Overview
I was personally drawn to amateur radio by my fascination with communicating long distance without any infrastructure, a battery, radio and antenna and you were ready to talk to the world. Morse Code is particularly suited to mobile low power long range communication. Morse code signals (also known as CW, for Continuous wave) penetrate interference and can be generated by equipment that is very simple and cheap to build. By the time I finally got my General license the requirement for Morse code had been removed. Even without the requirement my captivation with Morse code continued and I sought ways to teach myself.
I learned about the Koch and Farnsworth methods when I ran across a really nice desktop program by G4FON. It's a Windows program he wrote to help keep his Morse code skills in shape. It's a good tool that I used for a while to train. The only downside to G4FON's trainer is that I had to sit at my computer to use it. I kept looking for something I could take with me.
When I started developing software for Apple iOS I knew I had found a mobile platform that I could use to create a Morse code training app. Morse Elmer is the first version of this trainer and I'm using it to learn Morse code.
I learned about the Koch and Farnsworth methods when I ran across a really nice desktop program by G4FON. It's a Windows program he wrote to help keep his Morse code skills in shape. It's a good tool that I used for a while to train. The only downside to G4FON's trainer is that I had to sit at my computer to use it. I kept looking for something I could take with me.
When I started developing software for Apple iOS I knew I had found a mobile platform that I could use to create a Morse code training app. Morse Elmer is the first version of this trainer and I'm using it to learn Morse code.
Configuration
There are eight configurable aspects to your training in Morse Elmer. Five of these apply to your training sessions: Target Speed, Farnsworth Spacing, Duration, Frequency and Delay. Three, apply to your training set: Word Size, Which Set and Set Size.
Training Session
The first setting in your Training Session is used to set your "Target Speed" in Words Per Minute (WPM). This is the rate the dits and dahs are sent within the individual characters. You set this to the speed you ultimately want to use. With Koch and Farnsworth, you don't work your way up from a slower speed, from the beginning you learn to recognize the characters at the full speed you want to use.
The next setting is used to adjust your Farnsworth spacing, if any. The Farnsworth spacing varies from "off" to your current Target Speed. If you're having trouble identifying characters before the next one starts you can use this to exaggerate the spacing between characters until you're more comfortable with your training set.
The duration setting adjusts the length of your training session. Morse Elmer supports training sessions as short as one minute, but for the best results you should use sessions that are five minutes in length.
The next setting in the Training Session section adjusts the frequency of the audio you hear during training. Morse Elmer defaults to 440 Hz, generally associated with the A note above middle C.
The last setting in the Training Session section will enable a five second delay after you tap the "Start" button before the audio starts. This will give you a chance to get ready to start copying.
The next setting is used to adjust your Farnsworth spacing, if any. The Farnsworth spacing varies from "off" to your current Target Speed. If you're having trouble identifying characters before the next one starts you can use this to exaggerate the spacing between characters until you're more comfortable with your training set.
The duration setting adjusts the length of your training session. Morse Elmer supports training sessions as short as one minute, but for the best results you should use sessions that are five minutes in length.
The next setting in the Training Session section adjusts the frequency of the audio you hear during training. Morse Elmer defaults to 440 Hz, generally associated with the A note above middle C.
The last setting in the Training Session section will enable a five second delay after you tap the "Start" button before the audio starts. This will give you a chance to get ready to start copying.
Training Set
The first setting in the Training Set section specifies either fixed or random length words in your training set. You have three choices of fixed word size: 3, 5, or 7 characters.
The next setting in the Training Set section allows you to choose which training set to use. Morse Elmer supports six different training Sets.
The next setting in the Training Set section allows you to choose which training set to use. Morse Elmer supports six different training Sets.
The Default Set consists of 43 assorted alphabetic, numeric, punctuation and prosign characters. The Default Set is a good starting place to learn the characters you're going to initially need on air.
The next four sets focus on particular subgroups of the Default Set. The Letters Set is composed of the 26 letters in the alphabet. The Numbers Set is composed of the numbers 0 through 9. The Prosigns set consists of 11 special prosigns or procedural signals. The Punctuation set is composed of 18 different symbols.
The last set, the Custom Set, was added in version 1.2. This set allows you to create your own training set from members of any of the other sets: Letters, Numbers, Prosigns and Punctuation.
The next four sets focus on particular subgroups of the Default Set. The Letters Set is composed of the 26 letters in the alphabet. The Numbers Set is composed of the numbers 0 through 9. The Prosigns set consists of 11 special prosigns or procedural signals. The Punctuation set is composed of 18 different symbols.
The last set, the Custom Set, was added in version 1.2. This set allows you to create your own training set from members of any of the other sets: Letters, Numbers, Prosigns and Punctuation.
