CW From the Field: The Importance of Morse by the Book
Special to The ARS Sojourner
There are adjustments you can make to keys and keyers that change the way CW sounds. Folks "pick" the best sound they like. There is, however, great fault in this practice.
First, it generates all manner of variation in readability as one persons like is another's disdain!
Second, such practice displays either ignorance or disregard for the defining rules of Morse.
Third, others claim that such variations are necessary to establish their unique sounding "fist." In the days of hand keying, that is directly keying the transmitter by the device held by the hand as compared to electronic keyers or computer keyboards where your movement triggers another device which keys the rig, the possibilities for unique fists was immense and listening on the air proved it. Such was the day of the straight key, the Sideswiper (Cootie) Key and the Bug.
There are those who hang on to this practice today defending it as the only way to fly. But they are dying off quickly. Few folks in CW land use bugs or hand keys anymore and those that do are finding fewer and fewer operators who can copy their fists well … a truth you cannot vote upon!
Morse Code is a very precisely defined system and it is this precision to which some object saying that it doesn't allow them to have uniqueness on the air . . . it doesn't allow a unique keying pattern or keying parameters. This is not true. It is more restrictive but far far from being devoid of uniqueness.
Let's visit the Rules of Morse. First off a little point of terminology.
We call CW a code. It is not. It is instead a mode. The mode being continuous wave. Therefore Morse is not CW, true. The (Morse) code is not a mode but a code for sending alphanumeric characters on various modes, of which CW is one. But go ahead, call Morse Code CW. Everyone else does and they know what you mean . . . but it ain't right!
Morse goes like this. There is a clock running . . . tick tick tick . . . with a constant time between each tick (for a given fixed Morse speed).
We call the element of time between ticks a TIMESLOT. Now, you can have this clock running . . . tick tick tick . . . and you agree to close your straight key at the same instant one "tick" begins, but how long you hold it closed (making a MARK or sending a SIGNAL) is up to you.
If you release the key before the next tick comes in time, you have not "filled" the timeslot 100%, something less. Doing this partial fill makes for horrible choppy CW! Morse requires that you fill the timeslot completely or 100% before releasing the key, breaking the contact.
This requirement of 100% fill for a timeslot is the foundation of Morse Code. Violate this and you are not sending Morse Code - it's something else and very far from the requirement and you have fewer and fewer folks to talk with!
Now follows one of the two most important parameters of the Morse Code.
Definition: WEIGHT is the percent of time a signal is found in a timeslot.
Definition: A DOT is a timeslot filled 100% by a signal/key down/Mark.
Put any other duration inside the timeslot and you DO NOT have a DOT, it's something else . . . usually disliked by most ears!
Think of this timeslot filled with 600 Hz audio (or your favorite audio frequency) and you have a note you can hear in time, it lasts for exactly the duration of one timeslot, a DOT.
Theorem (Truth): The WEIGHT of a DOT is 100%.
Definition: A DASH is three DOTS sent in a row, sent one right after the other in time. Three timeslots filled 100% with signal or a continuous signal lasting three complete timeslots.
Definition: RATIO is the duration of a DASH divided by the duration of a DOT.
Theorem (Truth): For Morse Code, RATIO = 3.
Proof: Length of a DASH is three timeslots, length of a DOT one.
ABSOLUTE LAW : NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, EVER mess with RATIO! Those who do will find themselves quickly without friends! Changing the ratio devoids the code being Morse and displays great IGNORANCE of how the code is constructed! Few folks copy well if RATIO does not equal 3!
Now comes an observation: Many confuse WEIGHT and RATIO as being the same parameter. Incorrect! WEIGHT is the percent fill of a timeslot by a mark or signal, RATIO is the duration of a DASH divided by the duration of a DOT. RATIO is NEVER to be "adjusted", WEIGHT most often is adjusted … from the only correct setting (100%) . . . one parameter the buggers like to play with in creating their unique sounding fists.
So, we now have three objects: TIMESLOT, DOT and DASH. At this point you may think we have it made, Morse Code is made up of DOTS and DASHES.
Let's send CQ: DASH DOT DASH DOT DASH DASH DOT DASH a total of 18 timeslots (all in a row) filled 100%. What does this sound like? Not the CQ we hear on the air! This one is one SOLID signal lasting a total of 18 timeslots in time, one long key down! What's wrong?
Why there is NO SPACING involved! Voila, enter another element (which we already have) we need to make use of, a SPACE.
Definition: A SPACE is a 100% empty timeslot.
Let's solve the mess with these definitions:
Definition: A DIT is a DOT followed immediately by a SPACE.
Theorem (Truth): The duration of a DIT is two timeslots.
Definition: A DAH is a DASH followed immediately by a SPACE.
Theorem (Truth): The duration of a DAH is four timeslots.
The truth of all this lies in the fact that we do NOT learn the Morse Code in DOTs and DASHes, rather we learn it using DITs and DAHs! We MUST have the trailing SPACE at the end of DOTs and DASHes to distinguish one in time from the other. Built in spacing!
