[TenTec] Keyers?

[Ken Brown]

Steve wrote:

>Gary:
>I am sure that any keyer would work with the Orion including your old 
>Heathkit keyer. The rig has nothing to do with your "struggle".
>
>Steve
>  
>
Gary wrote:

>>For years I used an old Heathkit keyer but switched over to the keyer
>>in the Orion last fall. Now the 850 keyer is a struggle to get right. 
>>
Hi Steve and all,

I think what Gary is observing is that every keyer seems to be a bit 
different, and once you get used to one, having used it for a long 
while, it is difficult to switch to another keyer. I think Gary realizes 
that just about any keyer can be hooked up to the Orion or the TS-850 
and be made to work. The problem is not whether the keyer "works" but 
rather whether the operator can "work the keyer" proficiently. Once you 
get used to one keyer it can be hard to switch to another.

I have noticed difficulty switching between the Omni VI internal keyer 
and the Logikey K-3. I have them both set to mode B, but they do not 
work exactly identically. There seems to be some differences in the 
timing of the "window of opportunity" for adding trailing dits or 
inserting dits. The difference in operation is very difficult to 
analyze, because as soon as you start focusing on it, the problem seems 
to either go away or change. This is probably due to minor changes in 
timing of the operator's actuation of the paddles.

Does anyone know if there is an "official" definition of exactly what 
mode A and mode B iambic keying are? Are there any specific parameters 
stated by any keyer manufacturer as to the timing of the paddle inputs 
versus the keyer outputs? I have never seen any such specifications, and 
I suspect that minor differences between brands is what gives some 
people trouble switching from one keyer to another. I find it 
interesting that it seems the transition from one model to another can 
seem smooth and not even noticable to the operator, and then after 
becoming accustomed to the second keyer, switching back to the first one 
can be very difficult. What is it that makes it easy to adjust in one 
direction and difficult in the other?

To answer your question Gary: I like the Idiom Press Logikeyer K-3 best.

73 DE N6KB