John Sielke: > The CW question is what keeps me from throwing in my money. Is there any > chance we will see QSK, or even true "semi-break-in" CW with the FLEX? I > fear some may say, "why make new technology accomodate an obsolete > mode?" If that is the case, and CW will remain an orphan in the > Flexradio, then I wiould be better off looking elsewhere. > > --
Many tears and blood have been shed over the CW part of this radio. I have worked, now, about 127 contries in less than six months with the most modest antenna I have ever put up (G5RV as a sloper, apex at about 33 feet). I've done a bunch of RTTY lately, so I can't readily break down which is which, country-wise and of course some are done with both, but well over half of that 127 count are done with CW without doubt. I've broken pileups like Oman with it, too. This winter, I plan to get DXCC on 80 and CW features prominently in these plans. If you're a CW purist, you're going to have some trouble, however. But, at least if your main interest is chasing DX, as opposed to high speed rag chewing, it gets the job done and, nowadays, quite nicely. The more recent levels of software (starting at 1.4.1) are a substantial improvement over the past, so some of this you may read about is old news, too. But, there are some inherent problems in trying to key CW via a parallel port. The software masks these problems admirably however. Some report really fine success using an old fashioned serial port to key the transmitter. I haven't tried that yet, and I may yet do so. That will get you closer by all accounts. I can report that the radio as it stands is very usable, albeit not ideal. But, I'm running CW every night and I'm getting results. Maybe you should make a sked with someone and have a listen to how it sounds. Is it possible to find someone nearby that has one and give it a try? In the end, that's the acid test. Larry WO0Z
