[LCWO LOGO]  

Login

User name:
Password:


Language
Български Português brasileiro
Bosanski Català
繁體中文 Česky
Dansk Deutsch
English Español
Suomi Français
Ελληνικά Hrvatski
Magyar Italiano
日本語 한국어
Bahasa Melayu Nederlands
Norsk Polski
Português Română
Русский සිංහල
Slovenščina Srpski
Svenska ภาษาไทย
Türkçe Українська
简体中文
Who is online? (35)


Discussion forum for user group: Utah Hams

Thread: Recommended Settings and Tips

Back to the Forum

AuthorText


Posted: 2016-03-02 18:58
If doing Koch, you may find these settings useful. (Account->Change CW Settings)

Character Speed: 20
Effective Speed: 15
Tone: (whatever you like, I like 550Hz)
CW Player: Whatever works for you
Transmission prefix: Optional
Start Delay: 3
Group Length: Random

In each lesson, you might start with 1 minute drills. However, do not move to the next lesson until you get 90% or better at 5 minutes.

If using Farnsworth, you'll want to lower the ewpm to 4-8 wpm. Still keep the base wpm 15-25.

Share any other tips you have in this thread.


Posted: 2016-03-05 06:56
I discovered that if you use 25wpm, but set the effective wpm to 11, you'll come up with a "real speed" of about 15wpm. The exact number depends on the mix of word length you get (be sure to have random group length on).

This is really comfortable to me right now. I can't decode and type much faster than that. Hopefully it will be good enough to learn with, but not slow me down later on.


Posted: 2016-03-16 06:37
I posted this in the main forum, but I'm going to re-post here in case someone finds it useful:

Here are the settings I am using now....

Char Speed: 25wpm
Effective: Start at 8, work toward 11.
Tone: 750Hz
CW Player: HTML 5
Prefix: Off
Start Delay: 3 seconds
Group Length: Random

These settings give about 15 wpm "real speed." Starting a lesson at 8ewpm is a good place to begin. Slowly ramping up to 11ewpm (15wpm "real speed") is quite the challenge, but I found it essential to developing a reactive response while copying. You have to get to a point where you don't think about it... Your hand just types or writes the letter when you hear the sound. 25wpm is fast enough that listening to individual dots and dashes is really impossible. It is more about internalizing the "rhythm" of each letter.

Initially I tried some other settings with a slower effective wpm. This was really impacting my ability to copy later lessons. I had to start over. Here is my new plan, and that one that is already giving me tangible results copying CW on the air:

0) Start by just listening. Lots of listening. Begin to pick out the new letters, get use to the flow. I don't start trying to copy until I can "listen" at full speed (25wpm/25ewpm). Set the lesson to 5 minutes, and play. Repeat liberally.

1) Don't go to the next lesson until you can copy 25wpm/15wpm "real speed" (that's ~11 effective wpm when using random group length). You may have to start at a slower speed, but you're trying to develop ear->brain->hand reflexes.

2) Don't go to the next lesson until you can copy 5 minutes of the above at 90% accuracy.

3) It will take many attempts to build speed. Pace yourself, and prepare to be in it for the long haul.

4) "Over learn" - Or - try to do much better than 90%. Don't just squeak by.

A more experienced person might be able to offer better advice. That's all I've got to give at the moment. Good luck, and keep with it!

Back to the Forum

You must be logged in to post a message.