[Elecraft] start with straight key or paddles?

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

A straight key is versatile, but you ask a great question. You are learning
two different motions. I learned on a straight key in 1951 because almost
everyone used a straight key then. Also, one had to take a sending test in
front of an FCC examiner in the local FCC office. "Keyers" were new
technology, filled with tubes, in the hands of only a few operators. Bugs,
mechanical semi-automatic keys, were very common among the more experienced
operators. Still, few, if any, were used or allowed in tests. Everyone used
the straight key on the FCC's test desk. Learning on a straight key was
therefore crucial to getting a license! 

I allowed myself to learn to use a bug after I got my General Class license,
but I kept my hand in on a straight key and passed my 20 wpm Extra Class
Amateur and my Commercial RadioTelegraph license tests using a straight key.


Nowadays, I doubt if there's much to lose learning on a modern keyer. It's
certainly easier to send  good clean CW with a key compared to either a
straight key or bug, but it still requires practice. Keyers are so common
that it's not often you are without one! However, and this is important,
there are variations in the timing from one keyer to another, particularly
if you learn Iambic or "squeeze" keying that can be maddening to change. I
built a keyer in the 1970's that I kept and used whenever I used a keyer
until I got my K2. It's a "Mode A Iambic" keyer, and I found the squeeze
keying features wonderful. 

I'd not hesitate to tell someone to learn on such a keyer unless they have
some association with wanting to use a straight key. 

I never use a keyer any more. I use a straight key and bug at all times. I
do that because of the challenge. It's a lot harder to send clean code on a
straight key or a bug and I don't want to lose that ability to the automatic
timing provided by a keyer. So some years ago I set my Accu-keyer aside and
haven't touched it or the Elecraft keyer logic since. This is a hobby. We do
things because they interest us, not because they are easy. 

If you want to learn to send good code, do *not* use a decoder that can
decode bad code!! You want a decoder that falls into gibberish unless the
code is perfect! I use CW GET to practice on my bug. That program is
devilishly critical! But when I see row after row of perfect copy, I know my
fist is under control. After half a century I still practice regularly,
usually sending a page out of a phone book - addresses, phone numbers and
all. If I can do a page of that without a fluff, I'm a happy fellow! 

One nice thing about a keyer that began with bugs is that they are less
tiring. That's why bugs became popular. Not really for more speed, but so
commercial operators could pound out messages hour after hour without
getting a "glass arm" - what we'd call tendonitis or carpel tunnel syndrome
today. The majority of commercial operators on bugs hummed along at 15 wpm
or so, tops. Some commercial services even welded the speed-regulating
weights in place on the keys so operators wouldn't be temped to speed up.
Faster CW doesn't mean faster message rates if fills are needed. 

Keyers provide that same advantage, along with the ability to send faster
than most people can on a straight key if QRQ is your "thing". 

You mention a boat. One thing about modern keyers is that they are quieter.
Will the first mate/CFO be working or bunking nearby while you're operating?
The clack-clack of a straight key can be downright disturbing. Bugs aren't
that much quieter either, but there's no reason for anything but a whisper
of sound from paddles.

Ron AC7AC