Morse code dictation
The classic drill - and the only one here where you may write while it sends. What matters is not the rate but the list below it.
What was sent
A dictation is quickly explained: text is sent, you copy it, then it is compared. What separates this version from a sheet of paper is the analysis - and that is the real reason to do the exercise on a machine at all.
Why it is not compared position by position
This is the most important decision in this tool. Miss one character and everything after it shifts by one place. A position-by-position comparison then reports every further letter from there as wrong: one error becomes thirty, the rate halves, and the error list is nonsense.
So it aligns rather than compares - the same calculation spell checkers use to find similar words. A missed character therefore stays one error, and it has a name: missing. Measured: without alignment, a single dropped character at the start of CQ DE DL1ABC K reports fourteen errors instead of one.
The mix-up pairs
Below the figures stands which character you took for which - not merely which were wrong. That difference decides what to practice.
A few patterns show up for almost everyone. S and H differ only in the number of dots, three against four - swapping them means you are still counting instead of hearing. U and V likewise, D and B too. With E and I or T and M it is the same cause in shorter form. Anyone finding such pairs in their list should not repeat single characters but both in alternation - which is exactly what the coach puts together.
Farnsworth: fast characters, long gaps
Two sliders instead of one: character speed sets how fast the dots and dashes themselves arrive, effective speed how much time is left between characters. Put the first at 20 and the second at 12 and you hear characters with the sound shape of 20 WPM at the pace of 12.
That is particularly useful in dictation, because writing speed and listening speed can be separated: the ear learns the right pattern while the hand keeps up. The formula behind it is under timing and speed.
Frequently asked questions
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What is a good value?
Above 90 per cent character rate means the speed is right and you can raise it. Below 70 means too fast, or too many groups at once. In between is the range where learning happens.
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Why do spaces not count?
Because they are almost always right and would flatter the rate. Only the characters themselves are scored - CQ DE K is five, not seven.
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What is the difference from blind copy?
There the field is locked while sending. Blind copy drills holding, dictation drills fluent writing - you need both, but not at the same time.