I often say that to copy Morse Code faster you have to learn to copy in your head. Of course, the question is how do you do this? To help you learn how to copy in your head, Zeb, HB9FXW, has created Seiuchy, a free online QSO simulator.
The trick to using Seiuchy is that instead of copying exactly whats sent, you only copy the most important bit of information. The idea is that is you train yourself to do this, then you can concentrate on what’s important rather than getting bogged down in copying what’s not important. Take a look at the screen shot below.
If you look at the bottom of the screenshot, the table lists what was sent, and what it’s asking you to copy. For example, Seiuchy sent the string, “CQ DE RW3BB RW3BB PSE K.” The important bit of information in this string is the callsign RW3BB, which I correctly copied.
As you can see from the settings portion of the screen shot, you can sent the sidetone frequency, the speed at which you want Seiuchy to send you code, and the volume of the sound. Start out slow, then crank it up as you get better.
I asked Zeb where the name Seiuchy came from and he told me, “It comes from Seiuchi, the Japanese word for walrus, which in turn is translated into “Morse” in French. I pronounce is as you would “say-you-she” (but with kind of a French accent).”
On his QRZ.Com page, Zeb says, “Give it a try, it’s really helping my head copy skills.” I think it will help you, too.
Bob K0NR says
This looks very useful, especially for short CW QSOs.
Scott Dreher says
I’m definitely going to check this out. Thanks for the tip, Dan!
Paul KW1L says
Another program that you can use to learn how to copy in your head is the Morse Code Masters’ Head Copy Trainer.