Parker Duofold
NES Member
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CW - For Real this Time
- Thread starter ToddDubya
- Start date
ToddDubya
NES Member
That's a pretty good article. In today's world of journalism it's nice to see they spoke with actual hams, someone from ARRL, someone from LICW, someone from Vibroplex. The DIY practice buzzer at the end was a nice touch.
I thought I wanted to build a QCX kit, but now I have my eye on the MountainTopper shown in the article. They're more expensive than the QCX, but are multiband and come in a finished product I can't screw up. And are out of stock. It would be a shame to buy both and have one too many radios.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Call signs are giving me trouble. Some I can get it right away, but then I'll just completely miss the next few. It seems like if I can find the correct amount of mindless listening I do great.
For some reason my brain still confuses E and I. I hear them differently, but my ear hears "dit" and my brain says I. And other times I just completely swap dits and dahs. A callsign of NO1AS becomes AS1NO.
What a crazy learning experience this is.
For some reason my brain still confuses E and I. I hear them differently, but my ear hears "dit" and my brain says I. And other times I just completely swap dits and dahs. A callsign of NO1AS becomes AS1NO.
What a crazy learning experience this is.
UJay
NES Member
Keep it up! Thanks for the updates!
All of a sudden you will start decoding things.
Another thing I used to do when learning/speed building would be to convert books (might have been Harry Potter, for example) and just listen to it for a while. Listening to books with standard speech, correctly structured sentences...etc.. seems to have helped the differentiation between P/X and Y/Q (My worst) and for your E/I. Punctuation in there too.
The book thing helps you not pay attention to missing characters here-and-there..... just trudge on and get most of the letters of the word and your brain will fill in the rest.
UJay
All of a sudden you will start decoding things.
Another thing I used to do when learning/speed building would be to convert books (might have been Harry Potter, for example) and just listen to it for a while. Listening to books with standard speech, correctly structured sentences...etc.. seems to have helped the differentiation between P/X and Y/Q (My worst) and for your E/I. Punctuation in there too.
The book thing helps you not pay attention to missing characters here-and-there..... just trudge on and get most of the letters of the word and your brain will fill in the rest.
UJay
UJay
NES Member
I have a Begali too! Got it the first year of `Xenia` /Dayton from Pietro Begali himself!
Here is a small run a couple years ago where I recorded a weekly CWT contest (Every Wednesday)
I had forgot about this until I was looking to see if I had a video of the Begali key for this thread.... So I'll share it....
View: https://youtu.be/s1A53RYKzHI?t=3047
The US manufactured keys (N3ZN...etc.. ) seem more interesting...
The PC/Keyer does most of the sending.
UJay
Here is a small run a couple years ago where I recorded a weekly CWT contest (Every Wednesday)
I had forgot about this until I was looking to see if I had a video of the Begali key for this thread.... So I'll share it....
View: https://youtu.be/s1A53RYKzHI?t=3047
The US manufactured keys (N3ZN...etc.. ) seem more interesting...
The PC/Keyer does most of the sending.
UJay
I own that paddle (the bencher). It's a good paddle though it's a lot of fun to send with a straight key too.
When I got my General license in 86, I was up to about 20wpm, maybe 25wpm, but then life got busy, kids/work/life. I still used CW sometimes but as time went on, I was on the air less and less to the point that by the time the early to mid 90s rolled around, all my stuff was either sold off or packed away. I took some gear out of storage in 2012 and found that most of my CW copying ability was all but lost.
I still know all the characters, except some punctuation, but my ability to copy characters behind what's being sent is very much diminished. My plan was to get my copying ability back to where it used to be after I retired but we all know about "best laid plans..."
A good friend of mine that is a CW whiz (reads about 40wpm in his head) told me that if I got involved in listening and copying code in a CW contest, by the time it was over, I'd have my CW back to where it used to be. I haven't tried it yet but may try one in the not so distant future and see how it goes.
