The Art and SkillofRadio-Telegraphy
A Manual For Learning, Using, Mastering And Enjoying
The International Morse Code As A Means Of Communication

William G. Pierpont NØHFF
“What Hath God Wrought!”
Third Revised Edition July 6, 2ØØ1
Copyright © 2ØØ1William G. Pierpont, NØHFF

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

1

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy“For those who are interested in telegraphy, for those who would
like to learn it, for those who love it, and for those who want toimprove their skills in it.”
William G. Pierpont NØHFF
The art and skill of telegraphy is unique. The psychologists who haveseriously studied those who have developed this skill have been fascinated and challenged to try to understand it. Isn’t the very idea ofbeing able to communicate your thoughts to another by means of intermittent tones something intriguing in itself?
The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy currently has the following known translations and web adaptations
French: Third Revised Edition: Editor Maurice Colombani-Gailleur
F6IIE, http://f6iie.free.fr/booknØhff.htm or
http://www.uft.net/titre_web.htm
Danish: Editor: Jens Henrik Nohns, ØZ1CAR, Laerkevej 11, DK-7441
Bording, Denmark
Japanese: 2nd Edition 1997, Published 1Ø August 2ØØØ in Tokyo by
the JARL A1 Club, Editor: Atzu Taniguchi, JE1TRW, with assistance ofother JARL 1A Club members.
http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~a1c/Art&Skill/Art&Skill.htm
English: Second Revised Edition, First adapted for the World Wide Web
by Jon Oates GMØVIY for MEGS,
http://www.geocities.com/gmØrse/nØhff/index.htm
English: Second Revised Edition, Second adaptation for the World Wide
Web by Ronal G. Bellamy VE6SIR for RAES
http://www.raes.ab.ca/book/index.html
English Third Revised Edition, last edited July 6, 2ØØ1, Editor, Dave
Clarke, VE6LX
English Third Revised Edition, last edited July 8, 2ØØ1, is now available for download at the following: http://www.qsl.net/n9bor/nØhff.htm
Editor, Fred Adsit, NY2V
Preparation and distribution of the text files by Jim Farrior W4FOK along with his
program “The Mill”
http://www.net-magic.net/users/w4fok/

This book may be freely reproduced and published, but only on a noprofit basis in order to make it as widely available as possible to those
who need it... NØHFF

2

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Contents
Contents3

Preface

8Introduction

8

Is the Radio-Telegraph Code
Obsolete?

10

Learning the Morse Code - An
Overview
11

Building The First Floor On The Solid
Foundation
32
Instant Recognition

32

Anticipating

32

What Kind Of Material To Practice33

Other Ways

34

How Long And What Kind Of Practice34

Getting Stuck

36

The 1ØØ Most Common Words In English

36

Where we are going

11

Chapter 1

13

Passing Examinations

37

How to Go About it Efficiently

13

Chapter 5

37This Chapter Is A Summary To Prepare You To
Learn
13

Practice To Gain Proficiency

37

How Long Will It Take Me To Learn

17

How Far Do You Want To Go

37

Chapter 2

17Make Each Practice Period A Step Forward 39

Principles of Skill Building and Attitudes
for Success
17

Kinds Of Practicing

39

Listening Practice39
40

We Are Building A Set Of Habits

17

Word Recognition Practice

Relax

18

Copying Practice41

19

Sending Practice41

19

Mental Practice42

Stage Two - Practice20

On The Air Practice42

More About Attitudes For Success

21

Chapter 6

43

Picturing Success Is Strong Preparation For It 21

How Fast

43

Chapter 3

23

The Wrong Question.

43

Part I: Laying the Foundation

23

How Well

43

Let’s Begin With The A-B-C’s

23

Copyability

43

24

Fast Enough To Communicate Satisfyingly

44

The Proficient Operator

45

Your Own Goal

45

Develop A Good Mental Attitude
Stage One Learning The A-B-C’s

Motivation
Learning The Morse Code Is Similar To
Learning To Read

25

The Morse A-B-C ‘S Are Patterns Of Sound 26

Shortening Things Up

46

Part II: Laying the Foundation

Chapter 7

48

Delayed Perception And Instant Recognition 26

Listening or Reading

48

Listen Only To The Best Quality Of Code27

Listen48

Getting Started

27

Concentrate

50

What Characters Shall We Begin With

28

Learn To Hear - Words As Words

50

Methods To Go About Teaching

28

How Can We Learn To Do This

51

Part III: Laying the Foundation

30

Chapter 4

32

We Must Listen At Higher Speeds To Improve
53

26

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

3

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
Missing Words

53

Other Keying Devices And Their Use 7 4Long Words

53

All Kinds of Keys

75

Decapitated Words

53

Other Kinds Of Manual Keys

75

Broken Words

53

The Bug76

On-The-Air Listening

55

Using A Bug

76

Chapter 8

55

Setting the Adjustments of a Bug

77

Copying Getting it written down

55

Sending With A Bug

78

Practice With Familiar Text Helps

56

Keyers78

57

Keyboards

79

If You Want To Become More Proficient57

An Interesting Bug

80

In The Beginning

58

Chapter80

A Better Way

58

Further Development of Skills

80

What Makes Sense Is Easier

60

Higher Skills

80

Conquering Our Fears Of Losing Out

61

Truly High-Speed CW Awaited Electronics 81

Other Suggestions

62

Looking Backward And Forward

81

How Long Shall I Practice62

The Skilled Operator

83

Fading, Static, Interference and or Poor Fists 62

Faster – Faster - Faster83

Correcting Imperfect Copy

63

Reading Versus Copying Skill

84

Other Observations

63

The Sound Barrier

84

98 Of The 1ØØ Most Common Words

64

How Can Such Skill Be Developed

85

Chapter 964Factors Needed To Get There86

Sending and the Straight Key – Part I 6 4

Who Can Do It

87

Quality Of Sending

64

Amateur High Speed Clubs

88

Keying And What It Means

65

Chapter89

The First Morse Key

65

How Long Will It Take To Learn

89

Recommendations To The Beginner

65

Marshall H. Ensor’s Code Course

89

The Straight Key

66

The American Straight Key And Its Use

67

Another Example - Compounded By Handicaps
91

Gaining Skill, Errors, and Automaticity

68

More Examples

Personal Characteristics, Fists

69

Some Outstanding Examples Of Effectiveness
93

Chapter 969

Determination and Persistence

Pay No Attention To Any Errors

Sending and the Straight Key – Part II 6 9

By Contrast

KEYS

69

Chapter

The Traditional British Key And Its Usage

70

Using A Straight Key

71

Glass Arm

72

Tests for Proper Operation of a Hand-Key

73

What Is It That Makes a Good Hand-Key? 73

Chapter 1Ø
4

74

11

12

93

94
94

13

95

The Role of Memory in Telegraphy95

Some Further Questions and Thoughts

96

Chapter

97

14

The Ear

97

Pitch Of CW Signal

97

Sensitivity To Duration Of Sound

98

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
The Ear Can Often Make Sense Out Of Poor
Sending
98
The Trained Ear Can Discriminate Between
Signals99
Headphones Are Superior To A Speaker

99

Chapter

99

15

Timing99

Timing Is The Heart Of The Code99

The Basic Units

100

Relative Duration And Spacing Are Very
Important100

Irregularities In Timing

Chapter

The Original Morse Code

Vail’s Thinking

Chapter

19

101

103

Other Methods

103

Personal Computers And Keyboards For SelfLearning
103
Many Computer Programs Are Excellent

103

Growing Up With Hearing It

104

115

117

A Brief History of Morse Telegraphy –Part II117
The Original Morse Code Modified In Europe
117
Equipment

16

112

Who Invented What We Call The Morse Code
112

118

Early Day Operators Up Through The Civil
War
119
Operators After The Civil War

119

The Introduction Of Wireless120

When Were The Terms Dit And Dah
Introduced

Chapter 2Ø

120

121

Learning the American Morse Code 121

Learning By Listening To High Speed Code 104

Comparisons

121

Further Comments On Gaining Speed

104

Timing

122

105

No Need For Confusion

122

105

Learning It

123

106

Learning To Read By Sounder125

American Morse - An Art

125

Some Further Comparisons

125

Sleep Learning
Another Suggestion That Has Worked
McElroy’s Course and His Claims For It

Chapter

17

106

Common Errors and What To Do About
Them
106 Some Practice Materials For Learning
Chapter

18

107

From the MILL ØØa Operational Notes

Chapter 21
Computer Programs And Tapes For
Methods Not Recommended
Learning And Improving Skill In Code107 Doing It the Hard Old Way

126
127

128
128
128

Morse University

107

The student

128SuperMorse By Lee Murrah, WD5CID

108

Other Discouraging Processes

129

Morseman+ By Robin Gist NE4L/ZF2PM

108

So:

130

GGTE Morse Tutor Gold108

The Futility of Wrong Practice131

The Mill. by James S. Farrior, W4FOK

108

Chapter

The Morse Tutor Program

109

NuMorse by Tony Lacy G4AUD

110

Code Tapes For Learning And For Other
Purposes

Chapter

19

22

132

Word Lists For Practice132

The 1ØØ Words Grouped By Function

132

110

Some sentences composed of these words alone
are:
132

111

The Rest Of The 5ØØ Most Common Words
132

A Brief History of Morse Telegraphy –Part I
111 Some Common Prefixes And Suffixes
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

133
5

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
Some Common Phrases For Practice133

Sending Tests

155

Some Long Words For Practicing

133

Receiving Tests

155

Chapter

23

134

Analysis And Criticism Of Previous Teaching
Methods
156

Making Sure You’re Understood

134

From The Originator’s Standpoint

134

Tests To Establish A Better Teaching
Method157

Feedback And Redundancy

134

Character Speed For Initial Learning

157

Repeating And Counting Words

135

Can The Rhythm Patterns Be Enhanced

158

Using Redundancy Intelligently

135

At The Receiving End

136

Chapter

What Letters Should Be Taught First 159
When To Introduce A New Character 159

24

138

Bandwidths and Key Clicks

138

Should Practice Be By Groups Of Letters
159

Chapter139

Troublesome Characters

25

160

Code Courses and Devices Advertised in
How Long Should Lessons Be And How
the Older Days
139 Distributed In Time160
The Omnigraph

139

Recorders And Computers

143

Chapter

26

144

New Philosophy For Teaching

161

Designing An Efficient Teaching
Program162

Speed Contests

144 Summary

164

Chapter

147

Chapter 3Ø

165

147 The Candler System

165

27

Abbreviations

Some Of The More Common Abbreviations In
CW Work
147

Background

165

Abbreviations Used In Traffic Handling148

The Course

166

Examples Of The Phillips Code148

The Essential Principles

166

151

Critique

167

Lesson One

169

Lesson Two

169

Lesson Three169

Lesson Four

170

Lesson Five

170

Lesson Six

170

A Few Useful Z- Signals

Chapter

28

152

Letter Frequency Counts

152

International Morse Code152

Letter152

Structure

152

Units

152 Lesson Seven
1 5 2 Lesson Eight170

Lesson Nine

171

Lesson Ten

171

Total
Foreign Adaptations Of The International
Morse Code154

For the Original American Morse code

154

Chapter

29

The Koch Researches

154

31

171

The So-Called Farnsworth or Spacing
154 Method
171

Tests To Determine What Competent Operators
Are Doing
154
6

Chapter

171

Chapter

32

173

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Other Alphabets
Chapter

33

173 Sending and writing at the same time

178

Sending and receiving simultaneously

178

174

Receiving two or more messages at same time
178

A Brief History of United States Operator
Licensing Requirements and MilitaryComparison with other mental functions andTraining
174 discussion
179
In the Beginning

174

SpeedsThe First Laws 1912 to 1927

174

The Radio Act Of 1927

176

Some Interesting Examples Of Young Skilled
Operators Of The Past
181

1933 And After

176

Examples Of Effective Code Learning

181

1951 And After

176

Learning

181

1954

177

Appendix

183

Various Military Training Requirements

177

A New Way To Talk

183

Chapter

34

178

Talking
Examples which Illustrate the Nature of
QRQ Operators
Real Skills
178
Sources of Material
Receiving Code While Doing Something Else
178

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

Index

180

183
185
205
208

7

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Ch.15, now Ch. 19, on the development of the Morse code itself.
The first edition of this book was This Third Revised Edition fills in
prepared under a strong time- where the second revision left offpressure to collect and preserve and reveals a summary to thethe results of years of reading and Koch research and adds some ofresearch into the best ways to the High-Speed material into thelearn the code initially, to gain Appendix. It is hoped that thisskill “how the experts say they do edition will be welcomed by thoseit” together with a number of who love the subject of telegraphy
other associated aspects of inter- and will continue to be helpful toest. The urge was to get the major those wishing to learn or perfectprinciples and features organized this fascinating and worthwhile
before they got lost or buried in skill.
my files.
It is my hope that you, as reader,Diskettes of that first edition were will find it to be of both interestshared with a very few people. It ing and useful. I make no claim
was soon replaced by a revised that it is complete, perfect or final,
first edition in which a number of or that it contains everything ofaccidental errors were corrected possible value or interest. I haveand some clarifications made in had to leave out some interesting
wording. It was also produced items, especially of history. Perunder considerable pressure, haps some of these, plus anythingleaving quite a number of addi- you, as reader, may wish to contional items of general or specific tribute, could be added in further
interest lying unincorporated in editions.
the files.
Introduction
Many diskette copies of this edition were distributed, a thousand The research behind this bookdiskette copies were made and would probably never have been
distributed free by the Virginia done at all if I had not been so
Beach Ham Fest and Convention, eager to learn the telegraphic
it was copied and printed by the code, but made such a terrible
FISTS CW Club of America and flop of it. I just barely qualified
by several others, including my for a license in early 193Ø, andfriend James (Jim) Farrior, for a very long time could not
W4FOK, who has reproduced it in receive it well enough to reallyhis “The Mill” code leaning enjoy using it. Like most others inprograms.
those past days, I memorized the
The second revised edition filled “dots and dashes” from a printed
in selected items, clarified and table.
expanded several areas, brought A good teacher might havesome of the appendixes into the helped, but.... If only I could havebody of text, as well as corrected a had just the following key parafew instances, particularly in old graph from the QST article ofPreface

8

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

July 1923, it would have at least counts them mentally. (It is wise
gotten me off on the right foot:indeed for the beginner never tohear code characters sent at“The first step in learning the speeds below about 13 wpm.)
code is to memorize the dot These two errors largely accountand dash combinations repre- for getting stuck at higher speeds
senting the letters. They must also - they mean we have not
not be visualized as dots and really learned the characters.
dashes, however, but rather
should be “auralized” as Today, there are many tapes andsounds. There is no such word computer programs available
as auralized, but if there were which teach the Morse code in
it would express the correct ways that avoid making either ofmethod of grasping the code. these basic errors. This book has
The sound dit-dah (meaning a been written to share the results ofdot followed by a dash) in the this research of the literature head telephones must impress also including talks with skilled
your mind directly as being operators - with those who want to
the letter “A” for instance, learn or teach the Morse code, orwithout causing black dots to improve their own skills. It
and dashes to float before majors on the methods that haveyour eyes for an instant. This proved most successful, but also
is a point that always troubles discusses some which should be
beginners, but if you learn avoided. It offers guidance forfrom the first to recognize the those just beginning, and help forsounds as letters immediately those who are stuck and want towithout reverting to dots and improve. It also tells how thosedashes, you will make much who are proficient and those whoare experts operate.
better progress...”Some history and related items
More succinctly: “Don’t try to are included in the later chapters
teach the Ears through the for those who are interested inEyes.” (Wireless Press 1922)
telegraphic communication. My
I was not alone in making this hope is that you will find it not
first false step: very many others only interesting but helpful. This
did it that way, too, and probably is a “How To” book, not a sciensome today still do. It was and is tific treatise. Source credits forthe inevitable reason why most individual items have rarely been
people who start this way get noted. Many a contribution has
stuck at some speed, around ten come from multiple sources. Mostwords per minute or less, and of the significant sources arelisted under Sources.
can’t seem to get beyond it.
The second mistake, even in “I have never known a person
learning by hearing, is in hearing who was truly proficient with code
the characters sent so slowly that to dislike it: on the contrary, thethe learner tends to analyze each more proficient they are, the more
one into dits and dahs, and even they love it.” The Morse code is a
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

9

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphymeans of communication, a new built up from simple, available
way to enjoy expressing yourself. parts.
William G. Pierpont NØHFF
These factors have not escaped
the Russian communists. TheyIs the Radio-Telegraph were also deeply impressed withthe reliability, simplicity and
Code Obsolete?
lower cost of equipment for code
Outsiders and some of those communication and ease inlooking into Amateur radio maintaining it. (In the same line
often ask this question: “Isn’t of thinking, their military radio
the Morse code obsolete? gear has all been vacuum tube
Hasn’t modern technology type to avoid potential damage
due to radiation.) Therefore,
displaced it?”through the years they have
Back in 1912 nobody balked at popularized and promoted learnlearning the code: it was simple ing the Morse code and developthen - if you didn’t know the ing skill in its use. It was included
code you couldn’t even listen and among their civilian “sports”
understand, much less communi- activities. Contests and prizes werecate by wireless.
offered to the best and fastest opBut today, however, it refuses to erators. This would assure them oflie down and die. Why not only a pool of skilled, high-speed opold timers, but many newcomers erators in event of war. Several
have found that it is a skill worth years ago a couple of American
learning, a pleasure just as any soldiers who were amateurs wereother skill. There is a real sense of taken captive from a ship which
pleasure and achievement in was too close to North Korean
communicating this way. Some shores. They were surprised tofind it an excellent means of es- find that very many civilians incape, a way to forget immediate that country readily understoodwork-a-day problems and com- code.
pletely absorb one’s attention.
In recent years our own military
There is practical value also. It seem to have awakened to all this,can get a message though where and have re-begun to train someother methods fail. Operators personnel for Morse code operahave long known that Morse code tion. In addition, they have realsignals penetrate distance, and go ized that Morse is an effective
through interference and static means of communicating during
where voice signals can’t hack it. periods when the enemy is jamThis is why low power (QRP) en- ming. There are other advantages
thusiasts find that it is far superior also. It uses the narrowest signal
to voice. Besides this, the equip- bandwidth, which for amateur use
ment required, both transmitting means more channels are availand receiving, is much simpler able within a band. It has the bestand smaller, uses less power, and signal-to-noise ratio, and in addiin an emergency can often be tion, an operator can soon learn toseparate (mentally “filter”) sig10

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

nals which are very close together Not very long after this beginningby differences in pitch, speed and operators became so skilled thatstyle of sending.
they began to chit-chat easily over
the wires among themselves, much
Learning the Morse Code - like radio amateurs do today
An Overview
when they “chew the rag”. Thatkind of freedom should be ourWhere we are goinggoal - easy, natural use of the
If you are looking for any code to communicate, similar to
magic, any secrets, any tricks the way we read and talk. That’s
here - or hypnotism - you where we are headed.
won’t find it. What we do of- The code is not a new language. It
fer is just practical, time-tested is the language you already know,
working methods, which to- “written” in sound patterns ingether take advantage of all stead of patterns of ink on paper that has been learned over the it is your own language. You will
years about how to teach and learn to “read” by ear the lanlearn the Morse code effi- guage you already read so well byciently and well.
eye.
George Hart, long time code ex- This is lesson one, it is mostpert with ARRL put it this way: important always to think of it“The greatest obstacle in learning this way:- Every Code Letter,code is the method used.”
Number And Symbol Is A
Ted R. McElroy, teacher and long Unique Pattern Of Sound.
time code speed champion said Psychology teaches us that whenthat any normal person can easily we start to learn something new, if
achieve 25 wpm. This is an easily we think of it as being easy, it willachievable and reasonable goal. be easy. The best teachers never
One who can handle this speed hint or suggest that there is anycomfortably is a good operator.
thing hard about it, and their stuThe original American Morse dents learn it quickly, usuallycode of 1845 was designed to within a week or two. They also
communicate: to transmit over the make learning it fun. We learn
telegraph wires any and every much faster that way; so think ofkind of written message or infor- learning it as fun - enjoyable. If
mation in letter-perfect, number- you want to learn it - you can.
perfect, and punctuation-perfect Our foundation is the alphabet,
form. It was recorded as a wiggly numbers and punctuation marks.
line on a strip of paper tape to be Learn these sound patterns so well
read or interpreted by eye. Very that when, for example, you hearsoon the operators discovered that “dahdahdit” you immediately
they could read the recorder’s recognize it is “G”. This is basic,
noises accurately by ear, and so in but don’t stop there. Code is totime sounders slowly began to communicate: and we don’t talkreplace the recorders.
in letters, but in words. Words are
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

11

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

our smallest thinking units. Even ning to become proficient. So ourwhile we are still learning to mas- plans are
ter the alphabet we can begin to _to learn the alphabet ofrecognize small common words,
sound patterns so well thatsuch as “the” and “of” as words
we recognize each letter inwhen we hear them.
stantly, then
When we first learned to read, we _to learn to recognize most
could already talk, but readingof the words we hear as
was something new, and it took awords, and finallylittle effort to learn. At first weto learn to listen to the
had to spell out each word, then _stream of code as we would
try to figure out how to proto someone speaking to us
nounce it, and then remember
in words and ideas.
what we had already deciphered
while we tackled the next words That is proficiency, whatever theuntil we had laboriously “ r e a d ” speed is being received. We canthe whole sentence. The begin- learn to do this at any speed. Ourning stage of learning the code is goal should be to learn to use thethat way, too, but it doesn’t need code so that it becomes easy andto stay that way. Words are written natural, like the way we read andas strings of letters, one letter after talk.
another. But we don’t read themthat way - we read the word. If we
couldn’t spell we couldn’t write
either - or else we would have touse hieroglyphics. Words must
become our units of thought in
Morse because words make sense
and they are easy to remember.
Reading code, like reading print,
becomes much easier and faster
when we have learned to recognize words instead of spellingthem out as strings of letters. A
good reader reads words, andeven strings of words at a glance.
We can learn to do it: many, manyothers have. We are hardly conscious of the letters which spellout the words we read so easily
now. Our attention is focused on
the thoughts written in print, andour reactions are to the ideas expressed.
When we begin to reach this stage
with Morse code, we are begin12

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Have a “Can-Do-It”
attitude, because it iseasy to learn. If you
How to Go About it Effidon’t tell people thatcientlylearning the code isThis Chapter Is A Summary To
hard, it won’t be. If
Prepare You To Learn
you really want tolearn it, you can. ApLearning the Morse code is acproach it as if it werequiring a New set of Habits. It is a
impossible to fail. Moskill subject governed by the same
tivate yourself.
principles that apply to learning_ Keep a Relaxed Attennis, shorthand, typing, playing
mosphere, free of tena musical instrument, etc. Regularsion, pressure, any
consistent, repetitive Practice sets
sense of hurry andin concrete what we do and theanxiety.
way we do it.
_ E n j o y the learning
Some people have managed toprocess itself.
master the Morse code without
any help. Others have used poor
_ Picture Yourself Being
methods, and both have all too
Successful.
often given up when they came toa plateau, short of proficiency. Comments:- Whenever we think
Today methods are available of anything as “hard,” it creates
which almost guarantee success, a stumbling block, and that tends
and a number of fine courses ex- to discourage us. - Most people
find that competition during theist using these methods.
initial stages hinders learning. In
These principles are outlined be- actual reading and copying code,
low and will get the beginner off any anxiety or undue concern
on the right foot and bring him to about “getting it all”, or too inproficiency. If you are one who tense interest in what is being rehas gotten stuck, use them to get ceived, or trying to outguess whatback on track. They offer the is coming next, can cause us tomost rapid way to success in miss out some of what follows. learning the telegraph code and People who do things well do notachieving a real mastery of it.
struggle with them. - “Relaxed
Prepared - prepared with the right receptiveness” works.
Attitudes, and with knowing What 2. Get your first impression of
to do and H o w do it. This can
the code characters by Lismean the difference between suctening to them - By Ear cess and failure.
the way you will actually
use them.
1. Your A t t i t u d e towardlearning is crucially im- Throw away all printed code
portant: It is essential charts and any trick memory
Preparation for success.
methods people offer - they will
inevitably slow you down andChapter 1

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001_

13

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

may even discourage you as you Instant recognition is what weadvance.
strive for.
Comments:- The reason learning
These Four Principles Are Abthe code by eye or by mental
solutely Essential.
pictures will slow you down is because our visual and auditory
5. Concentrate On One Aspect(hearing) memories are comAt A Time.
pletely separate from and unreFor example, don’t try to learn tolated to each other. Trying toblock print or typewrite while youlearn by charts or “sound alikes” are learning to copy.
slows down learning because they
make us go through one or more 6. Learn To Receive The
Code Accurately - this isneedless steps each time we hear
our primary goal.
a character. In both cases themind has to go through a conIn receiving we must wait until
scious analytical or translationeach character or word has been
exercise for each signal. See
completely sent before we can
Chapters 4 and 13
correctly recognize it. We must
3. From the very first learn to develop that patient, receptive
hear each code character as state of mind that allows us toa Unit Of Sound, a whole recognize each character instantly
and accurately as soon as it has
pattern, a rhythm.
been completed.
At first each character should besent fast enough, preferably from 7. Listen only to Accurately
Sent Code.
about 18 to 25 wpm or evenfaster, for us to hear it as a unit, Accurate character formation and with a wide space before and timing - is essential for efficient
after it. Never, never try to ana- learning. Proper spacing between
lyze it into parts. This is most im- letters and words is as important
portant.
as the correct formation of the
4. The Code Character Is The characters themselves. and becomes even more important as
Letter.
speeds increase. At first it is best
For example, when you hear “ d i - to listen to cassette tapes, comdah” recognize it immediately as puter or keyboard generated
being “A” - you are “hearing” code. If you have a teacher follow
the letter “A.” Associate the code his advice.
signal with the printed letter so
intimately that when you hear or If you listen to poorly sent code
think of the one, the other imme- you will needlessly distract thediately pops into mind. Our mind by forcing it to try conmental “equation” should be sciously to figure out what thecharacters are supposed to be.
immediate, like this:(Once you become proficient,“didah”“A”,
you can learn to read such send“A”“didah”.
ing.) Likewise, in the early stages
14

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyof learning avoid all distracting letter or number immediately afnoises, and interference, such as ter hearing and recognizing it
static and other signals.
(that’s called “copying”). See
Sending becomes relatively easy Chapters 7 and 8.
after you have a good timing Teachers differ on the best way tosense. It is also easier because you start out. Your teacher or course
know in advance what is coming may start out having you write
next. However, listening to your down each character as you hear
own sending at too early a stage it. Either way is to help you assomay hinder learning because the ciate the sound with the letter orcharacters are not being sent ac- number. Sooner or later you will
curately enough.
want to be able to do both.
8. Plan for regular daily In any event, as skill increases we
Practice Periods.
are going to have to learn to
The learner needs to know exactly copy. At first it will be letter by
W h a t he is going to do and letter. But that will prove to be too
When. Make them Short Enough slow as our skills increase. - In
to prevent fatigue, boredom or order to advance we need to learn
discouragement. S p a c e them to copy behind: that is, to be
widely enough apart to let what writing down what has been heard
you have gained sink in. Practice while listening to what is being
is building habits: let’s practice sent. This only needs to be a syllable or two or a word or two beonly what is right.
hind, even at high speeds - thisWe all have our ups and downs. takes the pressure off. For many
Some days we will do better than people it seems to develop almost
others- this is just a part of normal automatically as they practice andlearning, so don’t let it discourage use the code, but most of us needyou. It’s better to put off prac- help. There are several exercises
ticing to advance at a “bad” time which can help us. See Chapter 8.
(if you’re tired out, sick, down inthe dumps). Make practice mate- Some hams started out copying
rial enjoyable - interesting in vari- everything, and have become sotied to their pencils that they justety and content.
can’t seem to understand any9. Listening And Copying.
thing without writing it down first.
If you are studying alone, start That is an awkward way to conout by just listening without writ- verse! “Throw Away Your Pening down anything. (See section 2 cil” is good advice. It forces us toabove.) Listen to the signal and learn to receive by just listening.
say the name of the letter or (I knew a ham who for over 6Ø
number out loud immediately years couldn’t receive without aafter you hear it. After you get pencil. When he became almost
familiar with all the letters and blind, he had to learn - and henumbers so you feel somewhat did, very quickly!) We need to
comfortable recognizing them, learn both ways - to copy and tothen practice writing down each listen. So what if we miss a few
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

15

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

words here or there? - We can still units of sound and recognitionget the gist of it. Remember - heard and sent as words.
even the best operators sometimes Our list of 1ØØ most common
miss a word or two.
words is a good place to begin
1Ø. We gain Speed by the right (see end of Chapter 4). Practicekind of practice.
them by listening to them, and as
It depends on more and more you send them over and over nearly instant recognition, first of until when you think of the word
characters, then of words and fi- it just seems to flow naturally as if
nally of larger units of speech and you were reading or writing it.
thought. To advance in receiving Practicing with these common
speed we must push ourselves. words seems to help the brain beShort bursts of speed work best - gin to learn to handle many othereven as short as a single minute at words as words, too. We can exa time, rarely more than 3 to 5 tend this skill by practicing someminutes. If you want to increase of the word prefixes and suffixes,
your speed, listen to code at a such as pro-, per-, com-, -ing, speed faster than you can get it tion, etc. The bigger the units ofall, and pick out all the words you sound we recognize as units thecan recognize. In copying, pick a easier receiving and sending bespeed just a little too fast for at come.
least part of your practice time. This kind of practice, with careful
How fast you want to be able to regard for spacing and timing,
receive is up to you. Set your own will prevent forming the sloppy
goal.
habits some hams have fallen into
Remember, however, that the goal as they run the letters of shortis Communication of intelligence, words together like a single comnot just speed for the sake of plex character, and also when they
forget to space between words.
speed.
These things make reading and
11. We advance in skill after copying very difficult, and as
mastering the letters, num- speeds increase, can make it albers, etc., by learning to most impossible.
Hear Words As Words instead of just strings of let- 12. Over-learning is the secretof real proficiency.
tersThis is the second stage in mas- It is achieved when we simply retering the code. Most people find ceive and send in code with theit already beginning even while freedom and ease that we havestill working to master the alpha- when we talk, read and write, virbet, as they recognize little words tually unconscious of the code as
like “of” and “the.” We need to code at all. One old-time operator,
extend it to include at least the when asked whether the otherwords we use most often. Start by ham had used a certain word, redeliberately listening for and plied that he didn’t remember thepracticing them until they become actual word - he had the thought
clearly in mind, but he couldn’t
16

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

remember the exact word. That is code once they have learned it.
a mark of the expert.
All of these factors play a part in
From the language arts we learn the time it will take. The main
how people become fluent in a thing is to want to learn it, whatforeign language. It is by Repeti- ever time it may take, to realizetion, saying the same sentences that it is EASY and to want toover and over, with or without lit- USE it when it has been learned.
tle variations until they become Those who just learn it to get a
automatic. Or in other words, Just license, and do not intend to use it
Becoming So Familiar With It will probably find it not be usefulthat it seems natural. When we within a year or two. Yet some ofreach that point, no matter what them may even find that it is inour top speed may be, we have teresting and really interestingachieved a mastery of the code. It and worth while. Some have done
this already. Read Chapter 12.
is a goal well worth our efforts.
These points are expanded and Code is a pleasure when we know
explained in considerable detail in it well. It is an art worth acquiring.
the rest of Part I. If you are a be- It Is To Be Enjoyedginner, go immediately to Chapter
Chapter 2
3.
Chapter 2 will help you under- Principles of Skill Building
stand the why’s of our recom- and Attitudes for Successmendations, and the further
Two factors are of primarychapters are yours to grow on.
importance in building a skill
Experience has shown that under efficiently:
normal conditions, like riding abicycle, once your code skill has 1. Right Mental Attitudes
reached about 13 or more words 2. Practice - doing it the right
per minute (wpm) it is never forway from the very startgotten. You may become “ r u s t y ”
Neither one alone will maximize
but the skill quickly returns.
success.
How Long Will It Take Me To
Here we apply these principles to
Learn
learning the code.
Those who have been taught using these principles and methods We Are Building A Set Of Habhave taken from a minimum of its
one week to an average of about Skill-building is generating a set
three up to eight weeks to achieve of habits. It begins at the highlya satisfying 15 to 2Ø wpm work- conscious levels of letter by letter,ing speed. People are different in number by number, etc. Gradubackground, in attitude, in ap- ally your skill will build up proach to learning, in interest, sometimes by sudden breakenthusiasm and drive, and in what throughs. More and more subthey want to do with the Morse conscious control takes over andWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

17

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

there will be less and less conprocess and with using the
scious thought about it. As it becode.
comes more and more automatic,
your full attention can be given Relax
over to the thought content, theideas expressed while listening, In the process of learning, miniand when copying, you may find mize tensions by having a clear
yourself thinking of something picture of where you are headed the goal, what you are going to do
altogether different.
and the steps you’re going to take
Telegraphy is a skill somewhat to get there. Take little steps, one
like playing golf, a musical in- at a time - small enough that you
strument, typewriting, etc. It is know you can do each one. Inlearning a set of habits which can troduce new material little by litbe called into operation whenever tle, in small enough bites that you
desired, and which work auto- don’t feel overwhelmed - yet notmatically and without conscious so slowly that it becomes boring.
effort when we want them. It has Provide enough variety to keep it
an active and a passive aspect. It is interesting, and introduce newactive when we are sending, and items as soon as you are ready.
passive when receiving. The goal
is to become able to receive and Take it easy. Especially in thesend as easily as the expert does - early learning stages keep things
he is comfortable about it - just as at low key, comfortable and free
if he were carrying on a conver- from strain. Some people learn
faster than others, so it is a goodsationidea to avoid all competition (beSkill is developed by consistent, cause it tenses us up) while you
repetitive practice of materials are learning the new game of thewhich become increasingly fa- A B Cs in sound - learn at yourmiliar (letters, numbers, words, own rate.
punctuation, etc.). Never practiceerror! Only correct practice is Avoid all unnecessary tensions
beneficial. This builds confidence because they tend to distract ourattention. That also means being
and proficiency.
we need to get rid of all kinds of
Our major focus will be on distractions, worries, duties andlearning to receive (which is lis- anything else that makes us feeltening with understanding or by concerned so that we can concenwriting it down). Ultimately con- trate on what we are doing. That
scious thinking of the code must makes learning easy.
be eliminated, and we respondautomatically. Then sending will Relaxation and confidence go
hand in hand. Each promotes thebe easy, too.
other. Easy does it. When you
Anything
know you are doing the rightthing in the right way, this pro1. That produces tension or
motes confidence, and that makes
2. Requires thinking interferes learning easier.
both with the learning
18

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

There are many schemes to learn and must be guarded carefully.
how to relax. They generally be- “If you think you can, you can.”gin by learning to pay attention to Don’t fight negative attitudes,
specific parts of the body one af- such as anxiety, fear, worry andter another, such as starting with doubt. But if you do feel any of
the toes and feet and going up- them, admit it, and then ignore it
wards, to legs, abdomen, chest, and let it die of inattention.
arms, hands, neck, head, face,eyes, etc. As you concentrate on Make learning fun. Enjoy theeach part, first tense it so that you learning process itself. When I am
know what tension feels like, and so eager to learn that I can hardly
then deliberately release that ten- wait to get going, how receptive Ision and recognize what relaxing am and what energy surges up!
it feels like. With practice this can Watch how youngsters play andbe done in a relatively short time, learn as they play. They are goodan almost all at once action. models: they’re relaxed and havBreathing can also be coordinated ing fun. They don’t pay any atso that deep inhalation, followed tention to mistakes. Imitate themby exhaling easily is thought of as and enjoy learning the code. Thatmakes it even easier, and moreproducing relaxation. Try it
enjoyable.
Develop A Good Mental Attitude
Stage One
Anticipate success. “Nothing suc- Learning The A B C’s
ceeds like success.” In order tosucceed you must first believe that Our first impressions are the
you can do it. Everything possible strongest and most long-lasting.
must be done to guarantee success So be sure your very first expoat every step, and to prevent any sure to the code signals is right sense of discouragement or fail- by hearing it. Otherwise, it may
ure from developing. Never even raise a roadblock, a “plateau“,
suggest that learning it could be somewhere along the path which
hard. - As for errors, ignore them, will require us to go back to line
except that when they are persis- one in order to advance.
tent they merely point out where _Code is sound - heard withmore practice is needed. With thethe ears, not read with theright approach and right practiceeyes.
you can’t fail.
_
Listen from the very beginMental attitude is critical: We
ning only to perfectly sent
should approach every aspect ofcode until you have maslearning with interest, enthusiasm
tered it.
and a positive “can do” outlook.
Anyone who really wants to learn To advance rapidly your mind
the code can learn it. If you have should hear only consistent patthe ambition to learn it you have terns of sound. This hammers it
the ability to do it. A feeling of into the mind, hearing the same
confidence is vital to achievement, character formed exactly the sameway each time. Poor quality code
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

19

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

will tend to confuse the mind, terest and enthusiasm start it up
distract your attention, and slow again fresh and naturally. If thedown your rate of learning.
distraction is one which you can
A recent study by Dr. Henry Hol- identify, clear the mind by either
comb of Johns Hopkins Univer- settling it at once, or by setting itsity on learning new skills says aside to handle later.
that after first learning “how to It is impossible to try NOT to atdo it”, engage in routine activities tend to something, such as a disof some other kind to allow a five traction. Attention to it will only
hour time period in which no make it more distracting.
other new skill learning is at- It has been suggested that thetempted. He claims that experi- mind resembles a portable built-in
ments show that it takes abut six computer, but it is far superior. It
hours for to permanently transfer can do feats of information procthe new learning from the front essing and recall unequaled bybrain to permanent storage in the the largest computers. First werear brain. This is something to must debug it and get rid of any
try and see if it helps speed up old bad attitudes about the code
Morse code learning. He also and replace them with a positive
added something we already “can do” and “enjoy it” outshould know: that it takes lots of look. Next, feed it with apractice to learn rapid, complex, “lookup” table of soundand precise hand motor-skills.
equivalents for the various charDevelop a sustained attention. acters, and we’re in business: anAttention to the thing in hand is automatic motor-response to thethe starting point of all learning.
audio signals: we hear didah and_
Identify what needs atten- immediately visualize and write“A”. Don’t put an artificial limit
tion, andon your speed of comprehension.
_
Do that, focusing on it
Stage Two - Practicealone,_

Do it early in the practice Once the fundamentals are well inperiod when energy levels hand and our speed is increasing,are highest.
we need to apply pressure in short
The more interesting the subject bursts in order to advance. At thisis, the easier it will be to concen- stage begin with a few minutes oftrate on it. Direct your mind to go warm-up at a comfortable speed,
where you want it to go by then use familiar materials to try
for a burst of speed for a minutestimulating your interest.
or two at first. Keep it short toA stop-start technique will help minimize the discomfort. Thenyou gain control of your attention drop back to a more comfortablespan and lengthen it. It works this speed, and you will find the mind
way: When attention lags, don’t responding faster.
fight it, but stop all thoughts andclear the mind, then let your in- Avoid practicing when too tired,
ill, or all upset and distracted 20

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

little or nothing will be gained awkward and unproductive, but if
and it may even discourage you. we stick with them - improvement
It takes time for associations to will begin and grow much moredevelop. Be patient and learn at rapidly than without them. Attiyour own rate. Some days will be tudes are critical, and for best rebetter than others for various rea- sults we need to individualizesons. Progress will not be uni- them, fit them to our very own
form, but that should not bother needs. We can lay a foundation
you because you know about it for positive attitudes if we do thebeforehand. When you feel good following:
and can enjoy it you will advance Feel confident, it promotes learnthe fastest. On days when you ing. If you have an opportunity,
don’t feel very good it is best not watch a skilled operator, observe
to push, but rather to work at a how calmly and quietly he goes
comfortable level which will give about it. He is in no rush, and is
you some sense of accomplish- not concerned about missing
ment.
anything. He goes about it just as
As these processes improve, con- if it were everyday listening andscious thinking tends to drift talking. Instead of filling theaway, and we need to keep the mind with problems, worries andmind focused on what we are do- concerns, occupy the mind with
ing in order to advance. But ulti- the way things should be done. In
mately, conscious thinking must learning, build confidence by
be completely eliminated and re- taking one firm step at a time,sponse become automatic (we no telling yourself, “I can do this”.
longer even think of the code it- Build a sense of achievement, that
self). That’s proficiency.
good feeling of doing somethingwell. As a guard against frustraMore About Attitudes For Suction be sure to provide periodic
cesssuccesses, with simple little rewards for each. Keep a record ofAchieving our best performance the goals and your progress: asin any skill, including telegraphy, you see your progress it will help
is a personal matter. We need to:build positive attitudes. Givel. observe how we think and yourself some little reward afteract when doing our best, each practice session.
and thenPicturing Success Is Strong
2. learn to control those atti- Preparation For It
tudes and actions so that we
can use them when we want Mentally Practice the thoughts,
them.
feelings and actions necessary for
While each of us behaves as an good performance and you will
individual, there are definite prin- greatly speed up achievement - aciples which will greatly speed up valuable tool to accelerate learnour success as we adapt them to ing. How can it be done? In aourselves. At first they may seem general over-all way you may
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

21

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

picture yourself quietly and with- yourself receiving and sendingout strain listening to the incom- while you are doing other things
ing signals and easily recognizing (such as driving, walking, workthem as the printed or spoken ing, etc.), not making any parletters and words they represent, ticular effort to fill in details.
and as sending well-formed char- You may want to try it right after
acters without hurry or strain. you have learned the sounds ofPicture yourself doing it, and do- the first group of letters. Sit quiing it well, like an expert. It helps etly in a chair, close your eyes,
to have a real model in mind. relax, and imagine you are hearWatch or imagine a skilled per- ing each letter sound (just as you
former (a telegrapher if you can heard it), taking them one at afind one) at work. He isn’t in any time, and immediately recognizhurry. He isn’t flustered or con- ing it or writing it down with acerned, he just does it and enjoys pencil. Make the picture as realisit. Repeat and rehearse this picture tic and vivid as you can, even tooften in your mind.
imagining the “feeling” the penThere are at least two ways to use cil writing on the paper. Feel athis tool. One is to sit back and sense of satisfaction of doing it
relax and deliberately form the right. Three to five minutes pracpicture. To get started, set up a tice this way at any one time isgeneral over-all picture first. As probably enough. You can then
you continue practicing the men- repeat this kind of mental practice
tal picture of how you want to do, with each new group of characters
add details, making it more and as you learn them, and it willmore realistic until you have a greatly strengthen the habit you
solid lifelike picture in mind. See are trying to build.
yourself doing it, how you will do When you know the whole alphait step by step. The more vividly bet and have a clear mental picyou can mentally see, hear, and ture of how each character should
feel it as you rehearse the picture, sound, you can mentally practice
the better the results will be, how visualizing short printed words
doing it right looks, and how it and then imagine “hearing”
feels. This is not mere wishful them spelled out in code. Feel itthinking, it is building up a in your mind as if it were actual working pattern to become real- a mental “sending” practice.
ized in time as you continue actual receiving and sending prac- Mental picturing practice may betice. This kind of mental picturing extended to prepare you to minican have much the same effect as mize distractions, such as static,
real practice. It creates memories, interfering signals, noisy people
models of the behavior as you in the vicinity milling around,want it to be - but it is, of course, being watched closely, etc. Preno substitute for real practice do- pare for these by picturing yourself calmly receiving and sendinging.
while extraneous noises - talking,Another way is now and then to shouting, crashes - are all around“see” brief “snapshots” of22

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

you Think of what a war-front any guidance as to how to do it
operator would have to contend can make things all the more difwith!. It may also be used to help ficult later. Most learning trouble
learn to copy on a “mill” (type- is due to: one’s attitude, thewriter or keyboard), and other method, or the teacher. One exaspects you may need to meet.
pert wrote: The most difficult stuAll this is preparatory and sup- dents at Harvard were those who
portive of real practice, not a sub- had learned the code by themstitute for actual practice by do- selves by practicing alone without
ing. The goal we seek is for the guidance.
use of the code to be as natural The Telegraph Code is an Alphaand easy as talking, reading, writ- bet of Sound. It is Learned bying. These mental images take Hearing it. When we learned tosome real effort and practice. read our language, it was, orDon’t expect instant results, give should have begun by first learnit time to growing to recognize the ABC’s bysight. Telegraphy begins by
Chapter 3
learning to hear and recognize theABC’s by sound. This differencePart I: Laying the Foundation is important. Code is learned byhearing it. Recognition of the
Let’s Begin With The A-B-C’ssound patterns is the name of the
Many good ways have been de- game. For example, when you
veloped through the years for hear “didah” as “A,” without
learning the telegraph code easily translating, you are thinking inand efficiently. Our purpose here code. The sound is the letter.
is to present the very best ways to There is no reason ever to see thelearn it efficiently and to com- code in written form.
press the learning time to a mini- So Throw Away Those Codemum. It is too bad that so many Charts, All Of Them, Burn Them
hams have learned poorly and as
a result have not been able to en- Saying the letter immediately, or
joy it as they should. The trouble writing it down immediately, eachoften began by imagining that time the ear hears it is one of ways
code would be hard to learn, or to build the code habit quickly.
by learning it in an inefficient, or We need direct association beround-about way, such as visually, tween sound and letter. Anyone
by sight, rather than by sound or who is stuck on a “plateau“because of having learned itby “sound a-likes”.
visually or some other inefficient
Everything depends on how you way will have to learn it all overset about learning it. It is much again by sound. It is unfortunate
more difficult to go back and that some still try to learn it thisunlearn something which was way. To teach it this way today islearned wrong, than it is to learn inexcusable.
the right way from the very start.
Trying to learn by oneself without It is Easier Than You Think
Someone wrote: “Mastering theWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

23

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

art of code communication is ten Morse code and become a verytimes easier than learning to talk - good operator, able to copy it
which you did by about the age of with a pencil at 25 wpm and send
two.” You aren’t learning a new it clearly, smoothly and readably.
language, a whole dictionary full There is no real justification forof strange words, and sentences the statement that “some people
where the words are all scrambled just can’t learn the code.” (Theyup. You are just learning how to don’t want to.) It’s a matter of“read” your own language B y motivation, the secret of learning
Ear instead of by eye. It’s no big any skill. If you are one of thosejob.
who tried in the past and someAlmost anyone who can learn to how didn’t make it, or got stuck
read can learn the code. There is at 8 or 1Ø or 12 wpm, take heart.
no such thing as a normal person Forget what you previously
who wanted to learn the code and “learned”, and start over with the
couldn’t. “I can’t learn the principles set forth here, and youcode” nearly always translates will succeed.
into “I won’t commit myself to Some Naturally Learn Faster than
the time necessary to learn it,” or Others Just as some people have athat a person doesn’t really want knack for learning to play golf orto, even though he may think he tennis more quickly than others,
does. Age, whether young or old, so some have a special knack forand intelligence, bright or dull, learning the code. They catch on
are no barriers. Youngsters of more quickly, but most of us takefour or five can learn quickly, and a bit longer. Kids tend to pick out
oldsters of 9Ø have succeeded, the sound patterns easily andtoo. You wouldn’t want to admit naturally without straining so theythat a four-year old or a 9Ø-year- learn very fastold could outdo you, would you?
It doesn’t require superior intelli- Motivation
gence, just right application.
Most handicaps, such as blindness Nothing beats enthusiasm toor even deafness, have not learn. Stir it up - eagerness. Coustopped those who want to learn. ple that with determination, andDeaf people have been able to failure is impossible. If you wantlearn and receive using their fin- to so badly that you can almost
gers on the driver of a speaker at taste it, you can do it. If you are3Ø wpm or on the knob of an teaching it, take advantage of any
electromagnetically driven “ k e y latent fascination with the idea ofknob” bouncing up and down at a special skill, secret code for2Ø wpm. (Even some people with communicating: many youngsters
dyslexia have been able to learn have it and maybe some older
to a useful extent.) It is easy if people, too. One lady who later
you really want to learn it and became a code teacher said shethen go about learning it in the got started because “the coderight way. Any person of reason- sounded like fun.” One manable intelligence can learn the found that the very idea of com24

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphymunicating his mind to another under pressure to certify codeby intermittent tones is most fas- ability, who have been given “ acinating.
taste of the way it used to be” byA sense of achievement and the listening, have often gotten interintimacy found in code commu- ested and want to learn at least a
nication make the effort a lot of few letters to start with. Quite afun. CW is fun if you take the few no-code licensees, after havtime to learn and to be comfort- ing had some fun operating, areable with it. Be motivated. Fix it looking for more ways to enjoy
in your mind that you can do it. ham radio: the Morse code
Then relax, be willing to learn at doesn’t look so abstract to them
your own rate, refusing to com- as it did before.
pare yourself with others, and take Learning The Morse Code Istime to enjoy the learning proc- Similar To Learning To Readess. Make it fun. (Trying too hardor trying to hurry, can create a Learning the Morse code is muchkind of tension which impedes like to learning to read by eye.
progress.) Take it easy. Keep it Learning to read print has several
leisurely. The more you expose stages of skill level.
yourself to it and the less hardFirst we learned to recogyou “try” the better and faster _nize the individual letters,
you’ll become good at it. You
and could slowly spell andcan’t help succeeding. Enthusisound out words.
asm and determination will win
out_
Next we began to recognize
and read many common
The sudden beginning of WWII
short words as words, inrequired a lot of operators in a
stead of having to spellhurry. Many Amateurs volunthem all out.
teered and served directly as operators or by teaching new re- _Before long we learned to
cruits. However, the attitude ofrecognize short phrasessome recruits was often indiffer(“of the”, etc.) and someent or poor: many of the drafteesof the longer words as
had no desire to learn it, and somewhole words.
even disliked the idea of learning _Finally an expert reader can
it at all. No wonder it took themread whole clauses, senso long to learn and a good manytences and even a parafailed! -- Telegraphy is a skill
graph as a unit of thought,
whose success depends greatly
almost at a glance.
upon the right attitude.
This gives us a clue as to how to
One school teacher demonstrated go about learning and improving
the code, both sending and re- Morse code skill. The essence of
ceiving. The class got so fasci- code learning, like language
nated that they managed to learn learning, is familiarity - that
14 characters in that one class pe- means over-learning. That is,riod. No-code students, no longer learning to the point where it has
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

25

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

become automatic, without unique sound pattern, just likethinking about what you are do- spoken vowels and consonants do.
ing: the dits and dahs, or even the Morse code is Sound Patterns, towords. The highest skill comes be heard by the ear. Any method
when you just seem to be hearing of learning the code which uses
words and sentences and you are the eyes (such as charts forconscious only of the ideas being “memorizing the code”, or some
expressed - that makes communi- other scheme (such as rhymes orcating: a most worthwhile and “sound-a-likes”, etc.) will provegratifying goal. But it doesn’t to be a serious handicap to latermean you have to become a speed progress. This is because it makes
demon.
us “translate”, something wemust do consciously. If you have
The Morse A B C ‘S Are Patbeen doing it by thinking: “ditterns Of Sounddah stands for ‘A’, “you have
The Best Beginning is by Listen- been thinking in terms of separate“dits” and “dahs”. That makesing
it hard. So forget that there are
Phase Onesuch things as “dits” andLearning To Recognize Each “dahs” and learn to think in
Letter And Number As Soon As code sound-patterns. Start trainWe Hear It: the “A-B-C’s” of ing yourself like this: every time
the alphabet of sound. This is the the ear hears the sound patterngoal of stage one of code learn- “didah” you think “A”, and if
ing, building the foundation. The you are copying, the hand writes
code must be thought of as sound “A”. With some practice, like a
good operator,you will find thatpatterns.
the character just seems to comeIf you have been having trouble, to mind from nowhere. Proceed
the moment you begin to think of directly from sound pattern tocode solely in terms of sound letter, with no intermediate interpatterns, you will have made pretation of any kind. It may help
much progress. A printed letter is if you whistle or hum the sounda combination of lines which patterns.
form a shape. But children are nottaught to recognize the letters of Part II: Laying the Foundathe alphabet by pointing out the tion
various lines which make it up,
they are taught to recognize each Delayed Perception And Instantletter as a whole, at a glance. The Recognition
same principle applies to learning There is one obvious difference
code: each letter and number is a between reading by eye andunit of sound, a unique sound reading by ear. While a printed
pattern, a rhythm, different from letter is to be instantly recognized
every other letter or number. at a glance, a code character canEach code character has its own not be recognized until the whole
pattern has been heard - at the26

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

end of the short time it takes to out. That pattern or rhythm of thesend it. We must “hear it out”.
letter is to be heard as a whole
Two important factors are in- over a short period of time, andcannot be recognized until thevolved here:
whole pattern has been heard as a_
The characters must be complete pattern. We must “hearheard at speeds that compel it out” before we can identify it.
us to hear them as complete When we get the sound patterns
patterns, as wholes, not as well fixed in mind it is good tostrings of “dits” and listen to faster and slower speeds“dahs” - Tests have shown and hear the letters roll out.
that speeds of at least about
13 wpm are required and Listen Only To The Best Qualitythat faster speeds are pref- Of Codeerable (18 -25)
In the early stages it is very im_
The spaces around them portant to listen only to the mostmust be long enough to perfectly formed code you canmake the sound patterns find. The ear and mind need tostand out clearly and dis- get intimately familiar with thetinctlyrhythm pattern, consistently
This is why the so-called Farns- formed. Poorly sent code gives aworth method is used: making the sloppy, irregular rhythm whichspaces between characters quite tends to confuse the mind andwide at first and then gradually slow down learning. Don’t expect
reducing them to the standard. to develop any real speed listenCombining these two ways we ing to hash. Listening to poor
soon recognize that, while we sending on the radio has someknow that the sound patterns are times discouraged learners beformed of “dits” and “dahs”, cause it distracts the mind by
we never allow ourselves to try to compelling us to think consciously about the details instead
analyze or count them.
of the wholeness. We have to slow
We must first consciously listen to down. Listening to poorly sent
each letter until the mind accepts code defeats the learning process.
it as a complete letter without (Later, with improved skill, you
there being any kind of conscious will probably be able to underthinking about it involved. We stand most of the poorly sent
forget the dits and dahs and just code. But for now avoid it.) This
listen to the patterns, the rhythms. is also why you should not try to
So, the ear’s “glance” is a little send code yourself until you have
longer than the eye’s - it hears a good sense of timing.
each sound pattern separately because of the wider spaces which Getting Started
separate it from the preceding and
There are several ways to introfollowing sound patterns.
duce the student to the code. One
These spaces are very important - highly effective way to create thethey make the sound pattern standWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

27

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyright impressions for the beginneris to dictate a sentence or two, What Characters Shall We Beginspelling each word out in ordi- Withnary letters at about a 2Ø wpm Teachers disagree on this. Some
rate for him to write down, like suggest that taking the simplest
this:characters first (such as E I S H 5,
Y O U A R E G O I N G T O F I and then E T I M, etc.) helps toN D I T I S E A S Y T O L E A R build up a feeling of confidence.
Others point out that this may
N T H E M O R S E C O D E.
lead some students to try to anaThe teacher then assures the stu- lyze the longer characters, so theydents that they will do equally recommend beginning withwell as they learn the code. “All longer characters (such as (Q 7 Z
we are going to do is to change G, Ø 9 8 J P, or the numbers 1 2
the names of the letters:-- instead 3...). This has the advantage ofof ‘Y’, that letter is going to compelling the student to wait
sound ‘dahdidahdah’,” and so until the whole character is comon. Now the student is ready to pleted before identifying it. Perlearn the first few letters by haps a good way would be to startsound.
with a couple of short letters first,
Another good way, because and then go to the longer onesnearly everybody can quickly and meet both goals. No matterrecognize the difference between what order is used in teaching,a few words sent at about 2Ø each character must “stand on its
wpm, to begin the first session, is own feet,” and not depend on
word recognition:-- send a simple comparing it with some otherword or greeting such as “ H i ” character in order to learn andand a good-Bye, such as “ 7 3 . ” identify it.
Send each one at say 2Ø wpm The important thing, of course, ishalf a dozen times until everyone to hear the characters at speeds
gets familiar with its sound, then high enough that they are heard
send them randomly and have as complete unified patterns, andthem say the words. Then stick in preferably at first to present in thea different word like “the” and same lesson characters which havesee if they protest. Tell them what quite different patterns of soundit is and send it few more times. so that there will be no attempt toThis can whet their appetite and compare themshow that them that it isn’t hard
those sound patterns really mean Methods To Go About Teachingsomething.
There are at least two ways to start
For people who are afraid that out: a) listening only at first, andthey can’t learn to identify sound 2) listening and writing it down.
patterns, some have suggested that For those who learn by them“V” and “B” be compared by selves, one experienced old timesound initially by sending them teacher wrote: “The beginneralternately.
should listen to the sounds until
28

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

he becomes sound conscious. He
should not write anything down
for a week or two , but concentrate his efforts on recognizing
the sounds. He can already write,
but he cannot write with any degree of ease, if at the same time heis trying to do something else
which he is not familiar with [recognizing code characters].
B.
As a beginner, he would hear aletter, take a short interval of time
to decide what it is; with the resultthat when it comes to him, hequickly tries to write it down andmisses the next letter. Wait on
learning to write it down until you
can recognize the letters as letters,
and this confusion will vanish.
Learning to read code is recognizing the sounds immediately,that is, the letters.” This is wise
advice if you are studying by
yourself.
Probably most teachers prefer thesecond approach in a class situation. Such might be, for example,
the following (taken from actual
teaching procedures):A. The teacher says: “This isF” and then F is sent. Thenhe says: “Now here it isagain. Write it down withyour pencil each time you
hear it.” He repeats it several seconds apart quite afew times before taking up
the next letter, which ought
to have a quite different
rhythm pattern, such as G,
introduced in the same way.
Then he sends these lettersin random order until thestudents get them rightabout 95% of the time.
Next, he introduces a third
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

letter followed by random
letters learned, and so on
for a half dozen or so at asession, however many thestudents can do without
confusion or becoming fatigued or bored. Note: Each
one should write or print
the way he usually does.
The teacher sends a dit andsays: “This is a dit. It is theletter ‘E.’ Now here it isagain: write it down eachtime you hear it. Forget that
it is a dit - it is the letter‘E’.” Then he simply
sends “E” a number oftimes as the students almost
automatically write it down.
Then: “Now we will hear
the letter ‘I’. Listen.” He
sends ‘T.’ and says “Thisis a ‘I’. Now here it isagain. Write it down when
you hear it.” And so on
through the group for thatlesson. After each new letterhas been drilled in, there is
random letter practice, using all the letters previously
learned. Finally, becauseeven for the first lesson hehas chosen letters that canbe used to construct small
words, he sends these words
with the instructions: “Nowhere is a word. Write down
the letters just as you did
before.” He waits a few
moments while the classwrites it down and says:“Now then, you have copied the word . . .” And soon to the end of the first
lesson of 3Ø - 45 minutes.
Subsequent lessons follow
29

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

this general pattern until the 5 or 6 times in succession, but atalphabet is completed, etc.
one place a different character issent. The students, who are justPart III: Laying the Foundalistening, not writing, are to holdtion
up their hand when the “oddMost sound recordings for self- ball” is heard. A few minutes ofstudy introduce each letter some- this can liven things up and givething like this: “when you hear variety. It can be extended to‘didah’, say “A” to yourself short words, too.
each time you hear it, as soon as
you have heard it. Do the same Learning on a one-to-one basis
thing for each new character as it with a good teacher who can tailor
is introduced.” Then they begin, each lesson to the student makesfor example with the first letter possible the strongest initial im‘F’: sending dididahdit and say- pressions of the sounds anding “F”, dididahdit “F,” and rhythms of the code charactersthen follow with a long string of and to concentrate on any weak“F’s” alone for the student to areas. The teacher can also safely
say “F” after each one, before introduce use of a key earlier thanotherwise. Character “echotaking up the next letter.
ing“method to reinforce learnWhether learning with a teacher or ing:
in private study, repetition to thepoint of familiarity is vital. A 1. Teacher says: “Listen as I
send the character” Heteacher can usually judge quickly
sends it and says its name asfrom student behavior how many
he sends it. “Now listen as I
repetitions are needed. For thesend again and again, andself-study student it is probably
say its name each time as
good to over-do the number ofsoon as I finish sending it.”repetitions of each character before going on, but don’t do itthoughtlessly. Some teachers use 2. “Now listen and write theup to a dozen to two dozen such
letter down each time as
repetitions of each new charactersoon as I finish sending it.”before going on. Since the whole–superstructure of telegraphy is 3. “Take your key now andbuilt on this foundation - be suresend it back to me each
it is solid and secure. Repetition
time I send it, and say its
sets in concrete what we practice.
name as you send it.” It is
Do it wisely. Repetition with atimportant that steps 1 and 2
tention builds expert skill, making
have enough repeats of thethe connection between stimulus
letter so that the student has
and response so strong that thea clear “feel” for the
response automatically follows theproper timing when hestimulus.
comes to stepIn these early lessons a little game 4. Lastly, The teacher will inof “odd-ball” may help. It goessist on accuracy of sending.
like this: the same character is sent
30

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

For those studying alone, build up speed and greater confithere are a number of good dence by practice. One may thencode-learning tapes and begin to reduce the spaces becourses, as well as computer tween words, which will speed up
programs which have great the overall rate of copying.
flexibility. E.g., a code Every effort should be made tocomputer program which stimulate a sense of success in thecan project the printed student all along the way. This
character on the screen an makes learning so much easierinstant after the character is and faster. Let them taste success.
heard can encourage the Forget errors: praise achievestudent to mentally “ s e e ” ments. The goal Is Instant Recogthe letter as soon as it is nition Of Every Character. That isheard. See Chapter 18.
what the next stage is to carry us
If some students think that certain forward to. If there are letters you
characters sound alike, send them don’t recognize quickly enoughseveral times alternately so the now, go back and practice listenreal differences stand out. Typi- ing to them until you do. This will
cally the alphabet and numbers save you time later.
may be covered in a series of no Some of the published orders formore than five lessons. Every- learning the characters are: 5 Ø E
thing possible should be done to T A R - S L U Q J - H O N C V - I
make learning interesting and fun, B Y P - W K Z M - D X F G. F G
and to avoid any sense of bore- H M J R U - B D K N T V Y - C E
dom or needless tension.. One I L O S - A P Q X Z W. E T A I
teacher says: “I write words on M N - S O D R C U - K P H G W
the board and the students sound L - Q H F Y - Z V X J. E I S H - T
them in unison., It is like directing M O - A N W G - D U V J B - R K
a choir, a fun class, where every- L F - P X Z C Y Q. F K B Q T C Z
one feels good about practicing H W X M D Y U P A J O E R S G
the code.”
N L V I. E T I M S O H - A W U J
If one is expecting to do a lot of V F - C G K Q F Z - R Y L B X D
copying in use, starting out by N.
copying on a typewriter has the A E I O U - vowels first, thenadvantage of a better link up be- some of most frequent consotween code, brain and typewriter nants, such as T N R S D L H, etc.,
key than between the brain and a so that many words can be pracpencil. When this stage of learn- ticed from almost the first consoing has been completed, the nant letters learned.
foundation - quick recognition of
every character by its sound pat- Note: The teacher should explain at each new step extern - should have been laid, and a
actly what is to be done andspeed of at least about 5 - 6 wpm
why, so the student willachieved. All the pieces are now
know what is expected ofin hand for the students to be able
him. Back in 1895 someto practice with normal English
psychologists asked expert
words and sentences, ready toWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

31

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

1.
2.
3.

