[TenTec] wither CW?

[Jim Brown K9YC]

On Tue, 25 May 2010 15:00:08 -0400, Richards wrote:

>I am not trying to start a war over it... and all I mean to say is that 
>I think there is something more pure, idealistic or exalted if the 
>contestant actually pounds brass, instead of using a memory keyer. 
>That is REAL CW...

Hmmm. Lemme see if i get this -- youre a new op, just learning CW, and 
youre telling guys who have been doing for 55 years what real CW is? I 
guess you also drive only cars with a manual transmission, no power 
brakes, no power steering. :)  

I started out on a straight key in 1955, switched to a Vibroplex bug for 
something like ten years not long after passing the General, then went 
cold turkey to a W1TO keyer that I built myself sometime in the late 
60s. When I started contesting, everything was on paper, including dupe 
sheets, and one guy did it all (except on Field Day). I bought my first 
memory keyer, an AEA, as soon as it came out. The first one couldnt do 
serial numbers, so I soon bought the new one that could. Now nothing is 
on paper, and the computer sends and does the logging, whether its CW, 
SSB, or RTTY. 

What I enjoy most about CW is the rhythm of it, whether Im chatting, 
sending with the paddle, or in a contest, sending almost everything with 
the computer. Its a real pleasure copying a good fist. 

>In the 160 meter SSB contest last Winter, we could have used a voice 
>keyer that is part of the software logging program, but we chose to do 
>it the old fashioned way - and called CQ and did the exchanges with our 
>own voices.

I do it both ways, but a major problem with ONLY using your live voice 
is that if you operate the entire contest by yourself, you can never 
drink coffee of each munchies. Youll never keep your butt in the chair 
for 30 hours that way! 

73,

Jim K9YC