[Elecraft] CW Decoding - Your Brain is best

[Stephen Roberts]

Well I've been at it for about 8 months now and have worked only CW (about 1100 QSOs to date) since I got my ticket . I'm just beginning to be able to put down the pen and copy in my head. Sure I miss a couple of words here and there, but for the most part I'm getting much better. I think I'm at a transition point and finding that even though I don't have to write down copy I find it somewhat reassuring and often do it anyway so I don't miss anything. Of course if the WPM goes much faster than about 22 WPM, I can't write fast enough anyway so I have to really focus and let the old brain have at it. I think once I hit the one year mark, I should be in pretty good shape and expect to be able to send and copy at about 30 wpm...not that I have a need for speed, but it's just an observation on my progress during my first year as a ham. It's certainly more relaxing to just sit there and close my eyes and listen rather than frantically trying to write down everything!

73
Steve
W1SFR



On Nov 8, 2012, at 1:52 PM, Andrew Moore wrote:

> Hope anyone who's interested in getting into CW isn't put off by the
> thought of spending hundreds of hours to train or being bored by just
> another digital mode. Larry is 50% right here. I mean that in a positive
> way (i.e. not "50% wrong"!)
> 
> To say that CW is just another digital mode, or that it takes hundreds of
> hours to train, isn't necessarily correct.
> 
> Some of the most exciting moments I had doing CW were when I was studying
> code before I got my ticket, (barely) copying 5 WPM in Mass. from a station
> in Florida which seemed like pulling magic out of the air. At that point I
> had only about 24 hours of CW training. When I got the ticket, my first QSO
> was on a straight key from Tenn. to Washington state (still have the QSL
> card, N7CEY!) was equally thrilling, largely because it was hands-on
> (Internet wasn't even mainstream yet).
> 
> It's a very different *experience* than having a computer do it for you.
> 
> I agree with Larry's recommendation to just jump in and immerse yourself in
> the mode, in whatever form. One way isn't better than the other. For
> upcoming CW enthusiasts, only by trying the different methods available to
> you - digital or analog makes no difference - will you find what you like
> and what you can do without. Find your niche and enjoy it; it's YOUR niche
> and there's a lot of fun out there when you find it. Decode-by-brain comes
> quick for some, especially when they enjoy it. And then, training is
> ongoing - so yes, it can certainly require hundreds of hours, but for some
> those hours seem like a thrill not a chore.
> 
> --Andrew, NV1B
> maineware.net
> ..
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Nov 8, 2012 at 1:15 PM, Larry Libsch <llibsch at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> 
>> 
>>         Your brain IS best at CW decoding - but only after you've spent
>> many hundreds of hours training it. You can work CW DX NOW by getting a
>> Keyer and learning one thing in CW - the sound of your callsign.  Let CW
>> Skimmer decode for you. It's not as good as your brain, but this setup
>> will have you working CW at any speed without dedicating hundreds of
>> hours you might wish to spend otherwise. CW is just another digital
>> mode. Decoders will improve. Get in the CW game now.
>> 
>>                                                     K4KGG,    Larry
>> 
>> 
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