Bad fist

[Dudley Chapman]

Al,
    Here is an old trick taught to me by an Old Timer Navy CW operator.  One
of the drills he was taught for getting the rhythm of sending CW is to send
the phrase "Bens Best Bent Wire".  If sent like this, "BensBest Bent Wire",
it sounds like a military cadence.  If you tap your foot the beat should
come down on the first morse element of the capitalized letters like this,
"BeNsBeSt BeNt WiRe".  (ie. DAHditditdit dit DAHdit ditditdit.... etc.)
However, in the last word of the phrase, the downbeat is on the first dash
in W and in the R rather than on the first dit in those characters (W would
be like ditDAHDAH, rather than DITdahdah.  Try singing it with dits and dahs
while accenting the morse elements on the downbeat.  (To send it perfectly,
the Wi in Wire is run together like it's a single character).  I hope this
makes sense.  Its so much easier just to demonstrate it with a key.

Dudley - WA1X



Message: 14
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2005 09:30:53 -0500
From: "AD5MA" <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Bad fist
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Message-ID: <00fb01c53ab5$3d2e8e40$0f02a8c0@WorkGroup>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

This is the sort of thing that worries me about working CW. I am all in
favor of practicing before going on the air but what is available out there
to do this? Is there a hardware device & software that I can connect a key
to that will send information to a PC to test if I'm sending correctly?

Al.


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[DYARNES]

 
In a message dated 4/6/2005 12:57:46 PM US Mountain Standard Time,  
[hidden email] writes:

Then I  found my current CW mentor (I am not sure if he wants to get
mentioned  here But Thank you SB!!)  He worked with me, and is still
working  with me.  Got me faster and faster.  He weaned me from Farnsworth  
at about 15 wpm.  He modified the style so the words were at full  speed
with larger spaces between.  Then he went faster.   Eventually I never
noticed when the extra spacing went away.  Some  place in there I got
confidence enough (foolish me!) to start the Elecraft  CW Net.  I thought
since the SSB net was getting started maybe we  should use these fine rigs
for what they are best at doing: CW.  So  fools (me) rushed in where most
angels would be scared silly.  Too  dumb to know any better I got a CW net
going.  Wayne still thinks I  am a bit nuts but then he may be right ;)




Hi All,
 
Well, I think you had a good mentor!  The critical thing I think you  learned
was about spacing, which in my view is the ultimate sin of most poor CW  ops!
 I can deal with most CW, so long as there is some recognizable  spacing
between characters.  But when I run across these folks who simply  run their dits
and dahs together from one letter to the next, "I'm outta  here"!  Some ops
insist on having a "swing" to their sending, and though I  don't care for it
much, I can usually copy that stuff O.K. too.   Personally, I like to make sure
there is just a slight bit of extra spacing  between words as well.  You would
be amazed at how much easier it is to  copy when words are readily
identifiable by their spacing.  When I run  across someone else who uses that technique,
it is a dream to copy.  Of  course, the characters of each letter in a word
need proper spacing too, but  there is something very positive about word
separation--especially if you are  copying in your head.  At 20 wpm or less it isn't
that critical, but when  you get going at 25 or 30 wpm, you really appreciate
it.
 
The best advice I can give any op, particularly new ops, is to tape your  own
sending and try copying it back.  I would suggest taping the W1AW code  
practice sessions, tape your own sending of the same text, and compare.   The next
best advice I can give is to drop all that "rock and roll" stuff and  just try
sending well formed characters and words.  You probably won't get  many
compliments about your fist unless you do.  And last, but not least,  don't send
faster than you are really capable of doing with proper spacing and  character
formation.  You can bet the op at the other end won't be having  much fun if
you violate that rule.
 
