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HABITUATION
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We know that HABITUATION is one of the best practices for becoming proficient in CW.
I'm still working at a company so I cannot get QRV every day.
I participate in every MST - Medium Speed Test on Monday, AWT - A1CLUB Weekly Test, and CWT - CWops Weekly Test, both on Wednesday.
I'm not a contestant, but the CALLING CQ in the contests results in better decode proficiency and also develops a tough mind toward the very fast WPM call back. hihi
And then, the weekend is the time to brush up on my CW skills.
"CQ SKCC" at my 7-9AM JST on Saturday and Sunday is to establish better keying on my straight key. A1NET and FEANET develop my Morse words and expressions.
What is your HABITUATION?
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
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Hi Hiro-san
About 10 years or so ago, I have used to QRV every late evening around 7026 and have enjoyed ragchew with early birds in west/middle of US.
But now most of buddies were disappeared (quit QRV, moved east or Silent Keyed) and I myself is also getting old so it's a bit hard to stay awake late in the evening.
So my little habituation is to join the local NETs, such as FISTS East Asia Net and A1 NET.
73 Atsu JE1TRV/JS2AHG
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ATSU-san,
TNX for your comments on this thread.
What was your 40m antenna 10yrs ago? My inverted V dipole doesn't catch many W guys in our evenings and nights.
Yes, we are getting older and cannot stay awake after 10PM.
However, now we tend to wake up earlier like 5 or 6AM, right?
We are just in the age of making good use of the early time zone. hi
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
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The 40m band antenna of my station JE1TRV was AFA-40, 2 element phased array made by Create Design Co. Japan. Photo attached.
As you know, high level of noise is the biggest issue when receiving DX signals and, vertical antenna is good for DX but not so good for receiving noise.
As same, Inverted-dipole is worse than horizontal-dipole on receiving noise level.
Many says, Loop antenna is better than dipole on receiving noise level.
Hiro-san, you have good antenna tower so try to put up horizontal or loop antenna.
73 de JE1TRV Atsu
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It's a HUGE 40m HB9CV which never fits in my small yard. hihi
Also 40m full-sized wire delta loop is too large to fit in my yard, I suppose.
Maybe the 17m length wire loop antenna with ATU is the choice I can add to my yard. But I wonder if this kind of loop antenna reduces low-band noise or not.
Before winter comes, I'll maintain my 3.5/7/10MHz dipoles for less noise.
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
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Hello Hiro-san,
In 1979 I got my first "small" license which allowed me to use VHF/UHF.
To get a "big" license for the shortwave bands a CW exam was necessary.
So I learned CW using a course on music cassettes and in 1980 I got my present
call sign, after passing the exam (12 wpm) with a straight key.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Tue, Sep 10, 2024 at 12:57 AM, HIRO, JJ1FXF wrote:
We know that HABITUATION is one of the best practices for becoming proficient
in CW.
I'm still working at a company so I cannot get QRV every day.
I participate in every MST - Medium Speed Test on Monday, AWT - A1CLUB Weekly
Test, and CWT - CWops Weekly Test, both on Wednesday.
I'm not a contestant, but the CALLING CQ in the contests results in better
decode proficiency and also develops a tough mind toward the very fast WPM
call back. hihi
And then, the weekend is the time to brush up on my CW skills.
"CQ SKCC" at my 7-9AM JST on Saturday and Sunday is to establish better keying
on my straight key. A1NET and FEANET develop my Morse words and expressions.
What is your HABITUATION?
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
|
Hello again Hiro-san,
SORRY -- somehow I pressed the SEND button to early....
...from 1980 to about 2020 I have been active at speeds of about 20 wpm and never felt it to be necessary to
do higher speeds and only occasionally participated in contests. I did a lot of portable activities with QRP rigs
and in mode CW.
Then in 2020 (covid-time) I participated in an Advanced Course of CWAcademy (CWops). That has been the time
when I started to like higher speeds in CW. Our advisor gave us the "100 most frequent english words" mp3 file as
an additional exercise. It has been fun to observe, that even after a week or two of daily exercising copying with that file -- remarkable progress was achieved. By the end of the course I had achieved about 25 wpm.
Well - then in 2021 I decided to do something comparable to a course to improve my CW proficiency. At present I am only QRV once/twice per week from a club station. So I had to build a personal training setup for exercises that I could do at home.
