Learning CW/Morse Code in 2026

Resources, Techniques, and Getting On The Air

John Hopkins, K8YYZ

Livonia Amateur Radio Club

What Is CW?

• CW = Continuous Wave
• Unmodulated carrier
• Turned on and off at intervals to create discrete tones
• CW is a MODE
• Not to get technical, BUT…
• CW is NOT Morse Code (but the terms are used interchangeably)
• Morse Code is a language
• Narrow bandwidth (150 Hz vs 3kHz for SSB voice)
• Weak signal performance
• Simple equipment
• Effective at low power

Why Are We (STILL) Talking About CW In 2026?

• Code requirement for licensing ended in 2007
• CW remains popular
• POTA/SOTA growth
• Thousands still learning CW

CW Is Not Dead!

• POTA/SOTA
• Contesting
• DXing
• QRP
• Field Day

Just Remember…

Well That Was Unexpected…

Why Learn CW?

• Weak signals/bad propagation
• Low power operation
• Portable operation
• Emergency communications
• Personal challenge
• Insulting children on Roblox

Myths About Morse Code

• Must memorize dots and dashes
• Too old to learn
• Learning Morse Code takes years
• My first CW Academy class Sept. 4, 2023
• My first on-air contact Oct. 13, 2023
• Need 20 WPM before operating
• Must send perfect Morse Code

Receiving vs Sending

• Receiving/copying is harder than sending
• Focus on copy skills first
• Learn to copy in your head, not on paper

The Biggest Mistake You Can Make

• Learning DITs and DAHs
• Instead learn the SOUND and RHYTHM of each character

How Your Brain Learns CW

• Sound → Character
• Sound → Dots/Dashes → Character
• Strive for instant character recognition

DO NOT USE THIS

NOOOOOOO!!!

Koch Method

• Start with 2 characters – K and M
• Reach 90% accuracy
• Add another character
• Repeat until you’ve learned the alphabet and numbers

Farnsworth Method

• Fast character speed, slow effective word speed
• Increase time between characters until you can recognize without hesitation
• Gradually decrease time between characters
• Builds instant recognition

Daily Practice

• 15 minutes every day beats 2 hours once a week.

What Do I Need?

• Key
• Keyer
• Generates the CW tone and responds to key input to turn CW tone on or off
• “Modern” transceivers have electronic keyer built-in, and many have a “practice” mode
• External keyer can be handy
• Knob to control speed
• Programmable

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Keys

CW Academy

• CWops-sponsored instruction
• Instructor-led classes
• Structured courses
• Beginner course is 2 sessions/week for 8 weeks
• Online trainer https://morsecode.world/
• Mentors and accountability
• https://cwops.org/

Long Island CW Club

• Classes, practice sessions, Zoom meetings, and beginner support
• Donation-supported club
• https://longislandcwclub.org/

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LCWO.net

• Free online training
• Koch method
• Farnsworth timing
• Callsign and word practice
• https://lcwo.net/

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Morse Code Ninja - Kurt Zoglmann

• YouTube training
• https://www.youtube.com/@KurtZoglmann
• Character, word and callsign practice
• Great for mobile listening
• https://morsecode.ninja/practice/index.html
• Hundreds of practice audio files for download at multiple speeds

morsle.fun

• Wordle-style CW practice
• Interactive
• Fun daily challenges
• Excellent motivation tool
• https://morsle.fun/

Mobile Apps

• Morse-it
• Morse Mania
• Morse Mentor
• IZ2UUF Koch Trainer
• GGMorse
• Decent skimmer/translator
• I used this for FD 2025 and made 60+ CW contacts

Morse Runner

• Contest simulation
• Practice without transmitting
• https://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/

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RufzXP

• Callsign recognition training
• Excellent speed-building tool
• https://www.rufzxp.net/

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CW Skimmer

• Visual CW decoding
• Useful learning aid
• https://www.dxatlas.com/CwSkimmer/

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YouTube Channels

• K4SWL - Thomas Witherspoon
• Full POTA activations including setup
• https://www.youtube.com/@ThomasK4SWL
• W4ARB - Aaron Bowman
• Full POTA activations
• https://www.youtube.com/@w4arb
• AA0Z - Kyle Krieg
• New CW Operators Roundtable discussion
• Nothing recent but great info anyway
• https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkusGKzKVbQBRbNUWMADTTyMYHbiUy6wY&si=kiEB483EjXcz3Eqs

Realistic Expectations

• Months, not days
• Consistency is key
• “MAKE ONE CONTACT PER DAY” - N8MR

Getting On The Air

• Don't wait until you're ready
• Real contacts accelerate learning
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. EVERYONE makes mistakes!

