OK I KNOW we've cussed and discussed this topic more times than I can remember BUT doing a forum search for the last 30 days produced no hits! SO my next "task" is to learn CW! What advice as to going about this task do the estemed members of this forum recommend?
Man that sounded like a real brown nose job didn't it!
HELP I want to learn CW...that's better!
Sarge

Tag


Also can anyone suggest a decent Strait Key?

Go to http://www.g4fon.net/ and download the Koch CW Trainer. Excellent software to teach you CW. For a lesson plan download Zen and the Art of Radiotelegraphy. Stupid name but a solid lesson plan to learn CW.

I went from knowing only two letters, S and O (of SOS) to copying and sending 12wpm in about 5 months practicing twice a day at 20 minutes per practice session. The more you do it the easier it gets. If this past-middle-age guy can do it, it can't be that difficult.

And why do you want a straight key?

Sending by straight key is more difficult than sending using an iambic or twin paddle key. A straight key is an experts key. The op has to do all the timing and when you're learning you've got enough on your plate without struggling with that also. Unless you really want to learn that art I'd suggest getting a decent twin paddle iambic. Use the internal keyer that is in some rigs or any one of the external keyers. Watch this YouTube video and it will erase any doubt about iambic vs straight.  

I use a Kent twin paddle but keys are like guns and musical instruments. You've got to find one that fits your style of sending and just because Joe Bob likes Kent keys, Glocks, and Fenders doesn't mean you will like it. You may prefer Bencher, Springfield Armory, and Gibson.

Honestly I have listened in on some QSO's and can pick out the guys running strait keys. The lambic paddles always sound the same, very efficient way to communicate no doubt there.

I figured if I was going to learn code, I wanted to do it in a more traditional form. I am not ruling out using a lambic paddle, but I want to find a decent strait key also and play around.

I have done alright using the program "Just Learn Morse Code" although I will not say that I "know" code.
Mostly because I have not committed the time to it by any stretch of the imagination.

I do not have a key of either type, but would see myself wanting to learn on a straight key first.
Kind of like thoroughly learning iron sights before jumping ahead to them new fangled optics things.

When I started on my quest to learn CW I wanted to plow new dirt and see if the traditional methods could be improved on. The old guard at my local club was divided between the traditionalists and those who wanted to know how this lab experiment went. So I went with learning code at 12 to 15wpm off the bat. Gets you into learning the how the character sounds rather than counting the dits and dahs then mentally looking it up. Bypassed the straight key and went to iambic. Even switched the paddles so the thumb does the dahs and the index finger does the dits. Some of the old guard traditionalists conceded that maybe we in the ham radio community need to look at better ways to teach CW to keep the art form alive.

Dirty secret of CW. It's easier to send than to copy. Practice copying every chance you get. Copy at speeds that are above your current skill level. You may only get one out of five chars but it will come together if you keep at it. No matter what key you send with you still have to have the skill to copy. The ARRL code practice sessions are a great example of what good code sounds like and to practice copying on. It's software generated by the way.

If you want to start off on a straight key, go for it. Personally, I'm about sending good code efficiently. The straight key doesn't do it for me. Just my opinion.