CW Iambic A vs B
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Jeff Rinehart
Jun 30, 2024, 8:15:36 PM6/30/24
to Valleyhams, VARA Group
I have been asked about learning CW by several folks. I tell everyone to first learn to Copy CW. Then . . . if you are serious about sending CW using squeeze paddles, below is a good video demonstrating the difference between Mode A and Mode B.
Note: If you have a nice old time CW Key, put it up on the shelf for display of "how it used to be" and get a set of paddles. Not a single paddle - dual squeeze type paddles.
So . . . . you didn't know there were different modes of CW? Watch this video.
Now I learned this mode A vs. B thing early on - thanks to Joe W4XD - a
great CW contester. The only thing I wish I had done differently was to use the paddles with my "non-dominate" hand. I write right handed, like most
folks, and should have learned to send CW with my left hand - thus
leaving my right hand to write down notes or type one handed. But it's too late for me to learn
Anything New!
It takes a lot of practice to learn to send properly with paddles but it is worth the agony. At 10 or 15 wpm it doesn't matter much whether you beat back and forth on the paddles or use the squeeze method. When you surpass 20 wpm you will be glad you agonized learning the squeeze method. So learn the squeeze method from the beginning and as your speed increases, you will have already formed the proper habits.
You may want to do some research on the Farnsworth Method of sending/learning CW. It is basically learning the characters at a fast speed (about 20 wpm) and adding space between the characters so that you have time to remember the characters. As you get better, you reduce the spacing between the individual characters. This is the accepted method in most circles.
Give CW a try - it's lots easier to learn when you are younger so don't wait till after retirement. Spending 10 or 15 minutes a day is a good place to start.
Most of the newer HF rigs default to CW Mode B.
Jeff W4PJW
Randy Smith
Jun 30, 2024, 9:39:25 PM6/30/24
to Jeff Rinehart, Valleyhams
I've been asked this several times too Jeff and perhaps even by some of the same people.
I would just like to emphasize one point you made in another way.
There are many "learn cw now" type programs for sale on the commercial market that utilize cutesy phrases, counting dots and dashes, or other ways to help relate what you heard to something you can translate to a particular character. These could be great tools if you want to learn and use cw at 5 wpm but cw isn't very useful at that speed *and* you will have to learn it all over again, at speed, when you want to copy faster.
Learn the sound of the characters by their distinctive rhythm. They won't have this below 22-24 wpm which means you need to learn to recognize them at that speed. Put all the space you need between the characters, eg. Farnsworth method, just learn the characters by their rhythm. If they seem "too fast" when you hear them at this speed, you're focused on hearing the individual dots and dashes instead of hearing the overall rhythm of the character. In other words, you're trying to count them. Change your approach and you'll be surprised how quickly you can pick it up.
There are many "learn cw now" type programs for sale on the commercial market that utilize cutesy phrases, counting dots and dashes, or other ways to help relate what you heard to something you can translate to a particular character. These could be great tools if you want to learn and use cw at 5 wpm but cw isn't very useful at that speed *and* you will have to learn it all over again, at speed, when you want to copy faster.
Learn the sound of the characters by their distinctive rhythm. They won't have this below 22-24 wpm which means you need to learn to recognize them at that speed. Put all the space you need between the characters, eg. Farnsworth method, just learn the characters by their rhythm. If they seem "too fast" when you hear them at this speed, you're focused on hearing the individual dots and dashes instead of hearing the overall rhythm of the character. In other words, you're trying to count them. Change your approach and you'll be surprised how quickly you can pick it up.
The FCC used to test at 5 and 13 wpm, the latter being one of the most difficult speeds to copy. It's way too fast to count dots and dashes or use one of the phrase relation methods and way too slow for the characters to have a distinctive rhythm. What were they thinking?
Randy
Randy
Ray Albers
Jun 30, 2024, 9:44:19 PM6/30/24
to Jeff Rinehart, Valleyhams, VARA Group
Right on, Jeff!! Thanks for this excellent, informative post.
