[Amps] QSK

[Colin Lamb]

I first went QSK by moving the porcelain knife switch off the wall and down onto the operating desk.  That switched the antenna.  A foot switch changed the receiver from on to standby and the transmitter was always on, waiting to be keyed.  ARC-5 receiver and 6AQ5 sandwich box transmitter.  

Then I realized that the ARC-5 receiver worked just as well with a 10 foot piece of wire and my knife switch sat unused and moved it back onto the wall.  

The next big improvement was an electronic keyer - the W9TO design using 4 or 6 12AU7s built into an old ARC-5 transmitter case and an old sterling silver knife blade that did not match my mom's set, with a knob on the end taken from an old Atwater Kent.

The beauty about the home brew keyer and knife blade paddle was that I had an excuse for the lousy cw.  Now I have expensive keyers, big antennas, expensive rigs and high power amplifiers and QSK and I still have a lousy fist - with nothing to blame it on except old age.  Getting so that I use that more and more as an excuse and few people really question it.  In truth, it never was very good and most of my friends just do not remember.

73,  Colin  K7FM