[Elecraft] [OT] Suggested techniques for teaching CW?

[Radio Amateur N5GE]

On Fri, 8 May 2009 19:42:19 +0100, "David Cutter"
<d.cutter at ntlworld.com> wrote:

>I agree with Alan and will add to ignore the advice I have seen in some 
>manuals that tell you not to start sending until you can receive at such and 
>such speed.  In my experience, it's better to start sending straight away 
>with a tutor to correct the sending right from the start - you must not get 
>into bad habits.  This helps reinforce the code in your mind.

Good advice, David.  Learning CW is not just about learning to copy
it, it's also about learning to send it correctly.  That too takes
practice and makes you think about how characters sound.

>
>I've heard that the Koch method works, but I have no direct experience of 
>it.  I know the Farnsworth method of sending/receiving characters about 
>twice as fast as the average, with longer gaps is very helpful.  It gives 
>the receiving student a longer space to recall the character and is thus 
>less frustrating.  Avoid frustration.

When tuning across the bands you can find the folks who learned to
copy by listening to Farnsworth tapes.  They are the ones that send 30
wpm characters at 10 wpm character and word spacing.  If you teach
copying with the Farnsworth method, please teach them to send good 1:3
ratio spacing.

>I learnt character formation by sending at the same time as receiving a 
>repeating group over and over.
>

That's a good method, David!

>David
>G3UNA
>
[snip]

One more comment in support of using CW:

Using CW in weak signal copy conditions gives one a 10 dB advantage of
being copied at the other end.  You will find this to be especially
true from 6m up.  So, if you mostly like VHF/UHF communication CW is a
good thing to have in your bag of tricks.



Tom, N5GE
K3 #806, K3 #1055
XV144, XV432
W1 and other small kits.
http://www.n5ge.com