Morse code for ATPL's?
 

Help! I just can’t get my head around Morse code. It’s one of those mental blanks that could scupper my ATPL Navs next month. I’ve tried Numorse and Supermorse but just cant crack it. Is there anywhere I can get one to one tuition, preferably in Scotland?

- .... .- -. -.- ...!

[This message has been edited by sd (edited 04 October 1999).]

I seem to recall that there are several amateur radio ham style clubs on the internet that are keen to recruit new members and therefore offer training to interested people.

I came across them when looking for a free morse tutor program before my Navs. They are mostly a bunch of raving loons but they may be able to hep you out. Best of luck and remember that the pace is about 5 wpm rather than the published 6.

WWW

G'day sd,

I can speak with a bit of knowledge on this subject having been a morse operator in the army and also taught it to other students. Unfortunately, there is not going to be a quick way of being competent at morse, even at the slow speeds required for pilots licences.

I know that probably the best method is going to be one of repetition. We used to do it something like this:

Starting with 6 letters those being F P L U X Y and receiving each letter twice. There should be a gap initially of about four seconds between each symbol. Ideally a training tape which has a voice confirmation of the symbol after a few seconds is best. The trick is to write down the letter each time you hear the sound. For example get into the habit of Foxtrot being "di di dah di" as opposed to ..-. It is the sound which you have to instinctively interpret rather than what it looks like when written graphically.
It's a little like the difference between looking at a keyboard to type or instinctive touch typing. The ultimate result being speed.

After you have mastered the first 6 letters then you can introduce more letters of the alphabet, but only two or three at a time. This way you continue to consolidate on those letters already instinctively learned.
DO NOT introduce more letters until you can receive those already learned without the need to think about them or have spoken confirmation.

Correct me if I'm wrong but just be glad you only have the letters to worry about and not numbers, punctuation and barred symbols.

Boring pain in the butt repetition is going to be your only saviour.

I am available at short notice to travel to UK (Business Class of course) to assist all you morse cripples. :)

ps. am just in the middle of downloading a program called numorse from:

http://www.alaska.net/~buchholz/soft.htm


Will try it out and let you know.

[This message has been edited by Islander Jock (edited 05 October 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Islander Jock (edited 05 October 1999).]

Re: my above post.

OK I've tried a couple out and the one I've put the link to above seems to be one of the better ones and also nice and simple.

All that would be required is for you and a friend to get together. Get the friend to type the letters as per the method I suggested before.

You'll be a "Gun Morsey" in no time. Well a couple of months anyway.

Let me know how you get on.

cya

[This message has been edited by Islander Jock (edited 05 October 1999).]

Right Here Goes....

This is for anybody whos doin the NAVs @ prestwick wed/thur this week

A .- (the Alphabet is full of dots & dashes)
B ...- (three points oc contact on one line
c -.-. (Charlie Charlie)
D -.. (dad did it)
E . Echo (Submarine ping)
F ..-. (Fetch a fireman)
G --. (two drives and a putt)
H .... (A hotel with four corners and four rooms)
I .. (all hotels in India are 2 star)
J .--- (Just learn this one)
K (Kilo think weighing scales -.-
L .-.. (think lorry front wheels trailer and two back axles)
M -- (mama)
N -.(Reverse of A)
O --- (round these lines up to make an O)
P .--. (Hardest letter of the alphabet not a clue)
Q --.- (God save the queen)
R '-' (Romeos got a smiley face just shagged Juliet)
S ... (easy sound just learn it)
T - (easy peasy)
U ..- (two pips and a bar think epaullettes on a UNIFORM)
V ...- (victorious music beethovens 5th)
W .-- (pop open the WHISKEY bottle and take two glugs)
X -..- (very difficult always mixing up with P)
Y -.-- (sounds like Charlie Charlie but longer somebody told me Yankee doodle!!**!!??)
Z --.. (BA BA Black Sheep)

There you go, yes I do have a life outside Aviation, and yes I am seeing dots and dashes where Women used to be wish me luck on Thursday.......

sd

Commiserations, chap. I know the feeling. I assume you've mucked it up in the past (all the best do, mate). To those with the pleasure still to come, be aware of the almost pedestrian pace at which the groups of letters come. First time round, I was up to a speed where you recognize a higher cadence. The slow pace was SO slow that by the time I had bent my head around what was going on, it was 3 strikes and out. You can get the tapes at CAA exam speed and I would recommend exclusive use of that speed as you learn. Couple of other points:
1. Have a spare supply of about 40 pencils. The sound of soft weeping following the snap of lead on paper is sad.
2. If you're sure you've cocked it up, simulate a wasp down your collar on the final straight. With an almighty shriek, leap to your feet, overturning as many tables as possible. Ensure positive contact with a fire alarm. Sneak off in the confusion and demand a retest later. And before anybody huffs and blows about spoiling other peoples' chances, that was a J for Joke, so I hope it's not B for Badly taken.

