Lesson 4: U & C (Plus Lessons 1-3)
Practice, Practice, Practice. Don’t get discouraged!
You can do it and CW OPS can help! (It’s like the Home Depot Motto, you can do it and we can help).
I spent 90 minutes one night practicing and it really-really helped as I could copy about 80% of what was being sent. I had to stop because I was starting to miss more and my brain was turning to mush.
The next two days it was like I had never been practicing and I could only get the easy letters and it would take me 3 or 4 tries to get a word that was being sent. I got frustrated and asked myself why I am doing this and just wanted to stop. I kept at it and it got better but still not like the 90 minute session where I could copy 80%. Boy this is frustrating! Your mind and attitude has to be ready for Morse code.
I was in a Doctors office the other day and saw a sign about exercise and it said something like this. “If you can’t exercise don’t make an excuse, just say it’s not a priority.” I am trying to make it a priority and not give up.
TIP: Make practice a priority.
I found that I had problems with words that where 5 or more letters long. When a few words were sent I was lost and had to have them repeated several times. If I saw the words on the screen as they were being sent I said, “Oh yea I know what that is”. But when I put the paper over the screen to hide the words or letters it would take me a few tries. I tried not to write the letters down and then I would forget what some where as the word got longer. I am bad about missing a letter and then trying to figure it out and then I miss the next few letters. What is helping me is that I leave a space and then I can figure out the word once it is completed. So on the words I started writing them down and it helps. The instructor stated copying can slow you down and try to avoid it if you can. One of the things that I think really helped me was to practice sending the word after it was sent to me on the software system. I had to really concentrate on spacing the letters when I was sending. I am trying to send at 20 WPM but with the Farnsworth around 5 to 8.
TIP: When you get tired and lose concentration, stop practicing for a while.
I found C to be fairly easy as it has a good pace or rhythm to it. I had to practice the U a lot as for some reason I got it confused with D. So to recap, in this session I had issues with U, D, and R. This session also sent a string of four numbers at me and that I could not get. Example was 4241 and 1452. I really struggled with these and never got them good. That is a tough one. I had to slow down my spacing between letters when I was sending and words with 5 or more letters threw me off. Putting the time in is a must. You need to practice everyday, if only for 10 or 20 minutes at a time, have good quality and quiet practice time.
TIP: Practice sending after each word. It helped me!
Don’t get discouraged. If you put in the time it will work out. I feel sometimes that I am playing Wheel of Fortune and I’m trying to solve the puzzle. The word CHAIR was sent and I got the C, H, A, and I really quick but I heard the R as a D and said to myself that CHAID didn’t spell anything in English that I knew of so I figured it was a CHAIR. When I removed the paper Vanna White told me it was a R. Bingo! Maybe if I wrote it down it would be faster but others people told me not to write it down since Part 1 of this series came out, so I am trying not to write anything down.
One of the things we found was when someone is sending on Skype, all other participants should mute their Skype so the CW sound comes through better.
For me, lesson 4 was a success. I put in a lot of time which resulted in being able to copy most of what was being sent during the class. I still have problems copying call signs but feel with a lot of practice it will come to me. (It has to or I won’t make any contacts).
The next session is 5 and new for this class are the numbers 3 and 6, letters M and W and the ?. Brought to you by Sesame Street. Boy my mind is turning to mush!
Until next time, Aloha and 73.
American Radio Relay League Pacific Section News 
Just keep at it. The skill will come with time and practice. It’s like learning a new language.
Aloha,
Russ (KH6JRM).
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From W1KSO
LOVE CW !!! True story
Once upon a time, 35 years ago
I learned code by placing the characters on lined index card,
Then used 1 card to cover the other, Then had my wife quiz me a few
each night, (FYI, There are only 26 Letters) not difficult
when I thought I had them all, I put on head phones to block out
ambient noise and listened to the 80M novice band and W1 AW, There is no novice band
these days, so Use W1AW, and also while driving down the road, Do the street
signs and bill boards in code in your head while driving, Believe me IT WORKS!!
