Tag: Morse Code

Empty Calories

SKCC SKM results as of January 28th.

I have been spending too much time chasing K3Y activators. Don’t get me wrong – I appreciate those SKCC folks who have signed up for hour and two hour long slots to make contacts. I can only imagine not only the work that goes into organizing the Straight Key Month but sitting a sixty minute shift logging contacts is serious work.

At first I thought I would just be focused on getting a sweep for the callsign areas. Then I wanted to get a sweep of all nineteen unique K3Y areas. Then I wanted to try and fill in fifty band slots.

… and its fun, but not as much fun as having a real QSO. The rapid SKCC exchange just leaves me wanting more.

And I have had (and will continue to have) real QSOs while making SKCC contacts – just not in the context of a rapid exchange.

I am excited to have worked many SKCC DX stations this month; New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Israel, Japan, Hawaii, and Alaska. I will count the Yukon Territory as well. Making these contacts were cool. Many of these were ATNO (all time new ones) as CW contacts. And I doubt I will ever achieve CW DXCC unless contacts are made in some sort of contest.

In the end I think I get more satisfaction in having a real exchange with another op in Ohio (or Texas or wherever). Monitoring a watering hole, listening for a CQ, and having a chat.

Straight Key Month – SKCC

January is straight key month! The Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) sponsors the event. Across the 10 US call areas and around the world SKCC operators are using the K3Y/# to make contacts. I have been lucky to work a fair amount of contacts and qualified for the sweep award.

I have really enjoyed being a member of SKCC as they have really helped me improve my Morse code skills. When you call CQ on an SKCC frequency, chances are you’ll receive an answer from a patient op who is understanding of those trying to grow their Morse skills. I am very appreciative of all the operators who helped support this event.

What’s Going On In The Shack

The big news, we finally completed some antenna maintenance. A few years back I hung a dipole up in the trees on the north side of the house. The weather took its toll. The line holding the center point had disintegrated, dropping the middle about ten feet. The east leg also lost its anchor and was resting on some branches. A sad situation.

This time I used heavy support line on all three support points. I also used my CSV19 Pneumatic Antenna Launcher, which worked great as always. I need to some finishing work, but I hope the antenna is good for at least the next six months.

What I will try to do, if I get the time and the weather cooperates, is place pulleys up in the trees I normally use to secure the ends of the dipole. I am also going to try to put up a 260 feet dipole and see if I can mess around with 160M… of which I really have had little experience with.

Progress is being made with the Morse code. I have written before about my winding path in learning the code. I had a good time this past summer on our camping trip making Morse contacts from the mobile (while parked) and using a J-45 leg key.

J-45 leg key

In the shack I have been making my way through the different levels of the SKCC (Straight Key Century Club). I had joined the organization way back in 2007, not to long after SKCC was established, but had not done too much with it. When I finally embraced the idea of using a straight key, I used my SKCC membership number to gain experience by taking part in QSOs with other SKCC folks (you almost always hear the CQ SKCC on the CW subbands). I would exchange numbers but never tried to work through the membership levels (Centurion, Tribune, and Senator). I did not want to spend a lot of time messing with extra logs or any type of additional paperwork. Then I discovered the SKCC Logger, a custom designed piece of software that will take your existing logfile and process the log for the appropriate data needed to submit for climbing through the ranks.

Although I am not able to get on the air everyday, I try to get on five days out of the week and log three or four Morse contacts. Before I get on air, I put in about ten to fifteen minutes practicing receiving and sending. My end goal is to reach a proficiency level of 20 words per minute. And I define “proficient” as being able to hand copy text without error for one minute. I need to take a look at ARRL’s Qualifying Runs and see when I can see where I am at.

To take the new dipole for a spin, I spent part of the last two weekends participating in OMISS nets. OMISS is a worked all states net. Last weekend was the 40M net, this weekend I tried 80M. I had not participated in a net since early 2020. The net controllers and participants are always great. Last night on 80M I ended up having a ton of contacts with some great reports, convincing me that the new dipole is doing the job.