------------------

Top tip for xray just think of a pair of xray specs (-..-) pulled apart.
Also I remember L as 'too ell with it' .-..

Good luck

Far too complicated! I did an FAA single IR just to avoid it!!!

The suggestions by both DaveBrown and Puddlejumper are OK but they still rely on too many mental processes to get a letter from a sound.
My final advice is - learn to write the letter instinctively. Believe me, it will be worth the effort rather than trying to remember catchy little phrases associated with the graphic image of the dits and dahs

The method DaveBrown has used is commonly discussed in most memory books. Association is one of the best ways to remember. Make sure the association is clear, the crazier the better and you have to imagine it and see the link between the code and the image. This way before you know it you will be able to remember without needing to recall the association.

Hello,

I posted a reply to a similar topic a while back. In it I described the KOCH method for learning morse. Honestly lads, this is one of the universally most effective ways to do it. Like Islander Jock I was a professional radio operator, albeit in a maritime capacity. I went through all the pitfalls in learning it and eventually realised that it should be learned so that it becomes instinctive, visual or other memory aids are counter-productive. Through realising this I eventually got up to around 45 WPM after a number of years. First rule, morse is not a code, it's a language. Now for your CAA exams the speeds will be so much slower than communications morse that it mightn't seem relevant but do yourself a favour and learn it the easy way, set aside regular practice times every day, 15-20 minutes should be enough. With the KOCH method you start off with just 2 characters and keep adding more as you go on, this is similar to the way children learns the sounds that eventually enable them to communicate. It's all about Rhythm. Whoever got the idea to present morse in encyclopaedia's as dots and dashes obviously never used it.

Check out the following url:
http://www.ees.nmt.edu/sara/sara/finley.morse.html

Good Luck.

For the very desperate:
I don't know if it will work, but it might be a solution to some of you guys' Morse-code hell.
Go to: http://www.velleman.be/index2.htm

Then choose:
Kit#:K2659:Morse decoder with LCD display.

Maybe someone wants to try it? Just don't get caught using it during the exam.
After all, it is not THAT difficult to actually learn Morse code!

Got a morse tutor from Maple Leaf Software - 01223 894431.

It was perfect - I walked the morse exam no problems.

The other thing I did when starting out was spelling out words and letters in morse - things like other cars number plates when at traffic lights, headings on letters etc. Try and remember the "beat" of the letter and it becomes quite intuitive fairly soon. At present I can spot idents straight away, no probs.

Have to agree there. I use a programme called Morse University, which by the sounds of it is Koch method based. It's excellent: within 2 days of using it I was already proficient in 5 letters (not including 'S' and 'O' which everyone always knows).

One of the most important things I've found is writing down the letter as you hear the sound, i.e. you must translate it directly without having to visualise the dots and dashes and then make a reference to that mental picture.

OK, morse, this sounds stupid!

I learned morse by making the shapes of the letters out of the dots and dashes!!

e.g. A
.
-

D
|:

e
.

H
. .
. .
Etc, Etc.

Sounds completely mad but I found it made it easier to visualise and it has actually stuck with me for over the years!

No?......Just me on that one then!

TJ:-)

That last method worked partly for me for sending anyway but it doesn't help receiving.

SD,

As a "raving loon" (www words, not mine) I can teach you morse if you're in the Edinburgh area.

Did the morse exam for the first time on Thursday @PWK. Very Very Slow compared to the 5 words per min the maple leaf software (Which I can also reccomend) gives you.

Very tense exam though the sound of 100 people listening that hard was deafening!!

Theres no way round it just learn it using any method, but bear in mind you dont have to be absolutely proficient, if you can know every word by dots and dashes not even recognising the sound you should be OK cos there is plenty of time to think inbetween groups (& letters) in the exam

Youll be fine!!!!

I also had a very hard time with morse but was given an excellant program by a CCAT instructor now at SFT. E-mail me and I'll send it to you by return. Incidentally, passed first time around and everyone is right about the speed. The instructional disc gives you a choice of speed. Select 5 wpm - any faster and you'll be too good!

