Here is a way of improving Morse Code proficiency at speeds above 25 wpm. It involves the application of some files and tools in exercises to get (1) to higher accuracy and (2) to higher speeds in conversational QSOs.
The main idea is to keep the exercises as close as possible to real–world
conversational QSOs. While sending, I am not reading my message from a screen or
from a sheet of paper. While receiving, I don't write down a message sent to me.
Consequently the exercises are audio–only. An audio stream of one or several
spoken words is used when training sending. A stream of Morse Code audio is used when
training receiving. Once an exercise is started, it will continue until stopped —
there is no need for any user interaction.
To support the improvement in Morse Code (sending/receiving), the Randomized Lists of Common English Words[2] are provided. The files "A...", "K..." and "T..." in the zip–archive are plain text files.
The lists are based on the 2809 words of The New General Service List NGSL[1] by Browne, C., Culligan, B. & Phillips, J.
The NGSL is a "...word list of the most important words of general English and daily life for second language learners." NGSL[1].
- A training session consists, first, of training sending and then, second, of training receiving. I begin with a preparatory warm–up exercise for sending. I then continue with the sending exercise indicated in the Training Companion for the present day. I work on sending with the indicated "T..." file (converted to speech–file) for about 15 minutes.
Then I train receiving. I begin with a preparatory exercise RX Training Prep. This exercise is done for about three minutes and at a speed of 5 to 15 wpm higher than the present speed for the (standard) RX Word Training. An "A..." or "K..." file is chosen for this preparatory exercise, that allows, now and then, to copy a word at the elevated speed. Then I continue with one of the files "A..." or "K...", or by listening to a continuous Morse Code audio book (EBK), according to the Training Companion, for about 15 minutes.
For the exercises indicated by "EBK", plain text files (edited passages of books etc.) are converted to Morse Code audio book files (mp3). Programs like ebook2cw[8] by Fabian Kurz, DJ5CW, are suitable for this conversion.- The archive DF7TV Morse Code Training Companion[3] contains blank templates of various file formats and a sample for the Training Companion. A printout of my present Training Companion is placed on my desk as "gentle reminder". It's a daily pleasure, after having done the planned exercises or after a number of QSOs at the present speed limit, to insert a check mark.
To prepare for the daily training, a Sending Practice Warm–Up file[4] is used. After a while, I knew all lines of the Warm–Up file by heart. Since then I do this exercise without looking at the document. An improved sending of the sentence "The quick brown fox..." when it occurs for the second time further down the document — That's the main purpose of this preparatory exercise.
After the warm-up, I continue to train sending Morse Code by listening to a spoken word (or to a sequence of spoken words) and then sending it. Speech–files DF7TV-T-2400-Words-NGSL-Spoken-MP3[5], based on the "T..." files, are provided for that purpose. The speech–files include long pauses for training sending.
For playback of these speech–files, an audio player saving the playback state (currently played track and position) when closing and resuming on next start–up is advantageous (e.g. Audacious, DeaDBeeF or foobar2000). During a training session, I first listen completely to a single word or to a sequence of up to four words. Then, during the long pause (silence), I — once only — try to send it (or them) as accurately as possible.
Here is a short sample speech–file (from "T01...") for single–word training.
Words are separated by pauses of about 7 seconds:
This is is a short sample speech–file (from "T02...") for
training sequences of two words. Sequences are separated by pauses of about 11 seconds:
And here is a short sample speech–file (from "T04...") for
training sequences of four words. Sequences are separated by pauses of about 15 seconds:
The article Using a Dual–Lever Paddle[6] by Chuck Adams,
K7QO shows some techniques that can be used for sending the International
Morse Code with dual–lever paddles.
Ditto CW Player[7] by Billy Francisco, WB1LLY is an outstanding Android Morse Code player app to train the receiving of Morse Code. The "A..." and "K..." files of Randomized Lists of Common English Words[2] may be saved as ADDED files via Ditto CW's menu Exercise selection - ADDED - ADD NEW FILE.
During a training session I listen to the code, try to recognize the word, and then Ditto CW Player[7] will speak the word.
Here is a short recording of the output of Ditto CW Player[7]. Practice file is "A02-200-WORDS-NGSL.TXT" at a speed of 35 wpm:
Apart from the training of single words, listening to a continuous and
meaningful stream of code (Morse Code audio books or QSOs) is a
very rewarding exercise.
A short text passage of the book The Art and Skill of Radio Telegraphy (ASRT) by William G. Pierpont, N0HFF (2002) concerning overlearning has been edited (e.g. replacement of most of the punctuation marks by appropriate numbers of spaces) and then converted to Morse Code audio using ebook2cw[8]. This audio file is an example of a continuous and meaningful stream of Morse Code at 28 wpm:
The same text passage — this time at 35 wpm:
Major parts of N0HFF's book The Art and Skill of Radio Telegraphy (ASRT)
have been considerably edited (first by Chuck, W5UXH, then by myself) in a way that,
when converted to Morse Code audio by ebook2cw[8], the audio file provides a
pleasant flow of Morse Code. Just like in a real–world conversational QSO.
The according UTF-8 encoded txt–file is provided as archive
N0HFF-ASRT-2002-edited-UTF-8.zip[9].
There is no magic bullet for improvements in Morse Code proficiency.
So I just enjoy having QSOs and doing exercises.
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Keith Chambers, G0HKC and Christian M Bravo, W4ALF for being my advisors in CW Academy[10] courses in 2020 and to Christopher Mason, G4UZE for proofreading of the August 2023 version of this page.
CU 73
Tom