Morse is not a dying art. It is alive and well. As long as there are communicators that realize the significance of Morse and use it it will be a popular mode. I hear more Morse now than before when testing was required to advance from one level to the next. Many want to learn Morse but don't make the effort to practice. Like learning a language, you don't study once per week then become fluent with the language you don't use every day.
You are correct that many want to learn but don't put in the effort. I was that way in the beginning, but then realized I wasn't pushing myself to keep going when I got frustrated. You have to WANT it bad enough to practice everyday. Then you'll see results....period!
Plus you want to learn the code. Not have to. Much better code on radio too. Plus keyboards wear you wrists out. Paddle keys are very comfortable on your hands and wrist. Less movement.
I became interested in MOrse code when I saw a small clay pot with a plant in it and on the side of the pot it had the Morse letters going down it in small print. It was at a Winn Dixie store of all places. I bought the plant and kept looking at the Morse code letters on the pot and I became hooked on wanting to learn the code. Wow- what a challenge it is snd I’m LOVING 🥰 it! Still have a long ways to go and found a lot of good tips here. Thanks for the info.
See my initial response up above...in radio school at Keesler AB, Mississippi, we all had taken a test to qualify for this school. One group, who would later learn to put the code on typewriters, were usually radio intercept operators. Those of us that became airborne radio operators never used a typewriter, only pencil and paper...pencil, never pen. lfh003@gmail.com
Yea. That would be difficult for me. Wow. My head hurts thinking about copying on a typewriter. I’m guessing it wasn’t an electric one? So you have to be able to really hit those keys.
@@lfh003 well, yea. That makes sense. Did you use the strait key with the clip for using on your leg? I have one of those. Could you imagine getting pulled over not for your phone, but doing CW while driving?
I just listen for the first three or four letters and the word forms automatically in my head... as you have said i can usually guess the word after just the first three or four words and often times the next word in the conversation based on the first words ... it usually works for me .
Here's another tip. Once you become fluent with hearing/recognizing the Morse character, like learning to read your language, you want to progress from individual alpha character recognition to words. Practicing 2 letter words, then 3 letter words, then 4 letter words, then 5 letter words will increase your brains vocabulary of not hearing just a single character sound but a word sound. I practice this for the English language. I am sure that it works for other languages, too. 73 KB8AMZ
H i Terry, Gil is absolutely right. Originally learn individual characters speed of 15-20 wpm but keep spaces between them to maintain overall speed lower. This teaches the "melody" of a character; then you gradually shorten the spacing - this will start to connect individual characters into words. Then practice and practice.Then as you listening - start to anticipate the next character to form a word. Then practice and practice. Increase the wpm. Then practice and practice. Terry, this is where you come in - you start to recognise the "melody" of the whole word. It takes time and applies mainly to receiving an open language words. As speed increases, it has no benefit if you receive groups of mixed characters. After reaching about 25wpm of mixed characters groups you are out of scope to write them down unless you mastered the shorthand writing. But in our Ham activities, an open language is all we need so we can read meaningful words in our head. When teaching CW - introduce first a group of 5 letters that sound completely different, have the class master them then introduce 3 more letters (again, sounding differently to those already learned), practice and keep introducing more letters and so on. Start adding numbers. Won't be long before it is all done. Keep special characters for the end. Done! 73 VK2FEX (hsc #826)
@@jansb984 Uh jansb, sounds like you inferring that I am teaching Morse. I used to teach Morse. For the past 25 years. My tip to Gil is not for the new person that doesn't know Morse but rather the person that knows Morse but has difficulty breaking out of a barrier. I never said anything about writing down what is heard. The characters should be copied in your head. Gil's presentation is more than 3 years old. I have been a CW OP for 34 years. My current method of practice learning is Fabien's common English words and a program he wrote for the Linux OS, QRQ. Others have ported it to OS/X and Microsoft Windows. Maybe catch on the CW bands sometime at QRQcw. 72 de KB8AMZ
@@MoTown44240 Hi Terry, thanks. By your own words, I may have correctly inferred your CW teaching experience as true. This is why your comment to Gil's video attracted my attention. By your own words "My tip to Gil is not for the new person that doesn't know Morse.. e.t.c.). Of course it is not; hence my reply was to your comment only rather than Gil's. My comment is/was retrospective to show the point of cw learning curve by trying to show the whole curve I am familiar with and the point of this curve that your comment fits in at. 73 de VK2FEX
The can't or should not be arbitrary short lsequences or 2 (or 3 or 4 letters): the combinatorial explosion would makes it hard to classify the stimuli! E.g. ~26 classes versus 676 classe for "doublets" or over 17500 for triplets.
It's just like learning a new language. Someone says "tete" and you know it means "head." Someone says "Schwartz" and you know it means "back" So when you hear dit-dah you know it means "A". When you hear dah-dit-dit you know it means "D". When you become better at it you're hearing a string of dits and dahs but you're thinking strings of letters that form words. I never progressed beyond that but I had military instructors who could communicate in real time using code without writing anything down - they were at the point where they were actually thinking words instead of individual letters. I think that communicating words was a good bit easier than the meaningless 5 character groups the military often used. An interesting thing I found was that when I got up to around 18wpm I was copying an average of 7 letters behind the code. In other words I'd be writing down the letter I heard 7 characters ago, while at the same time remembering all of the subsequent characters.
Wow! It makes sense to me to be hearing words instead of hearing letters. But did you ever learn abbreviations instead of writing a whole sentence like they do in texting? Example LOL Laughing out loud? Dumb question but thought I’d ask.
@@SwtTrisha8 Prosigns covered in FM 24-19, on pg 5-39 and 5-40 There are also Q and Z codes on pg.5-40 and 5-41 www.scribd.com/document/9649984/fm-24-19-radio-operator-s-handbook
The code that Samuel Fairbanks Morse developed was numerical with individual numerical codes for different words. His Code book ran to hundreds of pages. His Engineering Assistant, Alfred Vail developed the letter substitution code which was both simpler and faster to use. Initially the Morse/Vail telegraph code was meant to be read visually. Stylus and later pen registers would make marks on a paper tape as long as the sending key was depressed. The paper tapes of Morse's first message; "What has God wrought" is in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum. It is from these paper tapes that the terms dot and dash came which still haunt us today. The telegraphers quickly discovered that they could read the code from the sounds made by the relay and paper tape register that was used to copy the code. Initially management suppressed receiving by ear for a variety of reasons. One reason that a message received by ear did not provide a durable record of the message as received. But the paper tape registers were expensive to buy, use, and maintain. Especially expensive was the using of the paper tape registers. The telegrapher would read the code from the paper tape aloud and a stenographer would right it down. That takes two people. When receiving by ear the telegrapher could write or later type the message as they heard it. As soon as management realized to degree of economy in operation that reading by ear offered Registers were relegated to the recording of special messages were it was vital to have a durable record of the message exactly as received. Most Registers had been displaced by sounders in the years following the American Civil War. Initially the Morse/Vail code was used in England but as telegraph lines spread over the rest of Europe it was discovered that it was far less suitable for some European languages than it was for English. The code was adapted for use in German by Friedrich Clemens Gerke in 1848. It is Gerke's code that became the standard code in all of Europe including the United Kingdom. It was commonly called the Continental Code. The adoption of the Continental Code in the British Isles was undoubtedly an adaptation to communicating with the rest of Europe. When it came time for Guglielmo Marconi to select which code to use by the Marconi Company: which later became the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company; he chose the Continental Code. During that process all letters that required spaces within a character for intelligibility were altered to sets of sounds with no spaces. That was vital in radio because a space could be caused by atmospherics or interference blocking the sound that actually was sent thus causing the message to be misread. It is Gerke's continental telegraph code that became the radio telegraph code. Following the founding of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) the continental code was permanently adopted as the International Radio Telegraph Code. Morse himself made a brief attempt to convince American telegraphers to adopt the Continental Code as used on the land telegraph lines of Europe after having observed it in use. Strong resistance from american telegraphers; many of whom were paid by the word; and their unions prevented that change. The Morse/Vail code continued in use on North American Telegraph lines right up until it's last commercial users, the american railroads, replaced it with telephones in the late 1950s. Telegraphic signalling for public communication had already been supplanted by Teletypewriter technology that could be used over existing telegraph lines by less skilled operators, and like the early registers, provided a written record of the message as received. The short version is that the Morse/Vail code was never broadly used in radio. Gerke's (Continental) code was what became; with some modification; the radio telegraph code. -- Tom Horne
wow, i pride myself of beeing a telegraphy veteran..(in german navy as well) but this post had many informations in them which i didnt know yet. Thank you.
