Morse of course

A few resources for the budding CW Operator.

Below are a few bits and pieces that might be useful.

Getting Started

I can rate it highly enough but CWOps CW Academy it THE place to learn. The set up is pretty simple. Complete an online assessment to work out where you are in your learning journey. Then sign up for a class.

The classes are pretty intense but that works well. 16 sessions over 8 weeks, the superstars amongst you will work out that this is twice a week as a ‘class’. Well they’re not really classes, more of a time to do some CW together. The learning really happens outside those meet up’s. An advisor will guide the sessions but the homework is all yours to do and the meet up is a good time to do some group exercises like head copy (you’d be surprised how much you can remember and its one of my favourites).

Tools like RufzXP, Morse Machine and pile up simulators like Morse Runner are massive helps but really getting on air is the key…but there are some golden rules.

1. Start at a speed you want to send at, not at a slow speed expecting to build up. The Koch method works well but character speed should be 20-25 WPM. Doing things this way will reduce the likelihood of developing mental lookup tables

2. Don’t write everything down. Sure write key info like Name, QTH, RST and details like that. Head copy is the target. After all I don’t write down stuff when I have a conversation with someone in the street. That’d be weird, and the kind of this that Faceplant (tm) does (other odd companies that read your email are available)

3. Learn together, if you have to commit to learning with someone else you’re more likely to actually complete your goal. That goes with just about everything.

4. Hands up whop hasn’t made a mistake….thought so. You’re not sending vital inofmration that has to be right every time. If you make a mistake, send a few dit’s, resend that word and move on.

5. Don’t send faster than you can receive. I really struggle with receiving, so have to work really hard to headcopy at speed that other find straightforward. But…don’t let that hold you back, teh harder you try the better you’ll be.

Receiving Practice

• CW Academy Recources - Short stories and mocked up QSO’s, perfect for a lunctime quick session

• Morse Code Ninja - Defacto deep dive reources. Ther’s literally everything in there.

• Ditto CW - An android app that you can use with the Morse Ninja content

• Moreserino - An amazing bit of hardware that can offer everything from training through to online QSO’s. Well worth looking in to

Sending Practice

Warm up exercises

Send these as a bit of a warm up exercise before sending CQ or just to get your keying arm sorted.

EEEEE TTTTT IIIII MMMMM SSSSS OOOOO HHHHH 00000 55555 AAAAA NNNNN UUUUU DDDDD VVVVV BBBBB 44444 66666 ABCDEF GHIJK LMNOP QRSTU VWXYZ 12345 67890 / , . ?

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOGS BACK 7 0 3 6 4 5 1 2 8 9

AAAAA BBBBB CCCCC DDDDD EEEEE FFFFF GGGGG HHHHH IIIII JJJJJ KKKKK LLLLL MMMMM NNNNN OOOOO PPPPP QQQQQ RRRRR SSSSS TTTTT UUUUU VVVVV WWWWW XXXXX YYYYY ZZZZZ

11111 22222 33333 44444 55555 66666 77777 88888 99999 00000

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOGS BACK 7 0 3 6 4 5 1 2 8 9

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOGS BACK 7 0 3 6 4 5 1 2 8 9

BENS BEST BENT WIRE/5 BENS BEST BENT WIRE/5 BENS BEST BENT WIRE/5

/ / / / / , , , , , . . . . . ? ? ? ? ? * * * * * + + + + + = = = = =

Common words

100 Common words

A ABOUT ALL ALSO AND AS AT BE BECAUSE BUT BY CAN COME COULD DAY DO EVEN FIND FIRST FOR FROM GET GIVE GO HAVE HE HER HERE HIM HIS HOW I IF IN INTO IT ITS JUST KNOW LIKE LOOK MAKE MAN MANY ME MORE MY NEW NO NOT NOW OF ON ONE ONLY OR OTHER OUR OUT PEOPLE SAY SEE SHE SO SOME TAKE TELL THAN THAT THE THEIR THEM THEN THERE THESE THEY THING THINK THIS THOSE TIME TO TWO UP USE VERY WANT WAY WE WELL WHAT WHEN WHICH WHO WILL WITH WOULD YEAR YOU YOUR

Pangrams

1. Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow
2. Quick zephyrs blow, vexing daft Jim
3. How quickly daft jumping zebras vex
4. The five boxing wizards jump quickly
5. Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz
6. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs
7. Big Fuji waves pitch enzymed kex liquor
8. Jinxed wizards pluck ivy from the big quilt
9. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
10. Heavy boxes perform quick waltzes and jigs
11. Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes
12. Five wine experts jokingly quizzed sample chablis
13. A large fawn jumped quickly over white zinc boxes
14. Crazy Fredericka bought many very exquisite opal jewels
15. Jack amazed a few girls by dropping the antique onyx vase
16. Sixty zippers were quickly picked from the woven jute bag
17. How razorback-jumping frogs can level six piqued gymnasts
18. We promptly judged antique ivory buckles for the next prize
19. The exodus of jazzy pigeons is craved by squeamish walkers
20. Whenever the black fox jumped the squirrel gazed suspiciously
21. Jaded zombies acted quaintly but kept driving their oxen forward
22. A quart jar of oil mixed with zinc oxide makes a very bright paint
23. Six big juicy steaks sizzled in a pan as five workmen left the quarry
24. The job requires extra pluck and zeal from every young wage earner
25. A mad boxer shot a quick, gloved jab to the jaw of his dizzy opponent
26. While making deep excavations we found some quaint bronze jewelry
27. We quickly seized the black axle and just saved it from going past him
28. The public was amazed to view the quickness and dexterity of the juggler
29. On my exotic journey I realized plucking aquatic bird feathers was abusive
30. The July sun caused a fragment of black pine wax to ooze on the velvet quilt
31. The explorer was frozen in his big kayak just after making queer discoveries
32. Six javelins thrown by the quick savages whizzed forty paces beyond the mark
33. Ebenezer unexpectedly bagged two tranquil aardvarks with his jiffy vacuum cleaner
34. Jelly-like above the high wire, six quaking pachyderms kept the climax of the extravaganza in a dazzling state of flux
35. No kidding Lorenzo called off his trip to visit Mexico City just because they told him the conquistadores were extinct
36. Forsaking monastic tradition, twelve jovial friars gave up their vocation for a questionable existence on the flying trapeze

Common Endings

There are a few common endings to words. Learn the ending and it becomes easier to receive and send. You’ll find that you can hear the word rather than the individual letters. Also sending becomes second nature.

Squeeze Keying

Squeeze keying exercises help to reduce teh amount of movement you make. They can be a bit of a handful (pardon the pun) but thats the idea. Remember ‘smooth is accurate.

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