[Skimmertalk] CW Skimmer 1.3

[Pete Smith]

Alex has released Skimmer 1.3, free to all registered users.  Typically, he 
has understated the significance of this update.  He said:

CW Skimmer 1.3 has been released. New in this version:

- BLIND mode;
- jump to the next/previous station command;
- frequency calibration for SDR-IQ and QS1R;
- multiple LO frequencies in the SoftRock mode;
- SNR and WPM information in the Telnet spots.

Let's run through those, because they are VERY significant:

In Blind mode, the decoding is disabled.  No callsign list is produced, 
none of the waterfall traces are annotated, but the traces are still 
identified with the little yellow dots we're familiar with.  The Up/Dn 
arrows now select each dot in turn, up or down the waterfall.  If the 
program is talking to your radio via OmniRig, the radio is moved to that 
frequency.

So what?  So you can now use Skimmer in the NON-ASSISTED class in any 
contest, because it is no longer decoding.  In Blind mode, it is simply a 
bandscope that is more closely integrated with your radio than ever 
before.  No magic there, and no illegal assist.  With a MicroHam 
controller, or a serial port splitter, you can use the up and down arrows 
to move your transceiver from station to station up and down the Skimmer 
bandmap; no tuning, just listen when you get there.

The frequency calibration feature is important because the SDR-IQ and QS1R 
are not necessarily right on frequency - my SDR-IQ was 183 Hz off, for 
example, which made its spots all off by .2 KHz.  It is now dead easy to 
enter a correction.

The Softrock change means that you will now be able to move Skimmer to any 
of the bands covered by a multi-band Softrock, simply by Ctrl+PgUp/Dn or 
Ctrl+Left/Right Click on the arrow button next to the frequency display.

And finally, telnet spots sent by Skimmer will now carry an indication of 
how strong the signal is, in the form of signal-to-noise ratio over the 
standard 500 Hz bandwidth.  That will enable some useful enhancements to 
the Reverse Beacon Network (http://skimmer.dxwatch.com), and probably lead 
to some other innovative uses of Skimmer in the months ahead.

Well done, Alex!

73, Pete N4ZR

73, Pete N4ZR