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7k1gij AJ5TX BI1SOP CR2022mix damianmatyjasik dbaker97015 elk841 JF8KBH kd5smf KE5RZL ke8ttq LoodCW ofe RL7LBU Robinhood skmttty test WRCFAN yast yukimasa

Despite wrapping up my Senior year in High school and working basically every day I am very proud to report I have reached lesson 40!! It took about 3.5 months. I am currently working 25/8 - 25/9 character/effective. I find that the stuff on the radio has pretty 'normal' spacing to it. Should I make my next challenge closing the gap between the character/effective? The only time I see people sending with a high character/low wpm is when they are using a keyer or bug and are slowing down for someone. Thanks for the site and those who are on the forums helping!!!!
Gabe
KC1IYX

Yes, you need to work towards 20 wpm effective, regardless what some resident trolls in here say.

But you also should add some extra characters (those that match prosigns) and also Word training and Callsign training.

Okay, So basically do not go down to like 12/12 and instead just keep raising the effective to match?

Exactly and it makes sense. Who really rag chews at 12 wpm nowadays? Keep on progressively raising from 20/12 to 20/13, then 20/14 and so on.

It will take time and it will be frustrating. Deal with it. Learning is unpaid work.

I wasted two years at 20/5, then I restarted from scratch at 20/15, and now I', restarting at 20/20 as it takes to long for me to get to 20 effective, but I still do word and callsign training starting at 20/15 and then it goes up (or down) automatically.

Interesting. How much time do you spend at it per day?

capricerun

Guys that learn 20/12 have a problem, they can't copy normal spaced Morse code, even not 12/12.

You learned 25/8 in order to prevent dot counting and make it easier to finish the course and prevent dropping out when you should have tried 25/25.

What you now have to do first is going over to normal spaced Morse code and after that go to the rf bands with a transceiver.

The way to do that is keep doing lesson 40 decrease your 25 and increase your 8 in such a way that the total number of characters per minute keeps being the same. That is the fastest way to go to normal Morse code spacings.

the average Morse throughput (number of PARIS words per minute) when the character speed is C and the on this website used definition of effective speed is E

is 50.C.E/(31E+19C)

Hence your goal will be for 25/8 the speed of 14/14

When you obtain in general different advice, what could make you hesitate: look in high scores and look for the writers experience and results.

You may calculate a different formula for random characters. The above formula is for plain text.
55

5 minutes at a time 5-6 times a day. But I alternate typing with copying to paper. I also use QRQ from our Fabian and I train for typing speed with keybr.com and monkeytype.com.

I've just switched to a QWERTZ keyboard so I'm restarting from scratch basically.

I also do 2-3 sessions of a couple of minutes a day trying to decode using kiwisdr or websdr. Where I live (ground floor, big city), HF reception is impossible.

Hi Gabe,

you write on qrz.com
"Hello! Currently working on learning CW! Will be on the air soon."

So your goal is to go on air soon?

I'm a newcomer of CW, but I'm on air.

My proposal:

1. Get rid of Farnsworth.

2. Make a minimal QSO template

3. Train sending it with a key of your choice.
Check the result with a code reader and an audio recorder.

4. make call sign training, eg with qrq program from Fabian, or similar program.

5. extract all words, q-codes, abbreviations, your name, call sign (abt. 30) etc. from the QSO template, put it in a text file, and hear it as Morse Code with
20/20 18/18 15/15 12/12 wpm from top to down.
Randomize the text files.
It doesn't matter if you don't hear the upper speeds at first, that comes with training.

6. If you can copy 12/12 go on air.

You can use RNB:

https://rbn.telegraphy.de/
set "Members of" to no filter

call:

cq cq cq de KC1IYX KC1IYX KC1IYX
cq cq cq de KC1IYX KC1IYX KC1IYX
cq cq cq de KC1IYX KC1IYX KC1IYX k

You will see your call and the RNB stations that
received you in RNB.

You can use also
https://rbn.telegraphy.de/activity/KC1IYX
this is an activity heat map

mine is:
https://rbn.telegraphy.de/activity/DD5RK

Both programs are written by Fabian.

You can also use
https://www.reversebeacon.net/
to check propagation for you

7. Call cq and answer cq calls.

8. Have a lot of fun

I think, you are ready to go on air.

Hope to see you on air soon

73 Rüdiger DD5RK

Thanks for the advice, everyone. OC- I type about 90 words per minute which help for decoding but I have to be careful to not make muscle memory and actually mentally realize each character. Very excited to get on the air!!

Rudiger, How did you practice your sending? I have a n iambic keyer and I am hoping it will come naturally. To be honest I haven't touched it much just working on receiving for the moment.

Hi Gabe,

my method was:

1. learning the characters
on
https://lcwo.net/courselesson
you can play all single characters

choose a single character and let it play by the recorder.
set the recorder on "loop"
choose a tone frequency what you like
set speed eg. 15/5

Set the speed of the keyer in your radio also to 15 wpm.
If 15 wpm is too fast try 12 wpm, play a little with the speed.

