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ZEN AND THE ART OF RADIOTELEGRAPHY
Carlo Consoli, IK0YGJ
Rev. 20101008
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................4LearningCW........................................................................................................................................6
The four stages oflearning...............................................................................................................6
The learning roadmap......................................................................................................................8Thephysiology behindlearning.....................................................................................................10Learningandself-image.................................................................................................................12Firstrelaxation exercise.................................................................................................................14
Getting started with Morse code........................................................................................................15FirstWeek......................................................................................................................................16Groupsof the Week.......................................................................................................................21SecondWeek..................................................................................................................................22Groupsof the Week.......................................................................................................................23ThirdWeek....................................................................................................................................25Groupsof the Week.......................................................................................................................28
FourthWeek...................................................................................................................................30Groupsof the Week.......................................................................................................................30FifthWeek......................................................................................................................................32Groupsof the Week.......................................................................................................................33SixthWeek.....................................................................................................................................34Groupsof the Week.......................................................................................................................35
Increasing speed: lets go on-air........................................................................................................37Secondrelaxationexercise.............................................................................................................40Adjustingspacing to speed............................................................................................................40AQSO in CW................................................................................................................................42TheDX Code of Conduct..............................................................................................................46Increasingspeed.............................................................................................................................46
High Speed CW, goingQRQ.............................................................................................................51Feelthe Force Luke!......................................................................................................................53Speed.I am Speed......................................................................................................................54Trainingtovisualize.......................................................................................................................55Learningnewwords.......................................................................................................................56Practice,practice, practice.............................................................................................................57Changingthe telegraphkey............................................................................................................57Discoveryour limits, and go beyond.............................................................................................58Therest, coming byitself...............................................................................................................59
Keys and Keyers................................................................................................................................61TheStraight Key............................................................................................................................61ThePaddle......................................................................................................................................64TheElectronic Keyer.....................................................................................................................69TheBug..........................................................................................................................................72TheSideswiper...............................................................................................................................76
Building a CWcareer.........................................................................................................................79NavalClubs....................................................................................................................................80HighSpeedClubs...........................................................................................................................81FOC................................................................................................................................................83
Amateur telegraphy from a linguistic perspective.............................................................................85
Thelexicon.....................................................................................................................................86Thesyntax......................................................................................................................................87Alinguistic analysis of amateurtelegraphy...................................................................................89
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CW: the Esperanto of the Third Millennium ?..............................................................................93Keyingtechniques compared.............................................................................................................96
Morse code and letter distribution.................................................................................................97Keysand keyingtechniques...........................................................................................................99Aquantitative comparison...........................................................................................................100
Single vs twin lever keys: evaluating themyth............................................................................102Abouttheauthor...............................................................................................................................104AcknowledgmentsandDedications.................................................................................................105BibliographicReferences.................................................................................................................106CopyrightNotices............................................................................................................................107RevisionHistory..............................................................................................................................108
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IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction
This book is the result of several years of experience inamateurradiotelegraphy. It suggests, for the first time, a learningmethodology based on anintegrated and multidisciplinary approachdesigned to accompany the apprentice fromthe first steps in hamradio all the way to a world-class proficiency in telegraphy.The
book introduces, ad-hoc tailored to amateur radio, techniquesused successfully bycompetitive athletes, including extreme sportssuch as free diving, adapted to thedifficult process of learningtelegraphy.
This book is not only written for the benefit of amateur radiooperators whowant to learn this beautiful art, but it also meetsthe urgent need felt by the author tonarrate his own path ofdevelopment that has radically transformed him and the manyfriendswith whom he shared the pleasure of such a long learning processand theimmense joy of the discovery, both from the technical andfrom the human point ofview.
Wireless telegraphy is the discipline of sending and receivingsignals in Morsecode and, although it started only as a technicaltool, it soon proved to be an art.Definitely a special kind of art:like a butterfly, it had a shiny but short life, rising andfallingthroughout the 20th century. The first implementation of Morse codewascreated in 1832, employing a numeric code for the most commonEnglish words, andthe numbers translated into a sequence that usedjust two symbols: dash and dot.
Morse code, as we know it today, i.e., encoding letters andnumbers in a seriesof dots and dashes, is actually an invention ofAlfred Vail, an assistant to SamuelMorse in 1844. It is ahistorical reality that Morse, in fact, stole the idea fromVail.
Morse code was created initially as a combination of dots,dashes, long dashes, shortand long spaces. We had to wait forwireless telegraphy, and therefore the twentiethcentury, to findthe definition of the standard Morse code or InternationalMorse,made of dots and dashes, spaced according to standardcriteria.
It was only thanks to the genius of Guglielmo Marconi thattelegraphy "tookoff", by leaving the ground (i.e. transmissioncables) in the true sense of the term, andgetting on the air. OnDecember 12th, 1901 Marconi sent the first Morse signalsacross theAtlantic, and a new invention, whose gigantic power was still to befullyunderstood, arose: wireless telegraphy. Since then, many liveswere saved, as in thefamous case of the Titanic (1912), and thewireless telegraph has evolved andexcelled as no one could haveimagined.
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After a century of successes, in 1998, coastal maritimeradiotelegraphyinstallations have been replaced by satellitecommunications, which eventually
provided a much more secure and reliable connection. As aresult, telegraphy isslowly sliding into oblivion. As a direct andinevitable consequence, in 2005
telegraphy also disappeared from amateur radio exams.Surprisingly, this condition ofuselessness elevated radiotelegraphyto the rank of an art.
Despite this aging process, telegraphy is still very much alivewith radioamateurs, because it offers the possibility ofcommunicating over great distancesusing inexpensive transmittingand receiving devices. Such devices are even simplerto build. Acontact based on telegraphy is made in a universal language that,likeEsperanto, pulls down any social, geographical and culturalbarrier. The amateurradio operator uses a code that not onlyshortens the speech, but also allows him tocommunicate with peopleliving in any part of the world, near or distant, regardless
their language or culture. Thus, wireless operators can greeteach other using acommon language even if one is Chinese and theother Guatemalan.
The question is: what is so special about radiotelegraphy, inthe era of theInternet and global mass communication, compelling usto accept a long and arduous
path of learning, requiring mental and practical training,trying harder and harder tolearn such a language?
Anyone starting the exciting and hard journey intoradiotelegraphy is attractedby the fact of pursuing an artrequiring style and precision, two characteristics thatmay beobtained only through study and practice. It is also matter ofaesthetics: a
contact in telegraphy made with precision and respect forprocedures is a work of art,unique and unrepeatable in time. Thewireless telegraphy radio operator, today, is a
person who not only learns to "play" a very special instrument,but also learns a newlanguage, made of a single tone, cadenced byrhythmic intervals. Learningradiotelegraphy is a journey within ourown emotions and feelings that requires atransformation of the waywe learn and how we feel. Much like a child, who mustlearn tospeak, revealing a new mode of expression and communication withtheoutside world. It is a steep and thorough experience requiringcontinuous contact withthe deeper layers of our being.
So strong is the passion for radiotelegraphy that, in Italy,Elettra Marconi,president of Marconi Club ARI Loano and daughter ofGuglielmo Marconi, todayreleases the honorific title of wirelessradio operator to whom excels in the practice ofthis art. OscarWilde used to say that art is useless: as such radiotelegraphy is,too.Having fallen into disuse for practical applications, it livesits moment of glory as anart in the hands of the few people who, ina "swinging mood" made of sweetintermittent sounds, are keeping italive.
This book is distributed under the Creative Commons license andcan be freelycopied or distributed, under certain conditions (seethe Copyright Notices chapter for
details). This work is QSLWare: if you like it, just send me aQSL card via thebureau.
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Learning CWLearning CWLearning CWLearning CW
The issue of radiotelegraphy obsolescence (CW mode emission, orContinuousWave) is being passionately discussed in the amateurradio world: today CW isdefinitely decommissioned, in Italy and inseveral parts of the world, in all
professional activities: military, maritime, postal,railways.
Since 1998, all CW maritime radio transmissions were replaced bysatellitesystems, which can provide greater reliability andsecurity of the link. Telegraphywas also removed from amateur radioexams, resulting in increased overcrowding inthose parts of the HFbands allocated to the voice modes of amateur radio, since
passing the exam was much easier than before. So, many amateursturned back toconsider CW, in part attracted by the opportunity toenjoy portions of bandwidthexclusively reserved for CW, but mainlybecause of the attraction to exercise an artthat requires precisionand style and has to be developed constantly, with study and
practice.
Is, then, the art of radiotelegraphy, undisputed protagonist ofthe twentieth
century, destined to disappear into thin air? We would say thatit might not be thecase: by quoting Urbano Cavina, I4YTE("Marconisti dAlto Mare" Ed C & C): CWis left with enoughhealth to be hailed as the Latin of the new era, and even more,theEsperanto of the new millennium.
Once learnt, CW can never be forgotten: all the hard work isrewarded by aprecious art that will accompany the ham for life. Asthe English say, "there is no freelunch": learning CW is a lengthyprocess that must be tackled in stages, trainingevery day for aperiod consistent with the stage of learning. CW is an art and likeallarts it cannot be learnt only by studying: however hard you tryor how much time you
spend, you need to achieve the mental condition to bea wirelessradio operator, not todo wireless telegraphy. And, there is a bigdifference.
