I finished up the CW OPS course for level 1. It was a very good course. I made a lot of mistakes and made a lot of progress. We learn by mistakes and I’m sure I’ll keep making them. My sending has gotten better and I still struggle with immediate recognition of the sounds but I will keep practicing and moving forward. I did make one contact with John, VE7JBX, in Canada and clearly heard his call and my call and the RST. It was a thrill to hear something that I recognized on the air. So to all the instructors who volunteer there time to help others learn CW a big Mahalo to you all and thank you to the CW Academy for continuing to grow the hobby. I hope to get in a level II course soon and continue to grow so I am confident when I get on the air but in the mean time a I will continue practicing level one material and listening on the air. The final class I learned that my radio is not set up well with filters to pick up the code well and I need to practice the zero beat procedures to try to pull out the correct signals. Always something to learn! 73 KH6OWL
Congratulations, Darren, and thank you for sharing your journey with everyone. By all means, get on the air! It's the best way to expand your skills and meet new people. Join the SKCC folks who are more than happy to have a QSO at whatever slow speed you may need while getting started. They can be found around 14050, 7050, and so forth. Welcome to the fraternity of Know Code hams. 73, Gary NA6O (CWops 1345, SKCC 8335)
Thanks for sharing your experience. I have been following your journey and experienced many of the same issues. I'm sticking with it also and love the mode. Mahalo to you,Brah. Schofield 79-81. Ron AK4JL
Keep it up. Believe me it is worth it. I run about 99% CW and still only consider my competency average. But its only been about 40 years or so. ;-) 73, JP, K8AG
Congratulations, Darren! That is a great, confidence-building accomplishment. I strongly encourage you to continue building on the excellent foundation that you received in your level 1 course. Keep pushing yourself by practicing at 20 wpm and moving it up a little at a time. You are striving for "Instant Character Recognition", as we all are. The closer to that "nirvana" that you get, the more fun it becomes!!
Congratulations. As the others have also said, don't be afraid to get on the air. The SKCC club events are great and build your confidence up at and at your speed too. (I make some contacts as and when I have time in these events). 27 years ago I learned CW and hated it, I asked myself why would anyone go through this torture to make contacts when you can speak! Well, here I am 27 years later and don't own a mic, don't do any digital stuff and still make plenty nice rag chew contacts, how I do it is CW with a key and a paddle, anywhere from 10-17 WPM true spacing, faster if you count the fansworth method. Anyway, great to have another CW op on the air, will look for you on the bands. Have fun and make plenty use of your new skill. 73, Cameron - AF7DK/GM7LQR
Ken we learn it at 20 WPM but with the character spacing about 5 to 10 so you can hear the sound and not count the dits and dahs. YOu want to hear the sound and not the dits and dahs.
