At Dayton/Xenia I got a little inspired by the SKCC guys but realized I have no idea how to get started with CW.  I know we have several CW fans here and was wondering if someone would be kind enough to do a CW tutorial.

Dumb it way down please.

I recently started down the path to learn CW, also.  I have been using an app on the phone called Morse Toad.  Works similar to a game, but does give me the benefit of being able to run through a few minutes when parked in the car wherever I am.   Also found a straight key app that lets me practice sending the characters I have learned.  I do need to put together a physical key/oscillator for more realistic practice though.

The SKCC website has a section devoted to getting started in CW. Just check the sidebar here: www.skccgroup.com

If you don't already have a key, I highly recommend the Nye Viking #322-001. To me, the "Navy Knob" that comes with gives it as good a "feel" as any key available, including those high-dollar ones.



As for a practice oscillator, you can use the sidetone in your HF rig simply by turning off the break-in function.

ETA: Incidentally, I don't use paddles, just straight keys and a bug.

Google  k6rau he is SK now..He,s teaching boy scouts cw. That's how I learned it

Good choice!

I learned at CW Academy.  After that my proficiency in receiving was around 18-20wpm and it was easy to work to improve speed because I knew all the letters!

http://www.cwops.org/index.html

The syllabus for the course was this:

PRINT THIS AND HAVE AVAILABLE FOR EACH CLASS..

Syllabus for Level 1 Class.

This is just an outLine.  We will vary as needed.  Other practice files will be sent to you.

Sessions:

1. Introduction followed by letters: T, E, A and N; copy practice; sending practice

Homework: Using Morse TraINER, head copy TEA, TEE, EAT, ATE, AT, TAT, TEEN, NEAT, TEN,
NET, TAN ñ play over and over until you can copy the words in your head (head copy practice) ñ then,
one at a time, type in TEA, TEN, NET, TEE, listen to it, then imitate it using your key and sound source
(sending practice)

2.  Review of T, E, A, N; new letters O, I, S; numbers 1, 4; copy practice; sending practice

Homework: TEN, TON, TIN, TIE, TOE, NO, NOT, NOTE, IT, AT, ONE, NEAT, NET, NIT,
NITE, TOES, STONE, TEASE, NOISE (head copy practice); (sending practice) one at a time ñ STONE, TIN,
TIE, NO, NOT, IT, AT; (notes copy practice and sending practice) N1RS, R4ON, S41T, NR1S, AR1E, IT4O,
EA1ON, ES4IT



3. Review of T,E,A,N,O,I,S, 1, 4; new letters R, H, D, L; new numbers 2,5; copy practice; sending practice

Homework: ALL, TELL, TALL, DEAL, THE, THEIR, DOLL, DELL, HALL, HILL, HOLE,
LOAD, LEAD, LATE, LATER, SEAL, SELL, SOLE, SHE, SHED, HER, HEAR (head copy); sending ALL, TELL, THE,
LEAD, LATE, SHE, HER; notes practice and sending: DL1AT, HH5H, HS1TD, ND2T, NA4T, 142, 451, 1425

4. Review of previous letters plus U, C; copy practice; sending practice

Homework: (head copy) CHAT, CHAIR, CHIN, CHART, OUCH, COUCH, TOUCH, SUCH, TEACH, REACH, SUN,
SON, HOLD, TOLD, SAIL, RAIL, TAIL, NAIL, OIL, SOIL, TOIL, COIL, RAIN, CAUSE, SAUCE, TOSS, TOLL, TALL,
TELL, CELL, CALL; sending CHAT, CHIN, TEACH, SAIL, RAIN, TALL, TELL; notes copy and sending: NC5A,
NA2T, CU1LL, CO5NO, NU4R, CT1AC, CE1NI, 4241, 1452

