[WT-support] CW Skimmer and Win-Test Proposals: Use Omni-Rig and Partner Window

[Bob Wilson, N6TV]

We can currently use WtDxTelnet to access CW
Skimmer's<http://www.dxatlas.com/CWSkimmer>telnet server on localhost.
 This works fine now, but only if CW Skimmer is
controlling a separate Software Defined Radio, or a rig not being controlled
by Win-Test.

If you don't have an SDR or "3rd rig", you really cannot use Win-Test with
CW Skimmer very well.  Only one program can talk to the CAT port at a time,
so only one program can get frequency data.

VE3NEA solved this problem with his "Omni-Rig"
interface<http://www.dxatlas.com/omnirig/>(included with CW Skimmer),
which allows more than one program to share
access to the same radio at the time, so both can obtain frequency data.
*
Suggested Enhancement 1 - Rig Type: Omni-Rig*

Define a new rig type in Win-Test called "Omni-Rig" that communicates to the
radio through the VE3NEA driver rather than directly via COM port.  Then
both CW Skimmer and Win-Test can get frequency information (CAT data) from
both of your radios at the same time.  In SO2R mode you could tune your
second rig visually without having to listen to it carefully.  CW Skimmer
could put callsigns into the band map, one at a time, as you turn the knob
on the second radio, and the spot frequency would be correct.

Another way to use CW Skimmer would be as a virtual "partner" listening to
your pileup.  My tests indicate CW Skimmer can resolve CW tones in a pileup
as long as they are separated by at least 50 Hz.  CW Skimmer simultaneously
decodes multiple callsigns (though not as accurately or as well as a human
op, so far).  Conneced to your headphone jack, with no CAT data, CW Skimmer
can only "announce" these decoded callsigns using the calculated offset from
the center of your audio passband (e.g. -0.2 kHz, 0.8 kHz, 1.2 kHz, etc.).
This small number is used as the "DX frequency," but Win-Test currently
ignores these spots because they appear "out of band."
*
**Suggested Enhancement 2 - Populate Partner Window

*Add an option to automatically copy callsigns from DX Skimmer spots into
the Win-Test Partner
window<http://docs.win-test.com/wiki/Menu:Windows#Partner>rather than
into the band maps.  Regardless of how the frequency data is
displayed, they could be ordered in the partner window from lowest to
highest.  Only spots close to your current transmit frequency (or spots
announced between -2.0 to 2.0 kHz of VFO A's current frequency) would be
eligible.

A partner window filled by CW Skimmer would be most useful to DXpeditions, I
would think, or at a multi-multi.

Please let us not debate the "CW Skimmer rules issue" here in this reflector
-- that is being done quite well elsewhere, thank you.

73,
Bob, N6TV
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