From the ARRL via the CWOps mailing list:
From: Fusaro, Norm W3IZ [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2019 4:00 PM
Subject: W1AW Code Proficiency CertificateGreetings Morse Code Enthusiasts.
I have some exciting news that I want to share with you! The ARRL has reinvigorated the W1AW Code Proficiency Certificate program. Several things have changed beginning with our new sponsor, Vibroplex, a legend in Morse telegraphy equipment. If you see Scott Robbins W4PA and the Vibroplex team at a hamfest or convention please be sure to thank him for his support. The Vibroplex logo will appear on the newly designed certificates (see below) and in the award recipient page that will appear every month in QST.
That’s right, each month in QST we will publish the most recent recipients of the W1AW Code Proficiency Certificate, beginning with all the 2019 recipients. As a bonus, we are sending all the 2019 CPC holders a new certificate at no cost to replace their older style award.
The award is available to anyone who copies one solid minute of code during the qualifying runs. Complete program details can be found on the web at http://www.arrl.org/code-proficiency-certificate.
And to make the award available to more people we will double the number of opportunities to copy the CW text. Beginning September 2019, the qualifying runs will increase from twice per week to four times per week.
I am sharing this advanced notice with the Morse code clubs so that you can share it with your members. I have attached PDF files of the new certificate and the announcement that will appear in August QST, available in digital format July 8. I hope you are as excited about this as I am.
In closing, I want personally thank all of you who promote the use and proficiency of Morse code on the air waves and ask that you challenge your club members to submit their copy for the W1AW Code Proficiency Certificate.
73,
Norm Fusaro, W3IZ
Director of Operations
Paul kw1L says
After copying the one solid minute of code during the qualifying run are you allowed to go over your copy and make corrections? Example you copy the word Radio as Rabio.
Dan KB6NU says
All that the Code Proficiency Certificate page says is:
It doesn’t really say anything about not correcting your copy, but you know if you’ve cheated or not.
Paul kw1L says
How does one scribe one minute of solid copy legible at 40 wpm?
Dan KB6NU says
Typing.
As you may know, I copied the Field Day bulletin for us this year. I started copying the 20wpm transmission by hand, but quickly fell behind. Good thing I recorded it! When I played back the recording, I typed out the bulletin using a text editor. That was easy enough to do. I’m not sure that I could copy 40 wpm and type at the same time, but that would be the only way to do it.
Paul kw1L says
According to page 98 of July QST:
“Legibly copy at least 1 minute of text by HAND and mail the sheet to”
On page 101 of JUly QST it states:
“Underline 1 minute of the highest speed you copied , certify that your copy was made without aid, and sent it to”
Like to talk with Hams that have a 40 wpm certificate and learn how they did it.
Dan KB6NU says
Well, I guess you and I are both screwed then. As I noted above, I can’t copy by hand at 20 wpm, and it’s really not worth it to me to practice and get that fast. I’m guessing that I’m not alone in this regard. The upshot is that the ARRL is going to be sending out a lot fewer of these Vibroplex certificates than they think.
I think that you need to get on the horn to Norm Fusaro immediately and get him to clarify these requirements.
Dan KB6NU says
I emailed Norm, W3IZ, and asked him to clarify. He says, “By hand is to mean not using a code reading machine.” I suggested that he clarify this, both on the ARRL website and in QST.
Ed KC8SBV says
Wow, exciting news from ARRL is as rare as hen’s teeth. Good job ARRL and Vibroplex!!
Dave New, N8SBE says
Hmm. ARRL selling ‘naming rights’ to certificates?
What next? Corporate sponsorship of contest plaques? :-p
Dave New, N8SBE says
I mean, what if I want a Begali Sculpture on my certficate?
Billy B. Johnson says
Why the bad mouthing of ARRL? This is a hobby, and it is suppose to be fun. The ARRL is trying to help us enjoy CW, and at the same time improve our CW skills! Let’s have fun, enjoy the hobby and quit complaining!
Rick Barnich says
So I wonder when the ARRL will start co endorsing other awards like DXCC, WAS, etc. Will Elecraft or Icom appear on those awards? Will Vibroplex logo and paddle appear on QST recognition page. Let the bidding begin!
Ken Gilcrest says
What if Elecraft (or whom evet) does sponsor DXCC or WAS ? I dont understand why that would be a problem.
Dan KB6NU says
I don’t think it would be.
Ken Gilcrest says
I went through these questions a few years ago when I thought about trying to get one of these certificates. I can’t write very fast. I copied the ARRL Bulletin at field day, by hand and it almost killed me. But I can type. I thought about listening and typing. But the odds of me making a “typo” are high (a certainty) more so than me not copying the code correctly. So can I go back and correct my typing mistakes ? Then you get into the question: I see a word here where I missed a character and the letter I missed is obvious; can I fill that in ? I am not using “aid” but am correcting after the fact………… I don’t know. I guess it’s like someone said earlier: if you don’t consider it cheating that is all that matters. Nobody else is going to investigate and nobody else cares that you got the certificate. It is for purely personal satisfaction. But I am interested in hearing other people’s opinions on all this
Jennifer says
Dave New, N8SBE says
July 2, 2019 at 2:47 pm
Hmm. ARRL selling ‘naming rights’ to certificates?
What next? Corporate sponsorship of contest plaques? :-p
—————
I couldn’t agree more, it’s obvious where the priorities are, why not at the same time get an effort going nationwide to help TEACH new young hams Morse, instead of just another competition among us. We don’t need more contest!!!!!
