How I Learned Morse Code Quickly and Easily

The guy starts a thread that he is enthusiastic about learning code and all the DICKS jump out of the woodwork.
Why would anyone want to learn code if talking to people with this kind of attitude is all they will get for their efforts??
Maybe it should just die out with the "real amateurs".

 

HAHAHAHA thanks for that comment, and i truely appreciate the ones who messaged me and thanked me for inspiring them to get back on it. These are the thankful ones who will continue on the hobby and make it grow..

 

I agree with Joe, AA8TA. Motivation and enthusiasm are very beneficial to learning the Morse Code characters. For me, CW, the code came easy. I was making 3rd party contacts with a ham that helped me with CW in the mid 1970's. I took the Novice test and didn't pass. Who fails the Novice test? I did. That put a sour grape in my motivation. Ten years later I got the bug again. This time I chose to enroll in a class rather than the self study I had tried previously. The CW, 5 wpm, test was easy. The instructor of the class gave many practice tests. I have a propensity of second guessing my first instinctive selection of an answer, erase it, select a different answer, and learn later that I answered it correctly the first time. This prepared me for the Novice written that I passed. I passed Technician a month later, and 2 weeks after that the General (General in 1986 required only 13 wpm code test to pass). The instructor of the Novice Class saw how easy CW was for me and asked if I would help teach CW while I studied for my Tech. I did. What I told those prospective hams before any CW was heard by their ears was they had to be motivated, had to practice, had to hear each character by ear. Learning by ear, not by sight or counting the dit's and the dah's, was key. They needed to train their brain to decipher what their ears were hearing. Of the 600+ that were in my classes only one did not pass. Why? Lack of motivation and practice.
When I learned CW the methods were 78 rpm phonograph record or 8-track cassette, or live (listening to someone sending). The phonograph and cassette methods were only good initially, that is until I subconsciously memorized what character would come next. Live sending tested my brain to decipher correctly.
A word about QRP. I built my first rig, Heathkit HW-9 from a kit. I didn't and still don't understand electronics. The Heathkit was a like a paint by numbers. Step 1, check my work, then step 2, check my work, and so on. By the time my Novice Class ended my HW-9 was built. I passed Novice in November 1985 but my ticket didn't arrive from the F.C.C. until almost February 1986. I was eager to make my first contact but the HW-9 didn't work. Check power connections. No power. I had a more experienced ham friend check my work and one week my HW-9 was back in my hands. I had mis-oriented 4 diodes. The thrill of making my first contact in CW mode (HW-9 is CW only), at 5 watts QRP from my location in NE Ohio with a ham in Bremerton, WA was exhilarating. Starting out with a CW only QRP rig may have been the influence to work that mode with 5 watts or less. I can count the number of contacts I've made on one hand using phone HF. I only do greater than 5 watts transmit when I am part of a contest team. Most of my QRP contacts I transmit between 1 to 3 watts. I am eager to begin a new era of QRPp that is less than 1 watt output.
I am glad I found your video. You have much enthusiasm which inspires me. Hope to hear that you've built a QRP rig and experienced many QRP contacts. This is a FUN hobby. 72, Terry - KB8AMZ

 

My advise about a Morse Decoder is DON'T. Learn CW by the sound. Don't rush yourself. If you are learning to hear CW characters at 25 wpm there are computer software programs that will permit you to adjust the spacing between each character sent. Learn the character at 25 wpm and you won't have to re-learn the character. Shorten the spacing as your ear to brain deciphers the character quicker and your copy speed will increase.

 

I've heard that people with musical foundation have an advantage over those that don't in learning CW. I don't know the truthfulness in that statement but I can see where it might hold weight. Is there a tried and true method of laying a stronger foundation of learning CW? Think back in time. Did you learn to speak and comprehend what was said to you or around you in a short period of time. Rote or not, I doubt it. It took time. It trained your brain to adapt and learn. The same can be said for learning CW by sound. Like Eric said, some characters are easier than others. Grouping them together and giving you less time to evaluate in the brain what you thought you heard is the test. You said that you learned CW to pass your 13 wpm General years ago. You might surprise yourself by tuning in to W1AW Practice Code Sessions beginning with Slow Code and writing on paper what you think you are hearing. Every Code session is an excerpt of some thing from a QST page. Try it. If you don't comprehend what the character is that was sent put an underscore on the paper where you would have put the character. You may remember enough that you will be to fill in the blanks of what you didn't copy. W1AW Code Practice is completely spelled out words, no abbreviations. Look at what you've written on the paper and you may be surprised that you can fill in the blanks. The key is motivation and practice (aka enthusiasm).