4.

telegraphers: “What is thelearner’s attention mainly
directed to as he progresses?” Their answer was:At first you hustle to getletters
Next you look for words
Later as a fair operator, you
are not held so closely towords, but can take in several words, a phrase or evena short sentence as a‘mouthful’, andFinally as a real expert, youhave such automatic perfection that you pay practically no conscious attention
at all to the details of thecode, but concentrate on
the sense of the message, orto transcribing (copying) it
while our mind thinks
about other things.

Instant Recognition
The first secret of increasing yourreceiving speed is to shorten thetime it takes you to recognize
each code character as soon as it
has been completely heard. The
shorter that time interval is, thefaster you will be able to receive.
Aim to make it instantaneous. If
You Do Not Instantly Recognize
The Sound Of Any Character,
You Have Not Really Learned It
Yet. (That is the one character
you need to practice on until you
know it immediately.) The goal ofpractice and drill from here on isto speed up your recognition ofcharacters, and then of words, tothe point where you can both
“read” them easily without writing, and copy them down more
and more automatically.
Anticipating

Chapter 4

In ordinary listening and reading
many of us habitually anticipate
Building The First Floor On
what the next word or sentence is
The Solid Foundation
going to be, and we are ready tojump ahead or help out. Most ofGaining Fluency in Code to a
us can do this without losing
Useful 15 wpm Level
anything that actually comes next:
By the time you have reached a what actually does follow just resteady speed of about 15 wpm places whatever we anticipated. By
you will have a useful and com- contrast, even at high speeds, thefortable communicating tool. This code signals are so slow compared
will require practice of what you with the speed we think that for
already know, and you will have some of us anticipation can create
to push yourself in little spurts to a severe mental block, causing us
speeds where you cannot get it all to miss out completely what actuat first to reach this goal. Such ally comes next. In the very slow
bursts in speed should be no speed learning stages this risk islonger than about one minute at a greatest.
time, and you will be surprised
how effectively this will help raise If you become conscious that thishabit is interfering with your reyour receiving speeds.
ceiving at any point in learning or
32

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

later use, you should take imme- International amateur call signs,
diate steps to prevent it. This is Q-signals and common abbreviamost important in the early stages tions make good practice, because
when we are forming code habits. they are somewhat “random,”
It will require discipline to con- but realistic and also useful. “Recentrate on listening strictly to the verse English” is good because it
incoming signals. (See next sec- keeps normal letter frequencies
tion for help in preventing antici- by sending words and sentences
pation.) However, if you are con- backwards: e.g. “my antenna isscious of anticipating but that it is up 5Ø feet” becomes “ y mnot in any way interfering with annetna si pu Ø5 teef,” or “teefactual reception, the best thing is Ø5 pu si annetna ym.” - You can
to forget it and keep concentrat- hardly anticipate those “words”!
ing on the incoming signals. In The 1ØØ most common words,
this case, anticipation will not listed at the end of this section,
hurt. (We also tend to evaluate make excellent practice. This notwhat we are hearing or reading. only makes you familiar withThis is natural and should not be them and gives you a boost in
discouraged if it does not inter- feeling at home with the code, butfere with reception.) A tendency also it will help you gain further
to anticipate does tell us one good proficiency as you continue tothing: we haven’t reached out advance. Work with them alonglimit yet and can learn to read side other practice materials until
code faster if we go at it in the you recognize these words, orright way. (See Chapter 11 for most of them, at once as words further discussion of this.)patterns of sound that havemeaning in code. Along with theWhat Kind Of Material To
1ØØ most common words pracPracticetice with some of the common
Most of the materials for practice phrases, such as “of the” “ Ishould be in regular English and am,” etc. See Chapter 22. Onceas interesting as possible. Have a again we must emphasize the imvariety in every practice period so portance of Repetition.
that nothing becomes monoto- The best way to get these comnous. Select the kind of material mon words impressed as units ofyou intend to be working with as sound to the mind is to repeat
you use the code. To prevent an- each one a number of times beticipating what is coming next, fore going on to the next one.
during the early phase of learn- Use a keyboard or computer toing, some practice material in generate a tape, on which each
each session should consist of word is repeated from at least
non-English. Three to five min- three to five times. Space theutes per session is long enough words widely enough apart thatfor this, unless you intend to be you will be able to say the word
working with enciphered mes- each time after you have heard it.
sages - it must not be used to a Then listen to that tape over andpoint where it becomes boring.
over again, saying each word to
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

33

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

yourself as soon as it has been rather the sounds of those letters,
sent. Practice listening to it until putting the sounds represented by
the words come as easily and the letters together as they comenaturally as if you were sitting, in.
listening and talking. Make yourself thoroughly familiar with How Long And What Kind Of
Practicethem.
Keep practice sessions short andwith some resting time in between
Several other simple practices can - doing something else - such as
help you gain familiarity and into ten minute practice periods,
confidence. One of these is to followed by a five minute rests.
read road signs and ads you see Three or four such periods perwhile driving or riding, whistling session are adequate at the earlythem aloud or mentally to your- stages. They can be lengthened
self in code. If you have friends gradually so long as fatigue does
also learning, try whistling code not set in. Remember that fatigue
back and forth among yourselves and boredom tend to defeat rapid
as conversation. There are lots of advancement.
other possibilities - find them and Teachers are divided as to whether
make it fun. For example:- The it is better to major on receiving
Two-Way Word Game This is a practice without copying or togood speed builder, and works major on copying. The best
this way: the instructor sends a course would seem to be to doword and student sounds out the some of both. Some teachers inword to himself (see phonics, sist that the student not copy for
Chapter 7) as the letters follow some time after initially learning
one after the other to build up the the characters. They prefer for
word until a space comes to show him just to listen. The idea is tothat the word is completed.
build up and strengthen soundFor example, the instructor sends pattern recognition without thethe word “was”. As the student distraction of writing.
(Seehears W he thinks “w-”, then as Chapter 7 and Chapter 8.)
he hears A he combines them As for sending practice, it is best(WA) to think “way”, and finally not begun until the student knows
as he hears S and then silence, he how good code sounds. The
thinks the word “was”. Then the sound patterns need to be firmly
student immediately sends it back enough established in mind thatto the instructor. The student the student can imitate them withwrites nothing down. Begin with out the discouragement of heartwo-letter words, then four or ing his own poor character formore letters as the student catches mation and bad or irregularon and speeds improve. Remem- spacing, and also to minimize
ber that it is a game. Make it fun. criticism. It seems best to defer
Never again will you try just to using a key until a receiving
retain the letters in a word; but speed of about 1Ø wpm is
Other Ways

34

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

reached. At all times aim for have a familiar pattern.) It is thebeautiful, perfect sending, where coherence of a grouping thatthe timing and rhythm produce helps speed up its recognition.
accurately formed characters and There is another factor which we
spacings. Aim for it, and don’t be should be aware of. It is this:satisfied with anything less. (See when we are practicing by listenChapter 9.)
ing to the radio and must strain to
One good form of early practice “get” the signals - because of
sending is to listen to a character, weak signals, interference, static orthen send it; hear the next and poor sending (trying to figure out
then send it, etc. Another helpful a bad combination) or to recall
way is for the student and teacher some word previously sent, thisto send a short series of words or brings the conscious mind into
sentences simultaneously, aiming action, to try to reason things out.
to be in unison.
As the conscious mind works
Copying has the advantage of harder and harder, the receptivity
verifying accuracy of recognition of the unconscious mind tends toand identifying areas needing im- cease. This mental friction interprovement. In the early stages the feres with advancement in theuse of random groups is best be- earlier stages of gaining speed,cause it avoids anticipation. Lis- and may even bring all receptivity
tening practice, without writing to a stop. Whenever you must
anything down is of great impor- strain to “get” the signals - betance and value. To gain skill this cause of interference, static orshould be done at speeds almost poor sending - to try to figure out
as fast as you can receive by just something being sent, this brings
listening, and with frequent short the conscious mind into action. toburst of listening to still faster try to reason things out. As thesending. This will help the mind conscious mind works harder andget used to more rapid recogni- harder, the receptivity of the unconscious mind tends to cease.
tion.
This mental friction may bring all
It has been found that it is receptivity to a stop.
grouping which largely determines how fast one can receive Familiarity with what is being sent
code. What doesn’t “Make makes learning easier and faster.
Sense” tends to slow us down. At Words which are unfamiliar to thealmost any skill level, random operator are more likely to be
characters will be the slowest, and read and copied wrong. Progress
isolated, unrelated or unfamiliar is about 5Ø% faster using conwords come next. The highest nected text than words alone.
receiving speeds are achieved with Many more mistakes are madeconnected text, and it tends to be with non-word letter groups which
receivable at twice or more the are not words than with normal
speed of scrambled letters. (Even texts.
nonsense sentences can be received fairly fast because they
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

35

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

characters to identify them atspeeds up to as high as 2Ø wpm,
To have a “plateau“means to be or faster! That’s the way they
stuck at some speed. It may be learned them, but what a waste ofjust a temporary condition which time and effort! Counting andis passed over with a little more analyzing both tend to keep thepractice, or it may be something conscious, analytical mind inthat stubbornly refuses to yield. volved where it should not be.
Several different factors may This will slow us down and tend tocause the stubborn kind of pla- bring on needless fatigue. One
teau. A plateau is the result of in- experienced old timer wrote:
terpreting the sound as something “Once you start becoming faother than the letter itself. Some- miliar with [code] sounds as in
one has written that it is the con- speech, there are no plateaus.”
dition” where the conscious mind
is fighting o translate, while the The 1ØØ Most Common Words
subconscious mind is quietly try- In English
ing to get through and tell you go am me on by to up so it n oit’s got perfect copy.” A plateau of as he if an us or in is at m y
is a battle in the mind, with the we do be and man him out n o t
conscious mind trying to translate but can who has may was one
the dits and dahs and not being she all you how any its say areable to keep up, while the subcon- now two for men her had thescious mind is quietly trying to our his been some then l i k e
get thru and tell you it’s got per- well made when have only yourfect copy.
work over such time were w i t h
At speeds of around 7 - 1Ø or so into very what then more will
wpm it usually occurs because they come that from must said
one is “translating” the code them this upon great aboutcharacters first into some inter- other shall every these first
mediate form (such as a mental their could which would there
picture) and then translating that before should little people
again into the ordinary letters. (Six of these words take the sameThat is a two-step operation which time to send as the number zerotakes more time than the proper (Ø): are him men on so no.
one-step operation does (e.g. Fourteen more of them are“didah” is “A”). Such a situa- shorter still: the its to; us am if; astion is often the result of using be we an; me at is; it.) Twenty
one of the old and obsolete short words. Listening to, copying
learning methods Again, when the and sending the 1ØØ most comcharacters are initially sent too mon words is good daily practice.
slowly the student tends to count Also the 1ØØ words makes goodthe dits and dahs and analyze typing practice.
them in this way. I have known
old time operators who by longpractice routinely counted thecomponents of all the longer
Getting Stuck

36

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphythat to be able to handle somewhat higher speeds will greatly
Our primary interest here is to improve your communication
help you learn and use Morse skills. How shall we go about it?
code so you can fully enjoy this Mere repetition won’t do it We
beautiful mode of communica- need intelligently directed praction. Passing exams is of secon- tice it must be done in the rightdary interest, though necessary to way. This is what we discuss now.
obtain full licensing so you canenjoy conversing by means of How Far Do You Want To Go
Morse code on the air. Many stu- For the sake of discussion, we
dents who have started out with may divide advancement somethe recommended 2Ø wpm mini- what arbitrarily into four stages.
mum character speeds have found which we will call:that they were able to achieve 13
A “good” operator up to
wpm within as little as a week or _about 25 wpm,
two of intense guided practice. It
is important to know what to ex- _A “skilled” operator up topect in a license examination: thearound 35 - 4Ø wpm,
format of an exam, the types ofAn “expert” up to about
questions asked, etc., so you can _6Ø wpm, andpractice them and not be surprised. Such materials are avail- _Over 6Ø wpm a “superable for current examinations
expert.”from the A R R L and othersources. These things will not be Each stage should bring increastreated here. The only one who ing personal pleasure in accomfails is the one who does not try plishment up to whatever point
again until he succeeds. If this is you feel satisfied with and haveyour problem, learn where your no desire to go further.
weaknesses lie and practice to You determine where that point is.
overcome them for the next test. Advancing is by “changing
Many a ham has tried twice, three gears” like going from” lowor more times before he passes. gear” where we recognize charDon’t give up
acters, to second gear where we
recognize small words and some
Chapter 5
common syllable as units ofPractice To Gain Proficiency sound, 3 gear where we have increasing freedom from conscious
When you have reached about 15 spelling and sense of increasing
wpm code will have become apleasure as one hears and sends
useful tool for communication:
words pretty much as words, andYou will have become an opera- then finally “overdrive” wheretor.
we are hardly conscious of spellHowever, it is pretty slow, but now ing except occasional rare words
you have come to feel some satis- or proper names, and are hardly
faction of mastery, and can see
Passing Examinationsrd

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

37

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

conscious of exactly which words bly can too. How? The “pro” inare used, but mainly of the ideas. code is completely relaxed: heReaching higher speeds will turn knows he can read and copy it,out to be easier than you might even while doing something else.
suppose. It is mostly a matter of He hears it like the spoken word
determination, right approach and and often can even remember itpractice, and building on what well enough to copy it down later
you already know. Your rate of if he needs to. He doesn’t get
gain will depend mostly on how tensed up. He is a good model,
you go about it, and will be about whatever speed he has achieved. If
proportional to the square of the you know one, imitate him andtime invested. So, how far do you keep relaxed and enjoy the chalwant to go? (Remember: it is not lenge of advancing all the while
speed, but accuracy that counts --. you are progressing. If you don’t
We want to communicate. Time is know any expert code operators,
lost by mistakes, whether in watch any skilled performer, asending or copying.) So take one violinist, a pianist, a tennis player.
step at a time, and when satisfied, See how easily he goes about it.
stop. When we read a book, the Enjoy the experience of learning.
bigger the “bites” we take, the Make each practice period fun.
faster we can read and under- Those who engage in the learning
stand. It is the same in telegraphy: process with a carefree, unhurried,
how much can we take in and unworried attitude and enjoy it
immediately perceive as a progress the fastest. So don’t“unit?” How big are the units? press your ultimate objectives,
This determines how fast we can don’t try too hard, this will hinder
receive the code. It is the coher- our advancement. Be content toe n c e of the groupings - what go ahead a step at a time. We needmakes sense - which makes for to let go any unconscious resisrapid recognition. Whenever tance, and permit our subconsomething doesn’t make sense it scious minds to function without
tends to slow us down.
interference. The more we give
Word recognition is what makes a ourselves permission to let go ofproficient operator. The real “ a l - any concern and the more fun it
phabet“of the expert telegrapher is, the better we will do. Someone
is largely one of words; it is his has written: “When I’m fresh and“language,” and interpreting it is right on it [which means he is all
as easy for him as talking and lis- keyed up and going to try too
tening. (See “Kinds of Practic- hard], my code speed is reallying” for an exercise to help de- bad, but when I’m tired I canvelop this.) It cannot be stated keep up with the best of themtoo often that: The skilled opera- [because he has let go].” (Pleasetor does not hear the dits and review Chapter 2 for details.)
dahs, but only the letters, words, One ham who is a doctor wrote:
sentences. Relax and Enjoy It We “Communicating in Morse isneed to remind ourselves, that if special. With my headphones onanyone else can do it, we proba- listening, usually with eyes shut, I
38

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

feel that I’m communicating speed, we need to push without
without talking or hearing voices. pushing too hard or for too long
After a long day of talking and at a time, just a minute or two. It
listening it’s pleasant. The mes- seems best to start a practice pesage seems to come in a whisper riod with speeds faster than you
or even represents to me some- are comfortable with, pushing
thing I’m remembering rather when your energy is initially highthan hearing. I no longer formu- (to recognize sound patterns morelate what I want to say and then quickly), then slowing down a bittranslate into code for my fingers to a more comfortable rate. This
to send. It doesn’t feel like it is way you will be able to see yourcoming from the conventional improvement - growing. Keeping
speech centers. The thoughts just a record will help you see yourcome out - relaxed communica- progress.
tion.”
Learning does not stop when apractice period ends - it continues
Make Each Practice Period A
on for a while afterward as the
Step Forward
mind continues to digest it, proIn pushing for higher speeds, ad- vided that we relax or do somevancement is pretty much up to thing quite different. So spaceyou. So what follows is directed to your practice periods widelyyou. However, the principles ex- enough apart to give learning apressed here are fully applicable chance to maximize.
to a teacher at any level from beginning to the highest level. Try Kinds Of Practicing
to plan your practice periods so There are several kinds of practhat you can see or feel you have ticing we can do:accomplished something in each
Listening practice,and every session. Maintain a _positive attitude. See how far you _Copying practice,
have come. Imitate the good beSending practice, andginning teacher who shows his _students how the bits and pieces _“Mental” practice.
will soon fit together to makewords, and how the context can Let’s consider each one:-help to fill in what’s missing; andhow to learn from failures - things Listening Practicethat need more practice - and to Listen, Listen, Listen to well-sent
learn from them how to do better code. Listen at every opportunity
next time.
as well as at planned practice sesEncourage yourself to keep going sions. Listen to the radio, to tapes,
and not give up. Know you can to computer-generated materials.
succeed. Visualize success and be Do it whenever you don’t haveencouraged. It also helps to pro- something else to do which revide some small reward after each quires conscious mental activity:
practice session. In developing try it during lunch, while driving listen and enjoy it. There are sevWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

39

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyeral kinds of listening -- first, lis- L i s t e n at every opportunity totening at any speed where we can good sending even if it is someunderstand all or nearly all of what too fast for you to get it all.
what is sent; next, there is listening Listen. Listen. Listen while doingat speeds where we can “read” other things that do not require
maybe 75% of it; and finally close mental attention. Let yourthere is listening to sending so fast “ears be filled” with good codethat we can only catch some let- signals. Don’t let yourself get allters or a word here and there.
wound up: keep relaxed. - The
Each kind is valuable to us. Our mind is strange - it relaxes when
purpose in listening at “ e a s y ” asked to perform at a rate lower
speeds is two-fold. We want to feel than it is used to, but tends to
comfortable with the code, just as tighten up when asked to perform
we normally read and talk without at a level which it thinks it can’t
struggling with how we do it. To quite hack. The essence of code
become comfortable we need to learning, like language, is familiget familiar with the everyday day arity that means over-learning.
words and expressions, how they That is, learning to the pointsound. (Engaging in personal where it is automatic, without
QSO’s - over the air or through a thinking about how we are doing
wire - is one way, and it provides a it: the dits and dahs, or even thestrong motivation.) We need to words. The highest skill comesfeel comfortable, too, at various when in reading by ear, we are
speeds, from slow to as fast as we conscious only of the ideas being
can handle it. Listening over this expressed, just as if we were talkrange helps gain this familiarity. ing. This is communicating at theThis is a second goal. But take it highest level.
easy.
Word Recognition Practice
When we let the mind be quiet
and just listen to very fast code, Are anticipation and delayed perletters and words will soon begin ception related? We previously
jumping out at us. Want to hear noted that we must not attempt tothem. This stimulates the mind. identify a character, particularly a
Learn to see them on your longer one, until the whole char“mental blackboard.” (There is a acter has been received. Here welimit as to how fast we can spell are concerned with word recogniwords.) Give yourself permission tion in the same way. Not jumpto let go of the need to con- ing to a conclusion about what the
sciously recognize each letter. total word will be when it is a long
The less we “try,” the better and or compound word but waiting
faster we can become. That is, let until it is complete before identithe subconscious, automatic mind fying it. Suggested drills are with
operate without restraining it by compound words such as “wayconscious interference and con- side, mockingbird, chairman,
salesman, notebook, lifetime,trol.
customhouse, morning-glory
hereabouts doorbell, nevertheless
40

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphywatermelon household”, etc. and long enough to become tired andwords with suffixes such as then still keep on copying. As the“cheerful, personable, fellowship. conscious mind gives up andfinality, dictionary, mechanically, stops guessing, this lets the subcharacteristic”, etc., or where the conscious mind more and more
first part make look like an inde- take over. Then any mental strain
pendent word, but with a totally you feel will subside, and you candifferent meaning as it stands or copy page after page, and yete.g. “axiom, category, handicap, may hardly be aware of a single
climax, magnificent”.
sentence in it.
For teachers: Sometimes it may
Copying Practiceprove best to let the student think
Copying at easy speeds is of the speed is slower that it actuallysome, but not great value for im- is. That way he may just go
proving speed. To improve we ahead and copy it anyway!
must keep working at short bursts Random character practice atof a minute or so at a time, at speeds above about 15 - 2Ø wpm
speeds where we can get maybe is of questionable value unless
only 5Ø - 75% of it - where it is you are planning to do a lot ofjust too fast for us - speeds where copying of enciphered messages.
we write down what we can get It tends to prevent the developand ignore the rest.
ment of the important sense ofword recognition, something
If you don’t recognize a soundwhich we must develop for norpattern immediately, just skip it,
mal use of the code in communileave a space and go ahead. cation. Practicing with words
Never let yourself stop to try to spelled backwards is a good subfigure it out, because if you do, stitute for random groups: it
you will miss what immediately eliminates anticipation, yet gives
follows. Don’t frustrate yourself give normal letter distribution andthis way. Keep pressing on, the feeling that one is dealing withcopying what you immediately words, not nonsense. Foreign lanrecognize and ignoring the rest. guage texts may also be used
Remember that here we are only profitably, where no special charpracticing - missing out is no big acters used diacritical marks, etc.
deal - at this point we’re stilllearning. We must condition our- Sending Practice
selves to this. Gradually the holes
will fill in and we will be getting it Using a Key To Practice “It isall, and without straining.
more blessed to send good code
Often, even when we’re trying to than to receive it.”make good copy, missing a letter Most CW operators are more imhere and there won’t matter pressed by quality of the codemuch. If we are interested, the than by speed.
gaps can often be filled in later Readability is the number one
from the context. After reaching a requirement. It is the sender withfair speed, it is helpful to copy
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

41

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

his key who has control of this. If effective to whistle it or say it out
it isn’t intelligible, what’s the use loud in rapid dit-dahs. Anotherof sending it in the first place? valuable form of mental practice
Most people consider sending is the picturing of yourself using
easier than receiving. This is the code, as described in Chapter
hardly surprising, because we al- 2.
ready know ahead of time what
we are going to send before we On The Air Practice
send it. However, we may befooling ourselves unless we have “Reality Listening” and “ Q S O
developed accurate sending hab- Practice” Don’t hesitate after you
its. There is no excuse for sending get your license to go on the air.
sloppy CW. When we get in a If you flub up, remember that justhurry we may tend to shorten or about everybody’s first few coneliminate spaces between charac- tacts are more or less “failures”.
ters in familiar words and between Stumble through them, muddle
words - this makes it very difficult through and make it as easy as
to read. (When static or interfer- you can.
ence is present, it is even harder.) If you miss, stay calm, ask for reAnd - if we think we can send peat if it seems important. If you
faster than we can receive it is don’t understand some abbreviavery often hard stuff to copy.
tion or word (he may have spelled
Remember that What We Do Re- it wrong) muddle thru. Laugh off
peatedly Is Practice, whether we your blunders. Become comfortare learning or using code. We able about it. You have no job toneed to watch the quality of our lose. Listening by pulling weaksending as we use the code, not to stations out of interference andslip into bad habits. Most bad fists static is a skill to be learned. A
have probably come about from good IF or audio CW filter will
imperceptible shifts away from help. If you have one, practice
good timing. Avoid the use of using it. Static crashes which takebuzzers for practice, as they have out pieces of text is anothera delayed start and promote bad problem: filters can sometimes
sending habits. Use an oscillator help, but some have found that byusing speeds up to around 2Ø-25
instead.
wpm the characters may besqueezed in between crashes, andMental Practiceso less may be lost. This is one
Thinking between regular practice incentive for advancing in speed
periods is one of the many valuable means of learning. It is boththinking about the skill you aredeveloping and thinking the skill
itself. One way is to think thecode to yourself when you see astreet sign, car licence plate orother printing. It is even more
42

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

was always secondary. Battles,
lives and expensive ships - often
the outcome of the battle itself How Fastdepend upon perfect accuracy incommunication. A single erroneThe Wrong Question.
ous word or number during wartime or emergency might be ruHow Well
inous and tragic. Accuracy comes“How fast?” - that’s really the
first always, at all times there. The
wrong question when standing all telegraph code was devised toby itself. The question which
communicate - that is its sole purought to be asked is “How well?” pose.
or perhaps “How effectively?” or If the code is not understood it is“How intelligently”
a waste of time and effort. If we
The telegraph code is simply a send personal “dialect” or in ameans of communication, and strongly personalized manner wecommunication is transferring make it hard, or even impossible
ideas from one person to another for the receiving operator to makein the form of words and sen- sense out of it. How do you liketences. If a person talks too to struggle to make sense out ofslowly, attention tends to lag and what a speaker with strong dialeccomprehension becomes difficult. tical speech, or with a serious
If too rapidly, things may be speech defect, says to you? Ifmissed or misunderstood. Mum- there is anything that causes
bling is usually inexcusable. downright joy in an amateur’s
Speed itself is not usually the ob- heart, it is the pleasure of comject, except perhaps in case of municating with an operator who
emergency, such as “Help!”, and really knows how to send and howeven then it may hurt rather than to receive. Aim to be one of these.
help communication The normal
goal is coherency and accuracy. Copyability
Speed for us is just convenience.
How fast can you copy? Even forCommercial operators have al- a highly skilled operator this is
ways prided themselves in their almost wholly dependent on theability to handle a large volume sender’s quality of articulation of traffic with dispatch and 1ØØ% his rhythm, spacing and keyer
accuracy. One operator wrote: weighting. One of them said: “ I“Over 5Ø years ago as a trainee can read a super operator at 5Ø
commercial operator I was told wpm, but there are some hams Ithat it is better to send at 2Ø wpm, strain to copy at 1Ø wpm - someand be received 1ØØ% the first old timers hard to copy because
time, than to send at 28 wpm and of bad habits.” The key to highbe involved in time wasting re- speed reception is to recognize
peats.”
the pauses between letters and
The U.S. Navy insisted on accu- between words. This means thatracy above everything else: speed the sender must not run things

Chapter 6

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

43

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

together. It is this split second it is usually buy a racing car just to
the space which gives the time drive to work each day.) On theneeded to get the mind set for the other hand, when there is a lot tonext word. One of first things say, or when there is a need forthat often happens when we try to extensive personal interchange, asend faster is to run the letters and minimum speed of 25 - 3Ø wpm
words together. For example, is really needed to keep the
when
“of”
comes
out thought moving.
“dahdahdahdididahdit”. We can From listening in the bands it
learn to read that stuff, but when would appear that in the CW
longer and less familiar words are mode this speed range seems tosent and word spaces also are ne- be very common. Even when one
glected, we can quickly get lost in is contesting, and ragchewing is
an maze of letters which make no out of the question, if one moves
sense. (It seems to me that as too slowly, he is going to have a
speeds get really high fewer and rather low score. But here also,
fewer abbreviations are used.)
speed, in itself, is not of muchvalue: intelligibility and accuracy
Fast Enough To Communicate
are required, and correct call
Satisfyingly
signs, etc., are vital for qualificaIt is possible to creep along at five tion. There must be a balance.
wpm, the minimum FCC amateur All through the history of telequalifying speed - communicat- graphy, from almost the earliest
ing, but just barely. Many hams in days to the present, there has been
the past found lots of enjoyment the challenge for speed. The
plugging along at ten wpm, which high-speed skilled operatorsfor many years was the minimum achieved a sort of prestige, which
requirement for an amateur op- was salable and commercially waserator’s license. Perhaps a major- rewarded by higher pay. The beity of hams have found 15 - 18 ginner and the plug were looked
wpm to be comfortable, adequate down upon with more or lessand quite pleasant to satisfy their scorn. But as radio amateurs, CW
desires to communicate.
is one element of our hobby,
Back in the days of landline tele- something we do because we likegraphy sixteen wpm was consid- to do it. We are subject to neither
ered the minimum to qualify a monetary incentive for profinew operator, while 25 - 3Ø was ciency nor threats for mediocrity.
considered a “standard” range of It is our own sense of need andspeed. For very many years the desire that motivates us. Those
ARRL bulletins have been at 18 among us who can race along at
wpm, which is a comfortable buzz-saw rates should not lookspeed for most of us to read and down upon the rest of us who arecopy. It should be clear that content to enjoy lower rates, andspeed, in itself, should not be an we slower guys, in turn should not
object, but rather proficiency and despise the newcomer, the handiease of operation. (One does not capped or the ham content withthirteen wpm. We don’t have to
44

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

communicate with those above or important was heard. Their
below our state of proficiency sounders were continuously on
unless we want to. So, the word we the line and they could and did
ought to emphasize here is “pro- hear, almost unconsciously lisficiency” - proficiency at a speed tening to everything that was said
that satisfies our enjoyment - a to anyone on the line: they knew
pleasant speed which we feel is everything going on. (It was like a
comfortable and satisfying.
big party line.) Very many skilled
radio operators of the past and
The Proficient Operator
present do the same thing.
He is “at home” with the code up One of them who operated comto his limiting speed. He is quite mercially for many years and was
comfortable sending and receiv- also a ham wrote: “During my
ing in this range, and except for time as a RR telegrapher, and as aexcessive QRM and QRN feels no [radio] operator, I could and cansense of strain. To him or her the do several other things while stillcode is just another, and particu- knowing what is going on the wire
larly enjoyable way to converse. or on the radio. As a matter ofHe understands what he hears fact, right now, I have 2Ø meter
without any particular effort, and CW on and I am fully aware ofof course he hears it as words, not what is going on, who is there,
just strings of letters. Some of our what they are saying, etc., while
best written examples come from writing this letter. With speeds ofthe old wire line RR telegraphers up to 3Ø - 4Ø wpm, I have always
in small stations across the coun- been able to carry on a complete
conversation while copying thetry.
code on a mill, servicing the mesThese men (few women held such sage ahead of time, etc., etc.”
jobs because of the other duties SET
required) also had responsibility
for delivering train orders to the Your Own Goal
train crews, maintaining RR property associated with their stations, So, how high should you set youroperating the semaphore signals goal of speed? - Set it to meet
and track switches for passing your own temperament and detrains, answering customers’ sires, what you think will be comquestions, selling tickets, handling fortable and enjoyable to you. Set
baggage and freight shipments, it realistically - not so high that
etc. In short, telegraphy, while of you get discouraged by how longgreat importance, was but one as- it takes to get there. But not sopect of their jobs. They were not low that you are unable to enjoy
just sitting beside their sounders much that is on the air, available
waiting for something to come to be read or copied. If you feelthrough on the line. Their ears challenged to go to the top, fine,were attuned to the sounder, and but maybe you should divide it
they would have to be ready to into stages of growth along theinterrupt other duties if something lines suggested here.
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

45

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Ted McElroy, long the code overcome by certain shortcuts. In
speed champion and a teacher, the early days of wireless, code
said that 25 wpm is an easily speeds were necessarily slow for aachievable and reasonable goal - number of reasons, and so three
one who can handle this speed ideas were borrowed from landcomfortably is a “good” opera- line telegraphy to help speed
tor. But if you can read or copy at things up:3Ø-35 wpm this added margin _Special signals - including
will allow you to correct for erthe special three-letter “ Q ”
rors, static and other kinds of insignals providing shortterference or losses, as well as
forms for common radio
widening your contacts. We havecommunicating needs,
tried here to lay out for all to see
Omitting words not really
what has been done and what can _necessary to convey thebe done. Pick what you yourself
sense,
want. You don’t have to keep up
with the fastest Joneses you may _Using standard or easily
hear.
understood abbreviations.
First and foremost, have fun: en- “Q” signals allow us to cover ajoy
i t . Good” operator? lot of ground with only three let“Skilled” operator? “Expert?” ters. If they are followed by a“Super-expert?” Up to some question mark, the sender is askpoint each stage brings increasing ing a question; without it he ispleasure as one becomes more making a statement. “QTH”, forand more free from conscious example, says “My location iseffort. Reaching higher speeds ...”, while “QTH?” says “Whatwill turn out to be easier than you is your location?” (It is a waste ofmight suppose. It is mostly a time to send: “My QTH is ...” asmatter of right approach and we sometimes hear, or “What ispractice, continuing what we have your QTH?”) See the ARRL Opalready started. Your rate of gain erating Manual for a list of thewill depend mostly on how you most useful of these. (A similar
go about it, and will be more or but much more extensive set ofless proportional to the square of special commercial three-letterthe time invested. What do you signals was once devised, called
want?
the “Z-code.” This system neverattained wide popularity, but it is
Shortening Things Upmuch easier to remember.)
At too low a code speed it takes so In most sentences certain words
long to say things in ordinary can be left out completely without
English that it may become tedi- altering the meaning of a senous or even boring. This can be a tence. Words such as “I”. “ t h e ” ,major road block to the real en- “that”, etc., can often be dropped
joyment of slower CW operating, without causing any confusion.
but it is not the only reason for Several words or a whole phrase
tedious QSO’s. This can be partly can often be ignored without de46

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

tracting anything of importance. Amateurs must, however, rememThese were the kinds of things ber the government regulationcommonly done in writing com- that we may not use secret codes
mercial telegrams to reduce the or ciphers - our communications
cost.
must be open, which means
Various kinds of abbreviations, a something generally used andsort of shorthand, have been in understandable. (The old Phillips
common use over the years. code, for example, would qualify
Many of them were used exten- because it is public information.)
sively by people making brief The older handbooks containednotes, etc., others were devised by lists of the more common abbreold time telegraphers for their viations, a sort of standard list.
special purposes. Several different Some were for general use, others
schemes have been devised to were for handling heavy message
traffic, etc.
form them:_
Short words may be repre- When commercial telegrapherssented by their first and last were sending press (news) at relaletters: e.g. “now” by NW, tively high speeds they used a“would” by WD, “ c h e c k ” very extensive set of abbreviations
called the “Phillips code”. Hereby CK, etc.
the sending operator translated_
Short words may be spelled many of the words and phrases of“phonetically”:
e . g . a news dispatch into this code, and“some” by SUM, “ s a y s ” the receiving operator retranslated
by SEZ, “good” by GUD, them back into normal English as“because” by BECUZ, etc.
he copied the news. This proce_
Other words may simply dure reduced the total number ofomit all their vowels and letters to be sent and received byjust use the consonants: e.g. around 4Ø% (estimated from“letter” by LTR, “mes- samples given). When speaking of
the speed of press dispatches thissage” by MSG, etc.
factor must be factored in (the_Easily suggested parts of counts were based on normal
longer words may be repre- English spelling). Some of thesented by a single letter: Phillips abbreviations were
e.g. in amateur practice adopted by amateurs.
“transmitter” may be sentas XMTR, “weather” by The important thing about using
WX, “distance” by DX, abbreviations is that they must be
obvious to the receiving operator.
etc.
That means they must be com_Those who handle consid- mon words in normal amateur or
erable message traffic have everyday use. We must use comdevised some very brief mon sense with them - not overforms, such as “aa” for doing it or using them exces“all after”.
sively, just being careful that they
will be understood. Refer toWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

47

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Chapter 27 for examples and lists eating, working with hands onof abbreviations
routine things). Don’t think youneed lots of new recordings. ReChapter 7
member that: “To repeat often is
to learn.” Replaying of the same
Listening or Reading
familiar materials over and over,“Copying in Your Head” Just day after day, is especially helpful
listening to good code sending if you do it creatively, really lisis perhaps the very best way, tening to it. Play them over andboth to learn the code and to over, paying close attention, trying to understand. As you listen,advance in skill.
let your mind be open and recepIt is surely the simplest and easiest tive - intent on listening to each- no distractions - you can give signal as it arrives. not anticipatyour whole attention to just lis- ing or trying to remember what it
tening to and trying to understand said before. So. let yourself get- no struggling to write at the familiar with the code by taking
same time. Isn’t that the way we some time every day to relax andall learned our language? Watch enjoy just listening to good CW.
how little children learn.
This kind of listening is listening
creatively, constructively, as it
Listencomes along.. This has several
Many experienced teachers con- distinct advantages, not the leastsider that just listening to good of which is to take away any tencode without writing anything sion or strain - you know what it
down is the very best form of is talking about - you are alreadycode practice at all stages. It familiar with it in general and you
serves a number of purposes. feel more comfortable with it.
First, it keeps our attention to the And - you are getting really fafact that code is sound, and we are miliar with the sound of code - itlearning to recognize the sound is becoming increasingly meanpatterns of each character and of ingful to you. So, you can benefit
some words.
greatly by listening to the same
Second, and very important, it things over and over in this conhelps to reduce any tension asso- structive way - just listening as it
ciated with getting every letter comes along. But as you advance
written down (no distractions) mix in a patterns of new and unBut there is more - it helps us get familiar recordings, too. The newvery familiar with using the code. material will become easier andeasier with this kind of practice.
So, listen, listen, listen to improve. You can make your own recordAs soon as you have some mas- ings: -- a few ARRL bulletintery of the alphabet, start listening broadcasts, quality QSO’s - Bibleat every opportunity to good passages are good - or other text
sending, even while doing other material and play them back overthings that do not require your and over.
close attention (e.g., cooking,48

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Especially in the early stages of There is no need ever to become
receiving, when things go very embarrassed (or panic) because
slowly, and often again when you you can’t read or copy everyhave gained considerable skill, the thing you hear.
mind may tend to wander off Whatever You Miss, Let It Go
somewhere else, or go galloping
ahead (jumping to conclusions). Am I afraid of losing something?
As you listen, hang onto every I must let go of that fear, and reletter, word and phrase - hang on lax and learn to trust the mind
like a leech (that is, concentrate and to enjoy listening. It is a fact
on it), really listening to it. (This that the less hard we try, the better
also helps; take off any strain, we will receive. Don’t ever stop to
knowing something of what is try to figure out something you
being said.) Remember that in didn’t catch. Keep following thepractical communications, when sender - keep listening and you
we listen to the radio, the signals will soon be getting enough toare here and then gone and can- make sense out of every sentence,
not be brought back unless they and in time you will get all of it.
were recorded.. You are learning But even when you are quite goodto get so familiar with the sound there will be some words whichof code that doing it right the first don’t make sense at first - in mosttime will be easy. Easy familiarity cases you will make sense out of it
will help us to do that.
as you go on following the
We are more likely to rush ahead sender, and without even trying.
when we are fresh and alert. The context and redundancy both
Don’t let your mind try to outrun help fill in the gaps - just keep
the sender. We must resist letting focused on the signals. (Andour minds wander off, or antici- don’t forget that the senderpate, or pause to try to figure sometimes may have made a missomething out. Some of us do this take.) If you have learned only toin normal conversation and read- write things down, it will takeing, but we need to be especially some practice to learn to “ c o p y
on guard against this in code re- in your head” without writing.
ception. Don’t let it become a Listen to understand. Keep lishabit with Morse. As we listen, we tening, not worrying about losing
need to disconnect all conscious here and there. Soon the signals
analytical processes, and instead seem to be slowing down as they
maintain an eager readiness to parade before your mind or “ i n receive - to hear each letter, word ner eye” as meaningful words
and phrase as it comes along, and phrases. Learn to listen forwilling for it to be whatever it will whole words, phrases and thebe. That means we hang on to meaning of messages rather thanevery letter, word and phrase as it single letters.
comes along, ready for the next Throw Away Your Pencil
one. Listen, keep listening andwant to understand. Let’s develop Many an old-timer has always
the desire and feel for doing this. copied down everything he reWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

49

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ceives: he has never learned to sit whenever there was an opening,back and relax and just enjoy he would send an appropriate
conversing. He needs to throw name from his prospect list inaway his pencil and learn to enjoy Morse code. If the man didn’t
listening for listening’s sake. answer promptly, he simply
Many a newer-comer likewise skipped him and went to the next
feels tied to his pencil and paper name. He believed that a goodout of fear he may miss some- shipboard operator should bething if he doesn’t get it all writ- alert, able to respond to CW. Isn’t
ten down, every letter of it. This that an interesting way to get acreates a tension, a strain that im- good operator? -- Is he listening,pedes the normal functioning of alert?
the telegraphic “habit” of mind.
“Throw away your pencil and Learn To Hear - Words As
enjoy just listening” is good ad- Words
vice.
Words Are The Building Blocks
Of Thought
Concentrate
In receiving, we must learn more As you become more familiar
and more to shut off all distrac- with the code alphabet, you will
tions and concentrate our atten- soon be hearing letters easilytion on the signals we are listening enough - it is time to begin to
to, what is being said. We need to think in terms of meaning, thatlearn to center our attention con- means starting to hear words insciously on the signals and ignore stead of strings of letters. But as
all else, until it becomes a habit - speeds go up, there is a limit toautomatic. Prepare yourself to do our ability to spell out words. Our
this immediately before starting to next goal is to hear words. Let
listen and whenever there are lulls. each word or code group develop
Make it a habitual mental clear- on the internal monitor screen of
ing-for-action, so you can pay your mind. Begin to develop
attention solely to the signals you sound consciousness of words.
hear. When we are interested in This does not mean you have towhat we are hearing this will help relearn words, but only change
us concentrate. So let’s want to your approach from visual toknow what is being said - yet not sound. Practicing with lists of
so intensely interested that we be- words, replaying texts or QSO’s gin to guess what is going to be this kind of practice can help you
said and miss out on what is actu- gain that familiarity with words
commonly used.
ally being transmitted.
An agent who was responsible for There is a limit to our ability tohiring ship-board operators was spell words out mentally and rehimself a dyed-in-the-wool CW member them. As long as we
operator. He connected a tele- hear only letter-by-letter, we algraph key in his office with a most have to copy them down tobuzzer in the waiting room. Then understand what is being sent. To
hear code as we talk, we have to
50

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphylearn to hear words as words - that mon short words over and overmakes the code readable or until they have become indelibly“conversational,” and not just fixed in mind as word sounds, as
short or long strings of letters. if someone had actually spoken
This is stage two. If you have them to you. Extend this tolearned to hear and think of at longer words by such methods asleast some of the 1ØØ most the following which some peoplecommon words as words, you al- have found helpful:ready have taken the first steps. A “Mental Screen” is like a
Words are the building blocks of typewriter writing -- visualize alanguage, so we need to begin to typewriter or blackboard onhear, not code or letters, but more which writing out each word as it
and more in words as perception comes, writing it along letter byunits. (Step three, the expert letter along the line, or like one ofstage, is to learn to hear more by those lighted display signs whereideas - total content - than by the words walk slowly across thewords.)
screen. Let each word develop on
How Can We Learn To Do This the internal monitor screen, or
blackboard of your mind so you“see” it being written in context.
Listen For Meaning
T r y “projecting” the letter orWhen we begin to hear and send number, etc., for split second on
in words instead of individual let- your mental screen as you listen
ters our receiving ability and to it to encourage instantly “seespeeds are going to improve. That ing” it in your mind when you
is part of our goal in making the hear it. Learn to write on yourcode more useful and enjoyable. mental blackboard. This helps
Hearing words instead of strings focus our attention on the signalsof letters will make speeding up forming words, and learning tonatural and easy. It will require “ s e e ” them as words. Let you
some practice and effort. The mind be blank as you listen to fast
mind has to be pushed, but not code, and soon the letters jump
too hard. Let’s do it the easy way, out at you.
in short practice periods. Learning to recognize whole words be- Some have found that “Phonics”
comes an automatic process of can make comprehension anddecoding, something that lets us speed building easy and natural
understand as we hear. This is no this way:--. Relax and think of the
big job - the word “the”, for ex- sounds of the code letters, not as
ample, is no longer than the num- letter names, but as they are pronounced in words. Like this ber 9.
while the word “west” is being
Start learning to hear common received -- as each letter comesshort words until they have be- along one after the other say out
come indelibly fixed in mind as loud, or to yourself: “wuh,word sounds. Learn to read by wuh...wee, wee...wes, wes,...west”,
words as readily as you recognize progressively building up theletters. First learn to hear com- word in mind by sound. This
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

51

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

makes it easier to hear their word out loud (or mentally tosounds. Sound them out one after yourself) as you recognize it. You
another as they come along until may want to make up some pracwe get syllables and finally the tice materials which leave wider
sound of the whole word itself. It spaces between words to allow
teaches the mind to decode the time to say them. (It may also be
dit-space-dah patterns and com- useful to practice this way withbinations into their sound values, short groups of numbers, such as
the way we hear words.
2 or 3 digits.) Notice how, as you
This system doesn’t work per- listen, the silence before says
fectly, of course, because English “start here” and as the following
is not written in a perfectly pho- space says “it is finished”, sort of
netic way. Some of the letters are islands of rest. That is why gain“silent”, like final “e.” Let the ing familiarity with the sound ofletters combine into words as you code words is so helpful. It makes
hear them in code, much as we the word a meaningful unit, andrecognize words as we hear their you get to feeling easy about resounds You can help by practic- ceiving what makes sense. The
ing with the common letter com- more words you are familiar withbinations (br, gl, ng, etc.) and the easier it is to receive. It bansyllables (com-. ex-, inter-, -ment, ishes tension.
-ing, -tion, etc.) to get familiar One ham put it this way: “ t h ewith them. Reading whole words code just flows into my ear andthis way then becomes a process comes out as words.” Just as weof decoding from something we have learned to let the mind rechear in bits and pieces into ognize each code character andsomething we hear and under- present it to us consciously andstand as meaningful units. It even automatically, now we must takecan help with abbreviations. You that next step and trust the same
may like to try this approach and mind to store these letters and put
let it become automatic. When we them together into words without
have learned to hear words as demanding to be conscious of thewords, we can often also mentally process and “hear” each letter
correct a sender’s errors or signal individually. We have to learn todrop-outs while listening.
let our subconscious mind present
The importance of Proper Word us with the words they form. As
S p a c i n g should become more long as we insist on recognizing
obvious now. It gives the mind a each individual letter, we are intersplit second to make sense out of fering, meddling with our normal
the stimuli it has just received. habitual mind’s functioning, andThose word separating spaces are misdirecting our attention.
vital. The following exercise is The goal is to learn to listen to
worth a try - as soon as you rec- the code as you would to the spoognize a word by the space which ken word. Eventually the soundfollows it (if the sending is not too will trigger your consciousness
fast, and the spaces between words just as the spoken word does andare long enough), try saying each
52

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

then, when you can do this, it will and then not be able to read anyalso be easier to copy it down.
thing more than a letter here andthere for some space. All this is
We Must Listen At Higher
part of normal learning. Keep on
Speeds To Improve
listening: give the incoming signals your undivided attention and
To improve we must begin by keep relaxed, as though listening
listening at a speed higher than we to a friend talk. Soon you will be
are comfortable with, in order to catching not only small words, but
get used to it and speed up our longer ones, until you are getting
recognition. We ought to listen at it all.
You will discover, withdifferent speeds, both slower and practice, that the signals, which
faster than we can easily read. We were too fast before, will seem toneed to be flexible - to avoid be slowing down as they paradestaying at any one speed too long before your inner eye as meanat a time. Along with this, let’s ingful words and phrases. - Anpractice listening to lots of stan- interesting example is the blind
dard English at speeds close to amateur who could copy 35 wpm,
our limit. This limit should keep and came across some code pracgoing up as we continue to prac- tice and listened. He lost a letter
tice this way. A total of a half- here or there, and then was starhour a day spent just listening at tled when they said it was 55 wpm
speeds we can barely follow will practice!
work wonders in a couple ofweeks. Listen as you would at a Missing Words
concert, enjoying it as you go.
Sometimes we should pick speeds Long Words
so high that we can only make out
a character here and there. This Decapitated Words
kind of listening will quickly help
us to begin to get more and more. Broken Words
Small words will start jumping out- as soon as they have been sent Static, interference or fading can
we will know what the words are, momentarily wipe out a letter or
although we didn’t consciously two, a small word or part of aspell them out as they were com- longer word. Momentary inattening in. We need to continue this tion (due to mental fatigue, diskind of practice, and soon we will traction or something else) on ourbe getting enough of each sen- part while sending or receiving
tence to make sense out of it. can do this, too. When a word is
Learning Is Variable Some days decapitated the first several letters
you’ll do better than others, but are missing. This makes things
don’t let this trouble you - that’s particularly difficult in English,
normal. All of us are like that for because word beginnings are so
important for us to be able toa while at each speed.
make sense of a word - and worse,
You will discover that sometimes this is often the accented part. In
you can read several words solid, fact, when we can get the first sevWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

53

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyeral letters of a word don’t we doesn’t make sense, we realize
often know pretty well what the something is wrong and wonder
whole word is likely to be?
what word that last group of letWhen reception is solid as we are ters was. (Let this be a warning tojust listening, some strange things avoid it our own sending.)
may happen: a little word or the When a wrong letter (misfirst part of a long word comes spelling) or a non-character isalong which seems unfamiliar - sent or a word is left out it may
has no recognizable shape - and distract us in much the same way.
we stumble a moment trying to Really, isn’t this much like a mismake sense of it. This tends to print in reading. Don’t we often
blank our minds against hearing skip right over a misprint or
the next few letters and then we missing word and hardly notice
are likely to lose the what imme- it? How do we do that? Isn’t it
diately follows, in the case of a because we understand it in thelong word, the whole word. At context? Can’t we learn to do thisother times our minds sometimes in telegraphy also? -- Where one
seem to go into reverse after the or more letters or even words are
first few letters of a long word, wrong or missing, can’t we often
then misses a couple of letters in fill them in correctly? We canthe middle, tries to pick them up, learn to do this for missing or exand finally loses the whole word. tra dits, etc., mentally correcting
How to can we stop this? We them as we listen. As we have emmustn’t let missing out first part phasized before we must just let itof a word distract us so that we go and keep on listening. If westop hearing the rest of it. - How pause try to figure it out at thiscan we prevent this? Is part of the point, it will divert our attention
tension caused by missing out or from reception to analysis, andlosing first part due to recogniz- seriously disrupt with our autoing a time gap with nothing rec- matic reception as we try to makeognizable to fill it? -- We may be sense out of it. Frequently we disable to recapture long words if we cover that as we go it will clear
just keep on listening. (When we itself up.
are copying we can often fill it in First, we must keep focused on theafterwards from the context.) A incoming signals without strugbroken word (interrupted, dis- gling to make sense out of them.
jointed) results when the missing Trying to make sense is a conletter (or letters) occurs in the scious activity, interfering with the
middle of the word. Sometimes automatic mental functioning. A
this break is due to the sender sense of concern is involved who inadvertently hesitates an in- concern that we won’t be able tostant too long between two letters. remember the first part until theIn either case, the space between word is finished, or that its beginletters is too wide and our minds ning is peculiar, has no recognizinterpret this as a break, marking able shape (e.g. technical orit as the end of one word and the medical terms), or that it is going
beginning of the next. Since it to be a word we won’t be able to54

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

recognize at all (doesn’t seem quality, so long as two signals arefamiliar). For many words, one not identical, can help us separate
way to help is to get familiar with them, while the speed and style ofthe common prefixes and suffixes sending also help greatly to sepaso that they are “heard” as units rate the one we want from theinstead of separate letters. We other. In addition, the ear can bemust learn not to let conscious trained to read incredibly weakthought block further reception.
signals in the midst of strong distractions. Some operators have
On-The-Air Listening
learned to get almost 1ØØ% copyin spite of all these.
When we listen on the radio, static,
fading and interference tend to Some have found that by listening
slow us down. Under these condi- in the dark, or closing their eyes,
tions high quality sending (accu- they can focus more sharply onrate timing) will get through far signals which are in the midst of
better than sloppy sending. But interference and other distracthere are certain adjustments or tions. You may want to try it andchanges which can be made in see if it helps you develop or imour receiving equipment which prove this skill. Finally, sometimes
will help: e.g. the use of RF and writing it - copying - may help us
audio filters, changing the tuning to concentrate.
of IF amplifiers, etc.. These will
help separate signals and reduce Any experienced telegrapher,regardless of what he is doing
noise.
effortlessly hears what is being
Static and irregular non-signal said on the air or on the wires
types of electric interference canoften be reduced by turning down
Chapter 8
RF gain and increasing AF gain tobring the signal up. Some noises Copying
can be canceled in the brain by Getting it written downusing headphones wired so thatthey are out of phase with each This is really an extension ofother. Dual-diversity reception Chapter 7 To the principles
can greatly reduce or eliminate given there add these: -- If
fading, but this requires a major you are going the easy way,equipment change: two separate copying is the next step after
antennas and two identical RF “listening” -- advancing infront ends are necessary. The ear code skill by adding the newis an excellent discriminator of action of writing it down.
CW signals in QRM, noise and What we hear as letters and words
other interference, much superior are now to be written with pencil
to any equipment available today. and paper or with typewriter. It is
We can train our ears to minimize learning to co-ordinate ear-tointerference by focusing our at- mind-to-hand. Copying by handtention to the one signal we want exposes all the senses to what you
to hear. The musical pitch and are hearing, and it is nothing
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

