[CQ-Contest] Copy CW better/faster

[Mike Smith VE9AA]

I am certainly not the best CW Op out there..not by a long shot, but I
received an email from someone today and this is what I sent them.  These
suggestions can be used by anyone wanting to do CW better or increase their
speeds above that 10-15wpm level where we all seem to initially get stuck
at.

 

I hope guys and gals wishing to do better CW can find them of some use:

 

I have a few suggestions..all different.to get your CW Speed up.

 

Contact CW Ops and ask to be put on a list to learn to send/receive faster.
You don't need to join ($$) at this point.

www.cwops.org

Look for the link for CWA academy.  Sign up.  I hear really great things
about the instructors with a very high success rate for the different
levels.  I am a CWops member, but was never involved with CWA.

 

Secondly. Copying CW Online by yourself there is this tool.
https://lcwo.net/

Learn CW Online.  Some cool tools there.

 

Thirdly, what I did (might not work for all of you) is put an HF rig in my
car and listened to the bottom end of 20m for 1 hour every day M-F (30minute
commute) for months before I ever touched the paddles.

 

Fourthly, another CW tool.
https://morsecode.world/international/translator.html

 

Last thing you might do is enter lots of contests as a very casual S&P
participant, listening to the slower runners and listen to their exchange 3
- 4 times until you are sure of what they're sending.  Start with the
contests where the report is always the same (State, Zone, Province) and not
a serial # contest.  You might be able to get the hang of their serial #
exchange, and guess the next #, but SO2R,and Multiops can often have serial
#'s out of order, and it can trip you up.

Even if they are sending at 25-30WPM you can probably recognize your call at
those speeds however, so this is a great place to start.

 

Personally I don't think code-readers help..imo, they are too much of a
crutch and will only delay your learning (let me say----I don't look down on
you if you choose to use them, but I think you're better off w/o them..just
my opinion)

 

You need to be consistent in your practice.  It'll likely take a couple
months and at least a few stints per week to see a big jump in your speeds.

 

GL in whatever you decide.  It's not until you 'push' yourself, will your CW
speed increase.

 

In these years of low sunspots, and weak signals, CW Rules !

 

Mike VE9AA

 

 

 

Mike, Coreen & Corey

Keswick Ridge, NB

 

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