with my meter as there are no instructions I'm waiting for a stereo to stereo 3.5mm lead, only have mono & no spare plugs to make one. I will find some commercial morse sent by a computer from the Israeli army in the 6.6 MHz range. I have used software & is pretty perfect when there a good signal, or there's a commercial station in the 8 MHz range which says over & over "free radio medical service" I'll adjust the pot. 73's
I was a USN radioman. Good to copy Cw up at least 25 wpm. Used to love doing contests, rag chew all that. Then I ended up with essential tremor, which put me off the air on CW for decades. Piero Begali helped me get past that. Discovered that everyone had gone to computer generated CW over 40 wpm. Just now getting back on the air & got one of these to help my jaded ears copy these machine code show offs. Ain’t a bad device but I had to modify the resistors around the tone control to match what my ancient ears now tolerate. Still not a bad deal. We’ll see how it works in the next CW contest.
Just a little point.... Telling people to make sure negative is earth doesn't help. Saying the centre pin is positive would help, as guitar effects power supplies have negative centre pin.
A computer running CW Skimmer can decode anything. It forms the basis for the Reverse Beacon system and is just amazing. However this thing is pretty useless.
I’m new to this so I’ll ask. If I make an oscillator with an NE555 circuit, can I feed the output of that circuit directly into this device to read my coding?
hello and nice video / demo ! i suppose char/min means charachters per minute, but is not the standard as we normally talk about WPM (words per minute). wonder if a firmware update would be availabel, do you have any clue ?
They work sort of, funky would be the over all opinion. I got the key working and it would decode but inconsistent (not all me) and no audio. I will not give up on it of course I have $10 invested in it, so I will dedicate a couple hundred hours to try and recoup my money
I’m learning Morse, and will try and avoid these decoders. I recon using decoders will make you a lazy and poor operator. Repetition is the way. I learnt banjo without any aid, 3-4yrs of frustration , but it comes in the end.!
Excellent job on analyzing and presenting the details. Especially when you got the kit with no accompanying instructions. The device happens to be not very good at decoding, highly dependent on good signal quality and perfect keying. That is true also of many of the much more expensive decoders too. Most keyers of today send perfectly. But receiving Morse more reliably awaits advancements in AI. Thanks for the video. 73 from KD2KWH.
Thrilled to see the Decoder an "epic failure" via your demo. The best decoder is the one between your ears. No one ever learns CW using a decoder. Great demo!
Same experience here with the one I got. Takes a strong signal in order to decode. When the signal fades (though still copyable) the little Chicom decoder can't handle it. I've got an ancient (and huge) Microcraft Code Star decoder which doesn't miss a character; if the ear can decode it; so can the Code Star. But, that thing cost big bucks back in the day.
Well Steve I really appreciate you making this video... I don't know anything about Morse Code but am looking for a decoder to help me learn as I am a dedicated Shortwave listener. I hate to to spend my hard earned money for junk or something to aggravate me. Thanks for the video and 73's
Thank You for the informative video.. I was about to purchase one on Ebay until i seen that it is not very reliable copying code. I'll stick with my old Texas instrument computer and interface. Best 73
Got one to play with; observation; very sensitive to static noise in the audio. Considering adding a 567 and 555 to detect signal tone and regenerate a cleaner signal for this board. 100% copy on pre-recorded (no static) practice audio CW. Fun for the price.
Just got one. My CW is rusty like hell. It was about 10-12 WPM, and that was 30 yrs ago. We'll see...oh, they're $20 now in 2023😢😂 TNX for the funny vid!!👏
I think the inside hollow part (not tip) is positive. It is the hole in the center. The exposed outside part is the ground or negative. As is usual with plug-in DC power supplies. Check with a simple multimeter if in doubt.
I had no luck getting mine to function. I plugged a stereo aux cable out of my MFJ oscillator, into the right side. Then plugged a small speaker into the left side to monitor. I could hear the tones going through... No matter how I dialed the oscillator tone, and dialed the pot on the decoder device I never got the light to light up. I tried doing the contiuous tone at various settings on the oscillator, and slowly turning the pot through its entire range, and the light never lit up.