That has been a good decision, because it is really fun to observe progress, when doing exercises on a daily basis.
I do this for about 30 minutes, start with training sending (dual-lever paddle) and then continue with training receiving. My training setup is shown at .
For sure - being at the club station and having real QSOs is fun too. QSOs at speeds above 30 wpm are rare today. But there are tools (RBN etc.) to find stations calling at the desired speed and there are frequencies known for QRQ as well.
Even, if there is only one QSO out of 10, that is at my present speed limit, it has been a "good time" at the club station. But the value of a QSO for me does not depend upon the speed, but the content. So it may happen that I "talk" with the QSO partner about antennas for half an hour at QRS.
Your tiltle of the message is correct -- "HABITUATION" -- translated to "DAILY PRACTICE" is the only way to
progress in CW.
73
Tom DF7TV
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Tue, Sep 10, 2024 at 12:57 AM, HIRO, JJ1FXF wrote:
We know that HABITUATION is one of the best practices for becoming proficient
in CW.
I'm still working at a company so I cannot get QRV every day.
I participate in every MST - Medium Speed Test on Monday, AWT - A1CLUB Weekly
Test, and CWT - CWops Weekly Test, both on Wednesday.
I'm not a contestant, but the CALLING CQ in the contests results in better
decode proficiency and also develops a tough mind toward the very fast WPM
call back. hihi
And then, the weekend is the time to brush up on my CW skills.
"CQ SKCC" at my 7-9AM JST on Saturday and Sunday is to establish better keying
on my straight key. A1NET and FEANET develop my Morse words and expressions.
What is your HABITUATION?
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
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Hi Hiro-san! It has been a long time since I haven't turned on my radio because of my busy study. I was used to QRV on 14023(20m), just like I mentioned before, it's the CW market in China. All operators use straight keys on that frequency and many of them are QRP lovers. From April to July this year, I usually QRV on 80m at late night to catch up with EU stations. As you see, I'm a contester&DXer, so I will take part in many contests such as CQWW/CQAA... Last month, my 40-160m antenna was damaged so I can only QRV on the 20m-13cm band now. Anyway Hiro-san, thanks for your A1CLUB T-Shirt that you sent to me! It is very fit and I wear it out every day! BH6BEZ Izumi
We know that HABITUATION is one of the best practices for becoming proficient in CW.
I'm still working at a company so I cannot get QRV every day.
I participate in every MST - Medium Speed Test on Monday, AWT - A1CLUB Weekly Test, and CWT - CWops Weekly Test, both on Wednesday.
I'm not a contestant, but the CALLING CQ in the contests results in better decode proficiency and also develops a tough mind toward the very fast WPM call back. hihi
And then, the weekend is the time to brush up on my CW skills.
"CQ SKCC" at my 7-9AM JST on Saturday and Sunday is to establish better keying on my straight key. A1NET and FEANET develop my Morse words and expressions.
What is your HABITUATION?
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
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DF7TV Tom-san,
Glad to hear from you. TNX for your comment and all the resources.
Instant Word Recognition - IWR is a MUST skill set to achieve fast Morse chat like 35WPM.
I guess I’m not that level yet but I have started training my brain to get used to the 35WPM Morse codes. hi
Morse journey goes on and on.
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
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BH6BEZ IZUMI-chan,
SRI to hear you got a damage on your ANT, maybe by the typhoon which approached us a few weeks ago.
Yes, your study is your 1st priority mission. hi
If you take a rest in btw sturdies, please come to 80m and 40m to participate in the AWT, 12:00Z-13:00Z on Wednesdays.
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Have a good day, IZUMI-chan.
88,
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
Hi Hiro-san,
Great topic!
I wish I could participate regularly in the CWT, but my antenna setup is quite limited. Most of the time, I can't hear anyone, and I must admit, I'm a bit envious of your towers.
However, I make it a point to join every AWT, and I really look forward to those sessions. I also try to have some fun during the big weekend contests whenever I can.