Great suggestions. A few thoughts: - Practice receiving the kind of texts that you will be receiving in real life. For example, if you're going to do CW as a ham, practice receiving typical QSOs ( G3YWX DE G3QAB G3QAB AR KN). Knowing the context and likely words really helps. "CQ" for example has a rhythm that burns itself into your brain. - When I first learned the code, I started by picturing the letters as dots and dashes ... For example, for U I pictured the two dots at top ends of the letter, and then a long dash as the stroke connecting them. Thus dit - dit - dah. But as soon as possible, I moved to the stage of identifying a sound / rhythm with the letter. I used flashcards with my mother, and she sounded the dit's and dah's. - I hadn't done Morse code for about 50 years. About a month ago, I tried it again and it came back at about 10 WPM. Amazing things, those neural circuits! One reason I think I remembered it is that for years, I amused myself when I was waiting for something, by sounding out in Morse Code the signs and adverts that I saw around me. - Make it fun. For example: th-cam.com/video/6XHwygN9CKM/w-d-xo.html
You can count the dits and dahs to about 10WPM. To get past 10WPM you have to learn the rhythm of the letters as a unit. You can do this up to about 18WPM. To get past 18WPM you need to learn triplets of characters. You will then understand why the 'Q' codes or pro codes, weather data and aviation data like airport identifiers are mostly 3 characters. Learn the code characters at 30WPM. After a while it gets to be an aural language. At high speed you need to use a "mill" or typewriter. I use an editor on my computer.
Well, that is what worked for me. When I was young I could copy pen to paper up to about 25WPM with the resulting writer's cramp, not any more, LOL. Sometimes you can do entire QSO's almost entirely with pro signs and 3 letter identifiers. There are also many standard triplets in English text and I am sure in other languages as well. It is said that veteran stock brokers could identify stock symbols up to 100WPM.
I am writing a story where some students need to learn Morse code, and without me even searching for it, this video jumped up in my recommendations. The Internet is getting psychic!
morse code is music to my ear. caveat: do not try to memorize a written code chart, it will only impede your progress. when you hear the sound dit or dah or combination of the two sounds assigned, think of the character. thanks de AH0D _ _ . . . . . . _ _
Excellent video! I was trying to explain this concept to a friend ...just HEAR the character sound do not associate it with a visual lookup table (dit dah etc) ...for example the letter "G" hear it as G ...forget using the slow (dah dah dit) business!! CW is a language of sounds and rhythm. Learn it by listenng to the sound of the character to build a memory sound association! I too learned and unlearned it the hard way. Yes best to start at the highest speed you can to discern a dit from a dah (~15-20wpm). We all learned our native tongue (language) by listening to our parents speak at 300 wpm! Not 5 wpm!! ...just saying! Nice work, RP!
Steve wGØAT but to know this you still have to know the letter. I'm trying to learn this but I can't just hear a sound and know it's a letter without first knowing the table and understanding dots and dashes.
Same process when you learn the sound of a crow's "caw" later when you hear the "caw" you just know it's a crow ...just as you'll begin to recognize letter "O" when hearing his 3 caws.
Not necessarily. Some phone apps and online applications do not show you the dots and dashes, only the letter and the sound. You will invariably picture them sometimes but try to avoid it as much as possible.
When I was in college I took over my cousin's job delivering Telegrams for a Summer break. He had been drafted. It was 1971 and in a small town of only about 10,000. We were lucky to get one every other day, but it was quite nice. There was only one person in the office and she too was filling in for someone. She entertained me with many interesting stories of the 'old days'. I started to learn Morse Code, but my University studies took precedence. There was a time when it played a very major role in this country.
+THESHOMROM It could some day again... Hopefully not, but it is still useful nevertheless, where there aren't any cell phone towers, in remote locations or at sea. It's never too late to learn.
Radio Prepper Merci. Oui, je crois ca. If there is an EMT attack, it will be easier to set up Telegraph lines then attempting to replace phones, radio, TV etc. Suppoedly an EMT, either natural or by man, all present electronics would be destroyed. Very good video and suggestions. Encore, merci,
Gil, thank you. I did not realize I was using a look up table in my head. No wonder I miss the next letter. This is probably the 11th time i have "started over" :) but now I know what I should NOT be doing. I've used the character speed of 25 wpm and 13 wpm. I'll up the 13 to 15-18 wpm. Your video is a big help. I'm still studying it. de n0wdm
I learned Morse code in the fall of 1980 as a kid, from a book and cassette tape from Radio Shack. Five words per minute/wpm. Took about a week at 30 mins a day.1981 Spring, I got my Novice amateur License. Now 5 wpm is slow, but I have very strong foundation of the letters and numbers. I wrote everything down. Even at 20 wpm, I wrote it down. Back then, it only took a couple of months to go from 5 wpm to 13 wpm General class and a couple more months from 13 to 21 wpm Extra Class. The thing about that book from Radio shack, it told you to hear the letters and numbers as dits and dahs, because that is what it sounds like when you hear it over the radio. The book was needed in the beginning so you knew what letter was sounded on the tape. After all the letters were taught, the tape would send words and you had to write them on paper. It was 5 wpm, but it gave you a very strong foundation. I never had any limitations on how fast I could copy. No hurdles. When studying to pass 13 wpm, I listened at 15, 18 wpm listened at 20. 21 listened at 25 wpm. I know some people struggle in getting faster because they do not have a strong foundation. Trying to learn short cuts to try and memorize the letters is not going to help in the long run. Practice is the key. Like a teacher told me in the past, if you rely on short cuts, you do not know it well enough. I know a group of people started learning Morse code. After 4 months of listening at 20/25 wpm, on the final listening. They got nothing. Out of 4 people, not a one got anything. Some complained, it was too fast or too slow. I guess what I am trying to say is, practice slow and fast. If I can copy at 50 wpm I know a lot of others can also. It just takes dedication.
Good points. Though the goal of not visualizing dots and dashes, as much as possible, is not to take a shortcut at all, but to avoid making it harder to copy faster speeds later.
Ex Royal Corps of Signals Telegraphist , used to transcribe this stuff at light speed, many characters in arrears, the code had stopped but I was still typing, still had time to drink tea and smoke a cigarette, when it came to figures only it was all just a blur , pretty much ignore the dots completely, 35+ years later and 25 wpm still sounds slow.
The 5 +- 2 famous psychophysics study refers to "uncorrelated" stimuli and no sequence learning. Here you have sequences over time and letters composing transmissions (including call signs to a lesser extent) show very strong (cross)correlations.
As an older aged learner, I found this useful. It highlighted some concepts that I’ve been grappling with. For someone without English as a first language you’ve done well with the delivery. As an OCD, I jar with the use of capitals and lower case - RADIO, not RADiO. Problem with decoding though if trying to something which is deliberately non-English, eg 5 letter groups. Lucky we are not at war!
The problem is when starting out is remembering the code for each letter. The second step allows for memory aids, so you can work out what each letter is in morse. I would say its worth learning so you don't need to go around with a piece of paper with the codes and letters on, if your learning in an environment where you always have that then I can see the benefits of you method only. .
LCWO.com works on Android. Some things I have noticed. Your brain really wants to do real time error correction. Like Gil says, you MUST let that go or it's like suddenly finding your self running down a very steep hill. You will face plant, and fast. I swear it's like some of the things Yoda says to Luke on Dagobah. You must clear your mind and let the code flow through you. And to quote another movie, you don't have time to think. If you think, you're dead.
I agree entirely. It seems easier to learn at a faster letter rate. I started listening to the “tune” of Morse at 20wpm and found it difficult to go back. I reckon listening is the key to sending.
Really true sir!! I learnt the basic letters at a very low character speed and now, I can't tell the word unless I see the picture of Morse code in my head. It's just too frustrating. Will definitely do as you said now. Thanks a lot!!
