The students that were able to attend the last class received Certificates of Completion. L-R are Howard, NØAZ; Jason, KFØISL; Joe, KRØUT; Del, KØDDS; Rex, KFØJIR; and Tom, KFØNPE.
Technically speaking, the SFTARC’s 2024 Morse Code classes were completed on Saturday, February 24th. In reality--the learning of the Morse code never stops.
George, WBØCNK, sends Morse code to the students using the Farnsworth method.
Over a period of 8 weeks, students were exposed to the dits and dahs that make up the letters, numbers and operating prosigns. Beyond that, students learned about the history of the Morse code, common CW operating techniques and QSO formats in addition to a wide range of informational and entertaining stories and presentations. Classes were taught using the “Farnsworth” method, where each letter is sent at a speed of 13 wpm, but spaced out to yield a 5-wpm total rate.
Thanks to Howard, NØAZ, who brought a logic-analyzer-based device to work with his laptop, students and instructors were able to observe the formation of the dits and dahs that they were sending with a straight key. The goal is for the dahs to be three time the length of a dit, something that everyone discovered is easier said than done.
Work commitments, life issues, a blast of abnormally-cold weather, illness and even surgery got in the way for a number of students, causing the final classes to be about half the size of the first class of 18 students. The students that were at the February 24th class received a Certificate of Completion. Student ages ranged from 14 to 77 years old, with two father-and-son teams in the class. Many students who could not complete the classroom course reported that they are still studying on their own.
Jim, KØNK, demonstrated an on-the-air QSO for the students at the final class.
Three instructors, Jim, KØNK; Gil, WAØYCY; and Geoge, WBØCNK coached students on both sending and receiving skills. Instructors took turns sending Morse code with a straight key to the students. In some classes, students and instructors broke up into small groups to practice sending to each other. A code practice program by F6DQM, called CW_Player, was the primary tool used for home study by the students. A significant part of the instruction involved discussing and demonstrating operating practices that are often unique to CW operation. Straight keys and CPOs were made available to the students who needed them, thanks to the generosity and efforts of Joe, KR0UT and George, WBØCNK.
To help students move forward after the final formal class, the SFTARC is holding weekly Zoom-based CW nets on Thursday evenings. Additionally, students were provided with information on the W1AW code practice transmissions as well as a similar ARRL webpage and frequencies used by the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) where slower code operating can often be found.
We are again thankful to the Salvation Army in Olathe for providing a classroom and to the SFTARC for sponsoring the 2024 classes. Dah dah di di dit di di di dah dah.