Hi Paul:
I've tried a number of approaches but so far nothing seems to work for me.
Oddly, I can send at modest speeds but seem to be almost completely unable
to read incoming.
This is not at all unusual... and stems from the fact that, when sending,
you already KNOW what it is you wish to send, and can form the characters
in your head long before you must spit them out using the key/paddle.
However, the reverse is not necessarily true... you must first hear the
code, decode it, and then write it down... as a result for most folks,
receiving is much slower than sending, and takes a LOT more time/effort
to master.
My nice K2 is sitting forlornly at the back of the bench.
Any suggestions?
Certainly... Assuming you already are at least pretty much completely
'conversant' with the Morse Code, GET ON THE AIR at whatever speed you can
muster (sending, of course, at the speed at which you can COPY, rather than
at the highest speed you can send).
GUT IT OUT, pal... that's the name of the game... the more you're on the
air, working other stations, at whatever speed, the more real-time practice
you will gain and the better you will become. One can only get so much
benefit from tapes/CDs/and PCs... you NEED real-life on-the-air operation
to do it right.
NEVER feel ashamed to get on the air, and NEVER.. NEVER.. be timid about
asking for a QRS as long as you're not sending faster than you can copy
(unless asked to do so). Stations you work SHOULD be courteous an send to
you at the speed YOU are sending. If they don't, politely ASK them to QRS.
If they won't politely make use of the VFO knob to find someone who will.
Don't spend all your time calling CQ! Find others calling CQ and answer
them.. even though you might have to send a bit slower than they are
sending when they call CW... with luck, they'll QRS to your speed for the QSO.
Try to make no less than 1-2 QSOs each day... If you miss a couple days,
that's OK, as long as you don't fall into a rut of missing more days than
you hit! This is also an easy rut to fall into... but totally non-productive.
Generally, the higher in the (CW) band you operate, the slower the stations
will send, though this 'rule' is becoming a bit more 'muddled' with more
and more 5 WPM operators showing up on the bands. But start out at the
upper end of the band and work your way down, as required to find a QSO.
Don't worry if you can't copy 100% of that the other guy sends!!! Try to
find someone sending at a speed which you can only copy about 85% or so...
this speed will 'push' you a bit, and is just what you're looking for... if
you always work stations whom you can copy 100%, then you're not being
challenged! Try to copy the important words in the conversation... RST,
name, QTH, etc. Not to work about copying the "the's, and's, of's, etc.",
they carry little information... write down the important stuff. this will
become much easier as your speed approaches 15WPM or so, and will usually
become a necessity once you get to about 22 WPM or above.
Don't get in a hurry!!! Doing it right takes time... and you want to do it
right!!!
There's nothing(!) wrong with CW training tapes/CD's/PC programs. Just
don't use them to the exclusion of all other available options, and your K2
is the BEST option. You will NEED to avail yourself of being able to work
stations who don't have 'perfect' fists... only about 10% of the ops out
there have (nearly) perfect fists... the others will have sending quirks
which you'll need to learn to deal with, like it or not. If you can only
copy perfectly-sent code, then you're dead in the water when you get on the
air... learn to copy all fists... again, it takes time and a LOT of
practice, but it's a necessity for complete enjoyment of the mode, and
that's what it's all about.
Good luck.
ANY time you get flustered and need some encouragement, just ask here...
there are a BUNCH of CW nuts here who will be more than willing to give you
a kick-start... and we've ALL got our own opinions about how to do it
right, so read everyone's comments...
Cheers,
Tom Hammond N0SS
99.5% CW for the past 46 years
_______________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
