I never used a paddle or keyer, but have had hundreds of long QSO's in the past, like 20 years ago.
Like everyone else, I think my sending sounds super.... I know what good CW sounds like, and there is a lot of very poor stuff on the air, last night I heard someone who always sent an extra dot on the letters S and H... I have most problems coping when people do not separate the letters but drool them all together. I like a straight key, never used any sort of bug or keyer, and kind of think that's cheating, I am not after DX nor will I be entering any contests, and don't want to dazzle anyone with my 95 wpm CW, I think you can do it with computers now, cant you? My old VIC 20 with the AIR1 card did that I think. (remember THEM?) I will try cleaning my old key up, its been sitting for about 20 years, and don't think it was ever very quality... Brett N2DTS > -----Original Message----- > From: Tom Hammond [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 1:25 PM > To: Brett gazdzinski > Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Yahoo-o-o-o-o !! > > Hi Brett: > > >Can anyone recommend a good basic key? > >I have an old radio shack brass but the contacts > >are shot I think, it acts a bit funky sometimes. > > Are you looking for a STRAIGHT KEY, or a PADDLE? > > If you plan to actually WORK CW and to improve your CW proficiency, > I'd not recommend that you invest too heavily in a straight key, but > something in the <$20 range might work well... UNLESS you fully > intend to NOT graduate up to using a keyer once you hit your limit of > sending speed with straight hand-sent CW. Most folks can send decent > straight-key-sent CW up to about 20-23 WPM, but then the arm/wrist > goes and quality begins to suffer... as does the body... and the ears > of the op on the other end. > > If you intend up eventually switch to a keyer, then decide how much > you're willing to invest in a straight key... how long you plan to > use it... and whether the investment is well-amortized over the > length of time you'll use it. > > Paddles are available for $20 on up. I'm not certain they get > terribly much BETTER with a significant increase in price... probably > a bit better, however. It'll be up to you to decide what > it'll be worth to you. > > Morse Express ( http://www.morsex.com/ )offers a fairly wide range > of STRAIGHT KEYS/BUG/PADDLES in an even wider range of prices. > > Of course, there are always all sorts of keys/paddles available on > the EHAM.COM FOR SALE site and in EBAY. > > Regarding your R/S brass straight key: > > 1) Be sure that the bearings are properly seated and 'snugged' > down to the point that they make good electrical contact but > NOT so tight that the armature doesn't work smoothly! > > 2) Use a DOLLAR BILL between the contacts to clean them!!! > > NEVER use anything which is abrasive!!! PERIOD!!! If the > contacts happen to be silver/ or gold plated, you'll succeed > in removing all traces of the plating with the 1st or 2nd > swipe! > > A U.S. DOLLAR BILL has high rag content and does a wonderful > job of removing oxidation without removing plating (if any > exists). > > 3) TIGHTEN all electrical connection hardware (exc. the bearings). > > 4) Set the spring tension such that there is enough resistance to > your presses that you can feel the resistance. You should NOT > have to 'work' to close the contacts, but they should offer > some resistance > > 5) Set the contact spacing such that you get a bit of both tactile > AND audible feedback when you're sending. The thickness of a > business card is a good starting point for setting beginning > contact spacing. > > 6) PRACTICE A LOT > > 73, > > Tom Hammond N0SS > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] 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
