Last February, I gave a talk to our club about the basics of operating CW. I thought I’d already posted the slides I used , but I guess not. At any rate, here are the slides I used for the talk. Feel free to use them to give a talk at your club and to modify them as you see fit.
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CW is Fun!
Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, February 8, 2006
Getting Started – Learning the Code
- G4FON CW Trainer (www.g4fon.co.uk)
- K7QO (http://www.kc5cqm.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.K7QOcwCourse) or get a CD from Fists – www.fists.org)
- Many others, including CodeQuick, Ham Radio University, etc.
- Tips for Learning the Code – http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/learncw/
- Start! You’ll never learn it if you don’t start.
- Practice, but don’t overdo it. Too much practice and you’ll burn out.
- Don’t be discouraged if you don’t copy 100%. You don’t need to copy every single character to pass the test or to take part in a QSO.
Getting Started – Choosing a Key
- The three basic types are straight key, bug, paddle and keyer.
- It’s tempting to start out with a straight key because it’s the simplest way to go.
- I recommend starting with a paddle and keyer, however. It takes a bit more practice to master, but you’ll send better code and sending is much easier on the arm.
- This means it will be more fun, and you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
Making Contacts – A Basic QSO
- Calling CQ: CQ CQ CQ DE KB6NU KB6NU KB6NU K
- Reply to CQ: KB6NU KB6NU DE W8JNZ W8JNZ K
- The First Exchange
W8JNZ DE KB6NU TNX FER CALL–UR RST 599 599–NAME IS DAN DAN–QTH ANN ARBOR, MI ANN ARBOR, MI–HW? W8JNZ DE KB6NUKB6NU DE W8JNZ R TNX FER RPT–UR RST 599 599–NAME IS CLAY CLAY–QTH DIXBORO, MI DIXBORO, MI–HW NW? KB6NU DE W8JNZ K
Making Contacts – Using Abbreviations
- CW ops use a whole raft of abbreviations to transfer more information in a short period of time.
- Can be confusing. Sometimes there are two commonly-used abbreviations for the same word, i.e. TNX and TKS for “thanks.”
- K3WWP’s Lists – http://home.alltel.net/johnshan/cw_ss_list_abbr.html
Making Contacts – Q Signals
- Q-signals are also used to speed up a message.
- Q-signals take the place of entire phrases, not just words. For example, QTH ANN ARBOR, MI means, “My location is Ann Arbor, MI.”
- When followed by a question mark, the Q-signal is a question. QTH? means, “What is your location?”
- Other common Q-signals include QRM (You are being interfered with), QSB (Your signals are fading), and QRS (Send slower!).
- K3WWP’s list of Q-Signals: http://home.alltel.net/johnshan/cw_ss_list_q.html
Making Contacts -Prosigns
- Prosigns = procedural signals.
- Similar to abbreviations, but usually call for the other operator to do something.
- For example, the prosign “K” is used at the end of a transmission to invite the other operator to start sending.
- Other frequently used prosigns include R (all received correctly), AS (wait), BK (break in immediately).
- K3WWP’s list of prosigns: http://home.alltel.net/johnshan/cw_ss_list_proc.html
Getting Faster
- GET ON THE AIR!
- Copy in your head.
- GET ON THE AIR!
- Work contests. Not all contests are 30+ wpm affairs.
- GET ON THE AIR!
Lloyd Mitchell says
Great list of sites and tips for those learning the Code.
Some of those sites helped me pass earlier this year.
Mitch KO4L
Dan KB6NU says
AC7FA has published a similar presentation titled, “Learning CW With a Computer” at http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dfjtg7c5_23cpxdpvgb. As the title would suggest, he concentrates a bit more than I do on the learning aspect than I do, and accordingly, covers more programs than I do.
Check it out………73, Dan