[Elecraft] Copying CW at high speeds

[K8TE]

CW scared me to death after my traumatic experience with the FCC in Syracuse
NY in 1960.  I had only several weeks to practice since I had been in HK4 as
an exchange student for a long Summer where I operated SSB on a friend's
DX-100 and HQ-170.  I passed the General, but probably with one or no
characters to spare.  At 14 years old, that made a lasting impression!

With the advent of vanity calls, I chose to dump WA8WWM for K8TE in the
mid-1970s.  I also passed  the 1st Class Radiotelephone in Detroit and the
2nd Class Radiotelegraph exam in Lubbock a couple years later.  I though the
plain text for the latter was 22 wpm and cypher groups at 18.  It was a long
time ago.

CW for me went by the wayside until FD 2012 when I had to fill-in an empty
two-hour CW slot, I the SSB Team captain.  With trepidation, I started
running.  With about 150 calls in the log, I decided it was possible to
operate CW and not achieve a higher heart beat than QSO rate.

Since then, I have used LCWO.net for callsign practice.  I can copy at 75%
accuracy above 40 wpm now.  I have a friend who listens to CW at the gym or
on the road and has improved his speed significantly.  I have yet to feel a
desire to rag chew.  But I can easily copy my callsign in DX pileups well
above the infrequent 35 wpm speed.  I am proof that practice matters a lot!

My purpose is to encourage the synapses to transfer callsigns and exchanges
from sound to the keyboard.  I don't have time to rag chew in CW and rarely
find time for extended SSB QSO's.  Still, I really enjoy chasing DX, POTA,
SOTA, Counties, contesting, etc., especially on CW where contacts (usually)
are brief and to the point, to say nothing of the difference in FD (no
"Please Copy", Bill, AE6JV).

Happy New Year and 73, Bill, K8TE



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