The four stages of learningThe four stages of learningThe fourstages of learningThe four stages of learning
Talent matters, of course. Aside from that, what really isimportant here is yourability to get in touch with the deepestlevels of your mind to acquire, day after day,the mental structuresof being a wireless operator. It is quite a long journey inwhichthe prize is the journey itself.
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According to Zen Buddhism, learning is a journey throughawareness andknowledge in four stages:
o Unawareness of lack of knowledgeo
Conscious lack of knowledgeo Conscious knowledgeo Unawareness ofknowledge
The initial stage is about unconscious lack of knowledge: wherewe simply donot know what we want to learn. The student approachesthe subject he wants tolearn, hopefully with an open mind. He hasnot even the slightest idea of what stands
before him and the challenges he could be facing. The studentdoes not even knowwhat he doesnt know! Of central importance atthis stage is the leadership role of theteacher, who welcomes andguides, step by step, the student on his way from
ignorance to knowledge. The phase of unawareness of lack ofknowledge lasts for arelatively short time. A careful student isable to immediately understand what heneeds to do, especially ifthe path is steep. In learning CW, the stage of unconsciouslack ofknowledge begins when you decide to learn telegraphy and listen forthe firsttime to the intermittent sounds of dots and dashes. Youimmediately understand thatthere must be a pattern, a meaning, astructure behind these harmonious sounds butyou cannot perceiveit.
Start your journey open-mindedly towards this new art, castaside the manyquestions and doubts, and keep up your willingness tolearn. Rest assured: you will
be able to answer and cope with all of your doubts anduncertainties.
The second stage is the conscious lack of knowledge: thedisciple began hisstudies in continuous contact with the teacher,learning step by step all the basics buthe practices withuncertainty. He knows what he has learnt and has to improve his
practice. He also knows what else is yet to be learnt. Thestudent knows that he is notknowledgeable. Later, he will discoverthat he had always known, but he was notcertain he actually did!This stage usually lasts just long enough to learn all thebasic
elements of the object of his study. In CW, this phase isfocused on learning thesounds of letters, numbers and symbols ofMorse code. Remain open-minded andsimply skip over everything youmight not understand. Be confident of the fact thatyou will be ableto retain everything you are able to decode for the first time.Thismeans that when you understand a sound, the relationshipbetween the sound of eachletter, and the word it is part of willremain yours forever.
The third stage is the conscious knowledge: the student haslearnt and he isaware of what he has learnt. Each time he uses theknowledge gained, he is fully
aware of it and acts wisely to achieve the goals he planned forhimself, leveraging onthe gained knowledge. The student knows andknows he knows. This phase is thelongest and, in certain arts, itcould last for decades. But do not worry because it is
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also the phase bringing to you the greatest satisfaction:remember that the prize is thejourney itself, not the final goal.In learning CW, at this stage you will be perfectlyable tounderstand Morse code but you will need paper and pencil to jotdown whatyou receive. You will be limited in terms of speed ofreception and transmission and
some words will seem incomprehensible. At this stage it is offundamentalimportance to practice on a daily basis. On some daysyou will go like a lightning,and on others it will seem to you likeyou forgot everything. Stay cool, stay focusedand open-minded.Ignore any error, it will resolve itself.
The fourth phase is about unconscious knowledge: the student haslearnt aboutall there is to learn (from others) and obtainsadditional knowledge from the practiceof the art itself. At thisstage, he is no longer even conscious of exercisingknowledge. Thestudent knows and uses what he knows spontaneously. In CW, thisis
the stage where you will be able to receive and transmit atspeeds limited only byyour physical capabilities and by themechanical features of your telegraph key, youwill be able tolisten and understand signals amid utterly deafening noise orwhileyou're busy doing other tasks, without writing or making anyconscious effort. Thiswill hold true both in transmitting and inreceiving.
The learning roadmapThe learning roadmapThe learning roadmapThelearning roadmap
We will approach learning in the four stages, in a formspecifically designedfor learning CW, in three distinct phases:
1. Learning the elements of the Morse code alphabet and theirspacing.2. Speed consolidation up to a maximum of 20 words / 100characters per
minute, using paper and pencil to copy down what you receive.3.Increase speed and decode "in your head."
In the first phase, for six weeks, we study each Morse codealphabet element,learning it as a sound. A group of characters perweek. Keep practicing every day, notexceeding the time assigned foryour training sessions. Practice often, for a shorttime. At thisstage, we focus exclusively on the receiving. To start learning CWwewill use software (therefore you must be equipped with a personalcomputer) andenable it to introduce letters and numbers gradually.We will learn the letters bygroups: ETANIM / DSOURC / KPBGWL / QHFY/ ZVXJ / 12345 / 67890. Lettersare grouped together in increasinglength. Our training will be focused on receivingletters andnumbers, copying down on paper. Sessions will last no more than10-15
minutes a day. Speed will be starting from a minimum of no lessthan 10 (preferably15) WPM. When you are able to copy on paper allthe letters of a group, you moveon to the next one.
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In the second phase, lasting about 5-7 weeks, we introducepunctuation marksand procedural signals. We also consolidatereception and transmission speed up to100 characters (or 20 words)per minute, always using pen and paper. At this stagewe begin touse a straight key. Do the best you can to transmit with a timingand
spacing as close as possible to the one you just heard from thecomputer. As we cancopy on paper 90% of the characters sent by thePC, we increase the speed by 1-2WPM or 5-10 characters per minute.Our goal is to reach a speed of 20 WPM.
The purpose of the third phase, of variable duration, is toachieve the delicatetransition of abandoning pen and paper anddecoding entirely in your head. Here youwill learn new words andimprove your reception speed gradually but inexorably.Remember:accuracy transcends speed it is better to go slower and beunderstood.Exercise the art of CW with style. Obviously, achievinga remarkable accuracy intransmission requires practice and if youdo not try, you will never succeed. Finding a
ham radio friend, patient enough for long CW contacts, is anabsolute must. Go,freewheel at speeds above 20 WPM. Always keepyourself within your own limits,try to correct your errors, butdont feel blocked or overwhelmed by them. Simply,keep going!
Learning CW for a naval radio operator requires (well, actuallyrequired)instruction by a qualified radio operator. The maindifference between an amateurradio operator and a marine officer isthat the latter is instructed to transmit andreceive at animpeccable commercial speed of 25 WPM, for long shifts andunderadverse environmental conditions. Such a capability requires aradically different
approach to learning.The amateur, conversely, learns CW to useit, generally speaking, for a
relatively short time, in a stress-free and optimal environment.In these shelteredconditions, the amateur can operate at a speedtwice as fast as the commercialoperator. Such a way of using CWrequires a specific method of learning. Themethod proposed in thisbook is aimed at ham radio operators by providing them alltherelevant information for building a "career" as a CW expert. Wewill discuss the"career" of a CW amateur radio operator in adedicated chapter in this book. Thismethod stems from hands-onexperience by the author, who has learnt by trial and
error, mistakes and corrections, to develop a method proveneffective for teaching.Our goal may seem overwhelming, but if webreak it down in small parts, the
whole path will be developing by itself. In the course of thebook you will be givenspecific targets, each representing only asmall step and requiring solely a certainconstancy of practice andstudy. Always stay focused to your next target and, soonerthan youmight think, the end of your journey will be in sight.
Especially during the first stage, in preparation for high-speedCW (or, in
amateur radio shorthand, QRQ), we must keep practicing each andevery day. Weneed to settle, literally embed, the soundscorresponding to different letters intoourselves. QRQ will be greatfun, we will face it in the third stage of learning. This
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stage could be also conducted using other methods, such asvarious software-basedKoch methods or the Learn CW Online web site(http://lcwo.net/) by FabianDJ1YFK. What really matters, here, isto the learn characters as sounds, not as acomposition of distinctgraphic elements.
The method proposed in the first phase of learning, in thisbook, is specificallyaimed to achieve the fastest possibletransition to the next stage and, thus, gain a solidfoundation forthe QRQ phase. It is important to say, again, that the studentmustfocus on learning sounds. This is the reason why aradiotelegraph key is not adopteduntil the end of the firstphase.
The physiology behind learningThe physiology behind learningThephysiology behind learningThe physiology behind learning
To learn CW means approaching the learning process in acompletely newfashion. Well, actually new only for an adult,because we already underwent thislearning experience in ourchildhood. CW is not learnt with the "mad and desperatestudy" likeLeopardi, the Italian poet, did. We do not need to learn things byheart
but, rather, by applying a constant and assiduous sedimentationof few, simpleelements.
Our brain, in its intricate complexity, is made of severaldepartments, eachdevoted to specific functions. Among them, thebrain cortex is responsible for
"conscious" thought, for calculus, evaluation and measurement.The cerebral cortex,the so-called "gray matter", attends to memory,attention, thought, consciousness andlanguage processes. It allowsus to perform complex calculations: it is a very
powerful part of the human brain. Unfortunately, the gray matteris as powerful as itis slow. While learning a new language, we mustengage the cerebral cortex at the
beginning of our learning process: new brain departments will becreated, built, tostore and attend to the language just learned. CWalso, from the perspective of the
brain, is a language itself: we must learn to "listen" (receive)and "talk" (transmit) intelegraphy as it is for all other ordinarylanguages. For all such activities, the
cerebral cortex is essential.William Pierpont N0HFF, author ofthe ground-breaking book The Art &
Skill of Radiotelegraphy, in the introduction, tells us aboutthe gigantic difficultieshe faced in overcoming a certain thresholdin speed of reception. Like many otherhams, he learned, at first,the Morse alphabet in a purely cortical fashion: he studiedthegraphic signs, made of dots and dashes, instead of sounds. Douglastells of theenormous effort he had to go through to get rid of thishandicap and re-learn theletters as sounds using completelydifferent areas of the brain.
