Thank you Ed; I was very interested in how you do SO2R (I've actually
worked you 3 bands within minutes of each other so maybe SO3R) and having
multiple keyboards seems to me to be the right solution. Your small
radio-width keyboards, I am intrigued with; can you name a brand/model?
Tim N3QE
On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 9:57 PM, Ed Muns <ed@w0yk.com> wrote:
> This is an excellent topic, but the questions as stated below imply a much
> too restrictive answer.
>
> As our friend Hank W6SX would say, "It depends". Each of these techniques,
> along with others, is "best" in each distinctly specific QSO situation. In
> general, what I've found most effective for me, after thousands of hours in
> RTTY contests, is to use the keyboard as much as possible and the trackball
> (or, mouse if that's your preference) only where necessary. Furthermore,
> only a very few keys are actually used on the keyboard. They are used as
> single presses for a specific function. It is very rare that I touch type,
> unless I got to keyboard mode to actually converse with someone. For
> example, I may go to keyboard mode and tell someone they are 220Hz low in
> frequency.
>
> I try to do everything I can from the keyboard. I use ESM (Enter Sends
> Message) or what some call the stateful Enter key. The Enter key sends
> different messages depending on the state of the QSO. Very unnerving for
> some; very natural for others.
>
> Enter: sends the CQ message if no call sign in the Entry window. Sends the
> QSL message if there is a call sign in the Entry window and the cursor is
> in
> the exchange field.
>
> Apostrophe: Grabs the last highlighted call sign (or a new mult) if there
> is
> no call sign in the Entry window, then sends the Exchange message. Sends
> the Exchange message if there is a call sign in the Entry window.
>
> Semi-colon: Sends 'TU <current call sign> .. NOW' and logs the QSO. This
> key is always followed by the Apostrophe key because it assumes a call has
> been popped from the call sigh stack into the Entry window.
>
> Open Square Bracket: Sends my call.
>
> Close Square Bracket: Sends my S&P Exchange message.
>
> Left Trackball button: clicking on a call sign or exchange element copies
> it
> into the Entry window.
>
> Right Trackball button: clicking on a call sign copies it onto the bottom
> of
> the call sign stack.
>
> Therefore, in the simplest case where there is only one caller to my CQ and
> their call sign is highlighted by WriteLog, I simply press Apostrophe. If
> their exchange has info I need to put in the Exchange field of my Entry
> window, I click on it using the trackball. HOWEVER, sometimes it is easier
> to type the info. "It depends" on what the info is. For example in CQ WW
> RTTY I often typed the two-letter QTH abbreviation rather than using the
> trackball. That can be done with two presses of the index finger, i.e.,
> touch typing not required. After finishing the received exchange, I press
> Enter to QSL the contact. If the exchange is prefilled, then all I am
> doing
> for each QSO is simply pressing Apostrophe and then Enter. If no one calls
> in, then I press Enter again to send the CQ message.
>
> If I get more than one call sign after a CQ, or if someone tail ends my
> current QSO, I right-click their call sign into the call sign stack. Then,
> when I am ready to QSL the current QSO, I press Semi-colon (instead of
> Enter), followed by Apostrophe. If there are more call signs in the stack,
> I repeat this sequence, and when the last one is out, I hit Enter to QSL
> that QSO.
>
> So, this means I am only using three keys on the keyboard to run stations,
> including the handling of multiple call signs available between CQs. I use
> separate PCs/keyboards/trackballs for each radio, so I have one hand on
> each
> keyboard running these three keys. When I S&P or work a QSO on the sub-RX,
> I use the Open/Close Square Bracket keys. There are a few other keys, like
> pushing/popping call signs onto or off of the call sign stack, long CQ, His
> Call, special QSL message for my contest club members, etc. And, of course
> all the function keys are available, but they only get used when a QSO gets
> screwed up or I need to respond to fill requests, or initiate a fill
> request.
>
> The various loggers differ a bit in their features so that affects what can
> be done. N1MM Logger, for example, can run almost all functions with the
> mouse/trackball. This is touted as a plus because you don't have to move
> between the trackball and keyboard. But, for me, it is so much easier to
> press one of the 2-3 keys I use 99% of the time and only move to the
> trackball for grabbing calls or exchange elements when necessary.
>
> I have trained my non-dominant hand to run the trackball or mouse. My home
> office PC uses the trackball on my non-dominant hand so that I am
> reinforcing that training daily. When a contest comes up, both hands are
> equally adept at mousing.
>
> For RTTY only, I use "right-sized" keyboards that are the same width as my
> K3 radios. They are full-size keys and spacing, but without the number pad
> and cursor key block that are not needed in RTTY contesting. The left
> trankball sits next to the left side of the left keyboard; opposite for the
> right side.
>
> There is no simpler motion than pressing a single key, so that is how I
> choose to make as many UI motions as possible. The trackball cursor and
> buttons are used only when a call sign can't be grabbed with the Apostrophe
> key or to grab an Exchange element.
>
> If I sense that there might be an additional call sign(s) in the pile-up,
> then I usually left-click the call sign into the Entry window so that I'm
> ready to right-click any others onto the stack. I may wait to actually
> right-click those stacked call signs until after I've hit Apostophe to
> initiate the current Exchange message. There is plenty of time to do that
> and when running SO2R, there may not be time to get all the call signs
> stacked beforehand.
>
> In summary, both the keyboard and the trackball/mouse are "best" for
> different actions that the RTTY contester needs to take in the course of a
> given QSO. Trying to choose between them for all QSO actions is a
> sub-optimal solution.
>
> Ed W0YK
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Tim N3QE wrote:
>
> I have been following the "where to do CRLF" threads for a while now. I did
> some RTTY 30+ years ago so I can certainly appreciate that too many CRLF
> can waste paper :-)
>
> I can kinda appreciate that scrolling text makes it difficult for some to
> point and click on a call. Still I have to wonder:
>
> Roughly what fraction of RTTY contesters prefer to never take their hands
> off the keyboard and to type the callsign of the caller (or maybe use the
> "grab" function via keybaord)?
>
> What fraction really prefers point-and-click to grab calls?
>
> I personally despise ever having to use the mouse when running on CW, in
> part because if I am going to take a hand off the keyboard, I would rather
> have it go to the paddle rather than the mouse.
>
> If I am typing in a call, then I get full advantage of SuperCheckPartial to
> help me narrow in and fix busted calls before the QSO, no matter what the
> mode. I suppose there is still some value in SCP if you click on a busted
> call (instead of building it up letter-by-letter) but that's not how I've
> learned to use it.
>
>
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