I'll take the initiative and be quite fussy.
Like you, I've become nearly addicted to Ten-Tec's CW QSK. After spending
nearly the entire month of June optimizing my Omni Six's QSK, achieving that
kind of QSK in a transceiver that must be capable of consistent performance
when using frequency offsets and wide frequency splits (due to synthesizer
settling time) is nothing short of a miracle.
Quite honestly, Kachina's QSK is about the same as most other common
transceivers. Receive audio can be heard between characters, but NOT
between elements (dits and dahs). Also, the T/R relay can be quite noisy
and obnoxious.
However, the digital CW waveshape adjustment capability is truly excellent.
As the adjustment is made, the rise and fall time is symmetrical.
I know what you mean concerning the slight "bell-like" attribute of some CW
waveshapes. Two callsigns come to mind: Paul, K4CA once used a QSK-modified
Drake C-Line until two years ago that sounded like no other. I always
wanted to view the waveform on a scope but never had access to one. Another
similar sounding station is K4JG. I have no idea what he's using, but he
can be found on the lower segment of 40-meters on the weekends.
Does anyone know what the waveform looks like to create the distinctive
"bell-like" note? I suspect the fall time literally "rings," much the same
as a square wave behaves when being passed through an inductance.
-Paul, W9AC
-----Original Message-----
From: David J. Ring, Jr. <n1ea@gis.net>
To: kachina@qth.net <kachina@qth.net>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Wednesday, December 02, 1998 8:58 AM
Subject: [Kachina] CW on Kachina, QSK quality, waveshaping
Gentlemen:
I am (frankly) spoiled.
Having advanced from a Johnson T/R switch*, I finally decided
transceivers were "OK" when I heard Ten-Tec's QSK, which was
and is excellent because it allows one to hear between high speed
strings of dots without distorting any of the dots sent.
Often the first dot is distorted by clipping, making it a shorter dot.
Which is annoying and sometimes difficult to copy.
I was wondering if there is anyone on the list who would be "fussy"
and could give me some feedback on the QSK feature of the
Kachina.
Also, I noticed that the Kachina software allows for waveshape
changing in CW. Can you make the wave so soft that you can get
the sound to imitate a bell. In the "olde" days, some, like W1PH,
Ding Heywood, used primary keying (keying the primary of the HV
transformer) to achieve a soft on and soft off sound which was very
interesting and distinctive.
I understand that at some time it may be possible to remote the
Kachina by UHF on CW.
Unfortunately, I am a condo dweller and would love to work CW but
restrictions prohibit it. I can however rent a garage on a hill that is
next to an unused 60-foot tower. This is two miles distant.
Please reply to me directly.
I appreciate your help.
Sincerely,
David J. Ring, Jr.
N1EA
* Note: The E.F. Johnson T/R switch - manufactured until about
1970 - was a Transmit/Receive (T/R) vacuum tube device which
allows separate transmitter and receiver to operate in full break-in
mode (QSK) by protecting receiver input from damage and ensuring
fast recovery. It worked better than anything I know on transmit, but
had problems on receive such as reduced receiver sensitivity and
television interferance (TVI).
---
Submissions kachina@qth.net
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