[OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v- practice fast

[RobertG]

The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed,
not the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be an
overlap between the two tasks.

W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down. Presumably,
as the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and copying becomes
easier; then, ease of copying starts occurring at higher speeds over
time/trials. From my days studying animal learning, I remember
significant research to the effect that starting a new task in the
easiest form [slow CW speed] lessened/prevented errors and, by the end,
resulted in quicker and more accurate learning.

I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse]. This
is somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not "words."

All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may have
a point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For example, start
with 3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing increasing speed as
long as the error rate stays under some value [5%, say]. Keep working at
a given speed until the error rate is reached, then increment. Proceed
in this fashion until a goal speed is reached. Then, repeat in the same
fashion for longer letter groups. The same approach could be used with
numbers, complete call signs, and sweepstakes type exchanges.

The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct
neural networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly stretched,
perhaps like increasing strength in weight training and increasing range
of motion after orthopedic surgery, all the time working at the edge to
slowly increase capacity. This might also be applicable to increasing
the speed of characters as in the Farnsworth method. I'm interested in
what folks think.

...rober
--
Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
[hidden email]
Syracuse, New York, USA
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[Kevin Stover]

I have been a proponent of the Koch method.
You start with two letters at the final speed you wish to copy, none of
this Farnsworth business of fast characters with extra space between
words to slow the wpm down. You want to learn 40wpm, characters and
words are spaced for 40wpm. You don't add a letter until you copy the
original two at 95%.

G4FON makes a fine piece of software specifically designed to support
the Koch method.

On 12/4/2015 9:21 PM, Robert G Strickland wrote:

> The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed,
> not the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be
> an overlap between the two tasks.
>
> W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down.
> Presumably, as the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and
> copying becomes easier; then, ease of copying starts occurring at
> higher speeds over time/trials. From my days studying animal learning,
> I remember significant research to the effect that starting a new task
> in the easiest form [slow CW speed] lessened/prevented errors and, by
> the end, resulted in quicker and more accurate learning.
>
> I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
> 30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse].
> This is somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not
> "words."
>
> All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may
> have a point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For
> example, start with 3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing
> increasing speed as long as the error rate stays under some value [5%,
> say]. Keep working at a given speed until the error rate is reached,
> then increment. Proceed in this fashion until a goal speed is reached.
> Then, repeat in the same fashion for longer letter groups. The same
> approach could be used with numbers, complete call signs, and
> sweepstakes type exchanges.
>
> The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct
> neural networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly
> stretched, perhaps like increasing strength in weight training and
> increasing range of motion after orthopedic surgery, all the time
> working at the edge to slowly increase capacity. This might also be
> applicable to increasing the speed of characters as in the Farnsworth
> method. I'm interested in what folks think.
>
> ...rober

--
R. Kevin Stover
AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441


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[G3XVR]

Over 40 years ago I wrote a GWBASIC program that sent random 5 letter groups
of letters and/or numbers. Like the Farnsworth system (although we had never
heard of it before) it asked for a starting and a target speed and adjusted
the spacing between letters so that the characters were sent at the target
speed but the thinking time between characters was adjusted to give the
starting speed. If you then typed the characters as they were sent, the
spaces between characters would gradually decrease if you got it right, but
if you got it wrong the letter that was incorrect was given a higher
weighting so that it occurred more often. After a period of correct input,
the weighting would decrease and the speed would start to ramp up again.
This either gets your morse up to your typing speed, or in my case, my
typing up to my morse speed. Groups of letters could be enabled individually
so that someone just starting could begin with EISHTMO before adding
additional letters as proficiency increased.

Unfortunately GWBASIC died with the advent of Windows3 and other versions of
BASIC did not have the BEEP command that was used, but recently I have
rewritten the program in Python and it runs on a Raspberry Pi2 at least up
to 50 WPM.

Danny, G3XVR

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Robert
G Strickland
Sent: 05 December 2015 03:22
To: Elecraft
Subject: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
practice fast

The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed, not
the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be an overlap
between the two tasks.

W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down. Presumably, as
the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and copying becomes easier;
then, ease of copying starts occurring at higher speeds over time/trials.
From my days studying animal learning, I remember significant research to
the effect that starting a new task in the easiest form [slow CW speed]
lessened/prevented errors and, by the end, resulted in quicker and more
accurate learning.

I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse]. This is
somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not "words."

