I started in ham radio as a Novice in 1959. That required 5 WPM,
crystal control, 75 watts and only CW. Finally up to 13 WPM and a
General license and later to an Extra class license which I hold
today. Over the 58 years that are now behind me, I drifted away from
CW to a much easier SSB mode. Now at 75 years of age I find the mind is
not nearly as sharp, as keen and as fast as it was 50 or so years
ago. In order to stimulate the thinking process, hopefully in an
effort to delay dementia and other mind altering age related issues,
I've returned to CW. I'm being reminded of my H.S. math teacher when
asked "why do we study algebra?", he responded "It's mental gymnastic
training". That's the way I view and approach CW today.
73
Bob, K4TAX
On 10/31/2017 6:39 PM, [email protected] wrote:
The main & I mean main thing is desire. If learning CW is a job or
task you'll probably drop out eventually. In my 57yr.s on CW that's
what I've heard most often. It's too hard, it takes too long or I can
never learn it.
When you learned to ride a bike, get your drivers license or met your
mate it was something you really wanted. The desire was there.
It's only 26 letters, 10 numbers & a few other symbols. You probably
have more PC passwords with a mix of numbers & letters and characters
than what CW requires. Bet you know the passwords by heart.
My Dad [SK W4YAD] passed his 13 WPM code test at age 55 after a mild
stroke. He saw me on CW & wanted to learn. That ole' desire again.
Try what ever method to learn that you are comfortable with. If you
can find a partner that's much better. I was lucky that at age 13 my
best friend & me learned together. We talked in Morse. It was our
secret language. He became K9UFO [SK].
Another motivation you might consider is CW is another language. You
can become bilingual ! Just as playing music or speaking Spanish is a
different language you will have a new world to explore. A language
only spoken by people with that desire.
Desire is everything!
K9IL
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