[Elecraft] Bug mode on K3?

[Edward R Cole]

Phil,

You got a chuckle with your comment.  Probably even more "humorous" 
is that I am not a "CW guy", so why am I buying a keyer??  Well, I 
did start out ham radio on CW as a Novice (KN8MWA) mainly 40m, so I 
am not totally a "CW virgin" ;-)  But I struggled to pass my 13wpm 
test before the FCC and essentially let life overcome my further 
efforts for the next 24 years (college/career...).

So after moving to Alaska in fall of 1979 and getting my first sled 
dog in 1980, dog mushing captured my interest so that I signed in 
1982 up to run an Iditarod Sled Dog Race ham station in a remote 
check point on the trail - what fun!  But there was a hitch - check 
points scattered over 1200 miles of trail used 80/40m to communicate 
with HQ in Anchorage.  I had to get my General Class - had six months 
to get up to 13wpm!

With the use of cassette tapes (remember those?) I passed my 13wpm 
test at the Anchorage FCC Office and decided to take my Advanced 
(AL7EB) test and passed it, too.  But after passing the test I still 
was not a CW op.

1998 I decided to do "moon-bounce" (eme) and what was used?  Uhuh = 
CW.  Fortunately, I obtained my first pc in 1996 and there was a 
keyboard CW program so I did not have to send by hand (only had my 
original Novice straight key).  But receiving super-weak CW is still 
by ear!  15-18wpm is favored for eme.

2010 I bought my K3 and decided to buy a paddle (Bencher-2) to try 
automatic CW and made a royal mess of that!  I reverted to the old 
straight key (though I got rusty after all the years of nonuse).

So I am actually going to try out the "bug" mode with the 
keyer.  Push one way string of dots, push back and get string of 
dashes.  I will not send faster than 18wpm so that ought to work OK.

Let you know how it goes after a couple weeks! ;-)

73, Ed - KL7UW
PS: I waited until 2000 to upgrade to Extra after CW requirement was 
lowered to 13wpm.

Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 08:46:26 -0800
From: Phil Wheeler <w7ox at socal.rr.com>
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Bug mode on K3?
Message-ID: <54872762.3040202 at socal.rr.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

I have the K1EL K42, Ed. Built it last Spring for
the fun of it as much as anything. It was a very
nice kt and the final product seems excellent.

This thread title has been making me chuckle a
bit: How often do hams ask for bugs in their
equipment? :-

So I have a weird sense of humor :-)

Phil W7OX


73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
     "Kits made by KL7UW"
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