For the last few months Vince / VE6LK has been running a YouTube channel series "One CW Question". Its a GREAT series where he interviews Morse Code operators of ALL LEVLES about the one TIP these operators would offer to new Morse Code operators and enthusiast. When you get a chance check out this series. Link Below
https://www.youtube.com/playlistlist=PLZq42zkkA9oOPUACaoOgGOMpDxnDSfxwQ
Vince's series got me thinking about my introduction into Amateur Radio. As an only child during the early 50's television was in its infancy and commercial broadcast radio was my highway to the world. The RCA Victor Cabinet Radio to the right in this photo was the centerpiece of our Living Room. It had AM and Shortwave Bands. FM? It was around but there were very few FM broadcast stations in the U.S. at that time.
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| circa 1954 |
It was during the Christmas holiday of 1956 when I was introduced to Amateur Radio and was totally amazed that a REGUALR person could talk to someone on the other side of the world without wires. (Telephone). That was my first step onto my road to ham radio.
A couple of years would pass before receiving a Gilbert Erector Set for Christmas. It was a huge set with different types of components including an electric motor. The manual contained instructions to build all kinds of neat things. It opened this kid's mind to endless possibilities. One being, building a telegraph kit. The picture below is what my Erector Set looked like plus an example of the build of my telegraph kit. My battery though was a 6V Lantern battery. My first telegraph key,
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| Gilbert Erector Set |
That big RCA Victor Cabinet radio also played a role along my Morse Code road. I was lucky that sometimes on the shortwave portion of that radio I could pick up Morse Code signals. Much to my dismay, the speeds were far too fast for my brain to decode. However, that only made me hunger to find out more about ham radio.
It wasn't until I moved up from a Cub Scout to a Boy Scout that my Morse Code interest truly took roots. The Boy Scouts offer so many areas of learning and exposure through their Merit Badge program. For me, it made learning "FUN".
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| 1960 Boy Scout Manual |
To the amazement of the pack leaders and my Troops sponsors, the Merit Badge I wanted was, the Signs, Signals, and Codes Merit Badge. No one in the history of this Troop had earned this Merit Badge. A teacher who was a member of the church that sponsored my Troop was willing to assist me in earning my Signs, Signals and Codes Badge. If you think CW Morse Code is difficult, try sending Code with Signal Flags and using a Boy Scout flashlight to act as a Signal Lamp to send Code. For me with my trusty Erector Set telegraph kit setup, learning Telegraph Morse Code was easier than the other two. It took me a full year to learn the Signs, Signals and Codes to earn that Merit Badge.
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Signs, Signals and Codes
Merit Badge
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That Merit Badge made me want more. But the Scouts couldn't offer any more along the lines of codes. So, that 1956 Christmas holiday exposure to Amateur Radio re-surfaced. How could I get an Amateur Radio license?
Back then, there wasn't an Internet. There weren't any personal computers. There were no thumb drives, Micro discs, floppy discs, or SD cards. There weren't CD's. There were no cassettes or cassette players. There were reel-to-reel tapes but who could afford tapes and the player / recorder back then. Thank God for records (LP's) and libraries.
For months, I spent countless hours at the library reading through FCC material about not only Amateur Radio licenses but Radiotelephone Broadcast licensing as well. (At 20, I earned a First Class Radiotelephone Operator License) It took several more months to save money from allowance and selling Christmas cards to purchase an Ameco Equipment Company Morse Code Album (LP) set and my first REAL straight key, which I still have today more than 60 years old
I not only wore grooves into those LPs but went through several needles on my record player as well. I had modified my Erector Set Telegraph setup to include a doorbell buzzer and was gifted a pair of WWII telegraph headphones to the delight of my parents. I spent many a late night in our basement listening to code on those LPs.
Finally in the fall of 1963 along with that teacher who helped me earn my Signs, Signals, and Codes Merit Badge, accompanied me to take my Amateur Radio Novice exam. I marched into the Federal building in Louisville, KY. USA with (4) #2 pencils, a notebook with several sheets of loose leaf paper and the contraption below. I was the "Young Sheldon" before there was one.
