[Elecraft] Fastest: paddle or bug?

[David A. Belsley]

Interesting, Ron.  Unfortunately, keyers don't know when one should be 
spacing between words and when between letters.  "Perfect" spacing 
(mechanical or otherwise) doesn't help if one doesn't use word spaces 
between words, and, boy, does that drive me up the wall.  I have taken now 
to stopping such qsos summarily.

The monotony of perfect spacing may (possibly) become trying at 15 wpm, but 
above 25 wpm it is hardly trying and above 35-40 it is de rigueur. 
Personally, I never tire of perfect sending -- primarily because, when it 
is perfect, you become unconscious of the sending itself and meld only into 
the content.  One can tire of the sending only if you are conscious of it.

best wishes,

dave belsley, w1euy

--On Monday, February 17, 2003 11:08 AM -0800 Ron D'Eau Claire 
<rondec@easystreet.com> wrote:

> Given that a paddle is used with a keyer, and a keyer typically has
> logic that corrects spacing errors over a very wide range, I'd say there
> is no question that a keyer produces "perfect" spacing.
>
> Is  "perfect" spacing "quality" spacing? That might spark quite a big
> debate. My favorite example is comparing computer-generated speech with
> human speech. Computer-generated speech can be perfectly constant, but
> that can also make it hard to understand in some situation. OTOH, it is
> much preferable to someone speaking with a severe impediment or accent
> if ease of communications is the goal.
>
> The same is true of keyers and bugs (or straight keys) in my experience.
> A keyer can get a bit tiring to listen to with its unvarying spacing,
> but by and large it is easier to copy than a bug in the hands of someone
> who can't keep it under good control or someone who has allowed himself
> to develop some sloppy habits, like an exaggerated 'swing'.
>
> Perhaps the most important 'inflection' in CW is spacing... spacing to
> break up thoughts (sentences), spacing to set off complicated or unusual
> words, etc. A keyer does that quite well. The most difficult CW for me
> to copy (next to a truly lousy fist) is a keyboard when the operator
> doesn't pound the space bar at the right places so I get one unending
> long sentence per transmission much like this sentence is running on.
> Whew!
>
> You ask about 'greatest speed'. I don't pretend to be a "high speed"
> operator. 30 wpm or so is about the highest I go while not 'straining'
> (i.e. can send on my bug without working at it and can receive solid
> copy while puttering around the shack without concentrating on what I'm
> hearing). So perhaps things get different up in the "rarified"
> atmosphere above 40 wpm where some CW ops like to work.
>
> On commercial circuits I never worked much over 25 wpm. I knew only a
> few ops who did. Those lucky stiffs worked on some circuit where they
> exchanged traffic with the same operator at the other end all the time,
> so they could develop whatever speed suited both of them. But many
> commercial outfits frowned on that practice. Indeed, in the early days
> commercial installations welded the weights in place on the bugs so the
> ops had to stay at one uniform speed - usually around 15 wpm.
>
> On the maritime bands the pride of proficiency was in reading some of
> the absolutely ghastly fists out there on the "high seas". Accuracy was
> far more important than speed, because "repeats" slowed down the traffic
> more than a slow fist. Time = money, and more messages got passed at 15
> wpm with no fills than one could hope for at 35 wpm followed by repeats
> to fill in gaps. So true "high speed" CW was always more of a "hobby"
> than anything else, and lucky were those ops who could pursue it on the
> job on a regular basis!
>
> Ron AC7AC
> K2 # 1289
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Hi all -
> Given an extremely competent cw op - which is capable of achieving the
> greatest speed while still maintaining quality spacing - a bug or a
> paddle? Thanks. 73/Tim NZ7C
>
>
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----------------------------------
David A. Belsley
Professor of Economics