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Author Topic: Which Program worked best for you?  (Read 907 times)

KG4BIB

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Which Program worked best for you?
« on: October 31, 2021, 02:46:00 PM »

I know this has been asked 100+ times ,,,  I finally have the time to dedicate to CW. Years ago I started some cd's which used the Farnsworth method. I have lost them in my last move, Which program did you use ?   What do you recommend ? Thank you for humoring a Old man
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W6MK

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2021, 03:05:05 PM »

The actual program matters relatively little.

The important factors in learning (anything) are:

Having a social angle--doing it with at least one other person or listening to live CW conversations as early as you can in your learning. Human beings are primarily learners from other, imitators. We like to
compare ourselves to others, to compete, etc. All critical to effective learning.

Having fun with it. When I was learning with a friend we spoke to one another in code. Whatever you can come up with to make your learning time enjoyable will greatly improve your memory.

Focus. Do your learning focused on Morse Code only. Multitasking is the best route to frustration and failure.



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K9FV

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2021, 07:07:35 PM »

There are a couple that work pretty much the same, "G4FON Koch Trainer" and "Just learn Morse Code".  Both are good, and I also use a program that can copy the code I sent with the TX set to offline so it doesn't actually TX anything.  A good way to make sure your fist is good.  Have fun and good luck
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N6MST

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2021, 10:19:11 PM »

CW Ops Academy. Hands down.
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K3TN

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2021, 03:39:19 AM »

As a CW Ops member, definitely agree with the CW Ops Academy - lots of volunteers put a lot of time into that.

The Long Island CW Club also has many tools and classes.

The web site Learn CW Online is my favorite online place with different online programs to learn and practice CW.
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John K3TN

K6SDW

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2021, 04:23:50 AM »

What happened to just getting on the air and working other CW stations? New to CW, its ok to send QRS

GL/73
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WY4J

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2021, 04:53:41 AM »

There was no method 45 ago. In my case I used a cassette tape and listened to it for about 15 minutes every day. In about a month I learned the alphabet and numbers 1-10 and then got on the air. I had a cue card with what I wanted to send and tried to copy the call and person's name so I would not sound stupid. Most of the times I had no clue what they were sending through my brain fog. In 3 months I was copying around 15 wpm and passed my general st the NYC FCC office. A few months later I could copy between 25-30 wpm. What worked for me was to get on the air and rag chew with the old timers.
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OZ8AGB

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2021, 06:35:51 AM »

After a long battle with the Kock method I found "The morse machine" in LCWO.
Later I found G4ILO's Morse Machine which is much better and it helped me get through.
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KG4BIB

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2021, 07:37:06 AM »

thank you all for the information. time for talk is over, time to get on with it ... Thanks all...
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K4EMF

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2021, 10:53:12 AM »

CW Ops Academy. Hands down.
Having completed both the intermediate and advanced classes I have to concur.

IF for whatever reason you're not interested in the CWA classes I personally think you should learn the individual characters at at least 20 wpm.  I originally learned CW back in the 70's when 5 wpm was required for the novice exam, so naturally I practiced at 5 wpm.  I swear sometimes that it's still holding me back even after all these years.
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F4GFT

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2021, 12:36:44 PM »

My vote goes to LCWO. It took my almost 4 months to work through the 40 lessons, but I found the course with its progress monitoring highly motivating - more motivating than other methods. In addition to the online lessons, I also downloaded mp3 records of certain lessons to my phone for additional practice while off line. To be honest, I went all the way on my third attempt - I abandoned my first two attempts. I started my third attempt between two job positions, during a time when I knew that nothing big would interfere with my CW learning effort. I consistently worked 2x15 minutes every day, without exceptions.

I also found the LCWO forum helpful; being part of a community struggling together makes things a bit easier when you hit one of those walls which make you think you're too dumb to ever learn CW.
 
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M0LEP

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2021, 02:46:04 PM »

Software's a tool, not a teacher. If you can get on a class of some sort with other people then you'll probably learn a lot faster (and certainly enjoy the process of learning more) than you will just using some program or other.

LCWO, G4FON, JLMC and Morse Machine may help one way or another, or not, but the objective is to be able to communicate with other people, so it's worth involving others in the learning process from the start.

It took my almost 4 months to work through the 40 lessons, but I found the course with its progress monitoring highly motivating - more motivating than other methods.

The Koch method (used one way or another by G4FON, JLMC and LCWO) is one way to learn the characters, and worth a try for a month (or two), but it's only about learning the characters, nothing more, and it doesn't work for everyone. Keep an eye on that progress, and if you're not getting anywhere, try something else. (I made more progress in a month after abandoning Koch than I'd made in two years slogging away on LCWO. Though I sought advice on the LCWO forums, nobody was prepared to say "it shouldn't take that long" to me, though one or two people said "you must be doing it wrong". I've since met quite a few people for whom the Koch method was a hinderance, not a help.)
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ZL1BBW

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2021, 11:26:57 PM »

There was no method 45 ago. In my case I used a cassette tape and listened to it for about 15 minutes every day. In about a month I learned the alphabet and numbers 1-10 and then got on the air. I had a cue card with what I wanted to send and tried to copy the call and person's name so I would not sound stupid. Most of the times I had no clue what they were sending through my brain fog. In 3 months I was copying around 15 wpm and passed my general st the NYC FCC office. A few months later I could copy between 25-30 wpm. What worked for me was to get on the air and rag chew with the old timers.

Ah, and those B*** awful records, that you speed up n down and the tone went all wonky.

The BIC method worked for me, BIC in hand and Butt In Chair.

It takes sufficient sheer persistence to get all the letters and numbers learnt, then you can start to do something with that knowledge, it was really a grind, but once you get to the top of the first hill, then the enjoyment of conquering those peaks that lie ahead should excite you enough.
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ex MN Radio Officer, Portishead Radio GKA, BT Radio Amateur Morse Tester.  Licensed as G3YCP ZL1DAB, now taken over my father (sk) call as ZL1BBW.

KB1NO

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #13 on: November 08, 2021, 09:41:49 AM »

To reiterate  what several others have stated, I would highly recommend CWA classes.   I'm no youngster but was able to complete the three levels, and found them to be excellent.  The structure and social aspect of the classes are a great motivator.
Also take a look at Morse Code Ninja.  Kurt is a dedicated CWer and he has produced some amazing learning tools.   I can't even imagine the number of hours he has put into this effort.     I use his practice sessions a lot.   
https://morsecode.ninja/
GL,
John, KB1NO
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N9GXA

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Re: Which Program worked best for you?
« Reply #14 on: November 08, 2021, 06:12:38 PM »

I have used and am brushing up again with K7QO's code course. Definitely recommend it. I found a little here: https://www.kkn.net/~k7qo/
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