Morse Code Journey

I initially set out to learn Morse code because it was required to upgrade to General. After returning to the States from overseas in early 2005, I knew I wanted to upgrade my license and start working HF. To upgrade I needed to pass the 5 wpm Element 1 Morse code exam. I really did not have a great interest in learning Morse code: digital modes and SSB seemed like enough. So I went to Code Quick and purchased their program of learning Morse. Code Quick uses sound-a-likes to associate Morse code letters with a short word combination and graphic image. Example: for the letter U, the Morse is dit-di-dah. Code Quick’s sound-a-like was “kiss-a-ewe.” The rhythm of the syllable of the sound-a-like matches the rhythm of the Morse. Great idea, right? I can credit Code Quick for getting me to where I needed to be to pass Element 1. I was now on HF and making contacts. Life was good.

After a few months of SSB and PSK-31 contacts (do you remember PSK-31? It was all the rage back in the aughts). Adjacent to the PSK-31 I would heard the chirping of Morse code. I bought a Bencher paddle and a MFJ paddle with a built in keyer. Also picked up a Logikit CMOS 4 Morse Code Keyer.

Frustrated with my abilities to engage in any real QSOs, I took advantage of my local clubs Morse code class. The gentlemen who were running it said we needed to start with straight keys, not paddles. After we had learned the code, built up speed, we could use a paddle. They did not explain why. I stuck with the paddle. I got one of the MFJ-418 Pocket Morse Code tutor. I never got into a habit of regular practice. I was able to complete a QSO now and again, but it was the other side doing the heavy lifting. I could send pretty well with a paddle. I relied on Fldigi to help me understand what the other station was sending. In short, I was making very little progress.

Time was rolling by. I stuck with the paddle. When I was in Korea I participated in my first CW contest. I used the Logikit CMOS keyer along with a paddle. It really was a push-button affair, not relying on any real skill.

In the fall of 2015 I purchased Dr. Jessica Parks’ Skilman Introduction to Morse Code. Audio CD based, Skilman incorporates copying and sending. She also is explicit about practice occurring where you actually intend to use the code. Replicate the conditions in which you plan to use the skill you are practicing – that makes sense. I also started using another Morse course by K7QO. He emphasized using a notebook for practice sessions.

At this point I had completed my certification as an elementary school teacher, well versed in various theories supporting educational practice. Some specific ideas from my training stood out. One was automaticity: the quality or fact of being performed involuntarily or unconsciously, as a reflex, innate process, or ingrained habit. This can be most recognized in learning the multiplication/division tables. I had seen students be much more success with learning long division when they had memorized the multiplication/division tables to the point where their recall was automatic…. no thought involved, just immediate recall. Circling back to Code Quick – it prevents any ability to immediately recall Morse code characters as the sound-a-likes introduce a three step process: (a) hear the code, (b) associate with sound-a-like, (c) and then write the Morse character. Code Quick prevents automaticity.

The other theory is kinesthetic learning: combing physical movement with cognitive processing. And then it clicked… the straight key. Unlike a paddle, the straight key requires muscle memory to form each and every Morse code character. The formation of each character then becomes a seamless process between muscle and brain.

I combined these two theories of automaticity and kinesthetic learning along with Skilman and K7QOs programs. I maintained a practice notebook and always conducted my practice in front of my rig, using the rig’s practice oscillator – replicating the conditions I would use when actually operating. Skilman combined copying code along with sending, the perfect combination of automaticity and kinesthetic learning.

I was frustrated when trying to find QSOs and constantly bumping into the SKCC crowd. Who were these fanatics? While having a SKCC number, I was using a paddle. If I switched to a straight key, not only would I be working the kinesthetic portion of the Morse connection, I would have the opportunity to make more contacts. More contacts = more real world practice. Amazingly enough, I started making real progress. At no time could I ever commit anything beyond thirty minutes a day to practice. Eventually I got to the point with Skilman that I could copy and send around 7 wpm without issue. I was able to get on air and make QSOs with those willing to slow down a bit.

