I agree, we all learn by the method our Elmer taught us. Mine was the
A,W,J method at 5 WPM.
I've been a CW guys almost exclusively and found 15 wpm to be my
personal comfort zone...However I have a question for those higher speed
guys out there. At what speed would you say you start hearing complete
words rather than the individual letters and as a result you could
pretty much copy in your head (Jim said he doesn't write anything over
20 WPM). To me that's aweome (also unachievable..hi)
Thanks
Tom WB2QDG
K2 # 1103 (I think)
On 12/28/2019 12:08 PM, Jim Danehy wrote:
Everyone has an opinion on how to learn Morse Code. My skill with CW probably
comes from longevity. Closing in on 70 years of using Morse Code. Certainly
mostly hit and miss. I once wrote here that I could copy quite fast. Then the
posts of bragging. That was not my intention. Credibility counts. You establish
that with facts.
We all start with a blank sheet. We learned to talk as babies. That takes a
good year plus. There really is no difference between learning to decode speech
and CW. They both are sounds. They both are methods of communication. Reflect
on that for just a moment or two.
Converting sound ! When I hear 2 people conversing in a language that I do not
know it is just sound. That also occurs when CW is heard by someone who does
not know CW.
A baby does not learn to read for about 5 years after they learn to converse in
a language. That is why I do not recommend using sight to learn CW. You may
disagree.
I can not recall how long ago it was but I do not write down CW. I do not write
down my conversations in spoken language.
Most people learn CW at slow speeds. They need to write so that they can retain
what the sender is attempting to communicate. At 5 wpm you would lose the flow
of the attempted conversation unless you made notes.
So writing is OK at slower speeds. The goal is to increase your speed to a
point where you do not lose what the conversation is about. That occurs
differently for all of us. I would opine that above 20 wpm you should wean
yourself off of writing down what you are hearing.
The ARRL has archived their Code Practice files that have been sent over the
air. They start at 5 wpm. The increase in 5 words per minute I recall. They go
up to 40 wpm too. They are archived in MP3 format. They also have a companion
text file. Check their website.
It took me a long time to reach where I find myself today. In the 1st paragraph
I wrote 70 years. Yes I am going to be 82. All I use is CW. I have software
that allows me to convert text to CW. I have a library of MP 3 files that start
at 40 and go up to 60. I practice several times a month. At QRQ Speeds you
learn to copy entire words.
Most can not copy QRQ but that is just a fact. It takes practice. I believe
using the ARRL archives a normal Ham should be able to reach copying 20 wpm in
a few months. Get rid of the pencil and paper at some point. You don’t converse
with others writing down what you hear from someone. If a baby can learn to
talk in a year you can do CW at 20 in a year.
Just do it
73
Jim W9VNE/VA3VNE
Sent from my iPhone
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