All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may have a
point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For example, start with
3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing increasing speed as long as
the error rate stays under some value [5%, say]. Keep working at a given
speed until the error rate is reached, then increment. Proceed in this
fashion until a goal speed is reached. Then, repeat in the same fashion for
longer letter groups. The same approach could be used with numbers, complete
call signs, and sweepstakes type exchanges.

The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct neural
networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly stretched, perhaps
like increasing strength in weight training and increasing range of motion
after orthopedic surgery, all the time working at the edge to slowly
increase capacity. This might also be applicable to increasing the speed of
characters as in the Farnsworth method. I'm interested in what folks think.

...rober
--
Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
[hidden email]
Syracuse, New York, USA
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[efortner]

There is a program called Ruftz (google it) and I think it is free that
sends call signs. You choose the speed you want to start at and start the
process. It sends a call sign and you type it
In the box. If you get it right it will increase the speed until you miss a
character or number at which point it will decrease the speed. It can
probable send faster than anyone on this list can copy.
Earl, K4KAY

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Danny
Higgins
Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2015 3:34 AM
To: 'Robert G Strickland'; 'Elecraft'
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
practice fast

Over 40 years ago I wrote a GWBASIC program that sent random 5 letter groups
of letters and/or numbers. Like the Farnsworth system (although we had never
heard of it before) it asked for a starting and a target speed and adjusted
the spacing between letters so that the characters were sent at the target
speed but the thinking time between characters was adjusted to give the
starting speed. If you then typed the characters as they were sent, the
spaces between characters would gradually decrease if you got it right, but
if you got it wrong the letter that was incorrect was given a higher
weighting so that it occurred more often. After a period of correct input,
the weighting would decrease and the speed would start to ramp up again.
This either gets your morse up to your typing speed, or in my case, my
typing up to my morse speed. Groups of letters could be enabled individually
so that someone just starting could begin with EISHTMO before adding
additional letters as proficiency increased.

Unfortunately GWBASIC died with the advent of Windows3 and other versions of
BASIC did not have the BEEP command that was used, but recently I have
rewritten the program in Python and it runs on a Raspberry Pi2 at least up
to 50 WPM.

Danny, G3XVR

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Robert
G Strickland
Sent: 05 December 2015 03:22
To: Elecraft
Subject: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
practice fast

The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed, not
the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be an overlap
between the two tasks.

W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down. Presumably, as
the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and copying becomes easier;
then, ease of copying starts occurring at higher speeds over time/trials.
From my days studying animal learning, I remember significant research to
the effect that starting a new task in the easiest form [slow CW speed]
lessened/prevented errors and, by the end, resulted in quicker and more
accurate learning.

I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse]. This is
somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not "words."

All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may have a
point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For example, start with
3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing increasing speed as long as
the error rate stays under some value [5%, say]. Keep working at a given
speed until the error rate is reached, then increment. Proceed in this
fashion until a goal speed is reached. Then, repeat in the same fashion for
longer letter groups. The same approach could be used with numbers, complete
call signs, and sweepstakes type exchanges.

The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct neural
networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly stretched, perhaps
like increasing strength in weight training and increasing range of motion
after orthopedic surgery, all the time working at the edge to slowly
increase capacity. This might also be applicable to increasing the speed of
characters as in the Farnsworth method. I'm interested in what folks think.

...rober
--
Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
[hidden email]
Syracuse, New York, USA
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[briancom]

RUFZXP. One guy has topped the 1000 character/minute speed (200 WPM)

Just downloaded it a few days ago after years of non-use.  Now has a
WINDOWS interface instead of the old DOS format.

Contesters start with an advantage since many of the calls in the
database are real contest participants.  Recognizing these familiar
calls is easier...


73 de Brian/K3KO


On 12/5/2015 15:13 PM, efortner wrote:

> There is a program called Ruftz (google it) and I think it is free that
> sends call signs. You choose the speed you want to start at and start the
> process. It sends a call sign and you type it
> In the box. If you get it right it will increase the speed until you miss a
> character or number at which point it will decrease the speed. It can
> probable send faster than anyone on this list can copy.
> Earl, K4KAY
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Danny
> Higgins
> Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2015 3:34 AM
> To: 'Robert G Strickland'; 'Elecraft'
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
> practice fast
>
> Over 40 years ago I wrote a GWBASIC program that sent random 5 letter groups
> of letters and/or numbers. Like the Farnsworth system (although we had never
> heard of it before) it asked for a starting and a target speed and adjusted
> the spacing between letters so that the characters were sent at the target
> speed but the thinking time between characters was adjusted to give the
> starting speed. If you then typed the characters as they were sent, the
> spaces between characters would gradually decrease if you got it right, but
> if you got it wrong the letter that was incorrect was given a higher
> weighting so that it occurred more often. After a period of correct input,
> the weighting would decrease and the speed would start to ramp up again.
> This either gets your morse up to your typing speed, or in my case, my
> typing up to my morse speed. Groups of letters could be enabled individually
> so that someone just starting could begin with EISHTMO before adding
> additional letters as proficiency increased.
>
> Unfortunately GWBASIC died with the advent of Windows3 and other versions of
> BASIC did not have the BEEP command that was used, but recently I have
> rewritten the program in Python and it runs on a Raspberry Pi2 at least up
> to 50 WPM.
>
> Danny, G3XVR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Robert
> G Strickland
> Sent: 05 December 2015 03:22
> To: Elecraft
> Subject: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
> practice fast
>
> The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed, not
> the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be an overlap
> between the two tasks.
>
> W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down. Presumably, as
> the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and copying becomes easier;
> then, ease of copying starts occurring at higher speeds over time/trials.
>  From my days studying animal learning, I remember significant research to
> the effect that starting a new task in the easiest form [slow CW speed]
> lessened/prevented errors and, by the end, resulted in quicker and more
> accurate learning.
>
> I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
> 30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse]. This is
> somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not "words."
>
> All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may have a
> point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For example, start with
> 3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing increasing speed as long as
> the error rate stays under some value [5%, say]. Keep working at a given
> speed until the error rate is reached, then increment. Proceed in this
> fashion until a goal speed is reached. Then, repeat in the same fashion for
> longer letter groups. The same approach could be used with numbers, complete
> call signs, and sweepstakes type exchanges.
>
> The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct neural
> networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly stretched, perhaps
> like increasing strength in weight training and increasing range of motion
> after orthopedic surgery, all the time working at the edge to slowly
> increase capacity. This might also be applicable to increasing the speed of
> characters as in the Farnsworth method. I'm interested in what folks think.
>
> ...rober
> --
> Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
> [hidden email]
> Syracuse, New York, USA
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message
> delivered to [hidden email]
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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>

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[Dick Dievendorff-4]

VE3NEA's freeware MorseRunner is an another popular program for building CW
speed. This is a "pileup" generator, where multiple calls come concurrently,
at varying speeds & tones, with background noise.

http://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/

There was an old Commodore "Dr. DX" program that I still have around here
somewhere that was an early version of this sort of function.

N6MJ claimed 10,223 QSOs as a single operator (two radio) in CQ WW CW at
ZF2MJ last month.  Dan says he trained for months with two laptops running
MorseRunner, one in each ear.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no8nGGa99cE

http://www.3830scores.com/showrumor.php?arg=Lwa6zEfymmyvJ

This was a remarkable performance.  > 10K QSOs as a single op?  That's an
average of 3 contacts a minute, for 48 hours.    He has a 10 minute spurt of
414 an hour.

Dan also won WRTC 2014 with his colleague KL9A.

73 de Dick, K6KR


-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
efortner
Sent: Saturday, December 5, 2015 07:13
To: 'Danny Higgins' <[hidden email]>; 'Robert G Strickland'
<[hidden email]>; 'Elecraft' <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
practice fast

There is a program called Ruftz (google it) and I think it is free that
sends call signs. You choose the speed you want to start at and start the
process. It sends a call sign and you type it In the box. If you get it
right it will increase the speed until you miss a character or number at
which point it will decrease the speed. It can probable send faster than
anyone on this list can copy.
Earl, K4KAY

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Danny
Higgins
Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2015 3:34 AM
To: 'Robert G Strickland'; 'Elecraft'
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
practice fast

Over 40 years ago I wrote a GWBASIC program that sent random 5 letter groups
of letters and/or numbers. Like the Farnsworth system (although we had never
heard of it before) it asked for a starting and a target speed and adjusted
the spacing between letters so that the characters were sent at the target
speed but the thinking time between characters was adjusted to give the
starting speed. If you then typed the characters as they were sent, the
spaces between characters would gradually decrease if you got it right, but
if you got it wrong the letter that was incorrect was given a higher
weighting so that it occurred more often. After a period of correct input,
the weighting would decrease and the speed would start to ramp up again.
This either gets your morse up to your typing speed, or in my case, my
typing up to my morse speed. Groups of letters could be enabled individually
so that someone just starting could begin with EISHTMO before adding
additional letters as proficiency increased.

