Lock CW decoder pitch or speed once tracking is good¶
Once the CW decoder has latched onto a signal, use the lock controls to prevent the decoder from drifting to a different pitch or speed when band conditions change or other signals appear nearby.
Before you start¶
- The CW decode panel must be visible. If it is not, see Turn on the CW decoder to read Morse off-air.
- The decoder must be producing output. Watch the CW stats label until it shows a stable pitch and WPM reading before locking.
Steps¶
- Tune to the CW signal and watch the CW stats label until it settles on a consistent reading, for example
598 Hz 22 WPM. - To hold the pitch at that frequency, click 🔒P (Lock Pitch). The button highlights when active.
- To hold the speed at that WPM, click 🔒S (Lock Speed). The button highlights when active.
- To release a lock, click the active button again. It returns to its unhighlighted state and the decoder resumes tracking freely.
What each control does¶
| Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| CW stats label | Displays the currently detected pitch and speed in the format <hz> Hz <wpm> WPM. |
— |
| 🔒P (Lock Pitch) | Locks the decoder pitch to the frequency shown in the CW stats label at the moment you click. | Unlocked |
| 🔒S (Lock Speed) | Locks the decoder speed to the WPM shown in the CW stats label at the moment you click. | Unlocked |
| Lo (pitch min) | Sets the lower bound of the pitch range the decoder searches. | 500 Hz |
| Hi (pitch max) | Sets the upper bound of the pitch range the decoder searches. | 700 Hz |
| Sens | Filters low-confidence decodes. Higher values are stricter. | 30 |
| CW decode text (context menu) | Right-click the decoded text area to open a context menu. In addition to the standard text actions, the menu includes a Clear item that clears the decode buffer. | — |
| ## Tips |
- Lock pitch and speed independently. You can lock only one if the other is still settling.
- Narrow the Lo and Hi pitch range sliders around the signal frequency before locking pitch. A tighter search window reduces the chance the decoder latches onto the wrong signal in the first place.
- If the decoded text becomes garbled after locking, the signal pitch or speed may have drifted. Click the active lock button to release it, wait for the stats label to re-stabilise, then lock again.
- To clear the decode buffer without moving the mouse to the CLR button, right-click the decoded text area and choose Clear from the context menu.
Troubleshooting¶
- CW stats label is blank or not updating — The decoder has not acquired a signal. Check that PC audio is routed correctly (the hint label reads
(requires PC Audio)), that the signal falls within the Lo–Hi pitch range, and that Sens is not set so high that all decodes are rejected. - Locked pitch produces no output after tuning away and back — Locking pitch holds the decoder to the frequency at the time of locking. If you retuned the VFO, the signal pitch seen by the decoder may have shifted. Release 🔒P, retune, and re-lock once the stats label stabilises.