Questions about practice methods
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| Mar 19th 2017, 20:13 | |
n8semTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I'm trying to figure out the best way to practice copying (not sending) CW. So far, I've learned all the letters and numbers and can copy at around 15-18 wpm if I add a lot of extra spaces between characters (ending up at half that speed or less). It's enough space to keep me from getting overwhelmed, but too fast for me to think much about it before the next character comes. My question is about what to use in practice: -- random character drills with all of them, or -- random characters with a select group, or -- actual words, or -- something else? My errors are usually missing characters entirely, not thinking it is some other character. The errors can be newly learned characters or ones I've known for months, so if I don't practice with all of them, I wouldn't know if I should emphasize newer/older ones. I currently use CW Player by F6DQM and write what I hear by hand, not type. (BTW, I love the game added in the new version.) Thanks for any suggestions! |
| Mar 20th 2017, 00:37 | |
WA0CBWTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
What helped me was practicing words and abbreviations that are used in CW. Learn words as a complete group of sounds. Do the same with abbreviations. You will begin to "hear" the word and not individual letters. This also makes it easier to concentrate on the individual letters. It is like sending words. You don't have trouble sending because you already know the word. Shorten the space between letters a little but leave longer spaces between words. There will be other suggestions but this helped me the most. Bill |
| Mar 20th 2017, 00:46 | |
AI4BJTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Since the ultimate goal is to learn to recognize the sound patterns of complete words rather than just letters, that is what I recommend practicing with. Find a list of the 300 most commonly used words in the English language, then add a few dozen common ham expressions, Q-signals, etc. Here is one list to choose from: http://www.ac6v.com/jargon.htm Good luck! Mark AI4BJ |
| Mar 20th 2017, 01:01 | |
n8semTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Great ideas, thanks both of you. I imagine I'll also feel more successful and motivated when I end up understanding realistic language instead of random letters. The list of terms at ac6v.com is one of the more extensive I've seen -- more than a few were new to me. |
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