Well anyway, it arrived in the mail from China after six weeks; Watched the video on TH-cam, without which I think we'd all be lost. Works well with the MFJ 422B-X keyer, shows up my poor fist. All thats needed now is a decent cw signal at this QTH to see if it Really works...
It appears you need to do a better job of tuning the radio… it is critical.. mine works better than your demo. But it’s not the top of the line. It takes a bit for it to catch the speed, but once it does, it does OK. The faster the speed, the higher you want the menu to show characters/min.
Wow your good at that! I always wanted to learn morse code...I think I will buy one those cheap gadgets and look for the rest in a vintage auction. Thanks for your video my man!👍😉🇨🇦
Just starting my code learning journey so i picked it up on amazon. Watched your video and tried it… no joy. For on air decodes but it did give me visual feed back when i used the paddle to practice so that’s what i will use it for. For now. Thanks for the content.
Personally, I'd be worried to use this with a practice oscillator. I think it may discourage more than assist. I'd prefer being told that my code looked right but my timings were loose... rather than be told _'all was garbage, give up'_ HI HI Seems a decent CW decoder should track a buffer, so that it can adjust parameters and do "late correction" on previously displayed characters as the senders timing margins become clearer. I think that, and smart tone detection, are probably a software thing and not so suitable for discrete electronics. I could be wrong, but I've yet to see a robust discrete decoder.
Eventually we will move into computer generated morse and computer deciphering of morse. I use a laptop with HRD software and get better copy than i can do in my head and much better sending than i can do with my paddles or keyer. Its not the copy i get thats so hard to decipher its the really horribly sending and mistakes and running all characters together without spacing.
If you want a decoder/reader that works look for an old ERA Microreader. They work for CW RTTY. The ERA has built in tutor for sending with a key or auto for receive practice as well. The later ones could also decode Navtex. ** Navtex needs Mk4 Firmware revision. ** All the modes work well when connected to receiver audio output. **
I had a AEA Packratt 232 and 64. real old hardware TNC or multimode data controllers. MFJ made them too. It sent and received just fine once it adjusted to the speed. It would even copy my sending!
it says on most of the sites that it is meant to read from computer only ,,,and only some say that it can actually read from a radio because of the noise problem
96 chr./min means 96 characters per minute,I think.thanks for this interesting video.
thanks for saving me $10!
As you pointed out is a great device for practicing sending good code. More people should get one and see how poor their fist is.
Decoders are very tone sensistive. If it is set for 670Hz and the radio tuning makes the tone 700 Hz you will get garbage. As shown backing off on the signal does help but tone is important.
The largest problem with decoders is simply the no spaces, all dits, bad code on the air.
Decoders are a good check for your sending, especially for spacing. If you send a A N and decode a P you have work to do.
Some OM are very animated that decoders and other gagets are BAD. While I will agree they may be a distraction and add time to properly learn CW anything that gets someone to listen to CW is good. Given enough time they will learn code inspite of the toys.
TMI - Most decoders use a PLL to detect the CW, the loop bandwidth can be very narrow, the tone must be close.
Although it has its short comings why not do some experimenting by making different filters to improve the incoming signal.
if the radio is picking up a lot of noise , ' As HF does" why not compare try it on an SDR qrp radio or similar where the back ground noise has been improved by the use of digital filters .
And for the cost of few dollars what do you expect, isn't ham radio about experimenting and trying different things or has that time now come and gone overtime with our expectations. We are now spoilt with new radios and equipment as new items flood the market of choice as new improved technology moves forward .
Our forefathers that used ham and those who had no choice to use what they were given or build what had to work with , what would they think now if they seen what we have to day ?.
It will be the same with the next generation in another 20 years as they look back , and the next after that one and so on.
I like seeing reviews and I think t is great people go out there away to show others but at the same time, there are a lot of wingers over a few dollars..... instead of taking a problem and looking in way of improving it as a project, Ah its from China its crap ill just through it i the bin , where is most of your equipment made today? back to basics is always a good refresher to see how far we have come.