Great video, it's very hard to explain what you did there. I try to teach people that the letter has to instantly appear when heard. That connection takes tons of time and practice. Now I have that, the problem is, actually remembering the letters. Sure I can see K C 9 D F C, but 3 seconds later I have forgotten it....! My short term memory only has 2 slots. : (
for concept only. My key to learning code is to learn sounds, not combinations of dits and dah. When coping do not speak (moving your lips) or mentally say the letter in your head, "THINK the letter / THINK the sound"; you can not spend time pronouncing the letters (even mentally saying the letter in your head), at higher speeds the letters will go by faster than you can speak it mentally and eventually at even higher speeds the sounds of each character will go by faster than you can think them.
Bonjour Gil, your video explains the mental process of learning Morse Code perfectly! (Thank You for ALL your vids - none of us are too old to learn something new.. 73 mon ami)
I can't do it without visuals. Edit: There's not any right way either. These kind of things help you develop your skills faster. I think 15-20 wpm can be used to see if you can decipher some of it fast enough. Obviously, if you can go that fast already, use it.
The visuals impede your speed, as remembering the letter as the sound pattern is much more fast and efficient for your brain than having to process each dot and dash in your head; so, while it's easier to start out with visuals, you'll actually get a lot less trouble getting faster if you go by sound alone.
A slower speed is sometimes needed under bad QRM or QRN conditions where at a faster speed the receiving station loses letters in the noise, too many being lost to make sense of what you do receive. I've worked stations where we're both QRP with reports of 339 and even a couple at 229 each way. No good rattling out fast Morse and losing information. G4GHB.
I am learning Morse Code. My dad put 2 Morse Code apps on my iPad mini device. One is for me to do Morse Code and the other one i use to talk to everyone around the world
Been in ham radio since 1960....mainly using Morse and copy 20 wpm. Have known many others to copy much faster all without writing anything done and still while in conversation with you verbally. Most were excellent with crossword puzzles. But I have found cw the most reliable mode even in poor radio conditions. Like learning a foreign language. BUT I learnt in all the wrong ways that Gil now has shown me. Learning at slow speeds and slowing increasing rates.....all written down and seeing dots and dashes rather then only letters. Learning at 15 wpm from the start makes perfect sense. Speeding up copy speeds then reducing to a lower rate can work for improving copy skills. Gil’s tips and approach super smart and a fine guide for starting the Morse learning process. Also even for a long time Morse user to relearn the process, but now correctly. Thank you Gil. John W7JO
Radio Prepper I am told in aging (75 here and still working part time) to keep the mind busy...learn a new language etc. Well, here is my opportunity to do just that. Relearn Morse...in a different fashion. Why not....an interesting challenge of the mental remapping of sorts. Least worth the try as an experiment. Would have been nice to have been taught via the current format you have demonstrated. All makes very good sense and time to attempt relearning....in truth CW has been my favorite mode and hope to improve at it.
Morse code is a data mode. Some radio operators don’t have the money for computers. Plus this is an international language so even though you don’t speak their language you have abbreviations DE Means “this is”. QTH is what is your location. Speech has also dialect in it so even if they use voice in English you may not understand what they are saying.
Using the LCWO site now. Just signed on yesterday. MAN I have a lot to learn! I hope if looking at it as I'm learning a new instrument it will help. You know -- guitar, mandolin, Morse code.
The problem most people have is that they are self selecting. To be an Enigma traffic listener there was a ruthless weeding out process. Musical training of any kind helped in a way. Morse is a strange kind of pulse based cross rythmn. For the rest of us mortals total dedication helps as does the Koch course 8 hours a day at 20wpm. Words and call protocol not letters.
TNX FER NC tutorial and advice. I have done most of the mistakes you mentioned while I was studying the code. After learning the basic characters, there is no did and dah, just sound-fonts and rhythm. 73 de sv1onk
When morse code was invented, there was no radio. Radio appeared way later. Morse first used his code for wire line transmissions. And there were no attempts before him to invent the code because in fact he invented not just the code itself but the very method of remote thansmission which didn't exist before. I started learning the code in January this year and I use for this purpose an Android app. Morse Player Free which can play any text file into Morse coded sounds. To traine my transmission skills I use a straight key and RX Morse app. for Android which can decode my transmission back into letters. About learning at low speeds - I didn't feel any inconveniense when I started to learn from 8 WPM. At the first stage I couldn't avoid counting dots and dashes anyway but two monthes later when my reception speed got to 16 WPM, I automatically stopped to concentrate on them because there's simply no time to do that. No inconvenience or obstuct from it that prevents me from going on without counting dots and dashes. There's a moment in learning when you have to stop straining your mind while receiving. Just relax and brain finds its way how to do the things properly.
Thanks for the video Gil. I learned it the wrong way 40 years ago. :) Probably the reason why I haven't taken to Morse.. But I am enthused to learn correct way now.. You explained it very well. Dan
Very good video! When I learned Morse code in 1973 (using a set of vinyl records) nobody told me to go this way. All beginners started with dots and dashes at very slow speed. Btw your first pronunciation of "Koch method" was correct. Koch like Loch (Ness). Ludwig Koch was a german psychologist (not a "Koch" = cook ;-)
Hello Gil, bonjour. Thanks a lot for this video. At this moment I am teaching 3 collegue hamoperators the noble art of morsecode, using the Koch methode (you pronounced it perfectly) and we are making progress. We are now at a speed of 15 wpm with a 12 wpm interval. So, you have a point in your excellent video, but.......there a more roads that lead to Rome. I , personally, learned morsecode in the 60's when I studied to be a merchant navy radio operator at a nautical college in Amsterdam. We learned it there the slow way. that is: we started en 8 wpm if I remember correctly. And if I say 8 wpm then I mean 8 wpm in both characters and intervals. Later we speeded up to eventually 20 wpm, being the required speed on the exam. After about 9 years of being a professsional radio-operator (5 years merchant navy, 4 years in the Royal Neth. Airforce) I said goodbye to the morsecode in 1976 only to pick it up in 2010 as a hamoperator, just like that. As if I had never left the HF-bands. At first I only used the good old brasspounder, but later on I got used to the paddle. I always adjust my speed to my counterparty, but I feel most comfortable with speeds between 25 and 30 wpm and I can take up to 40 wpm by just listening to it. Those speeds are to speedy for me to write down. Gil 73 de PA5ABW (Albert)
I learned at Ft. Huachuca in Arizona. The fastest speed I could copy was 24 gpm. I miss copying. My instructors told me di da is Alpha everything is different..
Merci I'm beginning morse code and studying for my technician license in the United States. I have made several visits to France while seeving aboard the USS Comte De Grasse sister ship to the Frigate De Grasse. You're right about the ear and brain trying to write the letter, your suggestions will be better. Thank you from Spokane Valley, Washington.
For me to learn, I have to do it. Listening to Morse code does nothing for me. Children learn to speak by trying to make words. I've given up because the tools I've worked with have frustrated me.
To get my Amateur Extra License, i had to send & receive at 20 wpm. I practiced at 25 wpm and was able to qso at about 30 before taking the test. I recommend copying random characters at random length at five wpm higher than you need to copy for practice. Learn to hear the sound and have it mean the letter.
100% agree with the approach to try to learn at a speed that forces you to build procedural memory skill, rather than a "lookup table in your head", i.e. declarative memory. This is why I think using mnemonics to memorise the codes is really bad. It's probably closely related to language learning -- a lot of language courses start with heavy focus on grammar rules and learning of vocabulary lists. Instead, more evidence is being found that it's much more effective to literally just watch people do stuff while they speak the language (i.e. not memorising rules, and not using subtitles to skip the hard part of figuring things out in real time).
It reminds me of a musician looking at their notes. They don’t see music notes, they see the sound! Never learn it through other steps. It creates delay. Learn the r sound , learn the s sound. Don’t add other words to a letter.
Got my novice ticket in 1990,( never should have picked up a mic after that ) my learning curve was really accelerating(5 wpm ). Now every few years I try again, but now at 71, I have a big problem with comprehension and memory. I still try to get some code to "stick" in the old noggin. Like your vids..