For the past few years, I've been using DF7TV's "Sending Practice Warm-Up" sheets daily, and I've combined them with CW Academy sending drills from WR7Q. This summer, I decided to fully commit to the DF7TV training method. I'm now in the 8th (and final) week, and I've seen significant improvement in both my sending and receiving speeds—my TX has gone from 28wpm to 30wpm, and my RX from 30wpm to 34wpm. I still need plenty of practice with my sending, but this method has clearly helped me make progress.
In terms of daily on-air activity, I enjoy listening for POTA and SOTA activators and making a quick QSO whenever I have the time.
The device that has been most helpful for me is the Ham Radio Solutions "Virtual CW Band." Using the "CW Hotline" device, I can either make online QSOs or practice. The CW decoder shows me when my sending is off or when my spacing isn't quite right. While my sending still needs a LOT of work, I'm committed to improving.
Additionally, I meet twice weekly on Zoom with CW Academy students for an hour or so of sending practice. This is an extension of K5GQ's Advanced class, which I've been part of for almost two years now.
As a relatively new CW operator, I find consistent practice to be essential.
--
73
--
*JP3REM* - Bill
A1C #4246, CWops #3390
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JP3REM Bill-san,
TNX always on AWT.
I also joined POTA and am chasing POTA activators on 40m when high band CONDX isn’t good.
Also I recently joined WWFF - World Wide Flora & Fauna which is like POTA but focusing on the protected areas of Flora & Fauna.
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My QTH called CHIBA prefecture is surrounded by the protected coastline called MINAMI-BOSO Quasi-National Park.
So I think now is the time for me to become a WWFF Activator of CHIBA to let the World know about wonderful nature of CHIBA prefecture. hihi
I got a 4.5mH extendable pole with the tripod and 21/28 delta loop potable antenna.
So you’ll hear “CQ WWFF” sooner by JJ1FXF/P.
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
Hello Bill, What a nice feedback! It's very rare, that I hear of someone using parts of my way of training. I have been doing this now for three to four years and it's still fun. The higher you get in speed, the more effort is needed to achieve a clean sending -- receiving higher speeds is less work-intensive. So - thanks and GL Tom -- On Wed, Sep 11, 2024 at 12:17 AM, Bill - JP3REM wrote:
Hi Hiro-san,
Great topic!
...>
For the past few years, I've been using DF7TV's "Sending Practice Warm-Up"
sheets daily, and I've combined them with CW Academy sending drills from WR7Q.
This summer, I decided to fully commit to the DF7TV training method. I'm now
in the 8th (and final) week, and I've seen significant improvement in both my
sending and receiving speeds—my TX has gone from 28wpm to 30wpm, and my RX
from 30wpm to 34wpm. I still need plenty of practice with my sending, but this
method has clearly helped me make progress.
....> As a relatively new CW operator, I find consistent practice to be essential.
--
73
--
*JP3REM* - Bill
A1C #4246, CWops #3390
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Dear All, thanks so much for this very interesting topic. Made me think the last days, how it is with me, but in my MORSE道 I made some non standard choices, so I'm hesitating to write about it, at first. However with this disclaimer out of the way some thought.
My MORSE道 started only few years ago in the late 40'th, I way maybe too old for the standard training? At least I practice with all the tipps and tricks and significant time effort, but maybe not the success I read every where: I made method ABC and learned perfect morse in 30WPM in 6 weeks.... etc.
I carried a lot of doubts for long time: Maybe I'm not good enough for morse? Will I ever learn it? Should I better make FT8, because it's easier?
But there is one thing I just can NOT do: Give up! I just always persist, particular when things seems to be difficult: perseverance is the name of the game. So in order to ensue this I set only one rule for me self: It need to be fun! I don't have other goal like WPM X in Y month, if it's not fun and this is reflected in daily routine. I notice I made the biggest progress after I gave up on often recommended farnsworth method on the advice from elmer in the local radio club. I handle the morse key as a music instrument. My elmer is really fast and HSC member, but as he advice the speed was increased without particular training.? As I had fear to go on air I found one practice was very helpful for me as beginner: I did 1 CW QSO a day from a complete month. (If I could not make 1 QSO on one day I made 2 the next day. :-)
I love to listen to the sound of morse code, when possible on the air. If possible with the radio, but if access is limited, than at least with WebSDR (running own Kiwi-SDR). If not even this access is given I use youtube video recording (conversational QSO). I personally do not so much like 599 QSO's. If I need to commute (train/car) I created MP3 files with ebook2cw ( / Software: Fabian Kurz (DJ5CW) )
For sending I used Morserino, until I recognized differences on the keyer implementation on the radio. Also here I didn not precess directly to the target. Here in Europe IAMBIC A is more common and this is what I used with my first radio from Yaesu, just to learn that rest of the world seem to prefer IAMBIC B, and particular my new ICOM 7300. Changing from A to B be set me back for quire a while, just to discover that different transceivers and keyers are not implementing it consistency (see "all about squeeze-keying):? Meanwhile I'm back on sending practice, but build my complete own practice keying program ( ). To practice conversational morse code, I use the software frequently and just keying text coming into my mind, typically what I have done yesterday or how the lunch was or anything that just jumps into my mind. I find it very helpful to practice CW rag chew.
