You are going to get a big bunch of replies, I see you already have
quite a few, not all of which address your questions. I'll try and do
that, in 12 sections:
a. Regular practice is necessary to send Morse code well, especially
when learning. The flavor of paddle, bug, or key doesn't matter. Once
it's in your head, it will be there for the rest of your life. I was
QRT in the mid-60's for 4 years while in SE Asia. Once I came home and
got back on the air, I was back to my normal in a month or so.
b. The only difference between single-lever and dual-lever paddles
[aside from the number of levers [:-) ] is that you can close both the
dit and dah contacts at the same time on a dual-lever. With an Iambic
keyer [i.e. "squeezing], closing both will send di dah di dah di dah di
..., or alternatively dah di dah di dah ..., depending on which side was
closed first. You can use a dual-lever paddle just like it was a
single-lever paddle however -- I do and always have, and many other
non-iambicized hams do too.
c. I described Iambic-A above in (b). Iambic-B allegedly arose from a
logic misteak in a keyer chip. Iambic-B will send a single element on
it's own when the paddles are released. If it is making a dit when
released, the extra element will be a dah, and vice versa.
Incidentally, all of today's keyers are self-completing ... they will
always send correct length elements. If you're sending a dah and
release early, it will go ahead and complete the dah.
d. It seems that whichever mode you learn on will become "your" mode.
Once learned, most people have a hard time using the other mode, however
I've never seen any empirical evidence that one mode has advantages over
the other. With either mode, there are about a half-dozen or so letters
that you can complete with fewer finger movements using Iambic. I've
never seen the advantage, but some do and to each his own.
e. Yes, the KXPD3 is a dual-lever paddle, however it can be operated as
a single lever paddle as well. The KX3 has an Iambic keyer that can be
set either mode A or B [or Ultimatic, or bug mode I think]
f. Yes, the KX3 and practically all radios on the market today have a
KEY input. It is a two-wire circuit, and when in CW mode, short the two
wires and you transmit for as long as they are shorted. This is also
used with external keyers [WinKey, Microham, etc] where the external
keyer forms the code elements from paddle input or ASCII characters from
a computer. The transmitter things it has a straight key in the KEY jack.
g. Yes, for CWA, you will need to be able to send to yourself. You can
put the KX3 into TEST mode. It will act as if it's working normally, it
just won't make any RF.
h. While the KXPD3 is perfectly good for the KX3, it is very small.
I'd recommend obtaining a larger paddle [single- or dual-lever, it
doesn't matter] at a reasonable price while you're learning Morse. The
Bencher BY-1 is a very good choice, you can find them in several
finishes on eBay, eHam, and at swap meets. I have 2, one black base and
one chrome. Last time I noticed, they were in the $40-50 range. The
Hexkey [also by bencher] is a somewhat more expensive choice, Elecraft
used to sell them, they may still.
i. "Normally," paddles are configured with dahs on the finger(s) and
dits on the thumb, however there is exactly zero magic in that, it's a
holdover from the pre-keyer days with mechanical bugs. You could get a
"left-handed bug" but they were special-order and very pricey. Nearly
every keyer today allows you to "invert" that connection with a menu or
control character.
j. There is one advantage to configuring your paddle in the "normal"
manner ... that's how most stations are configured and if you are a
guest op, it will be right for you.
k. A lot of left-handed hams learned to send [and subsequently paddle]
right-handed because in the olden days, keeping a log was a Really Big
Deal. Send right, write left. Strangely, almost no right-handers
learned to paddle left. I'm a lefty, I learned to send right, but when
logs ceased to be an RBD, I put a second paddle on the left which I tend
to use in casual QSO's. You can do whatever works for you and you're
guaranteed to be "right." Being able to paddle right-handed is an
advantage if you ever are a guest op too.
l. I don't know your age but a combination of injuries to my hands in
my 20's, a genetic condition [poor choice of Dad], and an accumulation
of birthdays took a toll on my ability to send at 35 even though I could
copy it. I finally purchased an N3ZN single-lever as a fairly expensive
experiment. Fortunately, I find the combination of single lever AND
very precise engineering and design of the ZN paddle has brought my
reliable sending speed up to 25 or a little more.
I notice that you've gotten several replies that assert [I'm
paraphrasing]: "You should never transmit Morse until you've practiced
off-line for at least half your life." Jerry, that is the same "advice"
you can find in a feedlot full of male bovines. It's in the same
category as, "You should never send on a bug [nowadays that includes
'keyer'] until you can send War and Peace in its entirety with no
mistakes on a straight key." If your CW isn't perfect, so be it. The
best way to become fluent in Morse code is to get on the air and use
it. If someone thinks your fist stinks, he doesn't have to answer your
call. Getting on the air is also the best way to discover all the
things you can do with Morse and why it appeals to so many.
[Full disclosure: I'm a member of CWOps]: Congratulations on starting
CWA. That CWOps program has many graduates, some learning from scratch,
some seeking to improve their ability in the mode. Their method works,
the Advisors are extremely good at applying it, and I look forward to a
QSO with you in the near future.
73,
Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW #142
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County
On 11/9/2017 6:14 AM, JEROME SODUS wrote:
Hello,
I'm a "no-code-ham" determined to become a "know-code-ham" and so have signed
up to a course by CWops.
They require a paddle for sending practice since lessons will be done at 20-wpm.
Having researched the topic of 'paddles' and from that effort, I think that a
single paddle might work best for me.
Here are the negative items which helped form that opinion:
1. a comment that regular practice is needed to maintain competence with a
dual-paddle,
2. iambic-a or iambic-b just seem physically complicated.
In reading my KX3-manual and Fred-KE7X's book, it seems to me that the KXPD3 is
capable of only dual-paddle operating. Or have I missed something?
I understand that my KX3 has a second port for an external key (I presume a
single-paddle).
In the past, I recall seeing photos of hams working KX3-portable with a
straight-key but, at those times, I did not pay attention if any had a paddle.
TIA for any reply.
73 Jerry KM3K
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