After using DM780 to read/send CW to K5D using the CW KY functionality the Kenwood supports on the same serial connection, Dave K2ZC created a cable for me to connect my PC’s serial port to the key connection on the back of the radio. This is a more standard way of keying supported by programs such as N1MM as well as DM780.

With the new cable from K2ZC I jumped into the ARRL International DX CW contest this past weekend. I would listen on the frequency to get the info and then send my call out and when the DX station came back to me, it was decoded on the screen and I would respond with my report. Because it seemed most of the stations in the contest are using a computer to generate the code, the computer does an excellent job of decoding it and showing it on the screen.

I used DM780 to decode the transmission and N1MM to send/log. It all worked very well and I was able to make 209 DX Qs over the weekend. Not bad for a CW contest and not knowing morse code yet! By the end of the weekend I could pretty reliably recognize my own call, 5NN for a report and TU which is typically the first response back after sending a report.

New logged DXCCs this contest: El Salvador, San Marino and Turkey.

Here’s my score summary from my first CW contest:

        Band    QSOs    Pts  Cty
           7      67     201   38
          14     142     426   60

       Total     209     627   98

            Score : 61,446

73,
K2DSL