First, I don't believe we'll ever establish a consensus on the
characteristics of the ideal keyed waveform. Several here have commented
on the poor keying of the Omni Six, but to my ears, this is exactly the
sound I was searching for. In fact, several years ago, I would battle Bill
Maxon, N4AR on very early morning 40-meter South Pacific DX. I aspired to
have the same type of keying in his newly-aquired Omni Six. So then what
represents the ideal keyed waveform? By who's standard? Is the ideal
waveform sharp on the leading edge and soft on the trailing edge? Just the
opposite? Or, is it soft on both?... Hard on both? Personally, I like the
bone-crushing note of a very sharp leading edge and a slight decay on the
trailing edge. Perhaps future rigs will allow us to adjust *both* edges of
the waveform.
One comment I heard was that someone's FT-1000MP had a better keyed
waveform than his Omni Six. I own both radios. I would argue for the
opposite....that the Omni Six is better....according to *my* personal
taste. Additionally, the T/R latency time onmy FT-1000MP is longer than on
the Omni Six....but neither are quite as fast as my <gulp> TT Scout.
At one time, Paul, K4CA had without a doubt the most powerful CW note in
existence in my oppinion. He had achieved it by modifying a Drake "C" line
and incorporated QSK PIN diode switching. I wish I had a monitor scope at
the time so that I could have measured "his" ideal waveform. One day I'll
get into my Omni Six, and create "the ideal keyed waveform."
-Paul, W9AC
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