[UK-CONTEST] Improving CW Capability

[Peter Bowyer]

On 30/03/07, G3SXW <g3sxw at btinternet.com> wrote:
> ### 'Verbal working memory' is our ability to keep information on-line for a
> short period of time that we can then access later. An everyday example
> would be looking up a phone number, closing the phone book and dialling the
> number. When we hear spoken language we recruit something called 'echoic
> storage', or a virtual tape recorder in the brain. A fluent Morse operator
> uses echoic storage to support his performance. There may be considerable
> individual variability and it may partly depend on how often a person uses
> Morse. If you write down copy as you receive, the use of the brain's echoic
> store may not be utilised in the same way as listening to Morse while it is
> being transmitted and internally processing it. ###

That strikes a chord for me. When I'm tired I often find myself
remembering the dots and dashes for a split second while the next bit
of the processing chain translates thenm into letters, then hand
movements in order to get the call into the log. When I'm on form, the
intermediate step of needing to identify the letter shrinks to almost
nothing, and the dot/dash pattern sends my fingers in the right
direction on the keyboard. Then there's the stage of looking at what
you just typed to see if it makes sense.....

As for Stewart's question - I don't know of any technque for improving
competent CW other than practice - MorseRunner etc are a good
substitute for the real thing. If there were a magic pill, I'd be
first in the queue - my CW is just about good enough for busy
contesting/DXpeditioning but I'd love it to be much better.

Peter G4MJS


-- 
Peter Bowyer
Email: peter at bowyer.org