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1-6 of 6 messages
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Morse code, any crediance to the Koch Method?
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by KB9PZM on October 7, 2009
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Hey All-
I know morse code isn't required anymore for ham licensing, but I am wondering if anyone has any opinions about using the koch method to learn code? Anyone tried it? Is it effective?
If this is in the wrong forum, let me know so I can move it over.
73s
Steve
kb9pzm
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RE: Morse code, any crediance to the Koch Method?
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by KB1LKR on October 7, 2009
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You may get more replies in the CW forum, particularly given that CW proficiency is no longer a licensing requirement in many countries, USA included.
One major attraction to Koch (& Farnsworth) is you start at fast enough character speeds to hear the rhythms of the characters, not discrete dits and dats, which is the thing you need to learn/know to make Morse code usable at practical speeds (at least for audible code -- I'm not sure about visual, e.g. Navy Aldis lamps)
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RE: Morse code, any crediance to the Koch Method?
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by K7KBN on October 7, 2009
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Again, people have been learning Morse code since before Koch and Farnsworth were born.
Learn the code (receiving AND SENDING) and get on the air. Don't worry about the method.
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RE: Morse code, any credence to the Koch Method?
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by N2EY on October 8, 2009
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"people have been learning Morse code since before Koch and Farnsworth were born."
That's true, but it's not the issue.
There are all kinds of ways to learn something, and some ways work better than others. The "Koch method" seems to work well for most people.
It's not super-complicated, either. All "the Koch method" really amounts to is this:
1) Set up a learning environment (such as a computer with software, a partner, etc.)
2) Pick out two Morse characters and practice with just those two until you reach 90-95% accuracy.
3) Add one new Morse character and practice with just the three until you reach 90-95% accuracy.
4) Keep adding one new Morse character and practice with just the set you've learned until you reach 90-95% accuracy.
5) When you run out of characters to add, you're done.
Think of it as learning to recognize and speak 41 words of a foreign language. Or the beginnings of 41 songs.
If you tried to learn all 41 at once it would be difficult, but if you start with just two, learn them, and keep adding new ones one at a time, it's not going to seem hard at all.
---
Of course the real key to success in learning Morse Code is daily practice. At least 20 minutes a day, every day. For some, two or three short sessions are better than one long session.
The problem many folks have is that they're used to learning facts and concepts, not skills, and they don't realize that learning skills requires different techniques.
It's like losing weight or exercising.
The person who doesn't eat anything one or two days a week but stuffs themselves the rest of the time will not lose weight. But the person who eats sensibly every day will.
The person who "works out" for hours one day a week will not get into better condition as quickly or as well as the person who does the same amount of training but spreads it out over several days per week.
73 es GL de Jim, N2EY
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RE: Morse code, any credence to the Koch Method?
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by AA4PB on October 8, 2009
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The way NOT to learn code is to have the characters sent slow enough that you can count the dits and dahs. That will work until you get to about 5WPM then you will have to re-learn it all. You need to force yourself to hear the rhythm of the complete character right from the start. Then as you continue you will learn to hear the rhythm of complete common words.
You also need to spend some time copying "real operators" sending code. If you get too accustomed to the perfect timing of machine sent code then you will have a difficult time with imperfect timing and the distraction of on-air noise and interference.
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RE: Morse code, any credence to the Koch Method?
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by K7KBN on October 8, 2009
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Six of us Boy Scouts and our Assistant Scoutmaster, back in 1957, learned Morse code - the whole thing - in less than two weeks. It was a total of eight sessions and all of us were sending and receiving 10-12 WPM by that time. No mention of Koch or Farnsworth. No worry about how fast the characters were sent or the spacing thereof - we just learned it, and we learned it well.
Maybe John Morrison should have pioneered a school for teaching and learning code .. but in that era, people just learned it. And again, they learned it well. Without "Koch". Without "Farnsworth".
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