 

Your downfall was learning by sending. Prior to my licensing, testing for CW was by hearing test. Pass that portion then you had to send to the examiner. When I tested, receiving and copying what was sent was only required. If you can copy 13 - 15 wpm now you are doing swell. Have you tried tuning in W1AW on HF and copying? There are Slow Code and Fast Code sessions. If I recall correctly, slow code starts at 5 wpm, then goes up to 7.5 wpm, then 13 wpm, up to 18 wpm. You might try a Fast Code session to challenge yourself. Fast Code begins at, I think, 35 wpm decreasing in 5 wpm increments to 20 wpm. At the faster speed you may only copy a few characters, but as the speed slows you may be copying more than you realize. You won't know until you try it.
You might try LCWO, learn CW online. There are several methods of training to copy CW, single characters, two characters, multiple characters, numbers only, punctuation only, etc. You are tested and rated. Characters that you have difficulty with a sent more often. If you register, when you return to the web site you can pick up where you left off. You can what your progress. Like many things in this hobby, others provide a means for you to learn free of charge, but you have to be motivated. Good practicing to you.

 

Great job ! Way to stay at it. Get on the air, make a few contacts. Your speed will jump up in no time. I went from 5 WPM to 13WPM in one field day weekend. I forced myself to only work CW... and bam... the speed improved with real on-air practice. Over time my speed went to 20..then 30...then 35...then eventually could copy comfortably at 50wpm. Yep...just takes practice.... then I took 10 years off. And like riding a bicycle, picked it back up in one evening at 50WPM. Your buddy was totally correct.

Computer quality sending now days makes it easier than ever. I like the brain exercise to send and receive by hand/paddle, but try different things too... you'll find what you like best.

You'll be amazed at the DX you can work on CW. 100W and a wire, and I can pretty much guarantee you can earn DXCC in 3 months or less, operating 40/20/17 meters only....

It's the best mode, in my opinion.

Great also to see some younger people getting into the hobby. I applaud you. Thanks for advancing OUR hobby.

Hope to hear you on air !

 

Another way you could have put this back in the good ol' days. "It sounds like you're more into passing a test than you are working CW. You will probably forget everything you say you have learned. Use it or lose it.

Is it really any different?

I personally think it's awesome when anyone wants to learn morse code. Some will learn just a little and decide it's not for them. Others will use it when they discover how much fun CW is. In the past some simply learned it so they could get on the air and talk, never to use it again. Me, I learned it for the challenge of learning something new, then discovered how fun it was, and it's about the only mode I use now.

 

How I learned Morse Code:
Wax on
Wax off

 

Mozart was playing public piano concerts at age 4. What's your excuse?

Sure, some people pickup morse quickly and easily. If you don't (like most), then stop looking for instant solutions. Stop begging for magic hints. Stop agonizing over the ideal software or method. Just do it.

Learn enough to recognize all the characters and get on the air. That's all you need. Speed and comprehension comes with repetition. The entire purpose is to GET ON THE AIR and communicate, not hours of solitary beeping, not achieving a specific speed or head copy before you are worthy of being allowed on the airwaves! Just do it.

Remember, they used to let us Novices loose with 5wpm. Ahem.

 

DEAR FELLOW HAMS, PLEASE RELAX, & LEARN THE MORSE CODE AT YOUR OWN PACE ! TAKE A MINUTE TO LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE OF USING MORSE CODE ! 1. REMEMBER, THERE IS NO "SPEED-LIMIT" ON MORSE CODE ! 2. WITH ONLY 26 LETTERS, & 10 NUMBERS, & SOME PUNCTUATION, A TOTAL OF 50 CHARACTERS, (EACH WITH A DIFFERENT UNIQUE SOUND), TO LEARN !
3. MORSE CODE IS UNIVERSAL, WORLD-WIDE ! (WE ENGLISH SPEAKING HAMS, DO NOT NEED TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE !) THINK FOR A MINUTE, HOW DIFFUCULT IT MUST BE FOR A FOREIGN HAM TO LEARN, TRANSLATE, & UNDERSTAND, MORSE CODE SENT IN ENGLISH ! MY HUMBLE THANKS TO THE MANY FOREIGN DX-HAMS, WHO WORK US FOR OUR DX-QSO'S. THEY ARE SOME OF THE BEST CW-OP'S IN THE WORLD ! 4. AFTER YOU MASTER THE 50 DIFFERENT UNIQUE SOUNDS, & CAN SEND & RECIEVE THEM, AT YOUR SPEED, THEN GET ON YOUR HF-BANDS & USE THEM !

THERE IS NO MORE MORSE CODE TESTING IN U.S.A. FOR HAMS ! ALL CLASSES OF HAMS IN THE U.S.A. ARE ALLOWED ON MANY HF-BANDS WITH CW ! THERE ARE LOTS OF CLEAR & OPEN CW FREQUENCY'S ON OUR HF-BANDS. NOT SO WITH SSB VOICE ON HF. TECH'S ONLY HAVE 10-METER VOICE ON HF. THERE ARE PLENTY OF USED HF-RIGS, AT REASONABLE COST FOR NEW HAMS. ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS A HF-RIG, A HAND KEY, & AN ANTENNA FOR THE BANDS YOU WANT TO WORK.

