Background: I am a teacher. I learned Morse at 12 years of age, now 61. I use Cw exclusively.
Not everyone can learn Morse for a variety of reasons. Some people, especially a high percentage of those with dyslexia, can not discern as separate sounds which do not persist for relatively long periods of time, typically 200 ms. That is the speed of a dit (or a space) at about ten wpm which is why some people get stuck forever below ten wpm. Morse, like all languages, is easier to learn while language areas of the brain are developing, but it can be learned later not so much with hard work, as consistent practice several times a day, day after day. Here are the neurological steps involved in the process of traditional learning. Some of the newer approaches of listening to high speed early try to skip some of these steps with varying degrees of success for some people, and failure for others. Traditional approach: Step # 1 is to memorize the cipher. Dit-Dah is an A. You generally learn the letters in groups of five letters at a time. Making words of the few letters learned, rather than code groups, may encourage moving into language interpretation later on rather than neurological auto-response. Code is then deciphered from a "look-up table" residing in short-term memory. With practice, short-term memory can interpret the cipher up to about ten wpm. Step # 2: Regular use across days and weeks and sometimes months eventually leads to the mind committing the look-up table to long-term memory. Once the look-up table is moved into long-term memory, something that occurs in your sleep by the way, access and retrieval is faster. Response time is reduced such that with further practice, speed will rapidly rise from the previous plateau of about 10 wpm, to a new plateau of about 18 wpm. Hence the old General test was 13 wpm. You may not have full privileges until you have located Morse in long-term memory. Step # 3: What happens next may vary with how one is trained. Many old timers moved the look-up table into a reflexive response literally governed by the spinal-column. This op could copy code groups the same as words. this op typically typed the copy, and did not know what was typed unless they went back and read it. Constant practice with code groups (or just contest call-signs) will lead to this result. I know several contest ops who can copy calls, but can not carry on a conversation in Morse. Most ham ops would prefer to move the code from a memorized look-up table into the language area of the brain. It is almost an instantaneous response. At first it is letter by letter. Eventually it is by syllables, then sometimes even words. the first "word" I learned to interpret instantly with the language center was "and" or "dit dididit" which I thought was "ES" as a kid, but now know is American Morse for the & sign. How to get it there? Invariably, when you are copying with the look-up table, you print, even if you never print normally. Once you have been at 18 wpm for a while, and feel stuck there, it is time to move on as it were. You can do so by forcing yourself, and it is difficult, forcing yourself to change to script. Script runs the letters together into syllables and words and that is what accesses the language area of the mind. Step # 4: Early on in the language center, you are hearing the op spell to you. You will generally comprehend this up to around 28 wpm. this "plateau is less hard than previous ones. to go on past, put the pencil down, and just listen. In no time at all you will copy 30, 35, 40, 45 wpm. You don't copy "behind." you simply hear the person speaking. You either hear it or you don't (QSB, QRM, loss of concentration). As the speed rises, you will struggle more and more, concentrating to actually hear what happened. It isn't the speed of it, but the hearing of it that is limiting now. You lean beack in the chair, eyes closed, and words materialize in your head, you simply know what was said. Step # 5: If somewhere between 45 wpm and 60 wpm the dits and dahs seem to blur into one another, you are normal. For me the limit seems to be 56 wpm. I know precisely because when I copy calls from the contest simulators, it always settles on that speed. What's it all about, Alfie? It's about your built in "echo-suppressor," also known as the Haas Effect. The normal person does not discern as separate sounds which do not persist for at least 20 ms (the speed of a dit or space at 60 wpm). It is theorized this came about to make speech understandable in an echoing environment (caves?). Surround sound capitalizes on this effect by the way. The same sound as is in the front speakers are fed to the rear speakers 7 ms later. You can not discern it, but the ear hears it, the mind interprets it as an echo, and this provides the full sensation of "live." People who copy 70, 80, and 90 wpm, and there are a few, are among the small percentage of people who are abnormal in a special way. They do not have built-in echo-suppression. If you have it or if you don't, you have no idea what the other one perceives. But you CAN beat it! The echo suppressor is active up to about 1,500 cycles. Echoes are weak at high frequencies, hence our echo-suppression is poor or non-existent there. Those "stuck" between 50 and 60 wpm may wish to experiment with adjusting your radio to listen to high speed Morse at extremely high frequencies. I have done it, and had no trouble copying 75 wpm for the first time. I calmly say, no trouble. Truth is, the ear-piercing frequency was such an unpleasant screech, that I have never bothered again ;-) Experimentation with learning code by listening to Morse characters at 35 wpm right off the bat skips the lower stages of interpretation and attempts to jump into the language areas of the mind. One might wind up jumping into the auto-neurological response instead of language, however, and be able to type it without actually understanding it. You also may not have the interpretive capacity at slow speeds since you don't even know the code your copying. so it has to be realized that the short-cut is a mixed bag. Choose your method, enjoy the challenge, have fun. But if after months of consistent practice, you can not get past ten wpm, especially if you know you are dyslexic, feel no guilt, and don't let anyone put you down. We each have our special abilities, or lack of them. So what. I can't dance to save my life! 72 Fred - kt5x (aka W5YA when QRP) K2 # 700 P.S. origin of "HI HI" for laughter. You will note everyone sends the I by spacing the two dits of the I. they do not send, didididit didit. they send didididit dit dit. slightly spaced dit-dit is the letter "O" in American Morse. You are actually sending American Morse for "HO HO". Saying, "HI HI" on phone is, well, pathetic. Laugh, for crying out loud ;-) _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
