[Elecraft] CQ Contest

[Richard Davis]

My AF knob was 'funny' earlier in the week.  Scott at Elecraft talked to 
me Friday on the phone and patiently waited for me to stop sobbing. 
Later in the day the knob 'crumbled' just before the contest started.  A 
panic run to the hardware store provided a 'jury rig' solution that I 
will probably use as a permanent knob.   ...or until Elecraft offer 
knobs with brass sleeve inserts to absorb the stress caused by the set 
screws.

Echoing others on this thread, the DSP at 250Hz with the 250Hz 8 pole 
filter was used most of the time.  Sweet!  ...I also did notice many 
signals had monstrous sidebands due to 'key clicks'.

As for the RIT comments...  My special needs placed an entirely 
different cast on the fine tuning issue.  Being in the "golden" years, 
and being confronted with the on-rush of "Mad Cow's" malady (ask Denny 
Crane if you need any elaboration) I am  hopelessly challenged in 
contests by the vast majority of 3-letter stations who operate at 30+ 
wpm, who send everything once-especially serial numbers, who use those 
clever non-numeric codes for numbers to spare their electronic keyers 
the extra heat overload, and by the time I get the call sign written 
down I have forgotten the serial number......   ....sigh....

TO the RESCUE!!!  The CW decoder on the K3 is my sweet savior!  I can 
work the high speed guys whose dot streams sound like amplitude 
modulated dashes.   100% accurate copy.  With CW decode the K3 puts me 
in the contest.

And when you use CWT centering maximizing the decoding accuracy, you get 
spot-on, consistently repeatable tuning.  No RIT needed.  Of course that 
assumes search and pounce is the preferred style of operation.

If you park on a frequency and call CQ you surrender tuning control to 
the other guy.  You choose the fight the pile ups you hope will come to 
you.  ...me, I am a 'control freak', I will pounce, thank you very much.

I will probably never be highly competitive in CW contests, but the K3 
puts me in the hunt.   ...and that is enough to satisfy me.

....now if the K3 could only send CW using electrical sensors inside my 
green eye-shade visor....  How about that Wayne?

...this contest was the most fun I have ever had in 55 years of ham 
radio.  Thank you very much Elecraft!!!

73's and 88's to the gang there,

Richard
K5BWV

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