Posted: 12/29/2014 10:39:15 AM EDT
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My grandson is interested in code. Is he too young? Best way to get him started and maintain his interest? I've also given him a practice key that will drive his parents crazy. YES!
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NO. He is NOT too young! I'm a no-code guy, but what I do know is if they are interested now, seize the opportunity. If he can manage reading the test questions and answers, he can pass the tech, and later the general test. Praise him, bribe him, buy him a cheapo Chinese radio and tell him he will get his very own call sign. My 7 y/o will have his tech soon. My now 10 y/o daughter got hers right after she turned 8 and a general by 9. DO IT!!!! Once he is on the air other hams will want to chat, especially on HF, and they will remember that. Before you know it you will hear about other hams talking to other hams about "that 8 year old girl who is a ham". Ask me how I know. |
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Definitely NOT too young. My dad was a ham, and I started learning code when I was about 10. I could probably do about 5 wpm at one time. Unfortunately, I let it all slip away as I got interested in other activities (cars, girls, etc.).
Be sure he learns it correctly. That is, by sound, and NOT by sight. Keep him interested by learning it with him. Practice sending messages to each other. Stuff like little secrets that only you and he understand. BTW, I think learning code is a great way to keep the mind in good working shape as we age. Far better than working crossword puzzles all day. It will be great for both of you. 
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He will have no problem learning the code.
The only real practical problem he will have is with his spelling and vocabulary. CW is a lot like texting. You need to spell out every word (or abbreviate) When I was six, I didn't know how to spell very many words including the ones we were supposed to be learning in school 
That being said, he can problably learn his words from school in CW both at the same time !!! Learning CW will give him a good inspiration to expand his vocabulary. |
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My wife has a friend that grew up in a family of hams. As a toddler, with no one having taught her, she could
tell you what they were saying on the air, what was received, what was transmitted back. A little rusty now, but she still can get the gist of most of it when hearing it. Just picked it up, no one taught her, just like a child picks up words. About the only words taught to a baby are, "Say Da-da... say Da-da... " or "Say Ma-ma... say Ma-ma..." After that, they are usually not consciously taught, the child just picks up language. I suppose the same with CW for her. Amazing if you think about it. Yes, I'd encourage the boy to learn CW, and as a Tech he has HF CW privileges on the air. I'll bet in a year he'll be pretty good on the air. |
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That's great. He will probably have an easier time learning it now than when he's older. Younger children pick up languages (and code is a language) faster than older people. Actually, code is not a language. It is an arbitrary symbolic system like speech or a written language. Kids do not need to know how to spell before they become fluent speakers of English. They process whole words without knowing what the letters are. I would recommend code listening exercises at a comfortable speed where they could hear the complete rhythm of the word. They can pick up whole words without knowing how to spell them just fine. Of course if they can read and write you can do other exercises too. |
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Quoted: My wife has a friend that grew up in a family of hams. As a toddler, with no one having taught her, she could tell you what they were saying on the air, what was received, what was transmitted back. A little rusty now, but she still can get the gist of most of it when hearing it. Just picked it up, no one taught her, just like a child picks up words. About the only words taught to a baby are, "Say Da-da... say Da-da... " or "Say Ma-ma... say Ma-ma..." After that, they are usually not consciously taught, the child just picks up language. I suppose the same with CW for her. Amazing if you think about it. Yes, I'd encourage the boy to learn CW, and as a Tech he has HF CW privileges on the air. I'll bet in a year he'll be pretty good on the air. That's remarkable. |
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That's remarkable. Quoted:
Quoted:
My wife has a friend that grew up in a family of hams. As a toddler, with no one having taught her, she could tell you what they were saying on the air, what was received, what was transmitted back. A little rusty now, but she still can get the gist of most of it when hearing it. Just picked it up, no one taught her, just like a child picks up words. About the only words taught to a baby are, "Say Da-da... say Da-da... " or "Say Ma-ma... say Ma-ma..." After that, they are usually not consciously taught, the child just picks up language. I suppose the same with CW for her. Amazing if you think about it. Yes, I'd encourage the boy to learn CW, and as a Tech he has HF CW privileges on the air. I'll bet in a year he'll be pretty good on the air. That's remarkable. All I can say is give it a shot. Each individual learns at a different pace. This 6 year old just may soak it up like a sponge. If not give it a year or two and try again. Just as an OBTW, back in the early 70s if you wanted to make First Class in the Boy Scouts you had to learn either morse code or semaphore. Thousands of 12 year olds learned code then promptly forgot it. Lose it if you don't use it. |