[CW] ?"Morse Therapy"
Danny Douglas
n7dc at comcast.net
Wed Aug 27 08:12:27 EDT 2008
One can do what they physically can, and I always admire those who, like
you, manage as well as you do. During our Boy Scout National Jamboree, in
1985, one of the staff members showed up, and only then did we find he was
blind. It necessitted a change in schedules, which was quickly done,
because he had been scheduled to type in personal messages they boys had for
their folks, girlfriends, etc. - on the computer, taking them off fmesage
orms the boys turned in. In the meantime they needed to change the schedule
for me also, to take me off some of the operating positions, and put me on a
previously unplanned instructor position. They hadnt planned any classes at
all in ham radio - and my working the desk the first few days, caused a
dozen people requesting classes. I eventually wound up under a tree with a
code key and oscillator in hand.
One of the things that most people have a problem with is hand printed copy
in excess of 20-25 wpm. We can all pretty much learn to copy code faster
than we can write/print. Normally, all code copiers, for government or
commercial installations, had to turn in perfect copy messages, thus were
all trained to type on a mill - which is just a typewriter with ALL CAPS.
No smaller characters are used at all. There are ways to increase your
writing speed, and we were taught particular strokes of the pen to do that,
but reasonably one can only do up to a certain speed, Beyond that, its just
too difficult. When I first really got into hamming big time, I used a
typewriter, and later on simply use a computer keyboard, with MS word set up
on the screen.
Today, like many, I just hand print the necessary info: call, name, qth,
ant, etc on a piece of paper - or if things are slow enuff, fill in the
logging program on the computer, as we go along. (Use DXKeeper here).
Some people have been known to copy with cursive characters, but as for me,
its just not working. I have hard enough time reading my own writing
without having to speed along. HI.
Patterns are definitely the in thing to do, and how most high speed
operators do recognize words, versus letter by letter characters. I teach
code at 18-20 wpm, with spacing at 5 wpm) , thus providing the student the
ability to "capture" words, versus single letters, as he copies. I also
teach by grouping particular letter together, insuring the student learns
each letter as we go along, with many many repeats of the group as he learns
the next group as well. For instance: E T A I O N S, is the first group,
with each letter introduced and pounded into the ground, before he goes to
the next. Once the group is sent, I teach "words" or at least send words,
using only those letters: EAT TEA ATE SON SIT TAN SAINT, etc. When
they have one hundred precent copy, I then introduce the letters of the next
group, and when sending those, go back and also scatter thru it, the letters
of the first group. It works. I have never had a student, NOT learn the
code. I actually, around 1961, had one Boy Scout learn the entire alphabest
and all the numbers, and other needed characters IN 30 MINUTES. At the end
of his session, he passed the NOVICE code test. At the afore mention
Jamboree, I had a half dozen pass the Novice code in two days, after only
about 4 hours of training. Some 3-4 days later, all of them passed their
Novice test , which they took from the VE group that was provided by the
Jamboree staff. Since then, the jamboree staffs have always included plans
for ham radio teaching. They even hire the staff for that, in advance. I
only wish I had been able to take advantage of that type of teaching, when I
was working on CW, in Scouting, but I hadnt dreamed it up by then. HI.
Danny Douglas
N7DC
ex WN5QMX ET2US WA5UKR ET3USA
SV0WPP VS6DD N7DC/YV5 G5CTB
All 2 years or more (except Novice)
Pls QSL direct, buro, or LOTW preferred,
I Do not use, but as a courtesy do upload to eQSL for
those who do.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Zond" <k3miy at csonline.net>
To: "CW Reflector" <cw at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 9:53 PM
Subject: RE: [CW] ?"Morse Therapy"
Hi Danny
I usually send at 20 to 25 wpm. Because of visual impairment, I don't write
very well.
I am making effort to type the copy on the computer, but it is a slow
process. I do a
lot of traffic handling, and have to block print at speeds in excess of 25
wpm.
Ted McElroy's trick of copying behind works quite well, and he could copy in
excess
of 75 wpm. He won the Ashville (NC) code tournament in 1939. I devised my
own methods of learning Morse, and got the characters in three weeks. I
learned
to read paterns of characters at 30 wpm. Usually get the conversation
without trouble.
Don't use a keyboard to send CW; that's not kosher hi :-). At any rate, I
agre with you
that a lot of folks would have trouble copying (writing) what they heard at
speeds in
excess of 5 wpm. 73
Ron
K3MIY
PS Do you have any tips for writing clearly at speeds above 30 wpm?