Dave W7AQK
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[N2EY]

In a message dated 4/6/05 12:54:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[hidden email] writes:

> I've noticed that happens more often these days as ops get on the air after
> learning Farnsworth code. It's wonderful that they are able to learn CW more
> easily and enjoy it more quickly, but several ops I've known who learned
> Farnsworth had to stop and learn to copy all over again once they got on the
> air. The problem is that in normal operation most ops on the air don't leave
> the exaggerated spaces between letters that the Farnsworth system allows
> when you set the Farnsworth speed well above the actual sending speed.
> They've been studying Farnsworth CW at 20 WPM and when they got their
> receiving speed up to, say, 10 wpm, they try to get on the air. Suddenly
> "real CW" at even 10 or 15 wpm sounds like a run-together jumble to them
> until they learn to follow the proper spacing and rhythm of CW.

Quite possible, but there's another, more pervasive problem, I think.

In the bad old days many if not most of us spent a considerable amount of
time listening to the ham bands before we ever got a license, transmitter, or
went on the air for the first time. We knew what good sending and bad sending
sounded like, how the bands behaved, how to fight QRM and QRN, etc., from using
our receivers to learn the code from actual received signals. We also learned
the typical form of a QSO and many other incidentals like prosigns by listening
to other ham QSOs.

But it seems that today a number of newer hams learn the code from computers,
tapes or trainers and have almost no on-air experience with Morse before they
get on the air and try to use the mode. And since there's no sending test,
they have to learn to send on their own. Often they are trying to do all this
live, on-the-air, rather than one step at a time.

I think the predominance of transceivers today has a lot to do with this. In
the old days a prospective ham would start off with a receiver, and spend lots
of time listening, putting up an antenna, etc. When the license was earned,
you'd buy or build a transmitter and go on the air. The delay between passing
the exam and getting the actual license was so long (6 to 8 weeks) that it was
possible to buy or build a transmitter in the interim.

Today many hams get the license first, then get a transceiver. Kinda hard to
sell the idea of spending all that money for rig that is half-useless without
the license.


>
> To me sending that way is like playing music off key, but if I run into one
> of those ops, I'll stretch out my spacing so they can copy.


That's how I QRS with the bug, which bottoms out around 15 wpm. Most slower
ops find it easier to copy.

--

On the issue of how to get started: Use a straight key first. Get a good one,
learn the proper adjustment, posture, etc., and then use only the straight
key until you get good at it.

I went from straight key (J-37) to bug (Vibroplex Original, 1974 vintage,
Standard model). The straight key experience was invaluable.

--

Elecraft connection: Just had a wild idea:

One of the best beginner rigs was the Heath HW-16. It was a CW-only
transmitter-receiver (not really a transceiver) all in one box that covered the Novice
bands only. Ran the Novice legal limit, was simple to build and simple to
operate, but had decent performance for its time and the cost was rock-bottom. No
AGC, no S meter, no bells or whistles, but it had a sharp filter in the
receiver, a decent dial for the time, and QSK.

What if Elecraft made a successor to that famous rig? Say a CW-only
transceiver that was dead-simple to build and operate, but would run 50-100 watts?
Minimal controls and displays, maximum value.

What if the basic unit were only a receiver, and you would add the
transmitter section later?

The K2 is a great rig but it's very complex and the basic one is over $500.
The K1 doesn't get out of the QRP class.  

What if....

73 de Jim, N2EY

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[Trevor Day]

In message <[hidden email]>, Dudley Chapman
<[hidden email]> writes
>Al,
>    Here is an old trick taught to me by an Old Timer Navy CW operator.  One
>of the drills he was taught for getting the rhythm of sending CW is to send
>the phrase "Bens Best Bent Wire".  If sent like this, "BensBest Bent Wire",
>it sounds like a military cadence.  I
>Dudley - WA1X

We used to have something similar;  I am ex RN although an engineer
rather than an op.  We used "Best Beef Essence" it has marvellous
'swing' to it especially when sent on a straight key!

Trev, G3ZYY
--
Trevor Day
UKSMG #217
www.uksmg.org

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