20-30 minutes a night is more than enough, No need to burn out doing code. Its
suppose to be fun! Savvy?
If I can do it , anyone can!
CW is and always will be my #1 love in ham radio
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LOVE CW !!! True story
“and also while driving down the road, Do the street
signs and bill boards in code in your head while driving, Believe me IT WORKS!!”
I agree. This is part of how my dad – 30+ years as a radioman in the Navy – taught me code when I was a child.
But I’ll add: SPEAK the code … out loud.
dah-di-dah-dit dah-dah-di-dah. (CQ)
My favorite is the letter V – diddle-e-dah. Say it… works for that “3” in 73 also: diddle-e-dah-dah. That’s what 3 sounds like.
People get the rhythm right much faster when spoken because the your tongue will space it out much better than your fist – at first – because we use our tongues all the time for speaking and adjusting the length of speech parts. Just speak those syllables at your normal talking speed and you will get the right rhythm.
I’d also add, just listen. A lot. Don’t worry about copying. Just listen. Put code on in the background. Just like background music… gets your head used to hearing the rhythms and patterns all the time.
On a related note, I disagree with your instructor about not writing it down. Especially at the beginning, NOT writing it down misses a great learning opportunity. The more paths in your brain you engage – a form of positive reinforcement – the more learning occurs. That’s basic learning theory. That’s the way ANY language is learned: hear it, speak it, write it. Once you get past uncertainty about the letters – and get to higher speeds – copying in your head will become a priority. And don’t be surprised if it happens automatically.
The point is to internalize the rhythms and patterns of the code using every possible opportunity.
73 Chris NW6V
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KM4FO
I struggled thru the tapes, over and over until I got my novice test passed. I thought why am I having to learn this, I will never use much. An older ham took me under his wing and ever Thursday night at the club meetings we worked a few CW contacts on the club station. He told me it was the best way to get my speed up for the General and Extra exams. A funny thing happened along the way. As I worked more and more CW it got easier and easier and more enjoyable. My hamming now is about 90% CW. You would have never made me believe that when I was struggling to learn
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EDDYSTONE
New
I was taught Morse Code, when I joined the Royal Navy in 1960, Last used it live on air, in 1968 before leaving the Navy in 1972. from then until about 4 years ago, I rarely listened to Morse Code, although there was a fair bit around, as quite a lot of Press Frequencies used Morse, with Teleprinter being more popular.
I found a program called CWCOM, about 4 years ago, and my morse code sending and receiving had become somewhat “miserable”, however, daily doses have now brought my skill up to a reasonable level, in fact, it is better now than when I was in the Navy.
Two programs that can help the “starter” to learn the code “sounds” are
http://boyslife.org/games/online-games/575/morse-code-machine/ ( which can be used on any platform, Android, Windows, Linux, Mac etc… )
and G4FON Koch Morse Trainer http://www.g4fon.net/CW Trainer.htm
I refer to both of these in my blogsite https://morsepower.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/how-to-learn-morse-code.html
CWCOM is an online LIVE chat program, that uses Morse Code to chat to other like minded people around the world, via the internet. No license, or registration, no fee or special terms… just download it, and use it.. ( read my blog for the settings and configurations to make life easy for you ! ! ! )..
https://morsepower.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/cwcom-program-to-communicate-using.html
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I have learn some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting.
I wonder how so much effort you set to make any such great informative website.
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From N0NEE
I joined for September classes. I look at these post as inspiration.
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From N0TAN
I agree. Practice helps. I wrote a CW training application once and you can get it here…
http://www.n0tan.com/page/morsemaster
It’s free to use and to share. It also has a mode where it will send random characters and you can use it to practice copying without the brain-interruption of real words trying to form in your head. Just let it bang out character after character until you can copy them without thinking.
I wrote it for myself to use while practicing for my cw exam (which isn’t required anymore) and I passed on the first try.
Good luck!
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