Morse Code
Why I LOVE It and You Can Too!!- By Popeye
I was doing some testing with a fellow radio operator, located several hours away and he was shocked that we were easily communicating at one Watt of power using low, wire antennas. We used a digital mode for this testing, but I tapped a little code as a demonstration and he – though he does not speak Morse- heard it easily and was in awe that – if he DID know Morse, he would understand it easily at ONLY one Watt. Next we went to SSB voice to discuss the days' testing. We turned it up to 100 Watts, because of the static level. He's a new ham radio operator and began to LAUGH! "Man, we were exchanging e-mail over radio at one Watt, and I even hear your Morse, but on voice need 100 Watts and it's still scratchy!". I told him that he just gained years of knowledge in the last few minutes, because he saw side-by-side how power-hungry voice is compared to either digital modes or Morse code. Now, he is sold on the concept!
We are going to focus on Morse code as used by ham radio operators world-wide on the shortwave bands.
If you hear hams talking about ‘CW’ , we’re talking about sending Morse code. We often use the two terms interchangeably, though it’s not strictly correct, it is a habit. “CW” stands for ‘continuous wave’ which is a way to SEND Morse code, not Morse itself.
Why Learn & Use Morse Code?
Digital modes used for AmRRON require – at a minimum – a ‘newer’ SSB capable HF transceiver with digital display, and very low frequency drift, a computer with the proper software, usually a device to ‘interface’ the computer and radio transceiver together and ALL stations communicating in digital need this and the power to keep it all going. Possible, however not the easiest during a grid-down situation.
Digital modes ARE great in low signal/high noise conditions, but did you know that Morse/CW is too?! Yes, with no computer, and a simple transceiver, even an inexpensive ‘old one’ costing a fraction of a ‘standard’ SSB capable ham radio transceiver and a wire antenna, a ham can reliably communicate using CW on power so low, that voice would be impossible. Government and Maritime radio research showed that to ‘transfer the same intelligence’ an HF voice signal requires 13 to 18 dB more power under identical conditions. Translated: Morse code is AS EFFECTIVE while using only 1/20th the power of a comparable voice transmission.
By learning Morse code, you can have a very small, lite and EFFECTIVE transceiver to carry with you in a Bug-out-bag, or to use from home.
How to Learn Morse Code!
This is the BEST time to learn the Morse code for ham radio – yessss reeeeealy! There are some very good resources on-line and FREEware programs to use off-line, which are made to suit various tastes. First, read and HEED this:
WARNING: DO NOT USE ANY CHART, GRAPH, FLASHCARDS, OR PICTURE TO MEMORIZE MORSE AT ANY TIME – NEVER!
Morse code is a language of sounds and these sounds must be learned. Printed ‘DOTS and DASHES’ confuse your learning process and have caused needless delay and anguish for more than 100 years. Learn what Morse SOUNDS like, and you’ll learn it about as easily as you learn a new word.
Sorry to say, if you have seen “Learn Morse code in One Minute – Easily!”
……. it’s …. hmmm, (how shall I put this politely??)
So, don’t YOU step in a big pile of ‘snake oil’, instead listen to old Popeye, because he knows that scientific studies conducted since the early 1920’s onward demonstrated quite clearly that the fastest, easiest and most enduring way to learn the Morse code was to send the letters at a normal radio speed of 18 to 22 words per minute (wpm) BUT leave a long space after each letter to allow the student’s mind time to recognize what they heard and write the letter on paper. This is generally called either the Koch or Farnsworth method. The letters/numbers individually was 18-22 wpm, but the total speed is usually low, like 5 wpm while learning. It’s proven, it works and it WILL get you up to speed faster and more easily than any other method. Send the Morse characters at normal speed and let the long gap between allow your mind to process what you’ve heard.
On-Line Tools To Learn Morse
www.justlearnmorsecode.com
www.lcwo.net
http://www.g4fon.net/ & Download the ‘Morse Trainer’
I’ve had many friends who used these and the results were quite good! I KNOW that it works, because they told me so in Morse code via HF radio!
30 Minutes Per Day
I highly recommend that -just like starting at the gym- rather than OVERTRAINING and then giving-up, a practical , daily schedule be used, and that is 30 minutes per day. Sit down in a quiet room, put on your earphones/buds and do your code for 30 minutes. Some days, you’ll want to do more and that is fine, but do it! Hear the sound, recognize the letter an write it down. Do not rush, and it’s actually preferred to ‘copy behind’. That is, when you hear the first letter, you don’t pounce, you wait until about the time of the second letter before you write the first. This gives your brain time to chew on what it has heard. At 25 words per minute, while copying maritime weather, I tend to copy 1-2 letters behind. Did I mention, have FUN! Hard work can still be enjoyable and think of how cool it will be, to be out in the woods, with a tiny radio, that you might have built yourself (yes reeeealy!) and able to talk with hams out to almost any distance using solar recharged batteries.
Here’s a little inspiration
https://amrron.com/2014/01/27/small-radio-conversation-from-over-800-miles-away-every-day/
And more inspiration: Go to Youtube and search “SOTA Goats QRP” and start watching. You will see ham radio operators with tiny radios, usually on remote mountain tops, talking all over the place. Notice anything? The majority of them operate ONLY Morse code for the long haul communication. Last week, I talked with a ham doing just this. He was on a mountain top in Slovenia, using a tiny “QRP” Morse radio and I was using mine from home. I’d have never heard him in voice at that low power level with a quick-up antenna, but in Morse, it was a conversation – how cool is that?
Haaar! Popeye
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All About the Telegraph and Deciphering Morse Code Text
Below is (a link to) an EXCELLENT paper on Morse Code and the Telegraph, and their history. It was written as a school paper by a bright young lady, Corrine, and contributed to AmRRON to add to this posting on Morse Code. This was for a ‘Famous Inventors and Inventions’ project she’s working on for her technology class. Her teacher thought it would be fun for the class to learn about a new invention or technology each week that changed history. The students are then required write a short paper about what they learned, and how it impacted society.
Read and enjoy by clicking on the link below!
Great article. Right in line with what I have heard. The only “hard” part is the 30 a day sessions……. Will be easier once I get my station up and running.