Radio Preppers

General Category => Morse Code => Topic started by: gil on December 16, 2012, 12:34:45 PM

Title: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on December 16, 2012, 12:34:45 PM
Something weird happened today while chatting with Ray on 17m. I found myself staring at the trees through the window as I was writing down; without seeing dots and dashes! For the most part... It was sort of an automatic writing. I had no idea what I had put down, but reading it later, it was perfect copy! Before I had to strain my brain to decode, and today, it just happened  ;D There is still the odd letter I miss and it messes me up, but there was definitely a difference in processing today. I hope it will still be there tomorrow!

It is still very different from head copy though, because I do not even know which letters I'm writing, much less words.. Though sometimes a commonly used short word does pop in my head, like "test" or "rst" or "the," usually common four letter words and less.

Something to be happy about today. It's taking long enough  ::) Ya'll have a good one  :)

Gil.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: WA4STO on December 16, 2012, 12:51:04 PM
Quote from: gil on December 16, 2012, 12:34:45 PM
I do not even know which letters I'm writing, much less words..
[/quote]

That's actually the MUCH preferred way to do two things:

1.  Pass an FCC Morse receiving test.  If you guess the word beforehand, you'll blow it.  A callsign?  Forget it... Write it down, letter by letter.

2.  Receiving traffic accurately and quickly.  See #1 above.

I learned 25 cipher groups per minute (much  more difficult than wpm) in Pensacola as a 17 year old.

But it wasn't until I started handling traffic on ARRL NTS TCC skeds that I finally broke 60 wpm, both send and receive.  Doubt that I could do that any more.

73 de Luck, WA4STO
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: KC9TNH on December 16, 2012, 06:10:46 PM
Took another brick from The Wall (cue Roger Waters' bass).
Congratulations. The piece of the brain needed, focusing on the piece of information needed, sync'd. It's pretty cool when it happens.

Some years back a coach was helping me bust through a speed wall shooting steel. I'd been getting pretty quick but in a mechanical way, and kinda hit a plateau & stayed there. One day I was so melded to the front sight that I knew the plate was down when the shot broke and had already moved on to the next & the third... when I stopped and said, "Whoa!  WTH was that, what just happened????"

Turned around & dear-friend coach was laughing so hard he couldn't talk, patted me on the back and finally said, "Good, now try & remember what that felt like...."

Just keep pounding (or squeezing) brass; sometimes we gotta get out of our own way.

Cool beans!
:D
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on December 16, 2012, 07:55:04 PM
It only took 4-1/2 months  :-[
Glad it finally paid off though.

Gil.
Title: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: White Tiger on December 16, 2012, 11:27:53 PM
I think that's called an epiphany...excellent my friend...lets me know how much time I'll invest before becoming proficient!

I was taught that there are some achievements that only come with time, and that the time frame for mastery is about 2000 hours...most people stop because we're so attuned for instant gratification, if we don't "master" something quickly we simply stop trying.

Thanks for pressing through - till you got "there" - a reminder that something's require more...
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on December 16, 2012, 11:46:48 PM
I'm not there yet! Just one plateau passed and there will be others. So far I am up to about 100 QSOs in Morse, in 2-1/2 months of being on the air (only 3 in SSB I think..). It is motivational though, when progress so far has been extremely slow. It does go to show that sticking with it pays off...

When I can head copy 20wpm, I will have achieved my goal..

Gil.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: AC8JW on January 25, 2013, 02:52:10 PM
I agree.  When I can do 20wpm and just hear words, I know I will have arrived.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on January 25, 2013, 03:30:17 PM
Welcome aboard John!

QuoteI agree.  When I can do 20wpm and just hear words, I know I will have arrived.

Some days it seems like I'm going backwards..! Down to 10wpm... Other days, I can copy 15wpm for a short time...
Not yet copying in my head, but for short common words. More practice I guess...

Gil.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: cockpitbob on January 25, 2013, 04:45:10 PM
Gil, that's great!  It is funny how these things go in steps and plateaus.  A little while ago I had the similar breakthrough.  I was copying a random QSO that was fast for me.  I had no idea what I was writing.  I was just writing characters I heard, but ocassionally I would glance back at what I had written and...words!

We should have done this when we were 10.  The brain works so much differently (better) for this kind of thing at that age. 
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on January 25, 2013, 04:48:22 PM
QuoteWe should have done this when we were 10.  The brain works so much differently (better) for this kind of thing at that age.

