[Elecraft] copying 75 wpm code

[Indy]

>I've had more than one ASA veteran tell me he could copy
>Morse at 75 (or even 100) wpm, which surprised me a bit.
>The world record since the 1930s has been something like
>75 wpm.  It turned out that they actually meant "characters"
>per minute, not wpm.
>
>Mike / KK5F

The mind, not the ear, has a built in "echo-suppressor."  This can kick =
in at anywhere below perhaps 40 ms, but most typically by 20 ms.  The =
second sound arriving in 20 ms or less is interpretted by the brain, not =
the ear, as an echo and not heard, rather, it is added to the impression =
given by the first sound making the first sound seem louder.

It is called, The Haas Effect.  You can look that up on the web and even =
find downloads which will give you a chance to experience it.  This =
effect is used to create surround sound.

What this all means.  A dit at 60 wpm is 20 ms and the space to the next =
dit or dah is 20 ms.  The normal person will have this and faster CW =
sounds supressed such that the normal person can NOT copy above these =
speeds.  It blurrs together.

There are people who do not have this normal echo suppression brain =
function at work who can copy faster, but it is a small percentage of =
people.

circumventing the problem.

If you can copy Morse up to about 60 wpm then find you are stopped =
there, this islikely the reason.  And there is a way around it.  The =
echo suppression works best at echo pitches, that is, low pitches.  The =
echo supressor in (most) brains diminishes with higher frequencies and =
disappears entirely above about 1,500 cycles.  So, if you can copy 60 =
and would like to try copying 75, set up your radio to hear the CW in =
the piercing high frequency range and you may be startled to find you =
can.  I could.  But that piercing high frequency was anything but =
pleasant to listen to!

in addition to not having echo suppression, McElroy could type... =
v-e-r-y fast, I think I read in excess of 200 wpm.

Have fun with CW,

Fred
kt5x
w5ya/qrp club



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