I am afraid its true !
A only. Not to mention it does not show the keyer speed. Not half the keyer
of the K2 !
Rich
----- Original Message -----
From: "ROBERT CARROLL" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'Rich McCabe'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 6:26 PM
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Begali and K2
Is it true that the Pro III does not support Curtis Mode B? I have heard
90% of cw devotees use Mode B!
Bob W2WG
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
Rich
McCabe
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 6:28 PM
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Begali and K2
Thanks Vic,
Thats great info although most of it over my head :)
The dilema I have now is I was considering ordering the new MicroHam USB
keyer. It sounds like this might not be a good solution right now. To
make
things worse, I really am a novice at CW. I never have been very fast at
it
although I used to enjoy it. My last CW contact was....... uh about 17
years
ago. Never used anything but a straight key.
So what do you think. I buy a Begali signature so now I really have to use
it !! Bold move I know, but that usually works for me.
Have you heard anything about the new material that Begali might be using
(according to MicroHam)? I really thought a clean electrical contact was
just that. Couldnt get any better !
I would like to be able to use the key on my Pro III as well but it does
not
support Mode B. For whatever reason I do better with that mode.
73,
Rich
kd0zv
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vic K2VCO" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Rich McCabe" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 5:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Begali and K2
Rich McCabe wrote:
I just bought a new Begali Signature to go with my K2/100. I was
thinking
about buying a MicroHam/K1EL USB CW keyer to work with my Pro III so I
can run mode B.
I just ran into this article about a debouncer and the Begali keys.
http://www.microham-usa.com/Products/Begali.html
This seems pretty wild to me, but thought I would toss it out the the CW
Pros ! It seems the problem is related to PIC based keyers. Does this
apply to the K2 and what do you think about the whole theory?
To a smaller extent, yes it does. Here's an edited excerpt from a review
of the Magnetic Pro (very similar to the Signature) that I wrote for
eHam:
The contact alloy behaves almost like a semiconductor, maintaining a
constant forward voltage drop over a range of current. Measuring the
contact resistance with an ohmmeter gives 'funny' readings; it's more
interesting if your meter has a diode voltage drop range, such as my
Fluke
79.
Anyway, the result of this is that the key does not work properly with
keyers like Winkey, which use a single PIC input and voltage divider to
distinguish dots and dashes. Microham has actually developed an interface
to solve this problem. More broadly, however, the contact resistance
behavior causes intermittent problems with other keyers that do use
separate PIC inputs, such as the Logikey K3 and the internal keyers in my
Elecraft K2 and TS850s. This problem can be described as an intermittent
'misfire', in which there is a delay before dot or dash generation starts
after the contacts are closed. I believe that the delay is caused by the
time constant of the bypass capacitors and the variable contact
resistance.
The Microham device is reported to help with Winkey, but does not help
with the Logikey K3 (I tried it). The delay seems to appear more
frequently the more heavily you use the paddle, which I suspect has to do
with the thickness of an oxide layer that develops on the contacts. If
you
let it sit for a while, the frequency of the problem decreases.
The Begali keys can be ordered with gold contacts, which I recommend.
It's
possible to order replacement parts, but since the contacts are part of
the movable arms, the cost of the replacement kit for my key was $78. I
bit the bullet and ordered the kit; hopefully it will solve the problem.
In the meantime, I'm using my old Bencher.
Since you already have the key, I suggest that you try it and see how it
works. Some people don't report a problem, in my opinion because they
don't beat on it enough.
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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