Cw Skimmer Serial

  • 2RCPs
  • 5Passive Listener

General

Use this tab to setup RCP and Parallel ports.

Note: For context sensitive help on a group click the ?.

RCPs

CW Skimmer - Multi-channel CW decoder and analyzer. A very sensitive CW decoding algorithm based on the methods of Bayesian statistics. Simultaneous decoding of 'ALL' cw signals in the receiver passband. Up to 700 signals can be decoded in parallel on a 3-GHz P4 if a wideband receiver is used. A fast waterfall display, with a resolution. Serial means a unique number or code which identifies the license of the software as being valid. All retail software uses a serial number or key of some form. A serial number can also be referred to as an Activation Code or CD Key. When you search for Cw Skimmer Serial, you may sometimes find the word 'serial' in the results.

Controls

This tab is for configuring the other Radio Control Programs (RCP) ports.

This page sets up and controls additional RCP programs. These are programs that can be used in addition to the Main RCP program setup on the 'Ports' tab.

  • CAT Port is used to select one end of a virtual serial port pair used to connect DDUtil with the RCP.
  • B Cast (broadcast) if selected, will automatically output VFO A frequency and mode and VFO B frequency as described by Kenwood CAT commands IF & FB. These commands are output if VFO A or B frequency changes.
Warning! The B Cast feature should only be used for a very few programs that don't poll the radio themselves but expect frequency and/or mode data to be present (Passive Listeners). And, by software developers for experimentation purposes. Use this feature with care as unexpected results may occur if used with some polling programs.
  • RCP Rotor Port Select one end of a pair of virtual serial ports to connect your RCP's Rotor to DDUtil. See the following for a description of using Rotor Functions in DDUtil.
  • Program Memo use this text box to keep track of what RCP's are attached to what ports. It's very easy to lose track of them.

RCP Redirect

This group of controls is used to re-assign RCP ports to different F6000 radio Slices. See the RCP Redirect page for more information.

Special Ports

The following ports are used for special purposes and not intended for normal RCP programs.

  • CWS this is a special port configured especially for CW Skimmer users to be able to click in the CWS water fall window and QSY either VFO A or VFO B depending on how the radio is configured. This is especially handy for pile-ups when you hear the DX station (working split) call someone and you can see that person in the water fall window answering. With this feature just click the answering station and you've nailed the frequency where the DX station is listening.
The following table defines the results of using different operating configurations when clicking the CWS water fall.

Cw Skimmer Serial Numbers

Radio ModeSets VFO Freq
RX1RX2SplitDiverVFO AVFO BTX VFO
xx
xxx
xxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
Note: For more information on using the CWS Port see W9OY'sBlog.
  • Log 2, Log3 these ports are used for WriteLog when used in the SO2R mode. See the Contesting page for details.

Parallel Port

If your PC is equipped with a parallel port most BCD devices can be controlled from DDUtil.

Note: See the How To section for setting up a BCD device and the LPT tab to configure the Band Data file and other controls.

SerMacPort

The Serial Macro Port is a special RS232 serial port used to send String (text) data to specially designed devices to use as command data. These devices are a new group of Micro Controllers used to control station activities like antenna switching and rig selection to name a few.

  • Use the DDUtil macro command DDPS or DDPQ to send data to this port.
Note: if a ; (semi-colon) is needed as a terminator for the string command use the DDPQ command.
  • Additionally, this port has the ability to capture switch closures for the CD, CTS and DSR control lines. Switches attached to these lines can direct macros to perform functions that are free of focus issues.
  • Use the following connection data when wiring up the switches. The resistor capacitor combination is required to de-bounce the switch contacts. Failure to do this can result in multiple events being fired when the switch is opened or closed and may cause multiple macro firings.
Note: For best results use a separate capacitor/resistor combination for each control pin (1,6,8).

Passive Listener

Port Select

  • Select from the Port drop down box the Serial Port you will use.
  • Select from the Comm drop-down box the Baud Rate to match the hardware device.

Slave Radio

Cw Skimmer Seriale

  • Follow SDR - Select this check box if you want to Slave another radio to PowerSDR in-lieu of a Passive Listener device. This feature allows another radio to follow PowerSDR's frequency, which is handy if your SDR is an old three (3) board stack or SoftRock. Be advised that in this mode receiver muting and antenna switching is required when transmitting from the slave radio or bad things will happen to your SDR.
  • Follow Mode - Select this check box if you want the Slave radio to use the same mode as PowerSDR. If left unchecked the Slave radio will not follow the PowerSDR mode.
  • Slave Radio Type - Select the radio type you wish to use as the slave.
    • Kenwood → All Kenwoods, K2, K3, FT9000, FT2000
    • Yaesu Type I → FT1000, FT990, FT920, FT900, FT840, FT757, FT747, FT100
    • Yaesu Type II → FT897, FT857, FT847, FT817
    • Yaesu Type III → FT450, FT950
    • Icom → All Icom radios, Ten Tec emulating Icom
  • PL/Radio Comm - Selects serial communication parameters for the Passive Listener port. Consult your radio users manual for this if necessary.
  • DTR - Select this check box if your CI-V adapter or other equipment requires power from the DTR line. Check the manufactures instructions.
  • RTS - Select this check box if your CI-V adapter or other equipment requires power from the RTS line. Check the manufactures instructions.
  • VFO B*** - Select to force VFO B frequency only to the Passive Listener port.
  • CI-V Addr - Sets the appropriate CI-V Hex address if using an ICOM radio. Consult owner's manual for information on this.