As we make progress in learning telegraphy, we find that thecerebral cortex
makes us also somewhat awkward. Its enormous potential forcalculus is also asource of anxiety, uncertainty and disturbance tothe "free flow" of a CW message,
both in reception and transmission.
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In receiving, in fact, we must create new brain structuresattending to theautomatic conversion process of sounds in our earsinto ideas in our brain. Be careful:we are not talking about dots,dashes, letters or words, but concepts. This fact isextremelyimportant in developing our capability to receive and transmit.This
capability, as we will see later with some practical examples,is virtually unlimited.We want to reach a certain part of ourbrain, while learning of telegraphy: the
amygdala, a cluster of neurons located in the temporal loberesponsible for memoryprocesses and emotional reactions. This brainlayer is very primitive but it has asignificant advantage for ourgoal: it is unbelievably fast. The amygdala attends to
primary processes of reaction, such as the response of flight orattack, with asurprising speed and efficiency . If someone wakes usup in the middle of the night,shouting "fire", we jump onto ourfeet from the bed before we can even realize it.
The great martial arts masters show lightning reaction times.They are able to
pierce a telephone directory with a single punch, or break aglass with a finger nail.These are examples of how powerful thisincredible part of our brain can be, whose
possibilities have barely been explored by modern science.
Cortex and amygdala, unfortunately, are somewhat at odds,because the brainis structured in different layers. What happens isthat a very pronounced corticalactivity inhibits (or ratherconfuses) the electrical signals flowing in the amygdala.That's whywe need to relax and stay relaxed to boost our CW learningprocess.
Children undergo a very characteristic phase, in which they needto put objectsin their mouth. This behaviour is a typical responseof the temporal part of the brain:infants have not yet developedthe cortical part, so they are not allowed to"understand" thenature of things by observing or touching them. Rather, they needto
bring things to the mouth. This is the way a child brain learns.The result of thislearning process is stored directly in thetemporal lobe.
Daniel Goleman in his "Emotional Intelligence", reports anexperiment madeon rats, aimed to measure the time of reaction forthe flight reflex, channeled via theamygdala: about 12milliseconds. The same reflex mediated by the cortical layer ismorethan twice as long. Fabian Kurz, a German radio amateur (DJ1YFK)was the
first person who copied CW up to 1000 characters per minute: atthis speed, a dotlasts few milliseconds. Hence, we would say it isunlikely that Fabian is using hiscortical layer to decrypt CW. Toachieve such performances, we must keep in mindour experience aschildren when we painfully learned not to touch hotthings.Eventually, we were able to remove our fingers from aburning object by means of aninstant reaction: this reaction wasgenerated by the amygdala. However, as adults weinstead learned todrive a car with the cerebral cortex. The reaction time providedbythe amygdala is much, much shorter than the one of thecortex.
The most primitive layers of the brain need simple andstraightforward
instructions to work: all of our doubts, uncertainties,indecisions introduced throughthe cortical layer (i.e., consciousmental processes) confuse our most primitive brainlayers wich, wheninstructed with contradictory goals, react erratically. That'swhy
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we react to a burning sensation as fast as Fabian can receiveCW. And, if we canremove our fingers from a hot iron in a fractionof a second, surely we can use thesame mechanism to receive CW.
LearLearLearLearning and selfning and selfning and selfning andself----imageimageimageimage
In learning CW we have to keep that very same state of mind wehad aschildren. It is not surprising, then, that you will befeeling somewhat nervous duringyour first CW radio contact. Just asa small child that makes a great effort to speak,you willexperience the same feelings. Keep cool, everything is absolutelynormal.
Did you observe how children learn? They repeat and repeat andkeep
repeating endlessly, seemingly without ever getting tired.Martial arts practitioners dothe same thing, tirelessly repeatingsequences of movements to a state of perfection.If you then watch achild play, the first thing that catches your eye is that thechild
becomes the character he is pretending to be. His corticalunderdevelopment allowshim to behave, think and move as if hereally was another person. In other words, heis able to temporarilychange his self-image.
A child, playing every day, slowly builds a general "framework",some kind ofmap, of his person. This framework includes primarilyphysiological limits as height,weight, color, and sex in order toclearly define his own characteristics. Thats why
children, even if they stumble down in a disastrous fall, rarelyget hurt, or why theyrefuse to make a jump that seems harmless. Thechild does what his self-imageallows him to do. Only when he willfeel strong enough, he will try the jump. Whenhe feels sufficientlyskilled to remain in balance, he will start cycling, and so on.
Self-image is thus a mental representation of the self,consisting of real brainconnections, physically built in ourbrains. Just as a computer records electrical levelsin its memory,the human brain builds neural connections to storeperceptions,including self-image. These brain structures areresponsible for the way we think andfor our reaction patterns.
Dr. Rogers research team, back in 1977, found that theinformation thatrepresents our self-image is constantly retrievedand used during mnemonics testingand, therefore, during all humanactivities. This phenomenon is called " Self-referentialEncoding".
The self-image is built up through experiences that combinethree factors:
Authoritative sources of information.
Repetitive experiences.
Emotional intensity of an experience.
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Consequences of this are rather broad in scope: people who, atschool, areexposed to frequent criticism, particularly by teachers,develop a negative self-imageand will report significant problemsin everyday life.
Maxwell Maltz, an American plastic surgeon back in the '30s,observed a very
interesting phenomenon: some people who had suffered accidentsserious enough todisfigure their face, after surgical repairsuccessful repair from a technical point ofview significantlychanged their personality. People, who for forty years had beenshyand awkward, suddenly became bold. In some cases they pushedforward much
beyond the limit of shamelessness. In some cases, however,people who had had a bignose and ears for years, after a facialplastic surgery, despite their new "perfect" noseand ears,continued to feel as "ugly" as before.
Dr. Maltz then began to observe that the majority of hispatients developed aself-image that, in many cases, remainedunchanged even after surgery. In some other
cases, instead, the self-image changed instantly. In many casesit was not a matter ofperforming surgery. Rather, many peopleneeded a higher level of self confidence.That is, a lot of patientsneeded just a system to change how they perceivethemselves. Nosurgery, no pain, just a (complex, indeed) change of attitude.Dr.Maltz full story is told in his best-seller NewPsycho-Cybernetics".
All human activities that are never forgotten, like riding abike, have somethingin common: they require a permanent change inour self-image. Skills attained bychanging our self-image becomepermanent assets of our person. The capability oftransmitting andreceiving Morse code is among them.
When learning CW, therefore, we must establish a new componentin our self-image and, when doing so, we need to be relaxed. Alwayspractice during the sametime of day and in a place where you canexperience positive feelings of comfort and
pleasure. When we make a mistake we are always ready to blameourselves. This isthe way we learnt from our environment duringchildhood, often accepting any faultas our own error orweakness.
This potentially destructive mechanism can be used to build apositive self-image, rather than demolish it. A mistake must beconsidered a signal, pointing us inthe right direction. If youfail, let your mistake pass away, with no blame or irritation.LearnCW in a relaxed mood, enjoy the pleasure of learning something new,repeatyour exercises every day and be confident in theself-programming abilities of yourself-image. Just a few minutes aday: you can take care of your "more serious" stufflater on.
Keep in mind the 3 main pillars for effective learning:
1. Be relaxed.2. Repeat every day.3. Take every mistake as achance to correct yourself. Keep focused
on the repetition of the exercise.
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First relaxation exerciseFirst relaxation exerciseFirstrelaxation exerciseFirst relaxation exercise
This exercise is based on the well-proven autogenic training byDr. Schultz, aGerman psychologist during the first half of the lastcentury. Dr. Schultz first appliedspecific relaxation techniques tomanage anxiety and stress. Autogenic Trainingtechniques are nowfully employed in all sports, especially the competitive orextremeones.
Practice this exercise every day, before making your CWexercises.
1. Be sure not to be disturbed for about a quarter of hour.
2. Find a convenient and comfortable place, preferably anarmchair or asoft mat.
3. Close your eyes, relax your face and jaw muscles, feel theweight ofyour relaxed hands and arms.
4. If a thought distracts you, imagine enclosing it inside aplastic ball.5. Imagine putting the ball in a large plastic jarwith a cap closing the
bottom.6. After a while, imagine you remove the cap. The balls,with your
thoughts inside, will float away. Listen to the sound of theplastic balls
slipping through the bottom of the jar.7. Enjoy your new feelingof thoughtlessness.8. Imagine your forehead.9. Tense your forehead,keep it contracted for a while and, then, relax it.10.Enjoy thefeeling of the relaxed forehead.11.Now, relax your neck, shouldersand trunk. Keep in mind the difference
between tenseness and relaxation you just experienced on theforehead.Relax each body part in the same way, until you reach thetoes.
12.Keep visualizing the part you are relaxing.
13.Having relaxed the toes, enjoy the sensation of the wholebody,completely, relaxed.
14.Before you get up, open your eyes and slowly move your legsand arms.Stretch yourself.
