[TenTec] My Orion - qsk

[Tommy]

Hi Martin,

Please keep in mind, this is just my opinion and only how I operate, 
and probably does not follow what one would consider 'classic QSK', 
if there is such a thing. So, how I precieve full QSK is not very 
easy to explain, nor is it a concise definition because of the 
variables involved.

Let me preface this by saying that copying CW at different speeds is 
done by different methods, all sub-consiciously. Below about 45-50 
wpm, the brain is still copying individual letters of words. Roughly 
between 50 and 60 wpm, the brain seems to 'jump track' and switches 
to copying words and not letters. From about 50 wpm and on up, you 
begin to really focus on what I call the 'flow of the conversation'. 
Below about 50 wpm, you can send/copy CW while at the same time sip 
coffee, eat cookies, gaze out the window, etc.; above 50 wpm you 
really become more (or extremely) focused on copying CW. Above 60 
wpm, you become extremely focused on copying/sending the code and 
can not tolerate very many distractions. The other part of this is 
how your sending. Since I use a computer program (YPlog by VE6YP) to 
send code at high speed, I am normally typing quite a bit into the 
program buffer of the PC program. So how I precieve QSK is dependant 
a lot on what speed I'm operating.

When I'm operating typically below 35 wpm, with my Orion, IC-781, or 
Omni 6 (and Plus), I can hear someone breaking me in between 
letters. Over about 50 wpm, I can hear someone breaking me, but then 
it's more than likely in between words, keeping in mind that over 
about 50 wpm, one is no longer conscious of literally 'hearing' 
letters. However, when my QRQ partners literally test a radio for 
it's QSK ability, we typically run up around 70 or 80 wpm and the 
'listening' station starts trying to break you by first sending one 
dot, if that doesn't work, he sends several dots, or what ever it 
takes to for me to hear him. It normally does not take more than two 
or three dots for me to be aware that my QSO partner is trying to 
break me. So in essence, to me,  full QSK becomes a 'fuzzy' 
definition, depending on your speed and your operating environment.

Again, to me only, full QSK is not whether or not I can hear someone 
breaking me 'between the dits', it is simply can I hear someone 
breaking me, no matter what speed I am operating. So being about to 
hear someone break you 'in between dits', at speeds over about 40 
wpm, becomes moot simply because one is no longer conscious of 
'hearing' a letter, much less hearing between dits.

Tom - W4BQF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Martin AA6E" <msembx-aa6e at yahoo.com>
To: <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 11:28 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] My Orion - qsk


> Tommy,
>
> We've gone around on this issue before, but could you explain what 
> you
> mean by "full QSK" at 70+ wpm?  Can you hear between the dits? 
> Can you
> hear between letters?  between words?  Etc.
>
> Let's not get into another big flamefest.  I am just curious what 
> you
> mean by full QSK.
>
> 73, Martin AA6E
>
>
> --- Tommy <aldermant at alltel.net> wrote:
>
> .. Now with v1.372 and with v1.373b5, I have
>> successfully ran my Orion up as high as 74 wpm, full QSK, without
>> the dots shortening. My critical QSO partners say the Orion is 
>> now
>> perfectly copyable at 74 wpm. When I move to 76 wpm, the dots 
>> start
>> shortening again. However I think this is a fantastic improvement
>> and certainly would not ask any more from the Orion. FYI...if you
>> run CW over about 50 wpm, you must drop Tr down to the 3ms 
>> position
>> (which is actually a Tr of 1ms, the exact same as the Omni 6 and
>> Omni 6 Plus).
>>
>> Absolutely great improvement on the CW full QSK capability of the
>> Orion!!
>>
>> Tom - W4BQF"
>
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