Note: For more information on how to configure these functions see the How To section.

Skimmer

Scratch Pad

Cw Skimmer 2.1 Serial Key

Use the Scratch pad area to keep notes on configuration and port assignments. Anything in this area will be saved with the user settings.

Retrieved from 'http://k5fr.com/DDUtilV3wiki/index.php?title=Ports&oldid=876'
N1BBRRating: 2020-07-04
Pretty much use it all the timeTime Owned: more than 12 months.
I pretty much use skimmer whenever I turn on the rig.
I no longer have to manually scan through the band to find out what activity looks like.
I suspect some day this functionality will come as an option feature in future rigs just as the panadapter has.
W2GTRRating: 2018-07-09
Great addition to stationTime Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have an old radio with no ability to filter the receive down to a narrow segment. During heavy activity or contests, it's difficult to concentrate on a specific signal because I hear so many stations at once. This makes it a lot easier to focus on just one. Highly recommended and definitely worth the price!
KD0ZVRating: 2018-03-04
Powerful but sometimes finickyTime Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is a one of the kind program with no competition in site. When it works, it works well but not without quirks. Once you get it running, it usually works perfect. I try to get things going an hour before a contest because if I don't I miss an hour trying to shake things down. Part of my issue is Omni Rig as it needs to run in admin mode to share usage with other apps.
As I said, once you get it going its great.
ON6KERating: 2016-04-26
Useful but overpriced???Time Owned: more than 12 months.
'Useful but overpriced' you've got to be joking, surely.
I'm using CW Skimmer like for 5-6 years if not longer more recently in combination with an SDR, it's a GODSEND seeing where the DX working split is listening.
it's also a great help when fatigue sets in in the larger CW contests.
Spending thousands on new transceivers every few years nobody minds but a one-time mere 75$ investment is too much.
PS
As to 'centering of signal in window but not changing frequency', that is dead simple when in 'SDR mode'.
Gust ON6KE - ON7QRP
N1ERFRating: 2016-03-20
Useful but overpriced.Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I like it but I'm not impressed with both the price, some of the aesthetics & functionality of the UI.
For the price, it should have a better frame and be a little more adjustable (ie; centering of signal in window but not changing frequency, and coloring of radio buttons and frame).
The inner CW window is fine. Sorry for the lack of correct windows terms...
While very useful, I'm not convinced that it's worth the price.
N1TXRating: 2014-01-21
Great enhancement for contesting and DXTime Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After several years of planning, I finally got around to integrating an SDR in the KL2R shack. In this case, it's a FiFi, which is fed by an RF Space IF-2000 installed in a Yaesu FT-950. The IF-2000 provides a 10.55 MHz IF output. I use HDSDR to drive the FiFi. The I/Q output from the FiFi then goes to the CW Skimmer.
The application is two-fold. One is to provide a receiver on a second band to identify multipliers or just band openings of interest. The second is to provide a better tool resulting in more reliable spots, either contesting or DXing. Logging into a DX Cluster 1500 miles away from Alaska means I waste a lot of time chasing stuff I can't hear.
In both cases, CW Skimmer ties all the technology together along with Alex's other program OmniRig (freeware). And it does it very, very well.
The combination I have results in some technical and operational compromises, none of which has much to do with any limitations of CW Skimmer.
WX2SRating: 2013-04-28
QS1R Hardware mute doesn't work rightTime Owned: 0 to 3 months.
CW skimmer downloads FPGA code to a QS1R. The QS1R's hardware mute input should pause skimming, but instead it only mutes the speaker. The result is heavy interference to the skimmed signals whenever I transmit. I've contacted Alex about this problem, but he says he doesn't have time enough to fix it. I've also tried to work around the problem in other ways, but so far no joy. The only thing I can do is to clear skimming after every transmission. It's too bad because otherwise skimmer is a nice tool for pileups.
W9RPMRating: 2013-03-27
Great productTime Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Fine addition to the shack. Really helps in pileups to see where the station is that was just worked.
K3ITRating: 2012-05-24
Good support from the authorTime Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I haven't checked the hall of fame list recently but I hope Alex got a spot there (no pun intended:).
No software exists that even attempts to do what cw skimmer does. I would encourage to support the author so he continues to develop this tool.
I got good support and quick answers to setup questions.
F5VLYRating: 2012-03-21
Magic softwareTime Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I fail to understand how guys give this the thumbsdown...
Quote - its too expensive, you need a good pc to handle it....AND !!!
Alex has written something which in conjunction with the Reverse Beacon Network is frankly awesome, initally i had no end of problems trying to get this to work on my pc, Alex was there to help, the problem was my old XP software and a slow processor, now i have upgraded to windows 7 and a 64bit processor running at 3.2Ghz this software just coasts along, even during major contests on 40m here in Europe when its chaos, cwskimmer handles it with ease.
The 70Euros i paid for this is money well spent, when working i leave an SDR receiver on at least one band to upload spots to the RBN and to make the most of my internet connection i pay good money for 24/7, the price of buying cwskimmer is peanuts.
Alex thanks for all your hard work.
Regards Adrian
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