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K3 Keying - minority opinion?

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DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL

K3 Keying - minority opinion?

Hi all....

Before the K3, I used my computer (contesting) to generate the "stock"
cw. I used a Kansas City Keyer for the hand keying, connected to the
rig using a Y connector for the CW in. Worked well.

With the K3, I still us a computer (contesting) to generate the
"stock" cw (CQ, 59905, TU, etc). My paddle now goes directly into the
K3 (separate jack from the computer).

When I first tried this, it was terrible. I hated the keying and
couldn't get it to feel right. Then (duh) I read the manual and
switched to iambic B and all was good with the world. This is my
setup now. I was/am more than happy to regain some space on my
desktop (physical, not computer). For my needs, I see zero reason to
have external keyer above and beyond the computer needed for
contesting. For casual Qs, I find the K3 to be VFB.

de Doug KR2Q
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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

Doug,

All is well that Iambic B meets your needs, but it is not for everyone,
even though we may be the minority. I need either a single lever paddle
with an Iambic only keyer or Ultimatic mode and a dual lever paddle to
send decent CW.
The problem with dual paddles is that I squeeze too often and end up
generating garbage. And that nasty Iambic B mode sends out the
'extraneous' extra element at the end!
Ultimatic mode makes sense to my mind - I close the dash paddle and out
comes dashes, close the dot paddle and out comes dots. The last paddle
activated gets priority. It allows the insertion of one or more dots
(dashes) in a string of dashes (dots) as well. It makes sense to my
mind - the paddle that I close last is what is produced.

I know there are not many users of this mode today, mainly because the
popularity and convenience of the Curtis keyer chip and a few others
encouraged the world to Iambic long ago. Ultimatic was the original
keyer mode and was the main thing available back in the '50s and '60s.
It is just more natural to me than those alternating dots and dashes.

Those who must do 'slap' keying or must use a single lever paddle with
an Iambic keyer might want to try Ultimatic mode - it is available in
some of the K1EL keyers (the K12 is one) as well as several others (but
no internal keyers that I am aware of).

Ultimatic users 'stand up' and request that it be added to the K3
internal keyer! Wayne did give a strong 'maybe' when I asked.

73,
Don W3FPR

DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL wrote:

> Hi all....
>
> Before the K3, I used my computer (contesting) to generate the "stock"
> cw. I used a Kansas City Keyer for the hand keying, connected to the
> rig using a Y connector for the CW in. Worked well.
>
> With the K3, I still us a computer (contesting) to generate the
> "stock" cw (CQ, 59905, TU, etc). My paddle now goes directly into the
> K3 (separate jack from the computer).
>
> When I first tried this, it was terrible. I hated the keying and
> couldn't get it to feel right. Then (duh) I read the manual and
> switched to iambic B and all was good with the world. This is my
> setup now. I was/am more than happy to regain some space on my
> desktop (physical, not computer). For my needs, I see zero reason to
> have external keyer above and beyond the computer needed for
> contesting. For casual Qs, I find the K3 to be VFB.
>
> de Doug KR2Q
>
>

M0XDF

Re: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

I have to say I'm hoping that by the time it matters to me, Elecraft
will have implemented Ultimatic, otherwise I can see myself buying a
WKUSB or K12-EXT and fitting it into the K3 somewhere.

I realise that your're busy Wayne and this is probably quite a way
down on your list, but please consider implementing Ultimatic, perhaps
in place of Iambic if you have space issues and can give people the
choice at f/w upgrade time?
73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
--
Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.
-Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

On 6 Sep 2008, at 14:33, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Doug,
>
> All is well that Iambic B meets your needs, but it is not for
> everyone, even though we may be the minority. I need either a
> single lever paddle with an Iambic only keyer or Ultimatic mode and
> a dual lever paddle to send decent CW.
> The problem with dual paddles is that I squeeze too often and end up
> generating garbage. And that nasty Iambic B mode sends out the
> 'extraneous' extra element at the end!
> Ultimatic mode makes sense to my mind - I close the dash paddle and
> out comes dashes, close the dot paddle and out comes dots. The last
> paddle activated gets priority. It allows the insertion of one or
> more dots (dashes) in a string of dashes (dots) as well. It makes
> sense to my mind - the paddle that I close last is what is produced.
>
> I know there are not many users of this mode today, mainly because
> the popularity and convenience of the Curtis keyer chip and a few
> others encouraged the world to Iambic long ago. Ultimatic was the
> original keyer mode and was the main thing available back in the
> '50s and '60s. It is just more natural to me than those alternating
> dots and dashes.
>
> Those who must do 'slap' keying or must use a single lever paddle
> with an Iambic keyer might want to try Ultimatic mode - it is
> available in some of the K1EL keyers (the K12 is one) as well as
> several others (but no internal keyers that I am aware of).
>
>
> Ultimatic users 'stand up' and request that it be added to the K3
> internal keyer! Wayne did give a strong 'maybe' when I asked.