Years ago, when I finally traded my single lever paddle (which was a Vibroplex bug before I cut it apart) for a dual paddle, I started with Iambic A - fortunately I soon realized my mistake and went to mode B.
I'll just add one more comment in favor of Iambic vs back and forth: you will send more perfect CW with Iambic. Consider the sending of "Q," With back and forth - one finger presses Dah paddle and releases after two dahs - then other finger presses dit paddle and releases. And after that dit gets sent, at just the right instant, you press the Dah paddle. Notice all the human timing skill needed! With Iambic, the machine takes care of the timing, and I bet it'll do it better than you can. I KNOW it does it better than I can!
73
Ray K2HYD
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Howard Zehr
Jun 30, 2024, 9:50:09 PM6/30/24
to Ray Albers, Jeff Rinehart, Valley Hams, VARA Group
Interesting that you traded single for dual lever, Ray, because I’ve gone the other way way. After years using dual paddles - and some very good ones - I’ve switched completely to single lever paddles and am much happier with them. A matter of personal preference, I guess.
73 Howard K4LXY
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Ray Albers
Jun 30, 2024, 10:06:32 PM6/30/24
to Howard Zehr, Jeff Rinehart, Valley Hams, VARA Group
Whatever makes you happy is the right choice, Howard! (Next thing you know, you'll be telling us you've gone to a bug :-)
Speaking of which, I recently bought a bug at a hamfest, thinking it would be fun to use it from time to time, especially since I finally got around to getting an SKCC number. So I practiced a bit with a code practice oscillator (another hamfest purchase) but then I realized I was stumbling a bit when sending with the paddle- obviously my aging brain isn't flexible enough to speak two languages, so to speak. So taking Jeff's advice, the bug is relegated to the display shelf.
73 de K2HYD
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ws6x...@gmail.com
Jul 1, 2024, 7:13:46 AM7/1/24
to Jeff Rinehart, Valleyhams, VARA Group
From: 'Jeff Rinehart' via Valley Hams <valle...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 30, 2024 8:15 PM
To: Valleyhams <valle...@googlegroups.com>; VARA Group <vara...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Valley Hams] CW Iambic A vs B
The only thing I wish I had done differently was to use the paddles with my "non-dominate" hand. I write right handed, like most folks, and should have learned to send CW with my left hand - thus leaving my right hand to write down notes or type one handed. But it's too late for me to learn Anything New!
>>> De lo contrario, señor Rinehart.
If you want to send CW with your non-dominant hand, simply reverse the paddles, either in hardware or software. Within 10 minutes, you should be sending just as well as with your dominant hand.
Jim – WS6X
Robert P VanFossen
Jul 1, 2024, 7:21:51 AM7/1/24
to valle...@googlegroups.com
Jim, you told me about that some time ago and I tried it. It
really works. A lot of the newer inexpensive paddles I have seen
lately have a switch on the key to reverse them. K4DJG
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Randy Smith
Jul 1, 2024, 8:17:21 AM7/1/24
to ws6x...@gmail.com, Jeff Rinehart, Valleyhams
On Mon, Jul 1, 2024 at 7:13 AM <ws6x...@gmail.com> wrote:
It's even easier if you simultaneously mimic the sending motion with your dominant side. It's a feature of bilateral symmetry. :)
Randy
Jim Clymer
Jul 1, 2024, 8:33:33 AM7/1/24
to Randy Smith, Jeff Rinehart, Valleyhams
On Mon, Jul 1, 2024, 8:17 AM Randy Smith <rand...@gmail.com> wrote:
It's even easier if you simultaneously mimic the sending motion with your dominant side. It's a feature of bilateral symmetry. :)Randy
>>> Yes! I didn't mention it, but if you have two similar paddles, you can send simultaneously with both hands!
Jim - WS6X
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