[TenTec] Copying CW in your head

[Michael O. Hyder]

You might try some sort of meditation.  Thinking of several things at once
wastes the life as the mind is not with the body, but racing out ahead.
Somebody told me once that if I have one foot in tomorrow and one foot in
yesterday that I tend to crap on today.  One way to do this meditation is to
sit quietly for 15 minutes.  Allow no interruptions, no radio, no TV, no
distractions.  If you get up, you must begin again.  It is much harder than
it sounds, but the results after only a week on doing it once a day are
astounding.

Or, you might try just reading the mail on other QSO's.  That way there is
no pressure to copy.

Or, you might try copying faster code.  20 wpm is awfully slow to copy in
one's head, as there is so much time from the beginning of a thought to the
end that some of us tend to forget what was said early in the thought.

But until one is able to stop the racing thoughts, he ain't gonna enjoy
much.  Joy must be felt in the moment.  If the mind is already at the
office, joy can't be felt.

Luck to you.
73 de Mike N4NT@wireco.net

----- Original Message -----
From: Peter A. Klein <pklein@2alpha.net>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 1999 3:41 AM
Subject: [TenTec] Copying CW in your head
>
> This is more of a CW question than a Ten Tec question, but since the two
> are so closely related, why not?
>
> I've been operating a lot of PSK31 in the last few months, to the
detriment
> of my CW.  I must also confess that most of my CW operation is DXing or
> jumping into a contest to work a new country here and there.  So I haven't
> done a lot of "conversational" CW in quite a while.
>
> Recently, I've again felt the pull of CW.  I've done a bit of listening
and
> some CW QSOs, and observed the following:
>
> - I can do quick DX-style contacts at 25-30 wpm, but only in short bursts
> before my mind fogs.
>
> - I can lope along at about 18 wpm reasonably comfortably, writing down
> only the important words.  Much above 20 wpm, I can't write that fast. I
> could probably copy by typing on the PC, but that's a separate skill.
> Besides, one of the nice things about working CW is that you can turn the
> dammned computer off :-)
>
> - I can copy in my head up to a point.  I'm fine with words and
> abbreviations of up to 3 letters, but I have trouble with longer words.
> I've been closing my eyes and trying to visualize the words in my mind,
> with some limited success.
>
> - I find it impossible to act like a dumb modem.  My mind wants to
> recognize the word after the first couple of letters, and it wants to get
> the meaning of the words as they go by.  Also, I'm the kind of person who
> is always thinking about several things at once.  All this seems to get in
> the way of copy.
>
> - At higher speeds, the letter "e" gives me fits.  My mind recognizes it a
> bit too late, which often screws up the whole word.
>
> - I'm in my mid-forties, and I think that QRN bothers me more than it used
> to.  And that I am just a shade less good at picking a very weak signal
out
> of the mud than I was in my twenties.  Thank goodness for non-ringy Ten
Tec
> filters and quiet Ten Tec receivers. (see, now I'm on topic!)
>
> So, all you CW mavens, any tips?  Passing tests isn't an issue--I've had
my
> Extra for years.  I'm interested in getting to the point where I can read
> CW in my head with pleasure.  Apart from just getting on the air and
> working people, are there any special techniques that would help?
>
> 73 from KD7MW
>
> --- Peter




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