[CW] New RadioTelegraph Operator License

[Radio K0HB]

That depends on how you learned Morse.

Navy trained operators would find it MUCH easier to copy 5-letter cipher groups (at any speed) than to copy plain text.

When a seasoned Navy operator copies cipher text the code goes directly via a short circuit from your ear to your finger tip without being acted on in any conscious manner by your brain.  The five-character rhythm gives you a natural parity/sync check and, if needed, enough time to reconsider a questionable character in the previous group.

In contrast, when copying plain text the operator was tempted to “read” what was being sent, engaging their mind with the text, and consequently sacrificing speed.  

In the 1950’s a Chief at NSS compiled a tally of ship-requested retransmission requests of FOX messages over a 3 month period.  He sorted the ZDK requests into “cipher” and “plain text” buckets.  As a weighted percentage of their respective format, plain text repeats outranked cipher a little more than 2:1, and that doesn’t consider the fact that plain text could usually be “repaired” by the operator.

73, de Hans, K0HB
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From: D.J.J. Ring, Jr. 
The 20 wpm English is easy, the 16 gpm ciphers are much more difficult, so in reality the FCC erred by allowing the amateur license to parley into a commercial license, it just isn't the same, but good amateurs certainly can pass the 16 gpm test but many, many guys who passed the 20 wpm could not pass the 16 gpm cipher test.

73

David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA  Radio-Officers Group -- Join CW email list -- Historic Morse Recordings 
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