Mr. Rags switches from mode to mode by paying attention to what you do and the order in which you do it. As you become familiar with the various modes you quickly learn how to get the results you want from your keyer and not be surprised by what you get.
The two modes that you will use the most often are CQ Mode and QSO Mode. CQ Mode is just as it sounds. You are tuning around on the band and hoping to have a conversation with another ham in CW. When you are in CQ Mode you may be either calling CQ yourself or looking for someone on the air who is calling CQ.
You can tell you are in CQ Mode because the top line of the display will begin with the characters: “MR. RAGS”. When you are in QSO Mode the top line will be your contact's call sign followed by a dashed line. In QSO Mode the top line may or may not end with your contact's name.
CQ Mode:
If you hold the function switch for a single beep in this mode. Mr. Rags will send the following text:
CQ CQ CQ DE <myCall> <myCall> K
You can create your own CQ string when your are in Configuration Mode. This is called an Event CQ and it can be toggled on and off with settings found there. When Event CQ is turned on, your string will be sent instead of what we see above. You can then send a CQ that looks similar to these:
CQFD CQFD CQFD DE <myCall> <myCall>
CQ CQ CQ SOTA CQSOTA DE <myCall> <myCall> F
To set up your own Event CQ, enter 10 beeps for Configuration Mode and then 1 beep for User Settings followed by 4 beeps.
When someone answers your CQ, or if you are answering one yourself, you normally begin by sending that station's call sign. Before you start sending, hold the function switch for 3 beeps. Mr. Rags will prompt you to send the contact's call sign and it will record it while you do so. Mr. Rags will key your transmitter while it records the call. Everything will seem normal to both you and the contact. As soon as you have finished sending the call sign, hold the function switch for a single beep. The call sign will be stored in EEPROM and Mr. Rags will instantly switch to QSO Mode.
If you make an error while recording the contact's call sign, stop sending and hold the function switch for 3 beeps. Mr. Rags will take over for you, sending: DIT DIT DIT DIT DIT (indicating you made an error) and then continue to resend the call sign for you up to but not including the error. You can then finish sending the call sign correctly and save it, as stated above, with a single beep. Standard procedure in Morse Code is the send a DIT five or more times after an error and then resend the current word from the beginning.
QSO Mode:
Mr. Rags knows to switch to QSO Mode as soon as you save the contact's call sign. That call sign will appear on the top line of the display and will not disappear as subsequent lines scroll up the screen. You will always be able to see it there. The call sign is stored in EEPROM so if for any reason you need to press the RESET button during your QSO, Mr. Rags will restart and remember this call.
When you are in QSO Mode you no longer need to send the CQ text. Mr. Rags knows this so now a single beep will result in the transmission of the following text:
<hisCall> DE <myCall>
We will use “<hisCall>” to mean your contact's call sign even though we hope there will be occasions when it is actually her call.
This should be a handy string because it usually is the first thing you send when the contact turns the QSO back over to you. You might think you will use it when you are turning it back again, and you can, but there are nice Hard Macros already stored that will do this for you. In the next section we will see how you can do that.
Sending Macros while in QSO Mode:
Macros are strings of text that are stored in memory and ready for you to use. Mr. Rags watches for you to request a macro and once prompted will take over and send up to 90 characters while you relax and watch it all happen. There are two types of macros: Hard Macros and Soft Macros. For now we will just look at the Hard Macros. Here they are:
- QTH QTH IS <myQTH> <myQTH>
- OP HR IS <myName> <myName>
- 73 73 ES TNX FER THE FB QSO <hisName> - <hisCall> DE <myCall> SK
- HOLD ON A MINUTE, I GOT A PHONE CALL – QRX
- VERY NICE TO MEET U <hisName>
- SO BACK TO U <hisName> - <hisCall> DE <myCall> KN
- SO HW CPY? <hisCall> DE <myCall> KN
The text in sharp brackets (< … >) indicates tokens. These are replaced with short strings of text that gets inserted into the macro for you. The three that start with “my” are ones that you set up in Configuration Mode and remain in EEPROM so you should only ever have to enter them once. The other two are recorded during your QSO. More about that later.
Sending a macro is quite simple. First you hold the function switch down for 2 beeps and then manually send the first character of the macro. For example: Hold the function switch for two beeps. A “>” will appear on the display. Now send just the letter “Q” and watch while Mr. Rags takes over and sends:
TH QTH IS <myQTH> <myQTH>
Look at the string carefully. Do you notice that it starts with the letter “T”? That is because you have already sent the “Q” when you were prompting Mr. Rags for the macro. So you hold the switch down for two beeps and send the first character of any of the lines listed above and your keyer will send the rest of the line. Oh, but lines 6 and 7 both start with the same character! Have no fear, Mr. Rags is paying attention to what you are doing and will know which one to send.