55

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

more than listening to and writing so well that it has become second
down what is being received. An natural for them.
old 1854 book on telegraphy de- Here is an interesting example ofscribed it as “taking dictation” - copying properly:- One night, as I
at first letter-by-letter, later as was copying mixed groups in aword-by-word, etc. That is a good very relaxed manner, and feelingway to think of it. So, hunt up that quite comfortable with the code, I
pencil again. Operating ability is asked my friend if he would
measured by copying: if you speed up to 25 wpm from the 2Ø
don’t write it down - putting wpm he had been sending. He
down everything you hear exactly started sending them at 25 wpm,
as you hear it - you aren’t copy- and I was vexed at his misundering.
standing, but began to copy anyA skilled operator is trained to way, wondering why he was using
copy what he hears 1ØØ% per- voice to send these simple data. fect. Most people can learn to Voice? What voice? He wascopy with a pencil up to about 25 sending clear code with letterwpm (a few can reach 35, rarely number combinations at 25 wpm45), but above that speed almost and I was copying it easily.” Aha!
everybody needs a typewriter The listener was now thinking in(“mill”). (On a typewriter it may terms of letters and numbers, notalso be done “mechanically” by as code characters at all. He had
direct ear-to-typewriter-key trans- become proficient.
fer without processing it through To copy just Write Down what
the letter stage to the typewriter you hear, everything you hear key. - See later in chapter) Re- not what you think your hear member - don’t try to do more and you will make progress. The
than one new thing at a time. You faculties of hearing and underalready know how to write. When standing code signals work best in
you copy by hand, make it easy learning to coordinate this way toby writing the way you usually create a useful copying ability.
do. For example, don’t try to
block print unless this is natural Practice With Familiar Text
and easy. Likewise, don’t try to Helps
copy on a typewriter (“mill”)
before you have learned how to As in listening, this helps by distouch-type.
pelling the fear of missing someWhile most of us would like to thing, because we already know
know what we are copying as we what it is about. By using things
copy, this isn’t necessary. It can which we have read, or recorded
become so automatic that we copy material we are already familiar
something correctly without real- with, we feel more comfortable.
izing what we are copying. (I usu- When we know, at least in general,
ally like to know what I am what it’s about or what it says, we
copying, don’t you?) People who know what to expect and not
do these things well do not strug- worry about not understanding
gle with them - they have learned and losing out. It helps build con56

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

fidence in learning to copy be- material and choose it to be as
hind. The more familiar we are interesting as possible.
with what we are copying, the One student, speaking of ARRL
easier it all becomes. This confi- practice materials, said: “I madedence will begin to carry over into more progress in learning code inreceiving new and unfamiliar weeks than I did in years previmaterials also.
ously, because it is more interestPay No Attention To Any Errors ing to copy and understand solid
copy.” Some practice copying
Condition yourself to copy what random 5-character groups iscomes easily. As you practice, good in the early stages to makecopy everything you instantly sure we are recognizing the charrecognize and pay no attention to acters correctly and to prevent
any errors -- just forget them and anticipation, but because it ismeaningless it soon tends to bego on.
come boring. -- Too much of thisIf You Miss Anything Just Go may also lead the mind to expect
On
a break after each five letters
Let it go, forget it and keep going when we are trying to copy noron. Train yourself to leave a mal English. This has happened!
blank space and go on, because if (Practice with “Backward Engyou stop for even an instant to lish” - provided in some compuzzle over a signal you didn’t puter programs - is better because
recognize, you will miss at least the letter groups are of variable
some of what follows. We must length and have normal letter discondition ourselves to do this. tribution.)
After all, we’re learning.
If You Want To Become More
The holes in your copy will Proficient
gradually fill up and you will be
keeping relaxed while you go, just Who Doesn’t ? If you are able toleaving blanks for each missed copy every letter, you are notletter or word. (However, charac- learning - but if you are only getters we habitually miss do point ting two letters out of every three,out what needs more practice.) or four out of every five, yourRemember also that we may mind will be motivated to get thatsometimes mis-hear, or mis- extra letter. There is always some
identify a character or a word - speed at which for the time being
and also it is always possible that each of us falls apart - so what? It
the sender may have made a mis- need not become a barrier. If
take. -- Count these things as of you want to become more profino importance, and keep at it until cient, don’t practice at such a slow
you can do it easily. Don ‘t work speed that it becomes a fixedso long at a time during these habit.
learning stages that you get tired Keep trying in short bursts of not
or bored. Use a wide variety of over a minute or two at a time athigher speeds 2 - 5 (or more)
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

wpm faster in order to force the The beginner is afraid of losing
mind to respond faster - it will. something, because he can’t get it
This is especially important when all down fast enough. He is franwe are at a speed where we getting tically struggling to keep up,
about 95% of it, so that we don’t “tail-gating” the incoming sigbecome satisfied to stay there. It nals, so as not to lose any of them.
is often best to begin a practice This is because he is still not recperiod, when the mind is fresh, at ognizing some characters quicklya speed too fast to get more than enough. The problem is madeabout half of it, and then slow worse because the characters are
down. - Keep moving up faster to received at very unequal rates ofimprove, because then copying at speed as compared to writing
a little slower speed than your them down. The letters “E,” “ I ”
maximum will become easy and and “T”, for example, are theenjoyable. Alternating with some shortest letters, while C, J, Q and Y
practice at 2, 5 or more wpm are the longest ones. A beginnerabove your limit for brief periods copying letter-by-letter can get
will challenge the mind, then panicky trying to write down an
dropping back a little will show “E” or other short letter before
you are really improving. Every the next one arrives. It is worse
operator soon develops enough when two E’s, or EI, IE, TT orawareness of what he is writing other short letters occur together,down, that he doesn’t need to and we frantically try to write
wonder whether it is copied cor- them down before the next one
rectly.
comes along. As we advance mostpeople can copy letter-by-letter
In The Beginning
up to about 25 wpm or even
If you begin copying early, you faster, but above that we simply
will be copying letter-by-letter, have to find a better way.
sticking close behind the sender: A Better Way
you hear the character and write it
down, then forget it and listen to Copying Behindthe next and write it down, and soon. But to copy this way for very The first step to making copying
long, in step with each letter being easy is to learn to copy behind.
sent, tends to tense us up. It be- That means training the mind tocomes tedious and tiring because act as a buffer, or short-term
it is meaningless and so much memory, between hearing the inconscious effort is involved. Then coming signals and what we areyou usually have to read what you writing down. Several charactershave written in order to under- or words are automatically held instand it. (If we look back while mind after hearing them and becopying we may lose out.) In fore writing them down, meanpracticing to speed up copying, while continuing to listen to thetry not to stop if you fall behind, next ones coming along. This
helps smooth out the uneven rate
just keep going.
at which characters are received as
58

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

compared to writing them down, it, keeping the spacing between
and also it relieves the mental groups wider than normal. Listenstrain of copying. It serves as a until both characters have beencushion. In this way we can also heard before starting to write
make much better looking copy them down. As this becomes easand can even capitalize proper ier, try groups of three, then ofnames as we hear them.
four and if you wish up to five or
Copying behind is another good more. Practice also with decreasway to beat anticipation. It puts a ing spacing between groups until
premium on listening before you it is normal. Another approach
write A good operator seldom with any kind of text, is this way:
starts writing a word down until it listen to the first character, but
is completed. By starting out us- wait until the next one has been
ing things which we have read, or completed before writing the firstrecorded material we are already one down; write down the second
familiar with, we feel more com- one after hearing the third one,
fortable. When we know what it’s etc. Then increase the number ofabout or what it says, we know intermediate characters between
what to expect and not worry hearing and writing to two, thenthree, etc., as far as you wish.
about losing out.
Above about 25 wpm, we need to This kind of practice should bebuild up vocabulary of at least the extended to include short syllamost common words and sylla- bles and short words (such as thebles. Practice waiting until a sylla- 1ØØ most common words), inble or short word is finished be- each case waiting until the wholefore starting to write it down, then syllable or word is completed betry it for two syllables. Writing fore starting to write it down, anddown more than that behind what while listening to what follows. To
has been sent may be risky - the extend this to more than a couple
word may turnout to be longer - of syllables or short words can be
unexpected letters may still be risky, because, as noted before,
coming and surprise you, making something unexpected may comeyou miss them or even more (If along and throw you off balance,
you’re still going at 4Ø wpm you and cause you to miss some ofwill have to copy word by word.) what follows.
Some people seem to develop this An interesting example is thisability without any special effort comment (from the time when aas they progress. But for most of government inspector had to test
us it just doesn’t seem to come at each individual applicant for an
all without some help.
operator’s license):- “I can reHow can we learn to copy be- member the benefits of copying
hind? Is there something we can behind. The inspector giving the
do specifically? There certainly is. test started and sent ‘of’ and thenHere is one way to begin: start out added an ‘f.’ I immediately
with random two-character groups thought of ‘off’ and got set forat first, until you get the hang of the next word, but to my dismay,
without a pause he sent an ‘i’ andWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

59

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

so immediately I tried to outfox
him by prewriting the word ‘of- What Makes Sense Is Easier
fice’ To my consternation he kept We can hold in mind only a few
on going with ‘cia’ and I quickly individual numbers or random
revised my thinking to ‘official.’ characters at a time because they
But I was wrong, because he fi- usually have no coherence, nonally ended up with the word ‘of- meaning - they don’t make sense
ficially.’ Listening first and as syllables and words do. Words
copying behind are beneficial.” and phrases are much easier toSo, copying a word or two behind remember than a string of letters
is a leisurely pace, but too much or numbers (or a call sign) bemore may produce some mental cause they form meaningfulstrain, especially if an unusual groups, not a lot of little unrelated
word comes along.
pieces. This is why Walter CanCopying behind has many ad- dler, who in earlier days taught
vantages besides making it easy. many operators to become exIt allows us to make a neat, fin- perts, was convinced that learningished-looking copy with a proper to hear words as words was essenappearance, capitalization and tial for efficient copying behind.
punctuation. When it is at speeds (He was a strong proponent ofwell below our limit, it gives us listening practice.) We can learn
time to fill in gaps and flaws due to copy by words as readily as byto static, etc., and to correct errors letters. For example, the wordin sending. Context can help. “the” takes no longer time than
(Numbers, however, have no con- the number “9.”text and generally must be copied Copying behind by syllables,
without delay.) The purpose of words and even by longer exprescopying behind is to relieve the sions is merely an extension ofmind of the compulsive pressure, this. If we build up our working
the strain, of keeping up letter by vocabulary (word-familiarity) as
letter.
already discussed in Chapter 7,
Most high speed operators who “Listening”, this will help us ahave discussed this subject tell us great deal. As speeds go up youthat we need not copy more than will find that, by around 4Ø wpm
one or two syllables or words be- you’re copying word by wordhind, and in fact as speeds go up and by 6Ø wpm (if you go that
this is about the safe limit. (Some far) it will be more like copying
experts, such as Ted McElroy phrase by phrase.
seem to have been able to copy 6 Old time telegraphers used to say
or more words - even whole sen- that their “alphabet“was words.
tences - behind with no trouble at That is, they had a wide working
all, but most of us probably can- vocabulary of words that they innot.) Copying letter-by-letter stantly recognized when they
forces one to write with conscious heard them. When they heard aeffort, and this in turn blocks our word coming in on the line inattempts to copy behind.
code, they heard the word, not the60

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

individual letters, unless it was Overcome this fear by just consome proper name or something tinuing to go ahead - including
unusual that they had to spell out. more practice on the sticky charThey had a familiarity with words. acters - and you will surpriseThat is why one of them, who also yourself to find you will recall
was a well-known teacher of them. Because our fear of losing
Morse code, said that by listening out is the greatest barrier toand re-listening over and over copying behind, Candler devised
again to the same recorded code some special exercises to help us
tapes of regular English text, this get started with a minimum of
will help us to become intimately strain. It goes like this:-- take a list
familiar with the words - that is, of short words in two parallel colover-learning. We need to get fa- umns, preferably words withmiliar with words as they sound in about the same number of letters
code.
each, and:a. With pencil or typewriter
Conquering Our Fears Of Loswrite down the first word ining Out
the first column while siLaw 3 if you miss something:multaneously spelling out
condition yourself to skip it.
loud the parallel word in
Keep copying everything you
the second column, and sorecognize instantly and easily andon down the columns. (Weshrug off the holes left over.
may do it again, reversing
You’ll soon be surprised to findthe column order.) Try it
the holes gradually filling up. If
with 2-letter words first,
you are frightened you lose muchthen longer words till youof your ability to copy code well
get the knack of it. - As aand - surprisingly - your sending
useful variation, try sending
speed also tends to go up (asthe one word with your key
much as 25%). The parts of brain
while spelling the other out
that copy normally are pretty
loud.
much shut down.
b. Have someone “read” easy
At first it may not be easy to let
printed matter to you bygo, and allow some characters orspelling out each word at awords, which we can’t quite conregular, even rate of speed
sciously identify, pass by. Thatand a level tone of voice.
doesn’t mean we stop listening or
Don’t begin writing thepaying attention: it means we are
first word until the thirdlearning to trust the mind to store
starts, and keep on twothem safely in its immediate, rewords behind, and then iftrievable memory and not get
you wish, with three words
panicky or confused because webehind, etc.
are not conscious that they are Finally you may repeat it using
there. So, especially in practice, if code instead of voice spelling.
you miss a few letters or a word Do these exercises slowly enoughhere or there, don’t worry.
that you don’t feel rushed or have
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

61

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

any fear of losing out. Don’t do it beautiful longhand up to 3Ø - 35
too long at a time: a couple min- wpm - solid deliverable copy,
utes at a time are enough to get while a real good operator using a
the hang of it.
mill later could take 5Ø -6Ø wpm
without overextending himself.
Other Suggestions
Most copied 5 - 6 words behind
to do this. (OT bulletin Jn 92 p
Finger Writing
13)
Try some “copying” this way:-sit as though were going to write, How Long Shall I Practiceusing your index finger instead of Until you have gained considera pencil (or your hand as though able skill in copying, avoid
you held a pencil), letting it rest working too long at a time. butlightly on paper while listening to after this point it is good to practhe code. You may try it as mo- tice copying for longer periods
tionless copying, not moving your without fatigue. When you havefinger, “copying i nyour reached a fair speed, long copyhead“only, or you may prefer to ing practice can be helpful be“write” with your finger. Either cause by the time we are getting
way, it can help wean us away somewhat tired, our subconscious
from that baby step of letter-by- mind is translating the dits andletter copying, and graduate us dahs so that we do not feel that
into seeing several letters or words terrific mental strain that is theas a unit in the mind’s eye.
cause of guessing at certain letOnce we’ve gotten the knack of it, ters. Under these conditions one
we will discover that visualizing can copy page after page and not
and holding the letters, even for be aware of a single sentence in it.
just an instant, will help us to copy
better and faster than the old on- Fading, Static, Interference andthe-edge way - almost a reflex or Poor Fists
action. All this is training themind to dig up the images of In the old days when all ships
words that have already been sent. used spark only it took a lot of
It will develop a sort of automatic concentration and skill to copy a
response: ears, mind, hand all co- station a thousand miles away
ordinating together. Remember: when another ship 15Ø miles
to ignore any errors, not to work away was transmitting. When there
too long at a time, and - don’t were static crashes it was hardforget: you’re just practicing. So (and they also often sounded likegive yourself a chance. In learn- parts of code letters). Learning to
ing to copy on typewriter, go copy a weak station thru static andslowly at first. You may find it interference and fading is an art
easier to use either caps or lower in itself, and to master it takescase altogether at first. Until the quite a bit of practice. It taxes thetypewriter became practical old skill of the operator to the utmost,time Morse telegraphers copied as it is often necessary to retune
all messages with pen and ink in the receiver and go back and fill
62

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

in missing letters in the copy ity sending might be able to copy
without actually losing a word of only at 1Ø wpm with poor spaca signal that can hardly be read. ing, poor rhythm or poor
Signal fading is something to weighting.
contend with, but during practiceeven that may prove to be a bene- Correcting Imperfect Copy
fit to us. Copy what you do hearand leave a space for what you Holes and errors in one-time copy
can’t. It can help us learn to ig- can often be corrected, whether
they originated in the sending or
nore lost sounds.
receiving (including interference,
Quality of sending and on-the-air etc.), by rereading and analyzingreceiving conditions have a the entire message. Look for key
marked effect on copyability. An words, clause and sentence
operator who can copy solid code boundaries, linking words, etc.,
at 25 wpm may drop to about 15 for clues. The context can help
wpm when static or interference is greatly in filling in and correcting
present. Bursts of static can take things. Where a word is strange,out gobs of information. Old time look for the letter which mightcommercial operators copied have been warped, mis-sent or
solid right through static, interfer- mis-heard. Examining our pracence and fading so bad that others tice copy in this way can also be a
had to ask for repeats, and they valuable tool, and encouragement
kept right on copying when most as we are learning.
us wouldn’t even have heard thesignal at all. Their jobs depended Other Observations
on it. That is skill, and CW does
get through. Some hams have At the expert stage where copying
learned to do this just as skillfully is automatic, the most common-- they have learned to copy sig- copying error is said to be getting
nals against intolerable back- so personally interested in what isground noise, noise to signal ra- being received that we begin to
anticipate what is coming next,
tios of 1Ø dB or more.
and then if it turns out to be
It takes practice and patience to something unexpected, we maylearn to hear the weak stations lose out something. Learning tounder the loud ones, but we can copy on the “mill” (typewriter)learn to copy a weak station bur- without knowing what is being
ied under several strong ones. copied was actually used during
This is a truly remarkable ability WW2 in Africa, when operatorsof the human operator: to read were in short supply. Native Afriincredibly weak signals in the face cans who knew no English at all,of strong distractions. It does take were taught to associate each code
concentration, and the advancing signal with its corresponding
operator should be developing typewriter key. They quickly
some of it. Bum “fists”, bad learned to hear the character andsending, is something else again. punch the proper keys, and beA skilled operator who can copy came quite proficient.
solid at 5Ø wpm with good qualWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

63

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

When making notes just for our well more to in but now madeown use, we don’t need to copy will of do was had work must
every single letter or word - we up is can two when they as be
can use any kind of shorthand or one the over said so at who forabbreviations we know, such as have come she our such them i t“RCVR” for receiver, “ A N T ” my has men only that all h i s
for antenna, etc., just enough to time this no we say her yourremind us later. The extra time from were uponlets us take it easy.
Chapter 9
During WW-II many operators
found it was no more difficult to Sending and the Straightcopy code by pencil in block let- Key – Part I
ters at 25 wpm than copying
English text at the same speed. Quality Of Sending
Some of those messages lasted
over an hour! But proficiency in Rule One:copying coded groups can be a Never send faster than you
detriment to copying plain lan- can send accurately.
guage. Coded groups are usuallyexactly so-many (usually 5) let- Quality must always come first,
ters long, but plain language and speed second. Stated anotherwords are expected by the opera- way - It is more blessed to send
tor to vary in length. When such good code than to receive it. Aiman operator moved from coded to make your sending as nearlygroups to plain language opera- perfect as possible. Smooth, unition, he often tended to split the form characters and spacing
words into 5 character groups. penetrate static and interference
Background music or other soft far better than individual sending
rhythmic sounds which do not styles. We should learn to send so
distract, have sometimes been clearly and accurately that thefound useful to relieve the tedium receiving operator gets perfectfor high-speed operators making copy every time. (Most of the difficulty in reading and copying
lots of copy.
code is due to irregularities in
98 Of The 1ØØ Most Common
spacing between letters and words.
Words
See Chapter 15 Timing.)
Arranged For Candler’s Prac- “Over 5Ø years ago as a trainee”
said one commercial operator, “ Itice:
was told that it is better to send at
go he and how been into great 2Ø wpm, and be received 1ØØ%about first their before should the first time, than to send at 28
am if man any some very other wpm and waste time with reshall could which little people peats.”
me an him its then what every
these would there on us o u t
may like than by or not are
64

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyhigh and low values by electronicmeans. For code transmission we
Never send faster than you generally call such switches
can receive properly“keys”, “keyers”, or “keying
devices”. In this chapter we are
Break either rule, and you may primarily concerned with handend up sending poorly formed keying, that is, using the simple
characters or a choppy, jerky style up-and-down hand key “straightthat is hard to copy, and establish key”. (See Chapter 1Ø for othera habit that will be very difficult types and their use.)to overcome later. Bad sending is
not cured by changing keys, but The First Morse Key
by correcting wrong mental impressions.
Alfred Vail designed the first“straight” key and called it aKeying And What It Means“correspondent”. It consisted ofa board on which was mounted a
The genius of the Morse code lies simple flat metal strap spring atin its simple modulation require- tached to the board at one end
ments - only two “states” are and on the other end having aneeded: Ø and 1 (binary code). small knob on its top side and an
These two states may be any sort electrical contact on its bottomof distinct differences in condi- side. This contact was arranged sotion or quality of the modulation: that when the knob was depressed
ON\OFF, and for electrical and it would make connection with a
audio signals may include pitch second contact mounted directly
and quality, as well. This greatly below it on the board, thus persimplifies the equipment required mitting the closing and opening
for transmission and reception. of a circuit. When the pressure
Any form of two-position switch was released the spring caused thewhich can be operated at a satis- circuit to open again. It had nofactory rate of speed by a human stops or adjustments of any kind.
operator or mechanical or electrical device will serve the purpose. This “classic” pattern of up-andFor electrical and radio tele- down movement has governed thegraphic communication the switch design of all “standard” keys
may simply control the “on” and ever since.. Later models have“off” conditions (single-pole- simply been “improvements”,
variations and elaborations of thissingle-throw switch).
basic concept.
This opens a wide range of possibilities for mechanical designs, the Recommendations To The Besimplest being just touching two ginner
wires together and separatingthem (which has served in emer- Sending with any kind of handgencies), to electronic “switches” operated key is an art that takes
which have no mechanically some time and practice to develop
moving parts, but rather control properly. For this reason sometheir conductivity between very teachers today recommend that, if
Rule Two:

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

65

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

possible, the beginner start out
der learning (as noted insending preferably with a keyChapter 3).
board (or code-programmed So the best way is not to touch a
computer). With a keyboard it is key until you have developed a
impossible to send poorly-formed good feel for the proper rhythm
characters. A keyboard is a type- of the letters. This usually means
writer-like device which produces by the time you can receive at
the code character corresponding about 1Ø -12 wpm or more.
to the key pressed. There is no When you begin with a straight
way you can misform a character key you must have a good feelwith a keyboard - you can only for timing - that is, the threepush the wrong button. (See building blocks of code: the dit,
Chapter 1Ø.)the dah and the several lengths of
A keyer (see Chapter 1Ø) always spaces. (Those who have poor
produces perfectly timed signal hand control should avoid the use
elements and inter-element spac- of any hand keys, at least while
ings. However, the operator must they are gaining in receiving
control the sequence of the spac- skill.)ing of letters and words. This re- After you have learned the properquires considerable skill and may rhythms, sending with a straightdiscourage the beginner. It is easy key, whether for practice or into send well-formed characters, actual use, sending with it is quite
but unintended or even non- beneficial for building up yourexistent ones may also be created. receiving ability in all its aspects.
Therefore it seems wisest to begin In addition it develops muscularlearning to send with either a m e m o r i e s
whichfurtherstraight key or a keyboard. (A strengthen our perception andstraight key does help to reinforce recognition of characters andthe rhythm patterns of the char- words. Constant practice in sendacters more effectively.) In any ing this way does help build our
event, it is well for the beginner to copying ability. Sending practiceheed the advice of a wise teacher also prepares the hand and arm
who said:- “Do not touch a hand- for transmitting over long periods
key at any time until I tell you of time without fatigue. Finger
that you may.”
and arm exercises may also be
This advice has a two-fold pur- devised to help gain needed flexipose:bility and strength.
1. To make sure that the stu- The Straight Key
dent has an accurate mental
impression of the correct A standard “straight” key is one
sound and rhythm of the having a simple up-and-down
code characters before try- movement. In American usage theing to send them, andkey should be aligned so that key
2. listening to one’s own poor lever is in a straight line with thesending may actually hin- forearm. To control it, the operator moves the knob by a pivoting
66

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

up-and-down wrist motion. (The the knob, or not touch it at all.
hand and arm muscles do not fa- (The student should find his own
vor the very small movements most comfortable way.) Downneeded to control key motion.) ward movement of the knob to
The design of a key, its location close the key and upward moveon the operating table and ma- ment to open it are by rocking thenipulation tend to vary from hand, pivoting it from the wrist:
country to country, and its ad- the finger end moving down while
justments in the final analysis de- the wrist moves slightly upward,
pend almost entirely on the refer- and vice-versa, without any acences of the individual operator. companying independent finger
Here we can only give the gener- motion. The upward key knob
alities and some instructions by movement is produced by theexperienced users.
built-in spring in the key, but may
be helped by the thumb.
The American Straight Key And
Walter Candler’s advice to profesIts Use
sional telegraphers in training (toThe key lever is generally rela- avoid developing a painful “glass
tively thin and typically pivoted arm“) was:so that its front section is longer _Hold the knob between thethan the back section, and often
thumb and first two fingers
droops downward toward themuch as you would hold aknob end. Its control knob is flat
pencil. Hold it firmly, but
on top and may have an underdo not squeeze it or let goskirt (originally designed to proof it while sending.
tect the operator from high voltThe wrist - not the fingers
ages on the key lever). The top of _or the whole arm - does thethe knob should be about 1-1/2 towork as the key goes down
2 inches above the table, and haveand up. Keep the wrist off
firm adjustments for up-andthe table.
down movement (nominallyabout 1/16 inch movement at the _Take care of the sendingknob, but adjusted to whateverarm - the forearm muscle
suits the operator best).
carries the weight of thearm. Otherwise, keep the
The key should be located far
arm itself relaxed and atenough back from the edge of theease as you move the key
operating table (about 18 inches)
down and up. - Immedithat the elbow is just off the edge
ately below the elbow onof the table. The operator’s arm
the lower side of the arm
rests lightly on the table with histhere is a nerve which
wrist off the table and more orcomes close to the surface.
less “flat”. His first finger rests
If that nerve presses againston the top of the key knob andthe table it may begin tohis second finger generally on top
make the arm cramp andnear the edge. His thumb may rest
produce telegrapher’s palightly against the other edge ofralysis (“glass arm“orWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

67

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

writer’s cramp). If thishappens, put a soft pad under it there to relieve thiscondition.
There is no need to wasteenergy on springs. The key
return spring does not need
to be stiff - just enough tokeep the contacts apart.
Contacts should be spaced
only wide enough apart tobe easily opened andclosed. A key is obviously ahighly personal object.
Every one who has gotten
his own key adjusted till itfeels just right will be uncomfortable and fail tosend as well if he uses a different key, even though it
looks exactly like his own.
If you set up two different
keys of identical design,with the same tension, andgaps, they will nevertheless“feel” different. They are
as individual as violins.

one finds he working against himself, and (with a straight key) if hesends for long periods of time thismay develop into “glass arm“.
(See Walter Candler’s advice) The_
master operator does not send asingle needless dit or dah.
What About Mistakes Made During Sending? If you make a mistake while sending, just correct it,_
if necessary, then forget it andcalmly continue on. Don’t let
yourself get all tensed up and start
to worry about making more
mistakes (such as: “Now I
mustn’t do that again!”). If thiskeeps bothering you, focus yourattention for a just few momentson sending each word (or maybe
even each letter) as it comesalong, sending evenly and withproper spacing, and then go on
normally as if nothing happened.
This will help create a positive,
constructive attitude rather than anegative one. As for correcting
mistakes, general practice varies:
eight dits (like HH sent without
space between the letters) is theGaining Skill, Errors, andofficial standard, but it is more
Automaticity
common to use the question markFor the skilled telegrapher the and then send the word (or withcharacters and words flow without the preceding word also) again
conscious thought as to their de- correctly. If you are chewing thetails. Proper and adequate practice rag, you may just a pause a mohas made the action habitual, ment and then repeat what was
automatic and virtually effortless - sent wrongly and go on. On thealmost like just talking. However, other hand, since it is usually theif something interferes, the con- beginnings of words that are most
scious mind jumps in and tries to important, if enough of the word
make the correction and take over has been correctly sent to be reccontrol. If this conscious interfer- ognizable it may be best just toence continues, it may displace pause a moment and then proceed
the habitual coordination, result- without comment. We wouldn’t
ing in expending more effort than do this, of course, in the midst ofneeded to send accurately. This in a formal message.
turn produces strain, and soon
68

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Personal Characteristics, Fists

Chapter 9

All sending with any kind of a Sending and the Straight
hand key will show little personal Key – Part II
quirks, or characteristics collectively called one’s “fist”, which KEYS
unconsciously develop as one’s
skill and experience grows, no The design of the key and where
matter how precise an operator it is placed on the operating table
may try to be. This is why a re- are important for comfort andceiving operator may immediately ease of operation. The height ofrecognize a sender and say: “ I the knob or paddle or its feel may
know that fist,” even before he not feel quite right, or the key
identifies himself.. Our fist may movement may be too much or
also betray our mood or state of too little, or be too stiff or too
mind - excitement, fatigue, bore- soft. (One British examiner said
dom or laziness - much as our of candidates coming for their
sending test: “It never ceases totone of voice often does.
amaze examiners that some canSomeone said of one operator: didates come for a Morse test
“his code almost seems to without one [their own].
yawn”. But there is more to it
than that. The type of hand-key Attempting to send perfect Morsebeing used which may also affect on a strange key is an obstacle
the sending. This does not mean that candidates should never burthat high quality code cannot be den themselves with on the day ofmade on any of these types of the test.”) -- How does this key
keys, but rather that their particu- “feel”? Could I enjoy using it?
lar construction and use tend to One skilled operator said: “Whenusing a new key, for a few weeks
produce certain characteristics.
all is well, and I love it. Then,
With a straight key, side-swiper or suddenly, I hate it. Then I try anbug it is easy to send a jerky or other, yes, the cycle repeats itself!
“choppy” sort of code, as well as Why do I feel this way?” -- It is
to make inconsistently longer or not hard to see why some comshorter dits or dahs overall or in mercial operators always tookcertain characters. A common their keys home with them orfault with using a bug is to make locked them up! Nor is it surpristhe dits too fast as compared with ing that the absolutely inviolable
the dahs. Side-swipers tend to en- rule of the old time telegraph ofcourage to some very oddly timed fice was: Never, never, never, uncharacters, inconsistent forma- der any circumstances whatever,tions. The type of key in use may touch the adjustments of anothergreatly influence one’s fist as it man’s key.
sounds to the receiving operator
Not only the key itself, but theheight of the table on which it
rests can also be an importantfactor. Some have, often out ofWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

69

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

sheer necessity, used a key type of key, different spring armounted on their leg, on a handle, rangements, different dimension
etc. Cramped and awkward oper- ratios, different knob contours,
ating positions have often been bearing supports, etc., but thenecessary. And then there is the heavy style lever and high knob
matter of what we are used to.
have remained as more or lesspermanent characteristics.
The Traditional British Key And
The traditional way of using thisIts Usage
type of key is:
The first impression of this type _to hold the key knob withof key to an American is the masthe first finger on top, thesive ruggedness of its key lever
thumb underneath its
and the height of its control knob.
maximum diameter on the
These notable features derive
one side, and the third finfrom a late 19th century Governger on the opposite side
ment Post Office design (they opfrom the thumb;erated the telegraphs). Its key
the operator’s lower arm
lever is a straight and heavy- _extends outward approxilooking brass bar pivoted somemately in line with the key
what toward the rear of the midlever (horizontally and verpoint. The major part of thetically), unsupported by theweight of the lever works againsttable, several inches fromthe return spring. Its control knob
the side of the body, andis smoothly contoured and generforming an angle of apally resembles a wooden drawerproximately 9Ø degrees
pull, somewhat pear-shaped, or
relative to the upper arm;
crank-handle shaped, usually witha distinctly rounded top surface. _the main keying movement
Its diameter swells from its base to
is at the wrist, not at the fina maximum somewhat below thegertips, with the wrist acting
top. Its maximum diameter is
as a hinge between the arm
similar to or may be somewhat
and the hand.
greater than the typical American
key knob. All versions are taller The hand, wrist and arm are notstrained or rigid, in spite of thethan the typical American knob.
seemingly awkward appearance ofThe net effect of its straight lever such an operator’s arm position
and taller knob means that in to us in America. Beginners usucontrolling this key it is not suit- ally adjust the key for a large gap
able for any part of the arm to so as to hear the sound of the key
rest on the operating table. There- closing and opening. They generfore it is typically mounted so that ally reduce this gap as their speed
its knob is close to the edge of the increases (some reduce it to thetable, with the arm extending out barest minimum). Some operators
fairly high in front of the table.
control the knob delicately withAs the years have gone by there their fingertips, while others grip
have been many variations of this it with the whole hand. Again,
70

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphysome operators prefer very light throughout the alphabet andspring force and use the thumb to numbers during the early sendhelp open the key by their wrist ing-practice periods.
movement; others rely entirely on Another way, which can be used
the spring return action.
without a teacher, is to use split
As the beginners progress, they headphones: one phone carries
adapt their keying style to what- the recorded code signals, while
ever is comfortable to them indi- the other phone lets the student
vidually. There are many varia- hear his own sending using antions in adjustment, depending on oscillator as he reads from athe particular key design details printed copy of the recorded text.
and the operator’s preferences. He endeavors to send in unison,
The Australians and New Zea- and can compare his own sending
landers appear to have followed with that of the recording.
the British practice, but other There is at least one computer
European countries have not nec- teaching program (see below)
essarily done so. Australians have which has an option which will
said they found it very hard to evaluate the learner’s sending.
send properly with the American
keys - with their flat topped key- Most teachers recommend beginknobs, located far back from the ning with relatively slow handedge of the table - as installed in movements. About 12 conair-ground-air stations during sciously controlled hand moveWW-II. They called these keying ments per second is average, butarrangements “a flaming nui- some people cannot exceed 1Ø. It
sance!” In summary, with all is the often-repeated reversals
these variations in basic and detail which limit performance. Total
design, it seems obvious that there reaction time from external inmust be more than one way to struction until the hand reacts isabout 15Ø-2ØØ milliseconds
design a good key and use it.
(ear- or eye-brain-muscle). ReUsing A Straight Key
sponses must be much faster than
this for sending code, playing the
It is, of course, impossible to send piano, etc. This is where theabsolutely perfect code with any automatic mental functions takepurely manual device, but we over.
should learn to imitate perfectsending as best we can. If you A good beginning practice with ahave an instructor, he should straight key is to make a string ofdemonstrate quality sending for dits at a slow, even rate for a minyou to imitate something like this, ute or two, and then gradually tofor example: “Listen as I send the speed up to a comfortable rate.
character..., and then you say its Then send a series of 2Ø - 3Ø S’s
name as you send it back to me evenly and smoothly , with proper
just like you hear it.” This is re- spaces between them. After that,peated several times until the send a corresponding string ofteacher is satisfied, and so on dahs, followed by 2Ø or more O’s
the same way. This will develop a
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

71

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

proper feel and a sense of control tomary speeds due to partialof the key. After that, try a short loss of control.
sentence in a slow and uniform
way, with wide spaces between Fatigue sets in early and sending
letters and words, something like: becomes “rotten”, leading to discouragement or distressing irritaI Always Send Evenly And
tion. It may or may not begin
Smoothlywith a sensitiveness, which soon
Try this several times, gradually subsides, but true glass arm has
shortening the spaces until they neither inflammation nor soreare about normal. Listen as you ness. This condition is caused bysend it for accuracy of timing. needless strain or tension or poor
Try recording it so you can listen key handling, and is avoidable.
later to it without distraction and Factors which may lead to it are:evaluate how it sounds to others.
_
Poor posture,
With a clear, easy and correct style _Holding the arm in an unof sending it will take about ten
natural or uncomfortable
minutes to get warmed up, andposition, so that blood cirfrom then on you should be able
culation and nerve functo send for a long time without
tioning are interfered with,the slightest discomfort. A reamaking the hand uncomsonably good operator can learn
fortable, cold or clammy,
to send good quality International
Undue pressure of the unMorse on a straight key up to 2Ø _derarm on the table,- 25 wpm. Some can make 3Ø
wpm, but 35 wpm seems to be _Unduly long periods ofabout the absolute limit (equivasending, confinement orlent to about 45 wpm for Amerilowered body tone which
can Morse). On the other hand,
induce muscle strain anddon’t assume that just because
tension,you can receive at say 25 wpm
Conscious interference withyou can send well at that speed. _normal automatic habitual
What isn’t intelligible isn’t worth
control, or
sending.
_
Even the suggestion that by
Glass Armprolonged use the arm will
ultimately fail.
Candler’s description of Telegrapher’s “Glass arm,” or “telegra- All these may be prevented orrelieved by proper mental andpher’s paralysis,” is:physical corrections. Some have
A progressive and painful found relief by rotating the key toforearm condition where the use a sideways movement. Othersarm gradually loses its former cured it by going to a side-swiper,
snap and responsiveness, and or more often by going to athe dits become difficult to “bug”. Candler said that a false
send correctly at one’s cus- glass arm may occur when some
infection is present which pro72

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

duces pain in the wrist, forearm, whole episode was quite enlightback and neck and/or headaches. ening, as I found that after a
Its cure is obvious.
number of attempts I had improved to the extent that I and theTests for Proper Operation of a computer parted company on
Hand-Key
speaking terms at least”. If you
are sure there’s something wrong,
For the beginner everything will but can’t quite put your finger on
be easier if any serious faults are it, let such a program find it forcaught early, before they become you. Your sending will really
habits. There are two general sound better if you concentratekinds of tests for an operator’s on making the improvements insending ability. One concerns the dicated.
quality of his sending, its readability, and the other concerns his An excellent test for endurance
endurance and comfort. Quality and comfort is to sit down andof sending may be evaluated in send straight reading matter at aseveral ways. It is a good idea to comfortable speed of from say 15
record some of your own sending - 25 wpm for about an hour. It
occasionally and let it sit a day or will take about ten minutes to get
so and then to listen and see what the fist limbered up, and if one
it sounds like - is it easily read- has cultivated that clear, easy andable? A rougher way is to gage by correct style of sending that is so
the comments of receiving op- desirable, from then on one canerators (or by the number of send for a long period of time
times a repeat is requested). This without experiencing the slightest
is strongly suggested also for bug discomfort. On the other hand, if
the fundamental principles of coroperators.
rect key manipulation have not
There are several computer pro- been learned, one may just ‘blow
grams to evaluate one’s sending up’ after the first 15 minutes withagainst the ideal. One of the ex- a hand too jerky, and a wrist toocellent ones is Gary Bold’s diag- sore to want to go on. That says,
nostic program, DK.BAS, de- take a look for what you’re doing
signed for this purpose, which wrong.
runs under QBASIC, a part of his
Morse teaching software. (See What Is It That Makes a Good
Chapter 18) Looking at your own Hand-Key
sending may be very humbling,
but this program will show exactly Ease of operation and positive
what’s wrong, and tell what you control are prime considerations
exactly what you need to do to for any hand operated key. The
improve it.
first Morse key (called “correA typical comment of those using spondent”) was designed just to
it is: -- “My sending can’t really the minimum needed to do thebe that badly, can it?” But after job. Later designs took into actaking DK.BAS’s advice, the same count other factors as well, inoperator said: “Actually the cluding ease of use and appearWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

73

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ance. In the early days of high Is this telling us that it isn’t thepowered wireless (spark) stations design of a key per se that makes
function again took over and it “feel right”, but rather that it isthese keys were awkward, massive what we are familiar with and arethings in order to handle the huge used to? It feels comfortablecurrents involved.
partly due to national- historical
A good key lever should pivot and partly personal preferences.
freely without detectable friction, For some unknown reason, shortand at the knob or paddle there or small keys have not beenshould be no perceptible move- popular, although sometimes necment in any direction except that essary. What a key is mounted
for normal keying. The return upon - a wooden table, one’s leg,spring should be adjustable for a concrete block, etc. - and how it
best control (some recommend is mounted can make a great deal
25Ø - 4ØØ grams pressure range of difference in how it feels. It
for a straight key). This spring may feel “great” or “responshould not be so stiff that sending sive” or “dead” or have disis choppy, or so weak that signals turbing vibrations. These are alltend to run together, but always factors that are partly hardware,adequate to open the circuit by partly psychological and quite
itself without assistance from the personal.
operator.
Chapter 1Ø
For a given rate of keying, theforce required is a function of the Other Keying Devices And
spring, gap setting and the inertia Their Useof the moving parts. The key
lever should be stiff enough to In Chapter 9 the regular
give a firm contact without no- “straight” keys were discussed
ticeable vibration or bounce (no at length. Here we look at all
double contact). Bearings should keying devices.
be solid at all times. (Firm electri- These may be classified as:
cal contact is best made with aKeys (including “straight”
flexible wire rather than depend- _keys, “side-swipers”, anding on the bearing points.) The
semi- automatic keys or
return spring should have ade“bugs”),
quate adjustment range to satisfy
operator preferences. Gap setting _Keyers (keys and keyers
should give a firm feel and have a
may be called “handwide enough adjustment range forkeys”). andpersonal comfort. Is there a key
Keyboards (including comdesign that is universally _puters programmed to send“ideal”? -- My impression is thatlike a keyboard).
well-accepted keys show a wide
variety of design details to meet
preferences.
74

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

vented or reduced the risk of glassarm. However, it was rather exInnumerable variations of simple pensive. This idea of easier andmechanical switches may be de- possibly faster sidewise movement
vised. Almost any conceivable later led to the simpler, so-calledkind of motion may be used to “double-speed” key (also called
operate the switch: up and down, “side-swiper”, or “cootie key”).
sidewise, sliding, squeezing, twist- The paddle of its key-lever closed
ing, etc. They may be actuated the circuit whether moved to theby: human action (finger, hand, right or to the left. It sidewisearm, foot, lips, neck, breath pres- movement offered relief to opsure, etc.), mechanical or electro- erators who had suffered frommagnetic action (e.g., in a relay, “glass arm”. (A few operators,
to duplicate the keying patterns in following this idea, simply turned
their straight key around 9Ø dea second circuit), etc.
grees so it could be used with a
For the handicapped several kinds one-way sidewise motion.)of keys have been devised to be
operated by breath pressure on a In use the operator formed thediaphragm or piston, etc. Some of code characters by using his
the interesting recent designs take thumb and forefinger to press theadvantage of solid-state circuitry paddle alternately from one sideusing such things as a) the inter- to the other as he formed the sucruption of a light beam by a fin- cessive dits and dahs for eachger tapping in front of a photo- character. For example, if he typisensitive cell, b) the change of cally made the first element of acapacitance or resistance pro- character to the left (L), whether it
duced by moving a finger to ap- was a dit or a dah, its next element
proach or lightly touch a fixed was made to the right ®, and sometal pad, c) the tone of a human on, so that his pattern of movevoice humming in Morse code ment was L-R-L-R-L-R . . . or Rwithin the range of a tiny micro- L-R-L-R-L . . . This back andphone, and other possible means forth motion often tends to leadto control the keying. How does to a sort of peculiar rhythm of its
own, betraying that a “sideone classify such devices?
swiper” is being used.
Other Kinds Of Manual Keys
Commercially made double-speed
The Double Speed Key or Side- keys were relatively cheap compared to the Vibroplex, and it was
Swiperquite easy to make a good homeAfter the “original” Vibroplex made one. No wonder that it bespeed key was introduced in came popular in wireless opera19Ø4 it soon began to be widely tions, especially among hams, forused by commercial telegraphers some years. (It does not seem to(see “Bug” below). Those who have been used by landline teleused it found its sidewise move- graphers.) Perhaps its novelty wasments much more comfortable as much an attraction as its claim
and natural, and also that it preAll Kinds of Keys

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

75

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

for higher speeds and lowered facturers provided automatic dahs
fatigue.
with by a second vibrating arm.
Of passing interest in 1926 was a On the Australian land-lines bugsimilarly connected key having keys were known as “jiggers”.
two pushbuttons, like typewriter Those issued by the Sydney GPO
keys or pushbuttons, to be used Telegraph Office in 1946 had 3with two fingers, called the knobs, two of them controlled“Cricket” by its manufacturer. separate swinging arms, one for
The keys were to be used alter- automatically forming dits andnately to form the characters, as one for automatic dahs and thewith the “side-swiper”. It never third for manually controlled
became popular.
dahs. The knobs could be positioned at either end of the baseThe Bug
plate for easy use by right or left
handed people. I have no inforHistorically the Martin semiauto- mation as to how these were used.
matic key, introduced in 19Ø6 as
the “Auto” and later as the “ V i - Using A Bug
broplex” - commonly called a“bug” - is listed here second be- A “bug” should not slip on thecause of its greater mechanical table, and its paddles should becomplexity and difference in use.. about 2-1/2 inches above the taThe patented Vibroplex, by bletop. Most teachers recommend
making dots automatically (by the a light touch, pivoting the handsidewise vibration of its elastically on the knuckle of little finger andmounted arm), relieved much of using as combination of finger
the operator’s effort (although he action and rolling wrist-motion.
still had to form the dashes manu- (Long-time speed champion Tedally), and increased his speed po- McElroy, however, said the wrist
tential, while reducing the risk of and elbow should be off the table,“glass arm“(by sidewise move- and a full, free swing of the arm
ment and division of labor be- used.) We may suspect several
tween thumb and fingers).
different styles are equally satisIn its various models it became factory. (It has been suggested
very popular and has been widely that by holding a pencil in theused up to the present time. same hand while sending will help
There have been many imitations, one learn to relax.)a few of which also produced Bug sending should duplicate
automatic dashes. Normal (right good hand-key sending. Handle ithanded) models formed the dits easily. Do not grip its paddles, but
automatically with a right-wise only allow the fingers or thumb tomovement of the thumb and the touch the side you are pressing ondahs manually with a left-wise - not touching the other side.
motion by one or two fingers When a bug is used for radio
against a paddle assembly. A few work there is a tendency to makedesigns produced by a few manu- the dits relatively too light. As
compared to telegraph landline
76

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

sending, radio requires a heavier He cites a common technique forstyle to put the signal through setting correct dit duration (a dit
static and interference, and a equals unit space) is to clip anheavier key will help do this. So ohmmeter across the bug termibe sure to set heavy enough dits nals. First, set it for full scale whilethat they are not likely to be holding the paddle against theswallowed up by moderate static dah contact. Then adjust the staor interference.
tionary dit post contact until it
gives a mid-scale reading for a
Setting the Adjustments of a Bug series of dits, and finally settles on
Like all keys, bug adjustments are a full scale reading - a closed cira highly personal matter, varying cuit. His personal preference isfrom one operator to another. for the dits to taper off to a closed
They are also sensitive to the circuit after about ten dits. More
range of speed. For example, a dits will give a lighter weighting,bug set for 35 wpm operation will and if the series leaves the circuit
do poorly at 18, and vice-versa. -- open, it is too light. Fewer dits will
Remember the rule: NEVER re- produce a heavier weighting, andif it is fewer than eight, the nomiadjust another operator’s bug!
nal (8 dit) error signal cannot be
Hugh S. Pettis, K3EC, recom- made.
mends the following as optimum
Robert. R Hall W9CRO recombug settings:
mends: (Some adjustments are_
It is to be understood that interactive.)
operator’s personal comAdjust top and bottom
fort and ease of operation _pivot bearings so contacts
govern the details of setting
are all on same level, justthe adjustments.
tight enough so that side_
First, set the adjustments forplay is barely perceptible.
paddle displacement so that
Set the armature (the movit moves a comfortable and _able part controlled by theequal amount for dits andkey tabs) stops:-dahs.
_ Adjust the dah stop_
Set the spring tensions forscrew so the armature
comfort of paddle operajust
touchesthetion.
damper when held_
Set the movable weight onagainst this stop.
vibrating arm for the speed(Damper
contact
desired.
should not be morethan just enough to_
Dit weighting is determinedstop the swing.)by the distance of the stationary dit post from the_ Adjust the dit stop
contact on the vibratingscrews so that end ofarm.
the armature will oscillate when it is moved
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

77

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

_

_

_

78

against this stop with abrisk paddle movement of about 1/8
inch.
The tension of the armature
return spring should not beheavy, but just enough toreturn the armature to theright hand stop screw without any bounce, and without any tendency to bounce
off the damper.
Set the “dit” action very
carefully:-_ Set armature weight(s)about _ of the way tothe slowest speed.
Then,_ Push the armaturepaddle to the dit position and hold it there
until motion stops, andcontinue holding it
there while adjusting
the contact screw sothat it just makes firm
contact (but not solight that it arcs or
misses). Some previous
adjustments may needcorrection now.
Set the dah action:_ Set the contact adjusting screw (which isalso the stop) so thepaddle moves about
1/8 inch.
_ Its spring should be set
to give about the same
paddle pressure as fordits.

Sending With A Bug
Key smoothly and easily with aminimum of effort. Let the bug
do the work - you just control it,with the arm resting on the table,
touching the paddles loosely(lightly) between thumb and forefinger. Control it without much
motion of the hand or fingers. A
slight twist or roll of the wrist willchange from the dit to the dahside. Relax and enjoy it. Don’tbat out the dits and dahs out with
thumb and forefinger so widely
separated and so hard that it tends
to push bug around.
There is a marked tendency
among some bug users to set thedits too fast relative to the handformed dahs and spaces. Handformed spaces tend to become toolong in proportion. The result isoften a choppy sounding code or
to signals which are certainly
readable, but tiring to listen to andread. Katashi Nose KH6IJ points
out that “at high speed one cannot put much force on the paddles.” He also said that “ If you
move your whole arm, the law ofinertia prevents you from attaining high speeds.”
KeyersKeyers are electronic devices
controlled by paddles similar to
those on a “bug” for automatically making dits and dahs, andoften incorporate other usefuloperating features, including
buffers and memories. Many include “iambic” type of operation
by a “squeezing” motion which
provides for alternate dits anddahs, which further automates
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

sending and in this way reduces Psychological testing shows thetotal effort. An iambic keyer will average rates at which people canalways produce perfect characters, tap a fingers:even though they may not be
On the High side: 9.7 per second,
used in our code.
or 576/minute, (3ØØ in 31 sec)
Katashi Nose here says “If you
have already mastered a bug, it Average: 8.6 per second, or
will take about three weeks to 516/min. (3ØØ in 35 sec.)
convert to electronic-key sending. On the Low side: 6.7 per second,
Once you are converted, you are or 4Ø2/min. (3ØØ in 45 sec.)
hooked because now your bug
fist is ruined [ed. for most peo- If we assume that a dit is oneple]; an entirely different tech- “tap” and a dah is equal to twonique is required.” If your keyer “taps” (two nerve pulses: one
has “forced character spacing” down and one up), then we may(FCS), use it! This may take sev- say:eral weeks practice, but yoursending will be real armchair
Taps Letters Group Taps x
copy. It is worth the effort.
Freq

Keyboards

1

E

Freq

Ø.13Ø Ø.13Ø

Finally, the keyboard (including
2
TI
Ø.166 Ø.332
the use of electronic computerswith programs for using their
3
A N S Ø.214 Ø.642
keyboards) automatically makes
4
D H M Ø.192 Ø.768
all characters from a typewriter
RU
type of keyboard. Both keyers
and keyboards often include
5
B F G Ø.124 Ø.62Ø
teaching programs for learning
KLV
the code and/or improving codeWabilities, as well as having memories for various purposes. This is6
C O P Ø.139 Ø.834
about the ultimate in code proXZ
duction. (Machine sent CW is
7
J Q Y Ø.Ø24 Ø.168
considered almost a “must” forgood copy when signals are very Average
1.ØØØ 3.494
faint, including QRP - and for
per letvery high speed work (handtersending just won’t hack that.)
Keyboards also have much to offer the beginner in learning the Average for five-letter word =code initially and for improving 17.47 taps.
one’s skills. What may be possible At this rate, assuming the above
hand-key speeds?
rates can be maintained for periods of time needed to send messages, news, etc., the slowest keyWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

79

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ing rate would be 23 wpm, the and feels no strain or pressure. He
average 3Ø and the highest 33 is competent. (Anybody can talk
wpm.
into a mike.) By omitting needlesswords and with the help of comAn Interesting Bug
mon abbreviations, Q signals, etc.,
his rate of communication is high
The Sydney Australia GPO Tele- enough to be comfortable, and hegraph Office in 1946 produced a feels no particular drawbacks
bug that had two separate swing- when he talks in Morse code.
ing arms for dots and dashes. Sure, he may spell or sound out
There were 3 knobs: one for dits, unusual or strange words or
one for automatic dahs
proper names, just as he would
when he meets them in reading or
and one for manually controlled writing, but mostly he hears words
dashes. The knobs could be posi- as words because he has becometioned at either end of the base- more proficient. Words are theplate for easy use by right or left “alphabet“of the skilled operator.
handed people
Higher Skills

Chapter 11

As we talk about these highly proficient men and women, we mustdraw a distinction between readRecognition of CW is a proc- ing code at these speeds andess of learning to perceive in- copying it. All through the histermittent sounds as intelligi- tory of telegraphy skilled operators have said they could “read a
ble “speech.”whole lot faster than they canReal skill begins when we no copy the stuff down.” Obviously
longer think of the code as code, no one can copy faster than hebut only of the content. A good can write - whether by hand or on
operator is one who feels quite at a typewriter.
home with code, fluent in it. He isable to copy accurately up from a We have already discussed copylow of about 15 up to about 25 ing. In this chapter we address
wpm and can think and talk in reading skills again. We’re talking
telegraphic words, almost as if it here primarily about amateurs
were ordinary language at speeds who have achieved a still higher
sometimes up to 3Ø-35 wpm degree of skill, not for commer(“conversational CW” as one cial or professional reasons, butteacher happily called “ r a g simply because they want to. It
may be for sheer enjoyment or tochewing”).
satisfy an inner drive, but whatThis ought to be the minimum ever may be the reason, such an
ambition of every operator, be- ability is as worthy an objective as
cause it makes the game all the any other skill, and even more so,more enjoyable, a very comfort- for it is useful as well as enjoyable working range. He enjoys it
Further Development ofSkills80

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

able. We need incentive - motiva- microprocessor controlled keytion - to achieve, and that ought to boards became available. Thisbe enough.
made available at reasonable cost
Doesn’t our satisfaction over the two parameters which aremanaging to get even one recog- paramount to enjoyable highnizable word out of a high speed speed CW operation: -- accuracy,code transmission trigger a desire which is always the most importo be able to read it all at that tant and never to be sacrificed forspeed? “The joys of high speed speed, and speed.
CW are known only to those will- An operator cannot send accuing to put forth the time to learn rately enough with a mechanicalwhat a unique world exists on our device at speeds much over 4Ø
bands.” This semi- pro is com- wpm for any length of time, but apletely relaxed as he effortlessly keyboard makes that easy. In adreads or copies: he has no reason dition, its features of memory, etc.
to doubt - he knows he can read it give further help, making CWeven while doing something else. communication better, with theRegardless of what he may be result that operators can now condoing, a skilled telegrapher hears verse instead of carrying on
what is being said in code within monologues. The human mind
his hearing. He reads it like he manifestly is better equipped thanhears the spoken word and may any computer to copy the Morseeven be able to remember it later code, and the joy of operating
well enough to copy it down if he comes from listening to accurate
needs to.
CW send by a skilled operator. No
The following is an interesting matter what sending device isexample: On a local SSB net of used. The point is to send Accuhigh speed operators the control- rately. It is the mind that copies
ler asked: “Gary, can you operate CW, and it is in the head that
SSB as well?” After a short pause, pleasure is found.
somebody said: “Gary, He’s Looking Backward And Fortalking to you on SSB!” “ A h ” ward
said Kirby, “So he is!” --!Morseis so much a second nature for There are said to be four phases
those with real skill that they have of skill:
to stop and think what mode
Hustling for the letters,
they’re actually using. It will sur- _prise you when you first experi- _Learning to hear words,
ence it.
_Taking in several words, aphrase or short sentence atTruly High-Speed CW Awaited
an “ear-full”, and finallyElectronics_
The real expert who has theHigh speed CW demands precidetails of Morse code sosion: it did not become a reality
well in mind that he gives
for most operators until digitalthem practically no attencommunication in the form ofWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

81

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphytion at all, and only is con- rank beginner, his probable reacscious of the content.
tion will be: “I will never be able
Remember that in the earliest to read or copy that!” However,stage we learn to hear the letters as after as few weeks of training heunits of sound, rather than hear- will be doing it. High speed code
ing the dits and dahs as such. may seem far too fast ever to read,
Next, we advance to hearing many but it is not nearly as fast as it
common words and parts of sounds to the uneducated ear. A
words as units, instead of strings good share of the problem isof letters spelled out. At this point overcoming the impression that it
we are quite conscious that the might not be possible to compredits and dahs are there, and this hend at such a speed. One stubgives us a sort of inner confidence born fact faces us: others can dothat the foundation is in place it, and surely I can, too. There(our security blanket). Up to this fore, take heart. We recognize that
it is hard to understand recorded
point we feel comfortable.
speech when it is played back at
The third step comes as we pass twice or at half speed because not
the point of being able to hear the only the pitches but the sounds
dit and dah components any become so distorted.
longer - they seem to have vanished into a blur. (We should still This is not true of code, where thebe conscious that the letters are important proportions are strictly
present, however.) At first one maintained the patterns are still
may feel somewhat helpless, as there. Skilled operators need tothough the supports had somehow learn to read and copy over agotten lost. However, the auto- fairly wide range of speeds. Ted
matic mind, which has been McElroy once said: “If you can
trained by enough of the right pick out even one single characterkind of practice (and has been at a higher speed you are on youractive all the time, though we may way.” So if you have ambition,
have been unaware of how far its take heart! When the mind is nearactivity extends), seems to be able its limit, struggling, concentrating
to hear those components and on each individual letter as it isidentify the letters with no strain. heard, there is no time to identify
What we must now learn to do is letters poorly sent, jammed toto Trust this mental ability al- gether or missed, or words misthough we are unaware of how it spelled, etc. But if we have a comfortable margin of speed, thisworks.
makes everything easier and“Conscious effort is fatal to much more enjoyable.
speed“is a common observation
with respect to any skill we have At slower speeds we can then reaacquired. “The moment you let son out the words because weyourself think and cease to rely have time to think over each wordon ‘instinct’ you will fail in these as it comes in (we can’t change
special skills.” If a code transmis- the sending operator!). Early insion is played at 2Ø wpm for the the day we are likely to try too
hard. Especially when we are
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William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

fresh and alert the conscious, rea- 4Ø wpm or more, so fast that mostsoning part of our mind wants to of us can’t make out much more
control our receiving ability, while than!a letter or a word or two - orthe automatic part of our mind maybe nothing at all. In the pastsays “I can do it myself without these experts were mostly profesyour interference“. We must stop sionals, but now many are hams
this internal warfare, this con- One old timer, now a silent key,scious attempt to control recep- who had begun as an amateur,tion. Make it let go let go, so the then for an interim period of time
unconscious inner mind may was a commercial operator andfunction. Give yourself permis- could copy 4Ø-45 wpm with nosion to let go of your conscious trouble, and could easily read up
demand to recognize each letter. into the 5Ø wpm region, said that
The better you succeed and the as a ham he always listened forless you try, the better and faster ideas, for meaning, for sense, andyou’ll become at it.
was hardly conscious of the actual
As one student said: “When I’m words sent. (This came out
fresh and 1ØØ% alert, my code strongly when I asked him one
speed is really bad, but when I’m day after a QSO: “What word wasreally tired I can keep up with it that W8xxx used to express . .
best of them.” Does that give us a .? -- He didn’t know. There washint as to how to go about it? an expert.)(This is not speaking of the be- Above that speed is the super exginning student, who needs to put pert who lives in that upper athis whole conscious attention on mosphere where 6Ø wpm is loaflearning the sound-letters, but to ing, and some have been able tothe person aiming for very high comprehend at 1ØØ wpm to as
speed reception.)high as 125 wpm (one of these
was the well-known Bill Eitel of
The Skilled Operator
the Eitel-McCullough Co., tube
A long-time telegrapher was once designers and manufacturers).
given the code test at 13 wpm for Some of these whizz-bangs tell us
a General Class ham examination, that they don’t think there is any
but laid down his pencil and said: real upper limit in speed at all.
“I can’t copy that stuff.” When Like most of us at such speeds,
asked why, he said: “Well, it’s just probably none of them contoo slow.” Everybody laughed, sciously hears more than a buzz.
then they speeded it up consid- (He wouldn’t even think of trying
erably and he made perfect copy. to listen for the dits and dahs.)
The dragged-out characters are But all the while the automatic
harder to recognize - patterning is section of his mind is active andwell, reading it easily and telling
lost much below about 12 wpm
him what is being said.
Faster – Faster - Faster
What are these race-track operaThe expert, who is a step up, races tors doing so differently fromalong effortlessly up to around most of us? -- They are hearing in
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

83

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

longer spans than we are. Their copying - but not reading “groups” or units of comprehen- quickly becomes very exhausting,sion are longer than ours, and and can be continued only forthey are not consciously thinking very short periods of time. Forof code characters, letters or them as speeds go up, getting itprobably even in words as such. from the ear to paper demands(See below and Chapter 26 Speed the utmost of concentration, shutcontests)
ting everything else out of mind.
Somewhere above about 45 wpm Some have described it as almost
speeds become too fast for us to being hypnotized. (In great conbe conscious of the difference trast to “comfortable“speeds of
between dits and dahs. The facts 2Ø to around 4Ø wpm, depending
are that at these higher speeds - on one’s degree of skill.) Tiny
unless we have actual hearing de- lapses of attention for them canfects - the interior workings of be devastating. Since we have alour brain are quite aware of these ready discussed copying (Chapter
differences and can discern the 8), our attention here will be conpatterns accurately, and so can fined to reading the code
convey to us the bigger picture of The Sound Barrier
words and meaning, but for somereason will not allow us to be con- Sound Consciousness - Fromsciously aware of the details. The Details To Meaning
experiences of the operators described here are evidence of this. After an official amateur speed
contest about sixty years ago, oneof the judges, himself a former
Reading Versus Copying Skill
telegrapher, asked the young man
Many highly-skilled longtime who won at 56 wpm: “Listen, Kid,
landline and radio telegraph op- did you get it?” - ”Sure, why?” erators are said to have copied at ”Well, all I could hear was juststeady rates between 5Ø and 6Ø one endless string of dits without
wpm all day long for a 1Ø - 12 even so much as a space anyhour day. This was common on where.” That judge had passed
press circuits, as well as some oth- his limit.
ers. (However, there are somequestions - we may suspect that “Sound consciousness” has been
they were typing 5Ø - 6Ø wpm in used to denote the limit beyond
actual word counts, while receiv- which a given person can no
ing in Phillips code, an abbrevia- longer consciously distinguish thetion system which typically short- components of the code. At
ens the number of letters by about speeds somewhere around 5Ø
4Ø% [See Chapter 27.] If so, this wpm it becomes impossible towould be slower actual code make out the separate dits andspeeds than in full normal English dahs any more - they become ablur. Conscious recognition ofat the given speed.)details ceases, and if one is toAt high speeds, over about 45 - continue reading the code signals,
5Ø wpm, many experts agree that there must be a distinct change in
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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

the consciousness of reception. already moving forward.” -Sound consciousness must shift !Listen, listen, listen and want togears from letters to words and understand what you hear. Rephrases.
member the rules for practicing This ability is developed by al- work in short enough bursts oflowing the automatic mental speed so as not to get tired, thenfunctions to completely take over drop back to a slower speed again
the recognition of all details be- and it will seem much easier. One
low word level, without any con- of these experts says that he feels
scious interference whatever, so comfortable and does not sensethat from then on one is con- any degree of tension or strain at
scious only of words, phrases and all while reading or copying at
meaning. One has to let go of any these very high speeds. Nor does
demand to be conscious of the he sense any changes in mental
action or approach as he listens at
details.
any speed. He says that at thesehigh speeds he is not conscious of
How Can Such Skill Be Develdits and dahs, and only sometimes
oped
is conscious of the letters, spelling,
One man did it this way:-- when etc. (“You don’t even need corhe got so he could copy 14 wpm rect spelling at these levels.”)
almost solid, he tried a 21 wpm Unusual words, a proper name,tape speed and was surprised to be call sign, abbreviation, etc., do notable to get about 6Ø% right off. “throw” him and so he doesn’t
After three 15 minute sessions, miss anything following it. He
one a day, he was getting 4 - 5 adds: “The faster the code speed,
words or groups in a row without the better.” (As for copying at
misses. He alternated back and very high speeds he says: “I usuforth between the two tapes, and ally listen for the first sentencefound it helped both. Continuing and then start to copy.”) In thesewith still higher speed tapes, he comments he is joined by anotherwas able in about 5 months to expert. Both of them were initicopy at 35 wpm. (Many have ated into the code before the age
gotten to that speed much of six by expert close-relatives orsooner.) So, try listening at speeds friends. They feel entirely com1Ø or more wpm above your pre- fortable with code at any speed,
sent limit, and as you listen see if and feel that there is no upper
you can hear anything recogniz- limit in speed. “The one thingable. W a n t to understand what that myself and others [find limyou hear.
iting] at high speed is the matterA number of the very high speed of putting QSO’s on paper.
operators have said that if you can Copying is the only limit.” (Iscatch just one word in a high beginning at such an early age
speed transmission, you are on part of the reason they feel soyour way to reading it. “If you “comfortable?” We need somestart hearing short words, then more information on this point.)
you’re on the right track, and are
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

85

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Another of these experts describes and what was jibberish now sudthis skill as something like this: - denly becomes intelligible. Snap“You mention [hearing only] a ping into high speed code may be‘blur of sound’ at higher speeds. something like that.
This happens to me too, where the Ted McElroy and Levon R.
code [at first] sounds like pop- McDonald were men who before
corn popping or chicken grease WW2 demonstrated copying inon a hot griddle, and I have to the 75 wpm range. A few years
concentrate to ‘break the sound later Frank J. Elliott and Jamesbarrier’ before it starts making Ralph Graham demonstrated thesense and I can read it. ... I have same degree of expertise. There
to make my mind break into this were others who were runners up.
and begin concentrating on words McElroy said there were manyand phrases.... [then suddenly] others who were as good as heone word or phrase snaps me into was, or even better, who never engear and I go on from there. tered the speed contests. George
Then so long as I consciously Hart said:” If you were born withmaintain my concentration, I can a whistle and no voice box, you’dcontinue to read it in my head ... be able to send and receive 1ØØ
without much sense of strain... wpm or more. I guarantee it! It’s
[Then] so long as concentration is all a matter of incentive.” “Sitstrictly maintained, ‘drop-outs’ and listen, and keep listening and[from this receptive state of mind] want to understand it.” “Anyone
do not occur.”who can type over 75 wpm can
He admits that he misses occa- copy code over 75 wpm if hesionally - a hard or unusual word really wants to.”or a misspelling, etc., but he justcontinues on - there is no time to Factors Needed To Get Thereponder about it. This indicates In Addition to Practicethat he senses the need for somekind of mental “shifting gears” One vitally important point to rein the way he is conscious of what member while receiving is to Keepis being received, and that once Cool. Don’t let yourself get flus“in gear” he needs to keep de- tered or distracted. If you missliberately concentrating on it, but something, keep going. At highwithout evident strain. He suggests speeds you can’t copy characters,
the following thought:- If you you must copy words andare listening to a news broadcast phrases. You will be surprisedon the radio while reading the how much you can get and how
daily paper, you have to give pri- much fun it will be to listen toority of attention to one or the high quality code at 4Ø-45 wpm
other. If your attention is on the (as to the press in former ears).
newspaper, you are usually be McElroy wrote: “I remember aaware of the radio only as more contest where the word ‘hospitalior less jibberish, a noise. Then, if zation’ shot through around 57
you want to listen to the radio you wpm. How is a fellow gonna grasp
have to turn your attention to it,
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William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

at that speed? But half a minute or In 1845 telegraphers’ speeds wereso later it came to me and I about 5 wpm. By 1855-6Ø they
flipped back and filled it in. Try it averaged 2Ø-25 wpm with 46 a
for fun.” Keep cool, don’t let maximum; by 1875 - they
yourself get flustered or dis- reached 52 wpm; by 1897 63.5
tracted. Keep the mind on the in- wpm. McElroy went from 51
coming stream of words. There is wpm in 192Ø to 56 in 1922, thena limit to how fast we can con- to 69 in 1935 and to 75 in 1939.
sciously spell out words, but with Other records were: 1937 - 4
the sub-mind doing the work we hams at 55; 1938 2 hams at 65;
don’t know where that limit is. 1945 - 79 wpm.
Strong emotions seem to makethe expert more fluent, but the In the mid 197Ø’s a group ofless experienced tend to get rat- hams found that “their code
reading ability had so far outtled or upset.
stripped their sending skill that
slow, frustration-filled 35 wpm
Who Can Do It
QSO’s grew increasingly unsatisIn England a blind and almost fying.” They then bought comtotally deaf young man of 23 mercial keyboards simply to have
could handle the code at 5Ø more enjoyable chats with eachwpm.: it was his only way of other. Their standard conversacommunicating at all. In 1959 tional speed was about 65 wpm
Katashi Nose KH6IJ wrote “ A n y (reading, of course, in theirDXer worth his salt is good for at heads), but on good nights someleast 6Ø wpm. He gears his speed would go up to 8Ø.” One of theirto what comes back.” As noted later participants said that hebefore, Bill Eitel was one of those bought a keyboard and withinable to communicate easily at three months his speed went from1ØØ wpm. That means there must 35 wpm to 65 wpm. “They did
also have been some other hams not think they were doing anywith whom he communicated at thing particularly clever.”that speed!
The observer felt that they were
In looking over the years of con- a n
exceptionally“Morsetests and speed records made talented” group who find codeelsewhere it seems as though the reading comes easily and havecapability to achieve ever higher difficulty understanding why othspeeds is something that has ers can’t do it. Why “can’t”
grown, either due to improved they? There are good reasons toequipment or to better learning suspect that these men, about
methods, or both. Higher speeds whom we have no present details,
require more accurately formed while they may have had somecode signals. Perhaps many su- special aptitude, either benefitedper-experts were there all the time, from a wise teacher, or were so
but so busy they weren’t offi- strongly motivated that somehow
cially recognized.
they all just stumbled onto ways
to advance that did not penalize
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

87

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphythem. Somehow it doesn’t sound requires a minimum of 6Ø wpm,
like all of them just happened to has about 75 members.
have some special ability, does it?. Similar high speed clubs exist in
The fact that they didn’t seem to America. CFO (Chicken Fat Opconsider they had done anything erators) started out in the U.S.
especially remarkable strongly around 198Ø as a loosely-knit
suggests that they simply went up bunch of hams with a deep lovethe speed ladder without any star- of CW, who enjoyed long ragtling “jumps” in skill. This is chews with each other, sending
something to think about.
lots and lots of beautiful CW on
Fellows, with this many engaged their keyboards from 4Ø-45 wpm
in using it, high speed code must up to about 1ØØ. Almost immebe really easy! Ted McElroy often diately there were about 7ØØ
demonstrated his skills in copying members world-wide, and ten
behind along with speed. He was years later they numbered about
noted for being able to listen 9ØØ. (Look for them on the airrather casually for a number of around 7Ø33 kHz during theseconds, then dash into the key- hours of US darkness, and on
board at high speed until he was weekends.) Their identification is
up closer to the incoming signals. given at the end of a QSO by an
Not many others seem to have chicken cluck in Morse, produced
demonstrated this particular abil- by an acoustical-mechanical deity, but rather tend to copy close vice invented by Kirby, WS9D.
behind the incoming signals: of- They meet together for “Cluckten only a couple of syllables or ins” at hamfests and conventions.
words behind. (We see this in Membership requires one to be
McDonald’s statement regarding able to operate at their speeds on
the 1939 contests (see Chapter a keyboard and to be nominated26).
by a couple of members whodeem the person worthy. There isAmateur High Speed Clubsalso a “Five-Star Club”, a group
who are said to communicate
The European CW Association regularly at about 8Ø wpm.
was founded in May 1961 topromote the use of CW. Member The truly skilled CW operator canclubs have developed within it. accurately read and transcribe
Those of interest here are:- The code that by amateur standards
High Speed Club, founded 1951, may sound very strange indeed.
requiring a minimum speed of 25 The operators on foreign ships,
wpm; the Very High Speed Club, where CW is used because it isfounded l96Ø requiring a mini- cheap and reliable, are often
mum of 4Ø wpm, with about 28Ø poorly trained and grossly undermembers; the Super High Speed paid. Their Morse, sent by hand
Club, founded 1983, requiring key and rarely faster than 18
minimum of 5Ø wpm, with about wpm, can be very perplexing to
2ØØ members; the Extremely read. A good commercial operaHigh Speed Club founded 1983 tor can learn nevertheless to copy
88

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphythem faultlessly, even while doing ing the fundamentals of Amateur
something else at the same time.
radio over his Amateur radio staThere is always some speed at tion W9BSP on 16Ø meter phonewhich we all fall apart, so what? -- by voice and oscillator. This was
You will enjoy doing a bit faster. a basic course of 6Ø lessons given
Listen to very fast code as if it once a year each weekday over awere music and soon you can two month period for over ten
recognize character here and years. He used the basic methods
there you will hear some words taught here.
pop out. High speed code has a Thousands of amateurs weremusicality and beauty which trained with almost 1ØØ% sucmusters respect and admiration cess. His students never thoughtfor those who work it. Back- of!the code as being hard to
ground music or other rhythmic learn.. He continually stimulated
sounds can be used to aid high- the student’s interest and attention
speed operators - it does not dis- by a variety of lesson content andtract, but rather relieves any te- by his manner of speaking. He
dium.
encouraged students to write orvisit him and let him know how
Chapter 12
they were doing. Every student
was encouraged and he especially
How Long Will It Take To
complimented those who persisted
Learn
in their ongoing study, even
Examples Of Effective Code though they might miss out now
Learning - Your Approach Is and then.
Vital
Each lesson was an hour long andHere is a rather leisurely, easy generally centered upon one
theme, presented partly by voice
going approach that worked:
and partly in code. Each lesson
Thirty Hours, One-half Hour a was about half devoted to teachDay For Sixty Days To a Solid ing the Morse code and the otherFoundation In Morse Code. That half to theory, fundamentals ofis what Marshall Ensor’s famous radio, themes of interest and govcourse given over 16Ø meter ernment regulations. There wasamateur radio-phone offered for enough variety to keep the stuover ten years to any and all in dent’s interest peaked to know
the 193Ø’s period. How did he and use the code and go ahead toteach?
get a license. To avoid any tediousness or boredom, no adjacent
Marshall H. Ensor’s Codelessons were identical in format or
Coursecontent, although many code
Ensor was a High School Indus- “texts” were repeated over andtrial Arts teacher who volunteered over throughout the series of leswith ARRL to teach amateur radio sons. In addition, the student wasclasses. He designed and taught urged from the very first to obtain“The School of the Air”, cover- a good key and make an oscillator so that he could practiceWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

89

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

sending accurate code between somewhat advanced were exlessons.
pected to be able to get it all.
The code portion of Lesson One He apparently never sent a charbegan with a short explanation of acter at less than about 12 wpm.
how to “vocalize” the code, that In the earlier lessons the upperis, using “dits” and “dahs” to actual limit of word speed ranged
get and keep the student thinking from about 5 to 1Ø or more wpm.
of the code letters as patterns of Later from time to time the uppersound rather than as visual dots limits were sometimes in the teensand dashes. It was illustrated by up to 25 wpm. The beginning
comments such as:speed was not a progressive advance, but rather was random It is this sound-pattern of eachsometimes starting at 6 wpm, atletter that must be memorizedother times 1Ø or more - to give
These very important comments exposure to how the code sounds
were restated in various ways in at various speeds. 12 to 14 wpm
every lesson up to the tenth, and were the commonest speeds. In
after that they were reinforced in the later lessons a wide variety ofalmost every lesson in one way or sentences was sent in this part ofanother. This constant hammering the lesson. In the earlier lessonsof the importance of sound-only they were familiar sayings,!helpful
drove this key point home. They remarks and encouragement, andapparently all got it. Then in that later were usually taken from thevery first lesson he sent the alpha- text of the lesson theme. (Afterbet, numbers and punctuation lesson 3Ø portions from the Ramarks for the student just to listen dio Amateurs Handbook, and theto, in order to give him an overall Radio Amateurs License Manual,
feel for the wholeness of the code and finally all class B examination
as a system of sounds.
questions were included.)In the following lessons up to the Beginning in lesson 3 he encourtenth when the alphabet only aged the student to try to write(each letter repeated three times) them down as words separated by
was sent in ABC order just to be spaces. If they couldn’t do that
listened to without copying. But yet, to write the letters in a consometimes it was sent in character tinuous string, without spaces. All
groups to be copied, writing down copying to be done in ordinary
immediately each letter the stu- handwriting, not printed. Up todent recognized. Even in Lesson lesson 7 the average student was
One the alphabet was followed by assumed to be able to copy thethree short sayings of 5 to 9 letters of the alphabet at word
words each. Each saying was first speeds of about 5 wpm. Beginread aloud - once or twice - then ning with lesson 8 the numbers
sent slowly, and finally read and most common punctuation
again. A few lessons later every- marks were added to the alphabet
one was to try to copy them, al- review and frequently also were
though only those who were vocalized up to lesson 27. Thiswas done less often in later les90

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphysons. The first 26 lessons were Which covered the elements ofdedicated primarily to establish- electricity and radio, the U.S.
ing a firm foundation in recog- rules and regulations concerning
nizing and using the code char- amateur transmitting, and amateur
acters. He used an automatic tape operating practices. His students
sender from about lesson 15 to easily passed the 1Ø and 13 wpm
send texts at various speeds for tests with flying colors.
more practice.
Bruce Vaughan, now NR4Y, was
The obvious goal was to make the one of his students. He started
student thoroughly familiar learning the code in the fall of
with!the sound of each code letter, 1938. Years later he wrote likenumber and punctuation mark by this: “I never understood why
repeatedly hearing them over and some find learning code difficult.
over and copying them down. I remember only vaguely, when I
Each lesson from about the learned to read CW, [so] I suptwelfth also contained higher pose my Maker installed a code
speed portions for those advanc- reader in my otherwise hollow
ing more rapidly, and to tweak the skull at the time of my concepinterest of those not quite to tion.” He learned the code during
skilled yet to try to copy. As the that two-month radio class andlessons progressed he used differ- then easily passed the governmentent speeds up to about 25 wpm. exam.
To avoid “ear” fatigue the code
practice segments of each lesson Another Example - Comwere separated by a few minutes pounded By Handicapsof spoken comments, reading of
prepared text on the lesson theme Steve Katz, WB2WIK,!has taught
or other items of general interest. hundreds of students in classes of
5 to 15 students over the years,
Code sections of a lesson rarely and says “CW surely isn’t diffiexceeded 5!to 1Ø minutes at a cult.” Most of his students in atime. In later lessons these were typical class,!he says, didn’t know
sometimes an active part of the a dit from a dah, but after eightteaching of!radio theory and class sessions they all (except one
practice. In some lessons he also or two) passed the 2Ø wpm CW
gave general comments on how to element for Extra.
go about studying and learning.
Beginning in lesson 13 he en- How did he do this? -- He tells
couraged the student to try to them:” The code is the world’s
copy at least a letter or two be- easiest ‘language’. It has only 26
hind. After lesson 3Ø most of the words. Who here can’t learn 26
themes were taken directly from new words in one night? When a
the ARRL Radio Amateurs Hand- person learns a new language, hebook and the ARRL Licensing doesn’t think about how eachManual which each student was word is spelled, or how many leturged to obtain. These were to ters are in each word. He thinks
prepare the student for passing about how the word sounds, andthe radio amateur operator’s test. what it means, The same goes for
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

91

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphylearning Morse code. Each letter ened to find he couldn’t write as
has a sound and a meaning. fast as they were sending. So
That’s all one needs to know.”
Steve helped him out, and said:
Then he begins with the simplest “Don’t write anything down. Just
letters (E T I M A N S O) and listen to the code, and if you get a
progresses to the intermediate little bit of it, that’s fine.”
letters (U D V B W G) and then So Rob just listened and soon was
finally the last twelve. He teaches “copying” maybe!2%, and afterby rhythm and sound, not by a few more days of listening to“dits” and “dahs” or dots and high-speed operators, he could
dashes. He teaches by vocalization copy maybe 2Ø%, which Steveand demonstration - no assigned said “is more than enough tohomework or study of any kind. make a contact”. Steve encourHe uses his ham radio station aged him to do just that - makealong with an electronic keyer contacts with operators going
and key paddle to demonstrate much too fast to “copy”. He did
and also uses on-the-air contacts. that, even if he could only copy a
His “proven CW teaching tech- call sign and name (Steve told
nique” after the ABC’s, he de- him: “that’s a complete cont a c t ”). It didn’t take long for
scribes as:-Rob to copy in his head very solTo make the student put away his idly without pencil and paper
pencil and paper and just listen to (Steve said: “ I never use any eithe code at very high speeds, ther”). When Rob had upgradedwhile he, Steve, sends familiar text, to General Class, Steve encourincluding words like the names of aged him to hang out near the
sports teams, cities and so forth. Extra Class subbands and find theHe said: “Don’t write anything really great operators to contact.
down. Just listen to the code, and He did that, too, and within three
if you get a little bit of it, that’s weeks, he had increased his codefine.”
speed from 5 to about 35 wpm
He taught his nine-year-old without using tapes, computernephew Rob (who has cerebral programs or any other “artifipalsy) when Rob got interested in cial” means. He just did it by
ham radio from watching Steve getting on the air and making
communicating with distant sta- contacts, which is how Steve says
tions. So Steve started teaching he did it, too.
him the code and in about 3 When Rob was 12 he passed theweeks he passed the novice exam Advanced exam, and also took thewith flying colors at age 1Ø. Rob Extra Class exam where he passed
hacked around in the Novice CW the code element easily (1ØØ%bands at 5 wpm for a while, when solid), all answers correct, without
one day he tuned where high writing anything down on paper,
speed operators were working but he failed the theory parts ofeach other and was intrigued that the exam because he hadn’t hadthey were going so fast. He tried enough math yet in school. Just
to copy them but was disheart92

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

before his 13 birthday he did Spenceley KV4AA known as
pass the full Extra Class exam. He “one of the world’s best operanow works CW contests where tors” taught Danny Weil so wellmost QSO’s are at 45-5Ø wpm that within one month Danny had
and never writes anything down earned his license and was workexcept the other station’s call in ing DX at 2Ø wpm. his was theresult of a good teacher and an
his log.
eager student.
This handicapped teen can“copy” at almost any speed with Some Outstanding Examples Of
1ØØ% accuracy, but he doesn’t Effectivenessreally know a dit from a dah. He
didn’t learn the code this way. Conditioning Is Important
Code was always the easy part forhim. Rob is certain that anyone Katashi Nose KH6IJ (Physics Dewho can’t pass the code exam partment, University of Hawaii),
must be an idiot, since it wasn’t who became a high speed expert,
very hard for him and he has a taught teenagers the code for 25
learning disability, cerebral palsy years. His students never heard
which restricts his coordination. that “this will be hard, you’ll or
He had Steve’s excellent example you’ll have to fight a plateau.”
and was never told it might be They learned rapidly to good
“hard”, so it was always easy for working speeds of 2Ø - 3Ø wpm
him. He had a good attitude and in two to three weeks.
didn’t know there was any prob- The fastest code learner we havelem. There seems to be no limit to ever heard of so far started code
his ability. He was learning it the practice for the examination justright way from the very first ex- one week before he took the test
posure.
and passed it! You say: “Wait aminute. What goes on here?”More Examples
You’re right, there is a history
The U.S. Navy during WW-2 code behind this achievement. Whatcourses for the average person was it, and what can we learn fromrequired about 3 weeks to achieve it?
12-14 wpm to meet the rigid It was his conditioning, his backNavy requirement of perfect ac- ground. That played a crucial
curacy (military operations and part. His father was a skilled telesecurity at sea demanded letter- grapher at a country railroad staperfect accuracy). This time, they tion. His earliest childhood
thought, could be shortened with memories were of sitting, fascibetter teaching methods.
nated, on the floor in his father’s
Waldo T. Boyd K6DZY was a telegraph office listening to thegraduate of the Navy Radio sounder clicking. Unconsciously
Communications School. In 3 he learned to recognize when hismonths time he was copying 35 Dad’s station was being called,
wpm, and not long after that was and when he did, he would go tocopying 5Ø wpm easily. Dick get his Dad. It was only after hethWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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was quite a bit older that he realized that not all adult men could Determination and Persistence
automatically read Morse code in How long it should take depends
the same way that they could read on various factors. The first esand write English!
sential is how we approach - this is
His mind had become so sensi- vital. Am I prepared? Do I really
tized to the sound of Morse code want to learn? Will I stick to it?
from birth and so saturated with it Am I determined to do it? All
that, when the time came to learn these are essential to rapid sucit properly, he had absolutely no cess.
hang-ups at all about “not being
able to do it”. He was totally By Contrast
conditioned and prepared. And in Old American Morse operators,
addition he may have felt, as al- using the old visual, then widely
most every teenager does, that practiced methods of teaching“whatever Dad can do, I can do and experience, took about six
better”. Not many of us are so months to reach about 15 wpm
fortunate as to have this kind of and about two years to reach an
background, but does his history expert phase. Their code with its
suggest anything we could do? Is internal spaces does require more
there some way I can condition timing sense than International
my mind to make it easier? Isn’t Morse.
it the old story: what is familiar to
us doesn’t seem hard - it is easy. During WW-I in America, the urgent need for wireless operators
Gary Bold, ZL1AN, well-known shoved most of them out the door
teacher in New Zealand, related into military service with only athis story of a friend of his, and bare code proficiency, no experisuggests one way to approach it ence in operating either thethat works, even though it may equipment or the procedures.
sound silly. This is by playing
high quality code tapes in the WW-II American military radio
background (like music) while training schools provided more
you’re driving to work, washing rigorous code training, and somethe dishes, cleaning the car, etc. of them included, in their later
You don’t even have to listen to it phases, operational experience
consciously, he says. - Will it with wired QSO’s and even included interference. These practiwork? It’s certainly worth a try.
cal exercises sometimes introAt the lowest skill levels: four- duced progressively worse QRM.
years-olds, barely able to write Some courses introduced typing
even block letters have been able from the very first, but for adto pass the code test. How many vanced students typing was theof us are willing to admit a four- rule. Those receiving high speed
year-old can outperform us? training also learned to copy highThen consider these higher skill speed press. It is easy, and needlevels:not!take long to learn the Morse
code if one goes at it prepared
94

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

with the right attitudes and meth- vivid visual memory: they wereods
two different kinds of sensations(sound and sight) -- they didn’t
Chapter 13
relate. In order to cross that gap
and relate them we had to give
The Role of Memory in Tele- conscious thought to build agraphybridge between them: to convert
Why Learning Initially by the sound pattern into a pattern ofvisual dots and dashes so that our
Sight Doesn’t Work Well
visual memory, where the “memIf you “memorized the code” (as ory” was, could interpret them.
I did) from a printed chart of dots That is why we stumbled and, unand dashes, or from a clever der the pressure of time, often
printed diagram or picture which missed out or even failed comvividly impressed the mind, you pletely. If we keep on this way wefelt you knew it. Maybe it only will have to form additional assotook you twenty minutes to ciation links for each individual“memorize” it, as some advertis- code character in order to connect
ers claimed - or perhaps it took a them. This can be done, and has
day or two. Then if you!tried to been done, but it takes a lot ofsend something in code with your time and also raises a new risk key, it was easy: you had a vivid the danger of interference bemental picture as to just how long tween them (two possible pathto hold each element of a charac- ways, one conscious, the other theter, and this seemed to prove you new association formed) and posknew the code.
sible hesitation as a result.
But it was when you started to re- Our memories are complex
ceive, to listen to the code, that the mechanisms. To fill in the picture,
trouble began. The sounds you experimental studies on memory
heard just didn’t seem to match have for many years shown thatup with the dots and dashes you we have not only several kinds,“knew” at all. Why should it be but also several levels of memoso hard to translate the code ries. First are what may be calledsounds into the dots and dashes the “sensory registers”, the veryand letters that you thought you short times during which, after weknew so well? Those who have see or hear something, its sight ormade a study of memory tell us sound persists in our consciousthat we have several separate ness as if we were still seeing or
memory banks: one for sight, one hearing it (persistence of vision orfor sound, others for touch, taste hearing) for a moment, thenand smell. (See, e.g., “Memory: quickly vanishes. However, if we
Surprising New Insights Into How are paying attention and are conWe Remember and Why We For- scious of a sight or sound, it willget” - Elizabeth Loftus, 198Ø)
enter the appropriate “short-term
Now we see why: the code sounds memory” and stay there forwe heard couldn’t make any di- maybe 15-2Ø seconds before it,rect connection at all with our too, fades out unless we deliberWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ately try to remember it a bit the process of copying, the conlonger,!or make a real effort to sciousness of content may be
put it into our “long-term mem- zero: you just mechanically copyory” bank by intending to re- (dictation) what is received, while
member it (by reinforcing it).
you may be conscious only ofLong term memory is what we thinking of something quite irusually think of as our “ m e m - relevant. However, in reading theory.” Because for most of us it code we are first conscious of theseems easier to remember things words, and later conscious more
we have seen than things we have of the thoughts conveyed thanheard, the visual approach to being precisely aware of thelearning seems more attractive. words. In both these higher skill
But obviously, since receiving the levels, the words and thoughts arecode is a matter of hearing, we generally collected together into
should begin the right way, by at least the “short-term” memotraining our auditory memory ries, and often carried over intobanks. Now we can see why the “long-term memories,” solearning the code initially by eye that we “make sense” out of it allis really the hard way, and actu- and follow what is being said asally creates a serious roadblock to we do in conversation.
advancement.
Perhaps the only thing we areconscious of, if we stop to think
Some Further Questions andabout it at all, is that we want toThoughts
understand and recall some of thethings said to us. Perhaps there is
The intricate inter-working of the an analogy with driving a car.
various parts of our minds and Here our eyes are receiving imbrains raises questions as to what pressions from traffic, traffic sigis going on as we consider re- nals, certain sounds, and our
ceiving in the telegraphic codes. physical responses on steering
Memory studies are usually con- wheel, accelerator, brakes are so
cerned with things we are fully automatic that if we are asked
conscious of and desire either to later about some particular detail,remember or to forget. With the we just can’t reply. These habitual
higher skills in code, however, it is physical responses to stimuli fromthe operation of the unconscious specific events are especiallyparts of the mind and its relations strongly retained over long periwith the consciousness that is of ods of time. The complete reprimary interest, and how these tie sponse once started carries itself
together with the memory.
out automatically and fully.
As our telegraphic skill level in- Another, less frequent occurrence
creases, the ABC’s of the me- is this: over the years it has been
chanics of language become more found that people sometimes haveand more the actions of the sub- retained mental “pictures” orconscious mind, which in turn “sound recordings” of things in
may or may not bring them to the earlier life to which they had paid
attention of our consciousness. In no attention or had any interest
96

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

in. Under certain conditions they ing print with each character inwere able to recall them - even full context, not in sequential
things that!made no sense at the time. One operator accustomed totime or later. One aged lady was operating in the 35-4Ø wpm
able to recall verbatim long range was out of it for five years.
speeches (in a language foreign to When he sat down to listen heher) she had heard many years could copy only about 15 wpm:
previously. Another sang a song “I couldn’t believe it!” By noonin the native language of her he was up to about 24 wpm andmother, a language the singer later in the afternoon was up tonever understood at all. The ex- his old speeds again. Just a few
perts tell us that “long term hours of practice were needed.
memory” does not mean either “One can indeed get awfully
permanent memory or accurate rusty,” he said
memory. All memories tend to
Chapter 14
weaken or fade out with time, andfurther, that they can and usually
are altered in various ways so that The Ear
the recall is distorted, or some- By “ear” we mean our total
times even reversed from the hearing and interpretive sysoriginal.
tem, an intricate and ingenOne exception is those memories ious complete system of perassociated with physically-related ception and interpretation ofskills, such as playing a musical what is heard: ears, nerves,
instrument, driving a vehicle, ste- and mind.
nography, telegraphy, etc. People The ears themselves are sensitive
who have not practiced such skills over a very wide range of intensifor many years will generally ties, but have their maximum senshow surprising agility after dec- sitivity and selectivity at low volades of non-use. A little practice ume levels. Setting the soundwill usually put them back to volume level just high enough tonearly their best performance, be clearly readable, both protects
barring physical disability. This the hearing and improves perhas been demonstrated over and formance. The ear responds toover. There is certainly room here what it hears first.
for further research into this fascinating subject as we look for Pitch Of CW Signal
specifically better ways to improve our telegraphic skills.
The ear is sensitive to pitch. Few
Those operators in commercial people can accurately remember
work who read the tapes by eye pitch (“absolute pitch”), but
seldom if ever learned CW as we most have no trouble detecting
know it, but rather learned the changes and differences in pitch.
visual appearance of words and Not many seem actually to beletters on the tapes in groups. “tone deaf.” The usual pitch
There is also another aspect to range used for CW is between
tape reading: it is more like read- 5ØØ and 1ØØØ Hz. Some findWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

the best pitch for copying in in- selves.” Some students may haveterference is about 5ØØ Hz.
difficulty distinguishing dits fromThose with serious hearing losses dahs. (The normal ratio is 1:3.)- who cannot hear certain pitches, For them it may help to overemor who cannot distinguish code phasize the length of the dahs at
signals in the usual pitch range first by lengthening them from 3
because their ears “ring” where units to 4. (It is interesting that in
the spaces should be - may find a American Morse the dahs tended
lower pitch (e.g. 3ØØ - 4ØØ Hz) to become shorter than threehelps. Sometimes using a buzzer units, to contrast with the longer
tone, or adding white noise to the dahs of L and zero. Again, it may
tone may enable them to hear be the nature of the sounder thatproperly. (Note: Avoid the use of led to this.)an actual buzzer in teaching as it There are good reasons for behas a delay in starting to sound. lieving that we must distinguishThis distorts the timing.)
between conscious perception of
The usual narrow bandwidth of duration and what the brain actutone for CW is uncomfortable to ally is capable of perceiving at
some people and may become subconscious levels. Support formonotonous, uncomfortable or this belief comes from the experiunpleasant. The narrower the ences of those operators who canpitch range the more frequent the receive code signals accurately atcomplaint. They find a more speeds which far exceed the pointcomplex tonal pattern far less tir- where dits and dahs all sounding and even pleasant. However, alike. See Chapter 1Ø.
when interference is present more The Ear Can Often Make Sense
complex tones become a hin- Out Of Poor Sending
drance.
The ear is remarkable in being
Sensitivity To Duration Of Sound able to make sense out of someIn the perception of rhythm the pretty badly mangled code, suchhuman ear will adapt itself within as is often heard on the air. It is arather wide limits in the actual forgiving organ: by mental adduration of sounds. Our judgment justment one can quickly learn toof the duration of a brief sound is recognize and read quite poorly
poor, perhaps because of a per- timed code - code whose glaring
sistence of sound (like persistence defects would stand out promiof vision), yet we can judge the nently if traced out on paper.
relative length of brief silent in- Within fairly wide limits the actual
tervals rather well. (This is proba- duration of the sound in a rhythbly why the telegraph sounder has mic pattern may vary and still beworked so well for receiving recognized. However, the spacing
American Morse, where rhythm within and between characters andpatterns are complex.) Thus, “ I f words is a highly significant facwe take care for the spaces, the tor.
‘marks’ will take care of them98

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Some distortions of proportion weak sound energy in. The sigare less unintelligible than others. nal-to-noise ratio can be increased
Better discrimination exists when by reversing the phasing of thethe dits are too fast as compared phones: that is, the noise at one
to the dahs than!when!the dits and phone is 18Ø degrees out ofdahs begin to approach the same phase with the other and the brain
length (easily confused). The ear tends to cancel the noise. Noisecan often read this kind of stuff type ear plugs can also help withphones and/or filters to reduce
when “machinery” fails.
spurious noises
The Trained Ear Can DiscrimiChapter 15
nate Between Signals
The normal ear can learn to sepa- Timing
rate between signals nearly, but
not quite, identical in pitch. For Timing Is The Heart Of The
many people the ear-brain filter Codecan focus on a bandwidth as nar- Timing is the heart of the code:row as!5Ø - 1ØØ Hz. If one can there is no code without it. Clear
focus on a 5Ø Hz. bandwidth with intelligibility depends upon righta receiver having a 3 KHz. noise proportions. However, it is true
bandwidth, a CW signal nearly 18 that some distortions are less undB below the noise level can be intelligible than others, and peoheard. However, a bandwidth of ple can learn to read that sort ofabout 5ØØ Hz., rather than a very stuff - but is it justifiable? Control
narrow one, makes the mechanics of timing rests entirely with theof tuning easier and gives freer sending operator.
rein to the ear-brain filter.
For this reason, attention to careIt is usually only when the going ful timing is first needed when thegets quite rough that we need an student starts to practice with aextremely narrow receiving filter - manual key, especially a straightand then there is the!risk of losing key, though also with most otherthe signal entirely if anything types. This is one reason why
shifts just a little. It has been said some good teachers discouragethat “The amateur ear, trained to the use of anything but a keydig out signals buried six layers board by a beginner. Most moddeep in murderous QRM is the ern teachers agree that it is immost prized ear in intercept work portant not to specifically menin all the world.”
tion the subject of timing until the
Headphones Are Superior To A student has learned the alphabet
and numbers so well by hearing
Speakerthem that he recognizes their patHeadphones effectively double terns without hesitation.
the power of received signals Some teachers recommend thatcompared to a loudspeaker. The other than using “dits” andmuffs on the phones keep out “dahs” to verbalize characters,
extraneous noises and keep theWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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they should not be time-analyzed We must learn to hear these patat all in teaching, but that it all be terns, sense them, feel them, anddone intuitively by sound. On the this is best done by hearing wellother hand, some excellent teach- sent code. In actual practice, indiers of the past (before keyers and vidual operators may and do dekeyboards) have insisted on viate somewhat from the standards
teaching precise timing, in terms given above. This may be for emof its elements, from the very first. phasis or because of communicaAccurate timing is vital, but it tion conditions, as well as unconmust never distract the student scious individual variations.
from the basic recognition ofcharacters by their essential unity Relative Duration And Spacingof patterning: it must not lead to Are Very Important
his breaking down the characteristic rhythm of the characters by In the perception of rhythm byanalyzing them into components. the human ear the precise duration of sounds is, within fairly
wide limits, unimportant. If the
The Basic Units
longer signals (i.e., dahs) are subThe basic unit of code timing is stantially longer than the shorterthe Baud, which is the duration of ones (i.e., dits), the ear will be satone dit (or “dot”), denoted here isfied. While our judgment of theby 1 for the “on” signal, and by duration of brief sounds is poor,(the equal unit) Ø (zero) for si- we can judge the relative length oflence, the “off” signal. The basic brief silence intervals much more
contrasting signal to the “dit” is accurately.
the dah which has a duration of 3 It has been said: “If you take careunits (111). It is obvious that each of the spaces, the ‘marks’ will
dit and each dah must be sepa- take care of themselves.” Spacrated both before and after by at ing, the periods of silence between
least one unit silence (Ø) in order parts of a character, between charto be distinguishable: this (one acters in a word or group, andunit) is the normal spacing be- between words, is critical to good
tween parts of a character. Normal receiving. Sloppy or hastily sent
spacing between characters within code can be a terror to receivea word (or group) is three units and understand. (Beyond some(ØØØ), and between words (or speed the persistence-of-hearing
groups)isseven
u n i t s effect tends to fill in the small(ØØØØØØØ).
spaces and make us unable toPunctuation marks normally fol- consciously recognize characters.)
low the last word with only one [In American Morse with its threecharacter space (ØØØ) between. It different lengths of dashes, eachis these components of time, sig- successively longer one wasnal “on”, short or long, and taught as being twice as long as“off”, which produce the pat- the next shorter one!-- an amountterns or rhythms which distin- which is clearly “hearable” underguish one character from another. almost any conditions. In practice,
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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

however, because they used a For many operators there was atelegraph sounder which marks certain pride in this. However,the start of a signal by one kind there is a danger here also, beof click, and its end by a differ- cause some operators deliberately
ent-sounding click, with silence in created peculiar styles of sending
between, these durations were of- as a sort of trademark. When suchten shortened without confusion distortion reaches a certain point
for reasons stated above. The and becomes habitual, intelligibilsame thing was true for its inter- ity suffers. We hear some of thesenally spaced characters.]
operators today on the air. They
Code “translators”, micro- do not seem to realize, or perhaps
circuitry for converting code into even care about the difficulty they
print, break down when sending is cause. With the advent of thepoor or interference is severe. The “double speed key”, also called
human ear and mind, however, the “side-swiper” or the “cootie
can copy rotten code far better key”, a key which is operated bythan any machine. The “ear” is a sidewise movement, with one
forgiving organ: by mental com- contact on each side, a new set ofpensation we can quickly recog- peculiar styles of sending arose.
nize and read stuff as passable Sidewise instead of up and down
code, which if it were recorded on motion helped relieve some forms
paper tape would show its glaring of fatigue, but also the peculiar
defects. In the presence of inter- motion patterns developed a differing signals and static, and to a ferent timing pattern, one that islarge extent during fading, the sometimes hard to copy.
“ear” can be trained to pick out The use of “bugs”, semia very weak signal and read it automatic keys (the best known
well. (Chapter 11)
being the “Vibroplex”) whichsoon became very popular, also
Irregularities In Timing
gave rise to various personal
From the very beginning of tele- sending peculiarities unless thegraphy, as soon as the art began operator was careful.
to!spread, the individuality of op- Swings
erators became apparent. Little
peculiarities in sending stood out One of the most interesting develto identify each one, just as voice opments in disturbed timing of
quality and style do in speaking. hand sending was the rise of soMostly these were subtle little called “swings.” Swing has to do
things which did not distract from with a change in the normal
easy intelligibility. But they did rhythm of sending, sometimes
involve aspects of timing and described as a change in symmerhythm. We hear them today on try or lack of it: a peculiar way of
the CW bands among amateurs forming the characters. Swings
using hand keys just as they did most commonly developed
among marine operators within aamong all operators in the past.
close-knit group having a large
volume of specialized communiWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

cations. Thus we have the names the rolling motion of boats con“Banana boat swing”, “Lake tributed to forming it. The name
Erie swing”, “Cuban swing”, etc. “Cuban swing” or “Latin
The operators of the large United swing” came from the way mostFruit Co. were especially noted Cuban and Mexican operators ran
for this. Some have claimed that their words together. Sometimes it
swings developed as a most effec- must have been quite deliberate tive way of copying the early day just to try to be individualistic,
spark signals (which sounded so such as!a jerk in forming H P C S
much like static) through heavy 4 5 Y Q; a lengthening of one ofstatic. The basic principle of the dahs a bit in J, 1, etc.; any“sea-going swing” was to exag- “funny” little stroke. But thesegerate the spacing between letters things made them hard to copy
when a letter ending with a dah by other operators.
was followed by one beginning Early in 1936 the Eastern Air
with a dah, and similarly for one Lines (EAL) communications suending in a dit when the next be- pervisor decided to develop an
gan with a dit. The spacing before EAL swing for its operators. He
and after an!E!within a word was dreamed up the idea of modifyoften made a bit longer for clar- ing a “bug” by moving the staity. Exaggerated dah lengths were tionary dot post a half inch forcommon also in the attempt to ward. This produced a swing like
improve readability: e.g., the first none ever heard before. The opdah in C was generally dragged erators did not like it and soonout slightly.
repositioned the post, but it unOther individual rhythmic distur- consciously influenced the sendbances were common also, such as ing of many of them ever after.
drawing out the second dah in Recently operators in a foreign“Q” (which we often hear on the navy were found almost impossiair today). In order to avoid con- ble to understand at first because
fusion in the midst of typically of a peculiar rhythm taught byheavy Gulf of Mexico static, their telegraph instructors.
sending the call signs of two main Over the years, peculiarities of thisshore stations was modified: -- the sort have often been observed in
P of WPA was made with long other parts of the world as well.
dahs, while the space between A These, too, would have to be
and X of WAX was exaggerated called “swings“. Swings. The
and the dahs of X were length- earliest comment found so far
ened. This stopped the confusion. about swing is from Radio NewsIn later years such swings were Dec. 1921 p.565: “The American
found necessary for intelligibility Radio Operator” (commercial
in low frequency marine work and shipboard): criticizes “t h ewhen signals were barely audible. cultivation of a fancy or eccentricSome said “Banana boat” swing style of sending, believed clever indeveloped from call letters KFUC, originality, but causes the receivthe general call for all United ing operator to make more effort
Fruit Co. ships. Others suggested to copy than usual. He introduces
102

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphya jerk in his H’s, P’s, C’s, 3’s, 4’s,ing in the presence of a5’s, Y’s, and Q’s and makes one
teacher or!classmates.
of the dashes of J and 1, etc., a _It can provide both an extrifle longer than the rest... Acellent introduction to thetricky swing he makes as an effort
code and growth in skill toto acquire the ‘funny’ stroke as heany desired degree.
goes on. - Consider the other operator!”
Many Computer Programs Are
Excellent

Chapter 16

See also Chapter 18. Computer
programs have been and some arestill available for the Commodore
Personal Computers And Keyand Apple computers, but mostboards For Self-Learning
have been for the IBMFor self-learning nothing is supe- compatible PC’s. They have beenrior to a Personal Computer (PC) of all sizes and varieties, accordor a keyboard where the student ing to the skill, teaching experican push a key and hear each ence and ingenuity of the procharacter (and see it in print if gramming writers. Many provide
there is a screen), as often as he for connecting the computer withwishes or needs to get the feel of the transmitter and using theits rhythm. The PC especially has computer as a keyboard Somebecome such a valuable tool that provide an evaluation of the stusome teachers (as Gary Bold) dent’s sending skills.
consider it to be superior to pri- One of the important features forvate or classroom learning.
rapid learning is the degree_
It is consistent, always of!adaptability to the student andsending perfect code in ex- the amount of interaction with
him that is provided. How flexible
actly the same way.
are they? Do they provide checks_
It is always available and on skill and accuracy? One exready to be used whenever ample of an interactive computer
the student wants to prac- program (Gary Bold’s) starts thetice.
new student out by having him_
Most computer teaching hear the character, then keying inprograms provide for easy his identification of it. If his identailoring to the exact needs tification is correct, the characteris then displayed on the screen.
of the individual student.
But if he is wrong, his answer is_
A PC is impersonal and ignored, and the character is rethere is never any reason peated until he correctly identifies
for the student to feel em- it. The same character is then prebarrassment, something sented several more times for his
which often is an emotional correct response before taking up
deterrent to efficient learn- the next one. If he delays toolong in responding, the character
Other Methods

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

is repeated (and may be displayed
Learning By Listening To Highsimultaneously) until he gets it.
Speed CodeAfter a number (per student’s
request) of new characters have A few hams in years gone by havebeen introduced, they are re- said that they initially “learned
peated in random order, and if the code” by listening to fast
one is misidentified, it is repeated commercial press dispatches
until the student correctly identi- (probably 35 - 45 wpm), whichfies it. This program then ingen- were then available day and night.
iously ratios the next series of (Did they mean starting out, or
random characters in proportion advancing? Just how they actuallyto the number of times any of began is not clear.) They claim
them have been misidentified, un- that they found they could identil the student reduces this ratio tify a letter here and there, thensignificantly. Many PC programs short words, and within a couple
provide a considerable variety of of months were reading it all.
practice material beyond the ini- However, this approach may nottial learning and recognition have been very efficient - forstage. Computer programs can be most of us it might prove discourversatile tools for rapid advance- aging - and probably depended
ment, tailored to individual needs. greatly upon the mental makeup
Keyboards may provide for some of the learner as well as his enthuof these various factors, depend- siasm. We mention it here only to
ing on how they have been de- show what can be done if one issigned and programmed. There determined enough.
are some smaller pocket sized“computers” which are limited to Further Comments On Gaining
Speedhearing practice only.
With many modern computer
Growing Up With Hearing It
code programs available, proOld timer George Hart W1NJM is grammable keyboards and keyers,
one who learned the code origi- as well as tapes, etc., there are sevnally, as he says, by “osmosis” eral attractive alternates available.
from an older brother who was a With these, material can be betterham - just by listening, with no tailored for our individual needs.
intention of learning it or getting The Farnsworth method suggests
a license. This way he learned itself here in the high speed range,
frequent letters and operating too, to allow the mind time to diprocedures until one day he dis- gest and identify characters andcovered he could communicate words. Using this, some haveby code. From then on he was found that to set up a character
hooked! He later wrote: “ [I was] speed in the 5Ø - 6Ø wpm range
practically born with a key in my and then widening the inter-letter
hand, so CW [was] as natural to and inter-word spaces initially,
gradually reducing them as deme as talking.”
sired, can speed up the recognition process.
104

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

W1AW CW bulletins. They are at
18 wpm. Start out the first few
A number of operators in the past days and just listen for no more
who desperately wanted to in- than one minute. Then turn it off.
crease their receiving skills delib- As you listen, pick out the charerately tried sleeping beside their acters you recognize. Don’t write
receivers or playback recording anything down at all the first few
equipment (or their line telegraph days like this. After a few days,sounders in the case of landline increase your listening time to two
operators) with fast code signals minutes and continue to pick out
coming through for several hours as many characters as you can inor all night. They claimed that your head - and don’t write anywithin a surprisingly short time thing down yet. Then turn it off,
they had great increases in re- as before. After eight to ten days
ceiving speed. This procedure has of this practice, go back to thebeen challenged, but apparently one minute period of listening,but this time write down everyworks for some people.
thing you can recognize. Try to
One ham, who says he can copy at leave blank spaces where you miss7Ø wpm and still wants to increase out. Write down every letter you
above that, has for years been lis- can catch for that one minute petening this way every night. riod, then turn it off. Repeat thisMaybe it works for some people, practice for several days, then exbut I wonder if it is actually ef- tend the time to two minutes,
fective, and also whether they got writing down everything you can
any restful sleep that way. It is recognize. After several days or ainteresting that in the early week or so this way you will find192Ø’s a group of doctors were your comprehension coming up
being trained to use Morse code. fairly rapidly because your conTheir teachers tried sleep-learning centration is improving and you
with them, and found that if the will be surprised how much you
word “doctor” was sent while can copy in just this short period
they were sound asleep during the of time. From here on graduallynight, it would nearly always wake increase your listening time to 3,
them immediately - showing that 4, 5, 6 or 7 minutes. When you
there is some kind of unconscious can copy somewhere around 6Ø%receptivity and response.
of the bulletin materials you willfind that you can copy 13 wpm,
Another Suggestion That Has
the test speed, with flying colors.
WorkedThis scheme has worked well for a
When someone comes to me and number of people who had
asks how to make the 13 wpm reached speeds between 5 and 1Ø
requirement for General class, I wpm, but had difficulty in adgive them the following plan of vancing. This general patternshould prove of help to others
working:aiming for the 2Ø wpm test or“You need to listen every day to higher.”good sending, and I suggest the
Sleep Learning

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

McElroy’s Course and His
Claims For It

Chapter 17

Common Errors and What To
Although this does not fall into Do About Themthe above categories, here is what
Both in sending and receiving
was said:errors are sometimes made.
In the Nov. 1945 QST, p 115, wasan ad in which Ted McElroy’s Good operators make very few if
Company offered to “send you any while sending, but “errors”
this complete course of instruc- do occur both during sending andtion (McElroy’s ‘Morse’ Code especially while receiving underCourse) free so you can see for various adverse conditions. These
yourself what it’ll do for you. It make it necessary for us to keep
was said to contain “everything in mind letters that may be mishe has learned in 3Ø years of op- takenly formed or because oferating experience.” “Assuming poor conditions appear to soundthat the average person will prac- alike:tice several hours the first day, we _Dotting errors - too many
can tell you ... that you’ll beor too few dits are made or
copying That Very First Day,
thought to be heard:- H/5words and sentences at the rate of
S/H B/6 V/4 Z/7
2Ø wpm. The thing is that ingenInitial or final dits or dahs
ious! Ted has taken one-half the _missed or confused. (Onalphabet which appears on his
the receiving end there is achart No. 1, prepared a practicetendency to hear signals as
tape which runs for at least one
being shorter than theyfull hour without attention at theare):- J/1 C/Y P/J Z/Q W/Jrate of 2Ø wpm. You won’t copy
W/P2Ø full words in one minute. But
each letter you write will hit your _Other characters which beears at a full 2Ø wpm and theginners may confuse, parspace between letters becomesticularly:- F/L G/W Y/Q 6/5
progressively shorter as the rolls
Errors that the beginner orgo along.” Since Ted’s receiving
trainee experiences in his
speed records were tops in almost
own work can be turned
every official speed contest, it
into advantages.
would be very interesting to see
this document. At present, the Specific errors that are!often reabove is all that seems to be avail- peated show us where we need togive special practice. If we tend toable.
confuse two characters, we caneliminate it by hearing them one
after another until their differences in rhythm become obvious
to us.
When we look over our copy
and find non-sense or ob106

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

vious missed out areas, the mind, the following programs
correction can often be have been found representative,
made simply from exam- both adequate and good. It isining the!context. (This quite impossible here to go into
will!generally not work for the many details of each program,
numbers, scrambled letters so only the barest outline is given
or call signs, where there is for information. They all provide
no repetition to help out.) a range of speeds and pitch of theNormal procedure when tone. Some provide various opyou catch yourself making tions of screen or printing capaan error while you are bilities, etc., and/or allow the user
sending may be handled to remodel it for his preferences,
something like this: etc. Some provide various ways of_stop, indicate error by “?” increasing or decreasing speed(or by eight dits), then re- while sending. All use the speakerpeat the last correct word in the computer for sound output.
(especially if it is short), Helps are provided on screen inoftheprograms.
and then the one sent m o s t(“Freeware”
means
that
there iswrong and continue on, or
no mandatory cost to the user_
in rag chewing unimportant other than that of providing thematter, simply stop a mo- diskette. “Commercial” means
ment and restart with the the program is for sale on theword mis-sent,
market.) Unless otherwise noted_
similarly, if it is a long word all are IBM-compatible.
and the first syllable or so Morse University
has been correctly sent, and
it is a word which the re- ($5Ø)- was an excellent Adceiving operator surely willvanced Electronic Applicaimmediately understand,tions program for thejust pause a moment andCommodore C-64 comthen go on with the next
puter, plugged into carword.
tridge slot, with manual.. It
included(The pause will indicate to him
the problem.)_a learning program,_a proficiency program to
Chapter 18
increase speed,Computer Programs And_
a sending analysis (characTapes For Learning And Imters and spacings),
proving Skill In Code_a receiving game to recogIt is always a bit risky to try to list
nize characters under prescurrently available materials andsure and a Morse keyboard
books. These change with time,
to compose ones own codesome for the better, a few for thepractice sessions.
worse, and some simply vanish
from the scene. With that in
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

107

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Learning was at 2Ø wpm Enhance phase extended this to as
Farnsworth character speeds fast as one might want, while awith a 3 second interval Measure phase provided for testbetween characters. There ing of skill with built-in or userwere 54 basic lessons, plus constructed tests, and finally an
7 which teach the German, Operate phase. Interaction was
Spanish and Swedish char- provided in several aspects.
acters, if desired. It was http://www.murrah.com/sm/
suggested that one spend
two 2Ø minute sessions Morseman+ By Robin Gist
each day, and at the end of NE4L/ZF2PM
a month many would haveachieved a solid 2Ø wpm Has a Tutorial module teachingreceiving speed, and have the characters, a Trainer module
enjoyed learning. Several developing skill, another, “Testing” provided for various evaluaoptions were available.
tions of skill, while an Interactive
2. Proficiency sent a random mode provided for certain usersequence of characters with response reactions. Several types
programmable starting and of practice were provided in eachfinishing speed. Speed was of these modes or modules.
adjustable(5 - 99 wpm),
length of practice (up to an GGTE Morse Tutor Goldhour), number of different
characters (up to 45), size http://www.ggte.com/mtgold.htm
of groups, and length of Version 2.Ø1 for IBM PC, XT,intervals between charac- AST and equivalents ($29.95 plus
ters.
$4.ØØ S & H). 11 lessons for baLate Note: “Morse University”, sic learning. Each lesson reviewed
now called “Ham University” previous characters as well as in(because it also covers the written troducing new ones, up to lesson
exams) is now sold for Microsoft 12 which provided random QSOWindows by Michael Crick at practice of infinite variety up to a
http://crick.com/hamu. This new length of 1Ø minutes per QSO.
version also includes a new Morse User specifies Farnsworth and allcode game called “Pentode” that speeds as desired up to over 5Ø
wpm. Character Excellent Nonwas inspired by “Tetris”.
Commercial Programs Presently
Available. Morse Tutor Gold has
SuperMorse By Lee Murrah,
been tested by Creative Labs and
WD5CID
is certified to work with all Sound
A great deal of variety was built Blaster sound cards.
into this program, which is reallya series of integrated programs. A The Mill. by James S. Farrior,learning phase introduced the W4FOK
student to the code characters, a
Building speed phase provided MILLØØa is the present status ofvariety in practice materials, an long MILL developments by
1.

108

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

James S. Farrior, W4FOK. It is and may be readily modified byunique among the many freeware the user. Like most other proprograms in providing for both grams, it has several unique feaold American Morse and Interna- tures. Each portion is a selftional codes at user’s selection. contained program. “ T e a c h ”
Jim has gone to great lengths in interacts with the beginner, anddesigning the character formation regulates the instruction accordcontrols to incorporate the feature ing to correctness and error inof old Morse environmental vari- responses. “Random” practiceability (see Chapter 2Ø) to such a programs are provided for code
degree that it sounds “natural” to groups for any subset of characold time Morse operators, unlike ters or words from any source. A
the machine-regular International sending program sends any
code, and has simulated sounders ASCII files for copying or readand output for regular telegraph ing practice. A keyboard program
sounders.
sends whatever is keyed in the
There is a basic learning section, a keyboard. An interesting module
section for sending any file the is provided for key input to anauser wishes to send, and another lyze the quality of the user’s
allows the user to create files he sending.
may wish to use. Another feature There are also other similar proprovides for using the computer grams both freeware and comas a control of the transmitter, mercial. Some PC programmers
using any of the other program have been able to prepare theiraspects which are appropriate. It is own programs tailored to theira carefully designed and elegant own particular needs. A number
program, and Jim continues de- of interactive programs are availveloping improvements. It was able which give either immediate
written in QBASIC. and is avail- or delayed helps to the student able from James S. Farrior these offer tremendous help in
W4FOK, 1332 Harrison Point learning. Some may also allow
Trail, Fernandina Beach FL, the more advanced student to32Ø34, and any user, including conduct QSO’s with the computer
Tony Smith G4FAI at: 13 Morley program, just as if he was actually
Road, Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 on the air. The potential here is
8JE England.
great indeed. Finally, there areavailable computer programs andhttp://www.netdevices which can read received
magic.net/users/w4fok/
code transmissions. Because they
are machines, they can only read
The Morse Tutor Programcode signals which are reasonably
This program is the result of an- accurate in timing. For the student
other similar development for In- who has access to one of these, it
ternational Morse by Gary E. J. will give him a chance to test his
Bold ZL1AN, professor and long own sending for accuracy. Howtime code teacher in New Zea- ever, they are not recommended
land. It is written for GW-BASIC.
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

109

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

as substitutes for personal receiv- each character and then the naring by ear
rator immediately identified it.
Then did the same thing on the
NuMorse by Tony Lacy G4AUD second side, reviewing all previous
material without the narrator. This
http://www.nu-ware.com
is to train ear and brain to work
NuMorse Professional is a brand together first without the complinew code trainer that has some- cation of writing. After comfortably mastering the first tape, go tothing for everybody.
the second, etc, through all six
You have a choice of training tapes. The first tape presents thecourses! The First Steps feature characters E T I A M N which
will gently introduce you to the have one or two elements. Eachcode and take you through a step- subsequent tape adds characters
by-step structured training course. having one additional element, up
NuMorse Pro can offer a Koch to the fifth tape where numerals
based course as well!
and punctuation are introduced.”
A. Lacy, Llanoris, Llanerfyl, To be practiced 3Ø minutes a
Welshpool, Powys. SY21 ØEP day. The Study Guide detailed
United Kingdom
the methods and theories used. -The two other courses take theCode Tapes For Learning And
student up over 13 wpm, and up
For Other Purposesover 2Ø wpm.
The ARRL, several companies and In the past, as noted in Chapter
some individuals which make or 25, the Instructograph Co. and thehave made tapes for cassette re- Teleplex Co. were the best known
corders for learning up to the makers of punched and inked
2Ø+ wpm seed range and higher, paper tape machines for code inand some have prepared punched struction and training and usedpaper tapes for high speed trans- both by commercial operators
mission and reception. Some of and by amateurs.. Commerciallythese tapes are excellent, but some the Boehm inked tape and theare of poor quality. The ARRL Kleinschmidt perforated paper
tape machines were the mosttapes are of high quality.
commonly used. We mention
The Twin Oaks Associates (mental these here because they were
health professionals) offered code sometimes used for teaching or
training programs. Three courses practicing the code, but muchusing cassettes and an instruction more often for commercial
book, emphasized learning by ear transmission of code at high- mentally or verbally recognizing speeds.
what is sent automatically. Course
1, alphabet took to over 5 wpm. Similar systems were manufac“Practice listening through the tured during WW-II by Ted
first side, without writing anything McElroy’s company. With thesedown or rewinding to pick up machines the operator would preanything. Side one first sounds pare the tape for transmission,
either on a typewriter keyboard or
110

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

with a special three-key device, arms or shutters making blockfor transmission. Transmission patterns (at night some used light
speeds of the tapes might go up to configurations) for distance sigseveral hundreds of words per naling within line of sight.
minute when conditions were All these systems (often aided bygood. At the receiving end the the use of telescopes) were subject
equipment would reproduce the to weather and visibility limitaincoming signals on a corre- tions, and generally required atsponding paper tape, inked or least two operators at the receiving
otherwise. The receiving operator end - one to look and the other towas trained to read the tapes much write. Where considerable disas the good reader of ordinary tances (a hundred miles or more)print does, by words or phrases. were involved relay stations were
He would read the tape as it was established. These signaling syspulled past his eyes in a sort of tems conveyed a symbolic mestrack while he transcribed it on a sage or spelled out words for vistypewriter at comfortable speeds. ual reception. A few electric or
Typing speeds of 6Ø - 7Ø wpm electrochemical systems were deseem to have been typical. veloped using some method ofMcElroy prepared and promoted spelling out words by transmitted
materials for building up these letter symbols. Morse’s systemskills on his equipment.
was not the first to use electricity.
During the early 18ØØ’s several
Chapter 19
electrical and electro-chemicalsystems (which overcame the visiA Brief History of Morsebility problem, which was compliTelegraphy – Part I
cated by weather conditions) were
It would be very interesting to invented and used. Some of themknow the thinking behind the de- were quite ingenious, but tended
velopment of the original Morse to be cumbersome, rather slow
code. It had to be tied in inti- and troublesome to maintain.
mately with the limitations of theelectro-magnetic mechanisms Morse’s ingenuity was in coma
simple electrobeing designed to transmit and b i n i n g
receive it. Records show that be- mechanical system with some sort
ginning as early as the B.C.’s re- of “linear” coding. Samuel F. B.
flected sunlight (heliography) by Morse ingeniously foresaw theday, and lamps, lights or fires at newly discovered principle ofnight, were used for some kind of electromagnetism in combination
elementary signaling. By the A.D. with some sort of “linear” cod17ØØ’s (and well into the ing as the key to developing a
18ØØ’s) several semaphore sys- truly practical telegraphic system.
tems had been devised and were It could provide the relative simin rather extensive use in Europe plicity and ruggedness needed forand elsewhere. These used an al- the equipment. Like Marconi halfphabetic code formed by the con- a century later, his vision to comfigurations of two or more signal bine these newly discovered principles and the entrepreneurial
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

111

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

drive to bring them into use made critical, but it was a tedious, slow
telegraphy what it became in the and clumsy system (as well as
field of communication for many being rather subject to errors
decades. Two features were which could only be found on
needed: equipment and a suitable deciphering). Not much ingenuity
code. As originally conceived it was required to develop the code
was to be a self-recording system, symbols for the digits: he simply
inscribing the code signals on a used from one to five dots to repstrip of paper tape to be read by resented the numbers 1 -5, andeye. There was no thought given extended this through 9 and zero
to “reading” it by ear alone.
by a longer short space following(here indicated by the symbol @).
The Original Morse Code
Here is his code:- 1 2 3 4 5 6His coding system begun in 1832 7 8 9 Ø . .. ... .... ..... . @was a translation system consisting .. @ ... @ .... @ ..... @of two essential parts:
With such a system, the duration_a two-way code book or of the dots was not critical, but thedictionary in which each relative spacings were important.
English word was assigned What a tedious, slow and clumsy
a number (and in order to system it would have been (as well
spell out proper names, un- as being rather highly subject tousual words, initials, etc., errors which could only be foundwhen necessary, each letter on deciphering). The overall ideaof the alphabet was also as- was ingenuous, and the actual
code signals used for the digits
signed a number), andwere simplicity itself. But his_
a code symbol for each coding system was the weak link
digit from Ø - 9 to repre- in his whole system, and would
sent that number.
hardly find wide acceptance.
So, the sender would convert each (Later, this code-translation-bookword to a number, send that num- method was applied in China
ber and the receiver would then where it made sense to convert theconvert it back again to the Eng- Chinese characters to numbers,
lish word with a reverse diction- using an already available stanary. In devising the symbols for dard Chinese dictionary in which
the digits, Morse seems to have each character had for other rearecognized that a receiving op- sons been assigned a number.)erator could easily read by eye up
to five printed dots, but that a Who Invented What We Calllarger number of dots would be The Morse Codemore difficult to read quickly andaccurately, and would be more Chapter 2 of George P. Oslin’s
subject to error, as well as taking book “The Story of Telecommunications” opens with these
longer to transmit.
words:
With such a system, the durationof the dots and spaces was not “Ask almost any American who
invented the telegraph, and the112

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

answer will be ‘Morse’, but he
did not create the dot-and-dashMorse code, the Morse key, or
the stylus recorder.”pert assistant, wrote on March 11,
1853 that “his agreement withMorse provided ‘that whatever
Mr. Smith, Dr. Gale, or myself
Who was Mr. Oslin, and where did should invent or discover, goingto simplify or improve Morse’s
he get this information?
telegraph would belong to all
He was a journalist who later be- jointly” (24).
came public relations director ofWestern Union. To prepare this However, Morse never shared any
book he exhaustively investigated of this, and constantly cut Vail off
newspaper articles, magazines, from any public recognition forbooks and more than 1ØØ,ØØØ his work. Because of this, weletters and diaries of those in- know almost no details about thevolved and condensed it. (He was development history of the alpha93 years old when the book was betic versions of the code. We canpublished.) Pages 13 to 28 are be sure that if this code had been
devoted to a summary of the ori- the work of Morse himself, hegins of Morse telegraphy, from would most certainly have carewhich the following quotations fully elaborated every step of its
come. Previous publications had development. (This is one clue
only hinted at what Mr. Oslin has previously published materials
said so clearly. (The numbers in provide us.) A second factor wasparentheses refer to pages in his that they were physically separated during most of the first six
book.)or seven years: Morse was in New
In order to understand the confu- York City while Alfred Vail wassion we need to realize first that working independently in“Morse’s craving for fame was so Morristown NJ. This is only astrong that he postured, pontifi- distance of about 3Ø miles by air,cated, tried to convince everyone but travel was difficult in those
he was great, and was zealous in days.
defending his claims.” (28, note27) To blow up his importance, see this in the following: “O nMorse on several occasions made October 18, 1837 Morse wrote tosome quite false statements and Vail: ‘I long to see the machine
exaggerations. It is too bad that you have been making and thehe refused to give credit where one you have been maturing incredit was due, for he would have the studio of your brain.’ Later
showed himself a greater man by Vail invited Morse to Morristown,
it. From the very first, Morse where the artist realized his cummade strict contractual relation- bersome picture-frame equipment
ships whereby he alone was to be [for recording the signals at thecredited with all advancements receiving end] was to be replaced
and improvements: all credits for by the practical and simple Vailwhatever anyone did for him instrument. Morse was so upset,would [publicly] belong to him Baxter said, that he became illalone. Yet in a letter Vail, his ex- and was in bed for some weeks at
the Vail home.” (21) (Morse’s
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

113

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

feelings were badly hurt.) If Al- just given to the President and his
fred Vail had not joined Morse as Cabinet: “... The President proassistant in the latter part of 1837, posed the following sentence,
Morse’s telegraph system would ‘The enemy nears . . . It was thenno doubt have been a failure.
put in numbers and written on the
Vail was not only a skilled techni- register.” (27, note 16) On p. 39
cian, but had a wider perspective, the caption under picture 2.5:
and must have quickly seen that “ Alfred Vail who created theMorse’s complex translation- Morse telegraph key and soundercoding system and its equipment and telegraph code at Morristown
were not really practical: there N.J. while Morse was in New York
must be a better way. “It is evi- devising a number for each word
dent that Henry showed how to commonly used. Morse’s idea wastelegraph, Morse planned a cum- to transmit numbers instead of
bersome system to do it, Gale words to send messages.” “T h emade valuable contributions, and Engineering News of April 14,
Vail developed the code and in- 1886, stated that ‘credit for the
struments necessary for successful alphabet, ground circuit andoperation.” (25) On October 18, other important features of the1888, over 4Ø years later. Alfred Morse system belongs not to
Vail’s widow wrote to H.C. Ad- Morse at all, but to Alfred Vail, aams, president of Cornell Univer- name that should ever be held insity: 1888: “.. Prof. Morse ... sent remembrance and h o n o r .” (24)for me, and on his dying bed [he F. O. J. Smith wrote: “It is evident
died 2 April 1872, almost 81 that Henry showed how to teleyears old], with the forefinger of graph, Morse planned a cumberhis left hand raised and moving to some system to do it, Gale madegive expression to his words, he valuable contributions, and Vailsaid: ‘The one thing I want to do developed the code and instrunow is justice to Alfred Vail.” (27 ments necessary for successful opnote 18) As for his coding system, eration.” (24-25) “Vail watched“Morse’s caveat of October 3, Morse gradually eliminate him
1837, and his letter to Vail on from credit with mounting astonOctober 24, 1837 announcing the ishment and anger, making nocompletion of his dictionary of public outcry because Morse, innumbers for words did not men- volved in a multiplicity of court
tion a dot-and-dash alphabet.” - battles, required all possible sup- However, he kept working on it port to preserve the patents. When
until 1843: “Six years after Vail Morse later referred to Vail andcreated the Morse code [1937-8], his father merely as ‘furnishing
Morse wrote to [F.O.J.] Smith the means to give the child a deabout the numbers-for-words dic- cent dress,’ Vail supporters
tionary he was preparing.” (23- boiled, and telegraph journals
contained many strong words.”
24)(24)
Vail, in a letter to his father andbrother February 21, 1838, regarding a demonstration he had
114

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

We cannot help wondering how
he determined that the use of
It would be very interesting to longer-than-normal internal
know the thinking behind the de- spaces between elements would
velopment of Vail’s “ M o r s e ” not cause the receiving operator
code. It had to be tied in inti- confusion in distinguishing bemately with the limitations of the tween characters.
electro-magnetic mechanisms Vail did some testing to try it out.
being designed to transmit and These interesting aspects seem toreceive it. Factors which no doubt have gone completely unreported
strongly dominated Vail’s think- in contrast to the attempt to assoing were: brevity, simplicity and ciate the briefest code symbols
accuracy.
with the most frequently used
Accuracy requires that the re- English letters, which is well receiving operator be able to distin- ported (however, as if it wereguish immediately between simi- Morse’s own work). “ In Novemlar characters without confusion ber and December 1837, whenor hesitation. (We must remind Vail built the instruments, he visourselves that at this point in time ited Louis Vogt, proprietor of a
Vail was thinking only of reading print shop at Morristown, and,a record by eye on a strip of run- over a case of type, learned whichning paper tape, not about re- letters of the alphabet were used
ceiving by ear as was done later.) most frequently. He assigned theWe must also realize that while fewest dots and dashes to those“speed” was commercially im- letters.” (23)portant, it was by no means so By January 1838, about threepressingly demanding in the mid months after Vail had joined
19th century as it is today. Start- Morse, he had produced the firsting with Morse’ simple off-on practical “Morse” code, a purely
signaling system Vail developed alphabetic code, which included
this original idea into a truly the use of dashes as well as dots
practical alphabetic concept, one and internally spaced characters.
that does not require further [However, at this point not everytranslation. We may suspect that letter had a separate code charachis key idea was to use more than ter; several (J = G, Y = I, V = L,
one signal-on duration. (Did mu- and S = Z) were combined. This
sical rhythms also suggest the in- would be ambiguous for receiving
ternal character spaces?)by ear, but more easily handledThis was totally different from reading by eye from the context
Morse’ code-dictionary concept. of the inscribed tape record.] This
Note: Although Morse, in writing alphabetic code would have madeout his code dictionary, is said to coding and decoding almost perhave written a dash in lieu of five fectly straightforward, and let
dots, there seems never to have overall transmission speed jump
been any hint of his using such a up immediately to about ten wpm.
signal element in his code itself. However, he did not tell Morseabout it:-- according to informaVail’s Thinking

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

115

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphytion now available, for six years quencies of the letters why suchlater Morse was still working on extensive changes were made, as
his word-number and number- the same results could have been
word dictionary. (Morse was so achieved by changing very few
easily upset by some of Vail’s letters. (Were there other factors
excellent inventive developments.) involved than mere brevity?)
It is not clear whether any previ- Since Morse knew nothing about
ous inventor had used more than this new code (he had many otherone length of element in a linear concerns as well) and no one else
code system. (The idea of “lin- would yet be using it, no confuear” is that of a simple signal sion would result by whateverrunning along a line in time, in changes were made.
contrast to simultaneous com- The average character length ofplexity of signals, such as a two- the 1838 alphabet, calculated byarm semaphore or a printed al- the same methods used in Chapter
phabet.) Vail chose four kinds of 25 was 8.329. Thus the new 1844
linear elements (besides the neces- code with average charactersary minimal spacing between the length of 7.978 was actually
elements of a character) to form about 4% shorter than in the 1838
characters:alphabet. (If he had interchanged
just two characters, L and T, in the_dot, the shortest,
original 1838 alphabet it would_
dash, appreciably longer,
have averaged 7.95Ø units perletter or 4.5% shorter than it_
longer dashes,originally was, just a bit shorter_
longer internal space.
than the new 1844 code!) Some
This gave four choices for the other variations could have reinternal elements of a character, sulted in a still shorter system.
and three choices for its initial The 1844 code was thus not theand final elements (where internal “best“possible, but it proved tolonger spaces are obviously not be very practical. Vail’s final
applicable). These choices now code was used successfully by
allowed for a practical alphabetic many thousands of commercial
code for linear transmission. (ad- operators, and was the standard
ditional spaces were of course for wire telegraphy in the Unitedneeded between characters and States, Canada and a few otherwords.)
places until nearly the mid-2Ø
By 1843, Vail had made such century. Relative timing is critimajor changes to this early 1838 cally important to prevent confualphabet that the only letters sion and misunderstanding by thewhich were not changed were E H receiving operator. The least bit
K N P Q. These changes included of hesitation in the wrong placeassigning to each letter a single within the character, or holdingcode character. It is not at all the key down an instant too longclear from a comparison of the would send the wrong character.
alphabets and the relative fre- If these very tiny differences inth116

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphytiming were disregarded, the fol- confuse the receiving operator, so
lowing letters within a word would he modified the original code to
be confused: I, O and EE; C, R, S, eliminate the internally spaced
IE and EI; Y, Z, II, SE, ES, H and characters and the various lengths
the character &; similarly for of dashes. This left just two“on” signals, T, L and Zero lengths: a dot and a dash. Even
could be confused with one an- though this would make a transother.
mission longer, it meant less skill
Neither the final 1844 code nor was required to achieve the same
its successor, the International level of proficiency and accuracy
Morse code, is perfect. Perhaps of communication. He retained A
no code could be “perfect” for B D E G H I K M N P S T U V
every application, but it proved just as they were, used I for both I
practical, and together with the and J, and then formed new code
promotion of the telegraph in- characters for those deleted, andstruments it came into wide and for the numbers, etc.
successful use. Its efficiency in Other German and Austrian statesother languages will vary, de- soon adopted the Morse system,
pending on the relative frequency but each state modified the Morseof the letters.
code independently, making interstate communication difficult.
Chapter 19
In 1852 the German and Austrianstate telegraphs convened to unify
A Brief History of Morsethe codes in use (as well as the
Telegraphy – Part II
tariffs).
The Original Morse Code Modi- Their principles were:
fied In Europe_
uniform dot and dash elements (and spacings),
Morse telegraphy was introduced
into Germany in 1847 by a Mr. _letters to be no more thanWilliam Robinson (without
four elements long,authorization by Morse). There
numbers to be five elements
the Marine Dispatch Service be- _long, andtween Hamburg and Cuxhaven, acommunication system for ship- _punctuation six elements
ping, was using an optical system,
long.
useless under bad weather conditions. They became greatly inter- They took Gerke’s alphabet as
ested in the potential of this elec- the basis, but changed his O P X Y
and Z to the present “Internatric all-weather system.
tional” forms, and developed the
One of their officials who was also present systematic number system,an engineer, Frederick Clemens etc. They made this code their
Gerke, immediately translated official standard on 1 July 1852. Vail’s book on the telegraph into The present form of J and other
German. This systematic German European language symbols wereengineer saw how easy it was to added in 1865 at the Paris InterWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

117

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphynational Telegraph Convention, with a knob, which in time develand for a long time this form of oped into the improved and sturcode was called the “Continen- dier designs we now know.
tal” code, until wireless made it Among several examples of re“International.” Minor punctua- ceiving by ear only are: -- Jamestion changes were made 1 Sep- F. Leonard in 1847. He had entember 1939.
tered the service as a messenger
boy at age 14. Within a year he
Equipment
became an operator at Frankfort
KY, and was reading by sound.
Morse’s original receiving system Not only so, but he had also
was a clumsy recorder which taught himself to send and listen
made marks on a paper strip at the same time, writing down anpulled along by a clockwork un- incoming message while sending
der a magnetically operated pen- another.
cil, pen, or stylus. It presented an“on-off” record which was then Some other operators by that
read by eye. Vail created a much year were listening to a messuperior recorder. There is plenty sage or two, then writing themof evidence that even Morse and down later.
Vail had learned to distinguishmost letters by ear during the first On the first of May 1847 the Alfew months of their primitive bany Evening Journal reported
that a business man named W. C.
sending.
Buell was sitting in the telegraphAs early as 1845 some other op- office listening to the incoming
erators could identify most of the messages when the operator’scode letters by ear as they listened tape printer fouled up. Buell wasto the clicking of the recorder. By found to have correctly “read”
1846 many regular operators and remembered what had been
were doing so, or could. However, sent.
there was great reluctance on thepart of local office managers to That same year a Louisville broaccept this method of copying, ker, who had been sitting in aand some strictly forbad it. The telegraph office, was fined andoperators who read by ear had to jailed for listening to market rekeep the paper tapes as proof of ports coming in and not paying
their accuracy, and offered a for them (because he had no opmeans of correction. (In copying, erator’s license)! That same year,
operators often used abbreviations a Mr. Books, operator at Pittswhich would be intelligible to the burgh, wrote out a long message
by sound alone. Receiving by ear
readers).
alone was proving to be not only
Morse’s original sending device possible, but practical (and time
was a sort of type-setter’s ruler saving). Nevertheless, some ofwith dots and spaces. Vail’s first fices were slow to accept receiving
simple key, predecessor of later by ear alone, and required all
hand-keys, was designed about messages to be recorded even184Ø. It was a simple flat spring though the operator read by ear.
118

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

In 1852-3 an Erie RR conductor They refused to divulge the conrefused to accept train orders re- tents of messages to other than theceived by ear, and complained to addressees. Many of these young
his superintendent about the op- chaps who had served in railway
erator, Charles Douglas. When and public telegraph offices beDouglas was reproved, he insisted came operators for the armies ofon being tested, and demonstrated both sides during the Civil War,that not only did he copy accu- frequently doing service far berately for short messages, but also yond the call of duty, and at greatfor very long ones. Thereafter the personal risk. (Although they
Erie RR officially permitted were usually stationed right on the
copying by ear. The sounder was front lines, yet they never received
invented in 1856 and was used military honors or pay.)
extensively and almost exclusively In the early days pencils wereduring and after the Civil War, used to copy, and an adequate
though a few diehards persisted in supply of sharpened ones was
requiring the old recorders to be kept at hand for each operator.
used.
Later, many telegraphers copiedwith pen and ink (in beautiful
Early Day Operators Up
Spenserian script - think of theThrough The Civil War
risk of blots with the old steel
Telegraphy grew up with the rail- pens!), at speeds that ranged up to
roads, making train dispatching, 3Ø-35 wpm: neat deliverableetc., easier and safer. At first, most copy.
telegraph offices were in the RR
stations. Each station, as well as Operators After The Civil War
many other important locations This was a period of growth, both(such as switching points) was in the number of RR offices, andmanned by an operator. There especially the size of big-city ofwere many more “country” and fices. Women in large numbers
small-town stations than “ c i t y ” began to become operators in theoffices. Most operators came city offices because it was cleaner
from the country and small towns and more respectable work thanwhere they remained, but some domestic or factory labor. There
were attracted to the advantages of were several categories of operacity offices.
tors in the city offices: those hanTelegraphy was mostly a young dling slow traffic from country
man’s occupation. The majority places, those handling higher
were boys whose ages ranged speed material, financial reportfrom nine upwards. Most of them operators, and at the top, press
ranged from 14 to 18. Some were (news).
in their 2Ø’s, but few above that. The goal of most male operators
Many of them became superb was to advance and be able tooperators, very accurate, fast and handle high speeds accurately.
reliable. Almost all were com- These were honored men with thepletely trustworthy and loyal. highest pay. In a city telegraphWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

office it was common to “ h a z e ” For a period of time up to abouta new operator. The others would WWI this became a requirement.
arrange to have an unusual or However, using the somewhat
garbled message sent to him, or faster and very “ditty” American
more often a message sent at Morse with the early spark transspeeds too fast for him and watch mitters made copying difficult
him sweat and worry it out. If, whenever static was present. The
when he looked around at their static and the signals tended toamusement and realized it was put sound too much alike, and at theon, he took it pleasantly, he was low radio frequencies then in use,considered “initiated” and ac- static was heavy during at least
cepted into the telegraphic frater- half the year. During this periodnity. But if he was infuriated or the U.S. Navy developed an enupset, he was considered still a tirely different set of code symfreshman.
bols, probably for this reason, but
When typewriters became practi- they were abandoned in favor of
cal in the 188Ø’s they began to the “Continental” code just bebe used in American telegraph fore the U.S. entered World War I.
offices. A superb operator was It was about the same time that thesaid to be able to copy 5Ø -6Ø “Continental” form of Morsewpm without trouble, and many code also became standard in theof these were said to have copied U.S. for commercial and among
regularly 5 - 6 words behind to almost all radio amateurs.
do this.
When Were The Terms Dit And
Dah Introduced
The Introduction Of WirelessWhen Marconi entered the scene The March 1926 Wireless Magawith his wireless, the “Continen- zine refers to the 1923 Transattal” or “International” Morse lantic signals of (F)8AB as flut25
cycle
with
code was in wide use everywhere t e r y“dahdahdahditdit
didah
dahditexcept in America. Wireless wasthen primarily - in fact, almost ditdit”. Were there earlier examsolely - used where wire lines ples? With a sounder, instead of
could not be strung. That meant “dits” there are “iddies” and forthat it was almost entirely ship to “dahs” “umpties” to distinguishshore or ship to ship. American the two types of clicks. Anotheroperators were American-Morse description was “klick, kalunk”.
trained, and soon had to add In addition to this, of course, was“Continental” code to their rep- the spacing between words. Good
ertoire, using both codes: Ameri- sending had to be relatively precan Morse among themselves and cise.
“Continental” with other opera- Accuracy was demanded oftors. Many became highly profi- commercial operators: they werecient in both codes, using them rated on the quality of theirinterchangeably as needed, on a sending. A sender or receiver who
moment by moment basis.
had to repeat or to ask for repeats
120

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

could be disqualified. It was not First, the old Morse differs frommerely a matter of courtesy, but International in four aspects:of economics: errors meant delays
for customers and cost time and 1. The following characters
are the same in both codes:
money to the telegraph compaABDEG H I K M N ST
nies. The good telegrapher adU V W 4 (2/3 of alphabet
justed his relative lengths accordletters)
ing to the perceptive skill of thereceiving operator, by making 2.
A number of Internationallarger or smaller differences incharacters represent differthe relative lengths.
ent letters or numbers orsigns in old Morse:
One operator reports from his
experience that careless Morse MORSE: F J Q P X 1 5
sounded worse on a sounder than 7 8 9 . ?
on CW. Words with lots of Old
Morse letters: joy!jack jail Japan INTN’L: R C F 5 L P ojelly jewel jiffy join jolly jungle Z 6 X ? /jury quick quality queer equip 3 . Certain old Morse lettersquote ill long loss late labor loyal
contain internal spaces
legal limit lip
which make them subject
to possible misinterpretaThe signal AR Comes from thetion as two letters:
American Morse fn = finishedC O R Y Z
Chapter 2Ø
might appear to be
Learning the American Morse IE EE EI II SE
Code
4.
Certain letters in old Morse
are different from any InComparisonsternational character for
Here we consider how to go about
English:learning the other code. Since
most of us know the International L = a longer dah ,(formerly called “Continental”) Ø (zero) = a still longer dah (seecode, how do we go about learn- below).
ing the old (“American”) Morselandline code? Do not use the The following numbers are diffollowing comparative lists in any ferent in old Morse from any
way to learn the American Morse International English charactercode. Their purpose is solely to sound: 2 3 6.
show the differences between the This does not include othertwo codes, and particularly the punctuation, which differs and in
effects on the structure of certain old Morse landline circuits wascharacters due to the Morse inter- used extensively. It must be heard
nal spaces and the special length- to learn it.
ened dahs. They affect rhythms.
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

be shortened just enough to beclear, so the receiving operator
There seem to have been no rigid would not be confused. The“standard” timing relationships spacing between letters in a wordin American Morse as compared nominally appears to have beenwith International Morse. That is, the duration of 3 - 4 dits, andthe duration of a normal dah is between words about the length ofstated variously as being two times 4 - 6 dits. Before and/or after theor three times the duration of a internally spaced characters adit. (My own impression is that it slightly longer than normal letter
tended to be somewhat shorter space was often felt necessary,
than the corresponding dah in depending on the code environInternational code. This might ment.. Again, these values would
have been done to save time and tend to vary according to the skill
yet to keep the careful distinctions of both operators. The object was,between a dit and the definitely as always, perfect copy withlonger dah for “L”, which nomi- minimum time to transmit, leaving
nally was considered to be twice considerable flexibility to the inas long as the normal dah.) The dividual operators. Yet the deimportant thing was to clearly mands of this code for accurate
distinguish between “E” and proportioning -- intolerance of“L” and “T”. Zero (Ø) would the least bit of hesitation, key up
be intentionally longer than “ L ” or key down (e.g., the person who
when there would be a risk of its sent the word “telegraph” inbeing misread, but otherwise such a way that it was copied aswould be about the same. (Some “jgraph”) -- show how much
have described “L” as being as more acute timing is in American
short as 4 or as long as 7 units, Morse in contrast to Internationaland zero as short as 5 or as long Morse.
as 1Ø units. There seems to havebeen better agreement on the No Need For Confusion
spaces.)Three general features distinguish
The important thing was “This is old Morse from International
communication. Things should Morse code:
have to be sent only once. Having _Most obvious is the differto repeat wastes time andence in basic rhythm: Inmoney.” Are the words andternational has a distinctly
numbers being clearly understood“regular” sort of rhythm,
by the receiving operator?”
while old Morse has a
Commercial telegraphers werecatchy sort of apocopated
rated by their accuracy first andrhythm - it marches in a
speed second.
striking sort of “go andhalt” way, which, when sent
In the same way, the space in theby a skilled operator, isinternally spaced characters (3unmistakable.
above) is usually stated to be theduration of two dits, but tended toTiming122

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Along with this is a rather Mr. Miller defined “expert” isobvious “ditty” character- not pinned down, but we can asistic of old Morse by con- sume that such an “expert” wasbetter than the minimum retrast with International.
quirement for a commercial radio_
Not quite so obvious is that operator of those early days. It is
old Morse is about 1Ø% probably safe to say that a person
faster than!International who can easily handle the codewhen the same lengths of somewhere in the 25 - 35 wpm
dashes and spaces are used range will find Mr. Miller’s words
in both codes (that is, it will to be true, if he puts himself to it.
take about 1Ø% less time tosend the same text). Inter- From this we may assume thatestingly, old Morse also re- those of us who are less skilledquires about 15% less effort and want to learn old Morse may
to send. It tends to be more expect to take somewhat longer toof an art form, with consid- get there. (Is it possible that inerably more variation in learning the second code in theproper way we may actually im“fists,” or sending styles.
prove our skill in the code we alAt first sight, with some characters ready know, since immediate
the same and others different, character recognition is the key
confusion between the codes point?)
might seem considerable inlearning the other. - Take heart! Learning It
In a personal letter in 1942 Mr. R.
J. Miller, a skilled teacher with the How should we go about learning
old Teleplex Co., wrote: “O n e old Morse? -- First of all, we have
who is expert in only one code, to hear it properly sent, because
e.g. American Morse, can master its rhythms are different. We
Continental Morse in ten days to should have little trouble with
two weeks and be as expert at the recognizing it on the air: its pecunew code as he was in the old liar rhythms and “dittiness” willcode. This is because his mind is quickly identify it. But also wetrained to recognize the quick will find we can easily read manysounds. This theory has been common words because theysound the same in both codes (proved many a time.”
e.g. “and, the, it, but, these,
Notice his words carefully: “ e x - thing,” and many others) -- that’s
pert” and “his mind is trained to an encouragement: we don’t haverecognize the quick sounds.” to relearn their sounds. Listen to
These are not trivial words. It is get the swing of it, then practicethe operator who already can with your key, imitating the exhandle the one code like an ex- perts. This will help reinforce thepert, because his mind has been sounds.
well trained to recognize the lettersounds instantly when they are Consider the following suggessent at a good speed, who is going tions:to learn so fast and well. Just how_

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

1.

2.

3.

124

Just ignore the idea of possible confusion: over theyears many operators withvarious degrees of skill,from quite modest to expert, have managed to use
either of both codes with nodifficulty. In early “wireless“days a commercial
operator was generally required to do this, and manyof them were not very fast
operators.
You already know twothirds of the alphabet andone of ten digits: so you
don’t have to give these
any special thought at all.
Think of all the charactersthat are different - different
in the one code from thosein the other separately.
Learn and think of eachone of them as part of thecode system to which it
belongs. Don’t mix orcompare them - keep each
one separate and distinct
from the other: (For example, don’t under any condition let yourself start tothink: that’s “C” in International so it is “J”. In Old
Morse) There must be
nothing standing in between the signal you hearand its immediate recognition as being the letter. (Aperson who knows German
as well as English knowsthat the letters ch are pronounced differently inGerman than in English there is no confusion at all.
We need to think the same
way here.)

4.

Remember that learning oldMorse is going to be mucheasier and faster thanlearning International code
because we already know
how to go about it and thatmany, many others havesucceeded well. This ought
to give us great encouragement and confidence.
Some excellent suggestions comefrom those who have long known
and used both codes. One of theseis to use a Morse sounder insteadof audio tones to provide a completely different sound environment to help distinguish Morsefrom International. (If this isdone, one needs to get familiar
with receiving by sounder. See
below.) If one does not intend touse a sounder, there is no point inpracticing with it. Some experienced operators see no benefit
from it.
So there need be no confusion atall. We can simply go ahead andconfidently learn the old, but
new-to-us Morse code and enjoy
it, using the principles already set
forth here. Perhaps some of theold timers who have learned themboth long ago may be pleased togive us some additional advice
from their experience also.
[Expertly-sent Old Morse tapes
may still be available from Cecil
Langdoc, 2Ø1 Homan Ave.
Elkhart IN 46516. They make forgreat listening.]
A Railroad telegrapher’s story:-a beginning operator was sending
as fast as he could with a bug
when the other operator cut inwith what he copied as “REND
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

STOW IMA GIRT”. He asked for only 5 years later, in America thea repeat and got the same copy. earlier code was first used for
He turned to his supervisor and wireless. Two factors probably
asked: “What’s wrong with that acted to effect the change-over:
operator?” The reply: “Nothing, the predominantly “ditty” charshe’s just saying ‘Send slow I’m acter of American Morse soundeda girl.’ You’ve gotta learn the more like static than the Internadifference between R and S and T tional form, and the world-wideand L. Didn’t they teach you nature of shipboard wireless opanything in that school?”
eration urged a common code.
Here is an example of all-dot” This would have become moresentence”: Her Irish eyes cry cos demanding as international commercial and amateur operation
she is so sorry.
became commonplace.
Learning To Read By Sounder
American Morse - An Art
Learning to read by sounder is no
more difficult than by tone or American Morse telegraphy isbuzz. It is just different. The considered by many of its practisounder makes two different tioners as a thing of beauty, akinds of “clicks” which corre- work of art. The “tune sung o u t ”
spond to movements of the key. by a local sounder “outranks the
The down-stroke produces a most precisely tuned aircraft ensharp (high pitched) click to de- gine in terms of sheer beauty”,
note the beginning of the “ o n ” according to one old timer.
signal. The up-stroke is a duller Some Further Comparisonssound, indicating the end of signal (“off”). The length of the If the identical duration of theintervening silence between them basic unit of time (the dit and unit
corresponds to the duration of the space) is used for both codes
code element, distinguishing a dit while sending the same message,
from a dah. Practice first with a the skilled American Morse opstring of dits and then of dahs till erators will have completed theyou get the hang of it, and then message while the Internationalwith some common words until operators are still sending andyou get familiar with this method receiving. The message will in factof hearing the code signals. (Use actually have been handled at aletters which are common to both rate about 45% faster* on thecodes - see l above.) You will Morse line than on the Internaprobably find it interesting and a tional channel.
challenge at first.
*) Here the skilled old Morse opAmerican Morse was designed for erators will normally be using
operation over wires, where static shorter dashes and spaces (asand other interference are absent noted above) than their Interor minimal. Although the Inter- national peers. This, combined
national form of the code was de- with the 73% shorter average letveloped and adopted in Europe ter and 65% shorter number in
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

125

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

old Morse accounts for the appar- International, making the latterent discrepancy between the pre- easier to interpret under adverse
viously cited 1Ø% faster.
conditions. I suspect that Old
Therefore, when we read of the Morse operators under radio conspeeds achieved under American ditions tend to lengthen (or exagMorse operations we need to rec- gerate) their time intervals (signal
ognize that the sending operator “on” and spaces) to aid inis having an easier time than the copying. If they!do so, then thecorresponding International op- time gain is less.
erator, but the receiving operator Some Practice Materials For
is under the same burden, but Learningneeds a more acute ability to discriminate small differences than Words which contain only letters
his corresponding International common to both codes:
operator.
(a e i u b d g h k m n s t v w)
In addition, when both have completed sending the message, the the and end man men view stew must
Morse operator will have used mist missed kid king thing dig dumb
only about 91% as many key- sing sting stub hide side vast waste
strokes and about 85% of the total waist medium wide stab tug aim bug
work or energy expended by the tame name magnet tube gust huge India ink sink had mad made humanInternational operator.
magnitude dean heat hum ham him sad
These gains are achievable at a dash dish shade gush bush hush mash
cost. First, the American Morse smash biggest mug hug bag sag wag
operator must learn to make some stage wages vague stag that tug heedfiner distinctions in sound than head hasten skate hate date night might
the International operator. He kite fight invite begin began behave
must readily recognize the inter- behead aghast mane tame inane game
nally spaced letters (C O R Y Z) wane hank bank stink wink
and the lengthened dah characters(L and zero) as distinguished Words containing only the Letfrom what might be their equiva- ters Unique to American Morselents, and he must generally live Dits Only
with closer spacing between characters and words. There is also the cheese choose coop cop cope copper
problem of the difference be- copy core creep creepy crop cross cry
tween reading by sounder in the echo eyes hoe hope horse hose ice ooze
telegraph office and reading sig- peer pie pieces pose precise press pricenals over the air where static and prize prose recess repose rice ripe rope
interference can cause loss of sig- Roy seer seize series she sheer shoe
shy size sore spice spree spy yippy
nal components.
zero zoo
Ambiguities introduced by the
spaced letters and the shorter dahsin American Morse under radio
operation stand in sharp contrast
to the standardized durations in
126

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

special Morse space = 2 units,
dash = 3 units,
clop color crop off for joy fly lop offer Morse L = 6 units,plop roll jolly
Morse Ø = 9 units,
Using Only the Letters Uniquecharacter space = 3 units,
To American Morse Plus The
Rest Of Its Vowels
word space = 6 units.
all aloe career clap clay clear cliff clip Although I haven’t spent muchclique collar cruel equip expire explore practice time with learning
fall fall fill fizzle flail flare fly for full American Morse, it isn’t easy for
fail jail jeer jello joy jury leap lily lop me to distinguish the different
oil opera pear peel place play quail lengths of dahs and to perceive
queer quip quiz rap reaper repair rill roll the spaced characters as units,
xray year zeal
rather than e’s and i’s, without
paying close conscious attention
From the MILL ØØa Operato them.
tional Notes
My suspicion is that I have for so
by Jim Farrior W4FOK
many years been trying to read
who originally learned Ameripoorly sent International Morsecan Morsethat my perception of these small
A considerable variation exists in differences in length and spacing
the way American Morse is sent has become badly desensitized. by different operators, and there American Morse operators could
is no rigid standard. Although it is never have lived with that kind of
not typically sent exactly that way, carelessness. They would have
it is convenient for some purposes shuddered at such sending. to assume that the Morse standard Poorly formed International
is the same as the CW standard, Morse, where the dits and dahs are
except that certain Morse charac- often grossly distorted: on the oneters contain a wider space between hand it is sometimes hard to tell
two of the dots, and the Morse the difference between dragging
word space is 1 unit shorter than long dits and clipped dahs, and on
the corresponding CW space. the other where the dahs are far,Also, Morse L is a dash approxi- far too long for the sending
mately twice the length of the speed, with many simply irregustandard dash, and the Morse zero larly sent. Add to that the carelessis a dash approximately three spacings internally between letters
times the length of the standard within a word, and one has to do a
lot of mental adjusting to underdash.
stand such poor sending.
This results in the following
Morse “standard”:
dot = 1 unit,
normal space = 1,
Only Letters Unique to American Morse

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

The old way of learning by a visual memory or by counting dits
Methods Not Recommended and dahs analytically is almost
guaranteed to!produce that old
In almost every subject we and famous “plateau“at the fastmay study there are efficient est speed the mind can handle
and inefficient ways to go such a burden at a conscious level
about learning it. It seems - usually around 7 - 1Ø wpm.
foolish to go about learning in Those who take each code chara hard way, if we know of an acter and put it through such aeasier, better one.
mental routine to get the letter forwhich it stands are on their way
Doing It the Hard Old Way
for trouble - they soon get stuck
on a plateau.. Why should anyone
Beginning somewhere back in the bother to make the conscious
later 18ØØ’s, even the best mind go through that sort ofschools for telegraphers started thing at all, since it is so futile andteaching the new student the is really working against us? The
Morse code by giving him a only obvious reason is that they
printed chart code to “memo- don’t know any better.
rize” visually. The implications
were that learning the code is go- An analysis of that old way of
ing to be hard and will take a long learning is like this:time to master. So the student expected it: that’s why, if he could The student
afford it, he went to a telegraph _First creates a mental tableschool. Without realizing it, heof the printed characters
was thoroughly prepared to begin
and the dot and dash patin the worst possible frame ofterns (how many and inmind and way.
what order) belonging toThis attitude carried over natueach one. Then he begins
rally into the early days of amalistening and copying practeur radio and continued for atice andlong time afterwards. The whole _He then hears the sound of
atmosphere was “it’s hard”. Isn’tcharacter as it is sent,that still the attitude of most peoMentally breaks it into sople today? We need to get rid of _many dots and dashes, andthe idea that it is hard - it isn’t.
Experience has shown that the _May then say the dots andbest teachers have avoided thatdashes to himself,idea completely. Learning theWhich pattern he now looks
code, as well as using it, ought to _up in mental table, finds it,
be an enjoyable experience, easy
andand even “fun”. Such teachers
also ignore a student’s errors in _Identifies it with the correorder to avoid negative reinsponding printed character,forcement.
and finallyChapter 21

128

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy_

Writes it down.

Through the years all sorts ofschemes have been devised for
How clumsy and awkward“memorizing” the code, andAs late as 1975 George Hart in some of them quite ingenious.
the August QST (p. 1ØØ) wrote Most of them involve some kind
“Most code learners start out by of visualization: a pictorial or amemorizing the alphabet in terms systematic arrangement of printedof “dots” and “dashes” or coded characters, based on their“dits” and “dahs”. Even those structure,!a “chain” of relationwho are cautioned by an enlight- ships of some sort, adding to orened instructor that A, for exam- exchanging components of oneple, is not a dot followed by a character to obtain another. A few
dash. but a sound whose closest have devised words or phrases
voice emulation is “didah” - presumed to have a sort ofeven those usually “memorize” “sound-alikeness” to the codethat it is a short sound followed character. Such methods probably
by a long sound. . . . Thus, the would help a person who might
initial stage of code learning with sometime need to signal for help
most people is a counting proce- in a dire emergency, but they are
dure, and no amount of emphasis worse than useless, of no value aton sound is going to change all for regular telegraphic comthis.” How discouraging and un- munication.
necessary! He pointed out that There is never any reason to see
the way to learn the code is by the code in written form. Neverfirst hearing the characters it at a translate “dit plus dah means A”
speed too fast to count and and then write it, or as another haslearning them as rhythmic units said: “If you find yourself hearof sound - sound patterns. This is ing ‘dahdidahdit’ and saying to
the way the ARRL code teaching yourself ‘Aha, that’s a ‘C’, andprograms now do it.
then writing it down, you’re introuble - that’s translating.”
Other Discouraging Processes
Most of these well-intentioned
Many, many people have man- aids to learning have overlooked
aged to master the code by meth- the fact that the code letters are an
ods which we cannot recommend alphabet of SOUND. Their
today, but they have done so at a “aids” have interposed someheavy cost in time and effort, and thing else between the letteroften have experienced great dis- sound and the letter. Most of
couragement along the way. They these methods present their
have managed by persistence to schemes to the eye, not the ear.
overcome the stumbling blocks Even those which purport to use
and achieve success in spite of sound (such as “sound-alikes”)
them. But countless others have fail to provide the necessary unity
gotten stuck and given up at some of sound pattern (partly because
slow speed, generally less than 1Ø they are too slow, but also because- 12 wpm.
the “sound-alikes” are extraneWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

129

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ous and distracting). Both kinds formed, each one adding one
require one or more extra steps - element to the previous one. Thistranslation steps - to get there. was illustrated by large printed
Those which require some sort of dots and dashes. There must haveanalysis (such as how many dits been a good many who started
and dahs) of each character in out this way, and in spite of it, atorder to identify it, or which run least some of them finally manthrough a series of some sort, also aged to become proficient. I knew
have introduced needless steps of one such amateur who got towhich inevitably slow the learner around 2Ø wpm that way.
down, and usually severely limit The expert teachers tell us that
his achieving speeds over about any kind of printed dots andfive to ten wpm. Avoid them.
dashes or any other such pictorial
Very many of those who origi- impressions will only impede thenally learned the code from a student’s progress when he is beprinted chart of dots and dashes ginning to learn the code. Chapter
began the bad habit of counting 13 explains why.
the number of dots and of dashes All such methods violate goodfrom a mental chart. Then they pedagogy, because they do notmust decipher the longer charac- teach the code the way it will beters by counting: for example, to used, as actual sound patterns.
separate B from 6 and 1 from J. They also require the student toSome of these hams were able by learn something (which he mustmuch practice, and perhaps real- later forget in order to advance)izing the nature of the problem, to in addition to the sound of theovercome their speed plateau. (I code itself. While these methods
knew one experienced ham-ex- may seem to make it easier at first,
navy-commercial operator who they actually make it much
could go right along at 2Ø wpm harder, or even impossible, to adthis way, but that was his ultimate vance. The wise teacher and stulimit. He loved the code, but dent will avoid these approaches.
could never advance a step further. That was as fast as he could So:
analyze - pretty fast at that!).
Never even Look at a writThose who have learned by the _ten table of the Morse code“sound-alike” methods, (e.g,before starting to learn, andthey hear “didah”, and it sounds
certainly Never attempt tolike “alike”, which they havememorize one visually, or
been taught means “A”)!rarely
have anything to do withreach even a ten wpm plateau.
software that “shows you
One method extensively adverthe Morse characters on thetised for many years “ t a u g h t ”
screen”.
the beginner by the scheme “ E a t
Don’t have anything to do
Another Raw Lemon,” which was _with methods that ask you
supposed to remind him how eachto listen initially to succesof the four letters E A R L wassions of dots and dashes, or
130

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyparts of characters. Doing He practiced so much that there
this will Retard your pro- was no extended period of freegress. Listen Only to com- time when he wasn’t thinking
plete, correctly sent, char- code. He wore out a cassette
acters.
player listening to tapes while_
Never listen to Morse at a driving, cutting the grass, sweepcharacter speed of Less ing, planting flowers, walking
than 12 wpm. Use 14 wpm during lunch, using the tread millat night and while washing theor faster, if possible.
dinner dishes, while watching soft_
Don’t learn by memorizing ball games he had the earphones
opposites, such as ‘K’ and on and copied in his head. He‘R’. This actually causes copied code while waiting in thesome people to confuse doctor’s office, while parked asthem ever after!
his wife went shopping in the eve_Don’t spend lots of time ning he copied CW on the rig, acopying random code gray haired man wearing eargroups. Reading plain lan- phones and writing on a clipguage is very different, and board!
that’s what the test requires. “The results were frustrating. The
Random code groups are speeds ranged from 2Ø to 24 wpm
popular because computer and always there was that sense of
programs can be easily de- panic, that I can’t keep u p ” signed to send them. They “tailgating” - that was exactly
do have a place - that is, for what he was experiencing. The
first identifying characters problem was he didn’t know what
and then later practicing he was doing wrong. Asking thoseany “hang-up” characters, who passed the test resulted in the
but that’s all.
casual answer: practice. “Well, my
When a old timer, who had practice just wasn’t doing it” .
“learned” the code as it used to Magazine articles on copying bebe taught from a printed chart, hind did not relate how to learn
suddenly recognized that the the technique. The stock phrase
sound pattern is the letter, it was seemed to be that the ability tolike a light bulb flashing on. After copy behind will magically apthat he began to progress rapidly. pear after enough practice.
He wrote like this after reading
The Futility of Wrong Practice
the principles presented here:
Arnold Klein N6GAP said
“Mastering the code has taken
on a life of its own and I am de“For more years that I care to termined to do it. I have now tried
admit to myself, I have been these during the week since gettrying to master a simple task: ting them and they do work! I am
copy code at 2Ø wpm for the losing the pressure to keep up.
Extra class ticket.”
Keep calm is my newest admonition. They have given me the anWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

131

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

swer to the problem I’ve carried _for years.”_
The methods presented in thisbook are time-tested practical, _working methods.
__
Chapter 22_
Word Lists For Practice_
The 1ØØ Words Grouped By_
Function_(And adding the words “I” and_“a”)

Have you been out?
Was he with her?
I can go now.
We must say that.
Would the people come?
She has a great work.
There are more over there.
Such men may go in.
These men may come first.
All but you have been
there.
It was as little as that.
You should not have said it.
How has he made up yourwork?
He has been very well.
No man said more thanthat.
He may not do any more.
We must like this.
Are they like them?

