[Elecraft] OH! I get it ... I think

[Gary Smith]

I'm one who often uses full break-in. There's a lot of reasons to use 
it but it requires certain aspirations depending on situation. For 
instance, here are some pointed examples:

Say you're chasing DX, there are others chasing the same station at 
the same time. Everybody calling needs to leave their call but the 
only way you can tell who if anyone's call is being returned is to 
hear it being returned to you. If you're calling, you can't hear what 
is being returned. But if the DX is not returning a call then either 
they haven't heard one call clearly, they are in the process of 
entering a heard call in their log (and are about to transmit that 
specific call) or you're calling from an area they do not wish to 
cultivate and they heard you but you're not in their hunt.

So you persist in calling but need to listen to the DX stations 
return call to whoever it is going to to know they have made a 
decision as to who to call or that it's still in flux. If you do not 
run full break-in then you become one of those QRMing people who call 
on top of the DX station while they are transmitting. If you can't 
hear the DX station through all the QRM then you shouldn't be calling 
blindly hoping they will somehow hear your call and when the din 
quiets down from the others realizing it's not their call being heard 
and it is your call that you hear them calling.

The latter is possible but not probable. What is more probable is 
they are calling someone else and you've been nothing involved but 
QRM.

Assuming everyone ran full break-in and would listen for the DX 
station in-between dits & dahs, then everybody would immediately stop 
sending when the DX is transmitting and a whole lot more QSOs would 
be made.


Another example is if you are in a 1:1 QSO and you have your RF gain 
set so you hear nothing but your QSO partner, you don't hear all the 
QRN in the background and lets say you converse at conversational 
speed, if the other person misses something they can send a few dits 
and you hear that and you know to stop your soliquy and let them 
interrupt to ask whatever. Maybe they need to answer a phone or 
spouse, whatever... it allows you to do as you would do on the phone 
with someone and say in real time "Hold on a moment, I need to answer 
a question or whatever.

If you're in semi or no break in mode, you can keep on sending an 
opus that the other wishes you weren't sending but has no way to tell 
you that.

FWIW, I love QSK that does not pop in-between characters!

Gary
KA1J

> >From reading the posts about "ducking" it sounds like
> there are those of you who operate CW in a "full break-in"
> mode where you hear between code elements.  Is this
> the case?
> 
> If so, I can't envision how you tolerate the noise (!) and
> understand why you'd want to lower the level of the din
> between code elements.
> 
> Other than the obvious desire to hear a "BK" between
> code elements, or to hear if the DX station in a pile-up
> has answered someone other than you, what's the 
> reason for using this mode?
> 
> Thanks for any enlightenment ...
> 
> 73! Ken Kopp - K0PP
>      ElecraftCovers at rfwave.net