15.Get up slowly.
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Getting started withGetting started withGetting startedwithGetting started with Morse codeMorse codeMorse codeMorsecode
The first phase lasts, on average, around a month and a half. Itis important torespect your own learning pace: there is no hurry.After all, learning CW is not a joband should remain a pleasanthobby. At this stage we focus exclusively on letters andnumbers,ignoring punctuation marks and procedural signs (inshortprosigns).
Before each training session, do your relaxation exercises in aquiet place. Besure not to be distracted; try to do your best totrain at the same time of day. Simplyforget that letters are madeup of dots and dashes: carefully listen to the unique soundeffectof each letter in terms of presence and absence of tone. Let theletter sound be"yours."
Phase 1 lasts 6 weeks, each devoted to a group of letters:
First Week: ETANIM
Second Two: DSOURC Third Week: KPBGWL
Fourth Week: QHFY
Fifth Week: ZVXJ
Sixth Week: 1234567890
Groups are organized by increasing letter duration. The firstday of each weekwe introduce the new group of letters and we trainonly to receive this group. In theremaining days of the week, wetrain on all the letters studied up to now, i.e., we add
the groups learnt in the previous weeks.
Each week, your goal is to learn a new set of letters. At theend of each weekyou should be able to decode 25 groups of 5characters, writing down what youreceived by pen and paper.
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First WeekFirst WeekFirst WeekFirst Week
In the first week we focus on the basic elements of metrics andintroduce thefirst group:
ETANIM
The 5 letters in the group ETANIM are related because theyrepresent all thepermutations of one or two dots and dashes.
Download and install the software G4FON(http://www.g4fon.co.uk/). Afterinstalling the program, in the mainwindow, set the number of characters to 40.
Characters box
Go to Set-up and check the box "Morse Character Setup", set thecheckmarksso that only the letter E is selected.
Set Up Button
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Selecting letter E
Now we are ready to begin: do your relaxation exercises and getready tolisten, preferably using a comfortable headset. Earphones,like the ones used in MP3
players are much more comfortable than headphones. Listen to thelowest possiblevolume so that you do not get discomforted orfatigued.
In the main window, set "Actual Character Speed (WPM)" equal to15 and"Effective Code Speed (WPM)" equal to 1. Do not worry aboutthe meaning of thesetwo steps: we shall discuss this later.
Relax and focus just on listening. Enjoy your first experiencewith Morse code.
Selecting character Speed
Listen to the sole letter E: dit.Listen to the dryness of thesingle dot, focus onthe spacing between two consecutive E "EE" andthe same, separated by a space: "EE". We set a wider spacing togrant you more time to mentally recap the sound of
the previous word. We will apply the correct spacing lateron.
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The software is designed to first play a group of letters andthen to display it onthe screen. Listen and build an automatedmental link between letter sounds and theirimage displayed on thescreen right after.
If you train every day, you will achieve quite the same result:when you willhear a CW word, right after the space separation, thecorresponding letters willautomatically appear in your mind.
When you feel confident, open again the window "Morse CharacterSet-Up",and add the letter T: daah.
Now hear the difference between the letter E and T: E is asingle dot and T asingle dash.
Focus on the difference in terms of sound length between dotsand dashes.Listen with particular attention to the relationshipbetween the length of a dot, of adash, and the space between thetwo. During the lesson we will discuss the details
behind the concepts of spacing and speed. For now, just ignoresuch details, relax,listen and do nothing else.
When you are confident with the difference between E and T, addthe letter A:dit-daah.
Can you hear the difference in sound between the character A andthe twoconsecutive characters "ET"?
Now take off your headphones and think about this story. It hasbeen toldabout a Zen master who met his disciples before a largeblackboard. This board wasso large that a man had to walk severalsteps to go from one end to the other. TheMaster then drew a tinydot with chalk, but so tiny that the disciples could hardly seeit.And then he asked: "What do you see?
Now close your eyes, relax, and imagine the same scene. Imagineit before
going on reading. What wouldyousee?
---
Focusing on the tiny dot, ignoring the huge blackboard where thedot is drawn,is one of the most classic mistakes we make in oureveryday life. Of course, that's amistake in CW also.
The container is as important as the content, and the same holdstrue in CW:the space among elements is of absolute importance.
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In CW, the duration in time where a signal is present (thesound) is calledMark. Conversely, the separation among Marks iscalled Space.So, saying that theletter A is made up of dots anddashes is, in fact, quite a big mistake. Remember:always focus onthe dot andon the blackboard. In fact, the letter A is made up ofa
mark, lasting a dot long, one space lasting again one dot, thena mark 3 dots long,followed by anotherspace, again one dotlong.
Now, listen again to the 3 characters, paying attention to thesound differencebetween the sequence of letters ET and the letterA. Here are the spacing rules (do notlearn them by heart, justlisten):
o A dot is the base unit of measure.o A ditis a sound of one dotfollowed by a silence of one doto A daah, the sound of a dash, is 3dots long followed by a silence of one
dot.o The space between letters is 3 dots long. (the dot endingthe preceding
dit or daah plus 2 dots)o The space between words is 7 dots long(3 of the preceding letter space
plus 4 dots)
A correct CW transmission respecting these rules is said to havethe correcttiming(correct timing ratio among marks)andspacing(correct ratio among spaces).
Graphic representation of the letter A and the sequence ofletters ET
A correct timing and spacing istheessence of a faithful CWtransmission.
Now add the letter N: daah-dit.Listen to the difference with theletter A. Tryto depict the sound of letters with a mental image.For instance, the letter A (dit-daah) has a sound that resembles avowel open sound, in latin languages. The N,instead (daah-dit)has atruncated sound, remembering somehow the tongue pressedup in thepalate.
Finally, add the letters I (dit-dit) and M (daah-daah), tocomplete the group.
Listen carefully to the whole group of letters and relax. Take asmall break, and getready for the receiving exercise. Every day wewill train to receive groups of 5
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characters. Copy the letters of each group to a text file, andpress the "Text File"button to start the exercise.
The Text FileButton
Make yourself comfortable and, first, listen to the entire file,keeping the bookopen in front of you and following the groups asthey are transmitted. Keep relaxedand listen. Try to grasp thesubtle differences in timing and spacing betweenindividual lettersand the various sequences as the computer plays them.
Now close the book, take pen and paper and relax. Play again thefile and writeall the characters you manage to copy. You willnotice that some characters areharder to copy. Never mind, let themgo away and keep focused on the flow ofcharacters as they areplayed by the PC. If you lose some character, ignore it. If youskipa group or more, again, ignore them. Re-synchronize yourself untilyou are ableto copy again.
You will notice that this exercise is tiring, despite the fewcharacters
transmitted. What really matters here is that you remainrelaxed. Do not get nervousfor the groups that,physiologically,youwill miss.
The purpose of the exercises is not to memorizethe letters, butto establish anautomatic reaction of your brain as you listen tothem. Such automated reaction isachieved only by means ofrepetition. Keep in mind that relatively few people areable toestablish this process automatically in a short time. The dailyrhythm
proposed, therefore, is purely tentative.
There is absolutely no hurry: if you think it might be the case,simply repeat
the same exercise as many times as you feel appropriate. If youare not satisfied withhow many characters you copied one day, youcan always repeat the exercise the nextday, making sure not toexceed 15 minutes of exercise a day.If you want to, by usingtheRecord Audio File command in the File menu, you can record an MP3to save anaudio file to be played with your favorite audioplayer orCD player. You can, then,listen to your groups during other timesof the day. It is crucial that you train everyday.
If you decide to listen to CW during your daily occupations,thus outside the
daily training session, be sure to do it while attending toother tasks. Leave CW in thebackground while doing other things.You should sediment it in your mind, rather
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than actively learn it. Studying must be solely done during the15 minutes of yourdaily workout session.
Next day, you will do your usual relaxation exercises anddirectly go to the
listening exercise, reading groups from the book and decodingthem right away,always using pen and paper.
Groups of the WeeGroups of the WeeGroups of the WeeGroups of theWeekkkk
Day 1:TANTE NTENT NMEMN MEEII NMMMNETEII EIMNM AAEMM ITENMNAANATMTNE AAIET TETNN ITEEE EIENITIMIA NNEAT IMNNA MIMINTINAMMMENT AMMTE ANTMA EEETT NNIAE
Day 2:TEAIM AAETN INATE EAINI EITNIMIETA NTNEE MEEIE IIIATENAIAMAMIT EAMNI ANEIA TTMIM TAAEATETAN IMTIA ENNMM NTIATIEMAITEEMN NAEMN NANAN NITMT EMIAA
Day 3:EINEN AETMI ATTMT NAMIA TMIITETIEE MTIIT MIAIE MTNAMMENNAIAAMM ETANM ETNMA IETTM NMNAEETAAA TATAI NNANN NMEMAANTETAENTE EIIAE ANNAI IENTI TTENN
Day 4:
TIAMA INNAA TMINN TTNTA ENITNTEAAM NTTNA AMEMI NMMMA NMANEAIIMNTMIEM NNTTI NMTME NMTMNIEEET AIEIE TETTE NNENN IMINIINAEE MMTAMATAMT ANEMA TMMEM
Day 5:ANATA AMMAM ITIAT IIEEE ATAEMNAMAM MIETT NIINN IEAEAIMMMNITTNM MITTN TIETA TMTMA MITMN
AETET MEMII ITEIE NNIAI TAEETEITMA MMMNE TMNEN TNTNT MIINT
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Day 6:INIAM AIETI EMAAE AEMEA IIIIEANATI MTTAM ITTTI TAEITTAMMN
ATIIT MEEMM ATTAT MNEMN TNMMITTAIE TEIEM AMIMI EETEM METNEMITIAEIMIN ITMAT IAINT IMETT
Day 7:INIAM AIETI EMAAE AEMEA IIIIEANATI MTTAM ITTTI TAEITTAMMNATIIT MEEMM ATTAT MNEMN TNMMITTAIE TEIEM AMIMI EETEMMETNEMITIA EIMIN ITMAT IAINT IMETT
SecondSecondSecondSecond Week
The second week is dedicated to the group:
DSOURC
As in the previous week, the first session only introduces newcharacters.