(This will make it easier to construct sentences to use for prac- _tice.)_a an the this these that some all _any every who which what suchother;_I me my we us our you your hehim his she her it its they them _their;man men people time work well _May will can one two great little _first;_
at by on upon over before tofrom with in into out for of about The Rest Of The 5ØØ Most
Common Words
up;when then now how so like as well did low see yet act die sea run age endvery only no not more there than; new set ago sun eye nor son air way far
off ten big arm few old too ask get
and or if but;own try add God pay use boy got put
be am is are was were been has war car law red sir yes why cry let sat
have had may can could will
cut lie saw Mrs ill also case even fivewould shall should must say said head less just mile once seem talk wallbank fill want tell seen open mind life
like go come do made work.
Some sentences composed ofthese words alone are:__132

It is only there.
You will like your work.

keep hear four ever city army back cost
face full held kept line miss part ship
thus week lady many went told show
pass
most live kind help gave fact dear best
bill does fall girl here king long movepoor side took were whom town soon
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

read much look knew high give feet important themselves Washington
done body book don’t felt gone hold government something condition presiknow lost name real sort tree wide dent
wind true step rest near love land homegood till door both call down find half Some Common Prefixes And
hope last make need road stop turn Suffixes
wish came drop fine hand hour latemark next room sure wait word year Prefixes Which Are Not Frewalk take same note mean left idea hard quent Words
fire each care
Un ex re de dis mis con com for per
young watch thing speak right paper sub pur pro post anti para fore coun
least heard dress bring above often wa- susp extr trans
ter think stand river party leave heart Suffixes Which Are Not Frequent
early built after carry again fight horse Words:
light place round start those wherealone cause force house marry plant Ly ing ify ally tial ful ure sume sultserve state three white still today whole jure logy gram hood graph ment poseshort point might human found child pute tain ture cient spect quire ulate
along began color given large month ject ther
price small story under world whose
tried stood since power money labor Some Common Phrases For
front close among begin court green Practicelaugh night quite smile table until We are in the he is and the will be wewrite being cover happy learn order will that the it is do not I am to the forreach sound taken voice wrong
the of this to them it was and he of achance across letter enough public from me that was on the they were she
twenty always change family matter is I will in a there is he was I will thatrather wonder answer coming father was
moment reason result appear demand
figure mother remain supply around Some Long Words For Practicdoctor follow myself return system ing
became dollar friend number school Somewhere newspaper wonderful exsecond office garden during become change household grandfather overbetter either happen person towardlooked depending movement handsome
hundred against brought produce com- contained amounting homestead workpany already husband receive country manship production discovered preventAmerica morning several another eve- ing misplaced requested breakfast dening nothing suppose because herself partment investment throughout furperhaps through believe himself picture nishing regulation forwarded friendship
whether between however present herewith foundation deportment geogwithout
raphy important lemonade graduation
national continue question consider federated educational handkerchief conincrease American interest possible versation arrangement nightgown
anything children remember business commercial exceptional prosperity subscription visionary federation heretofore
togetheringredients certificate pneumonia interWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

133

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

view knowledge stockholders property focus on the originator’s use ofchaperone permanently demonstrated the words themselves (byimmediately responsible Chautauqua “words” we include the use ofcandidacy supervisor independent abbreviations and Q-signals).
strawberry epidemics specification agricultural catalogues phosphorus sched- Feedback And Redundancy
ules rheumatism temperature circum- We rarely think much about how
stances convenience Pullman trigono- we speak when we are conversing.
metry bourgeoisie slenderize camou- When we speak face to face weflage broadcast defamatory ramshackle can generally tell whether we arebimonthly predetermined clemency being understood or not by feedbeleaguered voluptuous intoxicating back through the reactions anddepository pseudonym indescribable responses of the listener. But
hieroglyphics morphologist Yugosla- when our communication is revia cynosure parallelogram pleasurable mote, by voice over a wire or the
toxicology bassoonist influenza
radio, the visual clues to thePracticing words such as these hearer’s understanding are missmay help you get used to reading ing. When the telegraph code islong words without missing parts the link, auditory clues (tone ofof them.
voice of a comment or reply,“uh-huh”, “yeah”, etc.) are also
Chapter 23
missing. Relatively awkward
break-in is the only possible diMaking Sure You’re Underrect feedback while transmitting
stood
in code, and it is an ambiguousinterruption, until the receiving
From The Originator’s Standoperator explains his problem.
point
It is when we speak, whether faceCommunication fails unless our to face or by remote means, thatmessage gets across and is under- most of us tend to use more words
stood. Weak signals and poor than the bare minimum necessary
conditions during transmission to be understood: this is called(static, interference, fading) all redundancy. The degree of recontribute to partial failure to get dundancy varies from person tothrough. In all of these condi- person and from situation totions, telegraphic communication situation. Redundancy increases
is vastly superior to voice because the context from which the hearer
almost all its energy is effectively to may understand.
concentrated within a very narrow
band. Yet it pays a cost for this by When we write we generally aretaking more time to communicate much more careful of how we say
the!same words. In addition, it too things that are important thancan suffer partial loss due to when we speak. We give moretransmission conditions as well as thought to the choice of words
from just plain accidental misun- and the way we write them: wederstanding. How can we reduce becomes more circumspect andthese losses to a minimum? Let’s precise in order to minimize the134

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

reader’s possible misunderstand- complete failure of our commuing of what we mean. Since we nications? One of the commonest
have no feedback at all, we gener- things is simply to repeat eachally tend to use more words than word or words, or the whole mesthe minimum necessary in order sage. We may repeat only theto make up for that lack.
most critical words or numbers
In telegraphic communication the two or three times. (Numbers aretendency, largely because of the almost impossible to correct betime required to transmit, is to cause there is no significant coneliminate every word which does text to help out.)
not seem to be absolutely neces- Another form of repetition is tosary. We abbreviate in various ask the receiving station to repeat
ways - generally down to bare the message back to the senderbones: the minimum required to word by word. This nearly assures
express the thought. First we leave perfection. But this, like repeatingout words, and then we tend to each word as it is sent, requires at
abbreviate what is left as much as least twice the original time on the
we think we dare to omit and still air.
have it understandable. (This is Counting the words in a transmisespecially true when paying on a sion has long been a common
per-word basis for transmission.) commercial practice, but is not
What we have been saying is this: generally used except for message
redundancy helps to insure ade- type traffic. It does not assure
quate and more accurate commu- complete accuracy (exact words
nication. That is, we normally use and spelling).
more words and expressions thanthe bare minimum required to get Using Redundancy Intelligently
our meaning across. Time, however, is a factor working against We can often prevent misundertelegraphic communication. It is standing by adding a word or two
not as rapid as speech in terms of to a short communication. For
words per unit time. In order to example, to confirm a scheduledbalance the time factor against the QSO later in the day, to say
intelligibility factor, the originator “CUL this afternoon,” or “CULof a telegraphic message gener- in pm” instead of just “ C U L ”
ally weighs more carefully exactly helps insure that the other operawhat words to use and how to put tor knows that you mean today,
them together. If he is wise he will and that you are not canceling it
also consider the effect of possi- (as he might assume otherwise
ble mistakes or distortion during due to some interference, etc.).
sending and receiving which When conditions are rapidly deteriorating this may be our only
might produce ambiguity.
hope to get across before further
Repeating And Counting Words communication becomes impossible.
What can we amateurs do to A little forethought along theseminimize misunderstanding or lines on the originator’s part may
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

135

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

help avoid unfortunate misunder- cially the use of filters. Here westandings. Especially when we look at the filter requirements for
simply must get through, and an audio filter. We want a filter
conditions are very poor, we which will separate the desired
should choose our words and ex- signal and still keep it intelligible.
pressions carefully.
At this point we are not concernedwith any of the radio frequencies
At The Receiving Endof the signal as it passes throughthe receiver, but only with theHere we ask “Will I be able to audio beat signal which is output.
copy (or read) it?” and if I can’t,“What is the problem?” - ”What That audio signal consists ofcan be done to improve the qual- _An audio frequency (theity of this material I am receivbeat frequency, analogous
ing,”!or “What can be done toto the carrier frequency of
make sense out of this somewhat
an AM signal), andgarbled transmission which is all I
The off-and-on modulation
have?” -- “What is the nature of _of its envelope (correthe problem?”sponding to the audio
During the communication, speed
modulation of an AM sigof transmission is an importantnal) produced by the keyfactor, one directly controlled bying device at the transmitthe sender. Both too fast and too
ter.
slow sending can cause trouble inreceiving - here the receiving op- The audio frequency is expressed
erator must tell the sender to slow in Hertz or cycles per second,
down or speed up to meet the re- while the corresponding teleceiver’s needs. Quite naturally, graphic signaling “frequency” is
speed of transmission must set be usually expressed in bauds. One
within the receiving operator’s baud equals one telegraphic element (called “unit” in Chapter
capability.
28) per second. Since the baud
It may be that the weighting of may be unfamiliar, let us examine
the dits is too light and I’m miss- it.
ing some of them. If so, can thesender make them a bit longer The minimum basic telegraphic(heavier)? Maybe the sharpness of element is the “dit, an “on” sigthe pulses has been rounded off nal lasting a given length of time
too much to remove “clicks” and in seconds. For example, a 1Øthe signals sound mushy. At baud rate of signaling means thathigher speeds, perhaps the dits are there are ten basic telegraphic
too heavy and confusing the ear. elements per second (or 5 cps or
These are things which the sender Hertz), and each element lasts
may be able to modify on the 1/1Ø of a second, the reciprocalof the baud rate. Obviously, tospot, but he must be told.
perceive a dit or a dah requires
In Chapter 14 “The Ear” we silence both before and after it.
have discussed some of the things The minimum element of silence
which can be done to help, espe136

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy(space) is also equal to one dit. A square wave frequency related
One dit followed by one element to words-per-minute, and the duof space constitutes a square wave ration of one telegraphic unit can
two telegraphic elements long and be worked out for English using
may be called one “cycle,” by the data in Chapter 28 as follows:analogy with a cycle of sinusoidal
wave. (This is expressed symboli- For standard English text, there
cally in Chapter 28 by “1Ø”.) A are 49.38 elements per word. This
continuous series of dits would is only 1% less than the standard
then for a given length of time 5Ø elements used as today’s stanhave twice as many bauds as cy- dard word, so we shall use the 5Øcles per second. A sequence of 25 element standard here.
such
dits
and
spaces If this 5Ø element word is, for(1Ø1Ø1Ø1Ø..., 5Ø elements) in example, assumed to be sent in
one second would thus corre- one second, it will be at the rate ofspond to a frequency of 25 Hertz, 5Ø bauds, o r
25Hertz,
5Ø bauds. It is in this sense that (cps!square wave equivalent). For
we compare these two frequencies this example there will then be 6Ø
(audio frequency and telegraphic words in one minute -- 6Ø wpm, akeying frequency).
high speed. Using this to convert
For a filter the two predominant wpm to bauds we multiply (wpm)
factors for intelligibility are pass by 6Ø/5Ø, that is by 1.2. Since theband width and center frequency duration of one basic telegraphicof the beat note. (The actual element is the reciprocal of the
shape of the filter’s frequency- baud rate, in this case it will be
amplitude response curve is also 1/5Ø second.
of importance but for other rea- Now to determine the minimumsons: see Chapter 24 and engi- audio frequency needed to fill in
neering manuals.)
the telegraphic square wave shape
There must be enough audio cy- well and give really high quality
cles to fill in the keying pulse audio code signals, the following
shape of the smallest code ele- factors must be taken into acment, the dit, in such a way that all count:code elements begin and end _At least two samples per cyclearly and are therefore properly
cle of audio frequency are
timed. That means that the audio
needed to identify a frecenter frequency (pitch of thequency, (this factor of 2 forbeat note) must be high enoughsamples per cycle is canto preserve the square wave shapecelled out by the cps = _closely. A mathematical (Fourier)baud rate). andanalysis shows that the center
Up to the 7th harmonic isaudio frequency needs to be _needed for high quality.
about 7 times the telegraphic cycle rate to give the best shape of So, we merely multiply the baud
telegraphic pulses.
rate by 7, the highest harmonic
number.
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

137

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

For our 6Ø wpm example above, count for differences between opthis means an audio frequency of erators.
5Ø x 7 = 35Ø Hertz for best Thus:
quality of code pulses. Thus it canbe seen that, except for extremely CW - needs at Ø dB
high speed transmissions, there compare with SSB - needs at +14
will be no problem, since the typi- dB (room for improvement)
cal values of beat frequency are in
DSB - needs at +17 dB (5 dB Difthe 4ØØ - 1ØØØ Hz. range.
ference in operators!)
The minimum bandwidth will beconcerned with signal stability Reference: Power relationships
and intelligibility limits. If the and operator factor: (QST Fe
bandwidth is too narrow the signal 1967 p 46, US Army Rept
may drift out and be hard to find
Chapter 24
again. If it is too wide the risk of
random noise and interfering sig- Bandwidths and Key Clicks
nals increases. The rise-fall timeof a filter to square wave input As discussed in Chapter 23, keyshould not exceed about half a dit ing is usually expressed in bauds
length. Working through the rather than in Hertz, or cycles perarithmetic for 6 dB down shows second. One Baud is one keyingthat the minimum bandwidth for element per second, so one squareStandard English should not be wave keying cycle per second
less than about 1.33 x (wpm). equals two Bauds. Using the stanThis is well below the bandwidth dard word as 5Ø units, thenneeded for signal stability, so (wpm) / 1.2 = Bauds. (Since 6Ø
there is no problem here for nor- seconds divided by 5Ø units =1.2)
mal CW use.
Finally, if your copy doesn’t Harmonic analysis of the on-off
seem to make good sense, and keying wave shows that strong
there is no way to verify it, see the odd-numbered harmonics andend of Chapter 8 “Copying” for weak even-numbered harmonics
are present. It has been found thatsuggestions.
under good conditions, adequate
Signal required for CW with 5%
character errors is 2Ø dB below readability results when the 3that of double-sideband a.m. A harmonic is present, but undergood operator with CW at 15 wpm poor conditions we need up
in presence of thermal noise, a through the 5 harmonic. (Reallysignal to noise ratio (in one kHz good quality, however, will inbandwidth) of -1 dB is required clude up through the 7 harfor 1Ø% character errors and +1 monic.) International regulations
dB for 1% character errors. This have specified accordingly thatlatter is 22 dB below double side- minimum acceptable bandwidths
band order-wire quality. However, should be at least three times the
17 dB below double-sideband keying speed in bauds for good
AM for CW was chosen to acrd

th

th

138

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

conditions and five times for poor
Chapter 25
conditions.
Thus, working from standard Code Courses and Devices
wpm, convert to Bauds by divid- Advertised in the Oldering by 1.2, then multiply by the Days
highest harmonic (3, 5, or 7) desired. (Since this modulates the Dates show what I have been
carrier frequency, the transmitted able to findbandwidth will be twice this value These items are in partial supplebecause of sum and difference ment to chapter 25.
frequencies.) Accordingly, e.g.,
for 2Ø wpm, covering the 3rd Morse’s first “sender” usedharmonic requires a 5Ø Hz. tooth-like raised characters on a
bandwidth filter; for the 5th har- straight edge “ruler,” over whichmonic coverage a 83.3 Hz. band- a follower-contactor was pulled
along in order to send. No doubt
width filter.
derived from this idea Morse (inA perfect square wave will gener- 1844) is thought to have built a
ate strong transient over travel, “transmitting plate,” a board ofboth!initially and at the end of insulating material having theeach pulse. These spikes are espe- code characters composed ofcially objectionable, as they gen- metal bits imbedded in it. Theyerate a host of harmonics which were arranged so as to produce
will interfere with other transmis- the code character (whose namesions. For the receiving operator was marked beside it) when athey produce an unpleasantly metal stylus was dragged!acrossharsh quality. Shaping to round the surface at an constant speed.
off these sharp corners of the (Such a plate was independently
wave by making a 5 - 7 millisec- designed in Germany about
ond delay gives satisfactory re- 185Ø.)
ception, but if it is lengthened too
much it tends to blur the signals Telegraph teachers realized earlyand make them hard to read. This in the game that the student needs
situation can be taken care of a lot of practice hearing good
only at the transmitter, of course. quality sending. The transmitting
It can be seen that there is a deli- plate may have become thecate balance between “ g o o d earliest self-teaching device.
quality” and troublesome har- (Such boards were advertised as
monics. Refer to the handbooks late as 196Ø)for corrective measures.
The Omnigraph
The Omnigraph, which first cameout in 19Ø1, was an obvious derivative of original Morse“sender” with its raised “teeth.”
It was a mechanical device consisting of a hand crank, clockwork
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

139

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

or electric motor to drive an as- erators, including amateurs. (Adsembly of thin interchangeable vertising often claimed that ametal disks bearing the code month of serious study could
characters past a follower-keying qualify an operator.) The govdevice. Several disks were stacked ernment licensing authorities also
up together on a spindle-carrier used Omnigraphs to administer
which was driven by the “ m o - the code tests for operator’s litor.” The whole assembly of censes for many years, at least
disks looked like a cylinder with until 193Ø, when I was tested.
little “bumps” on it. A wide The Omnigraph Manufacturing
range of speeds from about 5 to Co., New York City. A 1922 adover 6Ø wpm was provided for by read : “Learn Telegraphy (Wireadjustment of the brake on a fly less or Morse) at Home in Halfball governor which held the the Usual Time... Just Listen - thespeed constant after it was set.
Omnigraph will do the teaching.”
Each disk had five groups of code You will be surprised how quickly
characters cut like gear teeth you will attain speed. Even if you
around its periphery, and each are already an operator the Omgroup was composed of five char- nigraph will help you. It will
acters plus a separating space. A make you more proficient, more
spring-loaded “follower” rode accurate and more confident...”along the edges of the disks, In 1918 the Electro Importing
opening and closing the keying Co., NY, advertised them starting
contacts. A clever adjustable se- at $16.ØØ for a five disk machine,
quencing mechanism actuated by and $23.ØØ for a 15 disk model.
the rotating disk carrier caused Additional disks were available atthe follower to move up or down five for $1.ØØ. Ini19Ø2 Thomas
at user-selected points during A. Edison’s book “Telegraphyeach revolution. Various models Self-Taught” was published byprovided for from five to ten or Frederick J. Drake & Co. in Chimore disks. By changing the cago. It was written with the phistacking of the disks and by ad- losophy that “it is not the speed
justing the sequencing mechanism at which the letter is sounded thatthe five character groups could be perplexes the learner, but thesent in many different sequences. rapid succession in which they
There was, however, no way to follow each other.” (This is idenalter the order of characters within tical with the so-called Farnsworth
a group, and all keyer-follower method today.) The book was
movements occurred between accompanied with a small handgroups.
crank-driven tape puller and a set
These machines were to be used of paper tapes with the code charwith a sounder for American acters punched in them. The tapes
Morse or a buzzer or oscillator were designed to start out withfor International Morse. They very wide spacing between charstuseem to have had a very wide us- acters, and as t h e
dent!progressedthesespaceswere
age for basic learning and developing speed among would-be op- reduced to normal. The goal was
140

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphya practical working speed of 25 ture in the student’s mind, but
wpm. The actual speeds, of instead a sound is memorized likecourse, would depend on how fast a bar of music. An hour a day
the student turned the crank on devoted to memorizing the disthe machine.
tinctive rhythm of each letter will
In 1917 the Marconi-Victor set of enable the student to send or resix double-sided phonograph re- ceive a message in a few weeks.
cords, described in. the first The beginner is strongly advised
sound-only course for Interna- not to practice with charts or
tional Morse for a phonograph books which show the actual dots
seems to have come out. It con- and dashes. Once a picture ofsisted of 12 lessons recorded on each letter is formed in memory it
six 78 rpm records produced by a will be found difficult to send or“code expert,” approved by the receive by sound. Don’t try to
Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. teach the ears though the eyes.”and put out by the Victor Phono- [It would be very interesting tograph Co. Lessons 1 and 2 gave see a copy of their course
the code and conventional signs. method.]
Lessons 3 and 4 contained easy National Radio Institute. Washsentences, etc. Lessons 5 & 6 had ington DC. Radio News Se. 1921.
Marconi Press and then messages “Wonderful Natrometer Giveswith static interference. Lessons 7 You Code-Speed in Half Usual& 8 were press with static, and Time. will send messages in a
messages with errors and correc- human and not a mechanicaltions. Lesson 9 was press with in- manner at a rate which you canterference from another station. vary from 3 to 3Ø words per
Lessons 1Ø through 12 were minute. ... The effect of static ingroups of figures, ten-letter words terference may be added to theand ten-letter code groups. It was messages being copied. ...A bean ambitious program which in- ginner can quickly learn the alcluded realistic, typical, practical phabet from our A dial.” Picture
problems of reception. Playing shows a mechanism similar totime was short.
Omnigraph, but about half theIn1921 the Wireless Press, New total size, using ten disks which
York City, advertised: “Study the were exchangeable. Price not
Code Anywhere” appeared. The stated.
ad said: “This New Way - The The first ad for the Dodge RadioSound Method for Memorizing Shortcut (Later “Shortkut”)
the Code. For success in tele- called “BKMA YRLSBUG”, bygraphing the letters must be C. K. Dodge, Mamaroneck NY.
learned by the sound. Each letter was seen in Radio News Dec.
has a distinctive cadence or 1921: The ad said: -”Memorize
rhythm which is easily memorized Continental Code Almost Inby a few hours’ practice. The stantly. Two hundred beginners incharts attached give the key to the 44 states have reported masteredrhythm of each letter of the tele- [sic.] code in 2Ø minutes, in one
graph alphabets. It forms no pic- hour, one evening, etc., etc....” It
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

141

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

was a large 5/8 column ad. The minute.” Third month: “Learn
usual later ad was about one inch the Code at Home This Easy Way
in one column, though sometimes With Teleplex. Complete course.”
larger. Price at first was $3.ØØ for They provided a code instruction
small booklet. These ads appeared manual and help and advice perfor many years afterward. (This is sonally by correspondence. It was
the worthless “Eat Another Raw initially a spring-driven punched
Lemon” method mentioned in paper tape machine. Later models
Chapter 21.)
were electric-motor driven. In
Memo Code, H. C. Fairchild, 1942 they produced a paper tape
Newark NJ. Radio News Aug. model which could record one’s
1922. “Boys and grown-ups. own sending (using electroMakes you a real radio operator. chemical means) as well as send
By my System and Chart, you will user-prepared tapes. In 1956 theyknow the code in 3Ø minutes... reverted to punched tape again,
Complete system $1.ØØ.” A and in 1959 they went to a mabuzzer-blinker key practice set chine resembling the Omnigraph.
Prices never published in ads. The
available with course for $5.ØØ.
Teleplex Company later brought
In 1922 a Radio News ad of out an inked paper tape type of
Oct.1922 read: “The fastest way mechanical keyer, which wasto learn the radio code.” The available for several years. It used
American Code Co. of New York the sidewise motion of a pen with
City put out a phonograph course a conducting ink (apparently
recorded by the famous hero op- made from a silver compound),erator Jack Binns, whose bravery and was followed by a similar meand skill saved almost every life chanical design using a chemiaboard the liner Republic after it cally treated paper tape. The user
was struck in 19Ø9. “Two pho- could make his own recordings
nograph records made by Jack with a key or from a receiver.
Binns and text-book $2.ØØ. ” Playback was by a pair of springThis course claimed to be able to loaded fingers which contacted
teach the code in one evening! the conducting ink to close thePretty Ambitious !
circuit. Later designs used a phoTeleplex Co., New York City. First tocell instead of direct electricalcontact for reading the tapes. This
ad in QST seen Apr. 1927:
permitted the use of non“The Easy Way to Learn the conducting inks. These differed
Code Cuts Learning Time in Half. only in degree from Morse’s
The famous Teleplex for self- original “recorder.” McElroy’s
instruction at home. The quickest, company also manufactured thiseasiest and most economical way type of recording system. Theseof learning Morse or Continen- types of systems were generally
tal... Faithfully reproduces actual far beyond the average ham’s
sending of expert operators.” pocketbook.
Next month’s ad: “At last! The
Famous Teleplex ... with only a The Candler System, Chicago.
screw to turn.... 5 to 8Ø words per First ad seen in QST dated Sep.
142

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

1928 (probably advertised earlier right. In either case, it involved ain other magazines), last ad seen substantial amount of money,
in QST Feb. 1959. Emphasis on which most amateurs could nothigh speed and “scientific” na- afford. In addition, the variety
ture of course. Large ads from and amount of practice material
time to time, but usually about they provided was often rather
one inch in a column. Price not limited.
advertised. See Chapter 3Ø.
McElroy’s “free code course”
The Instructograph Co., Chicago. offered in 1945 and again in 195Must have been in use before first appears to have been associatedad seen in QST of Jan. 1934. with the use of one of his code“(Code teacher) The scientific, machines. For its use the claim
easy and quick way to learn the was “Assuming that the averagecode. Machines, tapes and com- person will practice several hours
plete instruction for sale or rent.” the first day, we can tell you...
Similar to the Teleplex punched that you’ll be copying that very
paper tape machine, speeds from first day, words and sentences at
3 to 4Ø wpm. Last ads seen in the character rate of 2Ø wpm. Ted
197Ø ARRL Handbook.
has taken one-half the alphabetØther devices included machines and prepared a practice tapefor producing code practice using which runs for a full hour without
punched paper tapes. The tapes attention at 2Ø wpm. You won’t
were wound on reels and pulled copy 2Ø full words in one minute,by a clockwork-type spring motor but each letter you write will hit
or electric motor having adjust- your ears at a full 2Ø wpm rate,
able speeds. The tape perforations and the space between the letters
actuated a spring-loaded contac- becomes progressively shorter as
tor to open and close the circuit. the rolls go along.”
Commercial machines were in use An odd little unit offered in 197Ølong before they entered the was called the “Cotutor.” It wasamateur field. There, Teleplex just a simple whistle with a set ofand Instructograph were the disks which contained the alphaearliest and best known; other bet and numbers. Each disk hadlater imitators were Automatic six characters, punched throughTelegraph Keyer Corp., Gardiner so that the characters would sound& Co., etc. A few provided for when one blew into the mouthpunching one’s own tapes. Ted piece while at the same time
McElroy, the long-time code turning the disk by hand.
speed champion began making aseries of similar high-quality Recorders And Computers
equipment primarily for commercial and Military use during the The real turning point in availWWII period and continued for ability and variety arrived with theadvent first of the wire recordersome time afterwards.
and then of the tape recorders.
Some of these units could be Here, like the phonograph, therented as well as purchased out- “machine” was probably someWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

143

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

thing already owned and could be which are reasonably accurate inused for other things besides timing. For the student who hascode-learning. This kept the cost access to one of these, it will give
down. Many prepared code tapes him a chance to test his own
became commercially available, sending for accuracy. However,or could be self-recorded from they are not recommended as
the radio or other sources and substitutes for personal receiving
played over and over as desired. by ear.
Many good courses became availChapter 26
able and more are available today.
Some electronic keyboards and Speed Contests
keyers offer a wide variety of preprogrammed practice materials Speed contests - officially andfor practice. One of their main unofficially - have been held overadvantages is that they always almost the whole history of teleproduce perfectly formed char- graphy in America. Both the proacters - something that greatly fessionals and the amateurs have
had a pride of accomplishment
expedites initial learning.
which begged competition to disBut personal computers, which play and reward. Speed contests
entered the scene actively in the provided that.
early 198Ø’s, offer the widest
range for basic code learning and After WWI speed contests among
for advancing in skill. A wide va- amateurs, but open to others also,
riety of freeware programs for began under the sponsorship oflearning and for practice are the ARRL and also local hamfests
available, as well as programs and amateur clubs. Ted McElroy,commercially produced. Not a who was not an amateur, stood out
few PC programmers have been as the world’s speed champion
able to prepare their own pro- for decades beginning in 1922.
grams tailored to their own par- (In 1933 he lost out to Joseph W.
ticular needs. A number of inter- Chaplin, but regained the title
active programs are available again in 1935.) There were others
which give either immediate or who demonstrated almost equaldelayed helps to the student - ability, and McElroy himself said
these offer tremendous help in on occasion that there werelearning. Some may also allow probably many others who werethe more advanced student to as good or better than he. Several
conduct QSO’s with the computer unofficial records have been esprogram, just as if he was actually tablished in this country, andon the air. The potential here is lately the European clubs havereported some astounding highgreat indeed. (See Chapter 16)
speed champions.
Finally, there are available computer programs and devices which At first, in the latter 18ØØ’s,
can read receive code transmis- contests seem to have been consions. Because they are machines, cerned only about sending ability.
they can only read code signals This implies that receiving ability
144

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

exceeded their ability to send - wpm increments up to 55 wpm.
which is borne out as we read At each change of speed the conhistory: operators were then lim- testants first listened to some faited by their sending ability only. miliar taped material, followed
Only later, as “speed keys” and immediately by the fresh test tape.
then machine sending entered so The test tape material was in plainthat truly high sending speeds English taken from Chicago
could be achieved, do receiving newspapers and carefully edited
contests seem to have become im- so as to contain no difficult or
portant. That means until about unusual words or figures, andthe turn of the century. We have only the simplest of punctuation.
already looked into sending abili- Each section of test tape ran forties in Chapter 9, so we turn here five minutes at each speed.
to receiving contests.
The set-up provided 2ØØ pairs of
We have little detail about most of headphones to listen to the 1ØØØthese receiving contests. However cycle tone of the oscillator as it
for the one conducted at the was controlled by a Wheatstone
ARRL Convention in Chicago, in automatic keyer. The available
August, l933, where former World test room was small and not many
champion Ted R. McElroy was visitors could watch the proceeddefeated by Joseph W. Chaplin, ings. Because there were so many
we have extensive information contestants the first test series hadprovided by Ivan S. Coggeshall, to be run in two heats.
one of the four judges. Mr. Cog- Mr Coggeshall’s personal reacgeshall was a telegraph operator tions to the tests are interesting:himself, and later a vice presidentof Western Union. He was the “At 8 wpm you sit back andonly non-amateur judge. (QST twiddle your thumbs, you
November 1933 p 3., personal yawn... At 15 you take up yourcorrespondence with Mr. Cogge- pencil and leisurely jot theshall and comments from stuff down... At 2Ø you see theMcElroy, etc.) From these materi- first signs of life. For a minute
als the contest may be described or two you sit back and copy,
as follows:and then, on second thought,
It was an “open” championship you hitch your chair forward afor the world’s speed title and bit and straighten the paper.
cup. More than 25Ø contestants At 25 you quit ‘laying behind;showed up, both amateurs and you decide to close the gap
professionals. Silver trophies were until you read about a word
to be awarded in eight classes, be- behind the sender. Not so bad,ginning at 8 wpm. The contest now. At 3Ø the fun begins.
was run in two sections, the first a You can read it all right, but
preliminary classification test on the pencil seems to be getting
August 4, eliminating most con- a little sluggish - better make atestants, and the final run-off the grab for a ‘mill’ [typewriter].
next day. The first section of test At 35 you begin for the firstbegan at 8 wpm, then 1Ø, and at 5 time to think about errors:
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

145

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy‘How many am I allowed on a
5-minute test run of this?’ At4Ø it gets hotter and very suddenly, too. The last 5 wpm
have more mustard on them, it
seems, than the first 3Ø. You
are holding your own withmany a crack commercial radio or telegraph operator now.
You quit worrying about single
wrong letters and start hoping
you can put a typewritten line
down without leaving a wordout. At 45 the jig is up. You
quit, but half a dozen of thechamps go on.... At 5Ø wpm
the dots and dashes get
blurred and jumbled at 53 it isjust a lot of static - no sense
now in trying to hear anything. At 55 there is nochange. Just as easy to readthe QRN [static]...”

parently could not be accurately
preset at these speeds, and speed
was determined afterward by word
count and time elapsed.)
Rules of the contest allowed amaximum of 1% error for each 5minute run. At 61.6 wpm all
made more than 15 errors. At
57.3 (1432 characters or 286.7 5letter words) Chaplin had 11 errors out of an allowable of 14,
while at 54.1 wpm he had but 5
errors, and McElroy made 8 at
this lower speed. Chaplin was declared the winner at 57.3, breaking McElroy’s 11-year old record(1922) of 56.5 with one error on
a 3-minute run.
From this we can see that the 5letter word had been standard forsome time, and is in fact representative of regular English. It is
not difficult to compare this with
As each group reached its limit, the present 5Ø-unit standard word
the contestants left the test room. (as in “Paris”) by using letterFinally, eight passed the test thus frequency tables (such as used in
far. Between this test section and cryptanalysis. See Chapter 25).
the final run-off a WU cable op- From this it can be shown that aerator, J. C. Smyth, copied 5-letter word count based on standard
solid cipher code correctly at 45 written English may be expected
wpm, making all the other con- to come within about one percent
testants look like amateurs, and of the present standard of 5Ø
thus putting their attitudes on a units per word.
more nearly equal footing for the
Regarding speed contests in genspeed grind to follow.
eral, Lavon R. McDonald wrote in
The test tape for the final run-off 194Ø: “About the speed tests,
had been prepared and sealed in government count is used, that is
New York in the presence of In- five units to the word. Only plain
spector Manning of the Federal newspaper English is used, eveRadio Commission, and was rything having clear meaning, no
opened by Inspector Hayes of the trick stuff.”
Chicago office at the scene of the
As for the well known 1939 speed
contest.
contest, where McElroy was credThe final run began at 4Ø wpm - ited with winning at a speed ofthen 45 - then 5Ø, 53, 54.1, 57.3 75.2 wpm, McDonald wrote: “ I nand 6l.6 wpm. (The machine ap- the Asheville tournament, the146

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

speed was practically the same for
Chapter 27
McElroy and myself. We bothcopied solid (press matter pre- Abbreviations
pared by the FCC), but they sent
some stuff at 77 wpm and I didn’t Some Of The More Common
get a good start on it. McElroy Abbreviations In CW Work
made something that looked like
copy, but pretty ragged looking, ABT about
so they gave him 75.2, I guess it AGN again
was. If only first class copy had
been counted, it would have ANT antenna
ended a tie. McElroy and I have BCI
broadcast interference
had about the same telegraph exBCL
broadcast listenerperience.”
break
At the present time the Europeans BK
appear to have exceeded our re- C
yescorded contest speeds. In the1991 International Amateur Ra- CUD could
dio Union high speed telegraphic CUL see you later
championship contest Oleg Buzubov UA4FBP copied 53Ø fig- CUZ becauseures (numbers) per minute with CW
continuous wave
only one error: that is 1Ø6 wpm,
distance
8.83 figures per second! Amaz- DX
ing! (See Morsum Magnificat 22- ESand4) However, the duration of these FB
fine business; excellent
tests is stated to be one minute.
go ahead; good afterThis seems rather too short in it- GA
self or to be in any way directly nooncomparable with the contests run GE
good evening
in America. It seems doubtful that
good morningthese speeds could be maintained GM
for three to five minutes.
GN
good nightSome of the others who have GND groundachieved very high speed have
GUD goodbeen:high; laughEugene A. Hubbell, Wayland M. HI
Groves, J. W. Champlin, J. B. HR
here
Donnelly, V. S. Kearney, J. S.
have
Carter, Carl G. Schaal (W4PEI), HV
Frank E. Connolly, Wells E. Bur- HW
how
ton.

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

LID

poor operator

MSG

messageN

no147

The Art and Skill of Radio-TelegraphyNRnumber

YL

NW

now

OB

old boy

Abbreviations Used In Traffic
Handling

OM

old manAA

all afterOP

operatorABall before

OT

old timer

ADR

address

PSE

pleaseBNall between

PWR

power

CFM

confirmR

received as transmitted

CK

check

RCD

received

DLD

delivered

RCVR receiver

GBA

give better address

RFI

radio freq. interference

MSG

prefix to radiogram

RIG

station equipment

RPT

repeat; I repeat

NIL
nothing; I have nothingfor you

SED

said

PBL

preamble

SIG

signal; signature

REF

refer to

SKED schedule

SINE

opr’s personal initials

SRI

VC
sage

prefix to service mes-

TXT

text

WA

word after

WB

word before

WD

word

sorry

TMW tomorrow

young lady

TNX

thanksTVI

television interference

TT

that

TU

thank you

UR

your

Examples Of The Phillips Code

VY

very

WKD

worked - working

WKG

worked - working

WL

well

WUD

would

WX

weather

The Phillips code was developed
to bring the sending operator’s
skill up toward that of the receiving operator, who typically could
receive much faster than anyone
could send by hand. Phillips code
is a systematic, rigid system ofabbreviations used along withnormal spelling of all other words,
and cuts total transmission timeabout in half. There were about6ØØØ abbreviations under thisXMTR transmitter
XTAL crystal
XYL
148

wife

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

long-used system. It was used in AJ
commercial press (news) transmissions. A skilled operator could ANR
easily keep up, typing out the AR
words in full as fast as the sender
could hand send, but he didn’t AX
dare let his mind wander.
AY
Words were cut to their “back- AYG
bone”, leaving only the lettersthat carry the brunt of their pro- AYM
nunciation. See the list below for B
how this was done. Abbreviated BC
words were modified by, e.g.,adding “d” for the past tense of BD
verbs and “g” for -ing;
BF“s” was added to nouns for their BH
plural; some words added “b”
for able. A couple of simple ex- BK
amples of text are given here.
BN
Example of 188 letters reduced to BTN
116 (?) 61.7%:BTR“T DCN CD MEAN T END F
UNPRECEDENTED TWO Y CDY C
BTL, T FS D US X A CCN
SURROGATE MOTHER WSTKN TO TRL FO BACKING CD
OUT O AN AGM TO TURN OV CKA CHILD SHE BORE UND
CAK.” Translated into normal CKTtext, it says:CL“The decision could mean the CLO
end of the unprecedented two CLRyear custody battle, the first in the
United States in which a surrogate CMB
mother was taken to trial for CNG
backing out of an agreement toturn over a child she bore under CT
contract.”CU

adjust

AB

about

CY

copy

ABV

above

D

in theADZ

advise

DD

did

AF

after

DT

do not

AG

again

DUX

duplex

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

anotheranswerask
any
anything
any morebebecauseboard
before
both
break
been
betweenbettersee
conclusion
could
check
circuit
call
close
clear
combinechangeconnect
current

149

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

EMGY emergency

MSG

missing

EQ

equip

MSJ

message

EQPT equipment

MSR

measureFof the

N

not

FD

find

NA

name

FJ

found

NF

notify

FM

from

NI

night

FR

for

NTG

nothing

FT

for theNUM

numberFYI

for your information

NR

near

G

from the

NV

never

GD

good

NW

now

NX

next

GG

going

OD

order

GTG

getting

OFS

office

GV

give

OP

operateGM

gentleman

OTR

other

H

has

OV

over

HD

had

PGH

paragraph

HM

him

PLS

pleaseHR

here, hearQ

on the

HS

his

QK

quick

HV

have

S

send

HW

how

SAF

soon as feasible

ICW

in connection with

SAP

soon as possibleIM

immediately

SDshouldINVG

investigate

SED

said

IX

it is

SES

says

TGH

telegraph

SM

some

KW

know

SM

somehere

LV

leave

SMG

something

M

more

SM

some

MK

make

SN

soon

150

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

SNC

since

WY

why

SPL

special

YA

yesterday

STN

stationSVL

several

T

the

TGR

togetherTI

time

In addition to these there were alarge number of very short special
abbreviations for phrases common in news releases, such as for“President of the United States,”
etc. Usually these consisted of 3 5 letters, very brief.

TK

take

TM

them

TNK

think

TRU

through

TS

this

TT

that

TTT

that theTW

tomorrow

TY

they

U

you

UN

until

UR

your

VY

very

W

with

WD

would

WG

wrong

WH

which

WI

will

WIN

withinWIT

witness

WK

week

WN

when

WO

who

WR

were

ZGW your signals are getting
weaker

WS

was

ZSU

WT

what

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

A Few Useful Z- Signals
The Z-signals were developed andused for a time by some commercial operators. A few of themwhich might be useful to amateurs
are:ZCG local receiving conditions good
ZCP
local receiving conditions poor
ZLS
we are suffering from alightning storm
ZSH

static is heavy here

ZOK

we are receiving OK

ZSR
able

your sigs strong read-

ZGS your signals are gettingstronger
ZWR your sigs weak but
readable
ZFS
your signals are fadingslightly
ZVS
sity

signals varying in inten-

ZFB
your signals are fading
badly

your sigs are unreadable
151

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ZAN
we can receive absolutely nothing
ZUB
you

ZRO

we are unable to break

ZVF
your signals are varying
in frequency
ZDH your dits are too heavy(long), please adjust
ZDL
your dits are toolight(short), please adjust
ZMO

stand by a moment

ZMQ

stand by for...

ZLB

give long breaks

ZWO

send words once

ZWT

send words twice

ZSF

send faster

ZSS

send slower

ZTH

send by handZCS

cease sending

ZAP

acknowledge please

are you receiving OK?

You will notice that these signals
are much easier to remember thanthe Q-signals. The two letters following Z- are suggestive. (QST
1943 No p. 63
In 191Ø some wireless abbreviations were:GA = go ahead,
4 = please start me, where...,13 = understand,
25 = am busy now,3Ø = no more,
77 = message for you,99 = keep out

Chapter 28
Letter Frequency Counts
International Morse CodeZHC how are your receiving
conditions?

152

Freq.

Letter

13Ø

E

Units

Structure
1ØØØ

4

Total
52Ø

92

T

111ØØØ

6

552

79

N

111Ø1ØØØ

8

632

76

R

1Ø111Ø1ØØØ

1Ø

76Ø

75

O

111Ø111Ø111ØØØ

14

1Ø5Ø

74

A

1Ø111ØØØ

8

592

74

I

1Ø1ØØØ

6

444

61

S

1Ø1Ø1ØØØ

8

48

42

D

111Ø1Ø1ØØØ

1Ø

42

36

L

1Ø111Ø1Ø1ØØØ

12

432

34

H

1Ø1Ø1Ø1ØØØ

1Ø

34Ø

31

C

111Ø1Ø111Ø1ØØØ

14

434

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

28

F

1Ø1Ø111Ø1ØØØ

12

336

27

P

1Ø111Ø111Ø1ØØØ

14

378

26

U

1Ø1Ø111ØØØ

1Ø

26Ø

25

M

111Ø111ØØØ

1Ø

25Ø

19

Y

111Ø1Ø111Ø111ØØØ

16

3Ø4

16

G

111Ø111Ø1ØØØ

12

192

16

W

1Ø111Ø111ØØØ

12

192

15

V

1Ø1Ø1Ø111ØØØ

12

18Ø

1Ø

B

111Ø1Ø1Ø1ØØØ

12

12Ø

5

X

111Ø1Ø1Ø111ØØØ

14

7Ø

3

Q

111Ø111Ø1Ø111ØØØ

16

48

3

K

111Ø1Ø111ØØØ

12

36

2

J

1Ø111Ø111Ø111ØØØ

16

32

1

Z

111Ø111Ø1Ø1ØØØ

14

141ØØØ Ave. Structure length 11.23 Ave. 9.Ø7 9Ø76

The letter frequency counts (left- 2Ø.3% longer than normal Engmost column) are taken from one lish word length.)of the common books on cryp- A similar analysis of numbers will
tanalysis, based on number of oc- show that the average length of acurrences per thousand of normal number is 17 units (minimum 12,
English text material. Each char- maximum 22) or a group of fiveacter is analyzed (“structure”) numbers takes about 1.78 times as
into units, 1 for minimum signal long to transmit as a five letter
duration (one dit), 111 (three word.
units duration) for a dah, andeach equal unit of silence denoted Comparing these calculations willby!Ø (zero). The required three show some of the reasons why
units of silence separating each receiving speeds vary with thecharacter is added (ØØØ) to each kind of material being sent.
one below.
As a matter of interest, we list here
From the above, if we take five the letters from the shortest to thetimes the above average letter longest by the number of units
length and add the space required (less letter space) -- notice that all
for word spacing (seven total or lengths are odd numbers:ØØØØØØØ) we arrive at the 1 - E;
normal English word length as 5
x 9.Ø76 + 4 = 49.38. This is just 3 - I, T;
a bit less than 1% shorter than 5Ø 5 - A, N, S;
units per standard word. (By contrast, a random five-letter group 7 - D, H, M, R, U;
averages 6Ø.15 units. This is 9 - B, F, G, K, L, V, W;
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

153

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Hochschule, Braunschweig, Germany, reported in Jan-Feb. 1936
(see Sources), seem to be virtually
Foreign Adaptations Of The In- unknown outside of Germany.
His goal was to discover the mostternational Morse Codeefficient way to teach the Morse
If the same kind of calculations code to prospective radioteleare carried out for several foreign graph operators to meet the Interlanguages, the following results national requirements for comare obtained for the average char- mercial radio operators.
acter length: (Frequency data These requirements were:from Secret and Urgent, Fletcher
send 1ØØ words in five
Pratt l942 Tables II to IV, p. 253 _minutes,ff.)_
copy a 1ØØ word telegram
German 8.64Ø,in five minutes, andFrench 8.694,_
copy 125 words of ordiSpanish 8.286 .
nary text in five minutes,
one word being reckoned
These range on the average fromas five letters
5 - 9% shorter per character thanin English. There seem little Koch’s researches involved: dedoubt that if the code were some- termining what competent operawhat redesigned and adjusted to tors are doing,!examining teachoptimize it for English a reduc- ing methods in current use, thention of about 5% could be made. devising better methods, and testing them in actual classes. His
For the Original American
conclusions and recommendaMorse codetions seem to be the earliest real
Mr. Ivan Coggeshall made an research into how best to teach theanalysis of American Morse com- Morse code. They agree on theparatively, using the same normal whole with the best methods of
dah lengths and word spacings today, and may offer some furone unit shorter, and arrived at an ther ideas of value to us. They are
average letter (frequency) length summarized!here.
of 7.978 (as compared with
9.Ø76)!and average number Tests To Determine What Comlength of l4. As noted in Chapter petent Operators Are Doing
16, American Morse timing is He ran three series of tests to deopen to considerable variation
termine how the code is comprehended and for this purpose used
Chapter 29
four competent, activelypracticing radio telegraphers.
The Koch Researches
Three of these operators had
The obviously extensive re- learned the code solely by sound,searches of Ludwig Koch, Psy- while the fourth was self-taught
chologist at Die Technische from printed code charts.
11 - C, O, P, X, Z;
13 - J, Q, Y.

154

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

about 1Ø wpm character rate all
four operators were forming
For the first test each operator was fairly accurate patterns of soundto send by regular hand key the (nearly to the International Stanseries of ten letters b c v q f l h y z dard), except that the letters themx at various speeds while moni- selves were somewhat faster andtoring his sending with a pair of the spaces between letters were
headphones to satisfy himself as somewhat longer than standard.
to its quality. Out of his sight and By about 12 wpm all sending had
hearing a recording system made become quite consistent with thean accurate timed graphical re- standard. (Only the well-known
cord of his sending, so that the individual peculiarities of sending
actual timing of signal and space by hand were obvious. At 1Ø
durations could be examined in wpm and above these deviations
detail. He was instructed to send, were always very small.)using standard International The three operators who had
Morse timing, at each of six dif- learned by sound obviously
ferent speeds ranging from about showed no real sense of sound2Ø to 8Ø characters per minute. patterning (Gestalt) at these very
Standard International Morse low speeds: no sense of unity, buttiming, as described in Chapter rather just a series of separate
12, was then used to compare elements strung together. Only by
their sending at all speeds.
about 1Ø wpm were the code
Below about 1Ø wpm the only characters now felt to be entities
operator who closely conformed of sound in themselves, patterns
to standard timing was the one which were clear-cut in each opwho had visually learned the erator’s mind,!no longer shatteredcode. The three others deviated elements, disjointed parts.
considerably from “standard”
timing. At 5 wpm these deviations Receiving Tests
were appreciable:
Test number One: - Each operator
was to copy the 3Ø German_
The dits were too short,
Morse characters sent by a ma_
The dahs tended to be chine in perfect “standard” timlonger than 3 times dit ing!at each of four different
length, andspeeds over the same speed range_
The spaces between char- as before.
acters were too long.
At about 5 wpm these experiHowever, spacing between the enced operators hardly recogcomponents of a letter was almost nized a single character correctly!
perfectly equal to their dit At 7 wpm only 4Ø% to 6Ø% of
the letters were correctly identilengths.
fied. At 1Ø wpm all operators
At successively higher speeds this were getting about 95% correct.
situation changed slowly and By 12 wpm all of them correctly
somewhat irregularly until by identified every character.
Sending Tests

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

155

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Test Number Two - Here the student is required to memorize
length of the spaces between the this as a mental picture before
letters was doubled. This time the going any further. After that, theoperators recognized almost all characters are sent to him in stanletters correctly at all speeds. That dard timing, at first very, very
slowly. This means they are sent
is interesting.
with long drawn out dits, dahs andFrom these tests it was concluded spaces. The speed is then very
that experienced operators recog- gradually increased in tiny steps.
nize a code character by its overall acoustic pattern (Gestalt), and The faults with this system are:that this pattern stands out clearly _To begin by learning visual
only when sent at a minimum
symbols creates a uselesscharacter speed of about 5Ø chardetour
acters per minute. At lower speeds
Slow sending destroys any
it is heard simply as a disjointed _unity, or coherent soundseries of signals. --!Koch conpatterning
cluded that these operators could
recognize the too-slowly sent let- _The disjointed signal
ters only when letter spacing wasdoesn’t meet our need for a
doubled, because this increased
sense of unity
interval gave them time to inteLearner can hardly help
grate the sound and mentally _counting the dits and dahs
speed it up to where they could
recognize it. (A beginner would _The long spaces between
not have the skill to do this.)
letters distract his attention
from listening by:
The operator who had learned
from a printed code chart appar_ Encouraging him to
ently formed better proportioned
think and try to put thecharacters at very low speeds beshattered parts together
cause his visual mental picture wasto make sense of them,so strong. However, the price paida shaped unity, (Gefor this was that it limited his
stalt), or
maximum speed of copying: he_ Guessing what may
could barely meet the minimum
come next
requirements - a marginal operator. (See below.)_
At each increase in speed
everything sounds different,
Analysis And Criticism Of Preand he virtually has to startvious Teaching Methods
over again.
The “Analytic” Method intro- In short, the student is sidetracked
duces the student to the code us- and severely penalized all the way
ing some sort of systematic ar- along: needlessly translating fromrangement, or chart, where the bits and pieces of sound to try tocode characters are arranged by put it together into a meaningful
number and type of related ele- whole, then converting that to visments, etc., in a visual form. The
156

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ual form and then finally to the Analyzing these methods, twoletter.
classes of errors can be seen:
The “Sound-Pattern” Method _Errors which hinder the
first introduces the Morse charbuilding of a sense ofacters to the student at a character
acoustic!unity
speed fast enough for them to be_ Detour through an opperceived as an acoustic unity
tical symbol.
(Gestalt), but with wide spaces
between the characters. However,_ Disintegration of thethe student has usually alreadyacoustic form of thevisually mastered a code table orcharacter.
is encouraged to do so as he_Errors which prevent goinglearns.
d i r e c t l y f r o m acousUnfortunately, visual mental pictic!impression to the letter:tures are usually very much
_ Thinking about thestronger and easier to recall thansignal during longauditory sound patterns. Thus thepauses.
student tends to convert the signal
pattern he hears into the corre_ Guessing what may
sponding visual representation,
come next.
break it into its component parts,_ Converting or transand then finally into the letter.
lating from sound to
This complex action tends at least
visual and from visualpartially destroys the wholeness ofto the letterthe acoustic impression.
_ Converting or inteThis series of actions is encourgrating into a total
aged by the long pauses between
rhythm pattern.
characters, giving adequate time
for thinking, speculation and the The remedy is obviously to elimicumbersome translation proc- nate all visual references and asesses. With increasing speeds the sociate the sound directly with thepause time becomes too short to letter, to send fast enough fromgo through all this, and so the the very beginning so that coherstudent gets stuck below or ent sound patterns are immediaround 1Ø wpm, just as with the ately sensed, and to eliminate
non-normal spacing between letanalytic method.
ters.
So this method tends to suffer
about the same faults as the ana- Tests To Establish A Better
lytical method. Both generally Teaching Method
lead directly to that troublesome
plateau at around 1Ø wpm, where Character Speed For Initial
the distinct change in perception Learningfrom bits and pieces to coherent The obvious goal was to meet theunity of each signal occurs.
International requirements. The
question is how best to get there.
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

157

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Would it be better to begin from “dit” and “dah”, whose vowel
the first using a 1ØØ character qualities and lengths make soundrate per minute, or some lesser patterns stand out somewhat like
speed? This experiment was tried. little melodies. This helps accenFor the average student it was tuate the differences between
found that the demands on his sound patterns and simultaneconcentration were significantly ously promotes an immediate
greater at 1ØØ letters per minute sense of meaningful unity of thethan at 12 letters per minute, es- acoustic patterns.
pecially as more and more new Could the use of two different
characters were introduced. pitches, one for dits and the other(Above average students did well, for dahs, make it easier for the
however, at the higher initial new student to recognize thespeed.) But, of course, if one wholeness of the rhythmic pattern
learns initially at some lower (“melody”) of a code character,speed, speed is going to have to and make it easier to learn?
be increased to meet the require- Could it help reduce the stressments.
caused by the intensity of his
Various tests showed that about concentration in the early learn12 wpm was an optimal speed for ing stages, while he is being intromost people to begin learning. It duced to the rhythms and trying
is far enough above the 1Ø wpm to get accustomed to them? It
plateau to avoid it. Further tests looked worth a try.
showed that once the student had He conducted two classes simultamastered all the code characters at neously to evaluate the merits of
12 wpm, it was relatively easy for the two-tone approach. After thehim to advance to 7Ø letters per first lesson, at each stage the twominute, and by continuing to tone group averaged two lesson
practice using the same principles, periods ahead of the monotone
to advance fairly rapidly, step by group. (For the two-tone class thestep, to the required speeds. Thus pitches were gradually merged
a 12 wpm beginning speed into one by about mid-course.)
seemed well justified.
Results:- the two-tone class in 24
sessions reached what took the
Can The Rhythm Patterns Be
monotone class 28 lessons toEnhancedachieve. Total teaching time was
Koch observed that in the early 12 (two-tone) to 14 (monotone)
stages of learning, the beginner hours. (With both groups there
has to concentrate intensely to were the usual, occasional shortcatch the letter rhythm-patterns. Is plateaus, each lasting generally nothere anything which could be more than one lesson period.)
Conclusion: - this is a worthwhile
done make this easier for him?
improvement to help the beginHe observed that some teachers ner.
were speaking, or even almost
singing, the sound patterns ofcode characters using the syllables
158

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

What Letters Should Be
When To Introduce A New
Taught First
Character
1. Distinguishing Between
His tests showed that it is safe to
Similar Sounding Patterns
introduce a new character into theWhat characters should first be list only after the student knowspresented to the student? Al- thoroughly all the characters hethough tests had shown that stu- has already studied. He set his
dents can, in their first lesson, working standard at a minimum
readily learn to distinguish similar of 9Ø%: that is, not to introduce apatterns such as the series e-i-s-h, new character until the students
the degree of concentration re- were getting at least 9Ø% correct
quired had a negative effect on copy at any stage. This provided athem. Experience has shown that good measure for comparison,many sound patterns, as speeds and at the same time let the sturise, can be mistaken for similar dent evaluate his own progress. It
sounding patterns, especially in is indeed interesting that the test
regard to the number of dits classes showed that students
which become pretty short at learned new characters almost in
higher speeds: e.g., S and H, or U exact proportion to the number ofand V. The dah characters do not lesson periods (total hours). The
run this risk so much: e.g., W and experiments also showed that
J. In addition some beginners do three to four new characters wereexperience temporary confusion about optimum for any one lesbetween mirror image characters, son period.
such as B and V, D and U. Thus it Should Practice Be By
seems best to begin with sound Groups Of Letterspatterns which are distinctly and The question he asked is this:obviously different. In this way should the student practice one
the student can learn more gradu- group of characters until heally to discriminate between knows them well, then work on asmaller differences.
second group separately in the
2. Letters that Tend to be same way, and after that combine
Troublesome
the groups?
Koch says these (for German stu- He began this teaching test withdents) are generally x y p q. (Z is characters composed of dahs
very frequent in German.) If these only: t m o ch (German single
are introduced during the first character ch). After enough practhird of the program, there is tice (a couple of class sessions) tomore opportunity to give them “master” this group of letters, headequate practice, and this gener- began teaching the dit group e i sally results in shortening the total h by itself in the same way. Next
program.
he combined these two groups
together, and found that somehow
during the intensive study of thesecond group, the students had
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

159

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

forgotten the first group almost ual characters, tending to miss orcompletely, and their confidence confuse them. They show up as
was badly shaken. He had to be- little plateaus on his record of adgin all over again teaching these vancement. What letters these areeight letters together until they varies greatly from student to stuwere mastered together.
dent. The five-column copying
After this, when these eight letters forms described below serve to
had been practiced to the point help identify which these troublewhere they were correctly and some ones are - needing moreconsistently identified, two new practice.
groups were studied separately in How Long Should Lessons
the same way as the first two Be And How Distributed Ingroups. First the group d b g, then Timeafter that the group u v w. Next, He cited B. Jost’s researches
when these two new groups were which found that people learn
mixed together, it was found that more quickly and retain it longer
the d b g group had been forgot- for a given total learning time,ten. But worse, after these two when the lesson periods aregroups had been re-learned to- shorter and widely separated ingether (d b g u v w) to the point time. E.g., for a total of 24 lessonof correct identification, and then periods (which always include
combined with the first 8 letters, reviews):- to schedule four lesson
alas, the (combined) first two periods a day for six days is fourgroups of 8 letters had been virtu- times more effective than toally forgotten!
schedule eight lesson periods a
It appears that the student’s in- day for 3 days, and that to schedtense concentration upon a new ule two lesson periods a day forgroup of characters by itself 12 days is eight times more effeccauses that group to override and tive. That is, spread out the lessons
replace what had been previously in time.
“learned”. He sensibly con- What is the ideal length of a lescluded that teaching by groups is son period? -- Koch found by
wrong-headed. Therefore, the testing that to have a long mornmost efficient way is to introduce ing lesson, and then after correone new letter at a time and then sponding length of rest period toimmediately integrate it into the continue in the afternoon, degroup of letters already learned, manded too much intense conuntil finally the whole alphabet is centration. The students got tired
complete. In this way all the pre- too quickly and the repetition
viously learned characters are un- practice was not as effective as it
der constant review and repeated should be. By trial he determinedfrequently without lapses.
that a half-hour lesson period was
Troublesome Charactersabout optimum. (Even a 45 minExperience has shown that quite a ute period began to show diminfew students have some trouble ishing returns.) He finally recidentifying one or more individ- ommended two half-hour periods,
160

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

one in morning and one in theafternoon as optimum.
Several courses using various ofthese principles were conducted.
However, at the time of this report,
he had not had classes where hecould combine all the optimum
test conditions. The students savable were people who were interested, but not primarily, at least,
for professional purposes. Furthermore, they were employed atfull-time work during the day,and were often tired by class time,
which had to be scheduled in theevenings. Also, he could schedule
only two or three half-hour lesson
periods per week. Hardly ideal.
In spite of this progress was good,and no difficulties were encountered. Three to five characters
were presented and learned in thefirst half-hour period. He aimed
for many repetitions during eachlesson, never less than ten repetitions of each character during agiven lesson period, even after theentire alphabet had been introduced. Each successive period _began with a lively review of what
had been learned up to that point.
New Philosophy For Teaching_
It is a mistake to let the student see a code character inany kind of visual form,
because a visual impression
is so strong that it will almost invariably lead toanalyzing it into dits anddahs, and thus shatter its
unity.
_
Each Morse code charactermust retain its unitary nature, its acoustic wholenessWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

at all times. This is facilitated by:_ Sending at a speed ofat least 12 wpm (6Øletters/minute) fromthe very first. This will
promote the sense of
acoustic unity and bypass the discouraging
1Ø wpm plateau (transition) region completely.
_ Emphasizing the melodic nature of thecode patterns initially,
like a little tune, by theuse one pitch for thedits and a slightly different pitch for thedahs. These pitches arethen gradually to bebrought closer together so that by about
the mid-point of the
program they are
identical and continue
from there on as a single pitch.
From the very first all practice is to be in five-lettergroups, with normal spacing between the letters, as inciphered texts, but with distinctly longer pauses between groups. This has adual purpose:_ To leave no time forconscious thinking ortranslation between
letters, and thus to require direct passage
from sound pattern to
the letter itself, and_ So that the student will
immediately become
161

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

used to hearing lettersin groupings as innormal communication, and not as isolated letters.
Designing An Efficient
Teaching Program
1. The first exercise is to teachthe student to hear and begin to become accustomed
to hearing the different
overall rhythms of soundand silence:-a.

Character rhythm:
Character - space character - spaceb. Group rhythm: Lettergroup - space - Lettergroup - space ...
From the very first, to get the student accustomed to overall
rhythms, he is supplied with“copying” sheets having several
sets of five-column groups of little squares like graph paper, as
shown below. They will also be
used for all subsequent regularcopying practice.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Five letter random groups are b. On the associated rhythm,
then to be sent. At first these will
letter by letter, of the writall be unknown letters. As he
ing hand, andhears each acoustic pattern of a c. On recognizing the pause
letter in a five-letter group, he isafter each group.
to place a dot in the square whichcorresponds to the position of that A relatively short initial session(1Ø minutes or so) of this willsound pattern within its group.
begin to accustom him to theseThus he works along across the overall and detail patterns of
five-space line, becoming used to sound as entities.
hearing each letter-rhythm pattern
and then writing a dot for it in the 2. The second exercise is tostart him on the way
appropriate square. (At this stage
he only recognizes the sounda. To recognize the difpatterns as entities, nothing more.)ferences in rhythmHe continues to work line by line
pattern between two
down the column as each newquite
differentgroup is heard. In this way he besounding letters, andgins the practice of focusing:b. Become familiar witha. On the coherent acoustic
the sound patterns offorms and162

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyeach character, and to to recognize immediately andbecome accustomed to automatically. He must get acthem. (all sending to customed to giving such signals
be machine precise.)no thought at all (except to put
A. This begins by introducing down a dot), so that he can givethe two first characters just his undistracted attention to theas sound patterns - without next incoming sound pattern.
identifying what letters they Otherwise, during the all-too-shortare. They are to be sent pause after each signal which heseparately and at random does not immediately identify anduntil the student definitely before the next one is heard, he isrecognizes and distin- going to try to think about what
guishes their individual signal it was. But while he ispatterns (pattern one and thinking about it the next signal
pattern two, or whatever). arrives, tending to upset him andAt this time they are not yet cause him to lose the flow of theto be identified with their rhythm. This interruption must
printed letters: they are from the very first be stopped. His
simply recognized as dif- teacher must insist that wheneverferent patterns of sound.
the student does not immediately
B. Only after he has become and automatically recognize aaccustomed to distinguish- sound pattern, just to put a dot in
ing the first two letter pat- the corresponding square, thenterns from each other, and immediately let it go, and conto the rhythm groups as tinue on with the rhythm. This
they are, and writing dots in action must become habitual, andthe little squares, is he to be this technique has been devised totold the names of these first develop it from the very first.
two characters. He should Now as he identifies the acoustic
from then on have no diffi- patterns he will write their correculty in writing their letters sponding letters in the little
down in the little squares squares. If the teacher chooses towhenever and as he hears mix into the 5-letter groups codethem.
characters which the student has
This is to train him during these not been taught, there should beearly stages and later on that he is dots to correspond with them.
to recognize and react to the pres- After one or two short (about 1Ø
ence of each and every acoustic min.) practice periods this way,
pattern, either by identifying it or the relationships between theby a dot in the square, and of the acoustic impression and the letterslarger groupings of letters identi- they represent should have befied by the longer space.
come so closely knit together that
It is obvious that, especially in the there is an immediate transition
learning stages, there are going to from the acoustic sound pattern tobe acoustic patterns passing by the letter (or a dot). Only when
which he may or will not be able
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

163

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

this point is reached is a third let- culties. First, he had only 4 reguter to be added to the first two.
lar operators to study -- that's piti3.
Only one new letter at a fully few as a sample, but barely
time is to be introduced enough (because he had been an
and added to those already operator himself) to draw solid
known. The criterion for conclusions.) Koch had very few
adding a new letter is: classes to teach, and most students
when at least 9Ø% of the were only somewhat interested.
letters already well known None planned to enter telegraphy
are correctly identified. as a profession or hobby no
Each new letter is added to amateurs were participating. Most
the group of recognized or all had put in a full workday
sound patterns in the same before coming to class in the eveway as the first two were: nings. He did not get to try comfirst by simple recognition bined techniques, but could onlyof the pattern without surmise they would function toknowing what letter it is, gether.
and in contrast with the This semi-translation takes thesepreviously known ones, factors into account and makes
and only when he readily some effort to summarize them.
recognizes it its individual Koch used 12 WPM charactersound pattern is he to be speed and standard character andtold what letter it is.
word spacing, (his purpose was to
As an example of the introduction leave no time for consciousof characters and the five-letter thinking or translation between
groups used, if the sequence of letters). I think if he had permitletters taught were h - f - a - g - ted or understood “Farnsworth”
etc.: for the initial two-character spacing he would have been wise,
lesson, groups were like:based on the US experience. Subsequent practice would shorten
l. hfhhf fhfhfh
these extra spaces as faster char2. Next character: aahfh acter recognition was achieved.
fahfhWith just normal spacing, the
3. Next: ggbaf ghfah
characters just come too fast foreasy initial recognition, and so he
4. Next: ccgaf gcafh ,
could not use much faster basic
5. etc. (In this example he did character speeds than 12 wpm or
not begin with the more many students would have befrequently “troublesome” come discouraged. Personally I
letters.)
believe that 15 wpm should be thebare minimum initial character
Summary
speed and that 25 wpm may be“It strikes me that Koch was al- too fast for some people until
lotted too little finances and was pattern recognition becomes obpressed too hard to get it out. vious.
Koch worked under several diffi164

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Koch's first concern was, the stuChapter 3Ø
dent has to get familiar with thecode-type of rhythm patterns, and The Candler System
he can only do this when thecharacters stand out alone clearly No treatise on learning theand are unitary in nature (not a code would be complete without a summary and discussion
jumble of dits and dahs in series).
of this famous and formerly
The wholeness of each character long-advertised course.
pattern is vital. Musicians seem todo this more quickly and easily Backgroundthan non-musicians, who may By 19Ø4 Walter H. Candler had
need to learn it. N1IRZ Dave learned the American Morse code
Finley has said this well in his and worked for two years as abook “Morse Code: Breaking the telegrapher. He had practiced
Barrier”. Koch seems to have had diligently and felt qualified tolittle appreciation for the value of apply for a job as commercial
the so-called Farnsworth (spacing) relay operator in the Westernmethod, where characters are sent Union office at Atlanta GA. But
at higher speeds than overall he didn’t last out there even one
words per minute actual count. At day, and had to take a night shift
one point he barely mentions ex- job as telegraph operator at a
tra word spaces. Nor does Koch small town R.R. station. He wasrecognize the value of starting the deeply hurt and puzzled. Whatlearner on longer characters (such was the matter? What mysterious
as Q Y 1 5, etc., rather than on ingredient was missing?
short characters and groups as E I
T A N so as to learn early to hear As was the custom at the best teleout the whole character before graph schools, he had visuallymemorized the Morse code fromidentifying it.
a printed table of dots and dashes,
It is this very first stage of learn- and then practiced and practiced.
ing that is so vital. Unless each (This “standard” procedure wascharacter is so thoroughly learned confirmed by a former teacher atby “reflex action” (stimulus- the well-known Dodge’s Instituteresponse) practice that immedi- - no connection to the later C. K.
ately after its sound (e.g., “dadi- Dodge “Radio Shortkut”.) One
dadit” ) stops it is instantly rec- night on the job, quite by acciognized as the character “C” the dent, he discovered that whenlearning process is incomplete. once in a while he dozed off at
Any attempt to build up speed is the operating table, he could readgoing to fail, and the joy of using the fastest code coming over thethe code is going to be dimin- lines to his sounder. Yet when heished or lost.”
was awake and alert he could
catch only a word here and there.
It was then that he began to realize that telegraphy is primarily aWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

165

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphymental process, and that the so- 1939, and made extensive notes
called “sub-conscious m i n d ” on.
must play a vital part in it. (At that There is evidence that, althoughtime here was quite a bit of the essentials stood out strongly
popular writing about the “sub- and firmly, over the years the deconscious mind,” which no doubt tails varied in minor ways. His
helped him put it all together.) He basic philosophy may be statedbegan experimenting until he had as:- “This system trains you tosolved his own problem and mas- use your mind” to develop “scitered the code himself, and in entifically your coordination,
time he became qualified to teach concentration and confidence” others how to do it, too. By 1911 your responsiveness. The course
he had established his own consisted of ten lessons plus con“school” in Chicago to teach siderable valuable supplementary“The Candler System,” later material, mostly as letters. It ismoving it to Asheville, NC.
summarized below.
Although he died on 23 April The Essential Principles
1Ø4Ø, his wife, who was alreadyan experienced telegrapher her- Since Candler was concerned withself when they were married in those training to become com1924, and had worked with him mercial operators, he first emphasince, continued to handle the sized the importance of healthy
course for a number of years. (It living: eating, exercise, breathing,
was last advertised in QST in etc. This emphasis was needed inthose days because the typical city
1959.)
operator worked long hours in
The Course
unhealthy smoke-filled, darkish,Originally his “High Speed” crowded and poorly ventilated
course was designed for operators offices.
who already “knew” American l. Develop “sound conMorse, but were stuck at some too
sciousness.” -In Lesson 7
low speed. Later he added the Inhe wrote: “In learning code
ternational code to it, covering
it is necessary to conboth codes. Still later a new
sciously count the dits andcourse, called “The Scientificdahs of the various signals,
Code Course,” designed to beboth in sending and resuccessfully used by beginners
ceiving. By repetition, theworking alone, was created fromsub-conscious mind graduthe regular “High Speed” course
ally assumes this burden of
by modifying it to add helps tocounting them. As long as
get the beginner started. (Thus it
you must consciously countcontained all that the “Highthem, work will be slow, but
Speed” course contained.) Thatas the sub-mind takes them,new course was later renamed
they go faster and faster.”“The Junior Code Course,” and“As you progress,” hewas the one I obtained in Octoberwrote elsewhere, “Begin torespond more readily to the166

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphysound patterns than to visual ones: learn to shift fromwhat you mentally see towhat you hear. So long as
you must consciously remind yourself that so many
dits and dahs ‘stand’ forcertain letters, you are notlearning code.” So, “whenyou hear didah, no longer
say to yourself: ‘didahstands for A.’ Instead, when
you hear didah, hear A. Do
not translate.” “In learning
code you do not have torelearn words, but you dohave to change the approach...from visual toauditory... Once you havemastered this consciously,
your sub-mind will handle
that detail, and do a faster,better job than your conscious mind possibly can.”CritiqueWe must remember that he andmost of his students had already“learned” visually, and now thismust be replaced by direct auditory recognition. Here was thereal reason they all had gotten
stuck at some slow speed. This
traditional approach must haveblinded his thinking so that it did
not occur to him to start the beginner with sound alone, and sosave the beginner from having tocross that annoying hurdle with its
discouragement.
2. Your sub-mind will only dowhat you have consciously
trained it to do. Therefore,teach it the right way andthe same way consistently
from the beginning. Think
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

3.

and act positively: (The “ I
can do it” attitude). If you
maintain a positive attitude
as you think and consistently practice, the submind will take over the task
more quickly, and it will
become easier each time
you do it. Conscious effort
is needed until it becomes
automatic. First you learn
by consciously employing
the principles in yourregular daily practice. Then
gradually, if you practice as
directed, your sub-mind
will take over the job withless and less conscious effort, and you will makegood progress.
Learning to read code, tor e c e i v e, is the important
thing. That is, to understandwithout having to write it
down. Reading means listening and understanding
what is being said, just as inreading ordinary print orwhen listening to someone
speak. Reading code mustnever depend on copying.
As soon as you havelearned all the letters, start
listening to good code on
your receiver (or nowadays,
practice tapes, etc.) for 5,
1Ø, 15 minutes at a time, or
until you become tired even if you cannot put together enough consecutive
signals to form!words. Keepon, and soon you will becatching small words andthen larger ones. But do notpractice too long at one
time - never when fatigued.
“I am acquiring the ability
167

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

4.

5.

168

to read words subconsciously now. When reading
code, I know, as soon as aword is sent, what the word
is, although I didn’t consciously spell it out to myself as it was coming
in,”!wrote a student.
you cannot write down
what you cannot read (receive). This is step two after
learning to receive. Writing
down what you receive is aroutine matter that will takecare of itself if you areproperly trained. Of course,
in the initial stages oflearning the alphabet andnumbers, etc., you must
copy letter by letter, slowly,
just as you had to learn toread that way. After thisstage, stop until: When you
get so you can listen tocode and read it at 15 to 25
wpm without copying, youmust begin copying someat each practice period.
Commence this way: eachday copy for 1Ø - 15 minutes, striving to copy one ormore signals behind, thenspend a similar period justlistening to good code
without writing.
When you do copy, learn tocopy behind. If you havebeen copying letter by letter you must begin systematically to overcome it, andthe best way is to listen togood code and form thehabit of reading it without
copying. As you acquire
the independent code
reading habit, by daily
practice, you will find it

6.

easier to drop behind a few
signals without confusion
or fear of losing out when
you are copying. You must
break the bad habit ofcopying letter by letter. Get
in the habit of carrying theletters in your mind, forming them subconsciously
into words and sentences,
without writing them down.
“When I found I could begin to read small words aseasily by sound as by sight,
I was delighted. I soon
learned to read words ‘inmy head. After that, copying them by pencil waseasy. Previously, I had
been writing words down
letter-by- letter: that waswrong!” wrote a student.
Practice Intelligently: In theright way, Daily, regularly,
in short and well- spaced
periods, purposefully.
Never practice error. Practicing when tired is not efficient use of time. A goodschedule is 3Ø minutes
daily, 15 minutes in themorning and 15!minutes in
the afternoon or evening.
The time between practiceperiods is important - use it
to prepare yourself to be
receptive by cultivating a
positive attitude toward
yourself and what you aretrying to do. the ten lessons
With these statements of basic principles in mind, let us
look at the lessons for the
beginner. Note that eachnew group of code letters
was presented in the oldvisual dots and dashes

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphymanner, but the student was
told to think of the letters interms of dits and dahs as
they sound. He seems tohave anticipated that a typical student would take aweek or two to complete
each lesson.

Lesson Two

Emphasis again on thinking of
the letters in terms of dits anddahs as they sound, not as they
appear in dots and dashes. Groupsof new letters to be learned thesame way: D U V J B; R K L F; P
X Z C Y Q. Words to be practiced
Lesson One
included the rest of the shorter
Emphasis on sound units. The 1ØØ most common words. Emfirst group was E I S H, to be sent phasis on accuracy of timing, andsmoothly and in accurate, regular that repetition builds habit
timing by the student with his key, (whether good or bad).
saying the dits as he poundedthem out. Candler recommended Lesson Threethat two or more beginners work Emphasis on knowing you are
together so each could send to right, then going ahead andand receive from the other. As making it a habit by repetitive
soon as he can recognize them practice. Analysis of the letters ineasily and send them smoothly, he code, accuracy of signal, spacing
was to form words, such as “he, is, and speed: precision. Get in thesee, his, she.” Next to take the habit of instantly recognizing
letters T M O, and do the same each and every letter when you
way, saying the dahs as he sends hear it, without having to stop andthem, and then to make small think: automatic association ofwords using both sets of letters, as each signal with its letter. Also
before. Lastly the letters: A N W now learn the numbers and comG. Then practice small words, in- monest punctuation. When you
cluding as many of the 1ØØ most have learned the letters so that
common words as can be formed you do not have to “stop andfrom these eleven letters. At one think” of what character any
period Candler either supplied or combination of dits and dahs reprecommended the use of me- resents, begin listening to good
chanical senders, such as the code every day regularly without
Teleplex, with his course for the copying, even if only for 5 minstudent studying alone. This utes at a time. (The radio was hiswould provide an accurate timing favorite source of good code:
sense as well as good hearing commercial press and government
practice. With a machine or com- stations were on 24 hours a day.
panion, he would be able to listen Now we have ARRL code practice,
and, during this initial period, tapes. etc.) Catch everything you
copy letter by letter as he heard can as you listen. You may noteach character.
get much at first, but keep trying
and you will soon begin to hearletters and words.
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

169

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

conscious to automatic, that is,
subconscious, making it a usefulThink of the code as being easy habit.
to learn. Trust your sub-mind to
do its work. Review and practice, Lesson Six
especially any characters you tend Development of skill is developto miss or confuse, until they are ing coordination, where everyautomatic. Every character must thing runs smoothly. It begins bystand on its own feet. Keep drill- constant practice listening to anding on the 1ØØ most common sending consistently and perfectly
words, both receiving and send- formed code characters, learning
ing. Begin using the “two- to recognize each code signal incolumn drill” where you set up stantly, learning to read it all eastwo parallel columns of three or ily, and when copying, to write it
four letter words, each having the down in a uniform, simple style ofsame number of letters; then go handwriting. Watch for any step
down the columns spelling the along the line where there is any
word in the first column out loud hesitation or question, and pracwhile simultaneously writing tice to overcome that block. Givedown the other. Then do the this your attention, and allow timesame, reversing the columns. (See for it to develop until it becomes
Chapter 8, “Conquering Our automatic, habitual. This is theFears of Losing Out,” third para- scientific way. Do some practicegraph.) These are the first easy copying mixed five-letter groups,
drills on learning to copy a word but do not write down any lettersor two behind.
of a group until the whole grouphas been sent. Have wide enoughLesson Fivespaces left between groups to alPractice each letter and character low you to write it down before
until you know them all so well - the next group starts. (His emphawhether receiving or sending - sis throughout the course is onthat you don’t have to stop and receiving and copying normal
think about them at all. Do the English, not ciphered groups.)
same with the 1ØØ most common
words. Keep up the practice of the Lesson Seven
two-column exercise started in Emphasis on proper timing while
lesson 4, going on to words with a sending. Start by sending a series
few more letters as you find it of letter E’s with wide spaces beeasier. This is to help disengage tween them, first with six counts
conscious attention from the between letters, then graduallyproper functioning of the sub- reducing the space to normal one
conscious mind so that it can do letter space. Then do the sameits work unhindered. Learn to way with S, T, H, O, etc. (Here hetrust it by continuing this kind of discussed “counting” as given
practice until it becomes easy. above under “1 - Sound ConThis is a highly successful method sciousness, Critique.”)of training to shift the effort from
Lesson Four

170

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Lesson Eightlearning stages) is obviously
excellent.

A discussion of “glass arm,” or This is actually an old procedure
telegrapher’s paralysis, and its used by many teachers long beprevention by certain exercises, fore Farnsworth, who popularized
relaxation and proper warm-up. it. It appears that the first clear
Continuing practice of funda- mention of this approach is bymentals.
Thomas Edison, a highly skilled
telegrapher himself in 19Ø2. He
Lesson Nine
hit the nail on the head when hewrote as follows about his
Obstacles to progress listed as:
punched tape course called_
Lack of practice,“Audio Alphabets” (by Freder_
Thinking visually rather ick J. Drake & Co.) for teaching
the American Morse code: “It isthan by sound,
not the speed at which a letter is_
Hesitation over poorly sounded that perplexes thelearned signals, causing loss learner, but the rapid successionof the following ones,in which they follow each other.”_
Looking back over one’s A few students have felt tempocopy while copying,rary rhythm recognition problems_
Negative attitudes. One with the way this method was usedmust force oneself to copy by some teachers as the speeds
behind by degrees, gradu- were increased by shortening theally.
spaces, making the charactersseem to run together. They may
Lesson Tenfeel a bit frustrated, but this iseasily avoidable.
Learning to carry words in yourmind by continuing the copying This effect seems to be most nobehind practice. Learning to write ticeable when using a character
rapidly and legibly as an aid to speed of around 13 wpm, and isreceiving. Learning to copy on one of the reasons why it is recthe typewriter. (He had a separate ommended from the very begincourse specifically for this.) ning to use character speeds of 18
Learning by doing until it be- - 25 wpm. These higher character
speeds also make it easier to concome second nature.
centrate on the character as a
Chapter 31
unity of sound, without the risk ofcounting or analyzing it as a colThe So-Called Farnsworth or lection of shorts and longs. (OfSpacing Method
course, after learning the code, weThis method (in which the need to get used to hearing it atspacing between letters and various speeds, including thosewords is lengthened to facili- slower than our initial learning
tate recognition of character speed. One reason: operator’spatterns and words in the earlyWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

171

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

tests for license will be slow So this is actually an old procespeed.)
dure based upon the experience
This method starts out by having of many teachers long before
the beginner hear each character Russ Farnsworth (W6TTB), whosefrom the very first at a high name apparently became attachedenough speed for it to be per- to it because of his Epsilon Received as a unit of sound (which cords Code Course consisting of 3means at least at a rate of 12 or LP phonograph records in an almore wpm), rather than as com- bum put out in 1959. In that
posed of dits and dahs. It accen- course the characters were fromtuates this perception by separat- the very first sent at 13 wpm,
ing the letters and words at first widely spaced, and the time beby wide spaces, giving the student tween them gradually reduced astime to recognize each one clearly the student became more profiand associate it with its printed cient. Next of record we find twoletter, or number, etc., and then as bulletins published in 1917 andthe student progresses, gradually 1918 by the Federal Board ofshortens the spaces to normal Education which recommended
length. It has been confirmed by sending each character at a rate ofexperiments in psychology which 2Ø wpm with rather lengthy
have proved that if a stimulus can pauses between them.
be grasped as a single unit, a In Chapter 11 of “Radio Simpliwholeness or “Gestalt”, learning fied”, a popular book of 1922-3,
will take place at a rapid rate. And authors Kendall and Koehler, inwith respect to how this course structor and director respectively
handled it, he added: “The prin- at the YMCA Radio and Technicalcipal feature of the Audio Alpha- Schools in Philadelphia wrote
bets is the graduation in the inter- about learning the Code: “T ovals between the letters. By begin- begin with, the novice should notning with a record in which the set out by committing [to memory]
characters are widely separated the number and order of the dots
and then changing to others with and dashes in the various lettersless and less intervals, the student and figures in the code, as forgradually reaches the one having example, that “dash-dot-dashnormal telegraph spacing.”
dot” equals “C”. Much of the enThis spacing method is perhaps ergy so spent will be wasted. The
the most obvious and effective radio operator does not recognize
way of focusing a beginner’s letters as so many dots and soconscious attention on the Gestalt, many dashes nor does he transor form, of each individual code late signals in that fashion. The
form of letter. It makes the letter- operator hears and learns to recpatterns stand out prominently ognize each letter as a combinaand allows him time to associate it tion of sounds “dah-de-dah-de”
with its equivalent printed letter [sic.] as the letter “C”, “de-dahwith a minimum of interference de” as “R” , “dah-de-dah” as
and distraction from all other “K”, etc., in much the same manner as children in the primarycharacters.
172

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyschool learn to read words by
Chapter 32
sounds instead of by learning tospell them.”
Other Alphabets
Although they do not mention thespacing method directly, they im- This would be incomplete
ply it by comparing it to how without some mention of nonchildren learned to read in those English alphabets.
day, by recognizing letter forms Other languages require certain
and spelling out words at first. diacritical marks, or additional
This involved one at a time letters, or symbols for common
learning with spaces as a natural digraphs (single sounds reprepart of learning, without calling sented by two letters in writing,
any special attention to it. In like our th). Here we shall include
194Ø, in his Master’s Thesis the Germanic group, French,“Teaching Radio by Radio” Spanish, and Polish, Hungarian,Marshall Ensor summarized his Turkish, all of which use the Latin
highly successful code teaching alphabet, and Greek, Russian, Hemethods (which began about brew and Arabic, which use dif1929 from Olathe KS). He clearly ferent alphabets. Japanese does
used this spaced-learning method not have an alphabet, but uses a
to teach hundreds of students syllabary (spelling by syllables
during his one-hour lessons daily instead of single sounds), and reon 16Ø meter phone “broad- quires 73 - 78 characters In gencasts”. Each lesson alternated eral, letters which represent
teaching code, theory and regula- sounds more or less identical totions. (See Chapter 12)
those in English are represented
In 1945 Ted McElroy offered by the same code signals as inprinted copies of his free English. For example, B, D, F, G
“Morse” Code Course said to (hard)*, K, L, M, N, P, R, S*, T.
contain “everything he has “A” represents the letter “A” inlearned in 3Ø years of operating European languages, including
experience.” He claimed that, Russian, and Alpha in Greek,“Assuming that the average per- Aleph in Hebrew and Alif in Arason will practice several hours the bic. “C” represents written “ C ”
first day, we can tell you ... that in European languages and Polyou’ll be copying that very first ish, but é in Greek, thƒ in Arabic,
day, words and sentences at the samech in Hebrew, and tseh inrate of 2Ø wpm. ... You won’t Russian. “E” represents “E” incopy 2Ø full words in one minute. European languages, Greek and
But each letter you write will hit both yeh and eh Russian, but vav
your ears at a full 2Ø wpm and in Hebrew, and hamza in Arabic.
the space between letters becomes “G” represents ghain in Arabic,
progressively shorter as the rolls not jŒm. “H” represents “H” inEuropean languages, “H” ingo along
Greek (a vowel), “X” in Russian,
HeT in Hebrew and guttural Hƒ in
Arabic. “I” represents the same
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

173

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

letter in European languages and cz, Greek diphthong “îY”, RusGreek, i and i-kratkoyi in Russian, sian cheh, Arabic zƒi. dididahdah:
yod in Hebrew and yƒ in Arabic. _, Polish ziet, Greek diphthong“J” represents this letter in Euro- “ A Y ” ,Russianyu.
pean languages, the diphthong dahdahdahdah:
digraph ch,“Yi” in Greek, ayin in Hebrew Greek X, Russian sha, Arabic
and jŒm in Arabic. “O” repre- s h Œ n ,Turkishsh-sound.
sents this letter in European lan- dahdahdidahdah: &curren;, andguages, but He in Hebrew and khƒ Hungarian ny. didahdidahdit:
in Arabic. “Q” represents this Polish &cent;. dahdidahdidah:
letter in most European lan- Polish digraph sz. didahdahdidah:
guages, but Psi in Greek, shcha in Polish cie. dahdidahdidit: Turkish
Russian, qof in Hebrew and qƒf in ‡. The Hungarian vowels marked
Arabic. “S” also represents shŒn with double quotation mark-likein Hebrew as well as sŒn. “ U ” accents have the same Morserepresents this letter in European characters as those with double
languages, “Y” in Russian, the dots.
digraph “OY” in Greek, Tet in
Chapter 33
Hebrew and Tƒ in Arabic. “ V ”
represents this letter in most
European languages, dotted z in A Brief History of United
Polish, zheh in Russian, the diph- States Operator Licensing
thong “HY” in Greek, and Dƒd Requirements and Military
in Arabic. “W” represents this Training
letter in European languages, In the Beginning“B” in Russian, ê in Greek, tsadein Hebrew and waw in Arabic. Prior to 1912 no licenses of any“X” represents this letter in most kind were required, either for staEuropean languages, “hard” L in tions or for amateur operators.
Polish, Xi in Greek, both tvyordy An amateur, however, might apply
znak and myakhky znak in Rus- to the Navy Department whichsian and Sƒd in Arabic. “Y” rep- would issue a “Certificate ofresents this letter in European Skill.” This merely stated that thelanguages, “Y” in Greek, yerih in successful applicant was “profiRussian and Zƒ in Arabic. “ Z ” cient” in code. It had no legal
represents Z everywhere except value or necessity.
Arabic dhƒl. “8” also serves torepresent the diphthong “Oi” in The First Laws 1912 to 1927
Greek. Additional code characters
are needed or used for the trans- In 1912 Congress passed the firstmission of other languages. Such laws requiring licenses for wirelesscharacters are:- didahdidah:„ , operators and stations whose sigPolish nasal a, Greek diphthong nals would:Ai, Russian ya, Arabic 3ayin. di- a. Interfere with government
dahdahdidah: , † dididahdidit: ‚,or bonafide commercial
Polish nasal e, Arabic final hƒ.
stations (those open todahdahdahdit: “, Polish digraphpublic use) or
174

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

1919 the required speed was
Cross state lines.
raised to 1Ø wpm.
This meant that very, very
many “Little” stations and When the U.S. entered WW-I all
their operators did not need radio activity, receiving as well as
licenses. “Little” often in- transmitting , except for that specluded even those up to one cifically authorized by the Milikilowatt, the maximum al- tary, was prohibited. All equiplowed for any licensed sta- ment (including all antennas) hadtion. This was because the to be either dismantled or sealed.
“passive” (mostly crystal This began on 17 April 1917 anddetector) receivers in those continued until 12 April 1919
early days were so insensi- when receiving was once again
tive that reception over land permitted, and finally when amamasses beyond a hundred teur transmitting was again almiles or so was exceptional. lowed on 1 October 1919. 1923:The word “amateur” does a new Extra First Grade was crenot appear in these regula- ated requiring at least two years
tions, but is covered by the experience as a licensed operator.
term “experimental”. [In A new written examination inEngland, by contrast, a li- cluded requiring the applicant tocense was required even for diagram a transmitter and receiver
owning receiving equip- and to explain the principles ofment.]
their operation, plus a code speed
From 1912 until 1933 operator test at 2Ø wpm (the speed reand station licenses were sepa- quired of a Commercial First
rately issued and were impressive Class operator). The license wasdiploma-like documents about 8 printed on pink paper! Such opby 11 inches. They had to be erators were qualified for “Speposted at the station location and cial” station licenses which conwere usually framed by the op- veyed CW privileges on certain
erator. Initially there were two wavelengths longer that 2ØØ meclasses of license, with identical ters and also gave them distinctive
qualifications. Amateur First call signs. As shorter wavelengths
Grade was by examination by a came to be used this grade of ligovernment examiner covering: cense lost popularity. In the earlyradio laws, regulations, proper 192Ø’s licensed amateurs began
adjustment and operation of to get skittish about working unliequipment, along with sending censed stations (with their selfand receiving tests at 5 wpm in assigned calls), including the “litInternational Morse code. For tle boys with spark coils.” (Theythose living too far away to come were often a big annoyance andin for personal examination, there source of interference.) The Dewas an Amateur Second Grade partment of Commerce, howwhose applicant had to certify by ever,!seems to have taken little
mail that he could meet these notice of them unless they caused
identical requirements. In Aug. serious interferenceb.
c.

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

The Radio Act Of 1927

1933 And After

Most of these unlicensed stations In 1933, after the creation of the
had already vanished!from the air Federal Radio Commission, amawhen the Radio Act of 1927 re- teur regulations were completely
placed the Radio Act of 1912 and revised and operator and station
brought all radio transmissions licenses were combined on a sinunder regulation for the first time. gle, wallet-sized card, good for(Legal doctrine had by then come three years. Extra First Class lito hold that Congress had power cences would no longer be issued.
to regulate intrastate activity A minimum code speed of 1Ø
where its total effect reacted upon wpm was required of all threeinterstate activity.) The days of classes of license: A, B and C.
the “little unlicensed station” Class A (advanced) required one
were over. 1927:- “Special” sta- year of experience, a written extion licenses. Amateur First Grade amination on both phone andrenamed “Amateur class”. telegraph theory and regulations,Amateur Second Grade renamed and conveyed exclusive phone
Temporary Amateur Grade and use on 2Ø and 75 meters, and wasvalid for one year only, and re- renewable by application. The
newable. 1928:- “Special” li- Class B (general) examinationcenses reinstated on somewhat covered less on phone operation,different terms, and called “Extra and gave all privileges not reFirst Class” operator. 1929:- the served for Class A, but required2Ø meter band was opened to re-examination for renewal. Class
phone, and Extra First Class li- C, a temporary license for thosecenses were extended by an en- living 125 or more miles from andorsement “for unlimited radio- FRC examining point (administelephone privileges” on that tered by class A or B amateur),band. ?? 1932:- Extra First Class differed from Class B only in berenamed Class A, Amateur Class ing taken by mail. 1936 the code
renamed Class B, and Temporary speed for all classes was raisedClass renamed Class C. Ten (1Ø) from 1Ø to 13 wpm.
wpm speed required of all classes.
1951 And After
Operator and station licenses
combined on wallet sized card. 1951
The special endorsement (of1929) became available for all The whole structure was revised
amateurs with at least one year of for Amateur licenses: Extra Class
experience, upon passing a special (new, available 1 Ja. 1952), 2Ø
test on radiotelephone subjects. wpm, no exclusive privileges, twoThis endorsement was now ex- years Advanced Class (previously
tended to include use of phone on Class A), 13 wpm General Class(Previously Class B) 13 wpm
75 meters also.
Conditional Class (previously
Class C, by mail, 125 miles ormore), 13 wpm Technician Class
176

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy(new, available 1 July 1951), 5 1983
wpm, 5 years Novice Class (new),Volunteer Examiner (VE) system
5 wpm, one year, non-renewable

set up to conduct Technician and Gen-

1952
eral class by December.
Hams licensed before May 1917
eligible for Extra class without Various Military Training Requirements
examination.

1953
At the outbreak of WW-I the U.S.
No new Advanced Class to be is- Military forces desperately
needed wireless operators andsued.
equipment. Many amateurs volunteered as operators and as
1954
teachers. Training in all phases
Novice and Technician available was minimal, and “operators”
by mail only after 1Ø Jan., if over were usually graduated without
75 miles from examination point. having had any hands-on experience with the actual equipment or
1964
operating procedures. (Absolute
17 Mar. filling fee $4.ØØ assessed radio silence was the rule in genfor new or renewal of license, ex- eral - except for the most extreme
cept no feel for novice.
emergencies on the high seas.)
For operators in the WW-II period
1967
Signal Corps graduation requireIncentive licensing was adopted. ments were: 25 wpm plain lanAdvanced class was reactivated guage, 2Ø wpm code groups withand given more spectrum than pencil or mill, receiving, and 25
General class, but less than Extra wpm sending. Qualifications forclass. Novice class licenses were field operators - 2Ø wpm pencil
extended to two years.
printing copy and perfect sending
copy at 15 wpm; for fixed base1968
operators - 35 wpm straight copy
Advanced and Extra were made on mill.
available for shut-ins, and TechniFor Marine Corps graduation they
cian class eligible for Novice.
were: 2Ø-23 wpm plain text, 15197Ø
18 wpm coded groups, 17 wpm
Fees increased to $9.ØØ, five perfect sending of plain text.
WWII training varied widely beyears license duration.
tween various schools, but in1976
cluded actual operating proceRequired new Technician class to dures though wired QSO’s among
themselves to overcome the bebe tested by FCC examiner.
ginners’ initial “buck fever” andto set them up as operators.
Real radio interference learning tocopy through QRM and noise wasWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

177

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

added, and it became louder as hams today can and often do thethe student progressed. Advanced same things.
students also practiced on the“mill” (typewriter). For high Sending and writing at the same
speed training, there was a room time
where high speed press was copAlmost all old Morse operators develied for practice.
oped this kind of skill to some degree,
In 1988 a U.S. Special Forces ra- and usually were able to send with one
dio operator’s test required!18 5- hand while writing on the message
character groups (e.g., QY9/Z blank the number, time, date, etc.,
6G.J4 X5,B7, etc.) a minute.
with the other hand. Pressure of work

Chapter 34
Examples which Illustrate
the Nature of Real Skills

almost demanded it in a busy office.

Sending and receiving simultaneously

A regular RR agent-operator at asmall town near Salina, KS, wasobserved to be sending a bunchof RR manifests (lists of freightcargo, giving details) when he was
They illustrate clearly the auto- called on another wire. Without
matic, subconscious nature of real pausing, he opened his key withskill in telegraphy, that it is a ha- the other hand, sent an acknowbitual form of behavior, done ledgement, closed the key switch,without conscious intervention or picked up a message blank andeffort. They also show what can slipped it into the typewriter,
be done by what has been done. rolled it into position and proPeople who do things well do not ceeded to copy the message withstruggle with them: they enjoy one finger of his left hand while
doing them. It can be seen that continuing to send the manifests
there is a hierarchy of skill habits, with his right hand. This was notranging from lower degrees to at all unusual for regular operavery high degrees of skill, each tors: there are many examples. A
step leading to greater freedom of slightly different example is withaction than before.
the many old RR operators who
regularly would copy down an
Receiving Code While Doing
incoming message with one hand
Something Elseand simultaneously send it on
down the line with the other hand.
Both in the past and in the present
there are very many examples of Receiving two or more messages
sending or receiving while at same timespeaking or doing other things at
the same time. Old land line op- One ship operator offshore oferators typically could do this at California had the amusing expespeeds up to 35 to 4Ø wpm. Some rience of simultaneously receiving
the identical message for him
The following are samples
taken from the literature toshow various skills some operators have achieved.

178

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

from two different shore stations, them out correctly by memory
KPH and KPJ. Both called him at afterward. That looks a little hard!
same time, and he told the one to Using both American Morse andgo ahead, but instead, both began Morse International codes simulat once to transmit. He tried to t a n e o u s l y : R o b e r t (Dick)
copy them both. This became Johnstone of old KPH was a phevery easy when he discovered nomenal operator, said to be one
they were both sending the same of the best of his day. He could
message. The climax came later send one message in International
when both of them billed him for Morse while simultaneously
the same message! In 1924 in the sending another with his other
Boston Postal Telegraph office a hand in American Morse. Similar
wire chief claimed he could si- claims have been made by others
multaneously copy one message also.
in French with one hand and another in English with the other Comparison with other mental
hand. His chief operator took the functions and discussion
challenge, promptly went out andpicked up one message in each Can’t we compare this to a certain
language, provided pencils and extent with other habitual activipads to the wire chief, and had the ties, such as driving a car while
two messages sent to him simulta- thinking of something quite difneously at the usual keying ferent? (Later wondering, e.g,,
speeds. The wire chief made good “Did I stop at. . . , or did I driveon his word in the presence of all on?”) Or like the stenographer
the other operators in the office, who looked at her notes after
taking dictation and was startledand made perfect copy on both.
to see she had written a joke being
A former Navy operator claimed told in the same office while shethat while copying one message, was taking dictation?
he often could mentally noteother messages which were inter- Doing two things at once, one
fering with the reception of the subconscious or automatic andone he was copying, and do so the other conscious is relatively
accurately enough to write them commonplace. For example, I canout later. He said that, especially read aloud from printed matter
when he was copying some par- while consciously thinking about
ticularly dull and uninteresting something quite different, and stillmaterial, he was always fully con- read so that it sounds meaningful
scious of the content of messages - yet afterwards have little or noheard at the same time on adja- recollection of what I had readcent frequencies concerning shore aloud (and sometimes wondering
leave, pay or other interesting as- if I had included anything of what
I had been thinking at any point
pects of these transmissions.
along the line.
One expert operator in San Francisco is credited with having re- As for the operators who could
ceived three separate dispatches at copy two messages simultanethe same time, writing each of ously, is it possible that both acWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

179

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphytions were automatic? Were they rything from straight news tohearing one with the right ear and tabular matter. Hand sending was
writing it down with the left hand, absolutely steady, rhythmic andwhile hearing the other effectively even, intelligently coded andwith the left ear and writing it with spaced - a joy to listen to. On thethe right hand, or what? Or, was main traffic arteries of the Associthe one automatic and the other ated Press, speeds up into the 6Øconscious, although done at fairly 7Ø- wpm range were said not tohigh speed? If both were auto- be uncommon. In 1937 WCK had
matic, were they free to think of two press schedules, one at aboutor hear something still different at 45 wpm to be copied by ear andthe same time? This seems possi- another very much faster for
ble from the experience of a few automatic recording and visual
who have said that they were at- tape transcription. Yet Pete Pettit
tending to two messages and yet and Paul Magarris, Navy operahearing salient points of still a tors, could copy the higher speed
third, or voices in their environ- press solid, and others were runment. Or, is this something like ners up. Ralph Graham, W8KPE, a
the “sandwich” operation of a landline telegrapher, demonlarge computer where each of strated at Smithsonian during
several different people seems to AWA conference before ten witbe doing his job as the only one nesses, copying a 79.4 wpm. in control, yet the computer is George Batterson W2GB (first
apparently handling them simul- AWA president) at age 94 could
taneously. Actually the computer still copy 5Ø wpm, but comdoes this by dividing the jobs into plained that his sending speed hadparts which are scheduled and slowed down to only 35. Mike
processed in an interwoven man- Popella KA3HIE could copy 45
ner by a schema for optimum us- wpm by hand on paper.
age of computer functions,!time- Jim Farrior W4FOK wrote thisslicing and controlling to keep way:- “When I was a boy of 13 I
each one separate, and only lived in a small town in AL. The
seeming to give each operator RR telegraph office was one ofsole control. For a human exam- the few things in town that interple, how does the traffic control ested me. One of the three agent
officer of an airport keep alert to telegrahers gave me his sounder
the arrival and departure of many and telegraph key. The night
aircraft all at the same time, agent usually had little work to do
seeming to give each “simultane- and often helped me by sendingous” attention? Very interesting, to me and telling me about operisn’t it?
ating procedures, etc. The
sounder there was nearly always
Speedsactive, and I gradually became
By 1933 it was written that a good able to copy directly from thecommercial operator can and wire. I guess I learned it pretty
does average about 4Ø wpm over much like one learns to speak,an 8-hour stretch, handling eve- because I don’t remember trying
180

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

to learn. I was told that it was cult or dangerous battlefront conreally very easy, and I guess I be- ditions, and when things let up alieved it. I was just having fun, bit, easily dropped off for a few
and dreamed that some day I winks of sleep.)might become a telegrapher.”James H. Bunnell became an operator at age 13. He was so shortSome Interesting Examples Of
Young Skilled Operators Of The that he had to sit on a stool toreach the telegraph instruments.
Past
At age 16 he was one of the best
In 1856 seven year-old John operators in the country, noted
O’Brian delivered telegrams for for his speed of 38 wpm (by achis brother Richard, who at age 15 tual word count). These are just
was the telegrapher for the local two examples of the many, many
RR office. After two years of this boys who quickly became skilled
John prevailed upon his brother telegraphers in the mid-18ØØ’s.
to teach him how to operate. So,
while still only nine years of age Examples Of Effective CodeJohn became a good operator and Learning
was eager to have a job of his
own. The RR offered him the po- Learning
sition at a nearby town, and hesnapped it up. People in those At the lowest skill levels: Fourdays were used to seeing young years-olds, barely able to write
telegraphers, but not this young! even block letters have been able
Very soon, however, they became to pass the code test. How manyso pleased with his work that no of us are willing to admit a fouryear-old can outperform us?
more questions were asked.
Those youngsters were motivated Then consider these higher skill
and quick to learn. When the Civil levels:- In 19Ø9-191Ø Don C.
War began he volunteered along Wallace learned the code with awith many others, became their friend, John Cook, and the help of
youngest operator, and by early the operators of Commercial sta1862 was already the assistant op- tion PJ in San Pedro CA. In 191Ø
erator at the important military he set up his first station. In 1915
station of Ft. Monroe, VA, and he passed the test for a first classconsidered an expert. When the commercial operator’s license,
Commander, General Wool, first said to have required demonsaw him he was astounded. On a strating ability to handle 25 wpm
subsequent military assignment at in Continental code and 3Ø wpm
Norfolk, VA, on one occasion in American Morse code. LaterJohn scrawled down two incoming with Tony Gerhardt he played amessages while he was actually game they called “burnout.”asleep, writing them down in a One would send as fast as hebook he had been reading. (Civil could with speed key (bug) while
War operators often worked im- the other copied on a typewriter,
possibly long hours under diffi- the idea being to see who could
go the faster. This continued
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

181

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

wherever they were until Don months later, and finally was
could send in excess of 45 wpm given a job as sole operator on
and receive about 55 wpm
second shift all summer.
Later he needed a staff of 35 assistant operators of about his own
speed capabilities. Within a shorttime he found them among Navy
personnel where he was stationed,
and did it this way: by sending his
requests at these speeds and seeing who responded to what hesent. Here were at least threedozen men with high speed skills
before 192Ø. They were men who
enjoyed the code so much they
achieved high goals. Moral: If
you want to do it, you probably
can.
Arnie’s Father was chief telegraphoperator at a RR station and had
once won a 6Ø wpm award in acontest for RR operators. His son,age 8, Arnie hung around the station all his spare time. He didn’t
say how, but he learned Morse on
his own and soon had learned tosend and receive at about 25
wpm. When dad was out he copied down the train orders for him.
He wanted a job as operator. Aftermuch pleading, his dad said he
could operate the station all byhimself when he reached his 9thbirthday. So he did, all day, while
his dad looked over his shoulder
and smiled a time or two. Arnie
begged the RR to let him be asecond shift operator after school
and weekends for 5Ø cents anhour as second shift operator. He
was required to pass the cookedup special qualifying test: ofsending a train order at 25 wpm
using one key with his left handfor the dashes and a second key
with his right hand for the dots.
He succeeded in doing it some
182

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

contact and Ed had to finish it forme.
A New Way To Talk
“When I was 14 I clocked myself“It was in 1925 in eastern Penn- at 34 wpm, plain language. I dissylvania that Ed Hart at age 15 covered that I had mastered thebecame a ham with his first op- Morse code and was able to carryerator's license and call 3NF (two on a conversation just like Ed did.
licenses were required in those “So my advice is: to acquire prodays) . His 3-1/2 year younger ficiency in code sit and listen, andbrother George got curious. What keep listening and want to underwas this Ed was doing and having stand it. Anybody who's learnedso much fun with? Was it some to talk can learn CW. It's thatsort of new language he was us- easy. Just live with it and it willing? -- George said:--”I admired come to you. Morse code is justmy big brother Ed. He was my another way of talking.” [Youngideal. He was 15 and I was 11.
sters and adults will no doubt beI began to learn the Morse code gin to learn differently.]
like a baby learns to talk – by lis- Learning conversational CW istening to my big brother operate more like learning to talk than it
and I picked up the code by 'os- is to learning another language. It
mosis' -- recognizing and imitat- is far easier -- you don't need to
ing the more frequent sounds I learn how to pronounce or hear
heard. I wasn't aware of any such strange new kinds of sounds, learn
thing as “dots” and “dashes”, a new vocabulary or a new grambut only of symbols with mean- mar. It is just recognizing theing.
simple mono-tone sounds andI quickly learned the sounds of imitating them. Learning it is “allhis frequent CQ's, his call 3NF a matter of incentive.”and special procedure signals “In my opinion achieving highsuch as “AR K”, “DE” and speed CW is a natural progression,“R” (all still used), and “U” (for if you learn it right in the beginUS calls to foreigners before the ning and continue to practice it
prefixes W and K were issued), the right ways.” .For receiving
and absorbed other sounds, as George has for many years beensounds with meaning. I just sort able to read code up to 6Ø wpm,
of drifted into it by listening. It almost 7Ø, but now he can only
was easy for me.
send at about 4Ø, and so his“I didn't start out with any deter- QSO's today are rarely over thatmination to learn the code, or to speed.
get a ticket, or get on the air. But Talking
one day -- it was 14 Sept. 1926 -using my brother's station, when I Most of us talk so fluently and so
was 12, that I made my first QSO easily that we scarcely give awith W9CRJ in Lexington, KY,. I thought to how very different we
was pretty shaky on that first are from every and all the animals. From birth we are well on

Appendix

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

183

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

our way to learning to express our Now, what about Morse and otherneeds:-- for water, for food, to get telegraphic codes? Where do theyrid of some discomfort, and for fit in? What are they? They arecompanionship, to be cared for more like writing than they are ofand loved. To be part of the speaking. They are more like afamily and society around us -- different alphabet or (small) set ofcommunicating first in body lan- symbols than like a language itguage and simple cries, and soon self.
in the spoken language of family,
Many of us today are so literatefriends and neighbours.
that we read as easily and readily
Behind “language”, communi- as we talk. We hardly see the one
cation is this growing overall as being any different from thesense is our ability to think. Hu- other.. We can think, and to exman thinking is a God-like activ- press what we are thinking andity. At first we tend to think of communicate with those aroundconcrete things: things seen, felt, us, we use our native language. .
tasted, smelled and heard. Butsoon we begin to have thoughts of Let us here in this appendix rethings not having physical exis- think our views and our attitudetence, things we remember or toward the Morse code.
imagine. We learn to think and This year,. 2ØØ1 A. D., the soexpress our thoughts about these called Morse telegraph code
“things' in words, too. And peo- reached its 163nd year or age.
ple around the world do this in Like printing, it can talk in any
over six thousands recognized language. Using simple stop-start,and different languages and dia- on-off type signals or motion, we
lects.
can communicate using touch,
Writing and learning to read are sound, light, electricity, radio
other skills, not “natural” or in- waves.
herent or innate, but by practice It has no dialectical peculiarities,
they seem almost automatic, as no lisps, no strange or difficult-totalking is. Learning to write and hear or pronounce sounds, orto read takes conscious effort on “speech defects”, nothing toeach one's part, and lots of active make it hard to understand..
practice.
Paralysed persons can use it to
Written records of what was once “talk” by blinking the eye orjust spoken have been kept for at wiggling a finger. More normal
least some 6ØØØ to 7ØØØ years. people can use it by radio to talkStrings of spoken sounds or syl- to those on the other side of thelables (Japanese, etc.), and some- world or in space. With practicetimes whole words (e. g., Chinese) and the help of modern sending
have been given arbitrary, but equipment it can be transmitted
conventional symbols (“charac- and “read” by ear at speeds alters”).. One such set of symbols most as fast as ordinary conversahas been generally agreed upon tion. It may be sent and received
automatically at speeds many
within each language group.
184

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The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

times faster, but this is not of in- learn to understand code the sameterest to us here...
way, but with a different form of
Edward Vail, one of Samuel characters, spelled out as words.
Morse's hired and most valuable In this way it resembles reading,co-workers, did not realize what a because we need to know how towonderful communication tool he spell. This is an added (hopefully)
small difficulty for English
invented in 1838.
speakers languages. Spelling isLet's keep these words in mind:- it hardly a problem for speakers of
is a communication tool.
Italian or Spanish, which are
In the early days of telegraphy it spelled almost exactly as they are
was thought of as “writing at a pronounced..
distance”, which is what the word These are clues to help us speed
telegraphy means. (See Ch. 19.) up to near talking speeds. Now in
But very soon the early operators the next chapter let's see how tofound they could understand the go about it.
letters and words from the noises
the printer made. Then they dis- QRQ Operators
covered they could also just con- The experiences of a Number ofverse together without having to QRQ Operators Who Have
write anything down. This all oc- Achieved it
curred within 1Ø - 15 years of thestart of telegraphy. Talking by This is roughly in historical seMorse code is not something new quence --documentation of specific high-speed operators, mostly
at allamateurs.:
How then did we radio amateurs
get started thinking of it as I. Highest hand-sent code speeds
something to have to learn to in the range of 45-55 wpm using
write down? It is because writing a bug.
it down exactly as it is heard is the As test speeds were achieved byonly proof positive that we have commercial high-speed punchedcorrectly received it. This is called tape sending machines. The em“copying? And to obtain an gov- phasis was the evidenced ability toernment amateur operator's li- copy.
cense we had to be able to copy it Reading did, not count.
at various specified speeds. (Thisis still true but at a speed which is #1 Theodore McElroy
hardly practical - 5 words per Who was a commercial telegraminute.)pher, not a ham. Perhaps the earBut do we copy down everything liest and most famous name at
we hear on the telephone? Even high-speeds is Ted McElroy whoto think of that would seem silly. almost permanently held theWe understand speech because it high-speed record of copying at
is spoken as strings of sounds one 75+ wpm from 1939 wpm on.
shifting or blending into the next, What many may not know is that
forming words and sentences. We at 75 wpm Ted acknowledged that
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

185

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

there were many other operators to try, and he easily wound up -who had abilities as good or better using International Morse code,
than his, but they did not enter the which by then he hadn't used forcontest. What most people do not about a year -- at 51 wpm.. It wasknow is that Lavon N. McDonald great fun for him. Later in 1922
was equal with him, and but for a at Chicago he won the trophy atslip in the increase to 77 wpm 55-1/2 wpm with perfect copy fortrial, might have been the techni- World's championship. He lost it
cal winner.
to his friend Joe W. Chaplon at
Ted was born 1 Sep. 19Ø1 and 55.3 wpm with 11 errors. In Sep.
died suddenly in Nov. 1963. He 1935 a contest at Brockton MA
was one of four brothers who he retook the title. Again at thewere telegraphers. He left school World's Fair he scored 69 wpm
in 1916 and went to work for with only two errors, while Joe
Western Union as a messenger Chaplon made three. In July 1939
boy. As he passed by the telegra- he and Lavon McDonald of Chiphers, he saw how many of them cago tied at 75 wpm. But when
could nonchalantly turn out 5Ø – the speed increased to 77 wpm
6Ø messages per hour. He man- McDonald fumbled worse thanaged to get some of them to teach Ted did. So Ted was called winner
him Morse code during their 15 at 75.2 wpm which has remained
minute rest periods and after a as the official world's record.
few weeks he imagined that he In a telegram to Frank Borsody
was himself to be a good opera- dated 14 Sept. 1933 he wrote “ t otor.
my old pal Frank Barsody, in
He got a try-out - it was tough - grateful recognition of the valubut it gave him a start. He found able coaching and assistance he
odd and ends jobs here and there gave me, to which I owe my abiland finally wound up at Fort ity to gain the world's championDevons, near Ayer MA, where he ship as Radio Operator. And
continued until the end of the war again in a letter dated 4 Sep. 1935
to Frank Borsody Ted wrote
in 1918.
“You have been the best friend to
Back in Boston he got a job using me on this code racket that I've
International Morse code at sta- got. I cannot understand how Ition RCA, Chatham MA. It was can fail to win it this year. As I sit
rough getting used to the new in this chair I am copying solid(International Morse) code during (?) without a single error for fivethe first two weeks. In 192Ø the or ten minutes at a time, at 7Ø
station moved to NYC, but it did- wpm, and I cannot understandn't work out well for him and he how any XXX living man can do
moved back to Boston and got a the same, because I know that thejob with WU again.
signals I am copying can't be readOn 6 May 1922 he learned of an [copied ?] by anyone else, that is,
Exposition in Boston which would without error .
include a code speed contest. His In a telegram from Dorchester
boss allowed him the evening off MA dated in 1935 to F Borsody,
186

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

McElroy wrote: “I want to tell an overall general speed increase
you that I very deeply appreciate with their arrival in the 196Ø's
the help you give me in winning But it was the keyboard that really
the title.. Your equipment and started the great step upward inadvice really won the title. I will speed.
never forget the debt I owe y o u . ” Among the early high-speeders[Notice that this totally refutes the were:rubbish he wrote as to how much
Candler's method had helped 1961 the “Codamite”, .in 1967
one designed by John Ricks
him.]
W9TO these and others had neiBorsody, in a letter marked in ink ther memory or a space bar.
“received April 1975” to Eitel (Others had no more than just thethat he clocked McElroy at an automatic individual letter spacing
informal run [“I invited him to sit after each character). Spaces were
down and take a little workout hand created.
receiving some high-speed code.
My sending operator, Jack In 1974 the “Curtis KB-42ØØ
McKessy, punched up the tape, Morse Keyboard”, was one of theand the receiving operator, right first units with. a space bar to prothere at the exhibit, let McElroy vide normal word spaces, and had
sit down in his chair and type a 64 character type ahead minidown the copy. In another place memory. A meter showing how
Borsody says that showed an ac- many character spaces there were
curate 79 wpm for 75 lines with- between typing and sending alout a single error. Elsewhere Bor- lowed a form of “continuous
sody says that he and Taylor veri- typing”
fied McElroy's [later] contest #3 James B. (Jim) Ricks, W9TO
speed as 76 wpm, containing
technical material with which Ted b: 1914-12-23 promoted anddeveloped the keyboard system
could not have been familiar.
He first designed a keyer using
Ted also said at another time that vacuum tubes, (Gary Bold used
he could read the code much one of these for 15 years beginfaster as many others he knew ning in 1966, when he then went
also could -- it was typing which to the Curtis Keyer.) Jim was alimited him.
cofounder of the CFO club andmust have been a high-speed man#2 Lavon McDonald
himself. No information on his
Was another commercial operator, background.
but a radio operator equal with
McElroy. He definitely tied with #4 William (Bill) Eitelb
Ted McElroy in the 1939 contest. 19Ø8, d. 1989. And perhaps his
No further information on him, wife Laneil.
except that he was also a ham.
On High-Speed CodeKeyersII. Keyers made it easier to send
faster, and there must have been
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

187

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Taken from a file of some of his Have we forgotten the history ofletters and replies from friends keys?. Stop and think of theand others beginning in 1974..
gains in ease and speed when we
His early radio and code learning went from a straight key to a sidehistory does not seem to be swiper, to a bug, then to a keyer!
known in any detail by any corre- Is a keyboard something evil?
spondent now living. He was ac- Is the true measure of one's retive in radio in the early 192Ø's, ceiving proficiency one's ability
and was familiar with the argu- to copy to “put it down” on paments between spark to CW en- per? Copying was very important
thusiasts in those days.. He was a when messages were being hangenius in the development of dled and the code had to be rehigh-powered vacuum tubes and corded so the message could beother electronics aspects, and was given to the recipient in a usefula co-founder of the well-known form.
Eimac Co. in 1934... He was a Official government messages,
deep thinker. Most of the follow- diplomatic and military requireding materials are in his own absolute accuracy, but when wewords.
see the Morse code as a means of
The potential of Morse code for communication between individucommunication, using the benefits als and not as a means of hanof modern equipment, expands dling messages, we have a whole
our past ability in a manner never new set of circumstances andthought possible. Some amateurs benefits, it is no more desirable tohave been and are talking to- “put it down” than it is to put
gether with Morse code at speeds down a phone conversation.
of 8Ø - 1ØØ wpm or more. These This use of the code can become
new high-speed operators accept a challenge both to master the
new equipment as a means of im- code and the associated modern
proving their operating ability (a equipment available at speedstool) and not as a threat to their above and below 8Ø wpm. E. g.,
status. It has and is being done. It in a round-table one can transmit
is interesting to note that the 5- a thought while waiting for theStar hams attained their speeds VOX to respond to SSB.
using keyboards having no memYes, there may be some whose
ory such as we have today.
physical or mental limitations
Because with our older tools prevent these speeds, but the bigcould only send so fast, is this gest deterrent is the lack of a real
really also the upper limit for our interest.
receiving ability? Let us not resist
either improved operating meth- Once you determine to master theods or equipment that will allow Morse code, I believe it will bebetter use of the code for some found that practice can be asvague “romantic” connections much fun as operating. The mostimportant and final ingredient iswith the past -- history.
the determination to use the key188

