[Elecraft] K3: old dog contester tries something new

[DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL]

RE:  CW Tune during the heat of the battle

I have been somewhat amused at the comments here about using the CW
tune to "get on zero-beat."  As a cw contester, I love to be a little
off frequency (high or low, or my choice) in order to "get through"
ahead of the others (when S+P).  Maybe I just have a good sense of
pitch (which other lament that they do not), but I have never had an
issue with "matching tones" quickly and easily.

For some reason, my CWT was "on" when I started the contest, so I took
the time to actually look at it.  What I found was that I could do a
better job of concentrating on LISTENING to the content of the signals
(with my ears) while using my eyes to "tune in" either zero beat, high
or low, using the CWT indicator.  This was a real revelation for me.
I had never before comprehended that while I was "matching tones"
(which I thought was simply second nature for me) that I was actually
less focused on the sought after signal (in terms of cw content). In
other words, my main aural focus had previously slightly shifted from
content to tones.  Now, I can fully focus on what is being sent (and
adjust my timing accordingly) using my ears while my eyes
simultaneously do the "zero beat" functioning.  Using the CWT visual
feedback is BETTER (for me) because I can now do two things at once
and without one negatively impacting the other.  It may not seem like
a lot, but in a timed competition, every benefit (times hundreds or
thousands of QSO's) adds up.

Of course, when one is running, CWT is not necessary.  :-)
[S+P is "search and pounce" - in other words, tuning the band looking
for guys/gals to answer.  Running is sitting on one frequency, calling
CQ and waiting for answers from others]

Auto-spot using CWT.  No, I did not use the auto-spot feature of the
CWT.  While it does indeed work during very crowded band condx (using
an appropriate narrow filter/DSP setting), I found that using my eyes
was not only faster, but allowed me to include a directional "offset"
of my choosing.

de Doug KR2Q

PS  My FW version is several iterations old, so I don't have the
"calmed down" CWT.  I rather like the "jitter" that others have
described and I hope that the calmed down version doesn't negatively
impact what I just discovered.