I have been sharpening my skills, and can now copy
to near - perfection at 25 words per minute (Which is,
I think, considered fairly proficient).


FAIRLY proficient??? Wowsers. I rag chew at 10-15,
can get the 'QSL details' at 20, and when ya hit 25 all
I can get is CQ and the Callsign, and immediately fire
back with 'PSE QRS 15 WPM' !!

Good work - keep CW alive on the bands. Teach kids.
If we keep it alive, it'll not die with our generation

JOE

CW, besides being a satisfying skill as is any art, is a great backup mode of
communication. After all, when a keyboard or microphone breaks, one can still
communicate, if only by flipping a power switch on and off or striking two
wires together. And those I have done on several occasions to keep
communications going.

To get my Second Class Radiotelegraph license years ago, I had to send 16 coded
groups per minute and 20 words per minute -- using a hand key!

I had to literally slap the key to get the 20 wpm. The FCC examiner didn't even
blink an eye.

When going for Extra Class ham, one could use a bug for the 20 wpm.

By the way, my ex-WU op mom taught me wire Morse about ten years before I
learned the radiotelegraph code (at age 17).

73,
Bill, K5BY
&
T2-GB-040061

On Sat, 22 May 2004 11:06:28 -0500, "Zaphon B."
wrote:

I made mention of the fact earlier that I was
hearing Morse Code that seemed to
be transmitted so fast that it was almost like it was some other form of
communication. So questions.

Are many people out there able to listen and decode that **** on the fly and
understand it or are they going through
software programs to decode the stuff.

I had to pass the 20 word per minute test to get my extra class
license and I hear the same thing. I think some people are actually
that proficient and some are using morse readers with keyboard
sending. Some of it is so fast I have trouple identifying a single
character.

HTH

73 Gary K8IQ




AND

(I know this will sound stupid) but is
there actually someone sitting out there
hammering this stuff out by hand, like in the
old westerns or is it machine made?

AND

if machine made why? Why are people still sending info with Morse Code?
Haven't we
sort of moved beyond that, if you know what I mean??

Zaphod "wishing all a good day"

"Simon Mason" wrote in message
...

"Zaphon B." wrote in message news:WkLrc.33935

OK, I'm stupid, what the f*** is RTTY?

Shawn/Zaphod



Have a listen to these samples, then you will be able to tell us what you
heard. RTTY is radioteletype.

http://qurl.net/2k


Holy ****, look at all that stuff flying around. No wonder Iz so confused,
sorta like having bees live in ones head.

Thank you for the link

Zaphod

PS. Nope that's not it, that's just plain silly sounding. :0)

Go captain Grundig....

"Stephen M.H. Lawrence" wrote in message
link.net...

"Zaphon B." wrote:
And, yes, Morse code (Or CW, as hams like to call it),

Oh, Oh, I know, I've got one, how come CW?
MC not good enough for all those hams? :0)

Zaphod

Captain Grundig Rules...Nuff said.

"Zaphon B." wrote:

"Stephen M.H. Lawrence" wrote in message
link.net...

"Zaphon B." wrote:
And, yes, Morse code (Or CW, as hams like to call it),

Oh, Oh, I know, I've got one, how come CW?
MC not good enough for all those hams? :0)

CW is the abreviation for 'continuous wave'.

Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B
"I swear by, not at, Drake receivers" ©

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

Yes there are many folks out here that can copy high speed Morse code.

There are many CW ops that can copy 20+ wpm Morse code -- some in their head
without writing or typing it.

Some use decoders - they work sort of OK - IF the code received has the
correct spacing and the signal is fairly strong. I know of very few Amateur
Extras that use a decoder -- as many Amateur Extras can copy 20 WPM or
higher -- it was a requirement for the license until a few years ago -- now
it is 5 WPM. But some learn it to get the license and never use it and are
not proficient in Morse.

Keep in mind -- many ops copied code for many hours for many months or
years -- such as military and shipboard radio ops or amateur radio ops and
it is like a second language to them -- they can hear the sound of whole
words and Q signals and thus have a vocabulary in Morse.

A Navy chief I worked with could copy 20+ WPM code in his head and carry on
a conversation with me at the same time.

An analogy is perhaps typing skills -- at first it is slow but good typists
can type 100 WPM and not blink an eye -- an acquired skill that takes
practice and time to develop proficiency. Comes easy to some -- for others
it is a case of dogged determination (like me) -- both Morse and typing
(:-)

Today many CW ops use an electronic keyer to achieve high speed. Some use a
keyboard. A few purists still use a straight key or bug.

Morse code is just another form of communication -- it can be copied at
times where voice is too weak.
Even if Hams speak different languages -- they can communicate essentials
with Morse using Q-signals and recognized abbreviations.

It is a lot of fun to have and use this skill -- perhaps like using a manual
shift in your car as opposed to automatic shift.

And then some gun nuts like black powder rifle shooting and some hunters use
a bow and arrow -- go figure (:-)

--
Keyboard In The Noise -- an old Extra class Ham

Opinions are the cheapest commodities in the world. Author unknown but
"right on"

---------------------------------------------
"Gary" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 May 2004 11:06:28 -0500, "Zaphon B."
wrote:

I made mention of the fact earlier that I was
hearing Morse Code that seemed to
be transmitted so fast that it was almost like it was some other form of
communication. So questions.

Are many people out there able to listen and decode that **** on the fly
and
understand it or are they going through
software programs to decode the stuff.

AND

(I know this will sound stupid) but is
there actually someone sitting out there
hammering this stuff out by hand, like in the
old westerns or is it machine made?

AND

if machine made why? Why are people still sending info with Morse Code?
Haven't we
sort of moved beyond that, if you know what I mean??

Zaphod "wishing all a good day"

But it is really interrupted continuous wave (:-)

--
Keyboard In The Noise

Opinions are the cheapest commodities in the world. Author unknown but
"right on"

------------------------------
Some one wrote
CW is the abreviation for 'continuous wave'.

You can always pick out the guys using a hardware or software decoder when
you're working them ... they send CQ at a faster rate than they can copy in
their head because the machine does it for them, but then there will be a
static crash, or some fading and they will miss a question you've just asked,
like "what's your name?", not knowing what you sent (because they can't copy it
in their head), they'll send a preprogrammed brag file ... "radio here is a
..... ". So you ask again ... "W H A T I S Y O U R N A M E ? ", this time
a little slower. The reply is another brag file, "I work as a .... ".

That's okay, I just keep slowing down until they get it ... OH ! "Name is Bob".

All part of the fun of CW.

di DARRRRR dit !

jw
K9RZZ

"JOE" wrote in message
news.com...
|
| I have been sharpening my skills, and can now copy
| to near - perfection at 25 words per minute (Which is,
| I think, considered fairly proficient).
|
|
| FAIRLY proficient??? Wowsers. I rag chew at 10-15,
| can get the 'QSL details' at 20, and when ya hit 25 all
| I can get is CQ and the Callsign, and immediately fire
| back with 'PSE QRS 15 WPM' !!
|
| Good work - keep CW alive on the bands. Teach kids.
| If we keep it alive, it'll not die with our generation
|
| JOE

It's funny you mention kids, Joe - they seem to be the most
fascinated with CW. Getting to 25 was simple - I spent a half
hour a day, and it took about five weeks. It's funny, getting
over that hump at 15 wpm just sort of happened, and I
started recognizing words instead of just letters.

73,

Steve Lawrence
KA0PMD
Burnsville, Minnesota


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