[CW] Sending Technique

[Bruce Prior]

It's nice to see that my putting the Begali Sculpture on the block has generated some interesting discussion here on the this list.  I've changed the topic, since it's morphed away from that particular paddle.  By the way, the Sculpture is still available.

I have an Elecraft K3 transceiver <http://www.elecraft.com/> , which has a built-in decoder for CW, PSK31 and RTTY.  You can use a Morse paddle to control the internal keyer and make the radio talk CW or PSK31 or FSK RTTY.  That's really cool.  There's a rub, however.  The receive Morse decoder, like any that I know of, will only decode Morse accurately if is sent nearly perfectly and when there is a high signal-to-noise ratio on the circuit.  That's true of any computer-based Morse decoder that I've ever seen.  Most high-speed Morse (say, in the vicinity of 50 WPM) is sent these days by computer keyboards.  The K3 decoder does a good job on that style of Morse as long as propagation conditions are really good.  

The big deal with the K3 is that it also has an outgoing decoder. An outgoing Morse decoder is a truth-teller.  If you don't leaveenoughspacebetweenwords, the decoder will runthemtogether. If yo u ha ve to o m uch spa ce b etwe en lett er s in a w ord, t he d ecod er w il l re cor d t he m a s s ep ara te wor ds.  It's just as irritating for the operator on the other end of the Morse circuit as it was for you to try to read those last two sentences.  There may be some operators who can send really good Morse with a bug.  I don't personally know of a single one.  If so, they could pass the outgoing decoder test on the Elecraft K3.  The Begali CW Machine has a similar outgoing decoder.  So does the brand-new Elecraft KX3 transceiver.  I'm lucky to one own of the latter already since I'm on the field test team for it.

In practice, we've learned to tolerate pretty badly-sent Morse when we're in CW Mode.  However, when sending PSK31 or RTTY via a keyer paddle on a K3 or the new KX3, that's an entirely different manner.  The same truth-telling on the K3 or KX3 display which I was describing for CW applies to the printed or displayed text on PSK31 or RTTY.  If the paddling is messy, the text on the other end will also be messy.

It was the outgoing decoder on the K3 that told me that my paddling was utterly unsatisfactory, even with the fancy Begali Sculpture.  I read an article by Marshall Emm N1FN, the owner of Morse Express called "Iambic Keying - Debunking the Myth" <http://www.morsex.com/pubs/iambicmyth.pdf> .  That convinced me to try single-lever paddling.  

The Begali Simplex Mono looks at first glace like a dual-lever paddle because it has two fingerpieces, but both fingerpieces control a single central lever.  It's actually more complicated to design and manufacture a quality single-lever paddle than a dual-lever one.  For some time, the Simplex Mono was my favorite paddle, and I think I improved my sending accuracy -- measured by that K3 decoder -- using it.  

There are other fine-quality single-lever paddles besides the Begali ones.  N3ZN makes two of them <http://www.n3znkeys.com/c/2/single-lever-keys> .  So does Scheunemann, whose Einhebel and Einhebel 2 are described in English and available from Morse Express <http://www.mtechnologies.com/scheun/> .  American Morse Equipment (AME) makes both the Bushwhacker <http://www.americanmorse.com/bushwhacker.htm>  and the Mini-B <http://www.americanmorse.com/minib.htm>  for portable operations.

Taking a clue from AME, I now install 3M Dual Lock on the base of all of my paddles and also on the operating surface, so they absolutely stay put in operation, but with a yank they can still be removed.  That's even true with the heavy and elegant Begali Sculpture Mono <http://www.i2rtf.com/html/sculpture_mono.html> , which is doubtless the current single-lever paddle champion.  The unusual characteristic of the Sculpture Mono is the large size of its fingerpiece, which allows both the thumb and the pointer-finger knuckle to comfortably contact it.  

Right now, the Sculpture Mono controls my K3 and the Simplex Mono is attached to the KX3.  For portable operation, very practical with the diminutive KX3, I'll be using the AME Bushwhacker for picnic-table operating and the AME Mini-B for backpacking and SOTA (Summits On The Air) mountain treks.  On mountain trips, my titanium ice axe is the "operating surface." I've attached 3M Dual Lock on the ice axe shaft just below the head.  

If Elecraft eventually creates a good-quality single-lever paddle to attach to the KX3, that also might do for portable operating.  That development is probably down the road a piece.  By the way, with the KX3, I won't be confined to CW for backpack and mountaineering operating.  I can use a Morse paddle to send PSK31 and FSK RTTY, and I can read both on the scrolling KX3 display.  The K3 and the KX3 displays are identical, even though the latter is a much smaller radio.  Yes, the KX3 also does operate phone modes (SSB, AM and FM) and as a field tester I had to buy a mike for it.  I probably won't use that microphone much until the KX3 2-meter module becomes available, when it might become convenient to use the rig for FM repeater operations.

73, Bruce N7RR

J. Bruce Prior   853 Alder Street  Blaine, WA 98230-8030   360-332-6046   •Grid CN88px    •Amateur Radio Station N7RR    •The CW Operators' Club 846    
•Washington State SOTA Manager   •Pacific Northwest Trail Association   •American Alpine Club #1672    •SATERN
 		 	   		  
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