Eric, Something to keep in mind with the WKUSB keyer, at least the one I installed two years ago, is that the driver installation can be very unforgiving. I, and others, had a heck of a time with them IF one doesn't EXACTLY follow the installation instructions. Read, read and read again before doing anything... Once installed the unit seems bulletproof.
This may not hold true with the latest models. I just bought a new one, for mobile use with my K2. Hope to catch you in the contests.. soon to be RTTY enabled here (FSK of course) ;o) 73, Julius K7TV wrote: > > Hi Vic, > > In my opinion, Kok Chen and you have said it best so far. > The bottom line is that someone could get perfect CW (without using audio) > from older as well as newer computers, and could repeat the feat over and > over > on different machines, while another person has the opposite experience, > and, > as you point out, the difference has a *lot* to do with what else is > running > on > the computer. It is very easy to assume that just because something is > working > repeatedly for one person, it would for another person. The computer > industry > has in effect promoted the belief that you just have to have a program and > a > computer that are compatible, and you do the installation correctly, you > can > forget about what else you have on the computer. Not so. Even in the > absence > of unrelated software and hardware, small changes in the basic hardware > configuration > can make a big difference in outcome; a faster processor or larger memory > is > likely to work for you, but *can* work against you in some cases. > What is the best approach depends a lot on personal circumstances. You > mention gadget overload in the shack, and I have that too. You are > apparently > willing to strip your shack computer of all non-ham activities, and the > computer > then is a ham gadget, great! I assume you have another computer for email > etc. > In my case, my main computer is quite fast (quad 6600 processor) and it is > located right next to my radios. It has 4 GB of memory, more than Vista 32 > can use. All the time I run several resource-heavy programs on it. Most of > the time > I get on the radio without any PC use at all, but I do use that same > computer when > once in a while I get on the digital modes. If I were to shut down a bunch > of software > before doing running ham software, I would be too lazy to bother doing it > at > all. > I could add another computer for hamming, but that computer would then be > a > ham gadget, and a much bulkier one than a WinKeyer. Now it so happens, > maybe > because of the many contesters on this list, I am beginning to get the > itch > to try > contesting with software. The other day I downloaded and installed N1MM. > The same day I placed an order for a WinKeyer. While my software and > hardware today might allow me to be one of the lucky users who don't need > the WinKeyer, the odds are against it, and I don't want to waste the time > trying > it, expecially since I frequently change the software I run, and I don't > want to > revisit the issue. > > 73, > Erik K7TV > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Vic K2VCO" <v...@rakefet.com> > To: "W0MU Mike Fatchett" <w...@w0mu.com> > Cc: <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> > Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 10:25 AM > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 choppy CW > > >> W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote: >>> The key is a decent computer. There are many people using very old >>> computers with minimal ram and cpu speed and they wonder why they have >>> issues. >>> >>> Some people do not have days and hours to figure out why something won't >>> work especially leading up to a contest, for them a WinKeyer might be a >>> great solution. To each their own. >> >> It's an interesting problem. I have an old Windows 2000 800 MHz laptop >> which sends perfect >> CW on my K3 from N1MM at 30 wpm. I did have to set the weight parameter >> in >> N1MM to 55. >> >> Interestingly, I once had a problem of horrible CW with variable-length >> elements, etc. I >> discovered that it was because my wireless network was *not* connected -- >> and therefore >> was continuously scanning. Probably the driver was disabling interrupts >> for long periods. >> I simply turned the wireless back on and solved the problem. >> >> This is just one possible issue. Anti-malware programs can also interfere >> with CW >> generation. Since I don't do email on my shack computer and only >> minimally >> access the web, >> I've removed the anti-virus software and kept only a firewall. If you use >> packet while >> contesting (I don't), the load on the computer will be increased. And as >> someone >> mentioned, SO2R is another factor. >> >> Personally, I am suffering from gadget overload in my shack, and the more >> gadgets there >> are, the wider you open the door to Murphy. So I don't use Winkey or >> similar devices. >> >> What I suggest is that you a) use a reasonably powerful computer, b) >> remove unnecessary >> software running in the background (MSCONFIG will show you much of it), >> and turn off >> unneeded Windows services, and c) look for problems like a wireless >> adapter scanning. >> >> If you still have a problem, then maybe Winkey is the solution for you. >> -- >> 73, >> Vic, K2VCO >> Fresno CA >> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco >> ______________________________________________________________ >> Elecraft mailing list >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > ----- Julius Fazekas N2WN Tennessee Contest Group http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/index.html Tennessee QSO Party http://www.tnqp.org/ Elecraft K2/100 #4455 Elecraft K3/100 #366 -- View this message in context: http://n2.nabble.com/Re%3A-K3-choppy-CW-tp2386856p2391767.html Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