5. Review of previous letters plus M, W, 3, 6, and ?; copy practice, sending practice

Homework: (head copy) WAIT, WALL, WELL, WILL, MALL, MILL, CHUM, MOW, MUCH, SUCH, WATER,
WET, WHAT, DEW, DATE, ATOM, TOW, TOWER, WERE, WHERE, WAS, WISH, WASH, MAT, MATT, MEL,
HIM, HER, HIS, HW? Sending: WAIT, WELL, MALL, MILL, WET, DATE; notes copy and sending: W3AA,
N3AM, DM5RA, W6AM, N2AT, RW5L, ON4UN, 335, 1432, 6122


6. Review of previous letters plus F, Y; copy practice, sending practice

Homework: (head copy) YOU, TOY, FOOT, TOOTH, ROOT, CUTE, NOISE, LARRY, ROY, TON, TEETH, FEET,
YET, THEY, SAY, RAY, HAY, YOUR, FAIR, FARE, FAR, FUR, FURRY, HW?; sending: CUTE, SAID, RAID, STIR,
HIM, FEET, HW?; notes copy and sending: F5IN, YO1AR, HH5H, NO3M, AA3U, S52R, 1512, 3316

7. Review of previous letters plus P, G, 7, 9 and /; copy practice, sending practice

Homework: (head copy): PAGE, PAPER, PEPPER, GLAD, GLARE, LARGE, LEDGE, GEORGE, GEO, CHAS,
CHASE, CHANGE, PEG, PUG, PIG, PEN, PENCIL, PIPE, PIT, GAIN, GARAGE, GUARD, GAS, GUS, CHUG, YES,
YET, YONDER, COY; sending: PAGE, GLARE, LEDGE, GEORGE, PEN, PIT; notes practice: G4AN/3, N1AR/5,
K9UCA/9, W3/PY2AA, F6/N6AM, 2N2222, 7423, 14253679

8. Review of previous letters plus B, V; copy practice, sending practice

Homework: (head copy): VOTE, VAT, VIEW, WAVE ,PAVE ,SAVE ,VOW, VALVE, SOLVE, VOLT, VAULT, BAD,
BODY, BORE, BORN, BARN, BARNEY, BRAD, BREAD, BED, BETTER, BEST, BILL, BUILD, BUILT, BOLT, BULB,
BLAME, BLEND, BLAND, BLOW; sending VOTE, VALVE, BED, BEST; notes practice: BV2AA, BA1RO,
WB2AE, N6RB/4, W2/VE1AR, VE2/K2LE; 6146, 5514

9. Review of previous letters plus K, J, 8, 0, BT; copy practice, sending practice

Homework: (head copy): JACK, JAY, JOHN, JIM, JERRY, BACK, RACK TACK, TECH, TACH, REACH, EACH,
TEACH, HELP, HIGH, HILL, FACT, FACE, FAR, FEAR, THEN, THEIR, HIM, HER, HIS, HERS, THEM, THEY,
THEIR, SWITCH, LINE ANT, DIPOLE, VERTICAL, OHMS, HOME, AWAY, TEST, ASIA, AFRICA; sending JACK,
TACH, REACH, EACH, FEAR, HIS, ANT; notes practice: K1JD, N1AR, W2TT, K2UMU, N2NW, VE3NE, VA3KP,
K4BAI, N5KO, 807, 3500Z, 4250A

10. Review of previous letters plus X, Q, Z and BK; copy practice, sending practice

Homework: (head copy): WL, UR, OK, HW?, QRX, RIG, WX, ANT, PWR, KW, NAME, MEMPHIS, NYC, SF,
DALLAS, HOUSTON, NM, NJ, CA, UT, AL, AR, IL, IN, ME, MA, CT, CO, QRM, NE, SD, ND, PA, KY, FL, NC, SC,
SDGO, LAX, LA, ON, SK, MB, NT, AB, QC, NB, NS, NR, RST, UK, USA, TOKYO, PARIS, LONDON, HAMBURG,
SYDNEY; sending: WL, UR, OK, QRX, RIG, WX, ANT, PWR, KW, QRZ, QTH, QRS, QRO, QRP; notes practice:
ZL2TT, VK4OM, JE1TRV, BA1CW, KH6LC, AL2A, AA3B, 8044, 7400, 73.