When I got my General license in 86, I was up to about 20wpm, maybe 25wpm, but then life got busy, kids/work/life. I still used CW sometimes but as time went on, I was on the air less and less to the point that by the time the early to mid 90s rolled around, all my stuff was either sold off or packed away. I took some gear out of storage in 2012 and found that most of my CW copying ability was all but lost
.I still know all the characters, except some punctuation, but my ability to copy characters behind what's being sent is very much diminished. My plan was to get my copying ability back to where it used to be after I retired but we all know about "best laid plans..."
A good friend of mine that is a CW whiz (reads about 40wpm in his head) told me that if I got involved in listening and copying code in a CW contest, by the time it was over, I'd have my CW back to where it used to be. I haven't tried it yet but may try one in the not so distant future and see how it goes.
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UJay
NES Member
ToddDubya
NES Member
I tried 2 to 4 letter words and call signs in the car today. My head wasn't in it on the first drive and I could not copy worth a damn. On the way home I was into call signs and did much better. I found if I split it into prefix/suffix I can usually copy most if not all, even if I'm behind on the suffix. I think you get about a second before he gives you the answer which can be a little short for me. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don't. I'll probably do a second call sign practice tonight then move on to the next character, ****.
I can't decide if splitting up the call signs is cheating or not. It kind of feels like I'm training myself to only listen to four or fewer characters. I do try to listen to copy each half as a whole vs copying each character. Thoughts?
I can't decide if splitting up the call signs is cheating or not. It kind of feels like I'm training myself to only listen to four or fewer characters. I do try to listen to copy each half as a whole vs copying each character. Thoughts?
ToddDubya
NES Member
I'm on lesson 60/260 and still going. Call signs were better last night before bed. I thought H might give me trouble distinguishing it from S and/or 4, but so far so good.
D is next after H. I have a real mental block with D and B, like I'll hear them and I just don't even think they're real characters. Hopefully the Morse Code Ninja will get them through my thick skull.
Thanks for all the feedback and tips. I mostly started this thread to hold myself accountable, but it'll be interesting to look back and see the journey. And maybe it'll help someone else.
Lastly, why must all of the QRP rigs be so tempting?
D is next after H. I have a real mental block with D and B, like I'll hear them and I just don't even think they're real characters. Hopefully the Morse Code Ninja will get them through my thick skull.
Thanks for all the feedback and tips. I mostly started this thread to hold myself accountable, but it'll be interesting to look back and see the journey. And maybe it'll help someone else.
Lastly, why must all of the QRP rigs be so tempting?
ToddDubya
NES Member
Man, yesterday's practice was rubbish. If I really focused I could copy things, but I was mixing up characters that aren't even similar, characters I learned first. Some days you win, some days you lose. Today is a new day.
Then, being the junkie I am, I was watching some videos looking for ideas for my homebrew paddles. I stumbled across one that talked about "interference effect" with learning. In short it sounds like learning new things causes you to have trouble with things you've already learned, along the lines of long-term and short-term memories interfering. The guy made it sound like a good thing. You wouldn't be forgetting the old stuff you once knew if you didn't know it. And you wouldn't have this interference if you weren't learning the new stuff. Win-win. Could be horse shit.
This has been a real crazy experiment in learning.
Then, being the junkie I am, I was watching some videos looking for ideas for my homebrew paddles. I stumbled across one that talked about "interference effect" with learning. In short it sounds like learning new things causes you to have trouble with things you've already learned, along the lines of long-term and short-term memories interfering. The guy made it sound like a good thing. You wouldn't be forgetting the old stuff you once knew if you didn't know it. And you wouldn't have this interference if you weren't learning the new stuff. Win-win. Could be horse shit.
This has been a real crazy experiment in learning.
ToddDubya
NES Member
A quick practice and my accuracy is way up from yesterday. Crazy ass brain.
