CW and ME!

CW has been a part of my ham radio hobby since the begining. Getting your Amateur Radio license in the 50s and 60s required a code proficiency of between 5 and 20 wpm depending on the class of license you were going for. A Novice was 5 wpm, General 13 wpm, and Extra a whopping 20 wpm. For most it was a big hurdle. I took the General 13 wpm test at the FCC office in Chicago 61 years ago. My dad, brother and me all went in anticipating a pass. Headphones in place, sweaty palms and then the three "Vs". Here we go! Whoops, they passed I failed, by how much I'm not sure they never do tell you. Went back a month later and passed. The code requirements were dropped in the 1970's, and the mode dwindled somewhat.

What's Old Is New Again

The only way to communicate in the first decades of Amateur radio was by CW. Early transmitters were of a spark gap design creating a buzz or undulated wave. Later, more refined tube transmitters with oscillator circuits came along producing the familiar tone you hear today. Constant Wave or "CW" for short, is simply communications by Morse Code. In my family, my Father, Grandfather, Uncles, were all railroad men. Telegraphy was the mode of communications at the time, sent down those familiar wires that followed the rails. "Real Hams" as some would say, prefer CW as the go-to-mode. Tuning down to the lower end of 20 meters, you'll discover the code being sent at blazing speeds. A local ham friend is very proficient at copying code at 40 wpm plus! As for me I'm gaining on it with "head copy" no paper / pencil, at 25 obtaining essential information for a successful "QSO".

Many prospective CW ops hear that fast code and immediately think "couldn't copy that" I was one of them. Never fear! Moving up the band in the vicinity of 14.050 you'll find stations sending at a slow rate. Many sending a "SK" at the end. The first time I heard that, I thought " are they conjuring up silent keys to talk to"? HI HI. As it turns out, the SK stands for straight key. Most of these stations are members of SKCC. The Straight Key Century Club, dedicated to the preservation, promotion and encouragement of sending Morse Code by mechanical means. i.e. Keys, Bugs and Cooties or sideswipers. Many ops find this a great way to increase speed, comprehension and most of all, enjoyment.

Where to begin. There are a number of great programs and clubs dedicated to help you along in mastering "the original digital" I joined the Long Island CW Club. (see link below) There you will find zoom classes that cater from rank beginners to well aged cw ops. Follow links below for more information. Hope to catch you on the air for a CW QSO. 73

Learning CW

LINKS

The Long Island CW Club had been started in 2018 to promote and expand the use of Morse Code- CW amongst amateur radio operators.

Today there is no longer a FCC requirement to learn CW to obtain an amateur radio license. With over 5700 members, and growing, it’s quite apparent that the interest in CW is growing. LICW features over 100 different classes each week, led by a group of dedicated instructors, and a program that addresses all aspects of CW. From beginners, to the QRQ or high speed cw entusiasts.

All classes are conducted over “Zoom”, making this a world wide platform for learning.

I teach a Intermediate Class directed at QSO and conversations from 16-20 WPM.

Starting early this year, I’ve been producing a pod-cast called “This Is LICW” a look at some of the various instructors, classes and happenings at the club. Click the links for more information.

A Mechanical Marvel

Horace G. Martin invented the Vibroplex “bug” semi-automatic manual keyer while working as a telegrapher in New York City in 1905. The name bug was probably due to the logo of an electrofied bug adorning these keys.

This article appeared in QST, February 2009

As a younger ham I became facinated with the bug by my Elmer’s effortless sending of high speed morse via this mechanical marvel . The flapping appendages, contacts and weights working in harmony producing a perfect string of code. Yes a certain amount of “skill” is needed to do this.

When I first obtained the use of the “Champion”, I quickly realized that this was not my father’s Buick. Muscle memory plays a big part in this coordinated sending. Fingers and sound meeting in middle. So it was a very steep learning curve, but thanks to the ladies and gents of Long Island CW Club their encouragement and suggestion, I’m now able to, albeit at a slow pace hi hi, send a string of undertandable code via this scourge of amateur radio.

