I am with you Phil. When I was a young trainee Radio Officer on my first day at college on the chalk board was A-Z 0-9 plus all the punctuation. The morse instructor told us to write it all down and remember it because tomorrow we start with mixed groups of 5 (letters, numbers & punctuation)! An hour a day and within 3 months we are at 25wpm. This is not meant as a brag but a demonstration of dogged determination can work for some, maybe not all. Pre-empting or predicting is a dangerous practice to get into even when you are a competent cw operator and something I would never encourage. Don’t read the text, write done the letters - the best piece of advice I was ever given (relating to morse). Copying live QSO’s is OK but just write what you receive and DO NOT try to read it - if you do you will miss the next 3 or 4 characters.
Good luck to all those trying to learn the code. Check out www.lidscw.org for a good resource and forum.
I started to learn the Morse alphabet the second week of January. I have been spending as many segments as I can each day, 5mins at a time using CWSpeed an iphone App. So far I have 8 letters + SPACES with about 85%-90% accuracy, I keep the character speed at 18WPM with the Gaps making it an effective 8wpm when I have new characters. When I go back a couple of characters, I can increase the WPM to 12 without issue, I do that to prove I learned it.
Anyway, the comment I’d like to add is that I have found that I have already become accustomed to the “sound” from CWSpeed. When I use other software like G4FON, "just learn Morse code"or LCWO it takes a little time to become accustomed. But ultimately, I think it’s good to mix it up.
Mostly, I can manage a SOTA activation provided the chasers follow the script, because then I can listen for and write down only the information I need, but if they throw in too much extra information then I can get lost very quickly. I’d like that not to happen…
[quote=“MM0FMF, post:92, topic:12306”]So where’s the problem?[/quote]Something those particular exercises don’t test; mainly the ability to sustain copy at a particular speed for the length of an over. My main weakness, when it comes to listening to Morse, is short-term memory; I need to write down what I’m hearing before I forget what I’ve heard, so I’m limited (in QSOs) to how fast I can write/type what I hear, and I get lost if I get behind…
[quote=“G4OBK, post:94, topic:12306”]don’t understand the charts[/quote]I guess it boils down to any overall slope up to the right indicates progress, but the horizontal axis covers roughly two years. My main point was that you might be able to track my progress over some months, and say whether I’m improving or not, but you probably couldn’t say that with any confidence over just a few weeks…
I think you are doing the hard part now…learning the letters initially. I can tell you from long experience both in CW and foreign languages in general…the hardest thing for me to overcome is the fear of making mistakes. Once you resign yourself to the fact that initially you will make a few (or a lot in my case…but really hams are among the most patient and forgiving test subjects I know) it is really not that bad. You start getting interested more in what is being said and less in missing a few characters or mis-sending your own name! I really think there is no replacement for a 3 WPM on the air QSO. Just get out there and try it once you have your letters down. It’s only terrifying the first few times. After that you start to really have fun with it. Keep it up!
You can take a horse to water but a pencil must be lead?
For the last 81 points to mountain goatdom I will be using no Morse code because it ruins my day out and makes me completely stressed. On air, it sounds nothing like the Telford DARS on-air CW courses which I’ve enjoyed in the past. It’s easier to learn Polish than CW for me. I will carry on having exchanges with Chasers in a variety of European languages because I find this enjoyable.
Then I will resume my personal marathon in trying to read real CW on air. One day.
Best wishes to all Morse martyrs and enthusiasts
Hwyl fawr
Of course it is, but it’s a crucially important first step as some of us so called “old timers” have been trying to emphasise, which brings me back to the crawl, walk, run adage !
I’ve said it before Victor, I think some of the problem is people not knowing the alphabet forwards, backwards and inside-out. No, I don’t mean recognising the character from hearing the Morse but the other way around, give them a letter and they cannot “sing” it out in response with absolutely no delay. If they can’t do English to Morse then they certainly can’t do Morse to English.
I was pretty much self taught by following ARRL cassette tapes (the only audio tapes I still possess!) and a book (The Morse Code for Radio Amateurs?) published by RSGB.
I was encouraged (forced?!) by ham friends to have a go at the Morse test at a rally back in 1999 when I was a teenager. I was nervous and completely lost track of the Morse I was being sent when a car alarm started going off. The examiners were obviously keen for me to pass the test so they asked me to take the test again after a brief break. I passed the 12wpm test on the second run. I’d only gone in for the test to have the experience really so I was chuffed!
I had a few QSOs but I’d always struggled with CW and I soon concentrated my efforts on 2FM SOTA activations.
I’ve always been interested in the construction side of ham radio so when I found out about Kjell LA1KHA’s challenge, I couldn’t wait to have a go!
I knew I’d have to get my CW going again so, encouraged by Tom M1EYP, I activated Great Whernside G/NP-008 using my FT817. Despite not having a narrow filter fitted, I managed OK and the chasers were very forgiving of my slow Morse and mistakes. Whilst the activation was a bit scary, it was also exhilarating.
I took up Kjell’s 9V challenge, starting off at around 11wpm. After a while, CW became more and more enjoyable, whereas at first it had been a bit of a slog to be honest. Using CW as a means to take part in the challenge certainly made me stick at it, it’s totally due to Kjell"s idea that I am now able to do CW activations.
I’m still not fully competent at CW, but I have definitely crossed the line from all hard work to now enjoyment.
So yes, in summary, as above, it’s practice that gets you there. Actually using CW on air once the basics are mastered speed up the process enormously and it then becomes fun.
I still have wobbles, like earlier this month, and I find my brain is fried after about 15mins of working chasers at 20wpm. There’s something strangely appealing about good CW QSOs that keeps me going back for more despite the fact I actually find it really difficult.
I agree that fun makes the learning process easier.
I think you’ve hit a key point, once anything becomes fun you tend to do it more. Actually using CW on the air then becomes practice in itself, but you don’t see it as practice anymore.
Get to the stage where you can enjoy using CW, at whatever speed, & you will soon find yourself improving without even thinking about it.
Just noticed a reference in Radcom to this group, the Less Involved Data Society.
I have no connection with them, but a look over the website suggests that it might be helpful to anyone struggling on the lower slopes of the CW mountain. For example, here is a clip from the website “About” page:
"LIDS members frequently use Twitter to schedule QRS CW contacts…
[quote=“G4AZS, post:111, topic:12306”]Just noticed a reference in Radcom to this group, the Less Involved Data Society.Lids associated Twitter ID now points at http://lidscw.org/ instead…
I’m not an ‘active’ member but I do support the aim of the club. My operating tends to be entirely SOTA activations between Jan and March then occasional SOTA operations throughout the summer. When summer is in full swing, I often assemble a station in the garden and spend an evening having normal CW QSOs with a beer in hand. This year I hope that I might bump into a few LIDS members on air.
My sending is ‘reasonable’ @ about 12wpm. However it doesn’t take long on receive to stew my brain and then enter the ‘what was that last letter; miss the next’ downward spiral!
I’m actually quite enjoying playing with my paddle - there I’ve admitted it in public. The first step towards a cure!
