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Re: Johnson SpeedX printed Morse

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Charlie T, K3ICH

Re: Johnson SpeedX printed Morse

OH, yeah.....I can see it in front of me now, a little Johnson SpeedX Morse Code chart.
WORST thing I could possibly have used........YUGE plateau at 7 WPM !

Curiously, when working for Microlog ( the OLD one in Gaithersburg MD), we had a contract to make a video/keyboard automated Morse Code instruction machine for XXXXX gubmint agency.
They KNEW how to teach code and just wanted to automate it.
The key was that they STARTED with the hard letters FIRST, a four letter group with, if my memory serves me, PQXJ, or something like that with letters consisting of FOUR dit/dah combinations.
They did NOT start with E, T, I & M.
Their logic was that it prevented the student from changing their perception as a "long" character is received. for example, if a "J" is received, is it E, or A, or W, or J?

I can tell you, it WORKED. My son learned the whole Morse alphabet by sound (The machine sent at 15 WPM character rate too.) in under three hours total, broken up into 10 to 15 minute sessions.
Today he is KB4WVI.

73, Charlie k3ICH

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Wes
Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2019 2:57 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Reaching Across the Chronological Divide

Please don't let him learn code by sight. I taught myself from the list in my Boy Scout Handbook (still have it) and I've never overcome doing it the wrong way. Passed a 20 WPM Extra exam but it was a struggle. Still my favorite mode though.

Wes N7WS

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KENT TRIMBLE

Re: Johnson SpeedX printed Morse

Well, not exactly the /worst/ thing you could have used, but you're
right, visualizing a chart is adding an extra step in the learning
process toward aural copying.

And Wes is also correct. A whole generation or two of amateur radio
operators had nothing at hand but charts printed in the Boy Scout
Handbook and Signalling Merit Badge booklet. However, no one told us it
was the wrong way to go. Those charts got many of us a Novice license
in addition to Merit Badges. Later, I studied from Ameco vinyl records
which got me a 13 wpm General. Nightly work on the National Traffic
System got me a 20 wpm Extra.

The bottom line is that many of those Scouts who learned by charts are
today's 30 wpm and higher operators.

W4RK and I have taught code classes every Saturday morning (sometimes
three) for many years. We do not allow charts in class. What students
use at home is anybody's guess. But with today's online Morse programs
there is no reason to complicate (and slow) the learning process by
consulting a printed chart.

73,

Kent K9ZTV

On 12/27/2019 7:00 AM, Charlie T wrote:

> OH, yeah.....I can see it in front of me now, a little Johnson SpeedX Morse Code chart.
> WORST thing I could possibly have used........YUGE plateau at 7 WPM !
>
> 73, Charlie k3ICH
>
>
>
>
> Please don't let him learn code by sight. I taught myself from the list in my Boy Scout Handbook (still have it) and I've never overcome doing it the wrong way. Passed a 20 WPM Extra exam but it was a struggle. Still my favorite mode though.
>
> Wes N7WS
>
>
>
>

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Wes Stewart-2

Re: Johnson SpeedX printed Morse

To expand a bit. In high school (circa 1958) some kids tried to start a radio
club. The sponsor was the electronics shop teacher (interesting enough I never
took any electronic courses) who I don't believe was all that interested.

The school principal was also a Lt. Commander in the Naval Reserve and IIRC was
in charge of the local Navy Reserve operation. I remember that they had a
couple of 100' telephone poles and an open-wire fed antenna, that I always
drooled over. Permission was arranged for our club to tape record (reel to
reel) the Navy's code records. We started listening but only met once a week,
which meant that by the second week we had forgotten last week's letters, so we
started over. After about a month I had enough and broke out the Scout
handbook. I was the only one to get a license. I did meet one older kid, Luke
Russell, who had an expired Novice license, other than that I was on my own.
There was one ham (W7UVR-SK) about two blocks away from our house who I didn't
know but I knocked on his door and asked whether he would sign off my Novice
paperwork. These guys are mentioned on my QRZ bio (https://www.qrz.com/db/N7WS)

Wes N7WS

On 12/27/2019 10:54 AM, KENT TRIMBLE wrote:

> Well, not exactly the /worst/ thing you could have used, but you're right,
> visualizing a chart is adding an extra step in the learning process toward
> aural copying.
>
> And Wes is also correct. A whole generation or two of amateur radio operators
> had nothing at hand but charts printed in the Boy Scout Handbook and
> Signalling Merit Badge booklet. However, no one told us it was the wrong way
> to go. Those charts got many of us a Novice license in addition to Merit
> Badges. Later, I studied from Ameco vinyl records which got me a 13 wpm
> General. Nightly work on the National Traffic System got me a 20 wpm Extra.
>
> The bottom line is that many of those Scouts who learned by charts are today's
> 30 wpm and higher operators.
>
> W4RK and I have taught code classes every Saturday morning (sometimes three)
> for many years. We do not allow charts in class. What students use at home
> is anybody's guess. But with today's online Morse programs there is no reason
> to complicate (and slow) the learning process by consulting a printed chart.
>
> 73,
>
> Kent K9ZTV
>
>
> On 12/27/2019 7:00 AM, Charlie T wrote:
>> OH, yeah.....I can see it in front of me now, a little Johnson SpeedX Morse
>> Code chart.
>> WORST thing I could possibly have used........YUGE plateau at 7 WPM !
>>
>> 73, Charlie k3ICH
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Please don't let him learn code by sight. I taught myself from the list in
>> my Boy Scout Handbook (still have it) and I've never overcome doing it the
>> wrong way. Passed a 20 WPM Extra exam but it was a struggle. Still my
>> favorite mode though.
>>
>> Wes N7WS