This video was made over three years ago and this item is still being sold, and still without instructions. Thanks for this video Steve. After spending a lot of time on it, I could not get the key input to work and did not try the audio input, which as you said, is not very good in any case. I would not recommend the purchase of this item.
I bought the same one.. Ended using the LCD for my DDS project..
The 'char/min' is an abbreviation for 'characters/minute' or 'characters per minute'. So 93 char/min would mean 93 characters per minute...as in sending or receiving speed, depending on what you're using the decoder for.
That is a BEAUTIFUL old Collins receiver!
Thanks so much for this review! I was about to buy one as I thought it might serve as a practice oscillator for an iambic paddle - but alas no paddle inputs.
I appreciate you making this video. I purchased one of these yesterday at an estate sale for $2.00. I'm a retired Navy CTT so I knew what it was. I also recognized the value of the parts alone. I'm planning to make a 3D printed case for mine.
I must agree with you, I ended up putting mine in the bin.
96 characters per minute maximum
96 characters per minute (what I just copied) that is about 19 WPM....
19×5 = 95 ie 96
U mean 95 cpm
Thanks for telling us the connections. I just bought one, I knew it was 9-12 volts centre positive socket, with my meter as there are no instructions I'm waiting for a stereo to stereo 3.5mm lead, only have mono & no spare plugs to make one. I will find some commercial morse sent by a computer from the Israeli army in the 6.6 MHz range. I have used software & is pretty perfect when there a good signal, or there's a commercial station in the 8 MHz range which says over & over "free radio medical service" I'll adjust the pot. 73's
I was a USN radioman. Good to copy Cw up at least 25 wpm. Used to love doing contests, rag chew all that. Then I ended up with essential tremor, which put me off the air on CW for decades. Piero Begali helped me get past that. Discovered that everyone had gone to computer generated CW over 40 wpm. Just now getting back on the air & got one of these to help my jaded ears copy these machine code show offs. Ain’t a bad device but I had to modify the resistors around the tone control to match what my ancient ears now tolerate. Still not a bad deal. We’ll see how it works in the next CW contest.
Just a little point.... Telling people to make sure negative is earth doesn't help. Saying the centre pin is positive would help, as guitar effects power supplies have negative centre pin.
Excelente this video!! Best regards!
The second station you tuned into wasn’t on the correct tone frequency, this is the reason for poor decode
CW decoder belongs--in the nog nog!
Thanks Steve. One of these was in a hamfest bargain box. Thanks to this video I got it going.
Yes, no good at all.
G4GHB
Characters per minute? I've never seen a supposed 'decoder' that worked worth a crap on the air.
A computer running CW Skimmer can decode anything. It forms the basis for the Reverse Beacon system and is just amazing. However this thing is pretty useless.
thanks kc4gst
I have had very good success with the K-42 Morse keyboard/reader by K1EL. It is about $100 and is a kit but is ruggedly effective.
The answer is for folks to learn CW. The decoders can't copy a bug very well either !
Lee, WA8QFE
Your ears were made fer CW and visa versa!
thanks, i was wondering for shtf with the uBITX Version 6 HF SSB and CW Transceiver would recieve some and better than nothing
I’m new to this so I’ll ask. If I make an oscillator with an NE555 circuit, can I feed the output of that circuit directly into this device to read my coding?
Thanks Steve was looking for instructions but found your video on the tube. Everything I needed to know. Thank you sir.
hello and nice video / demo !
i suppose char/min means charachters per minute, but is not the standard as we normally talk about WPM (words per minute). wonder if a firmware update would be availabel, do you have any clue ?
Even though I have no idea I can still proclaim a resounding NO. Perhaps they will introduce version II some day.
They work sort of, funky would be the over all opinion. I got the key working and it would decode but inconsistent (not all me) and no audio. I will not give up on it of course I have $10 invested in it, so I will dedicate a couple hundred hours to try and recoup my money
pointless device now: code reading apps work so much better. also code teaching apps. the work on the cheapest of smart phns
thanks for posting this video. Have you come across any other devices or software that works better?
thanks for saving me $$ !
