Say you’re stuck in a long line at the bank or behind a parade of shoppers whose carts are jammed with way more than eight items in defiance of the clearly printed sign above the last grocery store checkout lane. Minutes tick by as the line inches forward. One person who has reached the cashier disappears to swap a bruised avocado for a pristine one. Another fishes helplessly in his wallet after the machine rejects his third credit card. When a loquacious shopper launches into a screed about the price of yogurt, you begin to question your own existence. What’s a ham to do?
You can stare blankly at the latest issue of Us Weekly or turn wasted time into an entertaining and productive Morse Code skills-boosting session with the new CW Trinket from RigExpert. The small device (it fits easily in the palm of your hand) also makes a great gift for the CW fanatics in your circle of friends or an excellent add-on to your cart if you’re purchasing a new key or paddle.
Attach this fun CW practice device (it’s not a transmitter or receiver but does have a built-in speaker) to your key fob and it’s ready to simulate real radio communications whenever you have a few moments to spare, or use it anywhere to improve your sending and copying acumen. Here’s how it works:
- Use the button on the front to answer the CW Trinket’s CQ or tap out your own call sign to initiate a QSO. The CW Trinket will repeat your call sign, give you its own call sign, and end with the symbol “K.”
- To complete the QSO, repeat the call sign of the CW Trinket and then send your call sign along with a report such as “599.” If the CW Trinket does not understand what is being sent, it will respond with “QRZ.”
- The CW Trinket is customizable by entering a series of control commands. All control commands begin with an exclamation point (-.-.–) followed by the desired command.
- Other commands allow you to set the frequency of the trinket buzzer, have the device repeat everything that you transmit with the press of a button, adjust volume, set the speed of the messages being sent (e.g., enter !spd for 20 WPM), switch to the device’s contest mode, play the Star Wars theme, and add up to six call signs to the trinket’s memory.
Learn more at RigExpert’s CW Trinket Facebook page.
As hams know, RigExpert offers a whole lot more than the CW Trinket, including antenna analyzers, USB transceiver interfaces (TI-3000 and TI-5000) and cables, WTI-1 Digital Mode Interface Bundle, and the new REAMP High-Accuracy Power Consumption Logger. Find them all at DXEngineering.com.
One final thought: Rather than verbalizing your dismay at those who have violated the eight-items-or-less mandate (or other transgression you believe requires swift admonishment), you can use the CW Trinket to express your displeasure in carefully chosen long and short blips. Just hope the recipient of your message isn’t a fellow ham.
