
From the files of the ARRL Automated Mail Server, (info@arrl.org):

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League, Inc., Technical Information Service.

file: codetips.txt    updated: 03-08-95

Reprinted from: September 1993 QST "You Can Copy Thirty Words Per Minute!"
Copyright 1993 American Radio Relay League, Inc. 
All rights reserved.

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NEW HAM COMPANION

QST Magazine
        
You Can Copy Thirty Words Per Minute!
                      
Are you finding it difficult to increase your code speed? Use these
techniques to go as high as 30 words per minute--or beyond! 

By Lee Aurick, W1SE
   1043 Deer Run
   Winter Springs, FL  32708
        
I qualified for an ARRL 30 word-per-minute code proficiency certificate in
1954. In the nearly 40 years that have passed since then, it's been my
pleasure to help more than a thousand people pass their code tests. After so
many years of teaching, I've managed to accumulate a small collection of
helpful tips. I've also observed a few things that, in my opinion, you should
avoid. 

Let's start abolishing the notion it's only necessary to practice 15- or 20-
minutes at a time, a couple of times a week. I have one word for that idea:
nonsense! By the time you get around to your next practice session, you may
slip back to where you were before. At this pace, progress is
slow--tantalizingly slow. 

Code instructors should be honest with their students. They should tell them
that it's going to require some effort and dedication. A coach doesn't tell
his basketball hopefuls that the road to the NBA is lined with velvet. He
tells them that there are tough times ahead. Why are they less truthful with
aspiring hams? 

The Farnsworth Method
        
Should a code student begin at five words per minute and work upward from
there? How about starting at 50 words per minute instead? (I can hear the
gasps now.) No, I'm not suggesting that we bombard them with CW conversations
at that speed--just characters! 

This technique is put to good use in what has come to be known as the
"Farnsworth Method." The letters are formed at anywhere from 15 to 18 words
per minute, but are sent with 5 word-per-minute spacing. It may seem like an
unusual method, but it works. 

You begin by learning each character. As soon as you're confident that you
know each letter, number and punctuation mark, start decreasing the spacing
between them. The sounds of the characters remain the same, only the spacing
changes. Within a short time, you'll reduce the spacing from the 5 WPM level
to 18 WPM. During this process you don't need to relearn the characters--you
already know them at 18 WPM! In other words, they're the same characters you
learned the first time around. They're just coming at you faster. 

Why don't we take this idea farther? Why not start by forming the letters at
20 words per minute? Moving from 5 to a solid 20 words per minute would be a
snap. As an experiment, I taught my 9 year-old grandson the code in less than
a day with the letters formed at twenty words per minute. Upon returning to
his home in Wisconsin, he entered a class and qualified for his Novice
license before the class was half-over. He is now KA9SNP. His mother had her
Novice ticket at age nine and was, for a time, one of the youngest female
hams in the country. This was in the late 50s, before the era of
club-sponsored schools. Her elder sister qualified at age ten. All of them
profited by means of code-teaching techniques that are sound and easy to
apply. 

Code Practice Tapes 
        
Some of the worst tapes in existence are those which purport to send code as
though you are listening to two stations having a conversation. Many use very
poor procedures, and that's reason enough not to use them. As a new ham, the
last things you need to learn are bad habits. In addition, these tapes are
easily memorized, making them nearly worthless for instruction. On the other
hand, tapes that use the Farnsworth Method are fine learning tools for new
hams and I encourage you to use them. (ARRL practice tapes employ the
Farnsworth Method.)  

Tapes not withstanding, if you have already have a Novice or Technician
ticket, I have four very important words for you: GET ON THE AIR. Seek out
stations working just a bit faster than you can copy. So what, if you have to
ask the other station to repeat his or her name?  The code practice available
from W1AW is an excellent way in which to determine just how fast you're
capable of copying. Use W1AW to measure your progress as you practice. 

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The members and HQ staff would like to thank the following people 
for their contributions to this information file:

WB8IMY

Send any additional information or changes to mtracy@arrl.org. 

73 from ARRL HQ.