Do not forget your relaxation exercises, then go to Setup /Morse Character SetUp in G4FON, remove all the letters studied inthe previous week and select only theletter D: daah-dit-dit.
Listen to this sound; it does resemble the phoneme D, doesnt it?Daah-dit-dit. Listen for a while.
Now add letter S: dit-dit-dit, three dots in a row yields aneffect of "suspensiondots". This sound is like a hiss: "ssssss"dit-dit-dit.
Now go for the letter O: daah-daah-daah. Indeed, a "full" sound,much like theroundness of the letter O.
When I was desperately trying to increase reception speed andabandon paperand pen, I used to listen to Meteomar, a meteobulletin, broadcast in CW in plain
Italian and English on the frequency of 4292 kHz. The first timeI heard the word"MOSSO" (i.e.: rough sea) I was surprised by howmuch this sound effectivelyrepresented a rising wave, then loweringand rising again. Try to picture the sound of
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this word in your mind: M prepares the additional increase insound fullness, of theletter O, immediately damped by the twofollowing S, and again rising by the final O.
Try to create mental images like these, try to createemotionswhile listening to
CW. Do you remember the success factors for changing theself-image?
o Authoritative sources of information.o Repetitiono Emotionalintensity of the experience.
Keep coloring your study with emotions: you will learn at afaster pace andwith an unimaginable simplicity and ease.
Now add the letter U, the mirror of D: dit-dit-daah. The finaldash seemsalmost like an accent, a resembling the sound of theletter U (as it is pronounced inItalian).
The letter R, dit-daah- dit, is special because it is the firstto introduce asyncope, i.e. a change of speed, with a dash betweentwo dots. The middle daahrecalls the sound of your tongue againstthe palate, typical of the phonemeR.
Finally, the letter C: daah-dit-daah-dit,the first character tobe composed of 4
elements. You will hear it many times in your career as anamateur radio operator,because it is the first letter of CQ,theletters of a general call (aka seek you). Theletter C is probablythe most famous of the 26, with its very characteristic swing.
Now it is time to practice receiving the new group of 5characters justintroduced. As in the previous week, first youlisten to the groups with the opened
book and then practice receiving the same groups copying themdown with paper andpencil.
Tomorrow, you will directly go to the groups of the second day,which willinclude the group you studied in the previous week.Repeat this exercise every day,until you complete all the groups ofthe second week.
GGGGroups ofroups ofroups ofroups of theWeekWeekWeekWeek
Day 1:CDDDC CSROU SUCCS CDORU SUSCSUDRSC RDDSC RUCSC SUUOUORSOS
ODDSS UUDSO RCSSU CRRRR RODDDCCCOR OCCOS SSDSO URDSR CUDODCSCOSCROSO CDDOC SRROC RCSUC
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Day 2:SNMIT TADND SRNOM RDAMC RMNDRRCUIO ITDSM RAIDT CSOESEETDO
DSIUS RADER OETRT AODCS CESRAEOAUD DETIC SCMEO TRSEO AUCCOTCSSTIEUMA TUMMR NDAAA CRIOR
Day 3:COINR CMIEM CCIMR OCMSA OIIITOTOMN DINRS UASIN OIERDIOCMISMAIS CDRRO CUODS AMOER ACTADAAEOU EUNEM UATUI OOEMDNROUIINNMC ONAUS TECNM SIRED ISDID
Day 4:SSSOS RSMDN RCOTA TUSRR USDAMMITMA MEEMD OMUDN RAETSCESUCRUSMR NRDSR DMUII AAACS UODEUUNIOI SIOEO EMSNR IADMSMNRNSODREU SCRES INONR UADUO ORNNE
Day 5:DTOUU OSCTC TTCUM UUTRN TNIDDESANT RUAAO OCNEU STEIDAEMOMACNRU IUECA RAIUI NNECT CNCDICCMCI ONINM DCCUN OIUUNNNNSIRSDNU RDTMI INAUT TUTCA MSEOE
Day 6:DSUTS AOTRU CUUIT NNTOS ESNOAMRTTN UTDCU OTTDA MOTTUIMOCNIMESS SNMMA TRSUC ICOAO UENTONIDSS ORRAR MUTTI ISIADSDACSMMUTA MUDOR DAEIT OESOU TIRIS
Day 7:NOODO IARCO OTOOU MTDAC ATSMECMAAI NIDDA ERDMD UAMMUREIMANUOCA DISRT EDIRE SSMMA MUONRROISE ECISN RMUUA UUTST ASNOR
AOTTC CTUTD RTSRE DMDAE RENDN
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ThirdThirdThirdThird Week
The group of the third week is:
KPBGWL
All the characters of this group are made of 3 or 4 elements.Listen carefullybecause they differ from the characters of thepreceding groups only in how theelements (dots and dashes) arecombined. Thus, K is an R with dots and dashesreversed, the sameholds for G and U, D and W. Always remember to listen tosounds. Tryto build a mental picture, to give a shape - the one that bestsuits you -to each sound. This will help you to establish anautomatic reception reflex betweenthe sound and the mentalvisualization of the correspondent letter.
Now relax, run the G4FON software and configure it to play thesingle letterK: daah-dit-daah. Mentally recall the difference withthe letter R (dit-daah-dit).
Notice that, while visually inverted, the two letters have acompletely different sound.
Now add the letter P: dit-daah-daah-dit. The letter P is aconsonant whosesound is distinctive because, although it has 4elements like many other consonants,the two central dashes give ita unique sound image. Keep listening for a while and
get ready to take a break.
The introduction of the letter P allows us to better define theconcept of speedin CW. The unit of speed is the WPM (Words PerMinute) or CPM (Characters PerMinute).
An E, for instance, takes a fraction of time of an A. Thus, themeasured speedin character per minutes depends on which charactersare actually sent. To overcomethis problem a standard measurementsystem has been defined to evaluate speed inwords per minute. Thebase unit of measurement is the word PARIS.
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Elements of the letters in the word PARIS
Lets do a quick calculation of the number of dots, ourelementary timing unit:
Letter P: 11 dots + 3 of letter spacing.
Letter A: 5 dots + 3 of letter spacing.
Letter R: 7 dots + 3 of letter spacing.
Letter I: 3 dots + 3 of letter spacing.
Letter S: 5 dots.
Word spacing: 7 dots.
By summing all, we get a grand total of 50 dots, including theword space atthe end.
One word per minute (WPM), therefore, corresponds to 50 dots perminute, 2WPM to 100 and so on. It has been agreed, as a convention,that the speed in CPM isevaluated by multiplying the WPM speed by5. 1 WPM corresponds, then, to 5characters per minute. Now letssplit the sample word PARIS in dashes, dots andspaces:
o 4 dahso 10 ditso
9 separation dots between dits and dahso 19 separation dotsbetween characters (including 7 of word spacing)
in total, 38 dots and 4 dashes. We have seen before that thelength of a dashdefines the weighing ratio. Hence, the duration ofa dot in seconds, taking intoaccount the weighing relation W =number of dots composing a dash, is:
)438(
60
WWPM
p
+
=
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When applying a standard 3:1 weighing ratio (length of a dashequal to 3 dots),we obtain the simplified formula
CPMp
6
=
where CPM is the speed in characters per minute.
Considering a dot as a bit, the baud rate is:
pv
=
1
The following table shows the relation among speed (for a 3:1weighing ratio)using different units of measurement: WPM, CPM, baudand dot duration inmilliseconds:
WPM CPM BaudDot(ms)
5 25 4 240
10 50 8 12015 75 13 80
20 100 17 60
25 125 21 48
30 150 25 40
35 175 29 34
40 200 33 30
50 250 42 24
60 300 50 20
70 350 58 17
100 500 83 12
150 750 125 8200 1000 167 6
Comparative table of speeds in different units of measure
Before getting back to our first session of this week, it isimportant to stressonce more on the role of relaxation. We talkedbefore about Fabian, DJ1YFK, whor*ceives at the speed of 1000characters per minute. Time for some small calculation:
1000 CPM = 200 WPM = 10000 dots per minute. In a minute thereare 60 seconds,for a total of 167 points per second: at 200 WPM, adot takes about 6 milliseconds.
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Lets get down to a more human level: some hams practice, on adaily basis,in long chats at a speed of 50 WPM, i.e. approximately42 dots per second. At thesespeeds a dot takes about 24milliseconds. Scientific experiments on rats show that thereactionspeed, mediated by the brains cortical layer, is just about 24milliseconds.
