It is important to understand that the display names and functions are in flux as we approach release 1, so do expect some differences as we move forward.
Below that you can see the top part of the expressions selector (white text, text colors, bold, blink, two emoji’s, and the emoji selector). The bottom green text line scrolls to the left and shows the version of the code (15.1.54), the setting of the BPF at 600 Hz. The pre-release version is displayed, however, the release version will be 1.0.0.
As the video moves forward, the WPM selector is pressed and 8 0 WPM is selected.
Next, the screen scrolls down to show the Message mode (Live mode is not selected), and the 11 macro buttons plus settings. The sliders for waterfall speed and volume are briefly displayed.
The Message Mode for text input allows you to type and edit your text, and then send it by pressing the <RETURN> key or clicking on TRANSMIT MESSAGE.
The Disconnect button will disconnect the Cypher from the browser.
The settings button is pressed, and the settings screen is displayed. The system mode is set to SELF-TEST (SAFE), Tx output is KEYER. This selection will go away.
The Network and Update section shows the current connection mode, in this case, connection via HOME WIFI (192.168.12.227). The alternative is DIRECT MODE.
the previously saved SSID and password for the home wi-fi is shown as entered, and a DISCONNECT button to return to direct mode is provided. The CHECK FOR UPDATES button is red because it is not yet active. Some of this is slated for changes.
Returning to the main screen via the EXIT button, we then are see MACRO 3 button pressed, showing a long paragraph of text, including upper/lower case, colors, and emoji’s. Next, t he SEND button is pressed, which sends the macro to the transmitter.. and clicking the SEND button. This sends a large text file to the transmitter, and returns to the main screen. A moment later, the transmission begins, and the first thing you see is the CYPHER SIGNAL DETECTED pop-up. You hear the code at 80 WPM, 600 Hz. The pop-up tells you that you can communicate with the full expressive functionality of the DitStorm™ system: Upper/lower case, color, format, and emoji’s.
The screen is scrolled up to view the log screen, which now show the text being sent (dark gray), and the decoded signal (DE k5WVA…) in white and color (K5WVA). It is important to note that the color of the call sign is not part of the transmission, but rather the detection by the software that this is the call sign.
In this case, due to the small screen size and large text message, you can’t see some of the detail, but the gray text turns red when it is transmitted, and a timestamp is added at the end of the transmission automatically.
The log window can be scrolled to see this. Note that in this case, we are transmitting and receiving at the same time (Loop Back Self-Test). This is unusual. Normally, you will see your transmitted signal followed by (hopefully) the received signal of the other station.
The screen is scrolled down (you can see the scroll locator on the right as a thin vertical line). Now you can see the slider controls for WATERFALL SPD, VOLUME, and FILTER Q.
Waterfall speed controls how fast the waterfall moves down. Volume is for the device (computer, phone, or tablet) speaker volume. You can hear the signal on the speakers, so you don’t need the speaker on your transceiver, or a Y cable for headphone out. Using two speakers, were one is slightly delayed, can be annoying and confusing.
Filter Q is a critical adjustment. At a value of 10, shown, it will do a good job for all speeds up to 80 WPM. But if your are having trouble with a signal or too much noise or other interference, the Q can be increased. This narrows the filter. At maximum Q, only 5 WPM will get through the filter. You can see the effect of the filter in the Signal & BPF display below, which shows the mark/space signal being received, automatically adjusted so you can see the dits and dahs easily at any speed.
If you need a tighter filter, adjust upward and watch as the spaces between marks gets thinner. Get to thin and they start going away and decoder failure results.
The signal meter is below that, followed by speaker source selector. Here, it is set to RAW, your raw transceiver audio output.
The speaker source is then switched to BPF, where you hear the signal after it passes through the powerful visual BPF. Next, the Tone source is selected. This is always 600 Hz! If you are using a PreppComm transceiver at 1300 Hz, you can hear it at 600 Hz here. This is a very crisp, no noise version of the marks and spaces, and can be useful for listening and learning code without the hassle of noise. This is what the decoder is decoding, as well.
Finally, the screen is scrolled back to the log window, where you see it decoding the macro, with color, upper/lower case, and the recognition of the call sign also indicated by bold cyan.
The text continues to be received at 80 WPM. Note the decoder operates on words, not by individual letters. This increases the confidence of the decoder - here shown as 100%
The message continues, ant at the very end, a timestamp is applied.
This ends the demo of a DitStorm Cypher™ running on an Android phone. Any device that supports the google browser standard should work. While one would think this must be set in stone at this late date, the actual reality is that the finishing touches on the GUI is the lowest in terms of importance, and this the last to be tweaked. So some changes are to be expected, and some additional features thrown in at the end.
