(Continued from part 1)
When I turn off speech and work with a Braille display, having the
characters appear just a quarter second after I copy them is very useful.
This is how I practice copying in my head, and for my needs I alternate
copying in my head with typing in my copy so I'll be equally proficient at
both.
The remainder of the settings onscreen are best avoided by the beginner, but
very useful for ops who need to practice under band conditions. You can turn
on QRM and adjust a simulated noise level. You can reduce the signal
strength, enable QSB, and even put a chirp on the signal, or have it
simulate code sent by a straight key. You can also toggle variable weight,
speed and pitch dither , and truly force it to send you Morse that's not at
all easy to decipher!
I've describe settings which are always available in this onscreen grid.
They are automatically saved as soon as you change them, and when you run
the program again, they'll be configured just as you left them. There is no
way I've found to return to the program defaults.
If you pull up the setup dialog under the file menu, you can adjust more
advanced parameters. You can tell the simulated straight key OP to send with
a bad fist. You can control some rigs. You can type in text for it to send.
The only setting I find in this dialog to be useful for the beginner is
"session length" which defaults to five minutes. For me, five minutes is
tiring and a 2-minute session is plenty. I set "session length" to 2 and
have multiple 2-minute practice periods throughout the day. You could also
increase the session length, record the output and keep troublesome practice
sessions on your music player. (To record within the trainer program, you'll
need to install the Lame MP3 Encoder.)
This setup dialog has no cancel button, so you have to click OK to dismiss
it. It also has the effect of saving your settings, so be careful about
making changes.
Using the trainer is easy. Click its toolbar Start button, and it will begin
randomly sending groups of the letters K and M. Some groups are five
characters, some are only 1 or 2.
Most people copy using a pencil and paper. I first switched to a new window
and simply typed the results in to Notepad. At the end of a session, which
will stop automatically, you are supposed to manually compare your results
with the characters that appear in the trainer's window.
But looking further on Ray's site, I discovered the helper program KOCH-RX,
which must be unzipped and copied to the same directory where the Koch
trainer resides. Koch-Rx gives you an edit box where you can type in your
copy and a button to compare your results with the text that was sent. You
can quickly learn if you are up to the 90% accuracy you need before adding
another character. And, Koch-RX adds keyboard control, so you simply tab to
a Start and Stop button. Once you click or press Space on Start, your focus
is automatically redirected to the edit field where you type in your copy.
KOCH-RX therefore is perfect for the screen reader user or anyone who
doesn't want to manually compare their results and calculate percentages!
In the Koch trainer, the results are in an ordinary read-only edit box,
which is sandwiched in tab order between the many other check boxes, spin
boxes and radio buttons on the grid. Note that screen readers will see it as
an unlabeled edit field. Visually, it appears near the bottom of the screen,
making it easy to magnify just that results box. It's also possible to
simply park your Braille display in that box, so you can easily view the
text after it's been sent.
And if you are a rank beginner, this is how to learn. Simply focus on the
results and watch the characters appear without attempting to copy. You will
soon be hearing the difference between the K and M characters and want to
start trying to copy them.
Because I already knew the characters, my goal was to learn to copy faster.
I first tried setting it to all 40 characters, but found it was like copying
off the air. I wasn't very good. I set it back to 2 characters, and kept
increasing the speeds, until I could tell the difference between K and M at
35 words per minute. Then I spun the characters box to 3, and the software
added the letter R. I quickly discovered my reflexes weren't fast enough and
I had to drop down to 15 WPM until I could accurately respond to the letter
R sent among a forest of Ks and Ms.
I also tried copying in Braille, quickly realizing that though I now could
copy some characters at 35WPM, and I can certainly write Braille quickly as
well, that combining those two abilities was going to require additional
practice. Were I not already a proficient typist, I well might have decided
to either stick with writing Braille or simply copying in my head. For now,
Braille goes on the back burner, because I'm rarely going to use it in the
field.
Though it isn't mentioned in the literature on Koch, I personally found that
knowing when a random group ended and it was time to type a space in my copy
was even more difficult than recognizing the individual characters. I tended
to type in long strings of characters without spaces. When copying a real
QSO it's pretty easy to insert spaces later, and pick missing characters
from context. But having to pay attention to the spacing to know when a
random group ends really sharpens your listening!
As you develop speed using Koch, you realize that it's a lot like jumping
rope, dancing, throwing a ball, touch typing, or even handwriting. Though a
small child may need to think about how to write the letter W, and might
confuse it with M, an adult writes automatically, with no conscious thought.
As a fast typist, I can quickly hit the letters Z and X without making
mistakes, and without thinking about which finger to use or where to reach.
My reflexes have been honed for rapid typing by years of practice.
My CW reflexes still have a way to go, but the plateau has melted and I've
made more progress in just a few days than I've experienced over the years.
As you become yet more advanced, the program, and the G4FON site, also
contain files containing over 300 sample test QSOS. Though the code
requirement isn't part of today's licensing, the original tests are still
quite useful for skill-building. You can also download code practice MP3
files at various speeds from the ARRL site.
The Koch trainer gives you that chance to build the reflexes you'll need to
copy real on-the-air QSOS. And once your reflexes take over, you can relax
and free your brain to enjoy the conversation.
If you aren't at a Windows computer the iPhone app, HamMorse, is known to
work well with Voice Over, the screen access solution for Apple products.
There are also several other Koch training apps for Mac, Android and iOS.
You can continue to improve those reflexes while you are out and about.
If you doubt the power of reflexes, just watch a teenager message her
friends on her cellphone. She may balk at practicing the piano, and fail to
do kitchen chores with the speed and efficiency of her mom, but I bet she
can outpace her parents when it comes to texting! If we all view CW practice
in the same playful light, we will have our reflexes trained in no time!
(Deborah Armstrong, KF6BKR)
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