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1017iskw BI1SOP hb9nbg HS7MHNKN6LLI JJ5RAT K4VMF KC3SQY kenknaus kk7sqw ko4zsd max77 ofe QRP1RAY Robinhood SimonSP swenny99 test VK3AFH wunder yossy36 yukimasa

I have to ask if one really sends at 20/20 when they first start. I find that I do not think at 20/20. I think more about 20/14. There is a small space between the letters as I think of them and then send them with the key. I know a machine or a man that has been doing CW for a bit can do it. I also have heard it on the radio. What I am saying is that a person might not think and so might not send at 20/20. Perhaps one might send at 20/14 or 20/16 perhaps.
I study at 20/8. This sounds good to me and I can send like this. I cannot send at 20/20. Please tell me if I am wrong about this. Would not anyone send as they might be thinking. You must think of the dit's and da's as you need to send them. This takes time.
Am I wrong about this. I know the radio is a race way. I know that with years one would get faster. However, one does not speak at 20/20.

Lynn, what kind of key do you use? With a keyer and using squeezing, I can send 20/20 (although I can not copy 20/20), but I have been told that my timing gets sloppy at 20wpm, so I actually make longer pauses between characters. With a straight key, I don't think I could do 15/15 reliably.

About thinking: That is certainly true for rag chew QSOs, but most novice operators stick to standard QSO templates. For my first contacts, I even printed out a template I found on the internet and had it next to my key (by now I know the standard QSO by heart, but I still consider myself a novice). If you want, I can send you the links to some of the internet ressources on standard QSOs.

That would be nice. When I type I spell as I type. I find this takes a bit of time. I must think. I do not think ( hope ) and type hope. I think h o p e . I guess what I am saying is that I will never be able to send at anything more than perhaps 20/15. I have been told that this is not real CW. I was told this right hear on this sight. I have 19 months into this. I do not want to stop now. I am on 28. This is the highest I have gotten so far. There are only 12 steps left and I am there.
Ham radio was dying before they dropped the code requirement. People just could not get this. I am not surprised at all. 5 words a minute is impossible. It just does not sing. Counting is also impossible. I have tried it. Why do I have to send at 20/20 or more to be a CW operator. I have been hanging in hear but just barley. Still, I am still hear. Still working and trying. I have not given up. I know many collage people that cannot get this and have tried. What is so wrong with perhaps 20/12 or so. Does that bit of space mean that no one will send back. If that is the case then perhaps we will all need to quite right now. The timing for Cw is in the machine but the spacing is in your hands for sure. In the way you think.
Thank you for your remarks. You have written me before. I cannot thank you enough. The world is in desperate need of more people like you my friend.

Lynn, it is a matter of will in the end;how much do you really want this.
http://youtu.be/9-LJpD0CoQw?list=UURdA_pzS1kJ3LEr2qP9jPHw
See, these guys learned CW and are having fun with this, at over 20/20. They are only humans and so are you. You will succeed. Only a matter of will and time spent doing this.
When I learned CW I really pushed it every day, never wondered when the heck will this end. It will only end when you reach a reasonable target :) Things went , with ups and downs, well so, when reached 20/20 I wondered if 25/25 would work; surprise, it did. 50% at first but after a week was able to receive 80-90%
Transmitting also needs practice. Course you spell every letter but if correctly learned you will spell it in morse :) while you transmit.
Ask some local ham to live watch a CW training session of yours. It would come up with some improvement.
Wish you progress to have a nice conversation with Lynn,NG9D from the video above.
Wrong with 20/12 is that you won't really be able to head copy at that speed ever. Keep your expectations high if you wish some results. Target 20/20. You're coming into CW world so would be a great thing to adapt yourself to it instead of asking CW world to lower the standard. Course, you will get answer at lower speeds and you will train for higher ones.
We're not talking about 40wpm, but about18 to 20wpm which is a "de facto" standard for a decent conversation.

I beg to differ. While it is certainly true that most QSOs take place at 20 to 25wpm, it is absolutely not necessary to have that level of proficiency to work in CW, have fun doing it and increasing ones skills at the same time. I found the CW community to be willing to adapt to my meager 15wpm all the time. I also don't think that head copy is necessary right from the start; it'll come with time and practice. The important thing for Lynn is to finish the 40 lessons at a lower spped, get on the band and improve her proficiency on the air. My $0.02.

Lowering the standard or target will only do one thing ; will help you get asleep into complacency.
I am not a pro but understood one thing; you need some speed to get fun with Morse. Apparently it starts at 18-20. Was not aware of this before.
As long as you only build the reflex of hearing -writing there is only a matter of time until you succeed; If done right!
Head copy ; I am the same opinion with you Andreas. Moreover I am sure the first operators, did headcopy as a result of their proficiency , not as a purpose in itself. I just mentioned that with 20/12 or even 20/15 will never be possible.

Lynn, I suggest you plow through the remaining 12 steps at what ever pace you feel comfortable. Once you have finished the 40th lesson, then practice your sending at the EFFECTIVE speed you've been learning at. If you've been using 20/14. Then practice your sending at what ever speed you can reliably send with your key/paddle. As Andreas mentioned, if you send at 14wpm people will usually come back to you at 14wpm. If you send at 20wpm they will come back to you at 20wpm and that might be too fast for you in the beginning.

To practice my sending, I found it very useful to connect my radio's output to my computer's sound card input and use the FLDIGI freeware program to see if it can decode what I am sending. Once you are relatively comfortable (not perfect) sending the QSO basics from a script as Andreas has mentioned, then get on the air and make contacts! Find a code buddy to practice with each night for 30 - 60 minutes. A fellow LCWO member found me on this forum and was kind enough to work with me several nights each week for the last month and it has been a BIG help.

I read on the eHam forums about a fellow who has been teaching the code to people in his area for many years and his strongest advice is get on the air, make 5 contacts a day, and after 500 contacts you should be operating at 25 wpm without problem. I've only just begun to make CW contacts, but I'm on my way. For more info, search for WB2WIK on the eHam CW forum -- interesting guy.

W9MIC

Thank you so much for the information and advice. I am trying to work my way through this. I have never had this much trouble learning anything in my life. I want to learn.. I am having troubles. I guess we all do. I am tired of hearing and reading how someone learned this in 2 weeks. Or just sat down and started doing Cw. Cw is a brain game all of the way. I have found there is help hear. I like that so I ask when I need help or need to know I am not the only dumb girl in the world. Man, This is hard. It never seems to get easer.