[Elecraft] Flexibility (WAS: High End Paddles)

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Tony, N2TK, wrote:

You brought up one point that is important. The person receiving your
sending must be able to copy it. It may sound neat to you to play with dot
and dash length and spacing, but will the other person be able to copy it?
On the other end of the pileup it is sometimes difficult to pull out a call
when the cw doesn't sound like "normal" cw. So you tend to tune out that
signal and pick up another call. Some calls sent with a straight key or bug
are tough to copy. 

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That's a good point Tony. For me it's "Farnsworth" with its crazy spacing
that forces me to listen very carefully to understand it, and even then it
sounds like music being played by someone with the hiccoughs, Hi! 

Many of us treat pileups like traffic jams; they're something to be avoided
if at all possible. Not that working DX isn't fun, but swapping call signs
and "599" reports is a bit boring to me. The other evening I tuned across 20
meters and heard nothing going on but a few pileups, so I called CQ on a
clear frequency and Rod, 8P6JD, in Barbados called me.  After a nice chat
during which he had me lusting for a swim in the nice warm Caribbean waters
we signed and there was bedlam with stations all around the frequency
blasting away trying to catch Rod. So I moved off to another clear spot and
worked Jonas, LY80R, for another nice QSO about their celebrating 80 years
of Ham radio in Lithuania. After five minutes or we signed and there was
instant bedlam again. 

If there's going to be a pileup I find that it's a lot nicer to work 'em
*before* the pileup instead of joining it, but then I'm not chasing any
particular wall paper. I'm equally happy chatting with a guy keeping warm in
Sitka, Alaska or a fellow puzzling over a project across town. In those
situations it doesn't matter if one has to ask for a repeat. 

Ron AC7AC