[CW] HST Conversion to WPM

Tue May 2 20:47:58 EDT 2023

Here's more info on this.  I have no idea what measurements they're using.
I heard something about "marks" but I don't know what that means.

It says 500 is 100 Words per minute.
But WPM isn't GPM, because English is faster than code groups. 20 WPM = 16
GPM.

   - At the HST competition you have to transmit one minute of random 5
   letter groups from a sheet of paper you have never seen before, which is
   more difficult than sending plain text in a language of your choice. If you
   make an error and have to repeat a group, the repetition of the wrong group
   does not count as additional sent letters.

http://www.highspeedtelegraphy.com/HST-News

https://www.arrl.org/news/high-speed-telegraphy-on-the-world-stage

High Speed Telegraphy on the World Stage06/11/2009

The October 1936 issue of *QST* reported
<http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=18072&pub=qst> on the first
official "Amateur Code Speed Contest" ever held. Eugene A. Hubbell, W9ERU,
took home the silver trophy with his winning speed of 52.2 words per
minute. Held at the ARRL Central Division Convention that year, the contest
required operators to decipher plain language text for two minute intervals
that ranged in speed from 25 to 52.7 words per minute. "Only bona-fide
amateurs, holding at least an amateur operator's license, were eligible" to
compete in the contest, the article stated.

Fast forward to 1995. Competitors from 15 countries on three continents
traveled to Siofok, Hungary
<http://www.hungary-tourist-guide.com/siofok.html> to show off their CW
operating skills in the first IARU High Speed Telegraphy (HST) World
Championship. According to Barry Kutner, W2UP, HST has long been considered
a sport in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, similar to chess or an
Olympic sport. Kutner was the sole US representative at the 2005 HST World
Championship in Macedonia. In 2009, he is leading a team of seven this
September to Obzor, Bulgaria
<http://www.bulgariansearesorts.com/resorts/obzor/> for the Eighth High
Speed Telegraphy IARU World Championship <http://www.hst2009.eu/>.

Kutner said that most of the participating IARU Member-Societies hold a
national competition in their country, seeking members to field and sponsor
a team to the World Championship. "In some of the eastern European
countries, where they take this very seriously, there are team and/or
individual coaches, too," he said. Competitors must be licensed Amateur
Radio operators, except entrants in the younger categories may be SWLs. The
IARU HST World Championships follow rules
<http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/archives/hstrules.pdf> set forth by the
IARU Region 1 High Speed Telegraphy Working Group.

In the US, Kutner said there really isn't much of an interest in HST, so
those who wish to participate in the World Championship must do so at their
own expense. "In past years, there has either been one -- myself in 2005
and Ilya Kleyman in 2007 -- or no US participants," he told the ARRL. "This
year, we have a team!"

The US team consists of shortwave listener Brana Kleyman (category A, women
16 and younger); Kody Low, KB3RUP, and Cal Darula, K0DXC (category B, men
16 and younger); Ilya Kleyman, KE7OPG, and Ken Low, NV1P (category H, men
age 40-49), and Gary Schmidt, W5ZL, and Kutner (Category I, men 50 and
older). "The 2 OM categories are full," Kutner said. "But we are always
looking for younger hams, especially young ladies!" There are nine
categories, and each country can only send two competitors per category,
for a maximum of 18 competitors.

*The Competition*

There are three main competitive events at HST meets: Transmitting,
receiving and receiving Amateur Radio call signs via *RUFZxp
<http://www.rufzxp.net/>*; the sending and receiving portions of the
competition are referred to as the Radioamateur Practicing Tests (RPT).
There is also a pileup competition.

In the RPT, random letters and numbers are sent via Morse code -- five
characters at a time -- at a high speed. Separate competitions are held for
the reception of only the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, only the 10
Arabic numerals or a mixed content of letters, numbers and some punctuation
symbols. Competitors may choose to record the text by hand on paper or by
typing on a computer keyboard. The competition starts with one minute of
transmission sent at an initial speed defined for the entry category
(usually 50 letters per minute for juniors and 80 letters per minute for
the other age categories). After each test, the competitors' copy is judged
for errors. Subsequent tests are each conducted at an increased speed until
no competitor remains who can copy the text without excessive error.

The transmission tests require competitors to send five character groups in
Morse code as fast as possible. Competitors send a printed message of five
character groups at a specific speed that is judged for its accuracy by a
panel of referees. Like the receiving tests, there are separate
competitions for sending five character groups of only letters, only
numbers or a mixed content of letters, numbers and some punctuation symbols.

Kutner noted that 100 letters per minute is equivalent to 25 words per
minute and 100 numbers per minute is equal to 36 words per minute. The
mixed category of 100 letters, numbers and punctuation is equal to 29 words
per minute.

The Amateur Radio Call Sign Receiving Test uses a software program called
*RufzXP* that generates a score for each competitor. *Rufz* is the
abbreviation of the German word *Rufzeichen-Hören* that means "listening of
call signs." In *RufzXP*, competitors listen to an Amateur Radio call sign
sent in Morse code and must enter that call sign with the computer
keyboard. If the competitor types in the call sign correctly, their score
improves, and the speed at which the program sends subsequent call signs
increases. If the competitor types in the call sign incorrectly, the score
is penalized and the speed decreases. Only one call sign is sent at a time
and the event continues for a fixed number of call signs (usually 50).
Competitors can choose the initial speed at which the program sends the
Morse code and the winner is the competitor with the highest generated
score.

There is also a Pileup Trainer Test that simulates a pileup situation on
the air -- numerous stations attempt to establish two-way contact with one
particular station at the same time. This competition uses a software
program called *MorseRunner <http://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/>*. In this
test, more than one amateur radio call sign is sent at a time via Morse
code that is generated at different audio frequencies and speeds, timed to
overlap each other. Competitors must record as many of the call signs as
they can during a fixed period of time. They may choose to do this either
by recording the call signs by hand on paper or by typing them in with a
computer keyboard. The winner is the competitor with the most correctly
recorded call signs.

*Off to Bulgaria!*

Kutner said that each US team member practices on an individual basis,
using both on-the-air and computer generated CW. As the team gears up for
Bulgaria, "we are in frequent contact via e-mail, exchanging tips and
ideas," he said.

HST has definitely come a long way since 1936 when Hubbell dazzled the
crowds with 52.2 words per minute; competitors at the IARU HST World
Championships consistently have speeds of more than 500 characters per
minute -- 100 words per minute. While it's too late to join the 2009 US
team, it's not too early to think about upcoming events. If you are able to
copy and/or send CW at dizzying speeds, why not think about attending the
next IARU HST World Championship? For more information on HST events,
contact Kutner via e-mail <w2up at arrl.net>.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/attachments/20230502/1fa23dd8/attachment-0001.html>