11. CW QSO discussion; simulated CW QSOs ñ first exchanges

12. CW QSO discussion; simulated CW QSOs ñ first and second exchanges

13. CW QSO discussion; simulated CW QSOs ñ wrap exchanges

14. Simulated CW QSOs ñ complete

15. Simulated CWT contest including exchanges

16. Simulated DXpedition pile up operation

Lastly, we used an online tool at https://morsecode.scphillips.com to help us practice outside of class.

I wanted to put this in a separate post in case it was lost in the first long message.

Classes were twice weekly - Monday and Thursday.

The "Morse Code Trainer" at https://morsecode.scphillips.com follows the course, so if you do lesson one on Monday, then two on Thursday, then 3 on the following Monday, etc you would essentially be following the course.  It is important to practice sending as well as receiving.  Sending was much easier for me to learn than receiving.  It was nice in the course because the teacher would send and we wouldn't know ahead of time what he was sending... a bit different in the online trainer.

The wait time to get in to a class is fairly long IIRC... like 3-6 months or something.  However, I am a self starter and self teacher, so if I had known the syllabus and tools I would/could have taught myself and not needed to clutter up their course and extend their backlog.

Any other questions let me know!

This is my favorite Morse code trainer.  I used it two or three times each day, for about 10-15 minutes each session. Longer sessions reached a "point of no return", for me.   I was not a "natural" at learning CW, but after a while, it starts to sink in.  I'm still not very fast.



It's like that old joke.....

Q:  How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

A:  Practice, practice, practice.

Another vote for G4FON for morse receive training. Try to do it 1-2x a day 10-15min per session.

SKCC beginner's page: http://www.skccgroup.com/member_services/beginners_corner/

lcwo.net

How many languages do you speak? Learning "CW", properly called  - Morse code, is like learning a simplified language.
It's not something you can learn in 2 weeks. It's a lot harder to learn if you are older. There are a lot of methods to learn.

I learned Morse Code in a military school. We had a great teacher and an extremely well equipped learning facility. The class lasted 6 months and we attended it 3 times per week. Each lesson was about 4 hours.
They taught us to copy letters and numbers in special forms that had vertical lines dividing  page into 5 columns. We had to wright down characters in groups of 5 and 4 groups per line (if I remember correctly). Each group definitely consisted of 5 letters or a combination of letters and numbers. They did not teach us any special characters. We only learned Latin letters and numbers. BTW, other languages have additional unique CW characters. I know all of the Cyrillic letters as well.

The teacher used a mnemonics method to teach letters and numbers. Each letter and number was associated with a common word or a phrase that resembled a rhythm of each associated character in Morse Code. This was extremely effective.

We first learned all letters and then the teacher introduced numbers. We learned about 3-4 letters per class. A certain group of letters was introduced, like E,T,I,M or L,F,R,K etc. Same was for mumbers - 1 and 9,   2 and 8,   3 and 7,   4 and 6,  0 and 5.

We only started transmitting after we learned all letters and numbers well. We had straight keys only. The keys were placed on the edge of the table where we could not place a right arm on the table at all. Back then everyone wrote with right hands and all keys were set for a right handed person. Back then left handed kids had to simply learn to write with their right hands in grammar schools (First grade). No exceptions. School was for learning, not for games back then. It worked well for everyone.

I managed to graduate on top of the class and could easily receive about 45-50 WPM and transmit about 25 WPM with a straight key. We were not allowed to "chicken hand" our transmission quality. All characters must be properly timed and spaced, with very little variation or we had to work harder to improve it. Failure was not an option. Some guys really struggled but learned it anyway. They used to say in the military - "If you don't get it through your head, you will get it to you through your legs" meaning that you will will learn it, if you work hard enough.