At 50 WPM, then, we are at around the limit of our physiologicalability. Yet severalham radio operators today practice with ease atthese speeds, without tiring. How isthis possible?
The secret is in relaxation and in the human brain's amazingability toaggregate information at higher levels. We will return tothis point in a chapterspecifically dedicated to high speed CW (orQRQ). Still, keep in mind that this phaseof learning is crucial toestablish that automatic reflex allowing you to recognizewholewords first, and then whole concepts, effortlessly. Relax, keeplisteningwithout making any conscious effort: if you fail to copyone or more characters,
simply let them go. Keep focused on those characters you receiveand trust theincredible ability of your brain to learnunconsciously.
Now add the letter B: daah-dit-dit-dit. Sounds "slippery", doesit not ?
Then, when you feel comfortable, add the G: daah-daah-dit,although it is an Uwith dots and dashes reversed, it has anunmistakable sound.
With the letter W: dit-daah-daah, we complete the set ofpalindrome letters
(the W, in addition to being a D with dashes instead of dots, isthe reverse of a G).Listen to the sound and let your automaticsound-image mechanism work for you, therest will follow.
At last, the letter L: dit-daah-dit-ditis the third character wemeet composed of4 elements. From the next week on we will learn allthe letters made of 4 elements.Listen to them carefully.
Now continue training as usual, receiving the groups of thefirst day with thebook open and, then, close the book and startreceiving them using paper and pen.
The rest of the week is devoted to rehearse the whole set ofgroups met to date.
Groups of the Week
Day 1:GKPGP BPKPP WKGLG GBBBW GPGWBLBPLK WGLLW KPWWG PBGPBKBPBWPGWKP GWKBW KPBGP KGPLL GBBPWKGGWG PKPLG BGGWB PKKPGKGKBWWPLLP GKPLL BLKWG WGKKB BPGGW
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Day 2:EDGMK IBCUR GWNRB BTISI PWGOS
TOMLD UGUWP CEIPD CBMDB DWTOBOSCSP ABRGW MIASM GGORA UGURAGKBTKCSKBD GCOMM MKARA NLALDPLEKD GUMEO EACPU KANNK TOPRT
Day 3:BWLRP LCEIL LCKIR BNMKO RRDLRLOOTN IOLLE AKKIA SLELAIBKEBNPTKA GKMCO AWSDO EDGAM TRMNWLAWCR SLKDU SIAPE IKKSN BDMSM
WSTPR SWENU LMIUW RPMSO BLWLT
Day 4:RPAUW PNTDT WILBE WOKPR APPELETULT DGUBP OODBG AKOUITEAUUOOKSG CNMOC SIOSK KADWL MSGAOISMUG GTCIN APNPL EPRRARSBWNDEOWI IWTAE RMTRL GKCMS AASAU
Day 5:PSMPN MGDWG SBLOP UIULW KEKPGLABTB TTRCL WCILA DDDOMEBKLDSLWIR KOCUG NRKKB SWBEC OMTWOKTMOB BGRWM OEKEK DSNRIKCKOARNLIB MUEKR IBWIB IDPMG WPCBL
Day 6:PIRTC AGBCU ARBCC GIDGD TDMABOAMSL UTACC UETNB NPSDWCACODTGIWI KPWOE GBULO RRAOA CWAOGBKPLA LREPK UMPOK CCCUORKEMKAUTUN LISME TDKWG LEDRR ILOGR
Day 7:LAMOC WTCCS DUGNE SIBRR KIICAOSAIL MROOE WURDU PKUNNGDRKIDSIRN KUIBI MEDIB BEROD GNCPLAUUCC LIGML WKCDG ENLCP MULAO
GTBSA PBBRB BIRWI EBTWN BSUGB
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FourthFourthFourthFourth Week
The fourth week group is made of only 4 characters.
QHFY
Do not forget your relaxation exercises and listen to the letterQ: daah-daah-dit-daah. It recalls the beginning of the Italiannational hymn. C and Q make the mostfamous sound, heard daily byradio amateurs all around the world: CQ. Hearing aCQ, immersed in abackground noise, with a small radio receiver and a small
antenna, even better from an isolated island in the ocean is anunforgettableexperience.
The letter H: dit-dit-dit-dit, completes the series of letterscomposed by dots:,E,I, S, H. Carefully listen to the difference insound between an S and an H,. At highspeeds they become verysimilar, except small details that a trained ear and a relaxedmindcan grasp with ease.
The F: dit-dit-dah-dit, is quite similar to the letter L, listento it again and
again. It is advisable to practice with a dedicated listeningsession, with only theletters F and L. Relax, listen to the soundand simply watch the letters as they appearon the screen, rightafter their sound is being played.
Finally, the Y: daah-dit-daah-daah, which differs from theletter C for the finaldash, but it sounds radically different. Boththese letters are included in the group ofthis week. Use theexcersises of the first day of this week to practice with thelettersand, thus, become familiar with the sounds of Q and Y.
As always, it is now time to listen with the book opened and,then, decode the
letters with the book closed, copying with paper and pen.
Groups of the Weekroups of the Weekroups of the Weekroups of theWeek
Day 1:HFQQY YFFQH YQQQH FYHHQ YHFHYQYYYY YFFFF FYYHH FQYYFYYHQFQYQHF QQYQY QFFHH QYHQY FQFFHFQFQH QHQYY HFHHH YHFYQ YQHQH
QYQQY YFHQH YHQQH YQHQY FQHQQ
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Day 2:
QPRRR EFHPL FICMU FAUQM NQSRRWHPOO FOHTB AUMGF GUWYE ITYIOMWPGIBOLSR COOMY MLMOH TMGUBMNDDE NPCEC NWWDY AFBQM QCUFLCWHKU EDOKSPFMYD UCUFY EGYTS
Day 3:SKMFI ECRNE ETIEW BPCSU QHQDYTMAWH IANPT ISTAO LCKKOWLATGBTBBU LLFEP PBHPS AAHKE HTLYH
OCMCM LEFAE BKRNP MEOFY WNRCOBIFIQ WPLWL LEIOH PIYAR BMCHP
Day 4:HIQRR ANQUI MKKOM UPTWT WWBWENUEIW RMIDT QUMII BGPCNGHCIPESWPO QCSMQ WHBDM NPHRS DRYDMEAFSA KCEYH BHGCB WDWLEBKLCGOSTPG QAPUF HACNT LNSKH IFPTI
Day 5:IGBRO DGMQU CLNQE STBPT WYONRLTOSO SRPGQ POSYR ECRCWYBUUSIKNDI WDYWF BMAEM ULUIM TTTCUMCCLN NDPMP CAINO EATHBNNNBAHCGKL TTACC HMECH BGSTM NSLOT
Day 6:FPPAM PNQGN OUTCI ONNTC SUTUAOTLYU WLNPE UCPTG IQNIEFBQDCGGILS RWTGF UMKDB PYAYA IGBRTTNMRY CSTGY WIEQE GOPPNMHWIGFAOEB ROGAG BDUUR KCENW OPEIF
Day 7:SOCSL PEMEH NWFQF HHSPT UGBQGIEQQS UWBAC EQSEW GGDCCOFUDIFCMGL YUUBU LSWCY ERUAO KSCHB
OFSBG AKHPQ BWKTY QQBFT BSOOGNTRKC WIUIO IQTNO SOAGY EQYHY
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Fifth WeekFifth WeekFifth WeekFifth Week
With the fifth week we finish all the letters of thealphabet:
ZVXJ
After the usual relaxation exercise, start listening to theletter Z: daah-daah-dit-dit. Over the years, I associated the"long" sound of the first two dashes and theshort of the two enddots with the graphic sign of a Z. Try to visualize thesound,giving it a shape, a color, or some general tangibleattributes. The more sensesyou involve in learning, more intensewill be the lasting memory of what you have
just learnt.
Listen now to the letter V: dit-dit-dit-daah. For decades it hasbeen thebeginning signal for coastal broadcasting stations aroundthe world. It has adistinctive sound: it seems the attacking tuneof the fifth (in Roman numerals,incidentally, V) Symphony by LudwigVan Beethoven.
The letter X: daah-dit-dit-daah is rather unique, because of thetwo centraldots. It is a P with dots and dashes inverted but,again, it has a completely differentsound.
Finally, the letter J: dit-daah-daah-daah, it sounds quitelengthy, and could beconfused with the W because of the finaladditional dash. Carefully listen to how tothe sound differs fromthe letter W.
Despite what one would expect, the most difficult letters arethe shorter ones,because they require you to react much faster. Theletter J, for example, consists of16 dots (always remember to countmarks and spaces): twice as long as an S and fourtimes longer thanan E.
It is therefore important to learn the letters by sound, not bytheir graphicalelements. If you do so, you will incur in a seriesof handicaps that, to be corrected,will require a painful work.
1. If you memorize dots and dashes you will be forced to spliteach singleletter you receive into elements. This will require avery long decodingtime.
2. Longer letters will be extremely difficult to learn.3. Whenincreasing the speed you will compound the problem of decoding
the short letters, because they are too fast, and the long ones,becausethey are too complex.
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4. It will be almost impossible to exceed the speed of 40characters perminute.
In Italy, the exams for obtaining the Amateur Radio license wereat 40 CPM,
so I learnt CW exactly at this speed. I remember it took to me ahuge effort to get myspeed from 40 to 80/100 CPM, the minimumrequired for a satisfactory CW contact.