Thank you, Steve. Mine arrived today and I was searching for instructions 🥴 maybe it wasn’t such a good idea! 73’s M6ERU
What cables do I buy for the translator? I have cw cable and paddle also have the ac power cord what are the oTher cords I need thanks kc0kru
In the Royal Navy my instructor could read morse with out writing down. It had to accurate being in code a matter of life and death situation.
I could type in 70'
I’m learning Morse, and will try and avoid these decoders.
I recon using decoders will make you a lazy and poor operator.
Repetition is the way.
I learnt banjo without any aid, 3-4yrs of frustration , but it comes in the end.!
In 2023 I couldn't find it for $10 bucks but only for about 19.
Excellent job on analyzing and presenting the details. Especially when you got the kit with no accompanying instructions.
The device happens to be not very good at decoding, highly dependent on good signal quality and perfect keying.
That is true also of many of the much more expensive decoders too.
Most keyers of today send perfectly.
But receiving Morse more reliably awaits advancements in AI.
Thanks for the video.
73 from KD2KWH.
That last button is to change the Characters Per Minute / Speed :)
Thrilled to see the Decoder an "epic failure" via your demo. The best decoder is the one between your ears. No one ever learns CW using a decoder. Great demo!
Same experience here with the one I got. Takes a strong signal in order to decode. When the signal fades (though still copyable) the little Chicom decoder can't handle it. I've got an ancient (and huge) Microcraft Code Star decoder which doesn't miss a character; if the ear can decode it; so can the Code Star. But, that thing cost big bucks back in the day.
Junk as a decoder!! I am keeping the decoder for parts on other projects.
I always wanted to hear Hank Hill narrate an educational video... My Day is complete.
Need some propane and accessories?
cw and cw accessories
tôi ở Việt Nam, tôi muốn mua cái máy này như thế nào?
Thanks Steve been trying to find out how it works 73 Phil G0BVD
Well Steve I really appreciate you making this video... I don't know anything about Morse Code but am looking for a decoder to help me learn as I am a dedicated Shortwave listener. I hate to to spend my hard earned money for junk or something to aggravate me. Thanks for the video and 73's
There's computer programs that decode very well if you're interested.
Characters Per minute (instead of wpm)
It decode chinese caracter perfectly! Only.
It is fully approved by the CCP in Beijing to fk over the "round eyes " I think !! Tim Fidler in Auckland- never forget the Rainbow Warrior !!
Yess
But that Radio is super beautiful 😍
how can i buy this device from nepal
Serious junk!
Think about all the intellectual effort that went into stealing the code that was used in this PO crap (it is an old ARRL Design). TE Fidler
Thanks for this video.👍
Thank You for the informative video.. I was about to purchase one on Ebay until i seen that it is not very reliable copying code. I'll stick with my old Texas instrument computer and interface. Best 73
Got one to play with; observation; very sensitive to static noise in the audio. Considering adding a 567 and 555 to detect signal tone and regenerate a cleaner signal for this board. 100% copy on pre-recorded (no static) practice audio CW. Fun for the price.
*** CW Decoder ,, Very good !!,,, 사용하고 싶습니다,,,
Just got one. My CW is rusty like hell. It was about 10-12 WPM, and that was 30 yrs ago. We'll see...oh, they're $20 now in 2023😢😂 TNX for the funny vid!!👏
Bit of a waste of money. QRM knocks it out and loses info.
Learn it properly. Your brain filters out noise and concentrates on Morse.
G4GHB.
What type of 9V Power Adapter is required: Tip Positive or Tip Negative?
Steve said Ground is neg. So, the tip is positive?
I think the inside hollow part (not tip) is positive. It is the hole in the center.
The exposed outside part is the ground or negative.
As is usual with plug-in DC power supplies.
Check with a simple multimeter if in doubt.
I had no luck getting mine to function. I plugged a stereo aux cable out of my MFJ oscillator, into the right side. Then plugged a small speaker into the left side to monitor. I could hear the tones going through... No matter how I dialed the oscillator tone, and dialed the pot on the decoder device I never got the light to light up. I tried doing the contiuous tone at various settings on the oscillator, and slowly turning the pot through its entire range, and the light never lit up.
