Now that we knew the origins of KMR and that it was merely an obscure sequence used for an aptitude test, we began studying the character sequence developed by Koch (see ANALYSES OF KOCH 1936 CHARACTER SEQUENCE) and nine others used by CW training organizations (see ANALYSES OF OTHER CHARACTER SEQUENCES). We then decided to develop our own.
We took a cue from Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail. They developed the code by determining the frequency of character usage in the English language. They counted the movable type in type-cases of a local newspaper. They then assigned the easiest characters to the most commonly used letters. We took a similar approach in developing a character sequence based on the LICW QSO Protocol (see LICW QSO PROTOCOL). Our methodology was to take all the words in the QSO Protocol and rank the frequency each letter is used. The more often a letter appears in the QSO protocol, the earlier in the sequence it is introduced. We then applied the guidance Koch offered on how a sequence of characters should be constructed to arrange characters of equal weight. This unique methodology allows us to tightly integrate QSO abbreviations and protocol into the curriculum.
This is a graph of the letter rank. The taller the bar the more frequent the use of the letter in the QSO Protocol.
click on image to enlarge
This is the letter ranking:
R E A T I N P G S L C D H O F U W B K M Y Q X V Z J
We then added numbers, punctuation marks, prosigns and BK, and divided them into two groups:
B1: R E A T I N P G S L C D H O F U W B
B2: K M Y 5 9 , Q X V 7 3 ? 1 6 . Z J / 2 8 BK 4 0
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