yes, it is a lot easier to learn morse now than in the past; you can
download W1AW practice files to your computer and as mp3 files; you can
get software that will not only drill you on morse characters, but
identify your weaknesses and provide specific instruction on those problem
character patterns, and so on. There are even programs that simulate
contest and noisy reception and "lousy" sending, so you don't get thrown
off by actual operating conditions ;-)

the latest QST magazine has an article on the aging of the USA ham
population; and that only 3% of those randomly surveyed were under 30-35
yrs(!) ;-( Code use had dropped from half to about a third, which helps
explain the relatively fewer cw signals I am hearing these days (thought
it must be my hearing, or the QRN static, but it looks like lower morse
activity, switching to PSK31 packet etc. ;-) ;-)

grins bobm
--
************************************************** *********************
* Robert Monaghan POB 752182 Southern Methodist Univ. Dallas Tx 75275 *
********************Standard Disclaimers Apply*************************

"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

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'.

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"

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"

In article ,
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.

There's legacy stuff, like the station IDs and traffic lists from
maritime shore stations, the IDs for maritime and aeronautical
navigation beacons, and probably tactical military stuff just
used for practice. But it's basically obsolete. And hams, of
course.

But if you can afford a computer to receive it, you can use some other
modulation method that's far superior. Most maritime stuff, that
hasn't gone to satellite, is TOR (Telex over Radio).

If the home office wants to contact a ship at sea that's equipped with
an Inmarsat satellite terminal, they just call them on the telephone,
send a fax, or an email.

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?

They don't use hand keys, there are automatic keyboards, or semi-automatic
keyers (buzzword: bugs) that speed things up by timing out the dots and
dashes. Or computers.

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??

Yup, that's why only hams really still use it.

Even 40-50 years ago, most businesses shifted over to using the Telex
or TWX services, where an operator in their communication center
would send a message on a teleprinter through the world wide telegraph
networks or direct dial through the phone system.

Even RTTY seems to have gone away. (Radio TeleTYpe). Long before
computers ran communications, there were printing telegraph systems.
Most commonly (for English) they used a 5 bit code, which sent upper
case letter, or the numbers and special characters. (They used codes
for shift and unshift, Caps Lock in modern terminology). Sent at, by
modern standards, at pathetically slow speeds of 42.something, 50, or 75
bits per second using Frequency Shift Keying. Back 15 or 20 years ago,
you could pick up a tweedling signal that jumped between two tones.
(received in SSB mode on your receiver). If you had the equipment,
a Terminal Unit, (the demodulator half of a modem) and a teleprinter
that worked with the code, or later a micro-controller decoder box, or
computer with software, you could read, literally, the signals.

These included weather reports, (in a cryptic coding system), traffic for
telegraph systems (Western Union) between countries that didn't have wire
connections (US to Cuba), and news services. The same text that was being
printed out in newsrooms at news papers and radio stations around the
country was also being sent by shortwave to the more remote subscribers.
In the clear. (But, aside from the weather data, none of this stuff was
public information. They could go after you for violating regulations
or copyright for giving it to a third party).

Last time I bothered, all that was out there was the North Korean
news service. And the maritime TOR system that links ships to
whatever is left of the Telex system. And a lot of encrypted
stuff (probably military comms to small bases too small for more
reliable and high bandwidth links).

Mark Zenier Washington State resident

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

On Sat, 22 May 2004 20:19:07 GMT, (Mark Zenier) wrote:

[ rtty]

Last time I bothered, all that was out there was the North Korean
news service. And the maritime TOR system that links ships to
whatever is left of the Telex system. And a lot of encrypted
stuff (probably military comms to small bases too small for more
reliable and high bandwidth links).

The Halifax weather station sends rtty between faxes.

But it is really interrupted continuous wave (:-)

Correct. ICW. I've never heard the designation MICW used before, though, like
ships used to use on 500 kHz. In fact, that should be called AMICW. Hi Hi

And Morse code is what is used over wires. Wireless uses the International
Code.

73,
Bill, K5BY