Thanks for not taking me the wrong way.... I think you are
making A LOT of good points. I have a healthy respect for the
guys who have invested the time and effort to develop a good
fist.
Parenthetically... funny you should mention it.. yes... the wife and
I BOTH prefer a six speed manual transmission - and have it on two of
our cars.
And you are quite right about working a contest alone... ! I could
get very hungry and thirsty without any time off. ;-)
You mention you enjoy the rhythm of it. That seems to be the secret
to learning it, too. I am trying very hard to avoid any sort of look
up table, cheat sheet or visual list of any kind. I try to just listen
to the rhythm. But I must admit that some of the letters really sound
alike to me. (Yes I need more practice.)
It seems like music. If you get the right rhythm, then you can play it
fast or slow or in between and it still plays right. I wonder if that
effect is key to how guys can speed up or slow down to match the other
guy.
Thanks for the reply.
========================= James - K8JHR =======================
On 5/25/2010 3:39 PM, Jim Brown K9YC wrote:
> On Tue, 25 May 2010 15:00:08 -0400, Richards wrote:
>
>> I am not trying to start a war over it... and all I mean to say is that
>> I think there is something more pure, idealistic or exalted if the
>> contestant actually pounds brass, instead of using a memory keyer.
>> That is REAL CW...
>
> Hmmm. Lemme see if i get this -- youre a new op, just learning CW, and
> youre telling guys who have been doing for 55 years what real CW is? I
> guess you also drive only cars with a manual transmission, no power
> brakes, no power steering. :)
>
> I started out on a straight key in 1955, switched to a Vibroplex bug for
> something like ten years not long after passing the General, then went
> cold turkey to a W1TO keyer that I built myself sometime in the late
> 60s. When I started contesting, everything was on paper, including dupe
> sheets, and one guy did it all (except on Field Day). I bought my first
> memory keyer, an AEA, as soon as it came out. The first one couldnt do
> serial numbers, so I soon bought the new one that could. Now nothing is
> on paper, and the computer sends and does the logging, whether its CW,
> SSB, or RTTY.
>
> What I enjoy most about CW is the rhythm of it, whether Im chatting,
> sending with the paddle, or in a contest, sending almost everything with
> the computer. Its a real pleasure copying a good fist.
>
>> In the 160 meter SSB contest last Winter, we could have used a voice
>> keyer that is part of the software logging program, but we chose to do
>> it the old fashioned way - and called CQ and did the exchanges with our
>> own voices.
>
> I do it both ways, but a major problem with ONLY using your live voice
> is that if you operate the entire contest by yourself, you can never
> drink coffee of each munchies. Youll never keep your butt in the chair
> for 30 hours that way!
>
> 73,
>
> Jim K9YC
>
>
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