Meanwhile I find conversational QSO much easier, but to avoid trouble with picking up call signs, I started (if possible daily) morse runner session (software contest simulator) that I ported to MacOS, as I don't run windows. Trying to improve score step-by-step. Even I'm not a contest guy I spontaneous jointed into AWT or last week CWT. I feel fine with AWT (in Japan, maybe 25-30WPM), but CWT (Europe) was running 35-40WPM, this was quite a challenge and I cheated by confirming some call signs to be correct on CW Club RBN Spotter ( Also I enjoyed last week very much the "DARC CW Ausbildungscontest" (German CW practice contest), where I could be running station with QRS (about 20 WPM). Worked K1USN SST before, but at its dominated by US station and I have only a wire antenna, so I can not be the running station, but just search and pounce big guns for DX.
This is not at all the standard MORSE道, but this are my habits that I have. Most of it is about having fun and enjoyment and to exchange information with others on the air :-)
BEST 73 DE DJ1TF - JJ1QPB / Thomas
Hello Bill,
What a nice feedback!
It's very rare, that I hear of someone using parts of my way of training.
I have been doing this now for three to four years and it's still fun.
The higher you get in speed, the more effort is needed to achieve a clean sending -- receiving higher speeds is less work-intensive.
So - thanks and GL
Tom
--
On Wed, Sep 11, 2024 at 12:17 AM, Bill - JP3REM wrote:
>
> Hi Hiro-san,
>
> Great topic!
>
...>
>
> For the past few years, I've been using DF7TV's "Sending Practice Warm-Up"
> sheets daily, and I've combined them with CW Academy sending drills from WR7Q.
> This summer, I decided to fully commit to the DF7TV training method. I'm now
> in the 8th (and final) week, and I've seen significant improvement in both my
> sending and receiving speeds—my TX has gone from 28wpm to 30wpm, and my RX
> from 30wpm to 34wpm. I still need plenty of practice with my sending, but this
> method has clearly helped me make progress.
>
....> As a relatively new CW operator, I find consistent practice to be essential.
>
> --
> 73
> --
> *JP3REM* - Bill
> A1C #4246, CWops #3390
>
|
DJ1TF/JJ1QPB Thomas-san,
Thanks for letting us know your brilliant Morse 道 (DOU = road to the truth).
Reading all the posts, it seems most of you focus on so-called "HEAD COPY", copying the Morse codes in the brain and communicating over the air without dictating.
OMs say that it takes 10yrs or more but you can certainly make the HEAD COPY to some degree.
There are many newcomers to the A1CLUB who are older than 60yo but have just started learning CW.
HAM Radio is the king of hobby and the CW is the Queen of lifelong learning. hi
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
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Hello Hiro-san and Thomas,
A further remark:
Turning from writing down a received message to head copying is a major step in making progress.
At around 25 wpm it becomes a condition, because, at least hand-writing is no longer fun.
The moment when you go over to head copying is not without some hesitation.
When I did it (2020)... for sure there were situations when I could not get every word...I sometimes tried to return to hand-writing -- but
that made things even worse.
During a QSO, if you can't really follow the ideas of your QSO partner and get his questions correctly, you get nervous and, most probably, prefer to say something like "I got a phone call, got to walk the dog, etc. :) and end the contact without having had fun.
But as soon, as you are fit in head copying (having thrown away all pencils), it is such a great improvement and makes QSOs to be relaxed like talking at the phone. That's also the moment, when getting to higher speeds is more and more fun.