-----Original Message-----
From: cw-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:cw-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On
Behalf Of Danny Douglas
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 5:29 PM
To: CW Reflector
Subject: Re: [CW] ?"Morse Therapy"
As one who learned "Morse" in Scouting (via light, sound and wig wag flag),
then later worked as a senior intercept operator in the Army Security Agency
and then signals NCO in a Green Beret Bazillion, and then finally worked
circuits as a telecommunications officer with the State Department and
Department of Defense for 29 years - I find this all somewhat familiar.
But, one must realize, that "skimming" for information as we mostly do as
hams is not quite what the rest of the world would consider "copying" code.
Yes, we can hear and write down calls, names, QTH, bits about antennas etc;
sometimes at a quite rapid rate. Many of these rapid exchanges we are
hearing, especially today, are guys who send only a word or three, or at
most a sentence with the above info, and then turn it over to their QSO
partner- and some have become quite proficient at it. They can knock QSOs
off at astounding rates: 2-4-6-12 , who knows, a minute -0- and get them all
in the logs too. But, I have noted, when talking with some of them, that
the minute one asks an "oddball" question, even simply for a repeat of
something, that suddenly ones on signal just got bad! We drop from 599 to
349. Strange occurrence.
Copying, by the way, means transferring it from sound to written language,
missing nothing, getting it 100 percent correct, and if not, asking for
repeats and fills, until you do. Those of us who got paid for it, were held
to high standards. After all, you the citizens paid for it, and do you want
us to send us a message from some embassy or military unit, saying the world
may come to an end if we dont do A -B - C about it, and then leave out the
C? Do you want to order 1000 shares of GM (Today?- you gotta be kidding) ,
and then find out we passed the word you only wanted 100 (In that case it
woud be more kind).
Now, I am not saying its most or a majority of operators who I have notice
this from, but the numbers have certainly been going up. They, most often
than not, do seem to have nice clip-along code. Its almost like you could
probably read it with a computer! That's quite different from the days of
old too. I used to be able to sit and jazz along (writing each and every
character on paper) and at the same time, recognize exactly who the op was
on the other end - even before hearing his call. It was like hearing their
individual "voice" and recognizing them as an old friend, or at lest someone
who I had talked with from time to time. Back then- we called it "swing".
Today, it all sounds the same. Must be my ears? Thought so anyway. Even
went to the doctor and had them checked recently. He said I "have" lost
some upper range hearing. My wife gets my attention, but I cant always make
out that she is asking me to take out the garbage. But - she usually
manages to get the message across anyway.
Anyway, all this hasn't stopped me from listening-in, nor will it, if I have
any say in it. Ill still be hear listening to the CW bands for another
expedition like the "TI KI" to holler "help we are sinking", or another
motor sailor down in the Caribbean asking for someone to pass on that their
motors have quit, and their sails have torn, to their embassy in Washington,
or any number of other smaller items that we hams may be able to help with
as the days go on. ((I just hope those ships maintain some type of
equipment whereby they "can" get on the ham bands, when all else has failed.
Danny Douglas
N7DC
ex WN5QMX ET2US WA5UKR ET3USA
SV0WPP VS6DD N7DC/YV5 G5CTB
All 2 years or more (except Novice)
Pls QSL direct, buro, or LOTW preferred,
I Do not use, but as a courtesy do upload to eQSL for
those who do.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Zond" <k3miy at csonline.net>
To: "CW Reflector" <cw at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 4:38 PM
Subject: RE: [CW] ?"Morse Therapy"
Right on Hans. That's why they called them "fists" 73.
Ron
K3MIY
-----Original Message-----
From: cw-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:cw-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On
Behalf Of K0HB
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 1:47 PM
To: CW Reflector
Subject: Re: [CW] ?"Morse Therapy"
That's a very nice piece, David, but I have to take issue with this
sentence.
> The words appear right inside my head, words that were never
> spoken; uncorrupted by accents, verbal peculiarities, oddities
> of vocal intonation.
Good Morse.....
(not the popular robotic-sterile machine produced morse but real
hand-produced Morse sent by a skilled radioman)
..... >>DOES<< contain "accents, peculiarities, and intonation".
That's not called "corruption", it's called "communications enhancement".
73, de Hans, K0HB
Most Reverend Keeper of the Codes of Q
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