[Elecraft] QRQ CW

[Dyarnes]

Hi All,

I don't know if there is an "official" definition of QRQ, but 30 to 35 wpm
is pretty speedy compared to most.  I can copy that, and maybe just a tad
bit faster, but not much, and don’t do it often enough anymore to be very
good at that speed.  I'm not much good at trying to send at that speed,
however.  That really takes more practice.  When I was copying at those
"higher" speeds, it was usually with a "Mil", or just in my head.

There are a lot of folks out there enjoying some "real" QRQ, at speeds in
excess of 50 wpm.  I think that is great, but it's not for me.  A good
friend, Chuck, W5UXH, does that a good bit, and he like to create his own
keyboards.  Now, Chuck is most capable without one, but he likes the
process.  I remember years ago, when Chuck and I used to chat with some
regularity, he kept urging me to go faster!  I don't know what his upper
limit is, but I sure wasn't able to test it!!!  No keyboards back then.

I tend to agree that 30 wpm, more or less, is a good speed for contests.
For whatever reason, stations going much faster than that are harder for me
to copy unless their sig is really good.  My keyer tends to be set around 25
wpm, and I move up or down about 5 wpm as dictated by the other station.
Seems to work for me 90% of the time.

I think I can almost always tell when a keyboard is being used.  The spacing
is too perfect!  Some folks fool me, but not many.  Of course, the dead give
away is when you hear periods and apostrophes coming across with regularity.

Dave W7AQK