Now, go on with the usual exercises, throughout the week,starting fromtomorrow and going on for 6 days: you will practicewith the entire alphabet. You arealmost done!
Remember: stay relaxed, let the mistakes go away and stayfocused on whatyou receive. Eventually, skip the whole group of 5characters if you should miss twoor more consecutive characters.Get resynchronized using the space before the next
group.
Groups ofroups ofroups ofroups of theWeekWeekWeekWeek
Day 1:ZJXJJ JZJJX JVVZX VXXZX ZZXJV
JVZZJ ZXVVJ VJJVZ ZZZVX XVXVJXXXVX VXJZJ JVZJJ VZVJV ZZZZJZXJJVJJZZX JZVJX ZXJXV VJJXXJXZJV JJVXJ ZZZVV XJJVX ZJVJZ
Day 2:JWWRC PSQRK HEDRN BPNAH VRSDOMCMLO PAKBM XFTJR SZYENTEEFPAJPRU OSQBV UYPDD DXXIC UYEUW
HLWIG IJVXY SCRZM ISGZE SOHYDNWZBF WGYNX DUXLZ VXKHT TQAFK
Day 3:CHVYQ CSZGZ QVZFC BNXUP PDGMHOEVLH BHMSK UFFPK KGBIHZPUIVFGVFK IVMCY HJBNO HZJZH MGDEDZTVDH QUGZI HSACZ QZLUWXLQCGDOOGN MBJBK PSAON IOJQB GBMKN
Day 4:WAWNZ ALEQR RDGUP JPDXM RCJLMDDLFY DPCLK OQPJY SUJFRPKEJP
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WZZQD IVZEP BBCVJ HTTOM RRRIPIHSFT JNJWT XFRML ADIKX PFUFADWOBRVZXAU HAYWY RQMIR QLHIW
Day 5:JUMTU GPGHS LNQLQ MLUQF OPRZIJSFBE NAXBU HLWRL ISUSUVXUHAMSILK ATXVN HQAMT QUAVI MUHRQCRSJY ACTMC KWJVB FSXLXGXQZMKGAOM APGUQ ZBYSY VSLTW TUCRM
Day 6:XBVOS CPKAE HYMBW ZLRNK XNFJPMIFBT BDHBB SLUGO FSRXLPQWJU
XQQXP WIVYW MLBKC CHIVS AVJQWBNWQX ZPUWV KHAPU OZEBL BERSIZRNANXBSWS KOJPD IJCXZ TLKIO
Day 7:GZQCE ZTPWL ADMRR UURZL ABYXYEMJFM HXIYE SLITF DWOSTCODEKATAQH VVFPV EAPJQ JJKVQ JSYFZ
UPBGZ NZLMR BZHMG VYBYM EPNKAKZIKW DGQTH HEMAS CMZZM VPGEE
Sixth WeekSixth WeekSixth WeekSixth Week
With this week we introduce the numbers:
1234567890
There is a simple mnemonic rule:
o All numbers are all 5 elements long.o Numbers from 1 to 5start with 1, 2, 3, 4 5 dots.o Numbers from 6 to 0 start with adash, up to 5 dashes for the number 0.
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You can directly listen to the whole set of numbers, altogether.After a fewminutes the mnemonic rule will become obvious: a 0 is solong to be unmistakable.Pay attention to the difference between 2and 3, and between 7 and 8.
The exercises for this week are organized so as to not mixletters and numbers:when a group starts with numbers, stay withyour mind focused on the characteristicsound of the numbers youlearnt during the first practice session.
Congratulations! From the second day on you are decoding thewhole Morsecode alphabet!
Groups of the Weekroups of the Weekroups of the Weekroups of theWeek
Day 1:33141 12525 24435 51213 5241152425 35413 12515 553354221534512 44514 23554 41243 4212253221 41354 41145 142533415443132 25521 24153 21331 54155
Day 2:
XVZBQ 68499 HPXWP 60896 QHBJTBMHPK 93208 XUFXS 16504 VIUMEKLGXF82508 IGTSL 66304 XMIYJUWJKE 16139 JDYHG 33288 EBAMHNSBVO 78156EUXKX 79385 IRDRC
Day 3:OUSNC 78136 AFHSZ 02369 ZIIZORTSEN 39103 PBFQD 35514WLFBQ
NLQTH 04053 IVMZO 04393 TOWNYFVTKF 67407 PGCNG 73035 EQVDFITJVO76293 ILZFQ 69459 NUUIC
Day 4:EUUCL 28997 NFNKR 82127 BZPOSQIKYR 16952 MEGQI 63601MEBFXFIJOW 24877 SSKEH 64762 MZZAWNZGFM 05813 GDGBX 63328VVHTNQATJK 49307 FIWEU 45555 NNHYF
Day 5:
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WKNOE 45839 FAQAY 83508 HLGMTDUCPI 09406 NSBMN 11423 DPCZYOTDPU61271 ULRMA 67692 HUNEUBQRTW 42668 NYMSZ 75670 DASRK
OBOFA 31623 DDGHQ 12913 SUNQK
Day 6:CEAZK 94686 LGYCI 07706 OSDXXBQYJY 40051 OWAIP 90862CPDRYYUUBK 80146 HNALK 19601 OXVBHZNLJN 79062 YZOWL 95891WFKJCGDTWB 66336 FVLPE 59559 MZNKM
Day 7:
KGFAD 38144 EFLPV 89500 LKVVNNCBJV 58831 XYRMT 79169 KBAYZCRNKK76717 MVBSB 03521 SHSTNYRDOM 75330 WJHMP 53191 LDIXOUQMJV 31922DXVXV 46672 FQVEQ
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Increasing speed: lets go onIncreasing speed: lets goonIncreasing speed: lets go onIncreasing speed: lets goon----airairairair
This stage of learning is aimed at increasing reception andtransmission speedup to 20 WPM.
The work we did in the previous phase over the course of a monthand a half isthe basis for correct transmission, with the propertiming and spacing. Only a seriesof carefully designed dailylistening sessions, for an extended time, can produce amentalrepresentation of the sound of each letter. By the end of thisphase you will beable to transmit with a rhythm as close aspossible to the computer, i.e. with a properweight ratio of 3:1 andcorrect spacing between letters and words.
Training sessions will all take place in the same way:
Listening to groups of 5 characters. Transmission, using atelegraph key, of the same groups.
We will use a straight key. An entire chapter of this book isdevoted to thiskind of key. The ideal key should have a long lever,resting firmly on the desk in acomfortable position, but, at first,we cannot immediately adopt such a key (oftencalled Swedish),because the long lever strains the beginner. Wrist fatigue, atthisstage, is to be avoided because it results in inconsistenttiming and, most importantly,
prevents both mental and physical relaxation, which areessential for a properlearning process.
Your first radiotelegraphy key must, therefore, be precise andeasy to handle.These are typical qualities of all Second World Warproduction keys. Twomagnificent keys are the Junker and the LionelJ-38. They can be found for around50 dollars, shipping included, atthe most popular online auction sites or at the usualmilitarysurplus stands that can be found in some trade fairs.
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The second phase may have a minimum duration ranging between oneand twomonths, but it is highly advisable that it lasts long enoughto allow you a properabsorption of rhythm and spacing, both intransmission and reception.
Objectives of the second phase are:
o Match the spacing between words with the speed of 15 WPM.oMake your first CW contacts (QSO).o Gradually increase receptionand transmission speed up to 20 WPM
In the first phase we learnt all the elements of the Morsealphabet, but weapplied a spacing between groups of characterscorresponding to a speed much
slower than 15 WPM.
Selection box for actual and character speed in G4FON
The G4FON software can play the characters with adjustable speedandspacing among words. We will use this feature to facilitate thelearning process. Wewill set G4FON to play characters at 15 WPM,and the space between words as slowas 1 WPM. In fact, it is unclearhow this speed is calculated, as a rate of 1 WPMshould generateabout a group of 5 characters per minute, which appears not tobetrue. Anyway, we will take advantage of the capability ofextending spacing between
words, allowing us to learn individual letters at a decent speedfor our first CWcontacts. After we have learnt characters at a goodspeed, we will focus exclusivelyon reducing the spacing.
At this stage you should train in daily sessions of about 5minutes in receptionand do your best to transmit the very samecharacters you just received to reproducethe same speed, spacingand rhythm produced by the computer.When you are able to copy onpaper about 90% of the characters, then you increasethe speedgradually up to 15 WPM. After the initial uncertainty intransmitting with a
straight key, you will immediately notice that it issignificantly more difficult toreceive than to transmit (although,it must be said, that transmitting with the proper
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Second relaxation exerciseSecond relaxation exerciseSecondrelaxation exerciseSecond relaxation exercise
In transmission it is important to be both mentally andphysically relaxed. Todo this, we integrate the first exercise withheaviness relaxation techniques. Suchtechniques are derived by theones used in Dr Schultz Autogenic Training.
Begin the first relaxation exercise. Imagine your two hands andvisualize them clearly.
Imagine that your hands become increasingly heavy,slowlypressing down on the mattress or the armchair under theirownweight.
Visualize a very thick and strong elastic band attached toyourwrist, tying your wrists to the ground.
Imagine a friend who tries to raise your arms, but fails becauseofthe strength of retention provided by the elastic band.
