User name:
Password:

Forgot password? - Sign up

ad8jl Alex1964 Carabansiti chriscrewdson clickety DC3WX dembdaoc Didi30net ea4dte gsamsmith hchkrdtn IU4IVR IU7ISR Jankers K1JO K7AMM kd9ppx KQ4R Mayl N1NS pa3htz PeMue pipsqueak2211 Romaner sp5mtx SP6EN SP9SNC TEDDYEDWARD Thorgaran W9MIC WZ5D ykzwys

I am not able to distinguish H and 5 at 35/35. Any tips?

Letters can often be deduced from context.

Numbers not so - so:-

1/ transact numbers slower
2/ make sure you know its a number
3/ repeat it ( like your OP name is , call sign, QTH etc )

If the code is keyer generated then you can use the length of the char as an indicator . . .

NOTE
Accuracy always transcends speed as a requirement.

Training doesn't always match real world.

You will have a limit somewhere . . .

YMMV

Is that the only difficulty you are having ?


cb

use the program qrq from Fabian DJ5CW

http://fkurz.net/ham/qrq.html

Toplist:
http://fkurz.net/ham/qrqtop.php

73 Rüdiger DD5RK

Downloaded, compiled, installed qrq. Thanks.

Good job.
If you have Linux, it is normally in the package management.
Have fun.
73 Rüdiger DD5RK

I have not mastered CW at lower speeds, and have other problems, but I do believe in full-speed practice. Can you distinguish H,5 at 35/35?

[quote=metaqwe]I am not able to distinguish H and 5 at 35/35. /quote]

I doubt that many of us here can. My tip? Slow down and don't worry about it.

[quote=W1KDG]

yes, i have seen, that he is on lesson 3 ?
First make all the 40 lessons and learn all characters before you speed up.

Original Koch method was 12/12 wpm
and learning all letters in 13 hours.

If you master 12/12, you can make real QSOs.

73 Rüdiger DD5RK

"5" is lesson 23 and "h" is lesson 28
so
not really on lesson 3

So you may have been right to tell him about the qrq program
but
still better not to spend too much time on 5/h

CB

Thanks for all the replies. OK. Now I dropped down to lesson 1 in Koch sequence.

I can see that I am using the tools here a little differently than others in this forum.

So only 12 lessons to go?
Just do it, bring it to an end for the 1. time, all 40 lessons.
The qrq program only makes sense, if you
know all letters and numbers, at what speed is not important.

73 Rüdiger DD5RK

We don't know anything about you except what you tell us - which I take at face value and so I answer what you ask.

There are no real short-cut tips for learning morse except practice the right amount and keep going.

In the olden days when nonag was learning ( 1935-ish), there were no tapes, records, mp3 files, web pages and on-line courses
so
everyone learned by listening on the radio.


The most important factor is your innate aptitude - built up of many component parts from your hearing to your spelling.

If you have higher aptitude then you can learn at 35/35 and be fine.


The (late) G4FON https://www.g4fon.net/CW%20Trainer2.php https://www.g4fon.net/ advocated learning at the speed you wish to use

but you don't know what speed you are capable of when you start - so be prepared to find out painfully if you start at 35wpm ( just in case )


Some people pick up CW in a few weeks.

The vast majority of people will take months and maybe years.

If you keep going you will get there, but you might find your top RX speed is limited to 15wpm or 20wpm.

That's still ok for normal QSO and calling for help up a mountain/in the middle of the pacific etc
AND
picking up a distress ( 15wpm for distress calls )

Of course if your innate top is 20wpm and all your family and the local club chat at 40wpm then you maybe won't be too happy, so you need to decide in that instance.




Though we can't give speed up tips really - we can point out areas where people have gone a bit wrong and given up.


Progressing through the exercises too quickly - so it didn't sink in and is just in short term memory. Get to lesson 10-12 and stall


Using a keyboeard when you cant type automatically- risk hear code-> which key - but no meaning forming in your mind. You will need the keyboard.

You are ( probably ) trying to learn to decode in your head - so you need to build an automatic response = hear-code->char appears in your head as if from no-where.

