? about G4FON Koch CW training program

[1DMKII]

I like the program a lot but there is no explanation of what "Actual Character Speed" is vs "Effective Code Speed".  Anyone have a clue?

For anyone who would like to try this *free* program you can find it here  http://www.g4fon.net/  (Click on the "trainer Version 8" tab on the left of the screen.

[N6AJR]

they also have a "scoring utility there, Ray did a great job on this.. G4FON.CO.UK is the easy way to learn the code.

the actual speed is how you would send code , say 18 wpm at 18wpm.

some folks (including the VE testing sessions, ) use the farnsworth of 18 wpm speed and spaced at 5wpm.  so you hear the actual code sent at 18 wpm but comes at a 5wpm spacing. this is common.

5wpm sent at 5 wpm is actually harder to hear, daaaaaaahh diiiit  daaaaaaaaah diiiit as opposed to dah_____dit____dah______dit____   and so on. it actually is easier to learn the sound or " song" of the letter in stead of counting dits and dahs..

[KB1LKR]

Actually since July 1, 2001, the National Conf of VEC's switched from 18 WPM/5 WPM Farnsworth (in use since 1989) to 13-15 WPM/5 WPM Farnsworth at 700-1000 Hz. They also dropped the multiple choice answers for the code test. ARRL uses 15WPM characters spaced out to 5 WPM at 750 Hz, not sure about the other VEC's.

Farnsworth method just adds extra space between characters while keeping th echaracters fast enough to have some rhythm to them. Straight 5 WPM w/ 5 wpm characters is painful to listen to!

Anyway, set G4FON for 7 or 9 WPM effective then listen to the differance between 15 WPM  and 20 WPM characters, you'll hear the differance. Practice at a little faster than 5 WPM, say 7 or 9 WPM and the test should feel slow and relaxed.

[K0RFD]

KB1LKR said:

>Practice at a little faster than 5 WPM, say 7 or 9 WPM
>and the test should feel slow and relaxed.

While that might have worked for you, it didn't work for me.  Practice faster than the exam speed and you might start hearing dits and dahs instead of letters.
I blanked out for enough of the exam to have missed one question.  In common parlance, this is known as a "brain fart".

As much as it is useful in the long run to know code faster than the exam speed, it is not useful for passing the exam.  If you want to pass the exam, learn it at the exam speed.  You can go faster later.

[KC8VWM]

I find it is actually harder to learn CW a 5wpm than at a higher speed.

For example, when we speak the English language it is actually more difficult to comprehend someone who is talking very slowly as opposed to someone who is articulating more fluently at a higher speed.

Learning CW is much the same way. I never found any particular advantage to learning CW at slower speeds. In fact, I have always found that learning CW at 5 wpm impairs one ability to effectively articulate the characters when it comes time to actually using it in the real world.

My brain can easily understand CW sent in the 12 - 15 wpm range, however I find myself really shifting gears and struggling to pay attention when it is sent at slower speeds such as 5 wpm.

Of course I also have difficulty when someone is hammering a fist over 25wpm too!

These CW speeds would be the equivelant of hearing those fast talking radio announcers spewing those 5 second disclaimers you often hear at the end of some radio commercials.

Your brain knows someone is talking, but your not 100% sure what is being articulated.

Good Luck!

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