Getting Your Morse Code Upgrade A Worthy Challenge - Hamquick.com Feature Article of the month. Why do I need to learn morse code? For those of you new to ham radio, I must first explain that in order to use frequencies below 30Mhz, you need to pass a morse code exam. What this exam consists of will be discussed later. Th importance of the morse code upgrade is that ham radio bands below 30Mhz offer the ability to talk all over the world via voice morse code, and other modes. Without a morse code upgrade to your license, access to the ham radio bands above 30Mhz is not allowed. What does this morse code test consist of? The test consist of a simple conversation between two amateur stations that you listen to on a tape recorder. The conversation is usually ten minutes long with a speed of a five-words-per-minute. This means that every time a minute is past, you will have heard about five words said. During the ten minutes, you have the opportunity to write down on a sheet of paper what you have heard. Once the test is over, a ten question exam will be handed to you. This exam will ask you questions about what you heard in the morse code conversation. It will ask you details like what state the first operator said he was from, or what model of radio he was using. So you must be careful to record specific details when you hear them. The test will test you on all the letters of the alphabet, A-Z, all the numbers 0 through 9, and on punctuation period, question mark, and a few other special procedural signs like "End of Message"(SK). Make sure you know and have learned all these characters before you attempt to pass the test. Morse Code Tips One wise tip is to make sure you copy as much of the conversation as you can, and try your best to copy down any specific details about the two people as you can. Try to copy down numbers, names, locations, and the weather. After the test is over, look for spelling mistakes. Maybe you mistook an "L" for an "F" in "Frank". It will be obvious to you that "Lank" is not a real name. Correcting such errors can make or break your test. Another strategy is to fill in your gaps where you missed some letters. Example: "My // lo_cati_n // i_ // Ca _ _ f _ r _ ia." (Note: The double slashes separate the words.) Can you fill in the blanks? It says: "My location is California." If you can fill in those blanks, than you understand how the process works. These strategies are very simple and often can make the difference when you take the exam. Studying: To study for the exam is easier than you think. All you need to do is download a copy of NuMorse from Nu-Ware. This software is available on QRZ.com. The trick is to learn the morse code by ear. Morse code is similar to learning your times tables in second grade. Instead of remembering number combinations on paper, you will have to remember sound pattern combinations by ear. You will be ready to take the test when you hear the letter via a speaker, and you recognize it immediately as the correct letter. TO learn it this way, I recommend using the software described above to send yourself letters via the computer speakers. Try to identify the letters without looking at the screen,a nd without counting the number of dits and dashes. When you have learned all the numbers, letters, punctuation marks, and pro-signs, you are ready to practice copying morse code QSO's. A morse code QSO, is a conversation similar to what you will have to copy on your test. They are fake conversations between two ham radio operators. Don't Do's DO not study using tapes. The main reason is, you will hear the same words every time you play the tape, and you will learn to anticipate what the next morse code word will be. Instead of leaning the actual letters the tape will teach your brain what order the words come in and you will know what the word is before the narrator even sends it. Do not learn the morse code characters visually. This is the worst way to learn it. What do I mean by visually? I am talking about learning the morse code by either memorizing the number of dits or dashes in each of the letters, or by looking at the number of dits or dashes displayed each time a character is displayed on your monitor via a software program. But why should I not learn it that way? Because if you are learning it visually, your brain will be trained to "see" the letters, either in your minds eye, or on a screen. If you learn to "see" it in your minds eye, you will be slowed down on the test, since by the time you visualize the letter in your mind, another one is being sent. To train yourself to see it on a screen is even worse. There will be no computer screen provided when you take the test. This will defeat the purpose of the entire exam. Resources Some good online morse code websites are in the Links Page. One of them is AA9PW. This website has some good morse code resources for you to read. The best resource is the next article. I will be discussing a program called NuMorse Pro, that is available for free(shareware) through which you can learn your morse code. It is very easy to use, and I highly recommend using it. If you live in a rural area, or are having trouble finding a testing session near you, I suggest you call the ARRL, or W5YI Volunteer Exam Coordinators, and ask them if they can find, or create a testing session in your area. They will be glad to assist you, and should be able to find a testing place within a reasonable distance from your home. The phone number for W5YI and the ARRL are listed on this page: VEC Page Final Notes If there was only one thing I could recommend that you do to learn morse code it would be that you go and download NuMorse Pro. The link to download it is on the next page. I used it and I highly recommend it. If you don't have a computer, and are reading this away from home, I recommend that you print out the morse code alphabet and build a morse code oscillator and have someone send you the code. Another way is to listen to morse code tune on a friends ham radio. There are many stations sending morse code. Try to find one sending slow enough for you to hear the individual characters. Continued.... » Learning the Code. Would you like to post this on your website?  Reprint information, Hamquick Reprint Rights Copyright 2002. Samuel Szarka. www.hamquick.com