Jack

RE: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

Wayne (and Gary)

I hope you and Gary will reconsider adding Ultimatic/Single Lever Paddle
support to the K3 internal keyer. I think that more than Don, Dave and
myself would welcome that addition to the K3.

The elegance of the K3, a rig that rivals and even surpasses many of the
very high end radios, is diminished by the need to use an external keyer to
use a mode that many find invaluable. Removing the need to add another piece
of gear to the table top is not a minor inconvenience. The small size of
the K3 seems to be an attempt to make it convenient for field/portable use
and to then require another piece of gear to make it work seems to diminish
its attempt to reach that goal.

Jack, AE6GC, KX1 1403, K3 1433

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of David Ferrington,
M0XDF
Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 11:20 AM
To: wayne burdick
Cc: [hidden email]; Elecraft Reflector; DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Keying - minority opinion?

I have to say I'm hoping that by the time it matters to me, Elecraft
will have implemented Ultimatic, otherwise I can see myself buying a
WKUSB or K12-EXT and fitting it into the K3 somewhere.

I realise that your're busy Wayne and this is probably quite a way
down on your list, but please consider implementing Ultimatic, perhaps
in place of Iambic if you have space issues and can give people the
choice at f/w upgrade time?
73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
--
Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.
-Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

On 6 Sep 2008, at 14:33, Don Wilhelm wrote:

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Kari Sillanmaki

Re: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm-4

Well said, Don! I am one of those who can only send [half]decent
code with an Ultimatic-mode keyer.

Here's another vote for including the Ultimatic keying mode
to the list of K3's features.

So Wayne, please, please, please, implement this
mode as soon as you have the time to do so.

I have my Hexkey #341 connected to my K3 #310
ready waiting for that Ultimate SW release...

73's de
Kari, oh2gqc

Don Wilhelm-4 wrote

Doug,

All is well that Iambic B meets your needs, but it is not for everyone,
even though we may be the minority. I need either a single lever paddle
with an Iambic only keyer or Ultimatic mode and a dual lever paddle to
send decent CW.
The problem with dual paddles is that I squeeze too often and end up
generating garbage. And that nasty Iambic B mode sends out the
'extraneous' extra element at the end!
Ultimatic mode makes sense to my mind - I close the dash paddle and out
comes dashes, close the dot paddle and out comes dots. The last paddle
activated gets priority. It allows the insertion of one or more dots
(dashes) in a string of dashes (dots) as well. It makes sense to my
mind - the paddle that I close last is what is produced.

I know there are not many users of this mode today, mainly because the
popularity and convenience of the Curtis keyer chip and a few others
encouraged the world to Iambic long ago. Ultimatic was the original
keyer mode and was the main thing available back in the '50s and '60s.
It is just more natural to me than those alternating dots and dashes.

Those who must do 'slap' keying or must use a single lever paddle with
an Iambic keyer might want to try Ultimatic mode - it is available in
some of the K1EL keyers (the K12 is one) as well as several others (but
no internal keyers that I am aware of).

Ultimatic users 'stand up' and request that it be added to the K3
internal keyer! Wayne did give a strong 'maybe' when I asked.

73,
Don W3FPR

DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL wrote:
> Hi all....
>
> Before the K3, I used my computer (contesting) to generate the "stock"
> cw. I used a Kansas City Keyer for the hand keying, connected to the
> rig using a Y connector for the CW in. Worked well.
>
> With the K3, I still us a computer (contesting) to generate the
> "stock" cw (CQ, 59905, TU, etc). My paddle now goes directly into the
> K3 (separate jack from the computer).
>
> When I first tried this, it was terrible. I hated the keying and
> couldn't get it to feel right. Then (duh) I read the manual and
> switched to iambic B and all was good with the world. This is my
> setup now. I was/am more than happy to regain some space on my
> desktop (physical, not computer). For my needs, I see zero reason to
> have external keyer above and beyond the computer needed for
> contesting. For casual Qs, I find the K3 to be VFB.
>
> de Doug KR2Q
>
>
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Jim Cox

Re: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

In reply to this post by Jack

Wasted effort as far as I am concerned....

Jim K4JAF
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jack Regan" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 5:23 PM
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K3 Keying - minority opinion?

