[CQ-Contest] [YCCC] Key Clicks in ARRL DX CW

[Jukka Klemola]

Barry,
K3 can be set to click.
Just set the rise and/or fall times too short i.e. sharp and listen k#
click.

K3 owners have a big responsibility in setting the radio correctly so it
serves the owner and his neighborhood correctly.
The neighborhood in this case is Fourier transformed into frequency domain
... hey I attempted a nerd joke in English!

Also some other radios, like IC756Pro2 and Pro3 have this feature.
One Finn had changed his CW wave fall time too short - he corrected his
settings after a discussion about what&how to change.

Most people do not know the implications of sharpening the signal.
Over sharpening is not exactly good in this case.


73,
Jukka OH6LI

2016-02-22 15:24 GMT+02:00 Barry N1EU <barry.n1eu at gmail.com>:

> Great point Randy!  The untenable fact now is that those using clean
> transmitters (esp K3) are clearly at a disadvantage when running because
> they're just sitting ducks, i.e.  inviting someone to get real close to
> them and click all over their run frequency.
>
> Barry N1EU
>
> On Mon, Feb 22, 2016 at 8:07 AM, Randy Thompson K5ZD <k5zd at charter.net>
> wrote:
>
> > The challenge is that the problem is asymmetric.  It is all good for the
> > clicker in that he gets a clear frequency.  And there is little that a
> > station not clicking can do in response.
> >
> > We added the signal quality rule to CQWW, but we receive only 1 or 2
> direct
> > and specific complaints after the contest.  We need more of those to
> gauge
> > impact and to know where to look.
> >
> > This is problem that is going to take a long time to fix, but it has to
> > start with peer pressure.  I.e., naming names publicly and often.  Stop
> > saying things like "S5 station" and actually say their call.
> >
> > Randy, K5ZD
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: YCCC [mailto:yccc-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Barry
> N1EU
> > > Sent: Monday, February 22, 2016 12:57 PM
> > > To: YCCC
> > > Subject: [YCCC] Key Clicks in ARRL DX CW
> > >
> > > (FYI - I just posted this to CQ-Contest)
> > >
> > > Instead of the situation improving over the past 15 years with more
> > > awareness, key clicks on the bands during contests have gotten much
> > > worse.
> > > I've copied excerpts from score postings from W1UE and N1EU below.
> > >
> > > Two groups of contest operators are going to be much more aware of the
> > > problem than others: those who run a lot (and experience the clarity
> and
> > > usability of their run frequency deteriorate over time) and those
> > > equipped with panadapters.  I also suspect that east coast operators
> are
> > > going to be impacted more due to stronger European signal levels.
> > >
> > > I suspect the situation doesn't bother most contesting folks as much as
> > > me.  I really think it has gotten bad enough to warrant extreme
> measures
> > > - we've got the tools to monitor/playback spectrum.  Wide signals
> simply
> > > should NOT be tolerated and operators should be disqualified.
> > >
> > > The other measure I'd really like to see is an S&P only category
> because
> > > I, for one, would like to throw in the towel entirely on running during
> > > cw contests.
> > >
> > > 73,
> > > Barry N1EU
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Mon, Feb 22, 2016 at 6:54 AM, Dennis Egan <egan.dennis88 at gmail.com>
> > >  wrote:
> > >
> > > > Sunday afternoon on 40M was a true click-fest.  I had a good 40M
> > > > frequency, with a rate of about 80.  Gerry W1VE then nestles in 400
> > > > cycles up, and I started getting key clicks, destroying the frequency
> > > > for Rx.  I slid up to chastise him for the clicks, but when I got on
> > > > his frequency I could still hear the clicks- his station wasn't
> > > > generating them!  I went up another 4 KHz, and the offender was an S5
> > > > station occupying about 20KHz of spectrum with his key clicks!  His
> > > > station was only S6- if he could have channeled the power expended on
> > > > his clicks into his signal, he probably would have been S9.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > On Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 8:02 PM, Barry N1EU <barry.n1eu at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Lastly, I have to say that I ended the weekend with a bad taste in my
> > > > mouth from the rampant key clicks on the band and the recurring
> > > > experience of having my clear run frequency eventually being
> > > > over-ridden by key clicking neighbors getting too close, over and
> over
> > > > and over again. I'm not sure if having the P3 panadapter is a good
> > > > thing or a bad thing, because it clearly shows the band filled with
> > > > wide key clicking signals. It's really sad that the ham radio
> > > > community has never come to grips with this solvable issue. It has
> > > seriously spoiled cw contesting for me.
> > > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > YCCC Reflector mailto:yccc at contesting.com Yankee Clipper Contest Club
> > > http://www.yccc.org Reflector Info:
> > > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/yccc
> >
> >
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