I passed the 20 WPM Extra test easily but had to write everything down when I copied it. I had no clue what I was copying. I could not receive anything in my head. This was largely due to the mnemonics method they used in the military. Besides that, we never had to copy any real text, it was always a combination combination if letters and numbers since everything was encrypted in the military.
I basically had to learn to copy in my head and it was tough. I still struggle with a ragchew QSO and often have to write down some parts. It's very hard for me to hear words instead if individual characters, like i was trained to do. No problems with a regular QSO though.

CW can be a lot of fun if you are willing to put some efforts into it. Like I said above, it's like learning a foreign language. I speak 4 and have been trying to learn another one lately. It's always very hard at first. You hear natives speak and can hardly even distinguish any words but it comes clear and easy with practice. Same with CW.

We have kind of started a weekly Arfcom CW net but it died out, like the SSB net. Maybe a weekly, slow CW net may help newbies to learn quicker.
Either way, good luck! Don't get discouraged. It takes time and lots off practice.

I started working with Morse Machine on Android.  But didn't like that it was teaching individual letters.
Correct me if I've got it wrong but I think I should be learning the language not the alphabet much like learning a language.
Learn to hear and reply correctly.  Is there a trainer like that I can use on Android?
That teaches me to reconize cq and then how to give the proper response?
Thx

I think you need to learn the letters and numbers first. Without it, you won't be able to copy any call signs, QTH or operator names. You also need to learn to transmit letters and numbers with proper weights and pauses between the characters and numbers.
There are a lot of very sloppy CW operators out there who can't transmit worth a crap, even with a paddle. There are A LOT of terrible straight key operators who have no control of the key, even at very slow speeds. I often had to terminate a QSO because it was impossible to copy a sloppy key operator, even though he was very loud. I honestly don't know how they can make any contacts.

You need to learn letters and numbers in certain groups, like I mentioned in my previous post. It is very important! Don't rush. This is not something you can learn in several weeks. It may take a year or more, with a lot of practice and then even more practice. Don't learn at slow speeds. Set a character speed to about 20 WPM and a very long pause between the characters. This will bring the overall speed to about 5 WPM. You need to hear the "melody" with rhythm. NEVER ever count dots and dashes!

This. I am not qualified to provide a primer, but as a 50+ guy who just started learning this about a year and a half ago, i can tell you it will take some time.  There are many apps, a number of mentioned here. I've used most of them, they're all great at different things.  Tried earlier the old way - 5wpm, looking at the symbols.  Dont Dont Dont.  Throw that paper away and listen to the symbols at a faster rate, ie 15 or 20 as Gyprat says above.  Relax and realize it will take some time, and one of these days you'll be listening to your handheld and will realize that the repeater just id'd in code and you copied it without thinking of it.  I learned listening in my car.  You can do it!  Good luck
and I second the Thursday night cw practice net.  
73

Yup, listen to Gyprat and CSD...

G4fon lets you go down to 15WPM for letters, and way slower for words, this is the best way, find a symbol rate of 15-20-25 etc that your brain can "decode" and let there be a long pause between them. Then you can speed up the "word" rate... IIRC it takes me 2-3 months of daily practice to get it re-learned to the point I can copy on-air signals with some reasonable accuracy. Sending is pretty straightforward if you have an electronic keyer paddle. Manual sending is harder.

cw is amazing.  Do not count the dits and daas.   hear the sound of the letter.   that set me back 6 months. .   it's a sound not x number of dits and daas..  

