Morse Code Learning App for ios

On the Bands Operating Procedures
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I am starting a Morse code Club at the school where I work, but many of the children only have Apple devices at home. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good Morse code learning app that runs on the Apple ipad and iphone? In particular, I need one that will help a complete beginner to learn the Morse alphabet. Unfortunately, I only have Android and Windows, so my experience with ios is absolutely nil.

               Cheers
                              Matt
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Since most people start by listening to code and just copying down the letters they hear. You could just have audio files that would work on any system. A RSS podcast of CW.

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[quote=“OE6FEG, post:1, topic:16850, full:true”]Does anyone have any suggestions for a good Morse code learning app that runs on the Apple ipad and iphone?
[/quote]

http://aa9pw.com/hammorse/

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How about this one - I have no idea how good or bad it is - I just Googled it:

Description

Learn and practice Morse code where ever you are.
Some comments from our App store reviews:
Brilliant if you really want to learn morse - Five Stars…

Actual user rating 3.8 out of 5.

Another:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dah-dit-morse-code-tutor/id310462519?mt=8

Another:

Another:

so plenty of choice - but whether they are good …

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Hence my post. Not having an ios device myself, I have no idea how any of the many apps (which I also found via Google) actually run; and no way to test them for myself. In particular, because I am working with 9 & 10 year olds, I need something quite playful like Morse Machine for Android. Sometimes it’s better to ask for advice from a community of people rather than going by star ratings, which don’t necessarily tell me what the app is like, just what someone else thinks about it. All suggestions gratefully received!
de OE6FEG / M0FEU
Matt

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Or use a browser (even Apple has not made the courageous descision to remove them from iOS yet) and go to lcwo.net. Works on iOS, OSX, Win, Linux etc.

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I’ve been using Ham Morse for the last few months and I can recommend it firsthand. Already had my first CW activation, looking forward to more.

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Same here! It seems in Europe Android is by far the leader on mobile devices but I think Apple still have the bigger market share in the US, so perhaps somethere can comment on their experiences?

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Tell them to not be deceived by the evil apple company lol but that’s for a whole different thread. There’s plenty of websites they can visit. Lcwo is a good one and a few more can be found by the power of Google

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LCWO works pretty well on iOS devices. There are some oddities, but they’re predictable so you can work around them. I preferred to engage LCWO on my computer, but when my ipad was the only option I used it.

LCWO is a really fantastic cw learning resource, btw.

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I used LCWO on my home computer and it was extremely effective in getting me going. In two months of daily excercises I went from nothing to a solid 12 wpm and am still increasing. I’ve only messed with it a little bit on an iPad. The use of the iPad keyboard was more difficult and I was better off handwriting the exercise and rekeying it back in.

I have the Morse-It app on my phone as well. Not super impressed.

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I suspect that mostly what made the difference was this:

It certainly helps to have some aptitude for the code, and to find a process that works for you, but you don’t get anywhere if you don’t put the time in.

None of the tools that expected me to type what I heard straight back in seemed to work for me. Code and handwriting were a better combination.

I suspect something that sent code and accepted speech as input might work best…

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Lots of good advice here. I had a look at LCWO, and it may well be the way to go; it is free for one thing. The thing about kids is they learn scarily fast, so I’m wondering if I should just start with sending practice to begin with and teach the alphabet that way. Like all children, their primary desire is to speak rather than to listen. It reminds me of how I began: I memorised the alphabet then began sending out of books, listening came later. Besides, focussing on sending allows more games to be integrated into the lessons. However, in the long term they will need listening practice, so LCWO will help fill that requirement. It’s very interesting as an English teacher to think how I can apply modern teaching methods to learning CW; we don’t write anything for the first 2 years in primary school. It’s more a case of listen and repeat.
de OE6FEG / M0FEU
Matt

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Morse Mail is the app I have used more than any other. It allows you to convert text to code easily on your phone. Every morning I create several files from news articles so that wherever I am through the day i can listen, in my car or waiting in a lobby or anywhere. It cost $5 but worth much much more.
Scott kw4jm

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I found Morse Email on the app store. Seems to be what you describe. I will try it. Need to extend my receiving speed.

Thanks

Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH

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My two cents:
My current set of tools is the following:
a) MorseTest on IOS for strict Koch-method learning
b) Ham Morse on IOS for its realistic QSO simulation
c) LCWO for MorseMachine training and difficult characters (I am currently really struggling with “5” vs. “H” - not so much in real QSOs (because you have context), but in random character sets.)
d) a bit of WebSDR, http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ for real listening without turning on the rig, or on the go.

What I found helpful was:

  1. Regular training (as everybody agrees).
  2. Handwriting with a pen and paper. Even with LCWO, I write what I hear on paper; the typing-based approach does not work for me.
  3. Switching back and forth between my current training speed (18 WPM) and much faster (24 wpm or so). Going back to 18 wpm after 24 wpm shows much progress. And surprisingly, at times I can copy longer sequences correctly at 24 wpm, and fail completely at other times.
  4. Rhythm and flow is essential. For instance, if I force me to wait until a tiny moment after the end of a character before I write it down, I am performing better as compared to guessing it prematurely. Also, the slightest distraction or cognitive delay has a huge impact on my ability to copy.
  5. While I started with Farnsworth, I am now trying to copy at regular speed, even if that means I can only master a smaller character set reliably. I found that getting back from Farnsworth to regular speed is an additional obstacle. In particular, "e"s are easy with Farnsworth, because you still have time for the next character, but IMO hard at full speed, just because the character is so short and changes the rhythm,

73 de Martin, DK3IT

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Yes I just checked the App Store and that is the same product. He changed the name. I pull up a news article on my phone and copy a paragraph, then paste it into Morse Mail and send it to myself. You deploy it from your inbox on your same phone. Good luck with it. I use it every day and it has helped me a lot because I can fill idle time with it anywhere I am. Scott kw4jm

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I am using an app called Koch Trainer. Which I have found works fine. But I think I may have had to pay 99p for it - can’t work out how to tell how much it is on the App Store now I already have it. Cost may be prohibitive for a class of kids, although you never know the developer may donate to get kids into cw.

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Just as a quick follow-up, we are using LCWO in the Morse code Club. In fact, it has a section called Morse Machine, that probably inspired the Android app, that the kids are using to learn the alphabet. Thanks for all the suggestions.
de OE6FEG / M0FEU
Matt

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Morse Machine goes back a bit further than that. There was a program on G4ILO’s site before the implementation on LCWO, and G4ILO cites an article in May 1977 QST as inspiration…

Some ideas turn out to be older than one might expect… :wink: