The Hi -Mound HK-707 morse code key
One of my projects over the last 12 months has been to learn and use morse code over amateur radio. In days of yore there was no voice communication over the wireless so radio folk had to devise a way of communicating with others. Enter morse code.
The history of morse code is kinda interesting, but maybe not that much that I need to repeat it here. But, it has a certain romanticism about it and to me feels like it is the essence of radio communication. I know this is all claptrap, but if you've read this far you're into it as well.
When I was a young teenager I had some early exposure to amateur radio, but the vibe was: "it's great but you'll never learn the code". I should have ignored this as the best time to learn morse code is when you are young! Just like a foreign language it only gets harder as you get older.
So here I am, an older middle aged bloke with an atrophying brain and I have set upon to learn the code and better yet, communicate with it. The computer and internet age is wonderful (and rubbish as well, but that's for another time) in that you can get so many learning resources on-line. So I have been caning the apps trying to learn the code for nearly 12 months now.
Let me tell you - progress is slow. It's hard, maybe one of the hardest things I have done (well maybe not: marriage, kids, degree, jobs I've had). I have learnt all the characters and can copy slabs of text, provided it is slow ie, about 10 words per minute. I can copy characters at 20 wpm, but slap them together as words at that speed and I am in trouble.
That's okay. People's morse code journey is much the same everywhere. It's all about repetition and practice. A bit like life really. There's probably a few savants who learnt it really quickly, but mostly not.
The conventional wisdom is you must learn to copy (receive) the code before you try and send it. The view being that sending is 'easier'. I have spent many hours copying compared with sending and I would say I am probably better at copying. That's not saying much as I am pretty much rubbish at sending.
The Vibroplex Deluxe iambic paddle - a work of art
I have two morse code keys. The Hi-Mound HK-707 straight key and the Vibroplex Deluxe iambic paddle. These are two very different methods of sending CW (let's call morse code CW from hereon as that's what amateurs call it). The Hi-Mound is from Japan - maybe 1970s and the Vibroplex I have is new (2020) but they have been making them for maybe 50 years. Ask amateurs to say which is better - straight key or paddle - and you'll be up all night. A straight key is probably easier for a beginner, but it has its disadvantages.
Nevertheless, I am pretty mediocre at using both of them. I am not too concerned about this as this is just motor skill stuff, ie learning to manipulate the apparatus. I'll get there with enough practice. The bit that troubles my mind is copying - putting those dits and dahs into words, into sentences, into paragraphs. That's brain work. It's hard! Or at least I find it hard.
Eventually one must cross the Rubicon and move from the classroom into the real world. There's no point becoming a master with a computer app and not using CW for its ultimate purpose - communicating with others. All the experts say the only way to improve is to get on the air and make real contacts.
Getting on air with CW is a hair raising experience. Those who are not radio operators will be asking 'how this can be?'. But as an operator sending and copying morse code is nerve racking for the beginner. 'Will I be able to copy their signal?' 'Will they understand my ill timed and error laden transmission?'
Nevertheless I have resolved to try and make one CW contact each day whenever I am able to get to the radio. It is day two today and I have made two contacts - one to Queensland (VK4) and one to Japan (JA3). I was able to send and receive the essential elements of a contact (call-sign, signal report, name) but that was about it. The fellow in Japan was sending way too fast for me, but I got the bits I needed to put him in the log and he was able to copy my scrambled eggs enough to log me. I didn't get the weather in Osaka, but hey, next time maybe.
If I can get the hang of this I can see me getting hooked. There is an X factor to CW that is not present in other amateur radio communications. It used to be compulsory to learn the code in order to be granted an amateur radio licence. That requirement was dropped about 20 years ago and yet it remains as popular as ever, perhaps more so. I can understand why. There is a sense of achievement in mastering the code and communicating with others around the world using this unique mode.
Until next time, peace and love - or - dah dah dit dit dit dit dit dit dah dah ('73' 'best wishes' in morse code).
