[CW] touch paddle speed, keyer 'dit' and 'dah' memories

[David J. Ring, Jr.]

I find the CW touch paddles www.cwtouchkeyer.com very easy to use at 50 wpm.

DISCLAIMER:  I was the prototype tester for these paddles, and I suggested 
certain changes to make them work even better at high speeds.

I find they don't false and don't bounce like regular paddles.  They don't 
look like $500.00 paddles but they work as well.  They have ZERO movement 
weight because they simply don't even move.  Movement weight and weight of 
the paddle arm are critical at high speeds (50+ wpm).  Less weight, faster 
movement.  Zero weight, FASTEST movement possible.  Fastest movement, this 
means able to get the next dot or dash out faster without sounding jittery.

73

David Ring
N1EA

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "M.Wood" <mrwood at attglobal.net>
To: <CW at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 10:17 AM
Subject: [CW] touch paddle speed, keyer 'dit' and 'dah' memories


Thanks to many of you who responded to my query about your experience with
touch paddles.

One issue that has arisen is the speed at which one can comfortably send 
with
touch paddles. Scott N4RI suggested that at speeds 35wpm and higher the 
touch
paddle was difficult to use. Since I cannot copy faster than 18wpm, I had 
not
tried higher speeds. When I tried to go faster, I found that I could without
too much trouble. However, I did hit a barrier.

Using the keyer supplied by the maker of the touch paddles 
(cwtouchkeyer.com,
based on jackson harbour press keyer) I found that, indeed, at around 35WPM
the touch paddle became unstable in my fist and I began to make a lot of
errors. However, when I turned the "dit" and "dah" memories off, I was able
to send at that speed with only occasional errors. As for 40WPM and above I
can't say, because I can't reliably send at that speed with any equipment!

The upshot of all this is that the touch paddles, with a keyer with 'dit' 
and
'dah' memories in activated, work well at speeds up to about 30WPM. I 
quickly
developed a feel for the paddles, and can send quite comfortably at 20 or 
25.
After about 30WPM, certainly by 35WPM in my estimation, one would want to
turn off the 'dit' and 'dah' memories. At 40WPM and above, a single paddle
might well give better results, as some of you suggested to me. (The speed
measurements  given here are from the keyer itself, which reports character
speed upon command.)

--Mike K2CSJ




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