Learn Common Words and Shortcuts

• Learn to recognize your own call sign instantly
• CQ – “looking for someone to contact”
• DE – “from”
• K – “your turn”, typically used when ragchewing
• BK – “break”, typically used in contest exchanges (you’ll hear this a lot with POTA QSOs)
• R – “roger”
• UR – “you are”, usually followed by signal report/RST
• 5NN – “599” N is shorter than 9
• TU – “thank you”
• GM/GA/GE – “good morning”/”good afternoon”/”good evening”; common in POTA ops
• 73 – “best regards” Some QRP ops will say 72, because they’re low power and 72 < 73
• ? – “I didn’t quite catch that”
• E (multiples in quick succession) – “Oops! Forget what I just said!”
• EE – “end of QSO” SEE YA!
• POTA – self-explanatory
• SOTA – self-explanatory
• State Abbreviations

Beginner-Friendly Operating

• POTA
• https://pota.app
• SOTA
• https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/
• K1USN Slow Speed (con)Test - SST
• https://www.k1usn.com/sst.html

POTA

• Use pota.app to find CW activations
• Listen for “CQ POTA”
• Confirm call sign
• Wait for a break in the action
• Send your call sign!
• Exchange is easy
• Call sign
• 5NN (send twice)
• State (send twice)

K8YYZ’s First CW Contact

• Friday, October 13, 2023
• K1MKB @ US-1307 Leesylvania State Park, VA

K8YYZ’s First CW Contact

K8YYZ: K8YYZ

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K1MBK: K8YY? K8?

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K8YYZ: K8YX (I made a mistake!) EEE K8YYZ K

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K1MBK: K8YYZ TU GA UR 5NN BK BK

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K8YYZ: RR UR 5NN HNN T EE MI MI TU K

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K1MBK: RR TU MI 72 DE K1MBK E E

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K8YYZ: 73 EE

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QSO w/ K4SWL

• YouTube video posted November 2, 2023
• US-3378 Blue Ridge National Parkway, VA
• “The New Elecraft KH1: First pedestrian mobile POTA activation!”
• 1:04:11 mark – THAT’S ME!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4nYRYZp9qc&t=3851s

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QSO w/ K4SWL

K8YYZ: K8YYZ

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K4SWL: K8YYZ GA 5NN 5NN BK

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K8YYZ: BK RR UR 5NN 5NN MI MI BK

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K4SWL: BK TU TU MI 72 EE

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K8YYZ: 73 EE

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K4SWL: EE

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Slow Speed Test (SST)

• K1USN-sponsored event
• Twice weekly
• Friday 20:00-21:00 UTC/4-5 PM EDT
• Monday 00:00-01:00 UTC/Sun. 8-9 PM EDT
• Designed for beginners
• Listen for “CQ SST”
• Exchange
• First Name
• State/Province/Country

Example SST Exchange

• K8YYZ: CQ SST DE K8YYZ

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• W8ROY: W8ROY

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• K8YYZ: W8ROY John MI

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• W8ROY: GM John Roy MI

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• K8YYZ: GL Roy TU K8YYZ SST

SST Frequencies

160 meters 1.810 - 1.825 MHz

80 meters 3.528 - 3.545 MHz

40 meters 7.028 - 7.045 MHz

20 meters 14.028 - 14.045 MHz

15 meters 21.028 - 21.045 MHz

10 meters 28.028 - 28.045 MHz

Why SST Is Valuable

• Real callsigns
• Real operators
• Beginner-friendly speeds

Recommended Path

• CW Academy
• Block off the same time every day for practice or class
• Practice daily!
• Morse Code Ninja
• Morsle.fun daily
• Get on the air!
• POTA
• SST

Questions?

• 73
• Presentation available at https://tinyurl.com/ypxkc2yy

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RUSH

RUSH

RUSH

Neil Peart (1952 – 2020)

RUSH Today

Moving Pictures - 1981

Moving Pictures - 1981

YYZ – Pearson International Airport�Toronto

Crotales

https://youtu.be/jtriAVw48rQ?si=7LLbQ7wLMRAL-aO4&t=132

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YYZ

Opens with ‘YYZ’ in Morse Code played on crotales in quick succession twice, followed by the full band for an additional 9 times

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftVTWDrtrlc

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