Telegraph in India : The first experimental telegraph lines were constructed in India and America, the oldest country and the most modern, in the same years 1839. The pioneer in India was Sir William O'Shaughnessy Brooke, fondly remembered as Dr O'Shaughnessy. His American contemporary was none other than the father of modern electric telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse. Morse connected Washington D.C with Baltimore in 1839 over a stretch of some 40 miles. Dr O'Shaughnessy completed some 21 miles of telegraph line in 1839 proceeding from Calcutta in the general direction of Diamond Harbour and negotiating a river crossing of 7000 yards. Thus started the story of an Indian adventure which was to keep pace with technological developments in most advance countries of the world ( The Sepoy Mutiny From Telegraph Message by Santosh Ghosh ).
Good video and very good advice! I have not mastered high speed CW as of yet, but my experience and observations conclude exactly what is suggested here. Thanks!
Your advice about trying to learn to respond to the sounds by seeing the letters rather than the dots and dashes seems brilliant! It made me wonder if that can apply somehow to people who have problems with reading. Thanks!
Thanks for making this. I am just beginning to learn Morse so finding this video was perfect timing for me. The "Ham Morse" app is expensive, but it looks pretty good so far.
I have heard in another video, that learning visually (lines and dots) is a mistake; to go straight to audio to pick it up and learn it fastest. It is an audio skill, so it needs to be practiced with audio and with your digits, not your eyes. I could be wrong. The video presenter said that once he dropped looking at lines and dots and just listening, he regretted ever looking at lines and dots at all.
Hello Gil, I dig you approach. As an amateur musician, I totally understand how it makes more sense to listen to the rhythm rather than going letter by letter. Question for you: using your approach, how do I start? Can you point to some appropriate course? Should I get a paddle and a Morse trainer right away? Thanks in advance for your answers (it might be a good subject for a new video!).
Hello. Sending will come naturally. Practice listening 90% of the time, sending 10%, and you can do that later. I'd suggest using a Morse phone app with the Koch method. Not sure what's available today..
Make a video (Computer screen images of letters and Morse code with audio/LIGHTBILPS) TYPING OVER AND OVER! THE SENTENCE [THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG] This sentence uses every letter of the alphabet! A typing exercise played at speed repeatedly 60 times until it's a tune WOULD help me to commit to memory!😎
Gil, I know you made this video a while ago but all good points. I learned it first in 1985 and still learning I guess although I can go abt 30 WPM now with misses. Key for me was to practice 20-30 minutes a day to learn. After that for speed I listen faster than i can copy pushing myself. I can’t really copy at 50+ WPM but often my brain does copy and I just know??? Not sure how it does that. Good video and advice.
Glad I ran across your tips and pointers. I was given a Morse Code bracelet made with beads, and that is what sparked me to learn Morse Code. Looking forward to the challenge!
@@RadioPrepper Actually I started about a year ago but ended up moving twice do to loosing my father and then my mother. I fell away from learning and wish I hadn’t but there’s no reason to just pick right back up. I’m really really pumped in learning and won’t stop ever again. I simply want to learn this all more than anything in the world!!!!
Thanks for the nice video. I can headcopy about 8wpm now but you mentioned the recommended lower start speed is 15wpm. Do you think I have to go 15wpm even though I could copy nothing for now? Please advise.
Jan 11, 2020: I dedicate this video to Sgt Manuel R. Martinez, 23, who was killed on Friday, Aug 22, 1975 south of Santa Fe. Manuel rolled his 240Z Datsun while returning to Albuquerque following a long work week at the Farmington mines. Having misplaced his keys, he was speeding to make up for lost time. Manuel was a gentle Marine with a shy grin, warm heart, kind nature and strong work ethic. He trained at Camp Pendleton as a morse code radio operator, served a year in Okinawa, and was a member of both the Carpenters Union and VFW. (He was a master welder.) Manuel was a bit of a rebel and we were both insecure, as our parents had troubled marriages. (Before the accident, his mother Corine remarried and moved to a new home.) Manuel, I wish we had eloped. KATRINA
My father was a ww2 code instructor and radio operator in europe. He could type out 35wpm no problem and read plain text up to 75 wpm in short segments of 4 words or so. I learned enough to get my general class license but pops would cringe when he saw me send and receive
It took you 15 minutes to say: …"just HEAR and learn the sound of each character", and: "A recommended speed, for beginners is 15 words per minute, and 50 to 70 wpm for advanced".
I learnt it from audio tape (a long time ago). And I learnt it the wrong way! I explain: the tapes introduced the letters and THEN the numbers. So, I then have to switch from letters to numbers each time I encounter a digit. This is a huuuuuge waste of time and fluency.
Well done Gil from correcting yourself from dash and dot to dah and dit, that's the CORRECT way :O) Also start by forming the character at 15wpm but leave a long space between words at the start, gradually reducing the gap as you gain proficiency. Also learn iambic keying, it's much easier and the key stays in one place not sliding about on the bench.
Ce code est souvent attribué à Samuel Morse, cependant plusieurs contestent cette primauté, et tendent à attribuer la paternité du langage à son assistant, Alfred Vail
The "Do not try to replay in your head what you didn't copy" is the hardest thing to achieve for me so far... Cheers for the vid mate ;)
For me too...
Same. 😭
I think this is the most valuable advice at higher speeds
Yup. Think twice about a letter and you missed the next two words 0_o.
Hard to train yourself not to dwell on missed letters!
Morse is not a dying art. It is alive and well. As long as there are communicators that realize the significance of Morse and use it it will be a popular mode. I hear more Morse now than before when testing was required to advance from one level to the next. Many want to learn Morse but don't make the effort to practice. Like learning a language, you don't study once per week then become fluent with the language you don't use every day.
You are correct that many want to learn but don't put in the effort. I was that way in the beginning, but then realized I wasn't pushing myself to keep going when I got frustrated. You have to WANT it bad enough to practice everyday. Then you'll see results....period!
Plus you want to learn the code. Not have to. Much better code on radio too. Plus keyboards wear you wrists out. Paddle keys are very comfortable on your hands and wrist. Less movement.
What I think about school
... - - - ...
Same
my personal thought is this: ••-• ••- -•-• -•-
- . -
..-. ..- -.-. -.- / ... -.-. --- --- .-..
Depends on the school. School of hard knocks is the fun one. =]
I just wanted to learn morse code since I'm very bored because of this quarantine
Great suggestion!
same
Ha, yea. I’m messing around with different antennas. Working on a magnetic loop next.
I became interested in MOrse code when I saw a small clay pot with a plant in it and on the side of the pot it had the Morse letters going down it in small print. It was at a Winn Dixie store of all places. I bought the plant and kept looking at the Morse code letters on the pot and I became hooked on wanting to learn the code. Wow- what a challenge it is snd I’m LOVING 🥰 it! Still have a long ways to go and found a lot of good tips here. Thanks for the info.
update: 9 months and all I still know is SOS because I got lazy learning it lmao
I just want to learn Morse code to cuss someone out in private
+Jasmine la Excellent ;-)
i whistle that to a certain someone everyday
LOL.
I have a video on that...
imagine having an argument ending in morse
"YOU SUCK"
"OH YEAH? WELL BEEEP BEPBEP BEEP BEEP"
In the service we learned to copy on a typewriter. Goes right from ears to fingers.
See my initial response up above...in radio school at Keesler AB, Mississippi, we all had taken a test to qualify for this school. One group, who would later learn to put the code on typewriters, were usually radio intercept operators. Those of us that became airborne radio operators never used a typewriter, only pencil and paper...pencil, never pen. lfh003@gmail.com
Yea. That would be difficult for me. Wow. My head hurts thinking about copying on a typewriter. I’m guessing it wasn’t an electric one? So you have to be able to really hit those keys.
@@lfh003 well, yea. That makes sense. Did you use the strait key with the clip for using on your leg? I have one of those. Could you imagine getting pulled over not for your phone, but doing CW while driving?
I just listen for the first three or four letters and the word forms automatically in my head... as you have said i can usually guess the word after just the first three or four words and often times the next word in the conversation based on the first words ... it usually works for me .
Except for Germann city names.. ;-)
Here's another tip. Once you become fluent with hearing/recognizing the Morse character, like learning to read your language, you want to progress from individual alpha character recognition to words. Practicing 2 letter words, then 3 letter words, then 4 letter words, then 5 letter words will increase your brains vocabulary of not hearing just a single character sound but a word sound. I practice this for the English language. I am sure that it works for other languages, too. 73 KB8AMZ
H i Terry, Gil is absolutely right. Originally learn individual characters speed of 15-20 wpm but keep spaces between them to maintain overall speed lower. This teaches the "melody" of a character; then you gradually shorten the spacing - this will start to connect individual characters into words. Then practice and practice.Then as you listening - start to anticipate the next character to form a word. Then practice and practice. Increase the wpm. Then practice and practice.
