That's a great idea, Fred, but I think you misunderstood. I was suggesting ways to improve one's fist as well as one's copy speed. Both are important. Recording my own fist, and then listening to it later, was a good way to hear how my fist sounds "on the air".
The neat skill that your suggestion will help develop is "copying in the head" without writing anything down. I keep forgetting that there are many ops who can't do that, and I can't imagine enjoying CW nearly as much if I had to write everything on paper. I've had my ham shack in one corner of the kitchen (close to the coffee pot!) and ran QSO's while fixing dinner (AS OM, POT'S BOILING OVER) or, more often, while doing other chores. And, of course, I've had my 'shack' in the workshop where I'm working on projects while copying the other station 'in my head'. Even when lounging at the operating desk, being able to lean back, close my eyes, and visualize the 'airspace' with all those signals dancing around the periphery while listening to what someone is saying is a really great way to operate! It's also a good way to practice copying two signals at once. I can do that to a point. It's like listening to two people talk at once. If they aren't chattering on too fast or I'm having trouble following their meaning, it works. And then sometimes I don't want to be distracted and punch in the 400 or 200 Hz filter instead of the 1.5 kHz filer ;-) 73, Ron -----Original Message----- Ron D'Eau Claire wrote: > > Before software like CW GET was around I recorded my own sending, > working down a page in a phone book with addresses and numbers or at > least a page out of a magazine. Then I played it back, preferably the > next day. If it was a fist I was happy to copy, I was happy. Look up Morse Gen on Google. It will send CW from a text file and whatever speed you desire. It will save it as a .wav file which you can burn onto a CD and listen to in your vehicle. Last time I drove down to Atascadero [~5 hrs] to visit my college roommate and hit the Cal Poly Book store to replenish clothing [OK ... and drink a little wine, the wine business in the Cal. Central Coast area is huge], I fed it an e-book I'd bought, and "read" it in CW all the way down and back. Took 6 CD's -- 3 down, 3 back. Really ... as in "really really really" ... beats talk radio :-) Even sent a couple of CDs I made of the letters we put into the packages we sent to an adopted troop in Afghanistan who was building a K2 and working towards a ticket. 73, Fred K6DGW _______________________________________________ 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
