Comments on: CW Skimmer — A Monster or Killer Tool?

By: CW Skimmer Wins Dayton Hamvention Pileup Contest | K9JY

CW Skimmer Wins Dayton Hamvention Pileup Contest | K9JY — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:26:05 +0000

[...] This year’s contest offered up a bit of a different competitor — CW Skimmer, that often maligned software program that attempts to copy Morse code using digital dits and dahs wrapped in binary computer code. Since [...]

By: John Chance-Read

John Chance-Read — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:05:57 +0000

Perhaps I am unusual but I’m a enthusiastic contester in CW – problem is I am now totally deaf ! BUT I’m still enthusiastic, and CW Skimmer is going to be my salvation.
I doubt whether there are many like me, most are going through stages of deafness, but 15 years ago I got the antenna ready for Boxing Day and then collasped, waking up on New Years and totally deaf.
I tried various ways of operating without much satisfaction – but this I think is the answer.
Thanks to the originator.

By: Scot, K9JY

Scot, K9JY — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:18:30 +0000

Hi Scott,

I had not thought of the “no-code” angle, but can see the irony of it!

I think technology additions are a great thing for the hobby. They will sort themselves out over time; good, bad, or indifferent.

By: Scott Chrestman, N5KRC

Scott Chrestman, N5KRC — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:49:34 +0000

I used CW Skimmer with my SDR-1000 for the first time during the VP6DX dxpedition. I look at it more of a tool than a crutch. With CW Skimmer I was able to watch the entire pile-up on the split frequency, where I would never be able to decode each individual call by ear simultaneously, and find the exact frequency of the station VP6DX just worked on the previous call. Using this tool, I snagged VP6DX CW on all bands 10-80M, never having to call more than two or three times. It’s not so much that I lacked the skill to make the contact without the aide of a computer program, but it made it much much easier to snag a ‘big one’ while competing with the rest of the world.

What’s amusing to me is the number of posts/debates/wars on the major Amateur Radio online forums about the code being dropped, not passing on the tradition, and lack of skill. Someone then writes a program that might very well promote younger hams to get in to CW in some shape-or-form, and now we hear the arguments that this isn’t real CW, you still lack skill, etc.

Could this not be considered an ‘advancement of the radio art’? Personally, I could care less if it’s a CW-keyboard QSO, quick DX contact with a set of paddles, or a two hour rag chew with a straight key. Just keep them dits and dahs in the ether!