This arrived today. I'm not allowed to wear it until I'm officially a CW operator, so after my first QSO I'm putting it on. I'm not as fat as this looks like I would be. Draping it over the chair makes it look like I'm really big with a hefty rack.
Pimps, hide ya hoes.
This arrived today. I'm not allowed to wear it until I'm officially a CW operator, so after my first QSO I'm putting it on. I'm not as fat as this looks like I would be. Draping it over the chair makes it look like I'm really big with a hefty rack.
Pimps, hide ya hoes.
ToddDubya
NES Member
1. My buddy/elmer drove by tonight and honked HI in morse code. I just heard it and knew "HI", then confirmed it was him. Pretty sweet. A lot of people honk when they pass my house, so that part isn't unusual.
2. Dah Di Dit is not a character to my brain. There are two of them in my name, but my brain disagrees.
2. Dah Di Dit is not a character to my brain. There are two of them in my name, but my brain disagrees.
ToddDubya
NES Member
I just tried listening to W1AW slow code. 5wpm was too slow, I did better at 7.5, then was having trouble concentrating by 10. QSB was making it tougher for a newb but I was able to string some words together here and there.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Practice today was meh. I did 45 minutes of call signs in two separate sessions. I'm still hosing up D. Those neurons must not have survived college.
I'll post some more photos when it's all done, but my homemade double paddles are almost done. I'm using an old hacksaw blade for the paddles, an old broken 1/2" drill bit for the common, and the gnarly end of a cherry board leftover from some signs. A little metal work, some wood working, a lot of figuring, and generally some good time in the shop.
Basic parts as a teaser:
I'll post some more photos when it's all done, but my homemade double paddles are almost done. I'm using an old hacksaw blade for the paddles, an old broken 1/2" drill bit for the common, and the gnarly end of a cherry board leftover from some signs. A little metal work, some wood working, a lot of figuring, and generally some good time in the shop.
Basic parts as a teaser:
ToddDubya
NES Member
I made it through most of the "L" exercises in the car today. Quick reminder by itself, then 2- and 3- character combos on drive #1. Drive #2 was words and after I got used to the spacing (for words you don't get the Farnsworth spacing) I did pretty well. For some reason "DEAD" was repeated like every few words, which helped with the mental block with D. It also reinforced the "EA" combo which felt almost like I was starting to hear groups of letters.
Character 12/40 almost done.
Character 12/40 almost done.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Well I started with that hunk of scrap cherry, a broken drill bit, a bolt/nut, and an old dull hacksaw blade. From there, I cut the broken end off the drill bit and welded the bolt on so I'd have a threaded end on the bit. I cut the hacksaw blade down, removed the coating and dulled the teeth further, leaving them behind as an remnant of their previous life.
I cut a base and "tower" from the cherry, planing the tower down to maybe 1/16" thicker than the drill bit, which I cut down to size and cleaned up for looks and safety. I drilled and tapped a hole for machine screws, cut two machine screws down so they wouldn't touch in the center, and did a test fit. I hogged out the underside for the nut/bolt and to run the wires. (The green wire is just the lead from the drill bit tucked up through so it'll sit flat.)
Last night I applied tung oil which really brought out the cherry. Tonight I wired up a 3.5mm stereo plug and used a glob of hot glue underneath to hold the wires in place. I just plugged her into the radio and she works like a champ.
Now this won't replace that purdy Bencher I bought a few weeks back, but it sure will be a pleasure to use.
A little backstory...
A few years back I was helping a friend move. He had this old wooden hand tote full of old tools all covered in dust and rust and 100 years of basement detritus. I spotted a couple nice hand planes, including a Stanley #6 and told him he had some real gems in there. Without missing a beat he said to put it in my vehicle "Grand dad would want you to have them". He later told me his grand dad's life story, which is incredible.
So I cleaned up what I could of the tools and the ones that weren't salvageable or worth saving are sitting in the basement. I occasionally find a small project for a drill bit or a file and I try and go the extra mile to make it into something nice. He always gets a kick out of the projects.
