Part 4 - CW Ops & Learning Morse Code

The Skcc guys have a safe hangout at 7.114 +/- for slow ops like us ... I hang out there quite a bit ... I am in the same boat as others here, did it cause i had too now am doing it because it is a challenge. I find that I have a short term memory problem try going faster it gives me less time to forget what was sent!! Keep up the fun guys cause when it isn't fun you will stop doing it. Thanks for all the good reading and get on the Key man!! 73 AE5II

 

Where is the 12 tips ??

 

Although CW Ops and others are doing a fine job with classes, dont just stick to morse classes. Don't forget that opportunities for practising the code are all around you. On advertising billboards, road signs, just everywhere. So what you do is to see a word, and quietly hum the morse characters to yourself. You dont have to worry about speed or missing something. Just go over it again.

OK, so you have forgotten what F is. Identifying what you have forgotten is vital ! When you get back home you can re-learn F, and soon you will master all the letters.

Now when you get on the air you will immediately be faced with a confusing mixture of letter and numbers. CALLSIGNS (!), and there is rarely a "word" as such to recognise.... So how do you practice those ? Auto registration plates, of course. Nearly all of them have a mixture of numbers and letters, and again hum them to yourself and after a while it will just flow.

I'm not talking abstract here. That is exactly how I learnt my code nearly 50 years ago. Adverts on the London Underground, shop signs, written words all around me, and from auto plates. I also did the learning of code from vinyl records (remember those) but eventually you knew them off by heart and it wasn't effective. Morse classes were good too, but humming those letters and numbers in private in between lessons kept it alive, and I didnt forget by the time the next lesson came around.

Everybody says "little and often" with the code, and the way I did it works just fine.

Have fun with Morse code. It's wonderful stuff indeed.

73
Ron GW3YDX - CW Ops # 100, and many other things.

 

You know Bonnie I've run across a NUMBER of Boys & Girls WHO WERE MUSICALLY INCLINED but just couldn't wrap their brains around the "DITS & DAHS" no matter how hard they TRIED!!! Though if THEY REALLY, REALLY TRY HARD ENOUGH they'll get it!!! A good friend of ours had taken the 13wpm general code test (13 TIMES) before he got the "Brass Ring"!!! He obviously WANTED IT BAD & WOULDN'T QUIT!!!

 

Here they are. I've posted this before, but to save you searching, here goes:

Way back in the 1960s it took me about two months to go from zero to about 7 wpm. I did it by listening to other hams on the air - no tapes, records or computer. There are better ways now and you can probably get to 5 wpm or so in a month to 6 weeks, if you practice every day.

In a few months after getting my Novice I was ready for 13 wpm, and in about a year, 20 wpm. And that was just the beginning.

Dr. George Sheehan frequently said that "Each of us is an experiment of one". He meant that while there are general rules to learning new things, each of us has to experiment to find out what works best for him or her. For most things, there is no single "best" way for everyone. This is particularly true when it comes to learning skills.

That said, here are 12 tips to learning Morse Code:

1) It used to be that there were two main reasons for radio amateurs to learn Morse Code. The first was to actually use it on the air, while the second was to pass the license tests. The second reason has disappeared in the USA and several other countries.

So it's important to understand what your goal really is: to become an Amateur Radio Operator who is skilled in Morse Code. That means learning a set of skills, not just the one or two skills needed to pass a one-time test.

That skillset cannot be learned by reading a book, watching a video, using other modes to talk about them on the air, or participating in online forums. While those things help, they are not the core.

The needed skillset can only be learned by doing, and it takes time, practice, and an active involvement on your part. This is what makes learning skills so different from "book learning" - and why some folks find it so hard to learn skills. You have to be actively involved - it doesn't happen passively.

2) Set up a place to study Morse Code. This doesn't mean it's the only place you study code, just that it's optimized for learning it. A good solid desk or table with no distractions, lots of room to write, good lighting, and a good chair. Source(s) of code (computer, HF receiver, tapes, CDs, etc.), key and oscillator. Headphones are a good idea. I recommend starting out with a straight key, you may decide to go straight to paddles and a keyer. Regardless of what key you decide to use, it needs a good solid base and needs to be adjusted properly.

3) Avoid gimmicks such as CodeQuick and printed charts with dots and dashes on them. Often such systems were designed to help a person learn just enough code to pass the 5 wpm test, but resulted in bad habits that had to be unlearned for practical operating. Morse Code as used on radio is sounds, not printing on a chart or little phrases. They may work for some people, but, in general, I advise against them.

Learning to receive consists of nothing more than learning to associate a certain sound pattern with a certain letter or number. There are only about 41 of them to learn. If you could learn to recognize 41 words in a foreign language, you can almost certainly learn Morse Code.

4) Set aside at least a half-hour EVERY DAY for code practice. Can be a couple of ten- or fifteen minute sessions, but they should add up to at least a half hour every day. That means every single day, not just weekends, holidays, etc. If you can do more than a half-hour some days, great! Do it! But more on one day does not give you an excuse to miss the next day.

Some folks learn better if they do several short sessions, some learn better if they do it all at once. You have to find out what works best for you.

Yes, you may miss a day here and there, because life happens. The trick is to keep such missed days to the absolute minimum.

