Scott,
Listening is fun and even sending to yourself helps learn the letters.
Getting on and working someone is the best of all because you really want to
understand what the guy is saying to you. I always worked the novices for
many years. Shoot, I can remember talking for two and three hours to guys,
who could not copy even 5 WPM, so I'd slow to about 2 or 3 WPM just so they
could get it. That was a great confidence builder for guys trying to
remember their letters and numbers.
Phil.
K0NX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Howell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: High speed CW
> Phil,
>
> You sure remind me why I love cw so much and still can't copy crap. I =
> really need to fire-up Morse-it and really practice. Oh and get on the =
> air. :) Then I need more hours in a day or start dumping all my =
> projects. grin
> Well I'm sure I'll get there yet. grin
>
> 73
>
> On Jun 10, 2013, at 2:41 PM, Phil Scovell <[log in to unmask]> =
> wrote:
>
>> Howard,
>>=20
>> You may be right; I just don't remember. I got my General in November =
> of 66=20
>> and after a few weeks of learning how to operate the Drake TR4 my mom =
> bought=20
>> me for a Christmas present, and because I had passed my general, I =
> joined=20
>> every CW net on 80 meters I could find. I soon learned, after the fun =
> of=20
>> sideband wore off, that CW was still my all time favorite mode. I =
> could=20
>> already copy 10 WPM when I took my 5 WPM novice test because I =
> listened to=20
>> nothing but CW on my old BC348 receiver that was my novice RX. Then =
> when I=20
>> took the 13 WPM general, I was copying 20 WPM as a novice. When I =
> took the=20
>> Extra class at 20 WPM, I could copy, and rag chew, at 40 WPM. In 1980 =
> I=20
>> bought my first CW keyboard and never went back. I join the CFO, =
> Chicken=20
>> Fat Operators, group on 40 and 20 and some days worked as many as a =
> dozen=20
>> high speed operators all in a single round table. We all worked QSK, =
> break=20
>> in CW, so it was like working vox on sideband contacts. I got so 60 =
> WPM was=20
>> my rag chew speed and on good days, I could run at 70. The guys I =
> worked, a=20
>> few of them, could copy 80 to 90 WPM. I proved it one day, not
>> really=20=
>
>> believing what I was hearing, by putting Sandy, my wife, on the
>> Curtis=20=
>
>> keyboard and setting it to 80 WPM. These guys, W1OBJ, W6Wu, VE7NH, =
> and=20
>> several others were on frequency. I told them Sandy would type and =
> ask them=20
>> questions. They kept answering her at 80 WPM and I finally told them =
> to=20
>> slow down to at least 50 so I could copy their replies and questions =
> to her.=20
>> They all rang chewed at 80 and some, as I said, could do 90. All the =
> ones=20
>> there that day, had men preset the Curtis keyboard to 95. Sometimes =
> they=20
>> got it and sometimes they didn't. W6PY was reported to be verified at =
> 100.=20
>> Sandy could type 120 WPM on the straight due to her job. I practice =
> every=20
>> day using the Morris Runner contest practice software and I start at =
> 40 WPM=20
>> and play contest for several minutes. I do it for brain stimulation. =
> I=20
>> make at least 33 contacts in the pile ups each day and sometime run it =
> up=20
>> all the way for 30 minutes. I'm about two WPM below 200 contacts per =
> hour=20
>> on good days and about 180 per hour on any given day. I find it as =
> fun as=20
>> actually being on the air sometimes. The CFO members, my number was =
> 168,=20
>> had to copy at least 30 to 40 to keep up with the group but we all =
> ended our=20
>> contacts with the chick cluck CW notes which saided like, dit dit dit =
> dit=20
>> dit daw or a long dash at the end sounding like a prolonged letter A. =
> At 50=20
>> to 80 WPM, it immediately reminds you of a chicken clucking. I can't =
> do 50=20
>> WPM any more without really focusing and I get tired of trying to copy =
> it so=20
>> don't practice that as much. I sit and copies some 40 meter guys who =
> run at=20
>> 60 WPM just for practice but I get more letters, and an occasional =
> word, at=20
>> that speed. All these guys I'm referring to were over 60 years of age =
> so=20
>> what am I doing at 61, haha. All I know is, even at 5 and 10 WPM, I =
> still=20
>> like CW the most. However, in 1981, when the bands were hot, I worked =
> 295=20
>> countries in that year alone and almost all were on sideband on 20 =
> meters=20
>> with my 4 element yagi at just 40 feet and running 700 watts output. =
> I=20
>> still worked a load of CW and probably worked well over 200 countries =
> on CW=20
>> alone that year. I have 316 countries now but I don't go after new DX =
> much=20
>> these days. I still like working DX but mostly on CW. If anybody =
> thinks CW=20
>> is a lost art, tune around in the DX CW contest. You will find guys =
> still=20
>> running 50 WPM and working guys one right after another. They take up =
> the=20
>> first 75 KHz on each CW band; wall to wall CW signals.
>>=20
>> Phil.
>> K0NX
>>=20
>>=20
>>=20
>>=20
>> ----- Original Message -----=20
>> From: "Howard Kaufman" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 11:47 AM
>> Subject: Re: Old Rag Chewers Certificate
>>=20
>>=20
>>> I am not sure, but I think you got it by having a qso at 30 WPM or =
> more.
>>> I had it to. November of 1967 was a long time ago.
>>> ----- Original Message -----=20
>>> From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 12:12 PM
>>> Subject: Re: Old Rag Chewers Certificate
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>> Gerry,
>>>>=20
>>>> I sure wish I would have kept my Braille novice log book and a =
> couple of
>>>> those old certificates. I had the brass pounders certificate, too, =
> but I
>>>> can't remember how you obtained that one.
>>>>=20
>>>> Phil.
>>>> K0NX
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>> ----- Original Message -----=20
>>>> From: "Gerry Learry" <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 4:13 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: Old Rag Chewers Certificate
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>>> I also got the real rag chewers certificate.
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----=20
>>>>> From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
>>>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 7:47 PM
>>>>> Subject: Old Rag Chewers Certificate
>>>>>=20
>>>>>=20
>>>>>> There use to be a ham thing called the Rag Chewers Club. You got =
> a =3D
>>>>>> certificate by talking to one ham for 30 minutes; phone or cw, it=20=
>
>>>>>> didn't
>>>>>> =3D
>>>>>> matter. Then there was the 6 hour QSO which you could only talk =
> to one
>>>>>> =3D
>>>>>> person for 6 straight hours and there was another=3D20
>>>>>> certificate for that. A blind friend of mine that got his
>>>>>> license=20=
>
>>>>>> three
>>>>>> =3D
>>>>>> months before I did, and I, did both. So, there is lots to talk =
> about=20
>>>>>> =3D
>>>>>> on the ham bands.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Phil.
>>>>>> K0NX
>>>>>=20
>>>=20
>
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