[Elecraft] [K3] CW Weight Question

[Fred Jensen]

Kind of a poorly defined term Joel.  Technically, the measure is 
dot-time, the duration of one dot.  It's also the duration of the spaces 
between character elements.  Dashes are 3 dot-times, as are the spaces 
between letters.  The space between words is 7 dot-times.  I'm fairly 
sure that's what W1AW sends for bulletins and code practice.

"Weight" on some keyers means changing the length of a dot in relation 
to dash.  I have an old keyer where it meant lengthening or shortening 
the inter-element spaces above or below one dot-time.  And some keyers 
[Winkey?] allow you to adjust several of those parameters.

Since bugs are mechanical, a very close spacing on the dot contact will 
make longer dots, a wide spacing will make them shorter.  That's what 
weight used to mean when everyone used a bug, but it was kind of 
complicated by the fact that you make the dashes manually.  It's always 
seemed common to me for the dots from a bug to be a little too short.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2014 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 2014
- www.cqp.org

On 12/12/2013 2:48 PM, Joel Black wrote:
> Okay, maybe this is a dumb question, but I have searched the Elecraft
> Archives back to October 2011 and I cannot find what I'm looking for (or
> I don't know what I'm looking for).
>
> What is CW Weight? I know what the book says, "Adjust element/space
> timing ratio (weight) for the internal keyer."