Notice that line 6 includes the token: <hisName>. If you have not saved your contact's name, the 'S' macro will result in line 7 being sent:
SO HW CPY? <hisCall> DE <myCall> KN
Any time after you have saved the contact's name, the 'S' macro will result in line 6 being sent:
SO BACK TO U <hisName> - <hisCall> DE <myCall> KN
How do we store the contact's name? There are two ways to do this. You can hold the switch down for 4 beeps and record the name just as you did the call sign. Everything works the same, including saving it with 1 beep and correcting an error with 3 beeps.
However, Mr. Rags knows how to make this task even simpler. Look at the 'V' macro, line 5. If you prompt the keyer to send this line before the contact's name has been stored, Mr. Rags will send the text as usual. When it comes time to send the name, it prompts you to send it manually and records it while you do. Of course you use 1 beep to save it and 3 beeps to correct an error.
As soon as you store the contact's name, that name will appear at the end of the top line and remain there for the duration of the QSO. Like the call sign, the name is stored in EEPROM so if you do have to press RESET, it will be there when the keyer restarts.
To clear the contact's call sign and name at the end of the QSO and return to CQ Mode, simply hold the function switch for three beeps as if you are going to enter a call sign, Then instead of sending characters with your paddles, press the switch one more time and both the call and the name will be cleared and the keyer boots back up in CQ mode.
Note: If you correct a contact's call sign while in QSO Mode and the name has already been stored, you will have to record the name again. This will be obvious as it will no longer appear at the end of the top line.
Aborting A Macro
Something might happen and you think you need to stop sending a macro before it is finished. You can do this by holding the function switch down for a second or two. You will hear a lower pitched tone and you will need to release the switch before you can use it again for your regular beeps. Watch out if Mr. Rags is actually sending a token in the macro when you do this. You will hear a chirp first and then the lower tone indicating that Mr. Rags has aborted the transmission. The next section will explain why.
Repeating A Token
Sometimes you will want to repeat either your call sign or the contact's call sign. If you push the switch while Mr. Rags is sending either one, the keyer will chirp and finish sending the call sign and then send it again. It will do the same thing with your names and your QTH.
This is especially handy. Let's consider again that you are answering a station's CQ. You hold the switch for three beeps and then send the contact's call sign followed by one beep to store it. Press the switch again for a chirp. This time Mr. Rags is the one sending the call sign, but the contact hears it again: once by you, once by Mr. Rags. While it is sending the call sign, press the switch again. You will hear a chirp and Mr. Rags will repeat the call a third time followed by “DE” and your own call sign. Press the switch while your call is being sent and you will another chirp and your call sign will be repeated. Do this as many times as you think you need and then manually send the letter “K”.
As stated above. If you need to cancel a macro while it is in the middle of sending a token, you will hear the chirp first as if you want it repeated. Continue to hold the switch until you hear the low tone and the keying is halted.
ADDITIONAL MODES:
There are other modes that you may wish to activate, even while you are in QSO Mode. You probably won't use them often, but there may be times when they are real handy.
QRS Mode:
QRS means to send slower. If band conditions get a little rough, it may be necessary to slow your sending speed down so that your contact can more easily pull the signal out of the noise. You can do this very easily without having to go through any configuration steps. Hold the function switch down for five beeps. Mr. Rags will reduce the speed to 80% of your current setting. So if you have been sending at 20 WPM, your speed will drop and the top line will show:
QRS MODE ON: 16 WPM
This line of text will overwrite the contact's call sign and name on the display only. They will reappear when the screen scrolls.
QRS Mode can be toggled back off by holding the switch for five beeps again. You can toggle QRS Mode on and off in either QSO Mode or CQ Mode.
Setting Sending Speed:
Five beeps puts you into WPM Mode where you can adjust your speed. Use your left and right paddles to bump the speed up or down. The speed will be displayed as you do this. The keyer will send the letter “V” each time the speed changes. This letter is also transmitted while you do this. This way your contact will know that you are adjusting the speed and haven't just disappeared. If you do not want to transmit while adjusting the speed you should turn break-in off on your transmitter or toggle XMIT Mode off in the keyer.
Pile-Up Mode:
Nine beeps turns on Pile-Up Mode. Use this when you are working a contest. When in this mode, 1 beep will send only your call sign. When the DX station answers you, 2 beeps will send the exchange. The exchange is your #1 user macro, store it there. If the DX station is having trouble copying your call correctly, 3 beeps will also send your call but at QRS: 80% of your sending speed.