ToddDubya
NES Member
The Ninja has me up to 11 letters and 3 numbers. In general it seems to be getting a little easier. I listened to slow code from W1AW for a bit tonight and did okay, not great. There's a big difference between copying characters I am aware of vs characters I know. Copying sentences can be frustrating but it's nice when I get a string of familiar letters.
After I was burned out on copying I ran through sending the alphabet and numbers a few times, trying to get them right and also take advantage of the iambic keying. I'm definitely going to need more practice sending.
I'm still making good progress.
After I was burned out on copying I ran through sending the alphabet and numbers a few times, trying to get them right and also take advantage of the iambic keying. I'm definitely going to need more practice sending.
I'm still making good progress.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Still going.
I've been practicing sending with my homemade paddles and doing okay with sending at 20wpm. I'm not sure about my spacing between characters, but it's at least consistent.
I'm on the 17th character now: 13 letters and 4 numbers. I don't want to jinx it, but it does seem to be getting a little easier. I just need to keep on it because I'm starting to slow down a little.
D seem to have sunk in, now I'm confusing C and L. They sound different enough, but I get 'em mixed up. At least now I know it's just temporary.
T A E N O i S 1 4 R H D L 2 5 C U
I've been practicing sending with my homemade paddles and doing okay with sending at 20wpm. I'm not sure about my spacing between characters, but it's at least consistent.
I'm on the 17th character now: 13 letters and 4 numbers. I don't want to jinx it, but it does seem to be getting a little easier. I just need to keep on it because I'm starting to slow down a little.
D seem to have sunk in, now I'm confusing C and L. They sound different enough, but I get 'em mixed up. At least now I know it's just temporary.
T A E N O i S 1 4 R H D L 2 5 C U
ToddDubya
NES Member
ToddDubya
NES Member
Sitting next to a boring fire in boring nature today I tossed up my 20m dipole that turned out to be a 17m dipole. Good thing I labeled the wires. I was listening to CW trying to copy a few of the slower guys I could find. Unfortunately they must have been new at it and using a straight key, because they were frustratingly difficult to copy. And telling their life stories, so it was next to impossible for me to make out much. I imagine once you get good you can work out the rough code, but this was William Shatner-like cadence. CQ would be daaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.............didah....dit.dah......dahdidahhhhh.
Then there was the guy with what I assume was the Lake Erie Swing. It felt like he was trying to make jazz or beat poetry out of it. Whatever he was doing, he was good at it. Next!
Then I found a guy doing quick QSOs at about 20wpm, and I was able to copy most of it or at least keep up. Part of it was because it was a pretty basic exchange, but the bigger part was I was able to tell when one character ended and another began. If I could hear who answered I'd get two shots at the call sign and could usually make them out.
When I first started learning I was trying to decide if a paddle/keyer was cheating and someone said to learn with a keyer so you learn the timing, then use a straight key if you want. Now I see why.
This is proving to be harder still.
/rant
Oh, last thing. I heard a guy calling CQ pretty slowly, but very good. I kept listening, hoping to catch a QSO but nobody came back. Then he sped up a little. Then a little more. I started to wonder if that's a thing people do to give newer/slower guys a chance. If so, that's nice.
ETA, I hope I don't become a snob.
Then there was the guy with what I assume was the Lake Erie Swing. It felt like he was trying to make jazz or beat poetry out of it. Whatever he was doing, he was good at it. Next!
Then I found a guy doing quick QSOs at about 20wpm, and I was able to copy most of it or at least keep up. Part of it was because it was a pretty basic exchange, but the bigger part was I was able to tell when one character ended and another began. If I could hear who answered I'd get two shots at the call sign and could usually make them out.
When I first started learning I was trying to decide if a paddle/keyer was cheating and someone said to learn with a keyer so you learn the timing, then use a straight key if you want. Now I see why.
This is proving to be harder still.
