[Elecraft] CW Decoding - Your Brain is best

[Fred Smith]

I'm one who doesn't "enjoy" digital modes none of them CW included it's just
a tool to make contacts with is all it is. Computers are made for digital
modes and have brought them a long way with the JT65 modes to where we can
work stations that could never be worked on CW and even with QRP. I enjoy
speaking to someone on the phone for only for so long then I want to hang up
also.

73,
Fred/N0AZZ

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jim Dunstan
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2012 4:26 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] CW Decoding - Your Brain is best

At 05:08 PM 11/8/2012, Jim Dunstan wrote:
>At 03:56 PM 11/8/2012, you wrote:
>>
>>          I respect the hams that have spent many hours developing and 
>>improving their CW skills ... until they attempt to discourage hams 
>>who choose to come at CW with a different approach. The conjecture 
>>that those of us using decoders cause more problems than those audibly 
>>decoding is just that - a conjecture. Inexperience is very likely a more
>>important factor.   Please note that many accomplished CW ops use keyers
>>when it's to their advantage - during CW contests.  Software-generated 
>>code has no "fist"and is therefore more readable.  And many CW 
>>contesters  can achieve higher speeds with accuracy using a keyer and 
>>software than they may be able to do by hand.

I disagree to some of your statement.  In particular that computer generated
cw ... that comes without "fist" is more readable..  I am from the old
school ... I was a commercial CW operator at the end of the era.  The 'fist'
as u describe was similar to a speaking accent.  Some accents are easier to
understand than others (from a personal point of view).  The fist was very
important ... it defined who you were. The official policy of the service
was that operators should use a manual key.  However almost everyone on the
net (used a keyer - bug in those days) which added to but didn't create the
different 'fists'.  There were some great 'fists' ... some that u could sit
back and read like music.  To be able to send with such a fist was really a
'gift'.  Such a gifted 'fist' is by far superior to computer generated cw
using an unimaginative algorithim. If you can listen to a wonderful 'fist'
and compare to a computer generated signal ... u would immediately recognize
the difference.

So i encourage cw ops to develop their own 'fists' ... who knows they may be
one of those gifted with the magic 'fist" ... the fist that allows you to
sit back and enjoy listening to it.

Jim, VE3CI 

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