The duration of a DASH divided by the duration of a DOT equals 3. From this many say the letter V (DOT DOT DOT DASH) is the letter to send when "tuning" up your ear to Morse. WRONG, big time! The letter V is not a sequence of DOT DOT DOT DASH (a SOLID keydown for six timeslots) but is DIT DIT DIT DAH. Each DIT is 2 timeslots long, the DAH is 4 timeslots long. The ratio of DAH to DIT is found to be 2, not 3! If we want a "tune up" letter, to hear the length of a string of DITS equal a DAH in time, we find the letter V has three DITS lasting 6 timeslots compared to one DAH lasting 4, or a ratio of 6/4 or 3/2 or 1.5 … not what your ear needs to tune to! The correct ratio between DIT and DAH is 2, thus 2 DITS = 1 DAH, and shazamm, we have DIT DIT DAH (the letter U) as the National Tune Up Letter, not the popular (incorrect) "V" (Beethoven roll over!)
So we have an understanding of these terms: TIMESLOT, DOT, DASH, RATIO, WEIGHT, DIT, DAH and SPACE.
Above WEIGHT was listed as one of the two most important parameters for Morse. The second is a set of criteria which defines letter and word spacing . . . the most violated law of Morse on the air! All systems can play games with SPACING!
Definition: LETTER or CHARACTER SPACING equals three timeslots.
Theorem (Truth): LETTER or CHARACTER SPACING equals three SPACES.
This means that you allow 3 spaces (complete timeslots) between letters of the alphabet, numbers, punctuation, etc. Crowd this spacing and you lose friends!
You will find others say this spacing is 4 not 3 spaces, they incorrectly count the ending space of the dit or dah of the character being sent in the CHARACTER spacing.
Definition: WORD SPACING equals six timeslots.
Theorem (Truth): WORD SPACING equals six SPACES.
Again you will find this quoted to be 7 not 6 by counting the trailing space.
The two MOST IMPORTANT and MOST VIOLATED parameters of Morse are WEIGHT and the SPACING RULES.
WEIGHT can be addressed technically and easily set to the correct value.
Goes like this: Think of sending a continuous string of DITS, a continuous string of DOT-followed-by-SPACE, (1 timeslot ON, 1 timeslot OFF) so that half the time you have key down, the other half not. 50% of the time the signal is there, 50% of the time not there.
Think of sending a continuous string of DAHS, a continuous string of DASH-followed-by-SPACE, (3 timeslots ON and 1 timeslot OFF), thus 75% of the time the signal is there and 25% it is not.
Now, take a VOM (for instance) and set it on a high resistance scale and put it across your key/keyer contacts. Hold the key down and full scale (FS) the meter. Then send a string of DITS. The meter must read 50% FS.
Send a string of DAHS, the meter must read 75%. If not, the parameter that requires adjustment is WEIGHT (NOT RATIO!). Adjust the weight control until DITS show 50% full scale. DAHS at 75% will prove the ratio is correct at 3. If the DAHS are not correct after the weight is set to 100% (=50% full scale VOM reading), then THROW the keyer/keyboard away or correct the incorrect ratio (MUST BE 3 …there is absolutely NO room for play here, the one parameter you NEVER mess with!) This takes care of the first of these two MOST IMPORTANT parameters of Morse, WEIGHTING.
The second of the two most important rules of Morse are the SPACING RULES, defining spacing between characters and words. The easiest way to solve this one is to use a computerize keyboard (assuming the designer and the computer do it right! --sometimes a BIG assumption!) where the computer sends correct CW. The operator, however is not doing CW, the operator is TYPING! If you do not use a (correctly designed) computerized keyboard, you will have control over the sending of Morse from your station. It is here that the greatest violation occurs, incorrect SPACING, with WORD SPACING leading the list. Most fists violate word spacing by chopping the time spent sending the WORD space, and the faster we send the more prone we are to squash the word spacing. There is an old adage among Morse ops: Give me a little word spacing (meaning almost any decent space) and I can copy anything! Truth lives here! If you want your fist to dazzle others, SPACE, put SPACE between your words, even to the extent that is sounds long or exaggerated . . . you will discover it is much much closer to being correct than you think!
Morse Code was invented to allow communication between two points, not to display one's own interpretation or convolution of the rules, Morse works best, is most challenging, when the rules are followed. Only then, when the rules are followed, can you truly become creative (become an artist!)
It takes years of practice to accomplish Morse using manual or keyer-based systems. It is thing of beauty when you do, you HEAR what it is supposed to sound like and you recognize it … you discover that wide wide ranges of variability in spacing still exist using keyers and one can (through manipulation of spacing) create the fist that is still
"you," although not technically correct, it is much better than the heavy Erie swing to copy for most ops. If you follow these rules you will also find you can send the famous chicken KLUCK! … DIT DIT DIT-DAHHHHHHH, of CFO fame! In time you may find yourself a genuine KLUCKer too!
Decades ago my Elmer took me aside and said "You like this CW stuff young man. Let me teach you how to do it." Then the first thing he told me was this: "CW is SENDING, receiving is what you do when you are NOT doing CW!" … CW is SENDING ??? I thought he was nuts. Today I give the same advise (I'm Nuts?), if you can't send (darn near) perfect CW then you won't progress very far in the art. To see how well you are doing, take a computer (proven to send correct Morse!) and load it up with some text and have it send that text to you. You have the text before you and you send along on a keyer/oscillator (at slightly different tone than the computer) … You will discover quickly your spacing errors, your greatest fault and you can correct them with practice. I do this computer tune-up frequently (after 54 years 100% CW!) to keep in shape!
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Dave Fischer, W7FB, is an avid CW operator, member of the National CW Association, NC7W, and outdoorsman living in Brigham City, UT.