[Elecraft] K3 Keying

[Dick Green WC1M]

I got in the habit of using an external keyer before most rigs had internal
keyers. As others have mentioned, external keyers are more flexible and
quicker to set than internal keyers, so I continued to use an external
keyer.

When I first got into contesting in a serious way, I found that virtually
all rigs with internal keyers had a conflict between internal and external
keying. For example, on Yaesu rigs, the paddle and external keyer input use
the same jack. The expectation is that if you use the internal keyer, a
paddle will be connected to the jack. If you use an external keyer or PC,
the hot lead will be connected to one of the two paddle inputs (usually
tip), and the internal keyer will be turned off. You can parallel the paddle
and external keyer or PC, but you can't use them together. If you have the
internal keyer off, you can key with the external keyer or PC, but not with
the paddle. If you have the internal keyer on, you can key with the paddle,
but you get gibberish if you try to key from the external keyer or PC (which
results in a keyer keying a keyer.) In the heat of a contest it's just not
feasible to switch the internal keyer on and off when you want to use the
paddle.

Of course, the K3 has solved this problem by providing two separate inputs:
one for the paddle and one for the key. Now I don't have to turn off the
internal keyer to use an external keyer, and have the option of putting a
second paddle on the K3 (I haven't done so.)

There are other ways to solve the paddle problem in contests. Some contest
programs support paddle input through the LPT port. That's one viable
solution. The better solution is to use an external contest keyer. As others
have mentioned, PC-generated CW isn't reliable on many computers due to
Windows multitasking. An external keyer solves that problem, too. I use
Writelog's W5XD+ keyer, which has paddle inputs and generates CW in response
to commands from Writelog on the PC. It also does paddle, mic, PTT and audio
switching for SO2R contesting. The keyer can also be used without Writelog
running, though with limited functionality. There's a remote speed pot and
L/R switch for selecting the rig.

It's possible to build a switch to shift the paddle between the W5XD+ keyer
and the rig (or two rigs, or three rigs...), but for me it's not worth the
trouble. The W5XD+ keyer is adequate for my needs.

73, Dick WC1M

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Cutter [mailto:d.cutter at ntlworld.com]
> Sent: Friday, September 05, 2008 1:11 PM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Keying
> 
> I would be interested to know why folks use external keyers in
> preference to
> the internal keyer.
> 
> David
> G3UNA
>