A button at the bottom of the Training Sets page allows you to create or edit your training set. A Custom Set allows you to select the characters and the order of your training set.
With a custom set you can focus on characters that are giving you trouble by creating a Training set that includes just those characters.
NOTE: since Morse Elmer uses the standard iOS keyboard when creating your custom set, some of the special characters available are not suported by Morse Elmer and will not be included in the set if you type them.
A warning will be displayed if you attempt entry of unsupported or duplicate characters.
The last setting in the Training Set Section is where you specify the size of your training set.
Morse Elmer controls the order of the characters in your training set. You just set the size. With the Koch method, you initially start with a training set size of two characters. Once your training proficiency for those two characters reaches 90%, you add another character. To add or remove characters from your training set use the corresponding "+" and "-" buttons. You can use the "speaker" button to hear what the last character in the training set sounds like. The character audio will be generated at the Target Speed. This is a good way to introduce yourself to a new character before you start training.
The Train Tab will show your current settings with a "Start" button in the middle of the screen. Tap the "Start" button to begin your training. If you've enabled the Training Session Delay, a five second countdown will be displayed before the training audio starts.
During your training session, Morse Elmer will generate random or fixed word-length groups of characters drawn from your current training set. As Morse Elmer generates the Morse code, you copy what you think was sent onto your pad of paper. Once the training session is complete, switch to the Results tab to check how well you did.
Compare what you copied during the training session to what Morse Elmer sent as shown on the Results tab. Enter the number of characters you correctly copied and tap "Submit".
Morse Elmer keeps track of how well you are doing on the next tab, the Progress tab.
Morse Elmer keeps track of how well you are doing on the next tab, the Progress tab.
This tab shows a graph reflecting your accuracy for each training session. Your goal of 90% is marked by a horizontal yellow dashed line. In the upper right corner is an "Edit" button that allows you to delete a submission you may have entered incorrectly.
Once you achieve an accuracy of 90% on your training set (shown as crossing the yellow dashed line), go back to the Settings tab and add another character and start again.
In no time you'll have mastered enough characters that you can broaden your training by listening to the regularly scheduled code practice transmissions broadcast by the primary operating station W1AW of the American Radio Relay League(ARRL). Good Luck!
73, KI4OWG
Once you achieve an accuracy of 90% on your training set (shown as crossing the yellow dashed line), go back to the Settings tab and add another character and start again.
In no time you'll have mastered enough characters that you can broaden your training by listening to the regularly scheduled code practice transmissions broadcast by the primary operating station W1AW of the American Radio Relay League(ARRL). Good Luck!
73, KI4OWG
Background
Koch Method
The Koch method, named after German psychologist Ludwig Koch, randomly generates word-length combinations of letters drawn from a training set that initially starts with just two characters. These "words" are sent at the speed you want to learn (words per minute). During a training session you listen to the Morse code, translate what you hear and copy it down. At the end of the training session you compare what you copied to what Morse Elmer sent. Once you can copy with at least 90% accuracy, you add another character to your training set and start again. Your training is complete when you can copy all the characters in your training set that Morse Elmer can generate for 5 minutes with 90% accuracy at your desired speed.
Farnsworth Spacing
If you're having problems differentiating between the characters in your training set, you can take advantage of Morse Elmer's ability to use Farnsworth spacing. Farnsworth spacing, based on a method identified by Donald R. "Russ" Farnsworth (W6TTB), increases the space or silence between the Morse characters you are learning. The extra space gives you more time to understand a character before hearing the next one. The Morse characters themselves continue to be sent at the target speed you want to learn. Farnsworth spacing only exaggerates the space between characters. As you improve, you can adjust the Farnsworth spacing until it's off and you're learning everything at your target speed.
Prosigns
Prosigns are a form of transmission control characters. Although they are written like two or three ordinary alphabetic characters, the actual Morse Code is sent without inserting the normal intercharacter spaces.
Punctuation
There are no ITU standards for &, $, _ and !. Morse Elmer includes the KW digraph for the exclamation point instead of the older MN digraph which originally arose from American landline telegraphy code. The dollar sign is represented by the SX diagraph from the Phillips Code, a collection of abbreviations used on land line telegraphy. The ampersand is given the same prosign as wait. Morse Elmer includes the most recent addition to the official Morse character set, the @. The at sign is represented by the AC digraph and was added on May 24, 2004, the 160th anniversary of the first Morse telegraph transmission. It's also the first addition since World War I.
In App Feedback and Support
As of version 1.2 Morse Elmer includes in app methods to provide feedback or request support. The blog will provide an area for users to ask questions and discuss new features. Twitter will be used to notify Morse Elmer followers of app updates. An email is included for direct questions to the developer regarding Morse Elmer.
