Learning Morse code is not easy,well not for ‘older people’! I started 10 years ago and did enough to pass the 5 WPM test at a Morse camp in Harrogate. Must admit to be hooked and am still battling to get up to a reasonable speed. After 4 years away from radio it is hard work but there is determination.
Learning Morse
Morse used to be taught by learning the characters and then by listening to sent Morse at a very slow speed with a gradual increase in speed over time. This usually led to two ‘walls’,one around 10wpm and then at 20wpm. Many students found it hard to get past 10wpm and struggled to pass the 12wpm test.
The way to avoid the ‘walls’is to learn the sound of the characters and not the number of dots and dashes (dits and dahs) by using the Koch method. There are some good computer porgrams best of which is the G4FON version which can be downloaded for free here.
The Koch method works by learning the sound of each character sent at about 15wpm. That might appear to be tough on newcomers but it really does work. The order in which the characters are learned is also important. One of the best explanations about the Koch method is on the site run by David G. Finley,N1IRZ.
If you have developed an interest in Morse then the best advice is to join FISTS,see their web site here.