Terry, this is where you come in - you start to recognise the "melody" of the whole word. It takes time and applies mainly to receiving an open language words. As speed increases, it has no benefit if you receive groups of mixed characters. After reaching about 25wpm of mixed characters groups you are out of scope to write them down unless you mastered the shorthand writing. But in our Ham activities, an open language is all we need so we can read meaningful words in our head.
When teaching CW - introduce first a group of 5 letters that sound completely different, have the class master them then introduce 3 more letters (again, sounding differently to those already learned), practice and keep introducing more letters and so on. Start adding numbers. Won't be long before it is all done. Keep special characters for the end. Done! 73 VK2FEX (hsc #826)
@@jansb984 Uh jansb, sounds like you inferring that I am teaching Morse. I used to teach Morse. For the past 25 years. My tip to Gil is not for the new person that doesn't know Morse but rather the person that knows Morse but has difficulty breaking out of a barrier. I never said anything about writing down what is heard. The characters should be copied in your head. Gil's presentation is more than 3 years old. I have been a CW OP for 34 years. My current method of practice learning is Fabien's common English words and a program he wrote for the Linux OS, QRQ. Others have ported it to OS/X and Microsoft Windows. Maybe catch on the CW bands sometime at QRQcw. 72 de KB8AMZ
@@MoTown44240 Hi Terry, thanks. By your own words, I may have correctly inferred your CW teaching experience as true. This is why your comment to Gil's video attracted my attention. By your own words "My tip to Gil is not for the new person that doesn't know Morse.. e.t.c.).
Of course it is not; hence my reply was to your comment only rather than Gil's.
My comment is/was retrospective to show the point of cw learning curve by trying to show the whole curve I am familiar with and the point of this curve that your comment fits in at.
73 de VK2FEX
The can't or should not be arbitrary short lsequences or 2 (or 3 or 4 letters): the combinatorial explosion would makes it hard to classify the stimuli! E.g. ~26 classes versus 676 classe for "doublets" or over 17500 for triplets.
It's just like learning a new language. Someone says "tete" and you know it means "head." Someone says "Schwartz" and you know it means "back" So when you hear dit-dah you know it means "A". When you hear dah-dit-dit you know it means "D". When you become better at it you're hearing a string of dits and dahs but you're thinking strings of letters that form words.
I never progressed beyond that but I had military instructors who could communicate in real time using code without writing anything down - they were at the point where they were actually thinking words instead of individual letters. I think that communicating words was a good bit easier than the meaningless 5 character groups the military often used.
An interesting thing I found was that when I got up to around 18wpm I was copying an average of 7 letters behind the code. In other words I'd be writing down the letter I heard 7 characters ago, while at the same time remembering all of the subsequent characters.
That pretty good! The problem for me is short term memory. I See the letters instantly but forming words is a challenge.
Wow! It makes sense to me to be hearing words instead of hearing letters. But did you ever learn abbreviations instead of writing a whole sentence like they do in texting? Example LOL
Laughing out loud? Dumb question but thought I’d ask.
Yes, those are called pro-codes.
@@SwtTrisha8 Prosigns covered in FM 24-19, on pg 5-39 and 5-40 There are also Q and Z codes on pg.5-40 and 5-41
www.scribd.com/document/9649984/fm-24-19-radio-operator-s-handbook
Schwartz is black
The code that Samuel Fairbanks Morse developed was numerical with individual numerical codes for different words. His Code book ran to hundreds of pages. His Engineering Assistant, Alfred Vail developed the letter substitution code which was both simpler and faster to use. Initially the Morse/Vail telegraph code was meant to be read visually. Stylus and later pen registers would make marks on a paper tape as long as the sending key was depressed. The paper tapes of Morse's first message; "What has God wrought" is in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum. It is from these paper tapes that the terms dot and dash came which still haunt us today. The telegraphers quickly discovered that they could read the code from the sounds made by the relay and paper tape register that was used to copy the code. Initially management suppressed receiving by ear for a variety of reasons. One reason that a message received by ear did not provide a durable record of the message as received. But the paper tape registers were expensive to buy, use, and maintain. Especially expensive was the using of the paper tape registers. The telegrapher would read the code from the paper tape aloud and a stenographer would right it down. That takes two people. When receiving by ear the telegrapher could write or later type the message as they heard it. As soon as management realized to degree of economy in operation that reading by ear offered Registers were relegated to the recording of special messages were it was vital to have a durable record of the message exactly as received. Most Registers had been displaced by sounders in the years following the American Civil War.
Initially the Morse/Vail code was used in England but as telegraph lines spread over the rest of Europe it was discovered that it was far less suitable for some European languages than it was for English. The code was adapted for use in German by Friedrich Clemens Gerke in 1848. It is Gerke's code that became the standard code in all of Europe including the United Kingdom. It was commonly called the Continental Code. The adoption of the Continental Code in the British Isles was undoubtedly an adaptation to communicating with the rest of Europe.
When it came time for Guglielmo Marconi to select which code to use by the Marconi Company: which later became the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company; he chose the Continental Code. During that process all letters that required spaces within a character for intelligibility were altered to sets of sounds with no spaces. That was vital in radio because a space could be caused by atmospherics or interference blocking the sound that actually was sent thus causing the message to be misread. It is Gerke's continental telegraph code that became the radio telegraph code. Following the founding of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) the continental code was permanently adopted as the International Radio Telegraph Code. Morse himself made a brief attempt to convince American telegraphers to adopt the Continental Code as used on the land telegraph lines of Europe after having observed it in use. Strong resistance from american telegraphers; many of whom were paid by the word; and their unions prevented that change. The Morse/Vail code continued in use on North American Telegraph lines right up until it's last commercial users, the american railroads, replaced it with telephones in the late 1950s. Telegraphic signalling for public communication had already been supplanted by Teletypewriter technology that could be used over existing telegraph lines by less skilled operators, and like the early registers, provided a written record of the message as received.
The short version is that the Morse/Vail code was never broadly used in radio. Gerke's (Continental) code was what became; with some modification; the radio telegraph code.
--
Tom Horne
Great Tom, thank you!
wow, i pride myself of beeing a telegraphy veteran..(in german navy as well) but this post had many informations in them which i didnt know yet. Thank you.
Tom, that was a very informative reply - many thanks for that. Much appreciated.
Fairbanks???
@@KL3NCH
Good “catch” KL3NCH
Probably a confusion with the legendary Fairbanks Morse engine manufacturing company.
Great suggestions. A few thoughts:
- Practice receiving the kind of texts that you will be receiving in real life. For example, if you're going to do CW as a ham, practice receiving typical QSOs ( G3YWX DE G3QAB G3QAB AR KN). Knowing the context and likely words really helps. "CQ" for example has a rhythm that burns itself into your brain.
- When I first learned the code, I started by picturing the letters as dots and dashes ... For example, for U I pictured the two dots at top ends of the letter, and then a long dash as the stroke connecting them. Thus dit - dit - dah. But as soon as possible, I moved to the stage of identifying a sound / rhythm with the letter. I used flashcards with my mother, and she sounded the dit's and dah's.
- I hadn't done Morse code for about 50 years. About a month ago, I tried it again and it came back at about 10 WPM. Amazing things, those neural circuits! One reason I think I remembered it is that for years, I amused myself when I was waiting for something, by sounding out in Morse Code the signs and adverts that I saw around me.
- Make it fun. For example:
th-cam.com/video/6XHwygN9CKM/w-d-xo.html
Super!
You can count the dits and dahs to about 10WPM. To get past 10WPM you have to learn the rhythm of the letters as a unit. You can do this up to about 18WPM. To get past 18WPM you need to learn triplets of characters. You will then understand why the 'Q' codes or pro codes, weather data and aviation data like airport identifiers are mostly 3 characters. Learn the code characters at 30WPM. After a while it gets to be an aural language. At high speed you need to use a "mill" or typewriter. I use an editor on my computer.
Yes, it depends on the person but that sounds about right.
