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HZ1JW Software

Introduction

MorsePractice is an application originally written by Martin Minow (K6MAM) as an aid to learning Morse code.  Martin became a silent key in late 2000 but his site and work live on as an invaluable resource to Java programmers.  In addition to everything else on Martins' site, MorsePractice is a well documented example of what can be achieved in Java.

A quick Google search will leave you in no doubt that Martin was well respected and loved by a great many of the lives that he touched. I'm just sorry that I can't count myself as one of the lucky ones to meet the ultimate 'Gentlemen Hacker'...

MorsePractice was originally written using the AWT shipped with Java. The version available here has been updated and uses Swing Components throughout.

Random symbol training is based on the Koch training sequence, described by David Finley in http://www.qsl.net/n1irz/finley.morse.html.

The Koch method is also described in the book, "The Art and Skill of Radio-telegraphy," by William G. Peirpoint, N0HFF, distributed as a .pdf and available from N9BOR's website.

According to the Koch method, symbols should be learnt in the following sequence;

K M R S U A P T L O
W I . N J E F 0 Y ,
V G 5 / Q 9 Z H 3 8
B ? 4 2 7 C 1 D 6 X
<BT> <SK> <AR>

The version of Morse practice available here is may be run as a standalone application from a 'jar' file (requiring a copy of Sun's Java) or as an applet.

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Applet

applet screenshot

Sorry, it looks like your browser doesn't support Java... (the image above is a static screenshot).

Downloads

The latest revision of the jar file is available here (updated 1st October 2011)

The source is available here (updated 1st October 2011)

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Installation

The program requires Sun's Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 6. Due to licensing restrictions, this is not installed by default as part of most Linux distributions. It is however included in most repositories so may easily be installed.

Installing the Sun JRE on Ubuntu 10.10

Details for installing Suns's JRE on Ubuntu 10.10 may be found here. The installation may be summarised as;
  1. Enable the 'Partner' repository in Software Centre.
  2. Reload the repository data using the 'Reload' button or the command; 
    $ sudo apt-get update
  3. Either select 'sun-java6-jre' from the software centre's list of applications or use the command 
    $ sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre

Other Operating Systems:   Please let me know if you have instructions for other operating systems and I'll post them here.

Running the Jar File: Once the correct version of Java has been installed on your machine the Jar file may be run with the following command;

$ java -jar morsepractice.jar
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Acknowledgements & Disclaimer

I've used this application to pass my own Morse test and will always be grateful to Martin for his work and generosity in passing on the source code

Sincere thanks also to Jon Callas for keeping a copy of Martin's site online.

This software is supplied 'as is' without any warranty, implied or otherwise. Enjoy.

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