Yep, there are a lot of things I wish I had started at that age... Tells you much about what parenting is about. I did learn a lot back then though, and was blessed with a great childhood.. Now if only I could remember most of it  ::)

Gil.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: KC9TNH on January 25, 2013, 09:52:58 PM
Quote from: cockpitbob on January 25, 2013, 04:45:10 PMWe should have done this when we were 10.  The brain works so much differently (better) for this kind of thing at that age.
I agree. A short story, in which "the code" is pivotal and about paths taken. A wonderful gent who checks-in on a 40m net I run from time to time is a WW-II vet, a former submariner, fewer & fewer each year at the reunions. But he related to me his story one day after I folded the net & we just talked. His story was pretty much:

"Well, I learned the code very young, as a Boy Scout. Then of course they attacked Pearl Harbor and, bang, the second I was out of high-school I ran down & joined up, in the Navy, 'cause that's what we did back then.
"Well, they found out I knew the code, so they sent me to radio school and then on to submarines, alot of patrols, but we were young & having the time of our life."
(He did mention liberty in Australia was quite the thing.)

"Anyway, after the war, Uncle Sam sent me to college, just 'cause I'd been in the Navy. Imagine me! A kid from Iowa, in college! Wow.
"Then I went on to a career in broadcast engineering and got out of that & kinda settled down and then I came out of retirement to teach a bit here at the university in Ames, but I'm really retired now - I'd rather go up to the cabin in Canada & catch fish.
"But ya know, I've had a wonderful life & seen some amazing places. Imagine all that, me, the kid from Iowa, and all because I learned the code as a young Boy Scout."

:)
Title: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: White Tiger on January 26, 2013, 03:56:01 AM
Quote from: cockpitbob on January 25, 2013, 04:45:10 PM
Gil, that's great!  It is funny how these things go in steps and plateaus.  A little while ago I had the similar breakthrough.  I was copying a random QSO that was fast for me.  I had no idea what I was writing.  I was just writing characters I heard, but ocassionally I would glance back at what I had written and...words!

We should have done this when we were 10.  The brain works so much differently (better) for this kind of thing at that age.

Hah!

Gotta watch that bob...sounds awfully close to a description of "automatic writing"...and if your German Shepherd starts answering your questions...

...well...I don't want to know about it...
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: cockpitbob on January 28, 2013, 04:25:35 PM
Quote from: White Tiger on January 26, 2013, 03:56:01 AM
Quote from: cockpitbob on January 25, 2013, 04:45:10 PM
Gil, that's great!  It is funny how these things go in steps and plateaus.  A little while ago I had the similar breakthrough.  I was copying a random QSO that was fast for me.  I had no idea what I was writing.  I was just writing characters I heard, but ocassionally I would glance back at what I had written and...words!

We should have done this when we were 10.  The brain works so much differently (better) for this kind of thing at that age.

Hah!

Gotta watch that bob...sounds awfully close to a description of "automatic writing"...and if your German Shepherd starts answering your questions...

...well...I don't want to know about it...
No problem.  The voices have been telling me to ignore the dog. ::)
Title: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: White Tiger on February 03, 2013, 07:56:50 PM
Quote from: cockpitbob on January 28, 2013, 04:25:35 PM
Quote from: White Tiger on January 26, 2013, 03:56:01 AM
Quote from: cockpitbob on January 25, 2013, 04:45:10 PM
Gil, that's great!  It is funny how these things go in steps and plateaus.  A little while ago I had the similar breakthrough.  I was copying a random QSO that was fast for me.  I had no idea what I was writing.  I was just writing characters I heard, but ocassionally I would glance back at what I had written and...words!

We should have done this when we were 10.  The brain works so much differently (better) for this kind of thing at that age.

Hah!

Gotta watch that bob...sounds awfully close to a description of "automatic writing"...and if your German Shepherd starts answering your questions...

...well...I don't want to know about it...
No problem.  The voices have been telling me to ignore the dog. ::)

Hah, I have heard similar voices...
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: KC9TNH on February 05, 2013, 07:54:25 PM
Take heart. As I recall the gradual decline and lack of Morse in most of the military now (including Army SF, which was IIRC 18, then 14, then 12 then they dropped it), been reading through the book gil suggested, The Clandestine Radio Operators. After looking at all the vintage & specialized mini-radio porn, I've actually been reading it and apparently 14wpm was also good enough for the SOE to check one more box enroute to getting your derriere dropped into France. I happen to like 14, as a very relaxed conversational speed.

And remember, especially back in their day, it had to be error-free.  The mortality rate of resistance radio operators was pretty high back in those days. A little slower & error free meant much less time for the people hunting you. Send it, and scoot.

Hat tip to gil again for the mention of that book.  It's a gotta-have and has been worth every penny.
8)
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on February 05, 2013, 08:09:54 PM
QuoteHat tip to gil again for the mention of that book.  It's a gotta-have and has been worth every penny.

You might want to thank Ray for the suggestion.
He suggested it to me..

