[Elecraft] Iambic Keying - Debunking the Myth

[Bill Tippett]

N1AS:

 >2.  Timing - The timing needed to insert elements can be very tight.
This is only an issue at high speed though.  At normal speeds, the
timing is very workable and the user can benefit from the greater
efficiency.

         Which is why QRQ (60+ WPM) folks who win HST Championships
don't use it.  It is also why anyone with less than perfect
hand coordination, due to age, palsy or whatever will have
difficulty using it.  My good friend N4SU had to give up hamming
when he developed palsy and could no longer send iambic CW.  If
I had realized this problem before he passed away, I would have
suggested he switch back to a single paddle, which is much more
forgiving of timing errors...a bug being an extreme example.

 >The efficiency of the iambic method is no myth.  Whether it is worth
learning depends entirely on how able or motivated you are to learn
something new.

         Theoretically you are correct, but practically you
are wrong.  I assure you that true competitors in any endeavor
would die for a 5% advantage, and yet HST winners don't use iambic.
Any theoretical advantage of iambic is lost when your hand cannot
meet its exact timing requirements.

         If we based our conclusions purely on one theoretical
parameter, there would be no reason to have competitions.  The
highest powered car would simply be declared the winner.  In the
real world, results are a combination of many factors...which is
why we still have competitions.

                                 73,  Bill  W4ZV