QRQ - yet another CW trainer - Version 0.3.1
Project website: http://fkurz.net/ham/qrq.html
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qrq is an open source Morse telegraphy trainer, similar to the classic DOS
version of Rufz by DL4MM, for Linux, Unix, OS X and Windows.
It's not intended for learning telegraphy (have a look at radio.linux.org.au
for CW learning software or check out http://lcwo.net/), but to improve the
ability to copy callsigns at high speeds, as needed for example for Contesting.
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COMPILE / INSTALL
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| Note: A Windows installer is available |
| if you don't like to compile qrq |
| by yourself. It can be downloaded |
| from http://fkurz.net/ham/qrq |
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1. make [DESTDIR=/usr] [USE_PA=NO] [USE_WIN32=NO] [USE_CA=NO] [OSX_PLATFORM=NO] [OSX_BUNDLE=YES]
Compiles qrq.
On Linux/Unix, you can compile against Pulse Audio instead of OSS (USE_PA=YES).
If you are building for OSX set OSX_PLATFORM=YES. If you want to create the
release as an OSX bundle (recommended), then choose OSX_BUNDLE=YES.
To compile it for Windows with MINGW32, using WinMM, use USE_WIN32=YES.
The executable file, 'qrq[.exe]', will be created in the current directory.
To run, qrq only needs the files 'qrqrc', 'toplist', and 'callbase.qcb',
which are also in the current directory.
At your option, you can install 'qrq' globally:
2. make install [DESTDIR=/usr] [USE_CA=NO] [OSX_PLATFORM=NO] [OSX_BUNDLE=YES]
By default, DESTDIR=/usr, so the executable will be in /usr/bin, the
callsign database in /usr/share/qrq/ and so on. You can specify any
other destination directory. However, if you build for OSX and have
OSX_BUNDLE=YES, then make install will *not* install into DESTDIR but
will instead make a bundle called qrq.app in the current directory.
You can then drag and drop the qrq.app into your Applications folder if
you wish.
So to compile for OSX run
make install USE_PA=NO USE_CA=YES OSX_PLATFORM=YES OSX_BUNDLE=YES
and it will create a qrq.app bundle.
When starting 'qrq' for the first time, it will copy 'qrqrc' and
'toplist' to ~/.qrq/.
3. If you like, edit the configuration file 'qrqrc' according to your needs.
All values can also be changed from within the program.
'qrq' first searches in the current directory. On platforms other than Windows,
~/.qrq/ and then /usr/share/qrq are also searched for these files, if they were
not found in the current directory.
4. If an older version of 'qrq' is already installed, you don't need to remove
it first.
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How to use it
Using qrq is simple: qrq sends 50 random calls from a database. After each
call, it waits for the user to enter what he heard and compares the entered
callsign with the one sent. If the callsign is copied correctly, the speed is
increased by 10 CpM and full points are credited, if there were mistakes in the
callsign entered, the speed decreases by 10 CpM and (depending on how many
letters were correct) only a fraction of the maximum points are credited.
A callsign can be heard again once by pressing F6, hitting F10 quits the
attempt. The INS key toggles between insert and overwrite mode in the callsign
field. Pressing F5 leads to the settings screen. The _previous_ callsign
can be reheard by pressing F7.
The possible speed ranges from 20 CpM (4 WpM) to infinity, the initial speed
can be set by the user.
There is a simple toplist function in qrq which makes it possible for the user
to keep track of his training success or to compare scores with others.
You can submit your highscores via e-Mail to [email protected] and they will
appear on the toplist published at http://fkurz.net/ham/qrqtop.html.
The toplist is not protected by any kind of checksum, it's based on honesty.
As of version 0.0.7, the toplist file also includes a timestamp of the attempt,
which makes it possible to keep track of your training progress. Pressing F7
generates a graph score vs. date (GNUplot required, not on Windows).
Options can be changed in the config file qrqrc or via the options menu (F5).
As of version 0.2.0, some additional training modes are available, which allow
e.g. unlimited usage of F6 (call repetition) and attempts that are longer than
the normal 50 calls.
A small Perl script, qrqscore, to synchronize the online-toplist
(http://fkurz.net/ham/qrqtop.php) with your local toplist is included as of
version 0.1.2.
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Download, License
Of course qrq is free software (free as in beer and free as in freedom) and
published under the GPL 2.
If you wish to use the files coreaudio.h and coreaudio.c in a project separate
from qrq, they are licensed under the MIT license.
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Contact, Feedback
I am always interested in any kind of feedback concerning qrq.
If you have any suggestions, questions, feature-requests etc., don't hesitate
a minute and contact the author: Fabian Kurz, DJ1YFK <[email protected]>.