This can take lots of repeat-repeat-repeat. No short cuts - do the work.

Forget speed - unless you have high aptitude - just get through the 40 exercises at whatever speed you need to keep making progress, however slow.


But we ( and possibly you too ) don't know your aptitude ( or motivation, or commitment, or how much time you have to spend ) so we can't advise you what speed to go.


Then speed up.

YMMV

CB

CB Thanks for the reply. Do you have any tips for assessing aptitude at the beginning of training?

I wish . . .

What a lot of angst that would save.




What speed would you like to be able to decode? Try that first and see how you go.

15wpm - HAM OK on the air. The correct speed for any distress signals.

20wpm - HAM probably a good on the air standard with QRM QRN fading etc

25wpm - Standard for professional operators. Hams mostly want to manage this . .

35wpm - Standard most professional operators could do. No so many HAMS do this, but lots can do.

40wpm - QRQ clubs. Great if you can do it - but probably 20wpm becomes a bit annoying for you if you spend your time exercising at this speed.


So choose and start the lessons.


Make sure you get a few 90%s before moving on to the next exercise, so you know it's not just short-term memory.

If it hasn't sunk in you will likely get stuck just after lesson 10 with problems with characters you thought you already knew.


Try 2 x 15 min sessions a DAY - but DON'T do 15 mins in one go.

As soon as you get fatigue you stop learning.

Contrary to some popular belief you are not muscle building.

However if you are trying to speed up after finishing all 40 exercises then things are a bit different.

Do 15 seconds runs at first, with a 10 second break, so you will be there some time for your whole 15 mins.

Don't try too hard. It's a repeat-repeat exercise not a strain. Don't let your mind wander else you are missing repeats.


Write it down - don't type it straight in. You don't want to need a keyboard all the time.

You must decode to characters in your mind - not straight to key presses.


Get your headphones sorted out. If buds - make sure the rubber is the right size.

Choose an audio frequency at which you can easily distinguish dits and dahs.

This might not be such an issue, but I think it s often overlooked. if you can't hear it you wont decode it.

You will be able to tell if you can hear dits and dahs properly.

Try just repeating the dits and dahs as they come back and see if you get lost doing this simple exercise.


If you don't make progress then you need to adjust something - which might be the speed or might be the spacings between groups or might be the audio frequency.

In essence - IF you can distinguish dits and dahs easily AND so the sequences of dits and dahs sound like separate entities, by recognising such entities then thinking of the character they represent you will form a link between the two and an automatic response hear code -> letter pops into your mind.

Soon you will be able to tell what your likely overall aptitude is. Whatever it is accept it as fine.


Try to make steady progress - else you might get fed up and give up.

Try to get through all 40 lessons at a steady rate.


Don't give up. You can do it, it's just you will have some maximum speed at which you can decode.


Don't worry so much about too slow - you can soon speed up a bit. Too fast and you may stall.


Don't worry about how fast anyone else is going. Just sort yourself out. Ignore "I learned it all in 2 weeks" etc


Let us know how you get on.

Good luck. Try to enjoy it - positive is good.


CB

cb
Very good words of wisdom and encouragement. Thank you. I am trying to pick up CW again after 40 years and am having trouble this time around. But with your insightful words I'm going to relax and enjoy the process.

Gene
AC9GR

Here's a link to a forum thread on this topic:

https://lcwo.net/forum/2045/confuse-similar-pair-letters-H-5-and

Here is another link to a similar thread:

https://lcwo.net/forum/2436/Numbers-4-6-7-5--V-B-B-H-and-Headcopy

And another thread on confusing letter pairs, with some discussion about music training:

https://lcwo.net/forum/2030/confusing-k-and-r

Great thread!
I just love the last comment in it.

I looked at G4FON's (SK) trainer. I could not distinguish 5/H at 35/35 despite adjusting pitch and signal strength.

I could distinguish 5/H at 35/35 with Morse Machine by G4ILO (SK), so I am working with that.

I will check back with custom character sets on the Morse Machine here to see if training improves that ability.