I hear it’s possible.   It’s challenging, it takes persistence, it’s an investment.

It’s especially challenging in this overwhelming culture of solutions. We’ve been conditioned to seek solutions to problems – work smarter, not harder – right tool for the job.  And the tools we buy, and use are wildly efficient; what took years, now takes seconds. I feel my internal metronome ticks faster and faster, telling me, “This is too hard, it’s taking too long, there has to be another way, there has to be a better tool.”  I call it “Silicon Time”, this truncated “taking-too-long-o-meter”, demands that progress should be faster, easier, and we’re just going the wrong way about it.

In the end, I shift from laboring on the problem to laboring on finding a solution. Down the rabbit holes, I go from memorizing Morse Code to surfing the Internet seeking a solution, a system that speeds things up, automates my learning.  And there is a bottomless pit of apps, videos, and solutions for our joyful diversion. Our brains don’t learn on “Silicon Time”, they work on brain time.  All the apps accomplish is to organize the sounds and get them to your ear. 

Get the sounds to your ears and memorize them. The force multiplier is discipline. Here’s where the apps are most helpful.  They can ease the necessary discipline by reducing the time and effort necessary to get the sound to your ear.  They can reduce our fabricated reasons to NOT study.

Morse Code Ninja

Kurt Zoglmann recorded some Morse code videos to help us learn.  A ton of them.  He sends the sound then speaks the letter – all we have to do is click the link and listen.  He offers every conceivable speed and range of code, allowing us to memorize letter by letter, word by word, sentence by sentence.  Links to his work are here:  https://morsecode.ninja/practice/#Podcast You’ll find links directly to the recordings.  He also shares a wealth of information and tips about memorization, tips, and pitfalls. Get to clicking.

Morse Code Ninja Podcasts

Zoglmann’s pod casts, more than any other tool or app, has allowed me to cut around my lack of discipline, and I can’t recommend them enough.  I load the podcasts to my phone, download them to the phone’s memory, and listen.  I listen on the couch, in a chair, while driving, while flying – anywhere and everywhere – on my phone, offline, no internet, right there in my pocket.  Directions from his website:

iOS Setup:

•Launch the Podcasts app
•Click the Library icon at the bottom of the app
•In the upper right-hand corner, click the “…” icon.
•Click the “Add a Show by URL…”
•Cut-and-paste the URL and click the Follow button

• 15wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-15wpm.rss
• 17wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-17wpm.rss
• 20wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-20wpm.rss
• 22wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-22wpm.rss
• 25wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-25wpm.rss
• 28wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-28wpm.rss
• 30wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-30wpm.rss
• 35wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-35wpm.rss
• 40wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-40wpm.rss
• 45wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-45wpm.rss
• 50wpm              https://morsecode.ninja/podcasts/feeds/practice-50wpm.rss

What you load from the options above become “Shows” in the podcast app.  I have one for 15wpm, 20, and 25. Open one from the app and it scrolls out all the individual recordings or sessions. Click the little download icon and it writes the session to your phone.

When downloaded, you can listen anywhere, any time.  The rest is up to you and your brain.

TNX ES 73,

KA5TXN
DitWit