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Awesome little project! One disclaimer about learning Morse code though - While that dit-dah tree might be a concise reference, is a horrible learning method.

Awesome little project! One disclaimer about learning Morse code though - While that dit-dah tree might be a concise reference, is a horrible learning method. Morse code is learned most efficiently through repetitive exercises in which you learn to "hear" the encoded symbols as characters. Master CW [1] has a nice little demo that shows how this works. Disclaimer: it's a small app that I built and operate for amateur radio operators and anyone interested in learning CW (Morse code). [1] - https://www.mastercw.com/demo/ https://www.mastercw.com/demo/

Gracana 5y ago
This is definitely the way to go. If you can hear the shape of the symbols, it's much easier to advance in speed. I've used this method a couple times to learn all the letters, though I never seem to maintain my interest in it, and I suck at sending. How do folks practice that side of it? Just get on the air?
- yuvadam 5y ago
  Maintaining interest is hard if you don't utilize your skills on the air, and generally that's how hams practice transmitting as well. However, I am working on a TX module that will allow hobbyists to practice straight or iambic keying with a keyboard. Sure it's much less sensitive than a proper paddle, but it's accessible and actually quite fun!
  - Gracana 5y ago
    That's a neat idea, especially if you could set it up to do practice QSOs. iirc back in the day there were some programs that allowed you to connect a key/paddle to your computer by abusing the serial port.
- curiousfab 5y ago
  If you can, get on the air - it's the most rewarding and fun thing to do. But not everyone is lucky enough to have space for antennas at home. You may enjoy the competitive side of Morse code: You can practice your code speed and compete against yourself and/or others in a number of ways, for example: MorseRunner (pileup simulator): http://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/ http://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/ RufzXP (callsign speed training): https://www.rufzxp.net/ https://www.rufzxp.net/ LCWO (callsign, word, plain text training): https://lcwo.net/ https://lcwo.net/ Good luck!
  - wrycoder 5y ago
    Small loop antennas can work well, especially when used with efficient modes like ft8 [0]. You can also get out of the house and get some fresh air using Summits on the Air [1] and Parks on the Air [2]. To learn code, try the Ham Morse app. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSJT_(amateur_radio_software) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSJT_(amateur_radio_software... [1] https://www.sota.org.uk/ https://www.sota.org.uk/ [2] https://parksontheair.com/ https://parksontheair.com/
wrycoder 5y ago
Two comments: your app didn’t work on my iPhone, and using the dot/dash notation is generally acknowledged to be inferior to using (e.g. dahdidah) sound patterns. (It looks like you’re using didahdit .-. for “K”, but that’s ”R”. I couldn’t get the following page to do anything, so I couldn’t check further.) A good app that’s in the iOS store is Ham Morse, which uses the famous Koch method to teach code.
immutology 5y ago
From what I've read, the Koch method combined with Farnsworth timing is the best way to learn to hear Morse code. Koch method is about using full-speed dits/dahs from the beginning and gradually adding a couple to the set of characters being trained as you learn to identify them by their sound. Farnsworth timing is about controlling the overall speed by putting pauses between the characters while training instead of slowing down the dits/dahs of the actual characters. I don't know the science behind it, but I've spent a few hours training this way. Each set of tones that makes up a character starts to sound like its own word, or phoneme at least. It feels like it's stimulating the subconscious language bits of the brain rather than the logical/conscious ones as if you tried listening and counting the dits/dahs.

Gracana 5y ago

This is definitely the way to go. If you can hear the shape of the symbols, it's much easier to advance in speed. I've used this method a couple times to learn all the letters, though I never seem to maintain my interest in it, and I suck at sending. How do folks practice that side of it? Just get on the air?

yuvadam 5y ago
Maintaining interest is hard if you don't utilize your skills on the air, and generally that's how hams practice transmitting as well. However, I am working on a TX module that will allow hobbyists to practice straight or iambic keying with a keyboard. Sure it's much less sensitive than a proper paddle, but it's accessible and actually quite fun!
- Gracana 5y ago
  That's a neat idea, especially if you could set it up to do practice QSOs. iirc back in the day there were some programs that allowed you to connect a key/paddle to your computer by abusing the serial port.
curiousfab 5y ago
If you can, get on the air - it's the most rewarding and fun thing to do. But not everyone is lucky enough to have space for antennas at home. You may enjoy the competitive side of Morse code: You can practice your code speed and compete against yourself and/or others in a number of ways, for example: MorseRunner (pileup simulator): http://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/ http://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/ RufzXP (callsign speed training): https://www.rufzxp.net/ https://www.rufzxp.net/ LCWO (callsign, word, plain text training): https://lcwo.net/ https://lcwo.net/ Good luck!
- wrycoder 5y ago
  Small loop antennas can work well, especially when used with efficient modes like ft8 [0]. You can also get out of the house and get some fresh air using Summits on the Air [1] and Parks on the Air [2]. To learn code, try the Ham Morse app. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSJT_(amateur_radio_software) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSJT_(amateur_radio_software... [1] https://www.sota.org.uk/ https://www.sota.org.uk/ [2] https://parksontheair.com/ https://parksontheair.com/

wrycoder 5y ago

Two comments: your app didn’t work on my iPhone, and using the dot/dash notation is generally acknowledged to be inferior to using (e.g. dahdidah) sound patterns. (It looks like you’re using didahdit .-. for “K”, but that’s ”R”. I couldn’t get the following page to do anything, so I couldn’t check further.) A good app that’s in the iOS store is Ham Morse, which uses the famous Koch method to teach code.

immutology 5y ago

From what I've read, the Koch method combined with Farnsworth timing is the best way to learn to hear Morse code. Koch method is about using full-speed dits/dahs from the beginning and gradually adding a couple to the set of characters being trained as you learn to identify them by their sound. Farnsworth timing is about controlling the overall speed by putting pauses between the characters while training instead of slowing down the dits/dahs of the actual characters. I don't know the science behind it, but I've spent a few hours training this way. Each set of tones that makes up a character starts to sound like its own word, or phoneme at least. It feels like it's stimulating the subconscious language bits of the brain rather than the logical/conscious ones as if you tried listening and counting the dits/dahs.