[Elecraft] K2 Operating Tip: Effective use of the CW message buffers

[Wayne Burdick]

Most K2 owners know how to send CW messages in the usual way: just tap MSG,
followed by a numbered switch (0-8). (Tapping 9, i.e. the MSG button itself,
just cancels message play.)

However, there are some tricks that are useful during contests or general
operation. (These are covered in the K2 owner's manual and K2 Rev D Firmware
manual, too.) They include Repeat, Chaining, and Fast Play.

Message Repeat

This is useful for beacons, during contests, or when a band is "dead." First,
set up a message repeat interval using the "RPT" menu entry (1-255 seconds).
Next, tap MSG as usual. But then HOLD rather than tap one of the numbered
switches (0-8).

Message Chain

Any time one message is playing, you can "chain" another one onto it just by
tapping 0-8 during the first message. The chained message will play immediately
following the first one. You can even chain a message to be repeated: HOLD 0-8
rather than tapping. (We call this "chain with repeat.") Chaining is most useful
during contests, where you might kick off a sign-off message from one buffer
("QSL TU"), then, while it's playing back, chain on another CQ message from a
different buffer ("CQ TEST DE ...").

Fast Play

Normally two buttons must be pressed to play a message (MSG, then 0-8). During
contests you might want to have "one-button" access to message playback to speed
things up. To use Fast-Play, first assign either PF1 or PF2 as an "FPLAY" switch
using the menu (I'll use PF1 in this example). Next, select a group of switches
to use as fast-play switches using the FPLY secondary menu entry (let's say
"45", i.e. the PRE/ATTN and AGC switches). Now you're ready to use fast-play:
hold PF1 to turn this mode on, then just tap either 4 or 5 to instantly play the
messages assigned to those buffers. Note: While you're in fast-play mode,
initiating message repeat requires tapping MSG first. That's because fast-play
only takes over the *tap* function of the assigned switches; the HOLD
functions--in this case SPOT and CW RV--still continue to work normally.

To cancel fast-play, just hold PF1 again (or PF2 if that's the switch you
assigned FPLAY to).

73,
Wayne
N6KR


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