cb:
This idea of Brushup's - that you need to understand perfect code before you get on the bands - is fine if you have high aptitude and are heading for 25wpm in a month or two and the FCOC or CWOC or HSTC.
Topic starter Tonyd obviously has high aptitude. just like me.
I think it is true for all people exercising here. Hence including myself. There was a discussion some time ago on eham.net in the CW forum. Operators there were complaining about hams on the bands (lesson 40 of LCWO in their belt) asking for QRS, When they willingfully did, the QRS-requesters still could not copy. No they had to tx characters with 20 wpm and letterspaces with 5wp up to minimum 10 wpm. So 2-way communication was simply impossible with the (double) paddle electronic keyer guys that went down to the bottom at 5 wpm. (5/5 they couldn't copy, it had to be between 20/5 up to 20/10 Only the guys working with mechanical bugs put them with the adjustable weight at 20 wpm and make character spaces by hand at 5 or 10 wpm.
So when you reach lesson 40 with 20/10 or 20/5 you still can't read regular Morse code,
Above that, when you meet a guy with a straight key, (invited by his electronic timed cq cq cq call call call, you still will have a too hard time, because sending with a straight key 20/5 is like reading a letter from your century old aunt Abigail written by handwriting while she is nearly blind and suffering from Parkinson disease.
cb:
The advice from people who are going to make it to fast operators ( decoders actually ) does not apply to the people who are struggling and will struggle to make 15 wpm.
I personally am sure that fast operators are fast operators and are not psychological patients with some mental disorder, [using decoders in order to impress other people], they better take a mortgage in order to buy a car - lamborghini or whatever - to impress their neighbours, there are allways people to test them. Since the development of decoders the number of fast operators is not obviously increased.
However AH8DX told me that microelectronic devices with the size of a bean to push in an ear are available to repeat a call at half the speed. Produced in Belarussia.
So the Mprse champiomship equivalent of Bruce Armstrong representing the USA in the Tour de France.
cb:
Someone on this forum actually "quoted" Brushup - that you won't get a reply on the bands unless your morse is perfect - you will be lidded and ignored
( except by HAMS of course )
The LID is a CW abbreviation for L-icenced ID-iot. As a matter of fact nowadays the license requirements are at such a low level, that you may expect that people with IQ below the defined idiot level can get it at first try. They do only need the possibility to push a button and turn a knob of some commercially available and by the supplier free installed equipment, in practice.
So learn Morse code and make a pre-selection at people that did the time consuming job of decoding the handwritten sounds where decoders fail.
cb:
Who needs random code detection Nonag ?? HAMS are not permitted to send coded messages.
CW needs new blood. Most of this potential new blood will make 20wpm in a year or more.
I read nonaginirain's message different, I think he means the 5 character codegroup Koch lessons are building up expertise in decoding random characters and when Topic Starter starts to word exercises, het has a fall back because he starts exercising understanding the semantics of a bunch of characters being a word.
cb:
To become a CW HAM you need to read:-
call sign ( repeated several times, and you can ? for it again )
an OP's name ( repeated slowly several times )
a QTH ( repeated slowly several times )
and some stuff which is the same for most QSOs
tnx fer call/QSO =
ur RST 5NN =
fb =
hw? =
QTH london( Paris,New York ) =
wx es rain =
K
All the difficult stuff is repeated several times.
Once you are on the air a bit you can worry about becoming faster.
Yes qth London and wx=rain is a tautology, not so? Just like 80 years ago QTH London ? London wx foggy foggy
Don't become angry, just kidding.
cb:
Presently, without a success, Tonyd will blow up, melt down and then give up to save his health and sanity - joining the 90% and removing a great wodge of enthusiasm, commitment, and effort from the CW world, probably for ever - which you may if you wish, contrast with the amount of effort expended by those who got to 25wpm in a month.
Tonyd might well make 40 wpm at some point, or he might not, but his current issue is avoiding burn out.
I agree Tonyd asks a question about degeneration of his effort results. I am sure he will succeed, Kudo's to Nonagerain who IMHO gave him the best possible advice.
cb:
Starting use of CW at whatever standard is the way ahead.
There is only one standard https://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-M.1677-1
cb:
If anyone doesn't like learners - fine, QSO elsewhere.
IMNSHO
AFAIK everyone on the bands are helping beginners, however K7QO wrote someone did not when he was learning and it was his motivation to become the fastest american, never asking for QRS. hence EVERY behavior is explicable.
My opinion is humble, your not so humble as you wrote: IMNSHO, Readers may decide which is the best opinion, I vote for Nonagerain.
wouter