Set computer speaker out volume so, that you can hear the sound in your headphones connected to your radio.
After the character is played, send it by your key directly after it finished by the player.
Do it for all letters numbers and ? / some times.

Reduce the gap from 15/5 to 15/15 and send your characters synchronous to the player.


The order in which you learn the letters is not important.

Always play only the NEW character in the below examples as SINGLE characters with the audio player to learn it.

Make a cross-off list and cross out all the letters and numbers you have learned.

You can start eg. with:

C and Q >> CQ
G, A, B, E >> GABE
K, C, 1, I, Y, X >> KC1IYX
D, E >> DE (means from)

You exercised:
A B C D E I K X Y

Now you could send already:
if you feel like it, just do it



CQ CQ CQ de KC1IYX
CQ CQ CQ de KC1IYX k

G D T K S FR C A L L >> GD TKS FR CALL (good day thanks for call)

R S T 5 9 9 >> RST 599 (your RST is 599)

N A M E G A B E >> NAME GABE
New Letters: M G

Q T H M A >> QTH MA (you adress)


R I G FT 8 5 7 D >> RIG ft-857d (your rig ft-857d)

P W R 1 T T W >> PWR 1TTW (power of your rig 100W)
P W R 1 0 0 W >> PWR 100W

A N T V E R T >> ANT vert (your vertical antenna)

W X T E M P >> WX TEMP

T K S F E R Q S 0 >> TKS FER QSO (Thank you for QSO)

C U A G E S G D 7 3 >> CUAG ES GD (see you again and good day 73)

Learn the rest of letters and numbers not in the example.

2)

For the quality of you sending you need a reference.
My proposal:

a) use fldigi or an other decoder to decode your sending.
b) Record your sending with an audio recorder. Hear your recorded sending directly after recording and than after 1 day , week etc. Can you copy your own sending.

3)
You now can send every charter.
You made a simple QSO template.

Exercise sending the QSO template until you can memorize them.

CQ CQ CQ de KC1IYX
CQ CQ CQ de KC1IYX
CQ CQ CQ de KC1IYX k

GD TKS FR CALL (good day thanks for call, if you called)
RST 599
NAME GABE
QTH MA

RIG FT 857D
PWR 1TT W
ANT VERT

WX TEMP 17C

TKS FER QSO ES GD 73

[other call] de KC1IYX

4)
Send call signs. QRQ has a huge list of call signs

5)
make a file with the most common CW abbreviations and Q-Codes.
Send them (an listen to them).

6)
make a file with the most common words in a QSO.
Send it.

5)
Send normal clear text from a book or file.
I use literature for radio amateurs.

Do it all as a game, very casual and for fun. Call CQ on the band and see if RNB can pick you up and understand your call sign. If someone answers, don't panic. Call sign and RST is enough for a QSO. But you have your QSO template.
Print it out and put it in front of you. Just give from sight, you've trained it.

Have Fun!

73 Rüdiger DD5RK

If you already have a keyer and want to practice sending, a method I did was using an app called Morse Trainer and hearing the character, then immediately keying it with my paddle. Most rigs will have a sidetone without transmit option. Set the Farnsworth spacing wide enough to allow time to do this and before long you'll get the muscle memory of things. It's not a perfect method but it worked for me. You can also do the alphabet A-Z and number 0-9 until you can proficiently do it without error. Hope that helps.

Congratulations Gabriel. That is a wonderful accomplishment. I am happy for you.

"After the character is played, send it by your key directly after it finished by the player.
Do it for all letters numbers and ? / some times."----Ruediger
This struck me as a very helpful solution, as many people do ask about transmission practice, and this seemed to be another way to practice. Good on ya!

oc -
Thank you for advice. I've been learning morse since 2016 with Koch at 15/10, then 25/15. Always got to level 40, then tried live QSO, couldn't copy it, got frustrated and quit. Few years later would return and increase character speed and try live QSO again and quit.
Few weeks ago I read your advice and today I got to 25/25 with less than 8% of errors.
Finally I am able to copy morse on air.

Hallo...I reached the 25/25 !! I am so happy :-)
I started in 2019 here and after a year of continuous practice, i was able to work on the bands with my homebrew straight key - slow but it makes so mutch fun. Now I am able to read 25wpm and sometimes faster, but my sendig is about 14-18, because of the straight key. Thats ok for me. CW is my preffered mode on the bands.
...and for all who are in the learning process ---keep practice and have fun with CW !!

73,OE8FBF

OE8FBF,

Congratulations!!! What is your homebrew straight key?

73

Thank you....unfortunatelly I am not able to post a foto here, but on www.qrz.com you can find it by searching my callsign.

73, OE8FBF, Harry