[RTTY] Point-and-click vs typing

Thu Oct 2 11:06:47 EDT 2014

Enermax makes a really nice compact keyboard.  Its USB, sturdy, no numeric or cursor keys, track ball & buttons.
For about $75

Sent from Samsung tablet

-------- Original message --------
From: Tim Shoppa <tshoppa at gmail.com>
Date: 02/10/2014  10:56  (GMT-05:00)
To: ed at w0yk.com
Cc: rtty at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RTTY] Point-and-click vs typing

Doing a little googling turned up the "Happy Hacker Keyboard" as a very
nice reduced size keyboard. Not cheap, but I've had the Happy Hacker
keyboard recommended to me many times before, I'm gonna order one and
report back here with how it works out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Hacking_Keyboard#mediaviewer/File:Happy_Hacking_Keyboard_Professional_2.jpg

https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=pfu_keyboards,hhkbpro2&pid=pdkb400wn

Tim N3QE

On Thu, Oct 2, 2014 at 10:41 AM, Tim Shoppa <tshoppa at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you Ed; I was very interested in how you do SO2R (I've actually
> worked you 3 bands within minutes of each other so maybe SO3R) and having
> multiple keyboards seems to me to be the right solution. Your small
> radio-width keyboards, I am intrigued with; can you name a brand/model?
>
> Tim N3QE
>
> On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 9:57 PM, Ed Muns <ed at w0yk.com> wrote:
>
>> This is an excellent topic, but the questions as stated below imply a much
>> too restrictive answer.
>>
>> As our friend Hank W6SX would say, "It depends".  Each of these
>> techniques,
>> along with others, is "best" in each distinctly specific QSO situation.
>> In
>> general, what I've found most effective for me, after thousands of hours
>> in
>> RTTY contests, is to use the keyboard as much as possible and the
>> trackball
>> (or, mouse if that's your preference) only where necessary.  Furthermore,
>> only a very few keys are actually used on the keyboard.  They are used as
>> single presses for a specific function.  It is very rare that I touch
>> type,
>> unless I got to keyboard mode to actually converse with someone.  For
>> example, I may go to keyboard mode and tell someone they are 220Hz low in
>> frequency.
>>
>> I try to do everything I can from the keyboard.  I use ESM (Enter Sends
>> Message) or what some call the stateful Enter key.  The Enter key sends
>> different messages depending on the state of the QSO.  Very unnerving for
>> some; very natural for others.
>>
>> Enter: sends the CQ message if no call sign in the Entry window.  Sends
>> the
>> QSL message if there is a call sign in the Entry window and the cursor is
>> in
>> the exchange field.
>>
>> Apostrophe: Grabs the last highlighted call sign (or a new mult) if there
>> is
>> no call sign in the Entry window, then sends the Exchange message.  Sends
>> the Exchange message if there is a call sign in the Entry window.
>>
>> Semi-colon: Sends 'TU <current call sign> .. NOW' and logs the QSO.  This
>> key is always followed by the Apostrophe key because it assumes a call has
>> been popped from the call sigh stack into the Entry window.
>>
>> Open Square Bracket: Sends my call.
>>
>> Close Square Bracket: Sends my S&P Exchange message.
>>
>> Left Trackball button: clicking on a call sign or exchange element copies
>> it
>> into the Entry window.
>>
>> Right Trackball button: clicking on a call sign copies it onto the bottom
>> of
>> the call sign stack.
>>
>> Therefore, in the simplest case where there is only one caller to my CQ
>> and
>> their call sign is highlighted by WriteLog, I simply press Apostrophe.  If
>> their exchange has info I need to put in the Exchange field of my Entry
>> window, I click on it using the trackball.  HOWEVER, sometimes it is
>> easier
>> to type the info.  "It depends" on what the info is.  For example in CQ WW
>> RTTY I often typed the two-letter QTH abbreviation rather than using the
>> trackball.  That can be done with two presses of the index finger, i.e.,
>> touch typing not required.  After finishing the received exchange, I press
>> Enter to QSL the contact.  If the exchange is prefilled, then all I am
>> doing
>> for each QSO is simply pressing Apostrophe and then Enter.  If no one
>> calls
>> in, then I press Enter again to send the CQ message.
>>
>> If I get more than one call sign after a CQ, or if someone tail ends my