/rant
Oh, last thing. I heard a guy calling CQ pretty slowly, but very good. I kept listening, hoping to catch a QSO but nobody came back. Then he sped up a little. Then a little more. I started to wonder if that's a thing people do to give newer/slower guys a chance. If so, that's nice.
ETA, I hope I don't become a snob.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Somewhere up above was a jankily strung dipole. I've had worse days.
That chair was temporary about 4 years ago and just keeps ticking. The board my water bottle is sitting on is a scrap of 1-by I crookedly placed on two gnarly pieces of tree crotch as a table. It's not even close to level or stable, but that was temporary about 2 or 3 years ago. I keep saying I should make myself some proper furniture, but this seems to work.
That chair was temporary about 4 years ago and just keeps ticking. The board my water bottle is sitting on is a scrap of 1-by I crookedly placed on two gnarly pieces of tree crotch as a table. It's not even close to level or stable, but that was temporary about 2 or 3 years ago. I keep saying I should make myself some proper furniture, but this seems to work.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Still at it. I've been taking more walks lately which means more time listening to lessons. I still get the days when my brain just doesn't wanna, but those are getting fewer and farther between.
I started practicing sending state abbreviations. That seems like a good thing to know. I don't necessarily need to send them all, but hearing them must come in handy. OK is my favorite sound. VT, which I'll likely be sending a lot, is not my favorite. MA is boring, but at least easy to send/copy.
It feels like I've been at this a long time and I'm only on character 23/41!
I started practicing sending state abbreviations. That seems like a good thing to know. I don't necessarily need to send them all, but hearing them must come in handy. OK is my favorite sound. VT, which I'll likely be sending a lot, is not my favorite. MA is boring, but at least easy to send/copy.
It feels like I've been at this a long time and I'm only on character 23/41!
ToddDubya
NES Member
Interesting that it's only W/VE stations. I'm guessing it'll be too fast for me, but I'll give it a listen.
I heard a guy calling CQ SST today. I looked it up and it's a "contest" with a 20wpm upper limit. Good to know. Nobody was answering him so I didn't get the exchange. Looks like name and state.
n1oty
NES Member
CW contests are simple to do, even if you are not expert with high speed sending/copying. I would even argue that these contests can help you along in learning CW. I use a hunt-and-pounce method to do one contact at a time. You will easily discern your own call and the standard "5NN", even with someone sending at 40 wpm. The trick in listening is to gather other parts of the exchange from prior QSO's before you jump in and send your call.
Personally, I also send keyboard generated CW so that I don't screw up.
Jump in and have fun!!
ToddDubya
NES Member
BAM. I just made my first CW contact. It took about five tries to actually make contact with the paddles after turning break-in on, but I did it. I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty amped. I bought this shirt a while ago that I couldn't wear until I had actually had a CW QSO. I'm gonna be wearing it for a week now.
Now I just gotta figure out why my logging SW won't connect and I can make some more.
Now I just gotta figure out why my logging SW won't connect and I can make some more.
CatSnoutSoup
NES Member
I am so out of touch with all my hobbies (sleep, work, sleep, repeat) I did not even realize the contest was this weekend till earlier this morning.
Working 10 meters into eastern Europe now.
Sunspot number is 86, 10 cm radio solar flux 343 sfu, yes that's right I typed 343.
CatSnoutSoup
NES Member
So how did you do in the end? There were a lot of opportunities for contacts this weekend although I know the speed at which contest exchanges move can be intimidating, but the format is simple for ARRL DX contest.
I had previously taken almost everything apart, including moving to a new shack computer, so I was stopping and making contacts in between working on feedlines, logging software, rig control, antenna rotator control interface, etc., etc. .
Just 104 contacts (71 multipliers) but it was fun to reapply myself to the hobby.
I hope you had fun, keep up the good work.
The CQ WW WPX (CW) is at the end of May and it is another chance to make a pile of contacts; although it is a bit more challenging as you must receive and issue sequential serial numbers.
