![[screenshot of qrq]](qrq.png)
qrq is an open source morse telegraphy trainer for Linux and Unix operating systems, similar to the classic DOS version of Rufz by DL4MM.
It's not intended for learning telegraphy (check out LCWO or have a look at radio.linux.org.au for CW learning software), but to improve the ability to copy callsigns at high speeds, as needed for example for Contesting.
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 10cpm / 2wpm and full points are credited, if there were mistakes in the callsign entered, the speed decreases by 10cpm / 2wpm 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 program.
The possible speed ranges from 20cpm (4wpm) to infinity, the initial speed can be set by the user (in .qrqrc or in the settings menu, F5).
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 score (and max. speed) to me via eMail (or use the included script qrqscore) and they will be listed on the qrq toplist.
Note that there is no checksum or other mechanism to verify the scores, it relies on your 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.)
All settings can be modified in the configuration file qrqrc (in the current directory or ~/.qrq/). You may edit it before running qrq for the first time, but most settings can also be changed in the configuration menu (F5).
Special care has been taken of the CW tone generator. In order to avoid key clicks, the CW signal form is shaped by amplitude-modulating it with a sine function. The rise- and fall times can be set individually to any value (in milliseconds). This graph (produced with GNUplot) shows a dash at 500CpM/100WpM with 5ms rise time and 15ms fall time (way too much for real CW, just for demonstration purposes), at a samplerate of 44.1kHz.
Of course qrq is free software (free as in beer and free as in freedom) and published under the GPL 2.
The current version is 0.1.4 and can be found in the download-directory.
qrq is also available as a package in different formats, thanks to the work of the respective maintainers.
| Format | Link | Maintainer |
|---|---|---|
| SuSE (rpm) | qrq-0.1.3-1.1.*.rpm | Jan-Simon, DL9PF |
| FreeBSD (port) | ports/comms/qrq | Diane, VA3DB |
| Archlinux | qrq-0.1.4-1.pkg.tar.gz | Bob, W9YA |
| Debian (deb) | qrq | Joop, PG4I |
| Fedora | SIG Amateur Radio | Bob, KC0WYC |
| Mac OS X | qrq-0.1.4.dmg | Marc, KB1OOO |
| source | qrq-0.1.4.tar.gz | - |
| static Linux binary i386 | qrq.gz | - |
qrq was written by Fabian Kurz, DJ1YFK.
Marc Vaillant, KB1OOO contributed code to make it work under Mac OS X.
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 me via eMail or ICQ (169955833).
All projects are also available via Subversion.
For those not familiar with SVN: You can always fetch the latest version by:
svn checkout svn://dl0tud.tu-dresden.de/yfk/ # whole repository
svn checkout svn://dl0tud.tu-dresden.de/yfk/qrq/ # only qrq
svn checkout svn://dl0tud.tu-dresden.de/yfk/yfklog/ # only yfklog etc...
But be aware that this version may not be 'stable' at all. If you don't like experiments, just continue to use the normal releases.
I'll gladly grant write access to the repository as needed, just drop me a line.
For user support, announcements of new releases and general discussion, a mailing list has been set up. To subscribe or browse the archives, please visit this link.