If you want to master your innate ability to perservere,or not, find yourself a “bug” and take pride in your ability to “slap” those paddles into submission. 🙂
73

Designer

The Path To Morse Code Fluency

By Tom Weaver W0FN

Two essential skills enable Morse code fluency:
1) Extreme familiarity with the alphabet: Instant Character Recognition (ICR)
2) Character flow skills (keeping up) powered by Instant Error Recovery (IER)

ICR and IER are equally essential skills for head copy, and it’s difficult to improve one without improving the other. Learning dit/dah sequences of each letter is how we begin, but that’s far from truly knowing the alphabet. When each CW letter sound is the letter without thought (like spoken letters), that’s the level of familiarity required for Morse code fluency. To paraphrase Nancy Kott (WZ8C), ICR requires over-learning the alphabet.
Over-learning the alphabet is a vital part of Morse code comprehension. ICR is a fundamental building block of Morse code fluency, but so is Instant Error Recovery (IER). Over-learning your ABC’s alone isn’t enough. Trying harder won’t help; relax, learn to get your conscious mind out of the way and go with the flow (improve your IER skills). As acoustic character sound familiarity builds, recognition will transition into a background task. The retention buffer is then free to build words as letters arrive, follow trains of thought, and understand what’s being said.

You may wonder how to get your conscious mind out of the way. Try this: focus on ‘keeping up’; prioritize ‘going with the flow’ with a light mental touch. Always trying hard to recognize every-single-character can actually hinder progress; it tends to increase frustration. IER skills help minimize feelings of frustration and disappointment. Missing stuff isn’t failure, it’s essential IER practice! Improving IER is the primary enabler for being able to practice faster CW sooner rather than later. IER isn’t “letting go” of non-recognition events, it’s never hanging on to them in the first place. Building IER skills will turbocharge your journey to Morse code fluency. Go With The Flow; learn to completely ignore non- recognition events.
ICR isn’t a ‘recognize letters quickly with plenty of time between them’ skill. It’s all about word building as letters arrive in the midst of a rapid flow of CW characters. If short phrases or sentences are difficult to copy, you probably don’t have a word problem. It’s usually caused by a lack of IER skills and trying to decode dit/dah sequences (too slow). Try word building without CW to test your word building skills! Trying to decode dit and dah sequences faster won’t help; over-learn each letter’s single acoustic sound. Get very familiar with unique letter sounds plus short recognition intervals. Don’t avoid listening to fast CW! Relax; your subconscious will get used to the tempo and it won’t sound so fast after a while. What about Instant Word Recognition or Instant Syllable Recognition? IWR and ISR skills occur naturally as short groups of letters are heard repeatedly (CQ, THE, RST, QTH, TNX, WX, ING, ED, ER, TEST, etc.). Common letter sequences heard often enough will eventually morph into a single sound rhythm. Since this happens naturally over time, I think that specific IWR and ISR practice is optional. Do it if you wish – or not.
My way of learning the alphabet as a single acoustic sound per letter was listening to it a dozen or more times per day at three different speeds. I also sent the alphabet a dozen or more times per day. I listened and sent in groups of three (AAA BBB CCC DDD etc.). Every time I heard a letter I concentrated on hearing its single acoustic sound rhythm. Decoding dit/dah sequences is too slow once you put the pencil down; hearing each letter as a unique single sound becomes more important. I’d listen to the alphabet as described above at my current skill level, 4- 5 wpm faster, and again at 8-10 wpm faster. As the speed increased it got easier to hear each letter as a single acoustic sound.
My IER practice was mostly done by listening to on-air QSOs and short stories on the computer. I prioritized keeping up with the flow of CW character sounds (IER skills) and learned to not worry about missing stuff. As I kept going with the flow regardless of non-recognition events I began to get my conscious mind out of the way and trust my subconscious to do the recognition work. Conscious recognition efforts are slow and hard, the subconscious is super-fast and effortless.

Your subconscious may not be up to the task yet, but practice using it anyway! We all learn differently so pay attention and do more of what is effective for you, and less of what doesn’t seem to help. When your brain gets tired and it feels more like work and less like fun, stop and pick it up again later. ‘Code talk’ to yourself and/or out loud through the day, and practice sending and listening to CW multiple times per day. Good luck, have fun, keep practice sessions short and sweet (10 – 15 minutes), and get a code buddy. Be sure to check out the Long Island CW Club; it’s a welcoming community with a rich variety of online classes that will make your Morse code fluency journey more enjoyable.