Morse Code
 

Can anyone provide any helps/tips for learning the morse code?

I started by learning opposites eg A & N, B & J, etc etc. Then learnt the few single letters eg C, H etc. Finally practised reciting the alphabet in morse over & over until perfect. I've led a sad life haven't I?

I had real problems learning morse, until I bought the Pooley's Morse tutor for the PC, then passed the CAA exam within 10days. You can work at any speed and it generates random groups as in the exam, so unlike a tape you don't just learn the answers but actually learn the letters. Hope this helps.

Is morse required under the JAA ATPL??

As I understand, the JAR exams do not test you for 'signals', but you are still required to learn it on your approved course.

I used the Pilot Morse software from Dauntless, which I found to be excellent.

A mate of mine used a CD-ROM, Morse Cracker. He said it helped alot.

There's 2 good tools for learning Morse...

1) The Morse Code cassette - which takes you through the exercises in groups. Simple to remember ways e.g. ..-. sounds like Fetch A Fireman - i.e. F (foxtrot), -.-. sounds like Charlie Charlie etc. Great to play in the car whilst driving!

2) The PC based software program. Includes tests such as the one used in the Commercial Ground exams. The pitch and speed are very close to the exam...so this is the best once you've learned it. It's on 1 floppy disc.

Drop me an e-mail if you want to know anything further

I had to learn Morse code when I trained to be a ships radio officer. I remember it was a long slog but I've never forgotten it, never been of much use to me though....

Start off by learning the alphabet, opposites (N, A) is a good idea. Learn every letter at the start. Identify your "weak" letters and practice harder on those or you'll have trouble with them later on. Prcatice by trying to decode newspaper headlines or people's names (don't go up to them and say "Did you know your name is dah di dah dah etc etc", you'll lose all your friends). Get or write a PC program to practice receiving . Start slowly, as slow as a couple of words per minute. Don't be tempted to speed up until you have perfected your current speed. If you speed up too early you can make habitual errors that are very hard to shake off (like continually transposing L and F for instance).

I wouldn't recommend using tapes as you find you learn the tapes not the code, although they are better than nothing of course.

Good luck.

I learnt morse to 18wpm in RAF. Dont learn it as DOT DASH DOT as when you actualy hear it it comes across as DAH DI DIT and you wont recognise it. Also worth knowing is that some letters sound like sayings ie L "to L with it" .-.. F "Did E F*** It" ..-. etc etc.
You dont need morse of an offical test for your ATPL however try decoding a beacon without it! "Yes that was DTY as you head off to WCO"

there are many morse tutors available for download from the internet. I was going to post an address 'til I saw just how many www.yahoo.com came up with.

Numorse is a windows based Morse Tutor Program. Give it a try, you can slow it down to about the right speed

http://www.qrz.com/download/morse/numors14.zip

Two tactics:

1. Do swear words. They are surprisingly easy to learn (.../..../../-)

2. Once you've mastered all the dots and dashes in the swear words, practice them by translating car number plates into morse.

I used the pooley's tutor for the PC once. It's REALLY good.

But why do you need to learn morse? Unless you're doing the CAA exams, you won't get formally tested on it.

Thanks for all the help.

WX-Man: I want to learn it for the IMC course - identing beacons.

Cheers,

GJB

Elephants E .
In I ..
Straw S ...
Hats H ....
Ten T -
Miles M --
Out O ---

There you go, there are 7 learnt already, I know it sounds stupid, but it works !

Noggins recommendation is probably your best bet.
I used NUMORSE for the CAA morse exam and had it squared away in a couple of days.
The beauty of the program (apart from being free) is that you can make up your own blocks of letters, so if your having trouble with a certain set, you can have the program just churn out those sets until you get it cracked.

Do you need to learn the morse code?
 

I heard that learning the morse code was part of an intergrated course, is this true or a load of dot dash dot!

No, its not examined in the ground exams. but is usefull for Identing becons.

-.-- . ...

Question - if you don't know morse how are you going to ident navaids when flying? - and no, trying to decode the ident from the printed symbols on the chart is NOT an acceptable method!

Well, apparently Morse IS in the syllabus, but.....it is not examinable. So in theory it should be taught!

Magoo - Identing radio aids with reference to the chart IS an acceptable way of doing it otherwise the CAA/JAA wouldn't allow it. If the CAA were as concerned as they used to be about morse then they would still test us on it.

Perhaps it won't be long before morse ident is as dead as Inspector Morse....???

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