Well, that is what worked for me. When I was young I could copy pen to paper up to about 25WPM with the resulting writer's cramp, not any more, LOL. Sometimes you can do entire QSO's almost entirely with pro signs and 3 letter identifiers. There are also many standard triplets in English text and I am sure in other languages as well. It is said that veteran stock brokers could identify stock symbols up to 100WPM.
The fastest call sign copied I believe was at 200wpm, using RufzXP.
I am writing a story where some students need to learn Morse code, and without me even searching for it, this video jumped up in my recommendations. The Internet is getting psychic!
Search "Google knows what I" and see what the autocomplete returns
._.
no morse code, just a poker face
Marko & Aylin
Very funny
R?
Yep that’s r
Man's just said r
Rotation is more like this: .-.
This is good advice. I originally passed my 13 wpm test by using surrounding letters to find the word.
morse code is music to my ear. caveat: do not try to memorize a written code chart, it will only impede your progress. when you hear the sound dit or dah or combination of the two sounds assigned, think of the character. thanks de AH0D _ _ . . . . . . _ _
_ _ . . . . . . _ _ . . _ _ . .
so how do you learn if you dont know what letter the dits and dah relate to ,you must have to memorize the letters
Before yes... At the beginning... Now there are phone apps and sites skipping that step and not printing dots and dashes...
@@RadioPrepper thanks for replying Gil
@@RadioPrepper can you recommend sites Gil
Excellent video! I was trying to explain this concept to a friend ...just HEAR the character sound do not associate it with a visual lookup table (dit dah etc) ...for example the letter "G" hear it as G ...forget using the slow (dah dah dit) business!! CW is a language of sounds and rhythm. Learn it by listenng to the sound of the character to build a memory sound association! I too learned and unlearned it the hard way. Yes best to start at the highest speed you can to discern a dit from a dah (~15-20wpm). We all learned our native tongue (language) by listening to our parents speak at 300 wpm! Not 5 wpm!! ...just saying! Nice work, RP!
Thank you Steve, always enjoyed your videos!
Steve wGØAT but to know this you still have to know the letter. I'm trying to learn this but I can't just hear a sound and know it's a letter without first knowing the table and understanding dots and dashes.
Same process when you learn the sound of a crow's "caw" later when you hear the "caw" you just know it's a crow ...just as you'll begin to recognize letter "O" when hearing his 3 caws.
Not necessarily. Some phone apps and online applications do not show you the dots and dashes, only the letter and the sound. You will invariably picture them sometimes but try to avoid it as much as possible.
Hi Steve, looking forward to working you from the next peak you find yourself.
When I was in college I took over my cousin's job delivering Telegrams for a Summer break. He had been drafted. It was 1971 and in a small town of only about 10,000. We were lucky to get one every other day, but it was quite nice. There was only one person in the office and she too was filling in for someone. She entertained me with many interesting stories of the 'old days'. I started to learn Morse Code, but my University studies took precedence. There was a time when it played a very major role in this country.
+THESHOMROM It could some day again... Hopefully not, but it is still useful nevertheless, where there aren't any cell phone towers, in remote locations or at sea. It's never too late to learn.
Radio Prepper Merci. Oui, je crois ca. If there is an EMT attack, it will be easier to set up Telegraph lines then attempting to replace phones, radio, TV etc. Suppoedly an EMT, either natural or by man, all present electronics would be destroyed. Very good video and suggestions. Encore, merci,
I think you mean EMP?
+Matt Luczko Probably...
Very helpful, thank you!
I've started using an app called morse mania. I think it follows these same tips you've suggested. I'll keep with it.
Gil, thank you. I did not realize I was using a look up table in my head. No wonder I miss the next letter. This is probably the 11th time i have "started over" :) but now I know what I should NOT be doing. I've used the character speed of 25 wpm and 13 wpm. I'll up the 13 to 15-18 wpm. Your video is a big help. I'm still studying it. de n0wdm
+Michael Smith Great, It's not easy. I am still having a hard time with it myself, but meanwhile the contacts add up...
I learned Morse code in the fall of 1980 as a kid, from a book and cassette tape from Radio Shack. Five words per minute/wpm. Took about a week at 30 mins a day.1981 Spring, I got my Novice amateur License. Now 5 wpm is slow, but I have very strong foundation of the letters and numbers. I wrote everything down. Even at 20 wpm, I wrote it down. Back then, it only took a couple of months to go from 5 wpm to 13 wpm General class and a couple more months from 13 to 21 wpm Extra Class. The thing about that book from Radio shack, it told you to hear the letters and numbers as dits and dahs, because that is what it sounds like when you hear it over the radio. The book was needed in the beginning so you knew what letter was sounded on the tape. After all the letters were taught, the tape would send words and you had to write them on paper. It was 5 wpm, but it gave you a very strong foundation. I never had any limitations on how fast I could copy. No hurdles. When studying to pass 13 wpm, I listened at 15, 18 wpm listened at 20. 21 listened at 25 wpm. I know some people struggle in getting faster because they do not have a strong foundation. Trying to learn short cuts to try and memorize the letters is not going to help in the long run. Practice is the key. Like a teacher told me in the past, if you rely on short cuts, you do not know it well enough. I know a group of people started learning Morse code. After 4 months of listening at 20/25 wpm, on the final listening. They got nothing. Out of 4 people, not a one got anything. Some complained, it was too fast or too slow. I guess what I am trying to say is, practice slow and fast. If I can copy at 50 wpm I know a lot of others can also. It just takes dedication.
Good points. Though the goal of not visualizing dots and dashes, as much as possible, is not to take a shortcut at all, but to avoid making it harder to copy faster speeds later.
@@RadioPrepper Instant character recognition is a must. As soon as you hear the code, you should know the letter. Again a lot of practice.
Absolutely!
This was absolutely amazing. I've been saying "CW" without thinking. The whiteboard concept is real cool. Thank You.
Ex Royal Corps of Signals Telegraphist , used to transcribe this stuff at light speed, many characters in arrears, the code had stopped but I was still typing, still had time to drink tea and smoke a cigarette, when it came to figures only it was all just a blur , pretty much ignore the dots completely, 35+ years later and 25 wpm still sounds slow.
I wish I had the same problem..
The 5 +- 2 famous psychophysics study refers to "uncorrelated" stimuli and no sequence learning. Here you have sequences over time and letters composing transmissions (including call signs to a lesser extent) show very strong (cross)correlations.
Are there audiobooks that teach the code? Seem an ideal medium for learning this.
Not sure, but great idea! Check this: th-cam.com/video/a3ZLVm0tmkA/w-d-xo.html The author has different speeds, great help.
Radio Prepper b
This video is the best explanation of how and WHY how to learn the code.
Thank you.
As an older aged learner, I found this useful. It highlighted some concepts that I’ve been grappling with. For someone without English as a first language you’ve done well with the delivery. As an OCD, I jar with the use of capitals and lower case - RADIO, not RADiO. Problem with decoding though if trying to something which is deliberately non-English, eg 5 letter groups. Lucky we are not at war!
The problem is when starting out is remembering the code for each letter. The second step allows for memory aids, so you can work out what each letter is in morse. I would say its worth learning so you don't need to go around with a piece of paper with the codes and letters on, if your learning in an environment where you always have that then I can see the benefits of you method only.
.
It's been a while since I've used CW but to practice I sound out automobile license plates, signs, tv commercials, etc.into code.
LCWO.com works on Android. Some things I have noticed. Your brain really wants to do real time error correction. Like Gil says, you MUST let that go or it's like suddenly finding your self running down a very steep hill. You will face plant, and fast. I swear it's like some of the things Yoda says to Luke on Dagobah. You must clear your mind and let the code flow through you. And to quote another movie, you don't have time to think. If you think, you're dead.
I appreciate your time and insight Sir. Thank you for making and sharing your video.
Great video, he speaks the truth. Really well done and excellent advice to anyone learning CW!
I agree entirely. It seems easier to learn at a faster letter rate. I started listening to the “tune” of Morse at 20wpm and found it difficult to go back. I reckon listening is the key to sending.
He’s right. Learn by hearing the sounds and eliminate the extra step of a mental lookup table.
Really true sir!!
I learnt the basic letters at a very low character speed and now, I can't tell the word unless I see the picture of Morse code in my head. It's just too frustrating. Will definitely do as you said now. Thanks a lot!!
