Ham Radio - The CWvox voice operated keyer for verbal Morse code

Ham Radio - The CWvox voice operated keyer for verbal Morse code

 

What a great idea. My Elmer many years ago loved to work cw but was in his late 80s and had a very shaky fist. I got him to trade his bug for an Iambic key but he was still too shaky but I'd work him and learned to copy his sending in time. What a neat thing this voice keyer would have been for him and probably many other elderly hams that loved cw. Francis, my Elmer, could copy code as fast as anyone could send it to him but outside of working me no body else had the patience to listen and copy his shaky fist. I'm 83 now, still love cw and am fortunate enough to be still able to send reasonable code but I may build one of these keyers now while I still can just so I can have it when I need it some time in the future.
73,
Chuck, AA0RI

 

Interesting! I'm getting shaky on the key myself...

Pretty sure the XYL will think I've completely 'lost it' if she heard me doing this though!

I guess you'd need to be an auctioneer to send very fast though.

 

Most I work with ole shaky hands just use a keyboard for sending and their brain for receiving. This seems impractical. Too slow…

 

The next step is to use voice recognition to convert spoken words into Morse. Like this:



Some command delay, but it's an impressive start.

Paul, W9AC

 

Neat! I still have a steady hand. I will stay old school for a while.

 

To make it as overcomplicated and resource eating as I can, I gave some sentences (in written form) to the ChatGPT asking for transcribing them into Morse code. The result was a total mess containing some maimed words randomly, and a buch of cabalistic two-three letter fragments, just as a shaking hand would do, hi. It needs some learnings yet.

 

Once you start making this leap you have to ask yourself what would be bigger-better-faster.. We already have software and hardware that does speech to text, so it does not seem like a large leap to merge that with software that takes text to CW.. Then once you get to this point you have to ask yourself if CW is the most efficient mode or would PSK, FT8 or some other mode be faster or do more with less power to have reliable communication.. I am no master of a keyboard as my dexterity is iffy so if someone with programming skills decides to create a drop in speech to text form that can be inserted into one of the many digital mode software suites that are out there "I'd buy that for a dollar"..

 

I like it. I used a straight key. This would be nice to try.

 

Very cool!!

At 74 I have decided to learn a new language...it's call CW. Back in the late 60s I learned enough to pick up my Novice at 5 wpm and eventually in the 70s, after 12 failed attempts at 12 wpm, got my General.

I celebrated that day as CW would never be needed.

Now at 74 with my Extra, I am trying everything I can to keep this ol' noggin sharp! So I am trying to get over my 50 year fear of using CW on the air...silly right?? Well it's silly but could not be more real.

I have an MFJ box that translates Morse and a keyboard that will send it...all of which does nothing for my brain...

Back to your device...why not create a box that will translate spoken word to CW?? Should be quite doable. We have very sophisticated dictation devices. My iPhone for instance is almost 100% error free. The interface from that to a keyboard interface seems pretty straight forward. That would really help those with challenges to their motor skills.

I gotta stay focused though...as John Kennedy once said..."We do not do things because they are easy. We do them because they are hard." So I have the code down. I can copy single letters and numbers at 20wpm given a few seconds...it's the next letter I loose. So with an adequate Farnsworth, I am ok.

Congrats on a great invention. The things the great minds in our hobby amaze me!!

Touch typing is on my list too!
73

David Rodwell, WB0QOA
Winston Salem, NC

 

... never mind, Paul has already posted a video! I'm not sure why the builder did not use an opto-isolator in place of the relay output though...

It sounds like Mrs. Google made a mistake though. Listen to the Morse, specifically the word "into". Sounds like I N E E O to me.

And the delay between the input and the output, that's not very good actually. One would want that to be more or less instantaneous I think.

Instead of pushing a button, the device should listen for an odd word... such as SYZYGY to start the conversion process. I guess "OK GOOGLE" would work too. She already understands that!

Next, make it a phone app and use WIFI modules to connect to the rig.

 

I'm not about to download anything, but this claims to be a MATLAB project that converts speech to Morse.

https://speechtomorsecode.netlify.app/

 

Next (il)logical step in this madness is instead of a display on code readers, have the Morse converted to spoken word audio.

That way we can be inclusive and inviting to the illiterate who feel marginalized...

 

I hear that! I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm not "woke"! But I'm good with; "You do you and leave me the F alone so I can do me" ! LOL!

Can you imagine how s l o w l y . Mrs. Google would have to talk to bring Morse to speech? Like listening to YouTube at 0.25 speed! Or a 78 RPM record on 16-2/3 !

 

Well done project!