[Elecraft] [K3] Wetting current and CW paddles

[Rich NE1EE]

I, too, live in NH. We still get super cold periods, despite the general warming trend. My impression, stemming from growing up here in the 50s, and comparing to current weather, is that we are developing some unusual (for us) patterns. We have hotter summers and higher humidity, but less actual rain, resulting in the contradiction of sweltering summers accompanied by drought. Winters are milder, temperature-wise, but there is more precip over the winter months, much of it rain, and we now have longer periods of sub-0F weather...or so my heating bill seems to suggest. Ironically, we are faced with spring floods and summer droughts.

There is another alternative that I am considering that has its parallel in keyers. I am considering installing super caps. The difference is that I'd install the caps to provide an initial starter punch on those super cold days, whereas I'd install the caps on my keys to punch through oxide layers. The effect derives from the same source: the ability of the cap to provide a pulse of current in a short time.

On 2020-10-13 07:21:-0400, Michael Stone wrote:
>Back in the old days when the weather was colder than it is now, I was living in New Hampshire.  I didn’t have a garage for my car.  There is a trick that someone told me about that apparently works when you know that the vehicle might not turn over fast enough and start on a below zero morning.  Turn the headlights on for several seconds to less than a minute to create a bit of heat in the battery that in turns gets the chemical reaction going.  This sometimes helps…or appears to  help.  My choice of insuring that the engine started was to remove the battery and bring it into the house and then reinstall it just before starting the engine.  Lots of extra work, but I was never late for work due to cold weather.
>Mike, N1VE