I still struggle because of that mistake..
Great video, it's very hard to explain what you did there. I try to teach people that the letter has to instantly appear when heard. That connection takes tons of time and practice. Now I have that, the problem is, actually remembering the letters. Sure I can see K C 9 D F C, but 3 seconds later I have forgotten it....! My short term memory only has 2 slots. : (
That's my problem too... :-)
for concept only. My key to learning code is to learn sounds, not combinations of dits and dah. When coping do not speak (moving your lips) or mentally say the letter in your head, "THINK the letter / THINK the sound"; you can not spend time pronouncing the letters (even mentally saying the letter in your head), at higher speeds the letters will go by faster than you can speak it mentally and eventually at even higher speeds the sounds of each character will go by faster than you can think them.
Bonjour Gil, your video explains the mental process of learning Morse Code perfectly! (Thank You for ALL your vids - none of us are too old to learn something new.. 73 mon ami)
I can't do it without visuals.
Edit: There's not any right way either. These kind of things help you develop your skills faster. I think 15-20 wpm can be used to see if you can decipher some of it fast enough. Obviously, if you can go that fast already, use it.
The visuals impede your speed, as remembering the letter as the sound pattern is much more fast and efficient for your brain than having to process each dot and dash in your head; so, while it's easier to start out with visuals, you'll actually get a lot less trouble getting faster if you go by sound alone.
Exactly!
A slower speed is sometimes needed under bad QRM or QRN conditions where at a faster speed the receiving station loses letters in the noise, too many being lost to make sense of what you do receive. I've worked stations where we're both QRP with reports of 339 and even a couple at 229 each way. No good rattling out fast Morse and losing information.
G4GHB.
I am learning Morse Code. My dad put 2 Morse Code apps on my iPad mini device. One is for me to do Morse Code and the other one i use to talk to everyone around the world
Great! Which apps?
Excellent video! Thank you fir sharing your knowledge.
Been in ham radio since 1960....mainly using Morse and copy 20 wpm. Have known many others to copy much faster all without writing anything done and still while in conversation with you verbally. Most were excellent with crossword puzzles. But I have found cw the most reliable mode even in poor radio conditions. Like learning a foreign language. BUT I learnt in all the wrong ways that Gil now has shown me. Learning at slow speeds and slowing increasing rates.....all written down and seeing dots and dashes rather then only letters. Learning at 15 wpm from the start makes perfect sense. Speeding up copy speeds then reducing to a lower rate can work for improving copy skills. Gil’s tips and approach super smart and a fine guide for starting the Morse learning process. Also even for a long time Morse user to relearn the process, but now correctly. Thank you Gil. John W7JO
Thank you John, we have paid a price for starting the wrong way, and I feel my copying could be better, even years later had I followed these tips...
Radio Prepper I am told in aging (75 here and still working part time) to keep the mind busy...learn a new language etc. Well, here is my opportunity to do just that. Relearn Morse...in a different fashion. Why not....an interesting challenge of the mental remapping of sorts. Least worth the try as an experiment. Would have been nice to have been taught via the current format you have demonstrated. All makes very good sense and time to attempt relearning....in truth CW has been my favorite mode and hope to improve at it.
Keep at it, it will pay off in many ways!
Morse code is a data mode. Some radio operators don’t have the money for computers. Plus this is an international language so even though you don’t speak their language you have abbreviations DE Means “this is”. QTH is what is your location. Speech has also dialect in it so even if they use voice in English you may not understand what they are saying.
After I got my Novice ticket in '91 I hit a plateau at about 9 WPM. Time to shake off the cobwebs and get back in there.
+Rick Via Yes, practice above your maximum copy speed then go back down after 20 mins... You will be surprised.
Using the LCWO site now. Just signed on yesterday. MAN I have a lot to learn! I hope if looking at it as I'm learning a new instrument it will help. You know -- guitar, mandolin, Morse code.
Just keep at it, it will pay off!
The problem most people have is that they are self selecting. To be an Enigma traffic listener there was a ruthless weeding out process. Musical training of any kind helped in a way. Morse is a strange kind of pulse based cross rythmn. For the rest of us mortals total dedication helps as does the Koch course 8 hours a day at 20wpm. Words and call protocol not letters.
TNX FER NC tutorial and advice. I have done most of the mistakes you mentioned while I was studying the code. After learning the basic characters, there is no did and dah, just sound-fonts and rhythm. 73 de sv1onk
I AM LOST. BUT THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS
+Carolyn Mezias Don't hesitate to ask questions.
code morse is simpalll yyyy :) just you need the taime :) .../___/.../ (sos)
When morse code was invented, there was no radio. Radio appeared way later. Morse first used his code for wire line transmissions. And there were no attempts before him to invent the code because in fact he invented not just the code itself but the very method of remote thansmission which didn't exist before.
I started learning the code in January this year and I use for this purpose an Android app. Morse Player Free which can play any text file into Morse coded sounds. To traine my transmission skills I use a straight key and RX Morse app. for Android which can decode my transmission back into letters.
About learning at low speeds - I didn't feel any inconveniense when I started to learn from 8 WPM. At the first stage I couldn't avoid counting dots and dashes anyway but two monthes later when my reception speed got to 16 WPM, I automatically stopped to concentrate on them because there's simply no time to do that. No inconvenience or obstuct from it that prevents me from going on without counting dots and dashes. There's a moment in learning when you have to stop straining your mind while receiving. Just relax and brain finds its way how to do the things properly.
Thank you for this video, i think morse is really helpful especially in emergencies (...---...) you inspired me
Indeed, thanks.
Thanks for the video Gil. I learned it the wrong way 40 years ago. :)
Probably the reason why I haven't taken to Morse..
But I am enthused to learn correct way now..
You explained it very well.
Dan
+D K Thanks Dan.
This is the way to learn it. All is about the "music" of the characters. Thanks Gil. it is a pleasure to watch your channel.
Thanks.
Very good video! When I learned Morse code in 1973 (using a set of vinyl records) nobody told me to go this way. All beginners started with dots and dashes at very slow speed. Btw your first pronunciation of "Koch method" was correct. Koch like Loch (Ness). Ludwig Koch was a german psychologist (not a "Koch" = cook ;-)
Hello Gil, bonjour. Thanks a lot for this video. At this moment I am teaching 3 collegue hamoperators the noble art of morsecode, using the Koch methode (you pronounced it perfectly) and we are making progress. We are now at a speed of 15 wpm with a 12 wpm interval. So, you have a point in your excellent video, but.......there a more roads that lead to Rome. I , personally, learned morsecode in the 60's when I studied to be a merchant navy radio operator at a nautical college in Amsterdam. We learned it there the slow way. that is: we started en 8 wpm if I remember correctly. And if I say 8 wpm then I mean 8 wpm in both characters and intervals. Later we speeded up to eventually 20 wpm, being the required speed on the exam. After about 9 years of being a professsional radio-operator (5 years merchant navy, 4 years in the Royal Neth. Airforce) I said goodbye to the morsecode in 1976 only to pick it up in 2010 as a hamoperator, just like that. As if I had never left the HF-bands. At first I only used the good old brasspounder, but later on I got used to the paddle. I always adjust my speed to my counterparty, but I feel most comfortable with speeds between 25 and 30 wpm and I can take up to 40 wpm by just listening to it. Those speeds are to speedy for me to write down. Gil 73 de PA5ABW (Albert)
Good to know it stays with you, like bicycle :-)
I learned at Ft. Huachuca in Arizona. The fastest speed I could copy was 24 gpm. I miss copying. My instructors told me di da is Alpha everything is different..
Merci I'm beginning morse code and studying for my technician license in the United States.
I have made several visits to France while seeving aboard the USS Comte De Grasse sister ship to the Frigate De Grasse.
You're right about the ear and brain trying to write the letter, your suggestions will be better. Thank you from Spokane Valley, Washington.
Thanks, be patient with Morse, It takes time, but well worth It!
Thanks for sharing this very interesting stuff
For me to learn, I have to do it. Listening to Morse code does nothing for me.
Children learn to speak by trying to make words.
I've given up because the tools I've worked with have frustrated me.
Merci beaucoup Gil. J'étudie code Morse et le français. Votre channel est une grande aide.
En tout cas pour le Français ça va 😉
Très judicieux conseils je pense !
