[CW] Thank you, Zenith Radio Corporation

[Richard Knoppow]

-----Original Message-----
>From: Garey Barrell <k4oah at mindspring.com>
>Sent: Nov 15, 2013 10:42 AM
>To: CW Reflector <cw at mailman.qth.net>
>Subject: Re: [CW] Thank you, Zenith Radio Corporation
>
>You guys need to 'take the pressure off'.   Just tune in to a good CW signal faster than you can copy.  Then just sit 
>back and enjoy.
>
>If it's considerably faster than you can copy, at first you'll only hear a letter or word once in a while.  But as you 
>listen, you'll find that more and more of it becomes readable.  Once you are 'hearing' it without stress, THEN you can 
>begin to write it down.   This will slow you down again at first, but will soon come back up.
>
>It's just like learning a new language, the more you hear, the easier it becomes.  I got my speed up well past 65 wpm 
>many years ago by getting involved in NTS.  I was meeting four or five nets each night during the week, and the last 
>thing you wanted to do was to have to ask a sending operator for a 'fill'.  Great incentive.!!  Plus, almost every op 
>was top notch and sent essentially 'perfect' cw.  Much less of the truly BAD CW on the air today, thanks to electronic 
>keyers, but the only thing a keyer does for a bad op is enable him to send much more rotten cw, faster!   :-)
>
>73, Garey - K4OAH
>Glen Allen, VA

    I am glad to hear this because its about what I've been doing.  I just listen and don't try to catch more than I can.  It took me quite a while to stop trying to "remember" the signals that I missed. Of course sometimes I could get them but then a lot more would have gone by.  There is a limit on the speed that I can write at. At first I took it in printing army style but than found that cursive was much faster.  I discovered that the old time telegraph operators were _required_ to copy in cursive handwriting (pre-typewriter).  I also practice taking code on a typewriter.  This is of course faster and has the peculiar property that I can copy and not know what I've written until I read it. 
    I think my main problem is that I can't spend enough time practicing.  From what I've read in old books telegraph operators trained at least four hours a day.  
    As far as Zenith goes, I have three Zenith radios, a SS portable, a tube portable, and a c. 1933 floor console.  The latter is a work in progress.  Zenith sets always had a reputation for lots of bass.  FWIW, Zenith was the first company to obtain a license from RCA to make broadcast receivers.