GB2CW Morse Corner 06.12.24
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Morse Classes.
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James M1TES and Emma M7TSP were there again last week and in fact were joined by Tracey 2E0CEY who faithfully promised to be there every Friday evening. It was good to hear that Tracey wanted to learn CW. She has moved in to look after her Dad so has left Woodbastwick and is now getting set up again, thinking about antennas etc.
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Starting off as a raw beginner is somewhat unsettling because you are not sure what is required of you. However, I start with a discussion and set out what the student has to do and I explain how we progress through the course. When we started both James and Emma were obviously nervous but as we finished they were both more confident. I did also explain the necessary Practice that each of them will have to do in their own time every day.
In order to progress, the Big P word is all important. Without that NO progress will be made. The tutor can tell if the student has done any Practice so stick with it and you will progress.
If you are considering learning Morse ( CW ) PLEASE join the beginner's class. You will find it very difficult to make any progress without doing so. I have heard it said that " I have listened to Morse, but nothing seems to sink in". Of course it won't. It is much like saying I listened to a good pianist on the radio but nothing sinks in!
It does not happen by miracle or hypnotism. It is the hard work that YOU as a student in YOUR time and nothing more that will produce results. You do need a tutor to report to each week in order for him to judge your progress and correct any errors you may incur along the way.
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|The first basic thing is to learn ALL the characters you need to use in Morse Code and commit them to memory. This might seem extremely difficult at first but a routine soon develops where you will find that you CAN copy a few characters when signing in with the tutor. Overcoming this hurdle is the most difficult part. If you can maintain the learning needed you will find that progress will follow.
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Radio Program about Morse Code this Sunday.
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Jon G4IVV sent me details of a program that will be of interest to those learning Morse. Here are the details and a picture too:
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BBC Radio is airing a half hour documentary about morse code on Sunday 8th December at 19:15 UTC:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct7hsy
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It is also repeated on BBC World Service from Thursday 12th December at variosu times - see the link above.
The program description says:
Morse code: Ready to transmit
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Contestants from across the world gather at the International Morse Code championships in Tunisia. For a week they will face each other off tapping at tiny Morse machines so fast that it sounds almost like a sung language.
The Belarusians are the team to beat. The Morse world record holder Andrei Bindasov is a Belarussian software engineer now living in America.
Morse is a nearly 200-year-old language. Its words are composed of just dots, dashes and spaces, transmitted in electrical pulses of sound or light. There are many variations in Japanese, Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian and other alphabets. In the age of cell phones and instant messaging, Morse still has its place.
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No argument with that last statement.
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KEY OF THE WEEK
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The 9A5N Single and Double Lever Paddles.
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The Solid state CW paddle is a completely new product in the world of radiotelegraphy. Instead of the moving parts found in mechanical keys, the 9A5N Solid State CW Paddle uses sensors that detect when an operator presses one of the paddle's levers.
These innovative keys offer the following advantages:
stationary levers which have no travel time and moving inertia
less finger movement
absolutely silent keying eliminates the clicking sound produced by moving parts
keying pressure on the levers is adjustable in software from 10 to 50 grams
no maintenance and periodical readjustments typical for mechanical keys
Keying technique with the 9A5N Solid State CW Paddle is equivalent to the mechanical paddle technique. Users will easily and quickly adapt their keying style, and thereby, increase their maximum keying speed. And because users are using less presssure and not moving their fingers as much as they would with mechanical keys, keying is less tiring and more enjoyable.
The 9A5N Solid State CW Paddle uses a microcontroller “brain” located in the aluminum head of the key to generate the dit and dah outputs. This aluminum head shields the microcontroller circuitry from RF fields in the shack. The paddle base is made of stainless steel/coated steel/brass, and the paddle weighs 1.8 kg (4 pounds), which gives it outstanding paddle stability while keying.
The 9A5N Solid State CW Paddle is available in single and twin lever versions and will provide many hours of CW keying pleasure for years to come.
Since the 9A5N Solid State CW paddle is just a paddle, you must use a keyer to generate the CW elements.
Dimensions: depends of base model
Weight: 1,5 - 1,8 kg, depend of base model
Supply: 2 x AAA (LR03) batteries build in paddle base
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You really need to try one before you buy however, the same advice I give for any key you take a fancy to and decide to purchase. I have tried a touch sensitive paddle and although I can use it, I did have to keep my finger and thumb well away from the actual paddle, or it would send a dot or dash with the lightest of brushes with the paddle itself. I like to keep my finger and thumb close to the paddle, maintaining a more accurate keying.
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The NARC CW Monday Night Net.
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This now takes place on 3543 at 8 p.m. on Monday evenings. We have a Net controller each week and the idea is to encourage you to conversational Morse. If you can read and send at 23wpm, do come and join us. 23wpm is the speed at present and we may be increasing that as time goes by. The overs are short but protocol is adherred to and just a few comments from each attendee is all that is needed. Give it a try!
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Les G0DFC joins in each week again but is suffering from pain in his keying hand. If Les does not mind the few errors he makes due to his pain, surely there are a few more quite capable of joining the net to try your hand at conversational Morse. I think there are a number of locals who, although capable, use Morse to crack a pile-up with the use of macros and very rarely use a paddle in long QSOs.
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There is no need to be shy. Learning conversational Morse is a skill in itself. Anybody can work a DX pile-up by using macros or sending their call and 599 TU. Try holding a conversation for about an hour and see how you get on. If you aspire to CWOPS or FOC it's the only way you will get in to those clubs, by showing and proving your proficiency with a paddle.
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Not only that, but it really is very satisfying to be able to hold a conversation for that long at around 25wpm with minimal mistakes. PLUS of course you can then monitor the CW end of the bands and hear just conversations and not just dits and dahs.
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CW OPS
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There were three of us again this weekthis week at 3 a.m. Propagation is not great at that time. The HF bands are day-time bands at this time of year so concentration is on 40m mainly with excursions to 80 and 160m. It was somewhat better this week albeit there is a lousy digital intruder on 40m - emanating from the east I would think - that does give a lot of QRM.
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The four sessions are still going well and we have managed to get decent scores each time. This is a great way of making friends with other amateurs. You may not think that the case, but it is surprising how you do get well known in those sessions and further QSOs follow on. You also receive a very nice Newsletter after you join.
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General CW Operating.
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For those of a nervous disposition, try joining FISTS. FISTS caters for the more casual, laid back operator who does not feel comfortable at more than 23 wpm. They also have a LADDERS competition on 40m which is good practice. Actually for what you pay for membership it really is a great deal with a quarterly magazine too called Keynote. It contains lots of interesting articles.
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That's it, open the cage, play the music.
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If you have any input, please email me.
73 de Roger, G3LDI GB2CW Coordinator. roger@g3ldi.co.uk May the Morse be with you.
Author Roger Cooke
