[CW] 25 WPM Sending

[Chris R. NW6V]

Hi Richard.

I wondered about those reported speeds when learning how to go fast. My
research indicates that the laws of physics haven't changed all that much
since the old days... a human hand can only be caused to move so fast, and
that's that.

First off, random groups are slower than plain text because plain text
contains more of the common, and thus easier/quicker-to-send characters.
So, 26WPM on random groups is equivalent to something like 30 WPM for plain
text.

American Morse - which was used for telegraphy - took it one step further -
someone once called it the "dit code" because it uses more dit
combinations. It was optimized for speed - specifically to improve
competitive stance compared to other, non-operator-dependent, telegraph
systems. So, in American Morse, 30 WPM plain text in Continental works out
closer to 34-35 WPM at the same hand speed.

Continental Morse, which is the lingua franca of CW, as all probably know,
was invented to accommodate the extra vowels required to support European
languages, which American Morse could not.

The official plain text Continental Morse record (Guinness Book) is 35 WPM.
I saw a detailed comparison of this result with an official record of
someone sending American Morse back in the early 1900s, which was over 40
WPM - and the math worked out that both were within a fraction of a WPM of
each other, allowing for the differences in the code itself.

Contests switched from plain text to random groups in the early 1900s  so
English-speaking ops wouldn't have an advantage based on the ability to
anticipate what letters might be coming next.

Then throw in the use - extensive use - of contractions and abbreviations,
on the telegraph lines - and the very best ops reputedly hit 50+ WPM -
Edison reportedly was in that league, when he was a very young fellow - and
parlayed his initial reputation to - everything.

Thus, the "need for speed" resulted in fame, fortune, and opportunity. As a
result of these motivations, and peer pressure, the best ops were able to
do these kinds of speeds for long periods. However, getting there was
challenging, and somewhat risky because like a runner, a Morse op was
subject to injury - glass arm. Thus the physics of our anatomy was the
limiting factor in speed. The bug - "speed key" - was invented not so much
as a "cure" for glass arm as is commonly believed, but as a means for mere
mortals to attain speeds reserved for the elite, without the same effort,
skill, and risk.

73 Chris NW6V


On Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 8:25 AM Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
wrote:

>    Sounds very good! I am curious, my understanding is that wire
> Morse was done at quite high speeds before bugs were invented.
> Was that done with hand keys or was it sending via tape?
>
> On 9/1/2020 5:08 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote:
> > The audio file is attached.
> >
> > 73
> > DR
> >
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> --
> Richard Knoppow
> 1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
> WB6KBL
>
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