Unfortunately GWBASIC died with the advent of Windows3 and other versions of
BASIC did not have the BEEP command that was used, but recently I have
rewritten the program in Python and it runs on a Raspberry Pi2 at least up
to 50 WPM.

Danny, G3XVR

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Robert
G Strickland
Sent: 05 December 2015 03:22
To: Elecraft
Subject: [Elecraft] [OT] increasing CW copy speed: practice slow -v-
practice fast

The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed, not
the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be an overlap
between the two tasks.

W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down. Presumably, as
the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and copying becomes easier;
then, ease of copying starts occurring at higher speeds over time/trials.
From my days studying animal learning, I remember significant research to
the effect that starting a new task in the easiest form [slow CW speed]
lessened/prevented errors and, by the end, resulted in quicker and more
accurate learning.

I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse]. This is
somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not "words."

All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may have a
point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For example, start with
3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing increasing speed as long as
the error rate stays under some value [5%, say]. Keep working at a given
speed until the error rate is reached, then increment. Proceed in this
fashion until a goal speed is reached. Then, repeat in the same fashion for
longer letter groups. The same approach could be used with numbers, complete
call signs, and sweepstakes type exchanges.

The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct neural
networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly stretched, perhaps
like increasing strength in weight training and increasing range of motion
after orthopedic surgery, all the time working at the edge to slowly
increase capacity. This might also be applicable to increasing the speed of
characters as in the Farnsworth method. I'm interested in what folks think.

...rober
--
Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
[hidden email]
Syracuse, New York, USA
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[RobertG]

I have used all the programs mentioned in this thread and have found
them all useful. I spend most of my practice time with Rufz,
occasionally going to Morse Runner. I'm not drawn to G4FON's program,
because there's no way to interact directly with the program as it
generates code [as with Rufz]. Focusing on Rufz, my initial post
basically asks about a comparison between starting at the target speed
and working down or at a slower speed and working up.

I'm quick to acknowledge that all methods/approaches presume that one
puts in the practice time to become proficient. If one wants to increase
cw proficiency, then spend a lot of time in cw qso's. No free lunches.
Recently, when working at the computer on business, I tune in a cw qso
and just let it go on "at the back of my attention" as I work. This
seems to be having some positive effect.

What I personally find happening - I'm 75y/o - is that in higher speed
qso's I start slowly lagging behind the sender until I miss a word/words
that breaks the intelligibility of the conversation. Frustrating!
Another point, I think that copying call signs at high speed is more
demanding in that one doesn't have the conversation stream/meaning to
help fill in for missed words.

...robert

On 12/5/2015 03:21, Robert G Strickland wrote:

> The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed,
> not the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be an
> overlap between the two tasks.
>
> W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down. Presumably,
> as the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and copying becomes
> easier; then, ease of copying starts occurring at higher speeds over
> time/trials. From my days studying animal learning, I remember
> significant research to the effect that starting a new task in the
> easiest form [slow CW speed] lessened/prevented errors and, by the end,
> resulted in quicker and more accurate learning.
>
> I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
> 30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse]. This
> is somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not "words."
>
> All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may have
> a point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For example, start
> with 3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing increasing speed as
> long as the error rate stays under some value [5%, say]. Keep working at
> a given speed until the error rate is reached, then increment. Proceed
> in this fashion until a goal speed is reached. Then, repeat in the same
> fashion for longer letter groups. The same approach could be used with
> numbers, complete call signs, and sweepstakes type exchanges.
>
> The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct
> neural networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly stretched,
> perhaps like increasing strength in weight training and increasing range
> of motion after orthopedic surgery, all the time working at the edge to
> slowly increase capacity. This might also be applicable to increasing
> the speed of characters as in the Farnsworth method. I'm interested in
> what folks think.
>
> ...rober

--
Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY
[hidden email]
Syracuse, New York, USA
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[Nate Bargmann]

A similar program called qrq is available in the repositories of various
Linux distributions:

http://fkurz.net/ham/qrq.html

It is written by Fabian Kurz, DJ1YFK, a High Speed Telegraphy champ.

73, Nate, N0NB

--

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Ham radio, Linux, bikes, and more: http://www.n0nb.us
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[Bob K6UJ]

Robert,

Couple of suggestions for increasing your CW copying speed.

The Farnsworth method of CW training was the most beneficial to me.
With Farnsworth the characters are sent faster than the words.  For
instance
at 10wpm each character is sent at 20wpm but enough time is added to
slow down
the rate to 10wpm.  The ARRL adopted this method years ago for their
morse code
training materials and the W1AW morse transmissions.  For example when
W1AW is sending
at 18wpm the characters are sent at 20wpm.

