Greetings to MorsewithNeil CW Practice for ASOC Examination
I am Ms. Neil Bruce, aka YL Neil VU3EFZ, from Bangalore
This blog is created to prepare for the general grade and share resources, and prepare for the same.
I will begin by providing an introduction to CW, also known as Morse Code, and then share some resources for exam preparation, as well as CW Practice.
Minimum essentials:
1. Key along with Code Practice Oscillator.
2. Dedication to a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes of daily practice. (50% will be listening to the audio files, the other half will be checking and correcting the mistakes that we might make)
Learning the Radiotelegraph Code - 1970.pdf (Please use this only for educational purposes and don't republish it on other platforms)
Morse Practice Sheet.pdf (Please take a printout of this for practice)
ASOC Study Material by NIAR (Good Study Material for Both General and Restricted grade ASOC exam. Please use this only for educational purposes and don't republish it on other platforms)
ASOC Study Material by SIARS (This is a very good and simple study material. If the above does not work, this is the next ideal material to use. Please use this only for educational purposes and don't republish it on other platforms)
As we progress, more tools and resources will be introduced to help us progress.
The goal of this blog is not only to pass the ASOC exam but also to come on air with Morse.
As soon as we are done with our beginner session, which will be sufficient to pass the ASOC exam, we can progress again to the next level to increase our speed.
The first few sessions won't be very long as we are just starting, but as we progress, the time will increase.
Some literature about Morse:
1. The Art n Skill of Radio Telegraphy.pdf (Please use this only for educational purposes and don't republish it on other platforms)
2. Zen n The Art of Radiotelegraphy.pdf (Please use this only for educational purposes and don't republish it on other platforms)
It is not good to have a pictorial representation, as Morse is a sound language; also, this will prevent you from increasing the speed beyond the basic level. Learn Morse by SOUND, not by signs.
If you learn using visuals, then every time you hear a sound, you start counting mentally and then identify the letter and formation of words; therefore, instead of instant recognition of letters, it becomes a three-step process resulting in missing letters due to longer time for each letter, so it is advisable to learn Morse as sound patterns.
Gateway to Ham Radio available at Flipkart:
https://www.flipkart.com/gateway-ham-radio-guide-amateur/p/itm68d43a03950f7?pid=9788193886816
This is a very good reference book/study material for the Amateur Radio examination
It is not required, but if you want to procure it, the link is above.
Guidelines for the examination
Morse receiving: (Speed: 8 words per minute)
The test piece will consist of a plain language passage of 200 characters, which may comprise letters, figures. Test piece may also contain the following punctuation, i.e. full stop, comma, semi-colon, break-sign, hyphen and question mark. The average words shall contain five characters, and each figure and punctuation will be counted as two characters. The test will be for five consecutive minutes at a speed of 8 words per minute. A short practice piece of one minute shall be sent at the prescribed speed before the start of the actual test. Candidates will not be allowed more than one attempt in the Morse reception and sending test; the test may be written in ink or pencil, but must be legible. Overwriting will be treated as an error. If any correction is required, the candidate may strike the wrong character and write the correct one above the character. More than 5 errors will disqualify a candidate. However, if a candidate receives without any error in any part of the passage continuously for a minute duration will be declared successful in the Morse reception test.
Something you can use for self-practice if you are already good with CW
https://www.arrl.org/code-practice-files
Morsle - the daily Morse code challenge
From: D.J.J. Ring, Jr.
Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2022 00:56:34 PDT
https://morsle.fun/
Just for fun.
Morsle - the daily Morse code challenge
Welcome to the daily Morse code challenge
Brought to you by Remote Ham Radio
You have 21 tries to guess the word, which will be played aloud in Morse code.
Playback speed starts at 40 WPM, which is pretty fast, but don't worry! Every three tries, the speed decreases by 5 WPM.
Each time you play the word or submit a guess, you are deducted one try, so conserve those guesses until you are certain you have correctly guessed some letters.
You can guess at any time, even if there are some blank letters. Correct answers will be marked in green, but there are no other hints.
1. Use software only after learning the basic character set.
2. Don’t learn visually.
3. Learn only by sound patterns.
4. Pronounce the characters by saying dits and dahs. Don’t say dot and dash.
5. Use paper and pencil.
6. Don’t overwrite.
7. To correct mistakes, strike and write above.
8. If you miss a letter, write a blank and move on. Don’t stop to think.
9. Get accuracy before speed.
10. Practice at character speed of about 10 to 12 wpm for the exam.
11. QSOs happen at 15 WPM or higher.
12. Contests happen at 25 WPM to 30 WPM.
Reporting on experiments with CW software:
Tried two software in Windows and one in Android. All of them can be customised to follow sequences and Farnsworth timings.
Windows
GFON is too fast, even with maximum slowing down.
JLMC (Just Learn Morse Code) reports the error rate. But for that you need to type in the responses. This is not suitable for pen and paper copying.
Android
IZ2UUF Morse Koch CW is excellent. Feature rich and too many settings can be confusing. But it will be convenient for practising during travels
So, as of now, sticking with JLMC and IZ2UUF.
Using Farnsworth timings:
Practice at a higher character speed and a somewhat slower over all speed. After some trial and error, I have settled at 15 WPM character speed and 8 WPM overall speed.
Some YouTube resources to learn CW:
1. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE29501CA11B567E8&si=mIM2gAikILvrQcR7
2. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeHABUC1EXhwqUvRZB4mSP-Spcz1SrZbp&si=frgCAznyO9A8vCg5
3. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6jaK1F2bhkCTEEweX7-h1kD-RdxOV-gt&si=niCeMRoVKZIMvrIi
4. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFIhpOnB4DYXRKJwFFkTlidVilOdIEH_T&si=TcdAdNTfi3fao2ld
5. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAcwhL3Dop0wVEzH_PWe3CrTR7i4m1xHU&si=v96EZ8qRYMnvmvij
A YouTube Channel that has posted content about ASOC Exam
This video covers ASOC and CW syllabus.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMKbuR20uP1_Bu15IQGlZi7PD-D3F0tZx&si=7CSLdFhMZEhHl1UC
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