Hi Al:
At 09:30 AM 4/6/05, you wrote:
This is the sort of thing that worries me about working CW. I am all in
favor of practicing before going on the air but what is available out there
to do this? Is there a hardware device & software that I can connect a key
to that will send information to a PC to test if I'm sending correctly?
There are any number of ways to accomplish this...
1) There are CW copying programs which run on your PC and which can
accept input (sidetone from the rig, or from a code practice osc.)
via their MIC/LINE jack on the sound card.
2) Buy a code copier from MFJ... expensive, but effective... at least
while during the short time you will probably need it.
3) Send practice CW into a tape recorder (on record it as a WAV file
on your PC, using the sound card input and the MS WAV player), and
then play the recorded CW back to yourself after a day or two's
rest (to give you time to forget what it was you sent the first
time). If you can copy what you sent, chances are others might too.
4) Have someone whose opinion you trust, and who KNOWS what good CW
should sound like, critique your fist.
Be prepared for some let-downs while you learn... few folks can
develop a really great fist without a bit of effort, but it CAN be
done.
Personally, I like the idea of starting off with a straight key. But find a
key of decent quality if at all possible. The cheapie (plastic) keys you
can find for a couple bucks seldom do much for your fist, and can
materially degrade it, given just a small chance.
Once you get the 'feel' for proper inter-character element and character
timing, AND once you get up to 15 WPM or so of decent hand-sent code, THEN
you're probably ready to consider moving up to a keyer and paddle.
I see three main keyer/paddle combinations:
1) Single-lever paddle with a keyer (iambic or other, doesn't matter)
2) Dual-level paddle with an iambic keyer operated WITHOUT using the
iambic keying features.
3) Dual-level paddle with an iambic keyer operated WHILE using the
iambic keying features.
Personally, I tend to prefer configuration #2, because it gives me the
versatility of the dual-lever paddle (slight finger timing differences
which I appreciate), but since I'm not 'tied' to (and not having learned)
using the keyer AS an iambic keyer, I can send decent CW with just about
ANY keyer (iambic or not). Many folks who learn to only send CW with an
iambic keyer find that they cannot send well if presented with a non-iambic
keyer.
Additionally, If I learn to send using a dual-lever paddle in the
non-iambic mode BUT USING an iambic keyer, if I then choose to maybe try to
add a few iambic combinations, or to just 'fudge' my finger timing a bit,
the iambic feature will help to compensate and still allow me to send
decent CW.
I also much prefer keyers which offer AUTO-CHARACTER SPACING. This option
can really help an operator who tends to run letters together while
sending... I think we all sometimes catch ourselves doing this... usually
not very often, but periodically I'll run a couple letters together... ACS
will often 'fix' my manual error so the op on the other end never knows my
fingers hiccuped.
The suggestions the others have offerers are ALL good and should be read
and considered... especially those about not sending faster than you can
copy AND not sending faster than you can send cleanly. Most (though not
all) folks can send faster than they can copy... because they already KNOW
what it is they want to send, so they can have the CW all queued up, ready
for their fingers to do the walking, so to speak. This doesn't necessarily
mean they can send fast WELL though... if you can't send good CW at the
higher speeds, then DON'T DO IT! Rotten CW at a higher speed is worse the
good CW at a somewhat slower speed.
WORK on good character and word spacing when sending CW!!! Concentrate on
NOT running letters together... (many ops tend to send the letters "the"
too closely spaced... same for "and" coming out as "pd"... and, when you
finish a word, there's no harm in allowing a bit more than normal word
spacing before starting the next word. This helps the receiving operator to
ensure that he has copied a complete word and that he's not gonna be
'surprised' by a run-on next word almost sent as the last part of the
previous word.
Finally... just like the way to get to Carnegie Hall, PRACTICE...
PRACTICE... PRACTICE!!! You cannot practice too much, or too often. And, of
course, GET ON THE AIR to hone both your sending AND copying abilities.
ANY TIME someone gives you criticism about your fist... ACCEPT it in the
spirit it was (probably) given... even though it might seems brutal (or
ill-worded), the person making the commend felt the need to take the time
to tell you of a possible problem... use that info to search your style and
see if there might still be something which needs fixin'.
Now... HAVE FUN!
73,
Tom Hammond N0SS
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