Tuesday, January 30, 2024

My quest to learn CW (2)

   This is my second blogpost about my quest to learn CW. Not that I'm against the use of a computer decoder but because I just want to decode morse with my own brain. So I continue the quest and will try to update my blog with the progress I make every month.

In my previous blogpost about the subject I wrote I was not able to learn from LCWO.net. I continued to use morsemania on my phone and did an every day 1-15 minute practice with morsemachine on 28 wpm. The problem is that I got a bit bored with morsemachine only, I wanted to take it a step further. So I went back to the Learn CW Online website and changed settings. The original settings were way too fast for me and despite LCWO gives the advice to not learn below 15 wpm effective I now learn with a speed of 28 wpm and 8 wpm effective speed. 28 wpm because you only learn the sound of each letter above a speed of 27 wpm. 8 wpm effective speed because above this speed it is way too fast for me, I also need to find the letter on my keyboard. The plan is now to finish all 40 lessons and then increase the effective speed by one and do all 40 lesson again etc. etc. Yes, this takes time....but I was already counting on that. In between I will try to do the word/numbers training and hopefully in the future the text and callsign training.

Find my progress here: https://lcwo.net/profile/PE4BAS

4 comments:

VE9KK said...

Keep it up Bas and as they say slow and easy wins the race! Where you are at right now I would say is the most difficult spot. It is the place most either keep going or stop. There will come a point when it does get more easy. When that time is....well that is an individual thing.
73,
Mike
VE9KK

PE4BAS, Bas said...

Hello Mike, I think I'm past the "stop" thing which I had in the past. I really want to persevere this time. I already did a "callsign" training yesterday. It didn't went well but that doesn't matter. Actually I like to learn this and I'm having fun. 73, Bas

John AE5X said...

Bas, I thought I was about to work you on CW yesterday...I was operating on 15m from a Florida park and a PE4 station called me. QSB prevented me from hearing the suffix but eventually I heard PE4I who was also in a park. I wanted it to be you. Next time, and good luck with your progress!

73, John

PE4BAS, Bas said...

I can imagine that John. But it is very unlikely you'll hear me on work days. I'm almost only active in the weekends. I've been looking at the PE4I QRZ page and see he's quite new in the Netherlands and very active as POTA operator. Never heard him actually. There are not many PE4 stations in the Netherlands. Hope to meet you agian sometime. 73, Bas