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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