Topband: CW speed

[Tom Rauch]

> When I operated from 9N1ARB and HS0ZCT on a couple
occasions a few years
> ago, I found that I could copy calls, reports, and other
short pieces of
> information more easily at 20-30 WPM than I could at lower
or higher speeds.
>
> Characters sent too slowly could be broken up by the QRN,
and dashes could
> be made to sound like multiple dots.

I'm sure we are all different in what we like.

Dots are just very difficult to copy. When I bust a
callsign, the number one thing is missing dots. The worse
calls in the world to copy when weak are those with lots of
dots, and that's true if the background is rough static or
smooth noise.

The average lightning crash (including the start of stepped
leader) is about 2 seconds long. This isn't a partial dit
length at any CW speed, it is a letter or letters problem.

I think most people on days when band noise is smooth prefer
slow to modest speed.  When the QRN is rough, faster speed
would allow more repeats  in the same time frame.

73 Tom