Believe it or not: It is easier to copy a continuous flow of Morse Code at 35 wpm than at 25 wpm. That's just because the content comes in a
more fluent way. You got to develop a certain relaxtness -- meaning you are no longer a CW student, who got to do the things 100% perfect to make his coach/elmer happy.
In exercises: Just do your best; you got to go to your limits to improve and you got to accept making mistakes.
In QSOs: Only work at speeds, at which you are comfortable.
Stay cool -- it's only a hobby --
73
Tom
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Tue, Sep 17, 2024 at 12:28 AM, HIRO, JJ1FXF wrote:
DJ1TF/JJ1QPB Thomas-san,
Thanks for letting us know your brilliant Morse 道 (DOU = road to the truth).
Reading all the posts, it seems most of you focus on so-called "HEAD COPY",
copying the Morse codes in the brain and communicating over the air without
dictating.
OMs say that it takes 10yrs or more but you can certainly make the HEAD COPY
to some degree.
There are many newcomers to the A1CLUB who are older than 60yo but have just
started learning CW.
HAM Radio is the king of hobby and the CW is the Queen of lifelong learning.
hi
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
|
...and another remark:
There has been a ham, who trained copying call signs.
On one day, he has been totally surprised that he was able to copy two call signs in a row correctly at an extremely high speed.
On an email list he asked "How could that happen?"
I will always remember the answer of DJ5CW, Fabian Kurz (let's say - the German CW champion)
Only coarsely cited:
"Sometimes it is more a question of psychology...your brain may be able to copy, but you are just thinking -- you can't --"
That's what I meant by "relaxtness" or better "tranquility" -- Just let the code arrive, don't think.
73
Tom
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Tue, Sep 17, 2024 at 03:06 PM, Tom DF7TV wrote:
Hello Hiro-san and Thomas,
A further remark:
Turning from writing down a received message to head copying is a major step
in making progress.
At around 25 wpm it becomes a condition, because, at least hand-writing is no
longer fun.
The moment when you go over to head copying is not without some hesitation.
When I did it (2020)... for sure there were situations when I could not get
every word...I sometimes tried to return to hand-writing -- but
that made things even worse.
During a QSO, if you can't really follow the ideas of your QSO partner and get
his questions correctly, you get nervous and, most probably, prefer to say
something like "I got a phone call, got to walk the dog, etc. :) and end the
contact without having had fun.
But as soon, as you are fit in head copying (having thrown away all pencils),
it is such a great improvement and makes QSOs to be relaxed like talking at
the phone. That's also the moment, when getting to higher speeds is more and
more fun.
Believe it or not: It is easier to copy a continuous flow of Morse Code at 35
wpm than at 25 wpm. That's just because the content comes in a
more fluent way. You got to develop a certain relaxtness -- meaning you are no
longer a CW student, who got to do the things 100% perfect to make his
coach/elmer happy.
In exercises: Just do your best; you got to go to your limits to improve and
you got to accept making mistakes.
In QSOs: Only work at speeds, at which you are comfortable.
Stay cool -- it's only a hobby --
73
Tom
On Tue, Sep 17, 2024 at 12:28 AM, HIRO, JJ1FXF wrote:
DJ1TF/JJ1QPB Thomas-san,
Thanks for letting us know your brilliant Morse 道 (DOU = road to the
truth).
Reading all the posts, it seems most of you focus on so-called "HEAD COPY",
copying the Morse codes in the brain and communicating over the air without
dictating.
OMs say that it takes 10yrs or more but you can certainly make the HEAD COPY
to some degree.
There are many newcomers to the A1CLUB who are older than 60yo but have just
started learning CW.
HAM Radio is the king of hobby and the CW is the Queen of lifelong learning.
hi
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
|
DF7TV Tom-san,
Thanks for your comment.
The Hand Copy and the Head Copy are the points where we enjoy with CW.
While I was in the Hand Copy, I enjoyed decoding the Morse code.
When I turn to the Head Copy, I enjoy communicating over the Morse code.
Both are fun. So I would like to do both.
// HIRO, JJ1FXF
|
HIRO, JJ1FXF
ATSU JE1TRV/JS2AHG
Tom DF7TV
Izumi Chino BH6BEZ