Merci
Very helpful tips. Thank you!
if you want to be abel to wright down above 20 wpm learn how to type on a typewhriter than learn steno blindfolded(i mean litellary)
To get my Amateur Extra License, i had to send & receive at 20 wpm. I practiced at 25 wpm and was able to qso at about 30 before taking the test.
I recommend copying random characters at random length at five wpm higher than you need to copy for practice. Learn to hear the sound and have it mean the letter.
Absolutely!
I liked to hear your explanation.
Very good information here. Thank you Gil.
100% agree with the approach to try to learn at a speed that forces you to build procedural memory skill, rather than a "lookup table in your head", i.e. declarative memory. This is why I think using mnemonics to memorise the codes is really bad.
It's probably closely related to language learning -- a lot of language courses start with heavy focus on grammar rules and learning of vocabulary lists. Instead, more evidence is being found that it's much more effective to literally just watch people do stuff while they speak the language (i.e. not memorising rules, and not using subtitles to skip the hard part of figuring things out in real time).
Thanks, very true.
It reminds me of a musician looking at their notes. They don’t see music notes, they see the sound! Never learn it through other steps. It creates delay. Learn the r sound , learn the s sound. Don’t add other words to a letter.
Good analogy!
Got my novice ticket in 1990,( never should have picked up a mic after that ) my learning curve was really accelerating(5 wpm ). Now every few years I try again, but now at 71, I have a big problem with comprehension and memory. I still try to get some code to "stick" in the old noggin. Like your vids..
Thanks. Maybe persevering would help with the noggin... Just saying ;-)
Correct. Start at 15. 20 is my frontier.
Telegraph in India : The first experimental telegraph lines were constructed in India and America, the oldest country and the most modern, in the same years 1839. The pioneer in India was Sir William O'Shaughnessy Brooke, fondly remembered as Dr O'Shaughnessy. His American contemporary was none other than the father of modern electric telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse. Morse connected Washington D.C with Baltimore in 1839 over a stretch of some 40 miles. Dr O'Shaughnessy completed some 21 miles of telegraph line in 1839 proceeding from Calcutta in the general direction of Diamond Harbour and negotiating a river crossing of 7000 yards. Thus started the story of an Indian adventure which was to keep pace with technological developments in most advance countries of the world ( The Sepoy Mutiny From Telegraph Message by Santosh Ghosh ).
Great info thanks!
@@RadioPrepper / Thanks for your reply. With best regards 🥀🙏
@Radio Prepper.
This is an excellent video and lesson. Thank you for sharing.
Merci beaucoup.
Thanks Jamil.
Yet another "hit out of the ballpark", Gil. Very encouraging, thank you.
+Wyowanderer777 Thanks!
One more thing to suggest: learn the rythm. Nothing worse than hearing signs without a proper and constant rythm!
Great helpful information.....thank you...
Good video and very good advice! I have not mastered high speed CW as of yet, but my experience and observations conclude exactly what is suggested here. Thanks!
Thanks!
Your advice about trying to learn to respond to the sounds by seeing the letters rather than the dots and dashes seems brilliant! It made me wonder if that can apply somehow to people who have problems with reading. Thanks!
Interesting idea...
Thanks for making this. I am just beginning to learn Morse so finding this video was perfect timing for me. The "Ham Morse" app is expensive, but it looks pretty good so far.
Keep at it, it takes time but it's worth It!
Very informative!! 🙌
See these dot's? that's morse code. Wanna learn it? - Don't concentrate on the dots...
I did the same with typing. Still bad at it after 15 years... Happily I only send short messages
I have heard in another video, that learning visually (lines and dots) is a mistake; to go straight to audio to pick it up and learn it fastest. It is an audio skill, so it needs to be practiced with audio and with your digits, not your eyes. I could be wrong. The video presenter said that once he dropped looking at lines and dots and just listening, he regretted ever looking at lines and dots at all.
Absolutely yes.
I *thought* that was a Kent keyer paddle! I've had one since the 1990s and love it.
Just the basic Kent paddles.. The keyer is in the radio..
Is it just me that wants to learn Morse Code because there's nothing else to do during the corona virus
Probably not ;-)
Hello Gil, I dig you approach. As an amateur musician, I totally understand how it makes more sense to listen to the rhythm rather than going letter by letter.
Question for you: using your approach, how do I start? Can you point to some appropriate course? Should I get a paddle and a Morse trainer right away? Thanks in advance for your answers (it might be a good subject for a new video!).
Hello. Sending will come naturally. Practice listening 90% of the time, sending 10%, and you can do that later. I'd suggest using a Morse phone app with the Koch method. Not sure what's available today..
Very good advice
Make a video (Computer screen images of letters and Morse code with audio/LIGHTBILPS) TYPING OVER AND OVER! THE SENTENCE
[THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG]
This sentence uses every letter of the alphabet! A typing exercise
played at speed repeatedly 60 times until it's a tune WOULD help me to commit to memory!😎
Gil, I know you made this video a while ago but all good points. I learned it first in 1985 and still learning I guess although I can go abt 30 WPM now with misses. Key for me was to practice 20-30 minutes a day to learn. After that for speed I listen faster than i can copy pushing myself. I can’t really copy at 50+ WPM but often my brain does copy and I just know??? Not sure how it does that. Good video and advice.
I need more practice, stuck at 20 max...
Yes Sir! People can learn a melody easier that spelling the words!!
Glad I ran across your tips and pointers. I was given a Morse Code bracelet made with beads, and that is what sparked me to learn Morse Code. Looking forward to the challenge!
Great, keep at and don't give up!
@@RadioPrepper
Actually I started about a year ago but ended up moving twice do to loosing my father and then my mother. I fell away from learning and wish I hadn’t but there’s no reason to just pick right back up. I’m really really pumped in learning and won’t stop ever again. I simply want to learn this all more than anything in the world!!!!
It is not easy, often frustrating, but worth it!
Thanks for the nice video.
I can headcopy about 8wpm now but you mentioned the recommended lower start speed is 15wpm. Do you think I have to go 15wpm even though I could copy nothing for now? Please advise.
I think it would be better yes.
Thanks Gil, I will try.
Jan 11, 2020: I dedicate this video to Sgt Manuel R. Martinez, 23, who was killed on Friday, Aug 22, 1975 south of Santa Fe. Manuel rolled his 240Z Datsun while returning to Albuquerque following a long work week at the Farmington mines. Having misplaced his keys, he was speeding to make up for lost time. Manuel was a gentle Marine with a shy grin, warm heart, kind nature and strong work ethic. He trained at Camp Pendleton as a morse code radio operator, served a year in Okinawa, and was a member of both the Carpenters Union and VFW. (He was a master welder.) Manuel was a bit of a rebel and we were both insecure, as our parents had troubled marriages. (Before the accident, his mother Corine remarried and moved to a new home.) Manuel, I wish we had eloped. KATRINA
Sorry for your loss.
@@RadioPrepper Thanks very much.
My father was a ww2 code instructor and radio operator in europe. He could type out 35wpm no problem and read plain text up to 75 wpm in short segments of 4 words or so. I learned enough to get my general class license but pops would cringe when he saw me send and receive
Amazing, I wish I could do that...
It took you 15 minutes to say: …"just HEAR and learn the sound of each character", and: "A recommended speed, for beginners is 15 words per minute, and 50 to 70 wpm for advanced".
I learnt it from audio tape (a long time ago). And I learnt it the wrong way! I explain: the tapes introduced the letters and THEN the numbers. So, I then have to switch from letters to numbers each time I encounter a digit. This is a huuuuuge waste of time and fluency.
Thanks. Just getting back into cw after years. I'm going to go 20 wpm to relearn without that detrimental second step you pointed out.
Well done Gil from correcting yourself from dash and dot to dah and dit, that's the CORRECT way :O)
Also start by forming the character at 15wpm but leave a long space between words at the start, gradually reducing the gap as you gain proficiency.
Also learn iambic keying, it's much easier and the key stays in one place not sliding about on the bench.
The main motivation for my wanting a ham license, is to use CW Mode.
Big learning curve for me.
That was mine too :-)
Ce code est souvent attribué à Samuel Morse, cependant plusieurs contestent cette primauté, et tendent à attribuer la paternité du langage à son assistant, Alfred Vail
Such good advice.
Thanks for the info.