[CW] Farnsworth Method

[Joe Pontek Sr]

I believe learning the characters (letters) at a higher speed is best.  
I started, like many of us old timers (62 years), at 5 WPM.
I switched my teaching method to starting at 20 plus WPM.  It knocked 
off the very bad habit of counting dits and dahs to
listening to a whole character's sound.  15 WPM is still too slow.  At 
20 WPM and higher character speeds, you quickly form
letters into words and progress to higher speeds, which should be your goal.

And, throw away the pencil!  Driving down the road copying CW, you 
cannot write down CW you copy.  You can copy conversational
CW at 30 WPM and higher quite easily.

73, Joe, K8JP/K5

On 4/22/2019 6:12 PM, Richard Knoppow wrote:
> For quite a long time the Farsworth method of teaching Morse code has 
> been considered the best. I am writing because I question that. The 
> Farnsworth method is to send each letter at the "target" speed but 
> space out the letters to the teaching speed. In general, letters are 
> sent no slower than 15 WPM at an speed slower than 15 WPM. All sources 
> of practice code I can find on the web or on the air use this method 
> as do the practice programs I've found for running on a computer (such 
> as the Kotch trainer). I practice pretty much ever day. I have come to 
> the conclusion that, at least for me, this is not a good way of 
> getting the code into your head and that it presents a distorted idea 
> of the rhythm for sending. Also, in practice, where one is sending 
> slowly because of poor radio conditions, it does not really help 
> because the quickly sent letters are no easier to read than they would 
> be were the entire thing sent at the letter speed.
>     This is probably heresy but I am too old and too much an 
> opinionated curmudgeon to care.
>     I wonder what the thoughts of others on this list are since we are 
> a group who use Morse (or Continental to be precise), including not a 
> few who have made their livings at it in the past.
>     For some reason being good at Morse is important to me. I will 
> never be a champion but want to get as good at it as I am capable. I 
> think there are golfers who feel the same way.
> -- 
> Richard Knoppow
> 1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
> WB6KBL

-- 
Regards, Joe, K8JP/V31JP, Ronnie, Martin & Sidney Pontek
175 Diamond Loch Rd., Apt. 5
Gilmer, TX 75644-9374
U.S.A.
or
P.O. Box 280, Dangriga, Stann Creek District
(Hopkins Village) Belize

903-204-2318 (My TX cellular)
903-884-5990 (Skype telephone number, Belize & TX)
Also, K8JP, member FOC-1743, QCWA-LM21894, OOTC-4607, A1OP, SKCC-3171T, NAQCC-5798, Flying Pig-2819, FISTS-7625CC951, A1C-2299, SOC 1075, 10-10 22977, PG1915841, CW Rag chewers #21,
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