I turned to Gordon West WB6NOA’s 5-16 wpm Morse code speed builder course. About half way through at around 10 wpm, I became tripped up by numbers and punctuation. Morse Code Ninja was the next step. I needed to bump up my wpm. Morse Code Ninja uses Farnsworth: learning the character sounds at a moderately fast speed by increasing the gaps between the characters and words to give more recognition time. Going through at 20 wpm with 10 wpm Farnsworth allowed me to work on both speed and numbers/punctuation. Then I moved to 25 wpm with 10 wpm Farnsworth spacing.

I could now get on air and can hand copy about 12-15wpm, depending on if they added any additional spacing between letters. Back to WB6NOA, I could still make forward progress. At last I was no longer internally throwing in the Quick Code extra steps of processing sound-a-likes. The increased speed of Morse Code Ninja got me to stop counting dots for numbers, learning the sound instead – not thoughts in between, just sound to hand writing down the character. I still have a long ways to go. My goal is to be comfortable at copying and sending at 20 wpm without any additional spacing and to begin to copy words instead of characters. At this point, my straight key sending is trailing behind my copying speed. I am ok with that. The straight key speed will come. I do not have plans to switch back to paddle any time soon and I want to make sure my straight key sending is as near perfect as possible. Accuracy transcends speed.

Here are my lessons learned for learning Morse code:

  • Use a straight key (see automaticity and kinesthetic learning)
  • Combine the initial learning of the code with copying and sending (see Skilman)
  • Get on the air as much as possible
  • Use a mix of resources to consistently push yourself outside of your comfort zone
  • Practice should involve sending as well as copying code
  • Conduct your practice sessions where you are going to actually use the code
  • Use a notebook for all your practice and on air copying

Many people (CWOps?) would disagree with the method and the recommendations I provide above. I do not disagree with those who want to only head copy code and use a paddle. I think that road works well for those who are really interested in contesting. I’m not interested in contesting. Those who head copy only lack the ability to use Morse for anything beyond causal QSOs.

The journey continues.

Getting the J-38 into the fight

I have an old J-38 that I bought a few years back and it has remained in a storage container in the shack for too long. I got the key out today and connected it to the rig – it works, but is not much to look at. The goal is to get her to look good as well as sound good. Lots of advice concerning how to clean a J-38.

K6IX offers up the following:

Here is the method I use to clean my J-38 keys. Some key collectors believe that keys should be left exactly as they are found, but considering the construction, materials, and ubiquity of J-38 keys, I think that carefully and gently cleaning them is appropriate. Do not, under any conditions use wire brushes or other highly abrasive methods.

1. Disassemble the key. Look carefully for, and set aside, the positioning pins in the binding posts (if they are loose) and all of the fiber washers. Put the bakelite and hard rubber parts in soapy water. Put the metal parts in ammonia. Let both soak overnight. Don’t panic, because some of the metal parts will turn black.

2. Carefully wash off the bakelite/rubber parts. If the two knobs are very dull I sometimes us black shoe polish on them. The bakelite you can carefully clean with Flitz (see below) if it is still dirty or discolored.

3. The metal parts I clean first with “Nevr-dull”. It is a “wadding polish” product that I get here in a hardware store, but I think it is also sold in boat stores, grocery stores, auto stores, etc. It is manufactured by The George Basch Co., Inc., Freeport, New York, 11520, USA.

4. Then I clean some of the larger metal parts with “Flitz”, which is a metal/fiberglass cleaner made in West Germany and packaged in the USA by Flitz International, Ltd., WI 53185. It is available in boat stores, and I buy it from West Marine on the internet (www.westmarine.com). Just get a very small tube of it–it goes a long way. Flitz protects the metal from corrosion.

The most important step is #1. The soaking makes a big difference!

Another recommends soaking the metal parts in ammonia overnight and then the grime wipes off the next day.

Here’s another write up where bore cleaner (apparently ammonia-based) was used and met with good results.

Before I get too far along, I need to make sure all the adjustments and springs are still in working order.

More to follow.