OLD SCHOOL HERE, BUT THIS IS THE WAY I LEARNED MORSE CODE AS A NOVICE. I HAD TO BORROW A RECIEVER, TO COPY CODE. BOUGHT A GOOD QUALITY HAND KEY & LEARNED BOTH SENDING & RECIEVE. TAPE RECORDING MY SENDING, HELPED ME UNDERSTAND WHERE I NEEDED IMPROVMENT, SENDING CHARACTERS, SPACING LETTERS & WORDS, & ACCURACY.
NOTHING AT ALL WRONG WITH SENDING AT 5 WPM ! THE OTHER HAM WILL SLOW DOWN TO YOUR SPEED. IF NOT JUST SEND "BK QRS BK" (SEND SLOWER PLEASE !) I WAS ALWAYS A BAD SPELLER, SO I ALWAYS SEND SMALL, EASY WORDS ! WRITE DOWN YOUR QSO ROUTINE, & REFER TO IT, AS YOU SEND. YOUR CALL, (SEND IT CORRECTLY, & MAKE SURE THE OTHER HAM COPIES IT CORRECTLY !) SEND IT MANY TIMES, UNTIL HE DOES COPY IT O.K. ! OUR CALL SIGNS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE QSO. SEND YOURS & MAKE SURE HE COPIES IT CORRECTLY. COPY HIS CALL CORRECTLY ALSO. IF YOU MISS IT, ASK FOR A REPEAT: "BK CALL ? BK" ("BK" MEANS QUICK BREAK, "?" QUESTION IS YOUR CALL?, "BK" BACK TO YOU). QUICK & EASY & CLEAR !
ALL THAT IS NEEDED FOR AN HONEST CW QSO, IS BOTH HAMS RECIEVE EACH OTHER'S CALL, & EACH OTHER'S RST REPORT. THAT'S IT ! MARK IT UP AS A GOOD QSO CONTACT ! THE REST OF THE INFO LIKE, NAME, QTH, RIG, & WX IS PART OF THE RAG CHEW. GET THE CALL & RST REPORT FIRST, THEN RAG CHEW IF BAND IS O.K. ! MOST HAMS SEND A CW QSO IN AN ORDER OF: CALL, RST, NAME, QTH, RIG, WX. HAVE YOUR INFO WRITTEN OUT, FOR YOU, & REFER TO IT IF YOU GET LOST. EVER SINCE I STARTED CW, I HAVE PRINTED OUT MY RECIEVE COPY, AS IT IS BEING SENT. LOGS ARE NOT REQUIRED BY F.C.C. ANYMORE, BUT I STILL KEEP A DAILY LOG SHEET OF: DATE, "GMT" TIME, FREQ. MODE, CALL, RST, NAME, QTH, RIG, WX, ECT. OF EACH CONTACT. WHEN YOUR RESPONDING TO QSL'S, YOU CAN GO RIGHT BACK TO THAT QSO, FIND IT, & RESPOND BACK EASILY ! YOU MIGHT THINK OF USING A NICE SET OF HEADPHONES ! IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE HEARING ALL THE FAST "DITS", & "DAHS" OVER THE SPEAKER. TURN UP THE VOLUME ON HEADSET, SO YOU CAN COPY EACH "DIT" & "DAH" OF EACH CHARACTOR ! YOUR XYL, & KIDS WILL THANK YOU ALSO, FOR KEEPING THE HOUSE QUIET ! YOU CAN ALSO KEEP YOUR HEAD ON THE QSO, & NOT BE DISTURBED, ANY HOUR OF THE DAY !

AGAIN, RELAX & LEARN THE MORSE CODE CHARACTERS CORRECTLY, & AT YOUR SPEED ! COPY CORRECTLY, & ACCURATELY, & SEND CORRECTLY, & ACCURATELY !
IT'S JUST TWO HAMS MAKING A CONTACT QSO, & ALL YOU NEED IS CORRECT CALL SIGNS, & CORRECT RST REPORTS ! RELAX & HAVE CW FUN MAKING QSO'S ! DURING A CW CONTEST, TRY LISTENING TO SOME CONTACTS CALLING CQ. AFTER YOU HAVE HIS CALL CORRECTLY, SEND YOUR CALL IN ANSWER. IF HE COMES BACK TO YOU, SIMPLY SEND HIS RST REPORT, & YOUR CALL.
THATS IT ! HE IS TRYING TO MAKE AS MANY CONTACTS AS HE CAN, SO SPEED IS HIS GAME. MAKE SURE HE COPIES YOUR CALL O.K. IF NOT REPEAT ! YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE A LOT OF QSO'S FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD IN A CW CONTEST, & VERY QUICKLY ! TAKE IT EASY, & HAVE SOME HAM RADIO FUN ! 73 DE,KD0QV--JIM
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I'm curious, if you make a mistake sending CW, is there a way to indicate that? Or do you just resend the corrected word/callsign/etc. right after?

 

"eight dits". Resend the corrected text.

 

Most ragchews are in english language. I am talking about increasing speed.