Its great to get time in the saddle copying QSO's but to really increase
your copying speed
you really need to spend some time exercising your copying abilities
each day.
Practice copying "only" at speeds faster than you can comfortably copy.  
Practice at a speed
where you are only able to copy one or two characters in each word.
Concentrate !!
Do this for only 10 minutes each day.  If you are really concentrating
you will find
10 minutes is about when you are ready to throw in the towel for the day
anyway  :-)
Later on after you find you are able to copy about half of the text then
increase the speed back
to where you can only copy one or two characters in each word. (This
isnt supposed to be easy this
is a training exercise.)   We wont increase our copying speed by copying
the same easier speeds
all the time.  Try this only ten minutes a day and see what happens !

Also don't fret over losing a word or words in a conversation and losing
the intelligibility of the
conversation,  that happens to all of us and will be remedied when you
copying speed is increased.

my two cents
Bob
K6UJ







On 12/5/15 9:03 AM, Robert G Strickland wrote:

> I have used all the programs mentioned in this thread and have found
> them all useful. I spend most of my practice time with Rufz,
> occasionally going to Morse Runner. I'm not drawn to G4FON's program,
> because there's no way to interact directly with the program as it
> generates code [as with Rufz]. Focusing on Rufz, my initial post
> basically asks about a comparison between starting at the target speed
> and working down or at a slower speed and working up.
>
> I'm quick to acknowledge that all methods/approaches presume that one
> puts in the practice time to become proficient. If one wants to
> increase cw proficiency, then spend a lot of time in cw qso's. No free
> lunches. Recently, when working at the computer on business, I tune in
> a cw qso and just let it go on "at the back of my attention" as I
> work. This seems to be having some positive effect.
>
> What I personally find happening - I'm 75y/o - is that in higher speed
> qso's I start slowly lagging behind the sender until I miss a
> word/words that breaks the intelligibility of the conversation.
> Frustrating! Another point, I think that copying call signs at high
> speed is more demanding in that one doesn't have the conversation
> stream/meaning to help fill in for missed words.
>
> ...robert
>
> On 12/5/2015 03:21, Robert G Strickland wrote:
>> The following comments/questions focus on increasing CW copying speed,
>> not the task of initially learning the code. That said, there may be an
>> overlap between the two tasks.
>>
>> W1AW starts its CW practice speeds fast and then slows down. Presumably,
>> as the speed get slower the mental demand lessens and copying becomes
>> easier; then, ease of copying starts occurring at higher speeds over
>> time/trials. From my days studying animal learning, I remember
>> significant research to the effect that starting a new task in the
>> easiest form [slow CW speed] lessened/prevented errors and, by the end,
>> resulted in quicker and more accurate learning.
>>
>> I tend to practice 3-letter groups at 35-40 wpm, 5-letter groups at
>> 30-35 wpm, and 7-letter groups at 25-30 wpm [for better or worse]. This
>> is somewhat geared to DX contesting since call signs are not "words."
>>
>> All that said, I'm starting to wonder if the animal study folks may have
>> a point. How about the reverse of the above approach. For example, start
>> with 3-letter groups at an error free speed, slowing increasing speed as
>> long as the error rate stays under some value [5%, say]. Keep working at
>> a given speed until the error rate is reached, then increment. Proceed
>> in this fashion until a goal speed is reached. Then, repeat in the same
>> fashion for longer letter groups. The same approach could be used with
>> numbers, complete call signs, and sweepstakes type exchanges.
>>
>> The general idea is to minimize the error rate so that only correct
>> neural networks are formed in the brain. These can be slowly stretched,
>> perhaps like increasing strength in weight training and increasing range
>> of motion after orthopedic surgery, all the time working at the edge to
>> slowly increase capacity. This might also be applicable to increasing
>> the speed of characters as in the Farnsworth method. I'm interested in
>> what folks think.
>>
>> ...rober
>

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[Kevin Stover]

I've always thought the Farnsworth method was directly responsible for
the "10 wpm wall" newcomers were running into. Reading "The Art and
Skill of Radio Telegraphy" Pierpont says the same thing. By stretching
the time between words you give people more time to translate. if your
going to copy Morse faster than about 10wpm you don't have time to
translate. You have to know the character as soon as you hear it without
using the look up table in your head. The Koch method has no exaggerated
spacing between words or elements. You want to be proficient at 35 wpm,
you practice with dit/dah and word speed set for 35 wpm.

