Southpaw means Left Handed (That's the hand to use, well, never mind). B'er means I send iambic mode B. I can't make A work at all. It leaves out elements I intend. I don't know what all the fuss about "extra" dits from the dah paddle is all about. The timing is simply different for completing what you are doing when you quit doing it. Different and Bad are two distinct concepts (tell that to a racist).
I believe B is more prevalent than A, but someone who's learned A will have a great deal of difficulty with B, and vice versa. I guess I learned on B - I KNOW I learned on a Heathkit HD-1410. I also think the K2 defaults to A, and I thought I'd lost my mind (or fist, at least) when I first tried to use it. Luckily, I didn't fight that fight very long. I found the menu setting to change. In any case, there is an excellent comparison of the two, with timing diagrams, referred to somewhere in the archives of this reflector. Might be interesting reading if you haven't learned one or the other already. The fru-fru is about character completion. If I want to send a C, as in CQ, I squeeze the paddles. I'll be sure the dah paddle closes first and since I'm holding both, the keyer will send dahdidahdidahdidahdidahdit until I let go. I let go OF BOTH paddles during the second dah. Character completion sends another dit and the C is complete. I believe the A camp has to hold both paddles (or only the dit on - doesn't matter) until the final dit begins, and then let go. My addled brain can "let go of both" during a dah at three times the speed it can manage to "let go of both" during a dit. So, I'm a B'er. Another thing which makes Iambic keying shine, is element insertion. I believe it's the same in both (if there's a difference, it's going to be WHEN you do the insertion, not IF you can do the insertion). To send a Q, you mash the dah paddle and hold it until the character is complete. During the second dah, dab at the dit paddle. Between the second and third dah, the keyer will stick in one dit, making the Q perfect. So, CQ is squeeze (dah-first) release dah insert a dit release (dah) in both modes. But the timing is what is different. Clear as mud? Dan / WG4S / K2 #2456 <snip> Thanks Dan. By the way what is a Southpaw B'er? And we must have purchased our K2's within days. My serial number is 2444. 73s john </snip> _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
