On Jan 21, 9:54 pm, (Geoffrey S. Mendelson) wrote:
Since you did not say where you are or give a callsign, I'll assume
you are in the U.S. The FCC slants DX contacts twoard CW. During the
sunspot low, the prime DX bands are 80m and 40m. Outside of the America's
80m is 3.500 to 3.850, most of which is CW only in the U.S. 40m is
7.000 to 7.200, but until very recently it ended at 7100.

Yep, I'm in the US. Also, I already have an HF rig, but my antenna is
a "work in
progress" at this point in time. Basically my gardener cut it in
half :-{
I know that before I aspire to DX I need to improve my antenna
situation,
but DX is mostly why I got into the hobby. I want to see how far/who
I can
make contact with. Also, I'd like to get into some of the homebrew
QRP
stuff as well. The main problem I have with morse is
synchronization...
by that I mean, I can learn the tones, but at some point I can't
distinguish
a dit from a dah, and then I lose track of where I am in a character
and it
all seems to mix together...need more practice. My dad tells me about
the
guys he knew in the service who could use dual paddles and send code
all day
long while simultaneously reading something else.

Jeff wrote:
The main problem I have with morse is
synchronization...
by that I mean, I can learn the tones, but at some point I can't
distinguish
a dit from a dah, and then I lose track of where I am in a character
and it
all seems to mix together...need more practice.

There are various methods for doing that. Code Quick converts the
character into words which makes it processed in a different part
of your brain.

After 29 years of trying unsucessfully to learn morse code by being
beeped at, I learned it in a few months with code quick. At my peak,
I was able to copy 35 wpm.

Jerry Zilliak, KB6MT, produced a high speed words course in the
1980's which once I learned with code quick, helped me get up there.
He still sells it.

Code is no longer required for a (U.S.) license, so that should
not stop you from getting on the air. You can learn good operating
procedure, how to find and contact DX stations and so on with SSB.

Once you get your code speed up to a reliable, accurate 5 wpm, you
can move to CW, and build your speed on the air.

As for an antenna, a random wire would do for a start.

73,

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/

"Jeff" wrote in message
...


On Jan 21, 9:54 pm, (Geoffrey S. Mendelson) wrote:
Since you did not say where you are or give a callsign, I'll assume
you are in the U.S. The FCC slants DX contacts twoard CW. During the
sunspot low, the prime DX bands are 80m and 40m. Outside of the America's
80m is 3.500 to 3.850, most of which is CW only in the U.S. 40m is
7.000 to 7.200, but until very recently it ended at 7100.

Yep, I'm in the US. Also, I already have an HF rig, but my antenna is
a "work in
progress" at this point in time. Basically my gardener cut it in
half :-{
I know that before I aspire to DX I need to improve my antenna
situation,
but DX is mostly why I got into the hobby. I want to see how far/who
I can
make contact with. Also, I'd like to get into some of the homebrew
QRP
stuff as well. The main problem I have with morse is
synchronization...
by that I mean, I can learn the tones, but at some point I can't
distinguish
a dit from a dah, and then I lose track of where I am in a character
and it
all seems to mix together...need more practice. My dad tells me about
the
guys he knew in the service who could use dual paddles and send code
all day
long while simultaneously reading something else.


AHA, your description of your problem points to the root cause. It sounds
like you are trying to "count" the dits and dahs. This approach will
prevent you from getting to useful speeds and will hamper your learning
efforts.

Get a program like G4FON (free for the downloading) and following the
directions exactly. Set the character speed no lower than 15wpm. Word
speed can be whatever you can initially write at (you will get better on the
writing and reflex action with time). Practice 30 minutes per day broken
into several shorter sessions.

Learn each character not as a series of dits and dahs but as a unique,
discrete sound.

For example, an A is di-dah. You shouldn't even be thinking about the dots
and dashes. You should strive to form a reflex reaction such that when you
hear di-dah you AUTOMATICALLY think or write the letter A without thinking
about the combination of dits and dahs.

Good luck. This takes time so do NOT get impatient.

Dee, N8UZE