10w cw is the same as 100w ssb..   so 100w cw is equivalent to 1kw ssb..   for dx its king..

three  things that I use that help me:  
android app (worth the 2.99).. morse trainer
android app  ( I use this as well, free)  I copy text from a book and listen..  IZ2UUF MORSE KOCH TRAINER

And CW Skimmer..  A must have for pileups..  Also a visual aid with decode..  This one stings to purchase, 75$..  But if you do get into CW is well worth the price IMO You can try the program for 30days for free.   cw skimmer


prosise

And QRP CW is a ton of fun. Especially if you cheat and use a gain antenna

Plenty of good info here on how best to learn the code.

How about some info on the mechanics of making the QSO?  Things like equipment setup, zero beating, transceiver settings, etc.

Lol... everything is better with a good antenna. CW is like Viagra for any antenna.

Tuning in CW is easy on a modern transceiver.
1- Set the transceiver's sidetone to a pitch you are comfortable with.
2- Make sure your transceiver's RIT (Receive Incremental Tune) is set to zero or turned off.
2- Tune the desired signal so its pitch closely matches your sidetone's pitch.
3- DONE! Go ahead and call the station.

If you called CQ and the station comes back at a different pitch that is not satisfactory to you, turn on the RIT and adjust it so his pitch is to your liking. RIT does not affect the transmitting frequency.

During contests or DX pile ups, some will call slightly off the desired station's frequency by +/- 50 to 200 Hz. This will distinguish their signal from the pile up of other stations whose signals are all at the same pitch, usually resulting in a continuous tone.

Semi- or Full-breakin is your choice. In the semi-breakin mode, there is a short delay that you set that holds the transceiver in receive mode after the key is released. In full-breakin mode, the switchover happens in milliseconds. The advantage of semi-breakin is there is no noise between elements, letters, or words -- depending on how long the delay is set for. The disadvantage is that if the station desires to break the transmission by holding down his key becasue he missed a character of something has happened where he is unable to complete the contact, you'll miss it.

We'll cover "working split" later.

To help in gaining proficiency, ARRL provides downloadable practice files here: http://www.arrl.org/code-practice-files

If you desire to practice under real-world conditions, W1AW offers code practice transmissions. The schedule is shown here: http://www.arrl.org/w1aw-operating-schedule. The bulletins are good practice once you've hit around the 15 WPM level.

FWIW, I used these to practice my "head copy" by tuning in W1AW, kicing back in my recliner, closing my eyes, and lstening to the transmissions.
HINT: Start at a slightly higher speed than you're comfortable with, pick out what you can for a few minutes, then drop down a notch. Your "comfortable" speed will now sound much slower.

When I've tried to learn it, I've always started out at 20wpm with larger spacing between letters.  I've been told, and it makes sense, don't listen to the dah's and the dit's, listen for letters.  At speed, you start to hear letters and words.  I remember attending my first field day listening to the guy working the CW station.  It repeated enough, I still hear the letters CQ as one word.

When I train it (which isn't often enough to keep the skill up to date) I use some variant of a morse machine on android.

About that "working split" thingy. Basically you're listening to the desired station's signal on one frequency and then transmitting on a different frequency hoping he'll hear your call. This spreads the replying stations over several KHz (or more) of frequencies so everyone is not piled on top of each other. You'll ususally hear the the station send "up 1" or "up 2" or up (or down) how many KHZ he's listening to for returns. Often the station just sends "up" or "down". It's kind of a crap shoot. The usual label of the two VFOs is "VFO A" and "VFO B". See your instruction manual as there are several ways manufacturers accomplish this.

Some of the more modern transceivers allow you to listen on the frequency you'll be transmitting on and the frequency of the desired station at the same time, either by a separate local oscillator (that VFO A & B thingy again) feeding into the same IF as the receiving oscillator or by a complete second receiver built within the radio. Again, see your instruction manual for details.

Working split comes as second nature for us old farts because back in the old days when Novice transmitters had to be crystal controlled, we were forced to work split to make any meaningful number of contacts. We also had separate transmitters and receivers. We called on the frequencies we had crystals for, and then tuned around searching for a reply. Chances are, our very first QSO was done by "working split".