QRQ:
Most people speak at a rate of around 110 to 150 WPM, while 20 to 25 WPM are considered conversational CW speeds. It stands to reason that many CW operators strive to communicate at faster speeds. CW at speeds faster than 25 WPM may seem completely out of reach, but with proper training and practice, they are achievable.
Military communications of WWII relied heavily on CW. To this day, proficiency in High-Speed Telegraphy is viewed with nationalistic pride and considered a sport in some countries. International competitions are held to showcase CW skills by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) which organizes the High-Speed Telegraphy (HST) World Championship. HST world champions routinely copy CW at speeds in excess of 100 WPM. The quest for higher operating speeds is fun and rewarding, and it makes communication at conversational CW speeds seem effortless.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW:
The Advanced curriculum is the culminating portion of the LICW curricula. It is comprised of three levels of classes that continue the focus on conversational head copy, but at incrementally faster speeds. Advanced classes are a logical and intuitive progression from the Intermediate curriculum where foundational head copy skillsets have been developed. Teaching methods and student practice exercises are carried forward making for a very familiar and comfortable learning environment.
The Advanced curriculum is also well suited for students that learned the code elsewhere and wish to avail themselves of our structured approach to learning conversational head copy.
The later part of the Advanced curriculum focuses on increasing speed into the realm of high-speed telegraphy and alternate means of word building and recognition are explored such as Phonic Copy and Instant Word Recognition (IWR).
ADVANCED 1:
Advanced 1 proficiency objectives are conversational head copy and sending and increasing effective speed from 20 to 25 WPM. The focus is on:
- Adopting a Loose Focus
- Word Building in the Recognition Buffer
- Retaining and Recalling the meaning (gist) of what was copied in the Retention Buffer
Typically, students entering Advanced 1 are fluent in CW at 18 to 20 WPM. They are able to express themselves easily and articulately without reference to a script. They have a regular on-air presence and are comfortable with a wide range of activities from rag chewing to canned exchanges and contesting.
ADVANCED 2:
Advanced 2 proficiency objectives are conversational head copy and sending and increasing effective speed from 25 to 35 WPM. The entire speed range is covered but emphasis is placed on achieving comfortable (armchair) copy and sending at 28 WPM, a popular speed for higher speed rag chews. The focus is on the foundational skills of Character Familiarization, Instant Character Recognition (ICR), and Instant Error Recovery (IER).
ADVANCED 3:
Advanced 3 proficiency objective is QRQ, which enters the realm of high-speed telegraphy, with speeds from 35 to 45+ WPM. Alternate means of word building and recognition are explored such as Phonic Copy and Instant Word Recognition (IWR).
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