[Fists] Ultimatic Keying

[David J. Ring, Jr.]

- This message didn't appear in the FISTS reflector so I am resubmitting 
it - thus it may finally be a duplicate message - 73 de N1EA / DR

I think the Ultimatic Keying is a very common sense system of keying.

I used a similar system for years (I used the EICO keyer with dash override)
and thought it was a big improvement over single lever keying.

One thing that was a problem with my fist was I couldn't shift over from
making a dot then going to the dash swing of a single lever at high speeds.

Having a dual lever eliminates this because you can be poised to close the
other lever as soon as needed.

If anyone wants a good way to get rid unevenly formed dots and dashes at
high speed, I can certainly recommend Ultimatic keying.

If you're going to buy a keyer or paddle/keyer combo ask the maker if it
includes this mode - most keyers using the Jackson Harbor chips (there are
quite a few makers who use these chips) can do this (but not all).

See the page on the Island Keyer 2 for some more information:
http://jacksonharbor.home.att.net/ik2.htm

73

David Ring, N1EA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan KB6NU" <kb6nu at w8pgw.org>
To: "FISTS" <fists at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 3:09 PM
Subject: [Fists] Ultimatic Keying


> Win a new Icom IC-756PROIII and help QSL/QTH.net.   Details at: 
> http://mailman.qth.net/index.html
>
>
>
>
>
> While the debate rages on over whether one should use mode A or mode B
> iambic keying, talk on the SolidCopyCW mailling list has turned to 
> Ultimatic
> keying. The biggest difference between iambic and Ultimatic keying is that
> when you hold down both paddles, the Ultimatic keyer sends a series of
> elements corresponding to the last paddle closed instead of sending
> alternate dits and dashes as an iambic keyer would. For example, the
> sequence L on, R on would cause an iambic keyer to send di-dah-di-dah.....
> An Ultimatic keyer would, however, send di-dah-dah-dah.....
>
> If you count the number of paddle movements, you can see where this might 
> be
> advantageous. There's no advantage when sending a K. The sequence is R on, 
> L
> on, L off, R off for both iambic and Ultimatic keyers. Take X, however. 
> When
> using
> iambic keying, it's R on, R off, L on, L off, R on, R off. With Ultimatic
> keying, the number of paddle movements is the same as for the iambic - R 
> on,
> L on, L off, R off. - a savings of two paddle movements. You just hold 
> down
> the left paddle a little longer for the X then for the K.
>
> I think I got that right anyway. :)
>
> What do you all think about this? Anyone currently using a keyer with
> Ultimatic keying? I think it might offer some advantage, and it will
> certainly be fun to play with, but I'll reserve judgment until I try it 
> out
> myself.
>
> I've been swapping e-mail with Dale N0XAS, the designer of the PicoKeyer,
> about adding Ultimatic keying to his keyer. He's agreed to do it, and he's
> going to send me a test unit when he's done with the coding. I'll send in 
> a
> report after I've played with it.
>
> 73!
>
> Dan KB6NU
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> President, ARROW Comm. Assn. (www.w8pgw.org)
> ARRL MI Section Affiliated Club Coordinator
> CW Geek (FISTS #9342)
> Read my ham radio blog at www.blurty.com/~kb6nu
>
>
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