Building speed on the air is great as long as the code you are copying
is "good" code meaning close to properly spaced and timed code. The nice
thing about the computer programs is they send perfect code. With G4FON
you can make it more realistic by adding QRM, QRN and QSB in varying
levels. The only thing your missing is an old timer on his bug sending
with the "Lake Erie Swing".

>


--
R. Kevin Stover
AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441


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[Phil Anderson]

I followed you comments with interest. You might find my blog on CW
interesting too.
Work has kept me too busy to keep the blog up right now but I expect to get
back to it after the turn of the year.
You might find the twenty or so blogs of interest. Google thecodecircle to
get to the tinyletter blogs.

73 and happy holidays, Phil, W0XI
Lawrence, KS.




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[Bill Rowlett]

The best way to learn CW is the same as learning any language, by the sound of the letters or charters. The speed you use to practice is not important, it is writing down the letter when heard, over and over again. K7QO has a CW program on his site which does just that. Also, it is finding the time and dedication to put in the time needed. K7QO by the way has won copy contest at over 100wpm, he knows what he speaks.

Just my two cents. Now, back to the practice.

73 and good DX

Bill  KC4ATU


On Dec 5, 2015, at 2:37 PM, Kevin Stover <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I've always thought the Farnsworth method was directly responsible for the "10 wpm wall" newcomers were running into. Reading "The Art and Skill of Radio Telegraphy" Pierpont says the same thing. By stretching the time between words you give people more time to translate. if your going to copy Morse faster than about 10wpm you don't have time to translate. You have to know the character as soon as you hear it without using the look up table in your head. The Koch method has no exaggerated spacing between words or elements. You want to be proficient at 35 wpm, you practice with dit/dah and word speed set for 35 wpm.
>
> Building speed on the air is great as long as the code you are copying is "good" code meaning close to properly spaced and timed code. The nice thing about the computer programs is they send perfect code. With G4FON you can make it more realistic by adding QRM, QRN and QSB in varying levels. The only thing your missing is an old timer on his bug sending with the "Lake Erie Swing".
>
>>
>
>
> --
> R. Kevin Stover
> AC0H
> ARRL
> FISTS #11993
> SKCC #215
> NAQCC #3441
>
>
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[Bob N3MNT]

Danny

Can you share the Python code?

[Bill Frantz]

As a slow speed CW person, I could probably pass a 13 WPM test,
but 20 is still a bit away. I should also note that my learning
disabilities make it difficult to turn a string of letters into
a word without seeing them on paper or a screen. That
difficulty, and my inability to spell, resulted in my having no
novice QSOs back in 1960.  I do have a few observations.

CW is a language, like German or Chinese (both of which I have
studied). I got to be good enough with German that I could
understand a conversation without translating it to English. The
translation process takes too long and you lose the thread of conversation.

The DX vocabulary is very small, and it is fairly easy to learn
it at high speed. The major words are:

CQ, AGN, ?, UP, TU, and your own call sign.

Contesting has a somewhat larger vocabulary. From the 160M
contest, we add: TEST, QTH?, SEC?, QRZ, 73, individual section
names, and probably a few others.

Note that none of these are words in any other language.

To operate in the CW environment doing contesting or DXing, you
will need to recognize these words the first time without having
to translate them to letters, just like conversing in a foreign
language. If you are search and pounce, you can get a stations
call by listening to it repeated several times. Running a
frequency means you will have to be able to copy calls the first
time, at least most of the time.

It might be useful to have a CW training system which drilled
you in the major vocabulary words for the kind of CW you want to
use. After you have been using CW for years, you may get to be
like Ron, AC7AC and be able to have the radio on in the shack
and just listen to a CW QSO, understanding  without translating.

73 Bill AE6JV

--------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz        | There are now so many exceptions to the
408-356-8506       | Fourth Amendment that it operates only by
www.pwpconsult.com | accident.  -  William Hugh Murray

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[Kevin Cozens-2]

On 15-12-07 12:33 AM, Bill Frantz wrote:
> The DX vocabulary is very small, and it is fairly easy to learn it at high
> speed. The major words are:
>
> CQ, AGN, ?, UP, TU, and your own call sign.

The other major word during a lot of contests, or for DX, is "5nn".

--
Cheers!

Kevin.

http://www.ve3syb.ca/           |"Nerds make the shiny things that distract
Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172      | the mouth-breathers, and that's why we're
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