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyboard, and any other useful joying CW and still think of it asequipment. GOOD code becomes “ f u n ” .
easy at high speeds.
I'm still enjoy high speeds at near
Good spacing tends to be a prob- 8Ø wpm as W3NJZ, K3TF,
lem, but one that practice can KB9XE, and I 'harass' each otherovercome.
on Wednesday night for about an
5-STAR club originally required hour on 3.533MHz. My real
7Ø wpm, but soon raised it to 8Ø high-speed pal, Ira-NU2C, used towpm. There were four other 'challenged' me to actually determembers originally, but by 1974 mine how fast I actually could
had increased to a total of 1Ø. read code. We found the maxiThere must have been others also. mum speed that I could understand and correctly respond to his(See QST November 1974 page questions, was 144 wpm. (I am
155 for a good photo of Bill and not a “freak” -- hi..hi).
his wife Laneil in an ad promoting the Ten-Tec Triton as work- I suspect the starting key to being
ing well with high-speed code able to copy high speed code is
keying input. The letter-head one's initial learning attitude. It
gives the Butro Ranch and Labo- may be strongest factor.
ratory at Dayton, NV 894Ø3, and I believe that learning code has
was dated August 2 4, 1974.) .
forever been talked about just like
we talked about that 'awful'#5 Tom Alderman, W4BQF.
mathematics stuff in high school,
First person story:--As a boy of 8 therefore most potential hams
or 9 I was wondering what my start off with a 'bad' impression of
Dad found so entertaining about code.
sitting at a desk copying all those I'm pretty much convinced thatdits and dahs; but I could tell that there is a 'speed hump' that mostit was something he greatly en- hams (myself included) seem tojoyed as a CW traffic net opera- have a problem exceeding. I think
tor..
that speed hump range is between
Therefore, I didn't start hamming 45 and 6Ø wpm. Almost everyone
with the slightest negative attitude I have helped get into the 6Ø+about code and so I never gener- wpm area, have had an extremely
ated the attitude that “I'll never be difficult time debunking thatable to do that”. In fact, copying mythical 'negative attitude' and
CW is one of the great enjoyments actually copying faster than thatthat I get out of this hobby. It is hump. I can imagine what most of
fun .
them thought when I would tell
Before I had finished my year as them to try not to think of copya Novice ham, I too, was into CW ing 6Ø wpm as something they
traffic nets and enjoying it tre- can't do, think of it as just learnmendously. So for the past 49 ing a different way of talking.
years (since 1951) I've been en- Because I'm convinced that QRQ
CW is one just conversing in asecond language.
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

189

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

How does one read CW in excess word I had just missed thereforeof, say 8Ø wpm? I can honestly losing total concentration; bytell you that I have no clue! glancing up at that code reader,
Around 5Ø-6Ø wpm one no my brain would be quickly satislonger copies dots and dashes, fied, and I would continue withthey literally begin copying the copying! At the time I didn't
words. As the speed increases, I realize this was actually happendon't think your copying words ing, however after about a year ofany more, you get into the flow of this, it suddenly dawned on me
the conversation and literally be- that I was not looking at thegin copying phrases or complete reader any longer and I wassentences. Interestingly enough, I copying in excess of 6Ø wpm. In
find that when copying over 8Ø a sense, we are pretty lucky with
wpm, I don't even realize I'm code readers, they copy extremely
copying code, u n l e s s a major well in the speed ranges we needword is either misspelled or really them to help us get over the
hacked on the keyboard. I don't 'speed hump' but with the QRN ofconcentrate on the code, I con- 4Ø/8Ø metres, once you try to getcentrate in what is being said. them to consistently decode CW
There is no difference in doing over about 7Ø wpm, they just cantthat, as having a native American do it because of the normal bandnoise!
converse fluently in French.
He says “There is a lot more to
Code Readers
be said on this subject. zzz'
It certainly bugs me that mosthams think that if your using a #6 Bill Pletting KB9XE
keyboard and/or your running He was about age 35 and was enCW over 3Ø wpm, that you MUST joying personal radio communibe using a code reader! (I think cation with CB. It was real fun.
that's another part of the universal His CB buddies were having
negative attitude about code.) weekly get-togethers just to soSometime around 1968-69 I be- cialize. Then he discovered thatgan trying to copy the QSO of the one of them was also a ham,guy in New York and the guy in whom he visited in his home. Bill
Florida, who almost nightly held a was astonished to hear Morse1ØØ wpm one-hour long chat. code and, like many others, apMy wife (I still don't know how parently had never heard comshe found out about them) munications in Morse code bebought me an Info-Tech Morse fore. It fascinated, intrigued him.
code reader for my birthday,
which of course I, at that time, Then and here he became so ensneered at. But I found that when thusiastic to learn it that he
I was trying to copy the 'hump' bought a set of learning cassette
speeds around 55 wpm, if I tapes from Amateur Electronics
missed a letter or a word, my Supply,. A reputable and wellbrain would freeze up and try known company in Milwaukee,
concentrating on deciding what which advertised in QST. [Quite a
190

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

few others also had such courses, Now Bill got a transceiver andincluding the ARRL.]
went on the air using code acBill became so “obsessed” with tively in all QSO's. But also often
those dit and dah characters, that away from the radio he justhe quickly learned the sounds of tapped out the code with his finthe alphabet, numbers and punc- ger.. He knew he needed to build
tuation, and within a couple of up his code speed to be able toweeks he had begun to practice read most signals. He did so wellwherever he was and would not that within a year of getting his
disturb others. He would tap out Novice license, he took and sucall kinds of stuff with his finger as cessfully passed the Extra Class
if using a key.-- or saying them in license (2Ø wpm) exam..
“dits and dahs” (At home it was With total access now to the hamso bad that his wife was getting bands he tried RITTY and some
irritated !)other digital transmission methHe was determined to do it. Ap- ods, but absolutely nothing could
parently he did not question hold his fancy like Morse code
whether it would be either did. He was also discovering that
“hard” or “easy”.-- he just did the more you practice doing a
it . So it was “easy”, because he thing the right way, the better you
never thought of it being “ h a r d ” . get at it.
He eagerly wanted to do it and Higher speeds were a constantlearning was enjoyable -- fun. . challenge. He still kept hearing
And because he started learning it stations that were too fast to unas it is used -- hearing it and derstand, and he wanted to undersending it as sound patterns -- he stand everything he heard. -did not have to do any relearning. these were like a spur jabbed into
He was learning it in the perfect his side. He kept telling himself::way. He was practicing it almost “I've just gotta read that.” This
constantly and enjoying every was the incentive that drove him
minute of it.
onward.
It was “easy” because it wasn't During this period a number of“hard” in any way. It was some- new build-it-yourself kits camething to be enjoyed and done -- out, including some Heathkits.
that was it. About this time he One was the Heathkit Ultra-Pro
bought a ham band receiver just CW Keyboard which came out into listen to amateur signals.
1983, and he built several of these
Meanwhile he also read and un- -- some also for friends.
derstood or memorized the an- Along the way a number of highswers to the necessary technical speed operators helped him:-questions and regulations so that W4BQF Tom Alderman, WØGHX
within a month he took and easily Ray Larson, W9TO: Jim RICKS,.
passed the 5 wpm code text and K9AMC Christ C. Kovacheff,
the written test, and soon received KU2D Daniel E. Silsona (dehis first license - as a Novice.
ceased), KØPFX Melvin L. WhitWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

191

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

ten and others Soon, in only peted one against another to beabout 4 years from when he got come head of the class. At 45
his first ticket, he reached the 8Ø wpm an attractive young lady stuwpm speed range, and has pur- dent still paralleled his speed, andsued it ever since. In short, he so he pushed himself harder by“took off and flew.”long (up to six) hours of daily
Since that time, like Tom Alder- practice.
man and others, he welcomes any After school he spent some years
newcomer and tries to help him in military service as a flying raget into the higher speed ranges. dio operator and instructor, andthen entered the commercial#7 Harry W. Lewis W7JWJ
world of radio broadcasting and(b.: 1923-Ø2-Ø2) is another old TV. Over the years he worked attimer of high skill.. (The material nine different radio stations, three
here was gleaned from World Ra- TV stations, a telephone company,
dio Aug. 1991 p. 56, and March a computer center and several
1993 p. 31,32 and a number of other places. Lots of experience.
personal letters. Sometimes things Since 1946, during part of his
are paraphrased to bring out the various jobs, he managed to teachbasics.)amateur radio classes. He helped
He got interested in ham radio in a total of some 3,5ØØ students to
High School when a friend's obtain their amateur licenses. He
transmitter penetrated the school loves teaching Ham radio andmovie sound system. He was readily admits it..
hooked. He found the two Morse He observed that over this longcodes in a physics book and period the average age of applilearned both all by himself. He cants gradually increased by 15
does not seem to particularly years and it was taking longer and“love” the code, but it consti- longer to teach them the code. To
tuted a challenge to him. As long attract high speed code operators
as he has felt a challenge he has and learn the secrets of how they
been driven to it.
gained that skill, he started giving
When he was having an early code contests at various hamfests.
health problem, he saw learning This wasn't just for the fun of it the code as a goal to help recover he wanted to learn more and bethis health. Learning the code to ter teaching methods.
this degree of skill was not easy He applied what he was learningfor him.
to his own practice and he began
He decided to become a part of to approach the 1ØØ wpm rate
the magic world of radio, so when for copying. But he was disaphe finished high school (about pointed that the same things did
194Ø) he entered a radio and not help the students to improve
telegraph school to learn the code greatly, as he had anticipated. He
really well, because it seemed to researched books on the psycholbe a prerequisite to progress.. ogy of learning, etc., and found
There the better students com- there are five fundamental factors
192

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

involved if one expects to have absolute concentration, almost to
success in teaching how to copy a state of hypnosis.” When asked
code:-if he could start copying immedi1. First and foremost, the stu- ately at 75 wpm, he said “NO! I
dent must be strongly self- would have to prepare myself
motivated. But it was hard psychologically first, and thatto convince the students of takes from a few minutes to as
much as 45.”
this.
2. Diet The over consumption He then was asked if he thoughtof sugar, pre-processed there is an upper limit to receiving
food and meat products speed, he said “It is definitely
seemed always to impede above 12Ø wpm, because his
the code-learning process. friend Jerry Ferrell had been
[Note that Candler said clocked at 9Ø% complete readingmuch the same thing yeas at 125 wpm.”
before.].
He was certified by the ARRL in
3. Exercise (such as push-ups, 1988 at 76 wpm copying . Now
running, etc.) before and with advancing age (7Ø) he feels
after practice periods [Can- he is slowing down somewhat.
dler also agreed here, but in #8 George Hart, W1NJM,
his day cramped working
quarters, poor sunlight and A long-time ARRL headquarters
air circulation were com- ham. First Peson story:mon problems.]
In 1924 in a small town in Penn4. Correct methods of code sylvania Ed Hart became a ham
practice. Successful code with an operator's license and calllearning results in the indi- 3NF. His little brother George wasvidual copying totally by curious. What was this Ed was
subconscious mind activity, doing and having so much fun
but that does not occur un- with? Was it some sort of new lantil the mind has been prop- guage he was using? What did
erly trained. [Lewis was George have to say about it?
aiming at copying ability, “I admired my big brother Ed.
not just understanding.]
He was my ideal. He was 15 and I
Another factor involved the rise was 1Ø. I began to learn the codeand decay times of the code sig- like a baby learns to talk -- bynal envelopes (the dits and dahs), listening to my brother operate
the frequency (pitch) of the tone and picked up the “code” by
and its timber, etc., adjacent vowel 'osmosis' – recognizing and imiand consonant combinations, etc., tating the more frequent sounds I
to optimize the impression to our heard.. I wasn't aware of any suchthing as “dots” and “dashes”,
ears.
but only of symbols with meanWhen asked in 1991 what it is like ing. I quickly learned the sounds
to copy at very high speeds he of his frequent CQ's, his call 3NF
replied “at 75 to 85 wpm there is and special procedure signals
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

193

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphysuch as ARK (now DE), U (used them. Learning it is “all a matter
between calls), R (signal strength), of incentive.”and absorbed other sounds, as “I was given a Vibroplex key insounds with meaning. I just sort 1929 and in my late teens andof drifted into it by listening. I early 2Ø's I could send almost
must have been born with a key like a machine at 45 wpm. But
my mouth.
first with straight key and later“I didn't start out with any deter- with a bug he developed the painmination to learn the code, or to ful 'glass arm'. When keyboards
get a ticket, or on the air. .But one came out he found he could sendday -- it was 14 Sept. 1926 -- I with his two-finger method up a
made my first QSO with W9CRJ to about 55 wpm.
in Lexington, KY, using my “I never learned touch-typing, so
brother's station. When I was 12 I this is a handicap with the keydiscovered I had mastered it and board. I use two-fingers and when
was able to carry on a conversa- copying text to send the maxition. I could communicate like mum I can do is was 55, because I
he did, I could do 34 wpm send- must keep shifting my eyes backing with a straight key. Finally my and forth from text to keyboard
brother Ed bullied me into getting quite rapidly. Thin not only slows
a temporary license in 1931. The me down, but promotes errors
code was not a problem, but I increasingly as I grow older.
barely passed the written theory
test with a grade of 7Ø. I received “In my opinion high-speed CW isthe call W3AMR, which has a a natural progression, if you learn
great CW swing and I learned to it right in the beginning and conlove it. I wasn't capable of build- tinue to practice it “.For receiving
George has for many years been
ing my own station yet.
able to read code up to almost 8Ø
“So my advice is to acquire pro- wpm, but now he can only sendficiency in code sit and listen, and about 4Ø, and so his QSO's today
keep listening and want to under- are rarely over that speed.
stand it. Anybody who's learned
to talk can learn CW. It's that Most of the time since 1957 heeasy. Just live with it and it will has actively promoted high-speed
come to you. Morse code is just reception by putting weekly practice periods and occasional qualianother way of talking.”
fying test sessions on the air, andLearning conversational CW is awarding certificates of profimore like learning to talk than it ciency. He did this first from ais to learning another language. It small club he formed, advertising
is far easier - you don't need to in the QST. Later with help fromlearn how to pronounce strange friends in a the Society of Wirenew kinds of sounds, learn a new less Pioneers. His transmission
vocabulary or a new grammar. It were made using a tape puller at
is just recognizing the simple speeds ranging from 2Ø wpm tomono-tone sounds and imitating 7Ø wpm. Only recently has heceased doing this.
194

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Now he rarely sends over 3Ø - 35 day and probably aiming at the
wpm. He feels he could maybe higher speeds he heard.
make 4Ø in copying it down.
He has not sensed any loss of rest
He feels that “personal aggran- during sleep with the recorderdizement is a basic motivation of playing. He does not need any
the Amateur radio pursuits, espe- prepping-up to start reading at
cially DX-ing and contesting. We high speeds. He just starts. Typido what we do because we enjoy cal misspellings and other suchit”, and some do enjoy it purely errors cause him no problems inreading. He does not lose out..
for itself.
#1Ø Katashi Noshe, KH6IJ.,#9 John F. Rhilinger, KC1MI,
Was able to read at 8Ø wpm, and was a long-time ham, a DX man
to copy at 7Ø. In 1992 I asked and code teacher. What his top
him some 22 questions, each of speed was is apparently not rewhich he answered, plus several corded, but he used up into thenice letters. Here is the essence of 6Ø wpm range in DX, and hiswhat he says was his experience.. students advanced rapidly fromzero to 3Ø - 35 wpm with noHis father W1QQS was a close problems. In 1959 Katashi Nosefriend of Ted McElroy, the long KH6IJ wrote “Any DXer worth
time speed-record holder, who his salt is good for at least 6Ø
frequently visited them, and wpm. He gears his speed to what
whom he knew as Uncle Ted. By comes back.” He was a wellage 6 he became interested in known DXer.
Morse code and from them at thattime he learned the code up to a #11 Jerry A. Ferrell WB7VKI
rate of 1Ø - 15 wpm, but did not (CFO # 76Ø) is another very
get a license.
high-speed operator.(over 1ØØ
In his later years when he had be- wpm with whom I had extensive
come a ham and reached a speed correspondence in 1992. He wasof 3Ø wpm, he began to practice born in 1927. In 1945 at age 18
sleep-learning. (Sleep-learning he joined the US Coast Guard andwas a method successfully tried aptitude tests showed he should
by some in the early 192Ø's.) make a good radio operator. He
Generally he practiced it up to was assigned to the six-month rafour hours each night. He used a dio course at Atlantic City, where
tape recorder to send continuous the goal was 2Ø wpm of ciphered
code materials previously heard 5-letter groups. Only a very little
and recorded at various speeds, standard English was practiced
and speeded up ultimately to the toward the end., but he was not
6Ø wpm range or higher by the too good at that.) Otherwise herecorder play-back (running 1- was at the top of the class. The
3/4 inches a second.).. This seems course plan at the CG school wasto have been the main way he to start out at some 5 wpm (apreached the higher speeds. He was parently using very slow codealso actively hamming six hours a characters -- far below their recWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

195

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphyognition as patterns, which occurs he bought a reel to reel tape rein the range of 1Ø-13 wpm), and corder and a keyboard and madeprogressed faster by one week at a some 5Ø large reels of 1/4 inch
time increments until reaching tape at speeds ranges of 5Ø - 75,
2Ø-wpm.
6Ø - 8Ø and 7Ø to 9Ø wpm for
After school he started out on US practice. Later he made more
CG ships, but left for part of tapes with 5 wpm speed incre1948-9 and went into RR telegra- ments between 5Ø & 8Ø, etc. He
phy. He spent one month at their has a 75 & 1ØØ wpm. “warmtelegraph school for the American up” tape that makes the others
Morse code and then went on seem rather slow.
temporary assignments. Later in I sent him a list of questions
1949 he returned to the USCG which he answered in considerand stayed until his retirement in able detail:--.
1966. During various assignment 1. He rightly suspects that thein the CG he copied normal Engmain reason for the inlish messages at 2Ø-25 wpm, andcrease in number of highpress broadcasts for the ship's
speed operators is the widenewspaper at 35-4Ø wpm. He was
spread use of keyboards forso good that sometimes the shore
sending, but as for keystation operators would punchboards which also receive, I
tapes to send to him at 5Ø-6Ø
have heard of none. (Somewpm to try to trip him up - but hecomputer programs can redid not miss, and they wondered
ceive, however, but I do notwhat was going on. Then for aknow how fast.).
period of 12 years, 1996 to 1978,
he worked at different occupa- 2a. He felt that it would be sostressful for an operator totions with no radio or telegraphy
copy at 6Ø wpm for 1Ø activity. In early 1978 he got a
12 hours daily as to be virham license. And in May thattually impossible. He feels
year he visited the Vancouver
no strain while reading, but
Ham Fair. On entering the buildhigh speed copying is
ing heard code signals and lostressful for him. He iscated their source, as a code speed
quite correct that reading
demonstration for a crowd ofcode and copying code arespectators being given by Harry
two different kinds of opLewis who had a keyboard, a TV
erations -- copying being
monitor and a meter showing
by far the more difficult.
sending speed. Jerry asked for aThis because one must gettry, starting at 3Ø wpm and inthe code from you ears,
creasing by 5 wpm increments,
process it through the brain,copied up perfectly through 5Ø
then on down to your finwpm. At this time he became
gers to the typewriter.
friends with Harry Lewis whofrom then on lent him equipment 2b. For him, he finds it hard toand helps, and encouraged him tosustain for very long. It is
increase his speed capability. So
with this he must practice196

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

for an upcoming contest.
For the upcoming contest
in five months he would
spend at least an hour eachday. He must also get
psyched-up before a contest.
2c. He says he is sure that thesecret of learning to copy athigher speeds is to start out
listening to and trying tocopy 1Ø or so higher than
one is comfortable with andthen dropping back. Like
driving a car at 9Ø mph
and then slowing down to8Ø seems slow.
3. He says that to him International Morse code at 75
wpm or more sounds like“chicken fat in a hot griddle.” To start reading it hehas to make up his mind to
break into it and begin
concentrating on words andphrases.
4. Then so long as he consciously maintains his concentration, he can continue
to read it. What does heconcentrate on, and how
does he do it? He visualizes
it as something like this -:“Listening to a news
broadcast on the radio
while reading the daily paper, one or the other will
have priority of attention:
While I focus on one, I am
conscious of the presenceof the other, but not fully
aware of its contents- in fact
it is may be more or lessgibberish to me.” [Paraphrased} This is an inexact
parallel, but it is this snapWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

5.

6.

7.

ping of attention that makes
the difference between
reading and hearing it asnoise. Hard or unusual
words, etc., are sometimes
difficult, but generally do
not cause drop-outs by destroying overall concentration. He may be consciousof missing something (dueto misspelling or sending
error, etc.) and be momentarily puzzled, but not for
long, as he continues on.
Attention is on understanding - that keeps him
going. Long words do notcause any problems.
He does not know whether
there is a limitation on the
speed of understanding, but
thinks there must be.
He has always been able tolisten to the code or send it
while doing other things -typing at moderate speeds,
conversing with others, retuning, etc. While he was a
shipboard operator and returning with others fromshore leave after being still
somewhat inebriated theywould sometimes try to trip
him up by sending him
words spelled backwards,
etc. But he did not trip up.
Although he can read andcopy American Morse up
to around 3Ø-4Ø wpm it
does not sound right to him
with a CW base. He does
enjoy reading it occasionally from taped sounders,
however. He never practiced at higher speeds.
197

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy#12 Frederck M. Ryan W3NIZ terms of sound as “dits” and“dahs”. Whether he learned it by(b. 1932 -Ø1-2Ø)sound or visually, he says he was
In about 1942 when he was 1Ø, sort of “stuck” at the test speedFred's Father as a Christmas gift, of 13 wpm for a while. He hadgave him a toy telegraph set little time for speed building bewhich could be used to send be- cause he was busy with hightween two stations, using a buzzer, school studies, and since that wasa clicker (sounder simulator) or a the limit of most of his contacts
lamp. There is no doubt as to he felt no interest or incentive towhy he was given that. His Father go any faster anyway.
was a telegrapher on the Pitts- In the early 195Ø's when he wasburgh and Lake Erie RR, his in the Army he was using a
Grandfather was a telegrapher on straight key up into the 15 - 17
the Pennsylvania RR, and an uncle wpm range.
on the Baltimore and Ohio RR.
He taught himself the letters and Sometime in the 196Ø's his firstnumbers by memorizing them at real improvement began when hestarted listening to the ARRL codea very low speed..
practice transmissions in preparaAfter WW-II when ham radio was tion for taking the Extra classagain allowed, he decided to im- exam. He knew from experience
prove his code ability and take the that one tends to do worse underexam. He practiced on his tele- test conditions, so he waited until
graph set and also mentally put- he could copy at 3Ø wpm before
ting advertisements (posted in the being tested at 2Ø. Of course hetrolley car during rides into town passed.
or in newspapers) in to code. His
Father was not much help because On into the 197Ø's his comprehension and sending speeds inhe knew only American Morse.
creased slowly to about 4Ø wpm,
He took the test in 1946 and when he used a keyer for sending
failed the 13 wpm code exam. At and was no longer copying it allthat time one had to wait six down. In the mid 197Ø's, whenmonths before trying again. So, keyboards became available, heduring that interim he practiced heard some fellows sending overmore, as he had previously, and 8Ø wpm, but could understandremembers that his sending speed very little of what they were saywas good up to 18 - 2Ø wpm, but ing. He thought that would surehe barely made it at 13 wpm, and be fun to do. But he thoughtso successfully passed it early the “They are really in a different
next year.
league than I am and what they
Since he expresses himself in are doing is above my ability. I
terms of “dots” and “dashes”, had little time to try it because ofhe probably followed his father's the pressures of my job.”.
copying and thinking approach “When I retired in 1992 I finallyand practice, rather than the more had leisure time to spend on CW,
recent ham practice speaking in so I bought a keyboard and198

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

started sending at 45 wpm. Then He began his experimenting andhe heard some guys holding practice at his then present 7Ø
QSO”s at over 6Ø wpm, I decided wpm. Successful changes were:
I could would see if I could im1. He turned off the side-tone
prove to that level.
completely, and.
“It took a lot of desire and practice, but over the past three years 2. stopped looking at thescreen, except maybe a(from 1997 to the end of 2ØØØ)glance when his fingers tell
I have gone from 45 wpm to overhim he has made a mistake7Ø wpm. I intend to keep it up
and,and improve more. It has been a
lot of fun, and I have met some 3. He did not look at the keygreat people also who acted asboard either. These three
mentors to me.”changes eliminated the distractions, so he could conIn his own experience he says hecentrate on his fingers;
finds the way his brain functions
is:- “below about 55 wpm I start 4. While he does not look atconstructing the words from letthe keyboard, he “visualters, and comprehension isizes” it, so he could menthereby cumbersome. Especially
tally concentrate and direct
below about 25 wpm I find that
where his fingers are going
my attention span in rememberto go next. He just “wills”
ing the slowly incoming lettershis fingers to go there andand constructing words fromthey do. It is rather hard tothem is tedious. Above 55 wpm
describe.
my brain starts paying little attention to the letters, and the words 5. He compared it to this:“When I was seriously into
just “pop” into my head. Even atplaying the piano, although9Ø wpm I am still getting words
I was aware of the presence
and putting them together to formof the piano keyboard, I
thoughts. 9Ø wpm seems to be
never looked at where theabout my limit to do that, and I
fingers were going to go.
believe that to comprehend overEven if I was jumping sev9Ø wpm I will have to change theeral octaves quickly, I could
way in which my brain operates.
hit the proper note(s) exFurther practice and time has
actly without ever turning
raised his comprehension speed to
my head. Looking to theover 1ØØ wpm.
keyboard to see where theRaising His Typing Speedfingers were supposed toland would have madeFred tells how he improved his
good piano playing impossending and reduced the number
sible.”
of errors at speeds over 7Ø wpm
on the keyboard. He experi- 6. Within a couple of weeks ofmented and found that it took
experimenting and pracabout ten days of practice to exticing, he found he could
ceed 1ØØ wpm. .
send as easily at 1ØØ wpm
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

199

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

as he had before at 7Ø.. But #13 Ted J. Newport
what most surprised him
was that now he could chat (b. 1919-Ø9-11 (age 81) Firstjust as easily at 1ØØ wpm person account. “I learned code
as he could before at 7Ø. when I was in flying school durHe said “I can get the ing WW-2. We had to send andthoughts organized in time receive 12 wpm before we could
to keep the fingers busy at start our flying training. After thethese higher speeds. When I war I bought my son a short wave
had mastered this tech- receiver, heard CW on it, and renique, I found to my sur- learned the letters I had forgotten.
prise that getting the I taught myself code with tapes
thought-flow going at lØØ and with friends helping me on
wpm became very easy. I the air, I owe what speed I havethrough the help of two friends
was wrong”.
both deceased, who worked with
7. One further thing -- he me on the air for years, helping
needed to improve the ca- get my speed up. The were Jimmy
dence of his sending.-- Moss W5GRJ and Gene W4JKT
sending each letter at ex- who kept pushing me.
actly the same rate. He
said: “Errors that I make, “First you must have the desire tosuch as sending “adn” for learn CW, and to like/love CW, and“and”, are due to hitting have the desire to increase yourthe “d” finger out of ca- speed, instead of staying at a pladence, too quickly to allow teau.
the “n” finger to type. “Next, practice practice, practice.
Now I concentrate on When you reach a solid copy
keeping the cadence con- speed, then you must have thestant, something that I have desire to want to go up to the next
never done over the past 5Ø level of copy speed. Tapes are
years. I had thought that fine, but the best practice is to getwould be the really hard on the air with friend who willthing to master. But it was- push you to the next level, andn't.”
who will send to you on a regular
How observant and thoughtful he basis.
was. Are these suggestions I need “Gene taught me how to increase
to follow?
speed. When I got to one solid
He has noted that in his 53 years copy speed, he would increase insof hamming he has not operated a sending speed. When I could not
great deal-- typically less than an copy solid at the increased speed,hour or two a week. Even now he he would then send to me at a still
is fortunate to find one week in a higher speed. I was not able to getmonth when he can communicate too much of it, but when hewith a truly high speed operator. dropped back to the one I could
High-speed operators in the U.S. not copy solid, it would thensound slow and I could copy
are rare today.
200

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphysolid. In other words, he would He spent most of his time in the
not slow down when I wasn't get- south pacific and was at Pearlting solid copy, but would go to a when it was bombed.
still higher speed and let me listen
to it, even if I could only get a #15 Melvin L. Whitten KØPLX
word or two, and then, when he (b. 1946- Ø3-Ø5). He learned thedropped down to the lower speed, Morse code from his Father,
it would seem slower then and I W4BI, (see above) who started
could copy it. “I cannot copy teaching him the code when heand send as well as Tom Alder- was about 9 or 1Ø years old.
man and the others do I don't geton much any more and my read- Since his Father-teacher was aing (not copying ) speed is in the QRQ expert, Mel was never troubled by first “memorizing” therange of 6Ø to 7Ø wpm.
code visually as printed dots and#14 Rodney L. Whitten W4BI
dashes, but rather heard it as it is,(b. 1912-Ø4-22) is one of our as patterns of sound.. Furtheroldest available examples of very more, he must have had no conhigh-speed operators. His interest cerns as to whether it was “ h a r d ”
began in 1924 when he was 12. . or “easy” to learn.. It was just to
be learned like anything else. If
Spark was beginning to lose its there were any difficulties along
rough, noisy thrill and sense of the way, his Father encouraged
power (like a motorcycle), and him to keep on, with something
was going out of use, displaced by like: “Look how much you havethe tiny vacuum tube with its learned and can do already.”
peeping CW signals and the rapid
increase of DX occurred as Then, because the FCC office was“short waves” became shorter 15Ø miles away at the time, heand shorter -- into the “useless” used his Father's call sign for acouple of years until finally herange.
managed to get to the FCC office
He was interested and wanted to for the test and to get his own lilearn. .
cense and call in 1958.
He joined the US Navy in and was He was able to copy 4Ø wpm up
selected to be a CW operator. He until somewhat more than 2Ø
was trained as one of that special years ago when both he and his
crypto “over the roof gang”, an Father got electronic keyboards.
elite
His sending speed began to go upbunch of guys trained to learn and along with it his copying
various codes (he learned to copy speed rose to 45 then 5Ø and fi8 different codes) before and nally reached 55 where it started
during WW-II. In all they in- being work -- above that he mustcluded some 178 men who were sweat up to his absolute limit ofso trained. Their work included 6Ø wpm. His comfortable range is
45 - 5Ø...
QRQ copying..

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

201

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy1937 and passed both the1Ø words a minute code
test and the theory test.
He had no initial mental
blocks -- that it might be“hard” - but rather just“that's the way it is”,
something, like everythingelse that he wanted to learn.
#16 Ira I. Silverman,
He enjoy learning it. It was
fun. Without the excess
No data other than that he is a
misdirected baggage sovery fast operator, can type into
many unwittingly carry, hethe 14Ø wpm and receive at least
reached a 5Ø wpm copying
to 1ØØ
ability in three years. His#17 Oscar (Ozzie) Levinevidence joins the rest of
W5RK.
that relatively small group
who did it right from the(b. 1918-12-4) This is one of the
beginning and had nothing
most interesting cases, for it illusto have to relearn.. That is
trates “normal” learning.
why it seemed “natural” to
He “got interested in Ham radio
him. He “entered the Coastback in the mid-thirties after visGuard in 1941, just before
iting a Boy Scout that had a ham
we got into WW-2, and wasstation.” - He was more than justassigned as an apprentice“'interested.”
Seaman operating the highspeed circuits along with
1. He wanted to learn the code
veteran operators. {Afterand had no preconceived
another assignment} he left
ideas about it. We may say
the service in 1946.
he loved it already.
2. He started from the concept 4. For ten years he was inactive, though he continuedof the code presented as
his license. In the late '6Ø'ssound --:”spoken” dits
he ran into the Chicken Fat
and dahs -- not printed dots
Operator's Club [CFO's}and dashes. He had no viswhere one of the operators
ual road blocks. What did
observed he had been
he do? -- He “learned the
copying the high-speed andcode on his own” because
asked him if he wanted tohe “had no mentor or anyjoin them. He did, but soon
body to send code to him.”found he could not keep up
He learned it by looking at
his sending speed with justa newspaper and saying thea paddle, so he built andits and dahs to himself forelectronic keyboard.
all the letters and numerals
in the story he was reading The use of a keyboard, which is
He took the examination in
only a tool, is the almost
He says he owes his “QRQ” to35 years of QSO's with his Father
who has long been able to copy
over 6Ø wpm...
3.
He feels that if he would work at
it, he is sure he could increase it
even more. “It just takes a lot ofpractice.”

202

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

universal newer hardware #19 Gary Bold ZL1AN
key which gives that boost
to pass the frequent “pla- is the only known New Zealanderteau”, the speed “barrier” who belonged to the CFO club.
He says: “4Ø - 45 wpm is as fastaround 5Ø - 6Ø wpm.
as we ever go. Keyboards are notSome kind of internal change in in general use. He was quite asmental approach seems generally tonished to learn that some hams
needed (Is it a change that is hid- in America were conversing inden from our conscious under- Morse code at 1ØØ wpm. Garystanding?) .He could now practice had himself written computer
well-sent code at home or during programs to read code at fair
QSO's with others using key- speeds, and using them, managed
boards. (Bug or keyer sending is to reach his present limit at 55
a special skill that not many wpm.
achieve at those speeds).
#2Ø Jesse W. Caravello, Jr.
This change resulted in a notice- W8MCP
able increase of his receiving
speed and he was soon sending b. 1936-Ø6-Ø7 The following
7Ø wpm. “It was a wonderful ex- comments are from Gary Bold
perience.” Today he finds few ZL1AN. In 1985 I visited Ann
Arbor on Sabbatical leave andhams using these high speeds.
encountered him on the packet#18 Florence C. Majeras
system. He invited me to visit his
W7QYA
home.. He told me he was also ab. 21-1Ø-1915. Bill Eitel said, CFO Club member. I thought it“She is a very talented and prac- was defunct. Learning that I wastical woman. Her accomplish- rig-less, Jess lent me a SWAN
ments are many and unknown to transceiver, power supply, tuner
most people, because she is a and filter which at our rented
modest and sincere person. She is house, put me in regular contact
a pilot, musician, school teacher with other CFO members and nets
and a top CW operator. She does whenever possible. He also connot have to take a back seat to any nected us home to our teenage
one when operating CW. She can children through the ZL packet
send it, read it in her head, or system. When I went back to ZL,
copy it down on a manner which we kept schedules on 4Ø whenpeople do not realize because she conditions were right. Later went I
is no show-off. She is the kind of returned to Ann Arbor several
person I formed the 5-Star Club times, each time I enjoyed his andhis wife Brenda's hospitality. They
to recognize.”became very dear friends to me.
I have no information as to how
she learned or when she started I know virtually nothing of his
early Morse experiences. I am
into ham radio.
sure that he would have told me
everything. A couple of years ago
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

203

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Jess passed away, I think due to a b: 1944-Ø8-Ø1,
massive heart attack.
Carlos Dale Hamm, W5LN,
Jess was, indeed, a first class CW
man. I know he had spent time as Melvin J. Ladisky W6FDR,
a sea-going operator. I don't Charles H. Brown, JR, W4AFQ,
know how fast he could receive,and I never saw him use a key- b: 1928-Ø5-28,
board, but he could read any- Wells E. Burton, N4EE b: 1919thing. He could copy noisy, weak Ø7-14
signals covered in static and QRN Other older operators for whomfrom which I was gleaning mere we have no data on their leaning
letters and occasional words. methods: Frank J. Elliott, Cpl.
Strange fists were no problem to James Ralph Graham, at 6Ø wpm
him. Nor do I have any informa- or more:-- A.J Burkart (1913), E.
tion on the following names who Proctor, W5FDR Earnest L. Sitkes
are supposed to be very high- (W4AFQ), W5GET, W9RUM, Wilspeed operators:liam L.Gardiner, Wells E.. Durham (N4EE), Cpl G.Schaal, others
David H Freese Jr. W1HKJ
in Eujrope, who used these speeds
Wrote software for 99 wpm and daily
on Bill Eiel's request revised it torun at 16Ø wpm. No further in- There were nearly one thousand
listed members of the Chicken Fat
formation on him.
Operators club, which required at
Others in the high-speed class on least 45 wpm for entry, before it
whom I have no other informa- faded out as a club a few years
tion:--.
ago.
Fred C. Clarke W9AMC,
I suspect that the number ofChrist C. Kovacheff K9AMC,
highly skilled commercial operators and hams around the world
David H Freese Jr, W1HKJ,
who can or could receive at overCharles F. Vaughn, III, AAØHW, 45 wpm would add up to many
thousands, with a large number ofb: 1958-Ø1-18,
them capable of well above 6Ø
J Philemon Anderson W9TP
wpm.
b: 1929-Ø5-31,
Raymond H. Larson, WØGHX,b. 1936-Ø8-Ø1,
Charles F. Vaughn, III, AAØHW,b: 1958-Ø1-18,
J Philemon Anderson, W9TP,
b: 1929-Ø5-31,
William Sepulveda, K5LN K5LN,
204

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

1987 No p24; 1989 Fe p7,42;
1991 Au p56
The following are the major
Break-In
sources for the concepts exOfficial Journal of the NZART,
pressed here.
“Morseman” column (by Gary
Very few of them have been Bold), various issues.
quoted verbatim, but when they
have, they have normally been Radio
enclosed within quotation marks. 1935: How Telegraph Operators(References in general are to the are Made, 3 parts -- McElroy Ja,
first page of the article only.)
Fe, My (Related article in RadioNews No 1939)QST
KEY NOTE CW Fists Club
1923 Jl p52; 1925 Mr p45; 1929
various issues.
De pI, 1933 Fe p76, No p39 --Sources of Material

1935 My p68 -- 1937 Au p7, No
p26 -- 1939 Ap 6 -- 194Ø Oc p9,
73, De p9Ø -- 1941 Ja p45, Fe
p48, Jn p66, Jl p44, Au p51, Se
p35, Oc p44 1942 My p66, Se
p23 (Au p4Ø, Oc p28 -- 1943 Ja
p17, Fe p13, Ap p13, My p14, Jn
p4Ø, p5Ø, Jl p9, Au-p9 -- These
items concern military schools)-- 1944(?) Ja p34, Mr p19, Oc
p3Ø -- 1949 Oc p1ØØ -- 1951
Fe p54; 1952 Ja p49 -- 1972 My
p1Ø1, Au p58 -- 1975 Au p1ØØ- 1976 Se p53 -- 1978 Jn p48 -1979 Jn p51, Au p58 -- 1982 De
p55 -- 1983 Ja p76, p77Au p45,
Oc p3Ø; 1985, Au p49; -- 1989
Ja p9 -- 1991 Oc p6Ø, p66;
1992 Mr p 51

Ham Radio
1988 Ja p1Ø, p35, p36

Dots and Dashes, (Morse
Telegraph Society)various issues.
Learning The Radiotelegraph
CodeJohn Huntoon, ARRL 1942
Your Introduction To Morse
Code:
ARRL 19 ARRL National Educational Workshop: #1, #2, #3
Conquer the Code with Rhythm
article, source unknown pp. 17-21
Old Wires And New Waves
Alvin Harlow 1936.
Army Technical Manual TM-11459
TO 31-3-16

73 Magazine
1971 De p83; 1972 Fe p , Jl Sparks Journal, various issues
p12Ø; 1978 Ja p8 CQ: 1959 Fe
p63; 1963 Ja p47; 197Ø De p35; Morsum Magnificat, English
1972 Mr p45; 1973 Mr p28; Edition, various issues
1987 Oc p1Ø6; De p56
Radio Handbook
Worldradio:Bill Orr 21st Ed.

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

205

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

Radio Simplified
The American Telegrapher
What It Is - How To Build and A Social History 186Ø- 19ØØ.
Operate The Aparatus, by Lewis F Edwin Gabler 1988. BRASS
Kendall and Robert P. Koehler, POUNDERS Young Telegraphers
John C Windston Co. 1922of the Civil War. Alvin F. Harlow
1962.
Psychological Review
Vol. IV (1897) p27-53, Vol. VI The Military Telegraph During
The Civil War(1899) p345-375.
2 vol. William R. Plum. 1882.
Journal Of Experimental Psychology
Peak Performance
XXXIII (1943) “The Relative David R. Krauss 1984
Difficulty of Morse Code Alpha- The Psychology Of Skill
bet Characters Learned by the
Whole Method” S.D. S. Spragg William Frederick Book.
p1Ø8-114.
Your First Year Of Teaching
Journal Of Applied Psychol- Shorthand And Transcription
Marion M. Lamb.
ogy1943 “New Method of Teaching Geschichte Der Telegraphie
Code Reception at Columbia U.
p4Ø7-415; “Errors Made in Th. Karasss, Brauschweig. 19Ø9
Telegraphy” p5Ø4-5Ø9; 1944 p.347-35Ø
“Errors, History p254-266; 1945 Geschichte Der Nachrichtentech“Second Level Training in Re- nik
ception” p161-3; 1946 “Effectof Phonetic Equivalents” p265- V. Aschoff. Band 2 p. 198-2Ø827Ø.
The Story Of TelecommunicaMemory: Surprising New Insights tions
Into How We Remember And
by George P. Oslin, 1992 Mercer
Why We Forget
University Press. Chapter 2.
Elizabeth Loftus, 198Ø Zeitschrift The American Leonardo
f_r angewandte Psychologie undCharakterkunde. Feb. 1936, pp. 1 Carlton Mabee 1943, New York- 7Ø, Ludwig Koch “Arbeitspsy- Samuel F. B. Morse, Letters And
chologische Untersuchung der Journals
T„tigkeit...f_r Funker”
Students' Manual
The Candler System
for the Practical Instruction of
Junior Course. Walter Candler Learners of Telegraphy, J. H.
1939 edition.
Bunnell & Co. 1884, reprint by L.
A. Bailey
Book Of Facts About The Candler System
The Edison Album
1939 ed.
Lawrence A. Frost 1969, Seattle
206

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

others later, including Clarence
Cyclopedia Of Telephony And
Wallace (W)9ABJ, my brother P.
Telegraphy
Kenneth Pierpont, KF4OW volVol. IV American A Technical unteer instructor; all of whom
Society, 1911 & 1919
contributed something of value(including some materials). Since
Personal Correspondence fromthese materials have been assemR. J. Miller, Teleplex Co. 22 Oc. bled over a period beginning1942 Raymond K. White, Dodge about 193Ø, some few sources
Telegraph School L. R. McDon- may have been misplaced or lost.
ald, high speed contestant Ivan S.
Coggeshall, Western Union, con- With the Psalmist we may welltests and misc. John F. Rhilinger, say: “I will praise Thee; for I am
KC1MI, high speed code Donald fearfully and wonderfully made.
K. deNeuf, WA1SPM, various as- Marvelous are Thy works, andpects old and new George Hart, that my soul knoweth right well.”
W1NJM, high speed code Tony William G. Pierpont NØHFFSmith, G4FAI, general and historical L. A. Bailey, American Third Revised Edition-March 16,
Morse operator William K. Dun- 2ØØØbar, K9IMV, AD9E, American
Morse operator Verle D. Francis,
WØSZF, American Morse operator Charles Bender, W1WPR, former chief operator W1AW ARRL
Station Cecil Langdoc, Elkhart,
IN, American Morse tapes JamesS. Farrior, W4FOK, computer
programs both codes, Warren L.
Hart, AA5YI, general Steven D.
Katz WB2WIK, general Tom Perera K2DCY, general Louise Moreau, W3WRE, general Loraine
McCarthy, N6CIO, general Carl
Chaplain, W7QO, general Gary E.
J. Bold, ZL1AN, and probably
several others.
Personal discussions with a number of CW operators
George Marshall, amateur 9AER,
9CX, commercial first class from
1915-6, and Navy to about 1945;
Quido Schultise, amateur 9NX
and commercial from 1919,
K6TK, K5OJ; Alvin B. Unruh,
9BIO from 1923, (W)9AWP,
commercial, and WØAWP; andWilliam G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

207

Indexabbreviations38, 5Ø, 53, 54, 55, 6Ø,74, 94, 139, 159, 176, 179, 18Ø
ability22, 29, 49, 58, 59, 65, 66,
69, 71, 74, 78, 85, 94, 96, 97, 99,
1Ø3, 1Ø9, 149, 156, 171, 198, 215
accomplishment
24, 43, 171
accuracy35, 4Ø, 43, 49, 51, 84, 95,
1Ø9, 122, 129, 136, 139, 144, 16Ø,
171, 2ØØacoustic wholeness19Ø
advance16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 38,
55, 56, 68, 96, 1Ø3, 1Ø6, 141, 154,
186
afraid of losing something
57, 68age27, 1ØØ, 1Ø8, 14Ø, 157, 213,
214, 215
alphabet13, 14, 18, 26, 29, 3Ø, 34,
35, 43, 55, 58, 71, 83, 94, 1Ø6, 117,
125, 13Ø, 132, 135, 136, 137, 139,
143, 146, 152, 153, 168, 17Ø, 189,19Ø, 198, 2Ø5alphabet of sound14, 29attention11, 14, 2Ø, 21, 22, 23, 34,
36, 46, 49, 55, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63,
64, 66, 71, 8Ø, 96, 97, 99, 1Ø1,
1Ø5, 113, 114, 117, 125, 151, 17Ø,
185, 193, 2Ø1, 2Ø3, 2Ø4, 213
attitude15, 2Ø, 22, 26, 28, 44, 8Ø,1Ø9, 151, 197, 199
attitudes22, 23, 24, 25, 112, 173,2Ø2
average letter length181
avoid1Ø, 12, 17, 21, 31, 35, 61, 63,
73, 78, 79, 1Ø5, 1Ø7, 12Ø, 152,
154, 161, 186background19, 74, 11Ø, 111
baud162, 163
beginning11, 13, 14, 18, 22, 28, 32,
44, 63, 84, 97, 1Ø1, 1Ø6, 119, 12Ø,131, 147, 148, 154, 171, 172, 186,
187, 197, 2Ø3
best9, 12, 13, 17, 18, 24, 26, 37,
38, 39, 4Ø, 44, 45, 47, 51, 55, 66,
67, 77, 78, 8Ø, 83, 87, 97, 11Ø,
114, 115, 118, 12Ø, 13Ø, 138, 151,
157, 162, 163, 169, 182, 186, 188,
195, 198, 212, 214
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

better than others
17, 24, 61
bored
33, 66buzzers48
by listening18, 29, 4Ø, 56, 61, 64,
71, 123
champion 12, 52, 9Ø, 169, 171, 172
clubs
1Ø3, 1Ø4, 171
code is sound55
coded groups
75, 21Ø
coherence4Ø, 7Ø
comfortable17, 2Ø, 21, 23, 24, 28,
37, 45, 48, 5Ø, 51, 52, 56, 61, 65,
66, 68, 79, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 9Ø,94, 96, 97, 99, 1ØØ, 131commercial operator49, 73, 75, 81,
98, 1Ø4, 13Ø, 138, 142, 146, 154,
179, 196, 213, 215
common13, 19, 29, 38, 42, 43, 51,
53, 54, 55, 58, 59, 6Ø, 63, 68, 69,
74, 8Ø, 81, 91, 94, 96, 99, 1Ø7,
12Ø, 141, 146, 148, 149, 16Ø, 179,
181, 2ØØ, 2Ø1, 2Ø5common phrases
38
common words13, 19, 38, 42, 55,
58, 68, 69, 96, 146, 148, 2ØØ, 2Ø1
contesting51
copy behind18, 66, 68, 69, 7Ø, 156,2Ø2
copy letter-by-letter68
copying in your head72
cycle
81, 142, 162, 163, 164, 172
daily practice42, 197, 199deliberate
121
determination
28, 43develop16, 18, 24, 31, 43, 47, 57,
58, 59, 64, 69, 72, 77, 8Ø, 84, 121,
133, 193, 196, 2Ø1developed2, 2Ø, 26, 48, 77, 99, 1Ø3,
12Ø, 121, 132, 134, 135, 136, 139,
14Ø, 142, 148, 176, 179, 211
developing skill
12, 128
distracted
24, 1Ø2earliest51, 96, 11Ø, 121, 165, 169,
182
echoing35

208

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

element51, 77, 88, 1Ø8, 1Ø9, 112,13Ø, 136, 137, 148, 154, 162, 163,
164
enjoy the learning process
28
example13, 16, 27, 33, 34, 39, 5Ø,53, 54, 59, 62, 65, 68, 69, 7Ø, 83,
88, 9Ø, 95, 1Ø9, 122, 146, 147,
152, 154, 16Ø, 162, 163, 194, 2Ø4,
2Ø5, 211, 212, 213
expert operator
168, 212
fading 62, 63, 64, 73, 119, 159, 179
familiarity29, 34, 38, 45, 56, 58,
6Ø, 7Ø, 71
faster13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 28, 3Ø,31, 36, 37, 38, 4Ø, 41, 43, 45, 46,
48, 5Ø, 61, 67, 68, 72, 75, 76, 84,
88, 94, 97, 1ØØ, 1Ø4, 142, 145,
147, 148, 149, 155, 176, 179, 183,
194, 197, 213, 215
fatal to speed
96
fear of losing out
71, 72, 199
five-letter groups
191, 194, 2Ø1
for learning26, 28, 36, 93, 1Ø8,
13Ø, 171
forget it
37, 66, 67, 8Ø
general9, 25, 34, 54, 56, 66, 8Ø, 85,
1Ø7, 121, 125, 145, 174, 2Ø5, 2Ø8,
21Øgetting stuck1Ø
give yourself a chance72
glass arm
79, 8Ø, 85, 88, 89, 2Ø2good operator13, 28, 3Ø, 58, 68, 73,
84, 94, 164, 214
handicaps
27
higher skill
111, 113, 214
how fast
4Ø, 43, 46, 1Ø2, 167
ill19, 24, 28, 56, 63, 92, 111, 118,
134, 143, 149, 156, 157, 2Ø3
immediate recognition
147
instant recognition
18
interference11, 17, 4Ø, 44, 46, 48,
52, 62, 63, 64, 73, 74, 75, 8Ø, 85,9Ø, 97, 1ØØ, 111, 112, 115, 119,148, 149, 159, 161, 167, 168, 174,
175, 2Ø3, 2Ø8, 21Ø
interference and static
11, 48introduction
122, 194
irregularities
75
is comfortable
2Ø, 51, 83
keep on copying
47
keyboards92, 95, 1Ø3, 1Ø4, 118,
123, 17Ø
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

keyer 5Ø, 77, 92, 1Ø8, 166, 169, 172
keying speed in bauds
164
learn at your own rate21, 24, 28
learn to copy17, 26, 65, 68, 69, 7Ø,74
learn to hear words as words
58
learn to trust the mind
57
learning to send77
let it go
63, 193
letter frequency counts
181
letter-by-letter copying
72
license9, 2Ø, 42, 48, 5Ø, 69, 1Ø5,
11Ø, 123, 14Ø, 2Ø3, 2Ø7, 2Ø8, 2Ø9,215
listen and enjoy it
45listening and writing
33
listening only
33
long term
114
long time 1Ø, 12, 84, 129, 139, 151
long words
62, 159
make it fun
39
making sense
1Ø1
mental16, 25, 26, 37, 4Ø, 41, 45,
46, 47, 48, 58, 59, 62, 63, 68, 7Ø,73, 76, 77, 84, 85, 96, 99, 1ØØ,
1Ø1, 112, 114, 116, 119, 123, 13Ø,
151, 152, 154, 184, 185, 196, 212
military
12, 1Ø9, 111, 141, 214
miss something
57, 71, 1Ø2
missing something66
most common words18, 38, 42, 58,
68, 69, 2ØØ, 2Ø1
noise12, 64, 74, 1Ø1, 115, 117,
163, 164, 21Ø
not recommended
129, 171
notes
54, 74, 196, 212
obsolete?
11of success
36
operator12, 13, 19, 24, 26, 28, 3Ø,36, 41, 42, 43, 49, 5Ø, 52, 53, 54,
55, 58, 65, 67, 68, 69, 73, 74, 75,
76, 77, 78, 8Ø, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85,
86, 87, 88, 89, 9Ø, 94, 95, 97, 98,
1Ø4, 1Ø7, 115, 117, 12Ø, 121, 126,
131, 132, 136, 138, 14Ø, 141, 142,
143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149, 154,
159, 161, 164, 165, 166, 168, 172,173, 175, 176, 182, 183, 184, 194,
195, 196, 2Ø3, 2Ø4, 2Ø7, 2Ø8, 21Ø,
211, 212, 213, 214, 215
over-learning29, 46
passband
162
209

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

perfectly formed characters17Ø
plateau15, 22, 27, 41, 11Ø, 152,
154, 185, 186, 19Ø
positive attitude 24, 25, 44, 197, 199
practical11, 12, 56, 72, 111, 132,
134, 136, 137, 138, 14Ø, 142, 156,
167
practice17, 18, 19, 2Ø, 21, 22, 23,
25, 26, 3Ø, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,
4Ø, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 53,
54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 6Ø, 61, 62,
66, 67, 69, 7Ø, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78,
8Ø, 83, 84, 92, 96, 1Ø5, 1Ø7, 11Ø,
114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 122, 123,
124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 13Ø,
146, 151, 152, 154, 156, 16Ø, 165,
167, 168, 169, 17Ø, 171, 186, 188,
189, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197,
198, 199, 2ØØ, 2Ø1, 2Ø2, 2Ø4, 21Ø
practice by
26
practice copying
66, 73, 2Ø1practice listening
36, 61, 2Ø1practice material17, 38, 6Ø, 66, 123,
128, 17Ø
practice periods39, 44, 45, 48, 59,
83, 193, 199
practice sending
4Ø, 1Ø5practicing17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 35,4Ø, 45, 47, 6Ø, 72, 1ØØ, 131, 147,
155, 182
pressure in short bursts
23
prevent anticipating38
proficient operator
43
quality22, 47, 48, 5Ø, 56, 63, 64,
74, 76, 81, 83, 84, 85, 1Ø2, 111,
119, 129, 13Ø, 143, 161, 163, 164,
165, 169, 183
ragchewing
51, 126
random33, 34, 38, 4Ø, 47, 67, 69,
7Ø, 1Ø6, 122, 127, 128, 155, 163,
181, 191, 192
receiving11, 16, 18, 19, 2Ø, 25, 26,
29, 37, 39, 4Ø, 47, 49, 51, 54, 55,
56, 57, 59, 6Ø, 62, 64, 66, 73, 74,
75, 78, 81, 86, 97, 99, 1Ø2, 111,
113, 114, 116, 117, 119, 121, 124,
125, 126, 127, 13Ø, 131, 132, 134,
136, 138, 139, 14Ø, 143, 144, 147,
148, 149, 159, 16Ø, 161, 165, 171,172, 176, 179, 181, 197, 2Ø1, 2Ø2,
2Ø7, 21Ø, 211
receiving by ear only14Ø
210

recorders for learning13Ø
regular practice48
relative83, 92, 116, 118, 132, 133,
137, 138, 143
relax 21, 25, 28, 45, 56, 57, 9Ø, 2Ø2
repeated38, 83, 84, 1Ø5, 1Ø6, 122,
126, 189
right way2Ø, 21, 26, 27, 38, 42,1Ø9, 113
same way22, 33, 46, 63, 84, 11Ø,
122, 144, 147, 188, 189, 193, 199,
2ØØ, 2Ø2
self-study
34
sense of accomplishment
24
short practice59
signal12, 16, 17, 55, 6Ø, 64, 66, 73,
74, 77, 9Ø, 91, 117, 118, 119, 131,
136, 137, 143, 147, 148, 149, 153,
161, 162, 163, 164, 175, 181, 183,
185, 186, 193, 2ØØ, 2Ø1
signal element77, 136
signal-to-noise ratio
12, 117silence39, 6Ø, 118, 119, 148, 162,
181, 191, 21Ø
skilled operator1Ø, 24, 43, 5Ø, 51,
65, 74, 81, 94, 95, 145, 176
solid copy
66
sound consciousness
58
sound is the letter27
sound pattern13, 14, 27, 28, 29, 3Ø,31, 32, 35, 39, 45, 47, 55, 112, 153,
154, 155, 183, 185, 186, 187, 191,
192, 193, 197
sounder52, 11Ø, 116, 119, 135,14Ø, 142, 143, 147, 148, 149, 166,
196, 213
speed records
1Ø2, 125
standard word
163, 164, 173, 181
static11, 17, 26, 4Ø, 48, 52, 63, 7Ø,73, 75, 9Ø, 119, 12Ø, 142, 148,
149, 159, 167, 173, 179
static interference
167
success15, 2Ø, 22, 24, 29, 36, 44,1Ø5, 111, 153, 167
swings12Ø, 121
take it easy
45, 75tapes and courses
35
the ear17, 21, 22, 27, 3Ø, 31, 37,
38, 39, 4Ø, 51, 53, 56, 64, 67, 83,
86, 96, 99, 1Ø6, 117, 118, 12Ø,
124, 132, 141, 142, 148, 151, 153,
William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy

155, 161, 165, 167, 169, 17Ø, 182,
187, 2Ø2, 2Ø7thinking in code27
timing16, 17, 19, 31, 35, 4Ø, 48,
63, 77, 84, 111, 115, 117, 118, 119,12Ø, 129, 138, 144, 145, 171, 182,
183, 184, 199, 2ØØ, 2Ø2
to start17, 29, 32, 33, 45, 166, 185,
192
unique sound pattern3Ø
unit of sound3Ø, 2Ø3variety17, 21, 34, 66, 87, 1Ø5, 1Ø6,
123, 128, 17Ø
want to learn1Ø, 13, 15, 27, 29, 111,
146
whistle it48
wide spacing
167

William G. Pierpont N0HFF” 1932-2001

wireless11, 53, 86, 89, 111, 139,
142, 146, 148, 18Ø, 2Ø6, 2Ø9wpm1Ø, 12, 16, 19, 27, 28, 3Ø, 31,
32, 35, 36, 4Ø, 41, 42, 43, 47, 49,
5Ø, 51, 52, 62, 65, 67, 68, 71, 72,
73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 84, 86, 9Ø, 93,
94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 1ØØ, 1Ø1,
1Ø2, 1Ø3, 1Ø4, 1Ø6, 1Ø7, 1Ø8,
1Ø9, 11Ø, 111, 115, 123, 124, 125,
127, 128, 13Ø, 131, 137, 141, 142,
146, 152, 153, 154, 155, 163, 164,
166, 167, 169, 17Ø, 172, 173, 174,
183, 184, 185, 186, 19Ø, 194, 198,
2Ø3, 2Ø4, 2Ø5, 2Ø7, 2Ø8, 2Ø9,21Ø, 211, 213, 214, 215
WPM
194
Z-code53

211