I don’t operate CW as much as I used to, so my skills have diminished a bit, though I am pretty good at 18 wpm or so. My weak point was often copying all to paper, especially over 15 wpm. So I have started to do it all in my head, which sometimes works and sometimes does not. Practice makes perfect, but finding time is an issue.
CW Decoders have probably been around for 30 years or so. I tried a PC based one in the late 1990s, which was not great. My FTDX-101D has a built-in decoder for CW. It works pretty good, not great, but you have to adjust your keyer speed control to get proper decoding, not an ideal setup. A year or two ago, I saw mention of a new one in QST, and downloaded it. It is PC based, and you need audio from the radio getting to your PC soundcard. If you do PSK or FT8, you are all set. It was created by Grant Connell WD6CNF, and can be found at https://wd6cnf1.software.informer.com
According to the QST article, the WD6CNF CW Decoders adapts to the operators “fist”. Decoders have always had harder time with straight keys where timing varies sometimes, but when I have used it it seemed to do pretty well after a little bit.
Most of the time, I can copy in my head, but occasionally might need to glance at this if I miss something. It is nice tool to have a backup and a record. I have had this installed for at least a year with no issues and it works very well. It can help you with practice, and also give you some mental support, especially if someone is a little to fast for you.