Concentrate especially on the wrist of the hand that you willuse
for the transmission, i.e. your right wrist if you areright-handed. Now repeat the same exercise for the legs. When done,enjoy the feeling of relaxation you achieved with the
first exercise and the heaviness gained from the second. Stayaslong as you like in this state.
Slowly move your arms and legs. Open your eyes and, slowly, getup.
Now focus on the sensation of looseness and pliability of yourwrist. Keep thissensation so you can recall it before you starttransmitting with your CW key.
Adjusting spacing to speedAdjusting spacing to speedAdjustingspacing to speedAdjusting spacing to speed
In the last weeks, you learned the elements of the Morse codealphabet at aspeed of 15 words per minute, listening to groups of 5characters deliberately wide-spaced to give you the opportunity tovisualize the characters and write them downcomfortably.
We have seen, however, that a correct CW transmission is basedon therelationship between mark and space and on a proper rhythm.We now shorten the
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space between groups of 5 characters until we achieve thecorrect spacing,corresponding to a speed of 15 WPM.
In the third week we dealt with the concepts of speed: at 15 WPMa dot lasts
for 80ms, the rules provide for 7 dots of spacing between eachword, for a total of560ms for the space between words, or just overhalf a second: this is your newobjective.
Numbers aside, you'll notice immediately how powerful thevisualizationprocess is, guaranteed by the daily repetition of yourpractice. Keep focused on therelationship between the duration ofeach group and the spacing between the groups,as it shortens.
Training sessions are divided into two parts, one for receivingand one for
transmitting. In transmission do your best to replicate the samespacing you justheard, as reproduced by the PC.
After running the first and second relaxation exercise, runG4FON and set theactual speed ("Effective Code Speed") to 3 WPM.Use groups of the second day ofthe sixth week (with numbers andletters) and start to receive.
Remember, if you lose a letter, simply let it go, getresynchronised with thestream of characters, even skipping theentire group.
At the end of the reception session, grab your straight key,read the chapter ofthis book dedicated to straight keys. Play withthe key for a while, observe it, pressthe lever and listen to thepounding sound when closing the contact: the Americanradiooperators call this sound Brass Pounding. Now start transmittingthecharacters you just received, maintaining the same rhythm andspacing as played bythe PC.
Then, check what you received: if you have copied at least 90%of thecharacters (missing at most a dozen characters), you canincrease the speed, bringing
it to 5 WPM. Take note of the characters you miss more often andwork on themusing the character generator of G4FON, selecting onlythose characters.
Every day, change the groups of 5 characters, by choosing themamong thoseof the sixth week of phase 1. Tomorrow, therefore, thegroups will be the ones of thethird day of the sixth week, the dayafter those of the fourth and so on. When you getto the groups ofthe seventh day, start over again from the second day (thefirstcontains only numbers). The fact of repeating groups listenedto a few days before isof great advantage, because it reinforcesyour automatic reception reflex. After a few
weeks, you will feel like "cheating" because, maybe, you heardthe beginning of agroup that you might know by heart. This is whatwe want to achieve: by that timeyou will have reached the verypurpose of receiving CW, i.e., to associate groups of
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sounds to mental images. This is a very valuable capability, wewill return back tothis later.
Take your time: it is a game. If you reach the target within aweek it is very
good, but if you should take two months or more, it is evenbetter! You will have,then, learned this valuable ability much moreintensely. The more time you spendrepeating your exercise, thebetter your skills will become.
A QSO in CWA QSO in CWA QSO in CWA QSO in CW
When you're ready or you feel like going on-the-air, you canstart having fun
with CW by making your first contacts or QSOs. It is advisablefor you to make thefirst QSO when you have adjusted the spacing tothe speed of 15 WPM. Seventy-fivecharacters per minute are a morethan respectable speed for contacts in telegraphy. Atthis speed thesound of CW is simply spectacular, provided, of course, that itistransmitted with a rhythmic and correctly spaced pace. It is liketasting a vintage
brandy. Enjoy these magical moments.
The CW QSO relies on three important elements:
o Abbreviations and Q code.o Procedural signals (in bold, aresent together as one character).o A more or less definedstructure.
The rag-chew QSO is, instead, a purely free-wheelingconversation. Thefollowing list shows the main Q codes,abbreviations, and procedural signs (in bold):
QTH: station location.PSE: please
AREnd messageTNX: ThanksFR: forUR: yourHR: hereCQ: General CallSeek YouSK: end of transmissionHPE: hopeCUAGN: See You Again
73: GreetingsK: Call to transmit (go on )KN: Call to transmitonly for the station being called
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GM, GA, GE: Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening (to be useddepending on the timeof day)BT: speech separationOM: old man, hamradio operator
ES: the conjunction "and"QSB: fadingQRM: noise from otherstationsQRN: atmospheric noiseHW: How do you hear me?INFO:InformationRPRT: signal reportDR: dearOP: operator name, used inplace of NAMERIG: TransceiverANT: antennaPWR: output powerWX:Weather, weather conditions (CLOUDY, SUNNY, CLEAR)TMP:TemperatureBK: break, used to pass the key to the other stationwithout using the callsignR: received, I confirm, I haveunderstoodFB: Fine Business, goodVY: veryTU: Thank You
QSL: postcard for contact confirmation, it can be VIA BURO (viaham radio local qslservice) or VIA DIRECT (via conventionalsnail-mail)QRS: can you send slower ?QRQ: can you send faster?AGN:retransmit the last messageSRI: sorryGL: Good LuckGD: Good
The signs in bold are the so-called Prosigns (procedural signs),providing controlsignals to the QSO. They are sent as a singleletter, for example:
KN-.- -.
The general call, or CQ is made in this way:
CQ CQ DE IZ0AAA IZ0AAA PSE K
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The response to a call is:
IK0BBB DE IZ0AAA K
At this point, once the two stations hear each-other, the firststation replies:
IK0BBB DE IZ0AAA GM OM BTTNX FER CALL BT UR RST 599 QSB BTMYQTHIS ROME IS ES MY NAME IS PAOLO BTHW? IK0BBB DE IZ0AAA K
CW has something to do with chivalry. A correct CW operationrelies on the
following unwritten rules:
always transmit at a speed allowing you to avoid mistakes alwaysgreet and thank the other station and answer any questions alwaysslow down to match the speed of the slower operator, even if itwere
just 10 characters per minute.
It is recognized as a good practice to repeat the name and QTHtwice, while ISand ES can be omitted.
So, the first calling station says good morning / afternoon /evening and thanksthe correspondent for the call. Next, the callerpasses the signal report using the RSTscale: R - Readability 1 to5, S Signal Strength 1 to 9, T - Quality of tone from 1 to9. Ifthere is QRM, QRN or QSB, such information must be given rightafter the RSTreport.
The station then, which was asked HW, in turn should provide hisRST report rightafter the pleasantries:
IZ0AAA DE IK0BBB =GM DR OM PAOLO TNX FR RPRT =UR RST IS 599 =QTHROMA OP PIERO =MY RIG IS FT 817 PWR 5W ES ANT IS VERTICAL =HR WX ISSUNNY TEMP 10C = IZ0AAA DE IK0BBB K
If a station did not copy something, a question can be asked(always PSE) withoutrepeating calling and caller callsigns, bymeans of the prosign BK,
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BKDE IZ0AAA PSE UR PWR IS 5W? BK
BKDE IK0BBB R MY PWR IS 5W BK
if you did not understand the answer, you may ask to repeat thelast message:
BKDE IZ0AAA ?? SRI QRM PSE AGN BK
if the correspondent says he still did not copy, it isimperative to repeat the requestedinformation more slowly two orthree times
BKDE IK0BBB R MY PWR PWR IS 5W 5W BK
after the response, you confirm you understood and go on withthe QSO:
BKDE IZ0AAA R R TNX FR INFO VY FB UR PWR ES 5W QRP BTMY RIG ISFT817 PWR 5W ES ANT IS DIPOLE BT HR WX IS CLOUDY TEMP 12CIK0BBB DEIZ0AAA K
Notice that it is appropriate to first thank for the informationreceived and, then,return the same info to the sender.
At this point the QSO can be closed or go on indefinitely, evenif in most cases it isended here. Of course, with some commonpleasantries:
IZ0AAA DE IK0BBB DR PAOLO TNX FER INFO ES FER QSO MY QSL VIABUROBTIZ0AAA DE IK0BBB 73 ES HPE CUAGN SKTU
usually, after the TU you end up with the classical "two bits",i.e. with two final dots(dit - dit). Again, the correspondingreturns the greetings.
BKDE IZ0AAA TNX FER VY FB QSO DR OM PIERO MY 73 GL ES GDDXIK0BBB DE IZ0AAA 73 SKTU
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As you practice QSOs, try if you can already leave paper and penaside andwrite down only the main information, like names orcities.
The DX Code of Conduct
Using CW in DX can be an exciting activity. A high skilledoperator shouldalso hold an on-air behaviour inspired to aconsequent ethical standard. The authoractively supports the DXCode of Conduct (for more info http://www.dx-code.org/)as firstpublished in the article DXEtiquette in the March 2010 issue of QSTbyRandy Johnson W6SJ, and actively spreaded worldwide by BobG3PJT:
I will listen, and listen, and then listen again beforecalling.
I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
I will not trust the cluster and will be sure of the DXstation's call signbefore calling.
I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling andwill nevertune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before Icall.
I will always
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