It's smart to practice on an Elecraft rig. What seems to bother most Hams is not the key so much as the keyer and whether or not you want to become proficient at Iambic (squeeze) keying. There are two common modes of Iambic keyer operation and, depending upon the keyer implementation, they sometimes behave slightly differently. Elecraft has been very consistent in the keyer implementation, but be aware that you can select Mode A or Mode B in the menu. Stick with one or the other if you are practicing Iambic keying.
Using the paddles in "bug" mode (no squeeze action) is much less dependent upon the keyer, but Iambic keying is very much worthwhile to learn if you are going to do much actual "brass pounding". Personally, I don't think the paddles themselves make much difference for learning. The basics can be learned on a wide variety of simple, inexpensive paddles. Later on you can take advantage of the smooth action of the Elecraft paddles once your basic skills are well in hand. Others have brought up avoiding the paddles altogether and starting with a straight key. It's hard to pass up the nicely-integrated paddles in one of the portable Elecraft rigs but if you are curious about a straight key, learning to use it correctly makes all the difference between fun and frustration. Here is an old film showing how the US Navy and US Army taught use of the straight key back in WWII. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQyP7VJqvqE This is a general introduction for military radiomen. The discussion of the key itself starts about 1 minute into the film. It's how I was taught and allowed me to send for very long periods of time without fatigue, just as they state. I still enjoy grabbing my J-38 key (as shown in the film) when QSOing below 20 wpm. 73, Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- > On 6/24/16 9:21 AM, rick jones via Elecraft wrote: > >> Could someone recommend a desktop key that is close to the size and >> action of the key attached to the KX3? This Advanced class ham has >> not sent code in decades and I would like to start sending on my K3 >> so can someday use a KX on CW from a remote location. I will be >> practically starting from scratch but I'm guessing there's no reason >> to start with a straight key right? Thanks for your thoughts! Rick >> N3IKQ >> ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