Gil.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: RadioRay on February 05, 2013, 08:31:26 PM
What is fun, are the number of 'ham clandestine' operators I bump into on the air - none in voice, some on PSK31 and most on CW.  One fellow was a WW II vet in a 'rest home'.  They let him keep his radio, probably not understanding that it was a transmitter/receiver.  His antenna wire was put up very carefully (and slowly?) under the eaves of the rest home and he just kept his mouth shut.  I tapped back to him "JUST LIKE THE OLD OSS."  Loved that . . .  These days some hams operate PSK31 and other digital modes, because a[eople are used to seeing internet chat via computer and the rigs are so small that nobody knows that you're actually on the air. Anything get the 'gestapo' away from your ham station.

Another more recent 'ham clandestine' contact was a fellow visiting his adult 'kids'. He had his ham rig using a wire loop pinned onto the ceiling of his guest room. No wire out the window allowed, because his 'kids' live in one of those Marxist "communities" who dictate what color of poodle you must have to live there . . . He had a workable signal in Morse and we had a great conversation and he had a 'sanity support device' while visiting.

Morse is the great equalizer, in that it requires so little power, is so inexpensive (RockMite transceivers start at under $30) and can be extremely portable, so much so that when mountaineers and other outdoor explorers are hams, they virtually always have Morse equipment, or none at all. Back when I was a major league mountain backpacker, I always had my little, homebrew QRP CW (Morse) transceiver.

-.-.  --.-       -.-.   --.-

De RadioRay ..._ ._
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on February 05, 2013, 09:14:29 PM
Well, I am a little bit clandestine as well... My antenna is a black wire up a tree. You can't see it unless you really look, and it's in the back of the house, which is surrounded by trees. I also use my magnetic loop antenna, and that is inside. Even my Buddistick has worked fine inside the house on the second floor. It is certainly possible. With a tuner, one can even load things that are not meant to be antennas. When I get the ATU for my KX3, I intend on trying to load everything I think might work..

Gil.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: KC9TNH on February 14, 2013, 08:35:07 PM
Quote from: gil on February 05, 2013, 08:09:54 PM
You might want to thank Ray for the suggestion.
He suggested it to me..

Gil.
Well, awl-righty then!  ;D

děkuji

I was pretty clandestine as well initially. We have no covenants other than to be good neighbors and I wouldn't live in a place that required poodles, regardless of color. Speaker wire up into the tree from the 2nd story, counterpoise spread out. Life is good.

Had an old coax switch laying around and have lately been just running the 817 for CW because the old-style Collins filter I added to it is so much nicer than the digitally treated experience.

I'll have to find an old copy of Le Carre's The Looking Glass War - the protagonist in that would've given alot for anything like we're spoiled with now vs. the suitcase affair.

Thanks again Ray for the book suggestion.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: RadioRay on February 14, 2013, 10:23:39 PM
To neni zac , pane'.       ;D

-...-

Yes - I supposed that there probably ARE a bunch of people running in PSK-31 as well, many clandestine hams.  The mode is such a clean RF envelope that it's not likely to modulate local entertainment devices, like voice would and it's pretty good at low power. 

That clandestine book is a fun 'coffee table' book and yes - what those guys would have done for a stack of ATS3B/C or KX3's . . . Even the average single band QRP rig is a marvel.  The ability to be entirely free of A.C. mains and heavy recharge requirements for their large batteries back the (if available) made looking 'normal' while transporting your transceiver of 35-40 pounds in a little valaise through checkpoints.  Also, many of the radio operators were women, because most men were either fighting, POW's or conscript labor - not wantering around the streets of continental & eastern , European cities... Also, the Germans tended to treat women well unless something MORE than mere suspicion was involved - which the communists were never did.  They were total bastards and still are. 

How did we get onto this topic?   ha ha



73 de RadioRay ..._ ._

Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: gil on February 15, 2013, 01:48:09 AM
Someday, someone might just put a whole QRP rig in a chip.. I can't wait for that.. We already have tiny mixers and audio amps.. To pass a checkpoint, you'd just swallow it! LOL.

Gil.
Title: Re: Copy Breakthrough!
Post by: cockpitbob on February 19, 2013, 09:48:33 PM
It's winter and the Gloucester, MA ham club is doing its annual Morse class.  One guy has been doing it for about 20 years.  To gauge progress and encourage people he gives the standard 5, 13 and 20wpm tests from old ARRL tapes and gives a certificate for 5wpm, a t-shirt for 13 and a sweatshirt for 20wpm.  Last weekend I passed the 13wpm and missed the 20wpm test by 1 question.  You can pass by either having 1 minute of perfect copy in the 5 minute tape, or get 7 of 10 questions right.  My concentration kept dropping so I didn't even get 1 minute of perfect copy at 13 much less 20.  The next class is in 2 weeks and starting this weekend I'm going to cram for the 20.

The certificates and logos on the shirts are a bit pretentious since they call Morse operators "the elite of ham radio".  Still, he has a point.  It's something you have to earn.  A rich guy can't just spend money and do 13wpm.  Even if you are super smart you can't just study for a couple weeks and do it.  It really is something you earn.