[CW] methods to increase code copying speed

[Mark Danner]

Last statement - VERY TRUE!

I do suffer form "cq phobia" which keeps me listening but restricts my
talking (don't check my spelling, it might give me another "phobia"!)

For the rest of it, great info.  I do enjoy hearing of other's
experiences.  Tnx!


Mark 

-----Original Message-----
From: cw-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:cw-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On
Behalf Of D. Chester
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 11:09 AM
To: cw at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [CW] methods to increase code copying speed

> From: "Mark Danner" <markd at mfwi.org>
> One thing that has been holding me back has been my choice of sending 
> with a straight key.  I've had a love affair with straight keys for 
> quite a few years now and had totally abandonded my keyer.  I 
> reallized that my speed was locked into how fast I used the straight 
> key.  So, I am now re-learning the paddles.

Perhaps a bug would more closely match your sending preferences.  I
abandoned my keyer when I finally acquired a bug that I thought had a
good feel.  I picked up a basket case Vibroplex original at Dayton one
year, repaired the damage (it had apparently been dropped), replaced the
broken bakelite finger pieces and cleaned it up.  It turned out to be
velvet smooth, with negligible contact bounce.

My previous bugs all sucked.  My first one was a Lionel J-36 WW2
surplus.  I had to weight the thing down and file on the dit spring to
make it send at less than 35 wpm, and no matter what I did to correct
the problem, the contact bounce was so bad that my characters sounded
mushy.  Later, I picked up a 1947 vintage Vibroplex Original, but it
wasn't much better.  It felt stiff, and no matter what I tried, I
couldn't get rid of the contact bounce on that one, eicher.  I picked up
my good one simply because I thought it might be able to restore it and
being somewhat of an antique, it would make a good collector's item.  It
is a 1929-era classic Vibroplex with the japanned base decorated with a
gold stripe.  Once I repaired the bent parts and replaced what was
broken, I was impressed with its smoothness.  My other bugs and my
Bencher paddles have been  collecting dust on the shelf ever since.  I
never knew it was possible for a bug ot work so flawlessly.

That bug had most likely been used and abused for decades in commercial
landline service.  What was left of the original bakelite finger pieces
were so well worn that they were actually eroded from use.  There is
quite a bit of slop between the pivot and armature, but that doesn't
seem to hamper its functioning - perhaps that's what gives it its
smooth, well broken-in feel.

I never could completely master sending with iambic paddles.  I could
work the keyer from below 10 wpm to upwards around 30 wpm, but
regardless of speed, I would start out doing very well, but after a  few
minutes of sending I would start making errors.  After a transmission or
two I would have to correct what seemed like every other letter - a real
pain for me and the person at the other end of the QSO.  I never had any
problem switching between the bug and iambic keyer.  In fact, I could
change over in the middle of a word without getting the attention of the
listener.  But I never could gain complete control of the iambic keyer
and not make excessive errors while sending, and I always found that
frustrating.

The best electronic keyer paddles I ever laid my hands on was at Dayton
another year.  I tried out a March magnetic paddle.  It had the firm,
solid feel of a straight key.  I figured out the reason:  the magnets in
those keys are set up to repel each other, rather than to attract, as is
the case in most other magnetic paddles.  With repulsion, the magnetic
force increases as the contacts approach each other, much like a real
mechanical spring.  With the magnets set up to attract each other, they
move farther apart when the paddles are squeezed together, and the
magnetic force decreases.  This  gives the paddle a light, flimsy feel.

But I was already so happy with my old Vibroplex, that I didn't feel
like forking over the $250 he was asking for a set of March paddles.

As far as increasing copying speed, I never made any conscious effort to
do so, once I had passed the 13 wpm code test.  I just had CW QSO's
fairly regularly, but not even 50% of my operating time.  Most of my
operating since 1959 has always been AM phone.  But I somehow managed to
pass the 20 wpm Extra exam on an impulse, without practising to bone up
on my code copying, when I happened to be at the FCC's quarterly
examination point to take my First Class commercial Radiotelephone exam,
and made an on-the-spot decision to go ahead and try for the Extra while
I was already there.

If you are regularly working CW and enjoying it, the increase in copying
speed will come automatically and you won't even realise it.

Don k4kyv


_______________________________________________________________

This message was typed using the DVORAK keyboard layout.

http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/
http://gigliwood.com/abcd/

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