96 characters per minute
Em muốn mua một bộ hoàn thiện
Characters per minute
Thanks, I have the same one and works about the same.
Something to play with
Well anyway, it arrived in the mail from China after six weeks; Watched the video on TH-cam, without which I think we'd all be lost. Works well with the MFJ 422B-X keyer, shows up my poor fist. All thats needed now is a decent cw signal at this QTH to see if it Really works...
Is it centre positive and negative shield on the barrel connector?
Edit: I answered my own question. Yes, it's centre positive and negative shield.
I have bought two, neither worked properly.Very disappointed.
It appears you need to do a better job of tuning the radio… it is critical.. mine works better than your demo. But it’s not the top of the line. It takes a bit for it to catch the speed, but once it does, it does OK. The faster the speed, the higher you want the menu to show characters/min.
Wow your good at that! I always wanted to learn morse code...I think I will buy one those cheap gadgets and look for the rest in a vintage auction. Thanks for your video my man!👍😉🇨🇦
thanks, save my money. figured being so cheap that it would be.
Its only $10 better than Mfj's 464 keyer /reader what a load of junk that unit is surprised they still sell it .
Steve which side of my DC power supply plug should be pos....I suspect the inner...the socket is not marked.
It's a Morse code decoder.
Just starting my code learning journey so i picked it up on amazon. Watched your video and tried it… no joy. For on air decodes but it did give me visual feed back when i used the paddle to practice so that’s what i will use it for. For now. Thanks for the content.
I use one on my smartphone, I just set it up against the radio and it gets 90% of the stuff correct.
Personally, I'd be worried to use this with a practice oscillator. I think it may discourage more than assist. I'd prefer being told that my code looked right but my timings were loose... rather than be told _'all was garbage, give up'_ HI HI
Seems a decent CW decoder should track a buffer, so that it can adjust parameters and do "late correction" on previously displayed characters as the senders timing margins become clearer. I think that, and smart tone detection, are probably a software thing and not so suitable for discrete electronics.
I could be wrong, but I've yet to see a robust discrete decoder.
Like said before, is not even a toy...parts only good for other projects :(
Nice that you made a video for future buyers...
Eventually we will move into computer generated morse and computer deciphering of morse. I use a laptop with HRD software and get better copy than i can do in my head and much better sending than i can do with my paddles or keyer. Its not the copy i get thats so hard to decipher its the really horribly sending and mistakes and running all characters together without spacing.
Characters per minute
Characters per minute
Characters per minute
That trimpot is probably there for adjusting the decoder response pitch. if they dont match, it cannot decode successfully
If you want a decoder/reader that works look for an old ERA Microreader. They work for CW RTTY. The ERA has built in tutor for sending with a key or auto for receive practice as well. The later ones could also decode Navtex. ** Navtex needs Mk4 Firmware revision. ** All the modes work well when connected to receiver audio output. **
How about paddle key?it works on paddle key? I means connect on your left a paddle key instead strait key.
my i phone app is free same poor job kg6mn
Just got mine using websdr to find some CW transmissions. Works great
I had a AEA Packratt 232 and 64. real old hardware TNC or multimode data controllers. MFJ made them too. It sent and received just fine once it adjusted to the speed. It would even copy my sending!
it says on most of the sites that it is meant to read from computer only ,,,and only some say that it can actually read from a radio because of the noise problem
Could you show us how to hook it up to a wired telegraph system?
Found this, great video, why was I surprised it was you :) !!!
one company selling this equipment not complete such as cable and manual book
Char/min
Is how many characters per minute you keyed
I like that it is picky, as I plan on using this to learn CW.
It can't read "P" of previously...
96 character per minute ?
I could read/send 23×5=105 letters 70'
it's the decoding rate 96 characters per minute. 73 de AA9GG
Thank you so much for posting - this saved me hours of messing about. Great explanation! 73
Thank you Steeve, Your american accent is so easy to understand I like!
Greetings from France!
This would be NVG (not very good)
Characters per minute..betcha.. de W0QR