5) If you can enlist a buddy to learn the code with, or find a class, do it! But do NOT use the class or the buddy as an excuse to miss practice or slow down your learning. The buddy and/or class are a supplement to your study, not the center of it.

6) Download and read "The Art And Skill of Radiotelegraphy". It's free and available from several websites. “Zen and the Art of Radiotelegraphy” is also good. Search out other code-oriented websites, articles, etc. and read what they have to say. But always remember they're not a substitute for practice.

7) Practice both sending and receiving each and every day. Most of your practice time should be spent receiving, but the two help each other. Practice receiving by writing it down and by copying "in your head". I find a pencil and block printing works best for me; you may be better with a ballpoint, felt tip, etc. Or even a keyboard.

8) A combination of the Koch method and Farnsworth spacing is probably optimum for most people. Read up on them, understand and use them – but remember they are tools, not magic. They can make learning the code easier but they will not make it automatic.

9) Discontinue ANYTHING that impairs your ability to concentrate, focus, and learn new stuff. Only doctor-prescribed medications are exempt from this rule; beer is not exempt. Eat right, get enough sleep and enough physical exercise.

10) Put away your microphones, stay off the voice radios - all of them. Besides the automated Morse Code generators, listen to hams actually using code on the air. Copy down what they send. Have Morse Code playing in the background while you do other things (but don’t count that as practice time). Learn how hams actually use code. When you get to the point where you can send and receive code, even slowly, get on the air and start making QSOs. Get involved in CW contesting, rag chewing, DX chasing, etc. Remember that you are learning Morse Code to be a Radio Operator, not just to pass a test.

11) If your HF rig doesn't have a sharp filter (400-500 Hz), get one and install it. Read the manual about how to use the rig on CW; usually the default settings are optimized for SSB. Best operation usually requires turning off the AGC, turning the RF gain down and the AF gain up. The S-meter and AGC won't work under those conditions but that's no big loss; they’re not all that useful on CW anyway.

12) Keep at it. There may be times when it seems as if you are making no progress, and times when you make rapid progress. What matters is that you keep practicing every day. Nobody was born knowing the skills you're trying to learn.

---

A bit of work? Sure it is, but well worth it, because all those steps make learning the code easier. And the work is trivial compared to what you can do with the skills once they're learned.

But a person has to be willing to do what's required. And they have to actually do those things.

Good luck!

73 de Jim, N2EY

 

SHORT-TERM MEMORY IS A BIG PROBLEM with a lotta older guys like myself, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!! But as what had been mention out here by another guy, was that you should LEARN INTL MORSE WHILE YOU'RE YOUNG!!! I thank my lucky stars I'd begun the process @ 15yrs old and 54yrs LATER eventhough our short-term SUCKS BIG-TIME it STILL HAS ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON OUR COPYING even @ 35wpm!!! It's kinda like tying your shoes, or riding a bicycle, or making love (not war) you'll always REMEMBER HOW TO DO IT!!! The only sticker would be having dementia or altzheimer's or a stroke of course, but you guys get our drift!!!

 

NAQCC has monthly sprints as well as weekly nets. I joined last year to help "polish" my rusty CW skills from 20 years ago (13 WPM General test). Still working on it!!

I find your postings inspiring and have re-kindled my desire to get on the air and add some CW QSOs to my log book. Keep up the good work!!

73
KB0FXK

 

Keep it up, its simply practice that makes it work. We all had similar issues learning code. A/N R/K, you know the drill. Trust us, its not different today than it was in 74 when I learned except we have a lot more devices and programs to help. My XYL learned enough to pass her Novice back in the 80s but never again used CW. She is a no code General and seldom gets on HF. My oldest son is a Tech. He was a Tech Plus when he enlisted in the Air Force. They found out he knew CW and off he went to CW school. When he came home on leave after six or eight weeks of 8 hours a day of CW practice, he could carry on a conversation with me and copy 20 plus code at the same time. Again, practice, practice, practice was the key.
After over 40 years, my CW slowed down a bit from lack of use. I jumped on CW OPS a year or so ago and took level two. Now I am again comfortable at +20 wpm and can contest around 35. Practice! Did I tell you to practice? I still listen to W1AW at 35.30.25 and 20 wpm several times a week and always try to copy the really fast guys on the air. It certainly helps. You won't necessarily have all the letters down perfectly, but please get on the air and work folks.
As a Novice back in 74, my code was pretty bad but I was on everyday and gradually it got better.
Try not to count and eventually you will recognize not only letters but words. Its a great hobby and CW is one of my favorite modes.

de ke4d

 

hello there as i'm newbie in cw/morse code. when will the class begiin again? i'm really interested as i can sent faster but couldn't read as fast as i sent.. due to propagation, in my qth, ican't even get one as i'm using endfed only

 

Listen listen and listen even more!
I start student at 18 wpm, but think now i might bump that up a bit
And what KE4D said above, put arrl code practice on while you are doing something else and try not to listen, you will catch a letter now and then.
Eventally you will hear letters and words without ever thinking.
The fun for me began when I threw away my pencil!
Good luck to all of you learning code, I want more cw activity on the air now that I have retired.

71,
Larry KB0R CWOPS 1491

 

Sorry, I am not involved with the classes. Here is a link http://cwops.org/cwacademy.html
Larry KB0R