NARC Morse Classes
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Morse Classes.
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Just four signing in this week. Absent were Jeffrey G0VJH and Brian M7SEY. Hopefully Jeffrey will have gone over to Jim’s class as he was probably suitable for that rather than a beginner’s class. I hope we see Brian back again next Tuesday.
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. Those signing in this week were:
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Tony M7NFK
Emma 2E0KFZ
James M1TES
Nick M0NVT
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Punctuation seemed to be a problem this week so do get to grips with those few characters. You will use them and you will hear them when on the air.
Please do NOT use a Morse key and think that may be a good way of memorising the characters. NO sending should be attempted before you are copying at least 10 wpm fairly well.
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Practice.
Here is where you may get left behind. IF you don’t study enough and get ALL the characters into memory, you will NOT improve at all. This will be more apparent as the gaps appear.
One program that was suggested is MORSEIT. Another is Just Learn Morse Code and a third is Morselefun. Try all these and see which one suits you best.
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So, please try to do at least 30 minutes a day, more if you are really keen! You should be using a computer program on a regular basis now and practising with all the characters of the alphabet, numbers and punctuation. YOU DO NEED to put in the time on this. I cannot emphasise that enough.
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It’s still not too late to join as a beginner if you feel the urge or rather the Passion, my first Big P word.
Hope to see you all next Tuesday. This will be the last class before Christmas.
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Here is the schedule:
. Have you ever wondered what was meant by somebody having a recognisable FIST?
Well, Morse operators all have their own style, their own way of operating and their own choice of words and abbreviations. We will be covering abbreviations in the new year. However, here is a wartime story about Morse operators and how it was possible to tell who was operating at the time even though the operator was not known personally to the person listening.
You will be able to accomplish this eventually if you stick to the course and the Practice. Take a look at this video. It is quite interesting.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC5GUIQuEW4
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Finally, just a friendly Christmas poem for you!
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Break.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the shack,
Not a dit could be heard, not a single dah back.
The paddles hung silent by the radio there,
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be near.
The students were nestled, tucked into their beds,
While visions of perfect Farnsworth danced in their heads.
With keys getting rusty and skills growing slack,
They’d forgotten the joy of that click-clack-click-clack!
When out on the airwaves there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter!
And what to my wondering ears should appear,
But a jolly old message, so perfectly clear:
“Now PRACTICE! Now PRACTICE!” the message rang true,
“Your dits and your dahs need attention from you!
Just ten minutes daily will keep you on track—
So pick up those paddles and click-clack them back!
Remember the P’s that will guide you along:
Let PASSION ignite you, keep your spirit strong!
Let PRACTICE refine you with each dot and dash,
Let PERSEVERANCE push you through when you crash.
Let PATIENCE sustain you—Rome wasn’t built in a day,
But PONDERING will slow you—just let it flow, don’t delay!”
For after the holidays, when you return,
You’ll be grateful you practiced and proud what you’ve learned.
So charge up your batteries, tune up your rig,
And remember: consistency beats cramming it big!
So Happy Christmas to you all, may your season be bright,
And may all of your copying be accurate and right!
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Have a great Christmas and make that New Year resolution to do some Practice so we can move on.
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73 de Roger G3LDI and May the Morse be with you!