CWChops

A cross-platform contest logger for the CWops CWT (CWops Tests), with rig control over TCI only — built for RemoteHamRadio (RHR) TCI connections.

Vibe coded by WW2DX and Claude — for RHR CWops operators, and any other TCI-supported system.

• Desktop app (Windows / macOS / Linux) — Electron + React + TypeScript.
• TCI-only rig control (Expert Electronics TCI protocol over WebSocket).
• CW sending via TCI CW macros, driven by F-key macros and the keyboard.
• ESM (Enter Sends Message) — work a run almost entirely from the Enter key, with Run / S&P modes.
• CWT scoring in real time, dupe checking per band, Cabrillo + ADIF export.
• Member-number autofill that auto-updates from the official CWops roster.
• No native dependencies — uses the built-in node:sqlite for durable storage.

Download

Grab the installer for your platform from the latest release:

Platform	File
macOS (Apple Silicon / Intel)	CWChops-<version>-arm64.dmg · …-x64.dmg
Windows	CWChops-Setup-<version>.exe
Linux	CWChops-<version>.AppImage · …_amd64.deb

The app is not code-signed/notarized, so the first launch needs an extra step:

• macOS: right-click the app → Open (or xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/CWChops.app).
• Windows: SmartScreen → More info → Run anyway.

Screenshots

Logging a CWT	Settings

Build from source

npm install
npm run dev        # launch in development (hot reload)

Other scripts:

npm test           # unit + integration tests (Vitest)
npm run test:e2e   # build + UI smoke test driving the real app (Playwright/Electron)
npm run typecheck  # tsc on the node + web projects
npm run build      # build main/preload/renderer bundles
npm run make       # build + package installers for the current OS (electron-builder)

Installers for all three OSes are built by CI on every v* tag — see .github/workflows/release.yml.

First-run setup

On first launch the Settings dialog opens automatically. Enter:

• Station — your callsign and first name; if you're a CWops member, tick the box and enter your member number; otherwise enter your State/Province/DX prefix.
• TCI Connection — the host/port of your RHR TCI server. The TCI default port is 40001; RHR provides the host/port for your rig. TRX # is the transceiver index (0 for the first/only one).
• CW Macros — F1–F8 messages (editable). Placeholders: {CALL} {MYCALL} {NAME} {NR} {EXCH} {HISNAME}. Use >/< to bump CW speed up/down mid-message and |SK| for a prosign.

Logging a contest

1. Click Connect. When the status dot turns green the radio's frequency, band and mode are mirrored live.
2. Type the worked Call, press Enter to move to Name, then Nr/SPC (a member number like 1, or a state/prov/DX prefix like TX). Enter on the last field logs the QSO. A red DUPE badge appears if you've already worked that call on this band, and the roster autofills Name + Nr when the call is known.
3. F1–F8 send CW macros; Esc stops sending immediately.
4. The sidebar shows the live score (QSOs × unique calls), per-band counts, and dupes. Export Cabrillo (for submission, CONTEST: CWOPS) or ADIF when done.

If the radio isn't connected you can still log offline — pick the band from the dropdown in the header; QSOs record a representative frequency for that band.

ESM (Enter Sends Message)

ESM overloads the Enter key to send the right CW message for where you are in the QSO, so you can run with almost no F-keys. Toggle Off / Run / S&P above the entry fields; the green hint shows what Enter will do next. The mode is remembered.

Run (you're calling CQ):

Field state	Enter sends
Call empty	CQ (F1)
Call entered	your exchange — his call + your name/number (F2); cursor moves to the exchange field
His exchange copied	TU (F3) and logs the QSO

S&P (you're answering CQs):

Field state	Enter sends
Call entered	your call (F5) to answer
His exchange copied	your exchange (F2) and logs the QSO

F1–F8 still work directly at any time, and Esc always stops sending. ESM only keys TU/logs once the exchange field actually parses into a name + number/SPC.

CWops roster (autofill)

The member roster powers name + number autofill from a callsign. It updates automatically from the official CWops roster (a public Google-Sheets CSV export, ~3,300 members) — on first run and then weekly in the background. You can also force a refresh via Settings → Update from CWops (or the sidebar update link). The roster is cached locally and works offline between updates.

You can alternatively import a CSV manually (Settings → Import CSV) in the format callsign,name,number, one member per line.

CWT rules (implemented)

• Sessions: Wed 1300z & 1900z, Thu 0300z & 0700z, 60 min each.
• Bands: 160/80/40/20/15/10 m, CW only.
• Exchange: members send name + CWops number; non-members send name + SPC.
• Scoring: 1 point per QSO (work each station once per band); multiplier = number of unique callsigns worked; score = QSOs × mults.
• Submit at https://3830scores.com within 48 h (Cabrillo optional/secondary).

Architecture

src/
  shared/    pure logic + types shared by both processes
             (scoring, bands, exchange parsing, session labels, IPC contract)
  main/      Electron main process
    tci/     TCI WebSocket client + protocol command builders/parser
    db/      node:sqlite store (contests, QSOs, settings)
    export/  Cabrillo + ADIF writers
    members/ roster lookup
    ipc.ts   IPC handlers   index.ts  app lifecycle
  preload/   contextBridge — exposes the typed `window.api`
  renderer/  React UI (RadioBar, EntryForm, LogTable, Scoreboard, SettingsPanel)

The renderer never touches Node APIs; everything goes through window.api (see src/shared/api.ts). The TCI protocol details live in src/main/tci/protocol.ts (command format, reserved-char escaping :→^, ,→~, ;→*).