The written portion of the Novice test was easy for me as I memorized the answers. The code test wasn't that difficult as I was rather hard headed and refused to believe what some had told me to not worry if I failed the code as a lot of people failed it the first time. I was sure I had passed the test and sure enough several months later a Novice license arrived in the mail.
Unfortunately the one thing I didn't plan for after getting my license was the cost of equipment. I had a year to upgrade from my Novice license but there was no way I could delivery enough newspapers in a year to purchase the Heathkit rigs I wanted. And it was about that time girls and sports came into play in my life and Amateur Radio quickly took a back seat.
The seed was planted and for the years that followed I toiled around getting relicensed and purchased licensing handbooks and casually listened to those Ameco LP's but was not truly devoted like I was as a kid. Instead, I committed myself to obtain my Third Class and First Broadcast license to pursue a career in radio broadcasting in my late teens.
As the years passed and I approached middle age I ran out of excuses to get relicensed. In January 1983, I did what some may consider unfounded and purchased a used Ten Tec Century 21, Butternut HF5V antenna and an ARRL Novice License Manual. For me , this forced my hand to become relicensed.
Unfortunately, I had lost the mindset of that fearless Boy Scout and allowed the doubts of my middle aged mind enter. Relearning Morse Code was different and difficult this time. Listening to the Ameco LP's wasn't helping. At that time there were cassette tapes of code practice along with the new technology of floppy disk with code. None of it help. Then, I went back to my days of listening to shortwave radio and started listening to and copying Morse Code QSOs on my Ten Tec Century 21. THIS IS WHAT WORKED FOR ME. I found it easier and more natural FOR ME to hear actual QSOs. Morse Code is a language and in order to fully learn it, I believe you have to immerse oneself in the language.
The written Novice exam was a piece of cake and in March 1983, I passed my Novice exam and on Field Day after 1983, the mailman delivered my Novice Class License of KB4FLC. On that day I continued my childlike mindset, settled into my little shack and jumped on the air during Field Day. I didn't break any records but thanks to others, I experienced ONE GREAT FIELD DAY as a newly licensed Ham Radio operator.
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1983 Field Day
Received 2nd Novice license
this day
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In 1984, I upgraded to General and in 1991 upgraded to Advanced while easily passing the EXTRA code requirement of 20 WPM but missed passing the EXTRA written exam by 2 questions which I had not studied for. after upgrading to Advanced, I can count the times on both hands I used Morse Code from 1991 - 2021.
It was during the COVID shutdown, I decided to upgrade to EXTRA, went back to my basis of equipment building and troubleshooting. I discovered Summits on the Air, Parks on the Air, and more importantly, rediscovered Morse Code.
Again FOR ME, I jumped right back into the fray of getting on the air, making tons of sending mistakes using both a straight key and paddle, missing all types of words when receiving and asking for a lot of repeats. Thank God for the number of patient operators who worked with my ineptness. This is how I sounded on one session of sending CQ in 2021.
To me, this sounded horrific. However, I was not going to let my slow sending, along with sending "agn" and "QRS" prevent me from improving my new Morse Code Journey down the BRICK road. Like I did on that "Field Day" in 1983, I jumped right back on the air and flung myself into LISTENING and speaking the language of Morse Code again.
Now as I approach 3/4 of a century on this earth, for me the pitfalls of relearning something or learning something new is only dependent of my ability to establish a consistent routine of practice in order achieve some positive consistency. To date more than 95% of my QSOs are Morse Code. And I still practice using a straight key just as I did as a pre-teen.
As I look back at the start (the 50's) of my Morse Code Journey Down the BRICK Road; there were likely less than a handful of resources available to learn Morse Code. One take away I got from VE6LK Vince's "One CW Question" is the outstanding operator's TIPS which are given in Vince's series. All of which are valuable and great. The great thing is all of the tips are not right and all are not wrong. What works for one may not work for someone else. Everyone learns at a different pace, different method and different concept. That's what is so GREAT about the MANY resources available today versus when I started my Morse Code Journey. The list is endless. They key is find the one which works for you and don't stop until you find the one that suits you..
My only advice is learn like a child who is fearless and has not been stained by negatively. You may face obstacles but don't let that, or others or the adult in you create doubt that you are incapable of beginning your Morse Code Journey Down The "BRICK" Road.
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