[Elecraft] OT - Twin paddle key and getting up to speed

[Wallace, Andy]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Gropper [mailto:dmg@bossig.com]
> 
> My thanks to all for the suggestions for getting my speed up.
> SO, of course, I tuned around the CW end of 10 and 18 and
> found there is something going on that I shall refer to as
> "Bedlam!"

Welcome to the world of the DX pileup! 

> The question I asked about "wide or narrow" was in respect to
> the key.  Should the initial point spacing ( for me ) be wide,
> or as narrow as possible.  

OH!!! I thought you meant dot weighting. If you have a K2, you
can adjust that, if you didn't know -- makes the dots stand out
better, especially if your call is HH5HHH or something.

Anyway - for paddle adjustment spacing, use whatever helps
you make good characters. Anybody else's advice doesn't matter!
Your key should be like your shoe...it should fit. 

Depending on your paddle, you may be able to adjust spring tension
as well. It's important to adjust the key such that your brain and
hand "know" where the switch between dit-and-dah and on-and-off is
located without having to think about it. 

Some people prefer putting the paddles parallel to the front edge
of the desk (with the fingerpieces pointing right or left, and the
key in front of the rig). Others set it with the paddles perpendicular. 

Start out very slowly - 8WPM - and go through the alphabet, learning
how the squeeze technique works for each letter. 

Good luck. As for being OT for the List, it is, but then we're not
arguing about CW, we're promoting it, and that's 100% of what a K1
is for and at least 50% of what a K2 is for. <grin>

Andy