Ron, as usual, you have succinctly put into words a real life experience that I can see, may parallel some of my limited experience. I have followed this thread closely as well as the comments about using the Farnsworth method and based on some of the comments, thought "OMG - I've been doing it wrong"!
I've only been doing this ham thing for a couple of years, so I am certainly in the "learning" group as it pertains to cw. After writing everything down for the first few months, I quickly realized that in order to become proficient at rag chewing, I needed to learn code like regular vocal conversation. I began to head copy and just make notes of important info - and I did it at very slow speeds at the beginning and have now ramped up to about 10-13 wpm comfortably. I have also noticed that as I am starting to hear words, head copy is a little easier at faster speeds - I begin to lose track of the "visual string" of characters at slower speeds. It is like the buffer in my head is time constrained not character constrained. I think the Farnsworth method has worked for me in that I am able to recognize the characters at a faster speed, but I still need the longer inter-character spacing to form the word comprehension in my head. With that said, I can see how many who now have the rhythm down at higher speeds would hear that as a distraction based on a time constrained head buffer. I have found many who use the Farnsworth method on the air and I tend to work them more often than not. When I hear code where there is little inter-character spacing, it just sound like a long run on of code goop at this point. I'm hoping that will change as I become more proficient. I also realize that I should get on the air more often (at least once a day), but at this point it is just not doable with my current life schedule. When I only have a few minutes of "down" time, I do try to sit at the radio and just listen. This does keep my head into it and so far, I don't seem to lose any speed I've gained by not engaging in a QSO. Sometimes I've gone a month without a contact, but at least I've listened almost everyday. I am going to make a concentrated effort to get on the air more often this summer. So, with my limited experience and based on some of the comments I've read here, I think the "method" I'm using is slowly working. I can't wait until it all "clicks" and I hear regular word conversation that many of you have described. It was frustrating at first, but I can now see (I should say "hear") that it can happen. Anyway, thanks Ron, for your words have acted as encouragement for me to continue down this path. It should also allow me to work others at any speed and help out someone in the future who is starting out like me. It is the least I could do after all of those who have done it for me. 73, Dave W8FGU > > Learning to translate dits and dahs into letters and other characters. > Slow code encourages translation! > ... > > Rich > NU6T > > ----------------------------------------------- > > Is that a mistake for most Hams? > > It wasn't for me. > > I am aware of many ops who want to QRQ at 30 wpm, 40 wpm and up. I have no > argument with them when they say that they must learn to hear words, not > characters. That certainly sounds plausible, as does the idea of learning > code as words from the very beginning. > > Such extreme QRQ is surely an interesting challenge for those who pursue > it, > but it's certainly not "mainstream" in Amateur CW operations from my > experience on the bands. (Sometimes contest exchanges approach those > speeds, > but that's a different story. Every contact is very brief and > predictable.) > > > Learning to copy individual characters at very slow speed sure did not > bother me. After over 50 years "pounding brass" my fastest comfortable > copying speed is about 35 wpm. I can copy 40 but it wears me out pretty > quickly. I don't try to send faster than 30 WPM but then I use a > mechanical > key, either a hand pump for QRS or a bug for QRQ. > > Across the range from less that 5 wpm up, I copy code "in my head" > visualizing a string of letters scrolling by in my head as I hear it sent. > It's kind of funny when I hear an odd fist on the air - someone who drags > out their dashes way too long and then uses very short dits, or who varies > their inter-character spaces a lot (like that link to maritime spark > transmissions I sent earlier). At first such code is gibberish. I "see" > nothing. Then, usually, after listening for a bit, suddenly my brain > "locks > on" and the letters start scrolling by in my head. Then it's fine copy. > It's > kinda of fun to sit back, let the code flow into my hearing and have that > suddenly happen. > > I made transition to "head copy" slowly from copying letter-by-letter on > paper, as we used to do to pass our FCC tests and when receiving messages. > > > For me, the ability to send and receive very slow CW is an important > skill; > one I use far more than sending or receiving over 30 WPM. As more and more > Hams explore the CW bands, I find it very common to run into operators > running at 10 WPM or even less. I want to reply to them at whatever speed > they are sending, as long as it's within my range. > > Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ 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
