[SFDXA] CWops Announces the CW Academy

[Bill]

CWops Announces the CW Academy

Whether you’re a newbie who wants to learn Morse code for the first 
time, a re-tread who wants to clean the rust off your key or a 
roadrunner who wants to break the 20 wpm wall, the CW Academy has a 
place for you.

The CWA was created by the CWops club in August, 2011 to provide a place 
for students of all levels to work with mentors, on and off the air, to 
learn or improve their CW language skills. It’s fun and, better yet, 
it’s free!

“For nearly four years I've been trying to learn CW on my own with some 
small degree of success,” says Gary, W4GDC. “I was able to send and 
receive about 8 words per minute with some accuracy. About a month ago I 
was browsing the CWops website’s CW Academy page and decided to ask for 
a mentor. Jack W0UCE contacted me within a few days and we arranged a 
first session. All went well so we set up a regular mentoring schedule. 
To my surprise I was able to copy 20 wpm within two weeks.”

Following a contact in the ARRL’s Rookie Roundup Pete, W1RM, suggested 
to Tom, KC9RXI that he enroll in the CWA. Recently, Pete received this 
email: “Thank you for telling me about the CWops academy. Art, K6XT, is 
a wonderful mentor. Art’s expertise, thoughtful suggestions and 
encouragement have made me a better CW operator. For the last three 
months Art and I have had weekly on air contacts on 30 meters.”

Michael, KF7ADB was a “no-code” ham, licensed in 2009. But he was 
intrigued by the dits and dahs that he heard at the low end of the 
bands. He knew he had to learn CW. “It didn't come easy, but within a 
few months I managed to learn the code well enough to have a slow-speed 
QSO and not embarrass myself too much,” he wrote us. “Over time my CW 
skills improved…but I hit a plateau at about 13WPM. By this time I had 
also picked up several bad habits, including having to write each 
character down on a notepad as I heard it. When the other person stopped 
sending, I’d look down at what I had written on my notepad and hope it 
made sense.” After about three weeks of nightly on-air sessions with a 
CWA mentor Michael was able to copy 30 wpm in his head. This “…opened up 
a number of opportunities for me in the world of amateur radio, 
including CW DXing and being invited to operate (at a big) multi-op CW 
contest (station).” His improved skills also allowed Michael to become a 
member of CWops, #869.

Currently, the CW Academy is working with about 35 students and more 
than 40 club members are serving as mentors. Both numbers are growing 
each week.

Check-out the CW Academy at: www.cwopsacademy.org and let us help you 
get up to speed!

For more information contact:
Ed, KR3E: kr3e at arrl.net
Alan, W4MQC: w4mqc at arrl.net

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