>> current QSO, I right-click their call sign into the call sign stack.
>> Then,
>> when I am ready to QSL the current QSO, I press Semi-colon (instead of
>> Enter), followed by Apostrophe.  If there are more call signs in the
>> stack,
>> I repeat this sequence, and when the last one is out, I hit Enter to QSL
>> that QSO.
>>
>> So, this means I am only using three keys on the keyboard to run stations,
>> including the handling of multiple call signs available between CQs.  I
>> use
>> separate PCs/keyboards/trackballs for each radio, so I have one hand on
>> each
>> keyboard running these three keys.  When I S&P or work a QSO on the
>> sub-RX,
>> I use the Open/Close Square Bracket keys.  There are a few other keys,
>> like
>> pushing/popping call signs onto or off of the call sign stack, long CQ,
>> His
>> Call, special QSL message for my contest club members, etc.  And, of
>> course
>> all the function keys are available, but they only get used when a QSO
>> gets
>> screwed up or I need to respond to fill requests, or initiate a fill
>> request.
>>
>> The various loggers differ a bit in their features so that affects what
>> can
>> be done.  N1MM Logger, for example, can run almost all functions with the
>> mouse/trackball.  This is touted as a plus because you don't have to move
>> between the trackball and keyboard.  But, for me, it is so much easier to
>> press one of the 2-3 keys I use 99% of the time and only move to the
>> trackball for grabbing calls or exchange elements when necessary.
>>
>> I have trained my non-dominant hand to run the trackball or mouse.  My
>> home
>> office PC uses the trackball on my non-dominant hand so that I am
>> reinforcing that training daily.  When a contest comes up, both hands are
>> equally adept at mousing.
>>
>> For RTTY only, I use "right-sized" keyboards that are the same width as my
>> K3 radios.  They are full-size keys and spacing, but without the number
>> pad
>> and cursor key block that are not needed in RTTY contesting.  The left
>> trankball sits next to the left side of the left keyboard; opposite for
>> the
>> right side.
>>
>> There is no simpler motion than pressing a single key, so that is how I
>> choose to make as many UI motions as possible.  The trackball cursor and
>> buttons are used only when a call sign can't be grabbed with the
>> Apostrophe
>> key or to grab an Exchange element.
>>
>> If I sense that there might be an additional call sign(s) in the pile-up,
>> then I usually left-click the call sign into the Entry window so that I'm
>> ready to right-click any others onto the stack.  I may wait to actually
>> right-click those stacked call signs until after I've hit Apostophe to
>> initiate the current Exchange message.  There is plenty of time to do that
>> and when running SO2R, there may not be time to get all the call signs
>> stacked beforehand.
>>
>> In summary, both the keyboard and the trackball/mouse are "best" for
>> different actions that the RTTY contester needs to take in the course of a
>> given QSO.  Trying to choose between them for all QSO actions is a
>> sub-optimal solution.
>>
>> Ed W0YK
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> Tim N3QE wrote:
>>
>> I have been following the "where to do CRLF" threads for a while now. I
>> did
>> some RTTY 30+ years ago so I can certainly appreciate that too many CRLF
>> can waste paper :-)
>>
>> I can kinda appreciate that scrolling text makes it difficult for some to
>> point and click on a call. Still I have to wonder:
>>
>> Roughly what fraction of RTTY contesters prefer to never take their hands
>> off the keyboard and to type the callsign of the caller (or maybe use the
>> "grab" function via keybaord)?
>>
>> What fraction really prefers point-and-click to grab calls?
>>
>> I personally despise ever having to use the mouse when running on CW, in
>> part because if I am going to take a hand off the keyboard, I would rather
>> have it go to the paddle rather than the mouse.
>>
>> If I am typing in a call, then I get full advantage of SuperCheckPartial
>> to
>> help me narrow in and fix busted calls before the QSO, no matter what the
>> mode. I suppose there is still some value in SCP if you click on a busted
>> call (instead of building it up letter-by-letter) but that's not how I've
>> learned to use it.
>>
>>
>
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