[CQ-Contest] CW Sending

[Rich Gelber, K2WR]

CW sending technique has come up a few times recently, and I suspect =
that a lot of you are in the same boat I am in terms of having learned =
to send with a keyer before iambic operation came around, and then never =
having re-learned.  In particular, the logic of the old Hallicrafters =
HA-1 "TO" keyer (which, as I recalled, followed a design originally by =
W9TO), which is what I learned on, and of the Micro-TO keyer series =
described in QST in the 1970's, lent itself to dual-paddle operation, =
but produced dah's when the paddles were squeezed.  In other words, the =
dah's had priority over the dit's.

New-style radios with keyers built in invariably, by my observation, =
only operate in one of the iambic modes, and I suspect a lot of people =
simply put up with what's available rather than either learning the =
iambic method, or supplying another keyer.  Close to 30 (!) years ago I =
built a battery-powered keyer with CMOS logic that works just like a =
"TO", and this keyer goes wherever I go that CW is on the menu.  Not =
that my keying is so damn perfect, but it's a darn sight better at 35 =
wpm than it would be on an iambic keyer.  My point is that you don't =
have to settle for what's available, and you don't have to use an iambic =
keyer just because it's built into the radio if you send better on =
something else.

Rich K2WR


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