Thoughts on the next version of Morse Trainer

Posted in Morse Trainer on February 19th, 2013 by michael

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I’m delighted to note that Morse Trainer has become popular with a few hard-core Morse code aficionados!  I pretty much created it just for fun and because there didn’t seem to be anything else quite like it.  The App Store reports that there have been 2,286 downloads in the past six months, and its popularity seems to be picking up.  It’s gotten a few good reviews as well – thanks to all who have taken the time to write something, good or bad.

A few users have written me asking for some changes/upgrades.  Here’s what’s been requested so far:

  • Separate the app’s volume control from the system’s ringer volume (this seems to be people’s biggest issue – they mute their ringer or otherwise disable ringer volume control, which is what the app uses for its volume setting, and the app doesn’t beep, which is the whole point of the app!)
  • Add optional punctuation
  • Add an option to use light instead of sound
  • Add faster sending speeds or more fine-grained control of speeds
  • Add the ability to repeat the same message multiple times before revealing the text
  • Add the ability to store messages for use when no data connection is available

Most of those things are possible and I’m trying to decide which ones would have the most impact without making the app too complex.

What do you think?  Which of these would you find useful and which would just add unneeded complexity?  Are there other changes you’d like to see?

Morse Trainer – Words per Minute

Posted in Morse Trainer on February 7th, 2013 by michael

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I’ve had a few questions lately as to the sending speeds in Words per Minute (WPM) of the various settings in Morse Trainer.  Here’s the lowdown:

Slow – 5 WPM

Medium – 12 WPM

Fast – 18 WPM

Extra Fast – 20 WPM

One or two people said they believe the Slow speed is too slow to be useful and they would like me to add even faster sending speeds.  What do you think?

I appreciate the kind feedback the app is getting.  I actually have a few fans!