In the July QST there are SIXTY pages of ads, that’s just the pages that are solid ads, not counting partial ad pages. And there are 13 dedicated to contesting, something some of us have no interest in….and ZERO on how we’re going to keep our hobby alive by sparking interest in it for young people. But if you want a review for a lamp, you’ll find one of those taking up space, of course it’s just another ad disguised as an article (page 57).
Why don’t we have a regular column for youth to write articles… Hell I see Icom bring more youth to hamfests than I’ve ever seen the ARRL even mention, it’s almost like they don’t like anyone below the age of 18.
73
Jennifer
KB6JEN/VE7OTH
John Smale K2IZ says
This seems to be opposite of what a lot of CW learning sites are telling people, put down your pencils and copy in your head.
I learned to copy code in the Navy, all caps typewriter, I was able to copy 30wpm when I graduated A School, when I got out to the fleet I was mentored by the older Radiomen, they could look at my copy and tell me what letter or group I had missed, they could copy in their heads over by the coffee pot. I passed my Extra back in 77, it was a struggle even then to copy the receiving part because they then gave you a list of questions, based on what you copied, if you had the right answers, you passed the code portion.
Today, at 71, my hands are arthritic, I managed to copy the Field Day Broadcast on CW by using my computer keyboard, if I use a pencil I find I start abbreviating, so who’s to say if I do submit a code run and it’s typed, I have to state, gentleman’s agreement, that I did not use a code copying machine.
But, here’s an idea, why not do what my first RMC did to me when I did my code for RM2,
which was 20wpm, first he had me send, I didn’t know he was taping me, my receiving test was copying what I sent, needless to say at 19 I wasn’t the hot shot CW operator I thought I was, his comment was “if you can’t copy your own fist how do you expect others to”, now that would be a code proficiency test IMHO.
C HARLES W.WHALEN JR. says
The CW Certificate is very nice and the color of it catches your eye as well as the BUG does.Not many things have over the years with stood the time like the *VIBROPLEX BUG*has. Not one COMPANY.Look around YOU cant find a decent STRAIGHT KEY to send CW with at a decent price.Some thing DX ENG
should look in to.Now if *VIBROPLEX* was too stop* SELLING BUGS TO HAM OPERATORS AN WOULD ONLY SELL TO THE MILITARY THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT*. What happens if a HAM operator has miss placed HIS/HERS CW CERTIFICATE from the 1960es does the ARRL still have a record of that?Lets try to find something good about this & not try read something into it that we shouldn’t be.I see it as *VIBROPLEX*trying to help the ARRL build up interest in *CW*where you can get a very color full certificate instead of that old fade blue color of years ago that that they issued.SO lets look at it as something nice FOR HAM RADIO instead of picking it apart LIKE A BUZZARD DOES ROAD KILL.But then again what do I know. TNX 73 SIGNED MR.CRYSTAL
charles w. whalen jr. says
LOOKS LIKE I FORGOT MY CALL IN THE ABOVE ITS WA8NJP. THE REASON I SIGN IT MR.CRYSTAL IS BECAUSE MY FATHER AND I WORKED FOR A QUARTZ CRYYSTAL GROWER OUR TOTAL TIME BETWEEN US IS 60 YEARS AS INSPECTORS FOR THEM.MY FATHER WAS THE HEAD INSPECTOR I WAS HIS UNDER STUDY.WHEN HE RETIRED I WAS STILL AN INSPECTOR BUT BECAME AN INSPECTOR SR.QUALITY CONTROL TECHNICIAN 38.5 YEARS.THEY WOULD NOT LET ME RETIRE.BUT I WAS TAUGHT BY SOME OF THE LEADING MEN IN THE QUARTZ CRYSTAL INDUSTRY AT THAT TIME.YOU CAN TAKE MY JOB BUT NOT WHAT I LEARNED.
I LOVED THAT JOB.SORRY I DIDNT KNOW THE CAPS LOCK WAS STILL ON UNTIL I WAS HALF WAY THROUGH.BUT THEN AGAIN I DONT KNOW EVERY THING ABOUT QUARTZ CRYSTALS EITHER. TNX AGAIN 73 WA8NJP
charles w. whalen jr. says
Looks like I forgot my call in the above. It’s WA8NJP. The reason I signed it Mr. Crystal is because my father and I worked for a quartz crystal grower. We spent a total of 60 years working as inspectors for them. My father was the head inspector, and I was his understudy. When he retired, I was still an inspector, but became an inspector senior quality control technician. I worked there 38.5 years–they wouldn’t let me retire! I was taught by some of the leading men in the quartz crystal industry. You can take my job, but not what I learned.
TNX AGAIN 73 WA8NJP
Charles W.Whalen Jr. WA8NJP says
I sent in my old Code Proficiency certificate to the ARRL after a phone call to them. It seems like the ARRL only has records only going back to the 1990s. So, the man in charge at the ARRL told me too send in a copy of mine from 1967, and He would replace it. So I sent it in on 9-19-20 and had it back by 9-26-20.
Last week I ran across a website that I liked that had different code speeds.They said just look at the letters and when you hear them after a while you will begin to recognize the letter along with word that they are spelling. Well, as usual when I find something that I like on the internet I never can find it the second time around. The background had several dark boxes and several other different code speeds that you could look at the letters or copy in Your head. The website also said that it had other ways to learn how to copy Morse Code. Can you be of any help?
TNX 73 WA8NJP
Dan KB6NU says
Sorry, Charles, but that description doesn’t ring a bell. Perhaps one of my other readers can identify it, though.