>
>
> Wayne (and Gary)
>
> I hope you and Gary will reconsider adding Ultimatic/Single Lever Paddle
> support to the K3 internal keyer. I think that more than Don, Dave and
> myself would welcome that addition to the K3.
>
> The elegance of the K3, a rig that rivals and even surpasses many of the
> very high end radios, is diminished by the need to use an external keyer
> to
> use a mode that many find invaluable. Removing the need to add another
> piece
> of gear to the table top is not a minor inconvenience. The small size of
> the K3 seems to be an attempt to make it convenient for field/portable use
> and to then require another piece of gear to make it work seems to
> diminish
> its attempt to reach that goal.
>
> Jack, AE6GC, KX1 1403, K3 1433
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of David Ferrington,
> M0XDF
> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 11:20 AM
> To: wayne burdick
> Cc: [hidden email]; Elecraft Reflector; DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Keying - minority opinion?
>
> I have to say I'm hoping that by the time it matters to me, Elecraft
> will have implemented Ultimatic, otherwise I can see myself buying a
> WKUSB or K12-EXT and fitting it into the K3 somewhere.
>
> I realise that your're busy Wayne and this is probably quite a way
> down on your list, but please consider implementing Ultimatic, perhaps
> in place of Iambic if you have space issues and can give people the
> choice at f/w upgrade time?
> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
> --
> Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.
> -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)
>
> On 6 Sep 2008, at 14:33, Don Wilhelm wrote:
>
>> Doug,
>>
>> All is well that Iambic B meets your needs, but it is not for
>> everyone, even though we may be the minority. I need either a
>> single lever paddle with an Iambic only keyer or Ultimatic mode and
>> a dual lever paddle to send decent CW.
>> The problem with dual paddles is that I squeeze too often and end up
>> generating garbage. And that nasty Iambic B mode sends out the
>> 'extraneous' extra element at the end!
>> Ultimatic mode makes sense to my mind - I close the dash paddle and
>> out comes dashes, close the dot paddle and out comes dots. The last
>> paddle activated gets priority. It allows the insertion of one or
>> more dots (dashes) in a string of dashes (dots) as well. It makes
>> sense to my mind - the paddle that I close last is what is produced.
>>
>> I know there are not many users of this mode today, mainly because
>> the popularity and convenience of the Curtis keyer chip and a few
>> others encouraged the world to Iambic long ago. Ultimatic was the
>> original keyer mode and was the main thing available back in the
>> '50s and '60s. It is just more natural to me than those alternating
>> dots and dashes.
>>
>> Those who must do 'slap' keying or must use a single lever paddle
>> with an Iambic keyer might want to try Ultimatic mode - it is
>> available in some of the K1EL keyers (the K12 is one) as well as
>> several others (but no internal keyers that I am aware of).
>>
>>
>> Ultimatic users 'stand up' and request that it be added to the K3
>> internal keyer! Wayne did give a strong 'maybe' when I asked.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
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>
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>
> _______________________________________________
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Ken Kopp-3

Re: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

FWIW, after 57 years of CW the K3's keyer meets my needs,
but a keyer that would compensate for arthritis would be nice ....

My HexKey's a pleasure to use, too.

73! Ken Kopp - K0PP
[hidden email]
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Leigh L. Klotz Jr WA5ZNU

Re: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

Administrator

In reply to this post by Jim Cox

Here's a thread of discussion on Ultimatic keying for other Elecraft
products:
http://n2.nabble.com/Ultimatic-keying-in-KX1-K1--td447092.html

I've used it in the K1EL keyer, which is done with an 8-pin chip that
costs about $1, so I don't think it's that much effort.
I'd rather like to try Ultimatic on my K3, but I'm unlikely to try
ESSB. I don't think it's productive to criticize feature requests as
not being useful.
But if ESSB helps Elecraft reach higher product volumes and deliver the
features I want, I consider it a plus.

Leigh/WA5ZNU

> Wasted effort as far as I am concerned....
>
> Jim K4JAF
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack Regan" <[hidden email]>
> To: <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 5:23 PM
> Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K3 Keying - minority opinion?
>
>
>>
>>
>> Wayne (and Gary)
>>
>> I hope you and Gary will reconsider adding Ultimatic/Single Lever Paddle
>> support to the K3 internal keyer. I think that more than Don, Dave and
>> myself would welcome that addition to the K3.
>>
>> The elegance of the K3, a rig that rivals and even surpasses many of the
>> very high end radios, is diminished by the need to use an external
>> keyer to
>> use a mode that many find invaluable. Removing the need to add
>> another piece
>> of gear to the table top is not a minor inconvenience. The small
>> size of
>> the K3 seems to be an attempt to make it convenient for
>> field/portable use
>> and to then require another piece of gear to make it work seems to
>> diminish
>> its attempt to reach that goal.
>>
>> Jack, AE6GC, KX1 1403, K3 1433
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [hidden email]
>> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of David Ferrington,
>> M0XDF
>> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 11:20 AM
>> To: wayne burdick
>> Cc: [hidden email]; Elecraft Reflector; DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 Keying - minority opinion?
>>
>> I have to say I'm hoping that by the time it matters to me, Elecraft
>> will have implemented Ultimatic, otherwise I can see myself buying a
>> WKUSB or K12-EXT and fitting it into the K3 somewhere.
>>
>> I realise that your're busy Wayne and this is probably quite a way
>> down on your list, but please consider implementing Ultimatic, perhaps
>> in place of Iambic if you have space issues and can give people the
>> choice at f/w upgrade time?
>> 73 de M0XDF, K3 #174
>> --
>> Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.
>> -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)
>>
>> On 6 Sep 2008, at 14:33, Don Wilhelm wrote:
>>
>>> Doug,
>>>
>>> All is well that Iambic B meets your needs, but it is not for
>>> everyone, even though we may be the minority. I need either a
>>> single lever paddle with an Iambic only keyer or Ultimatic mode and
>>> a dual lever paddle to send decent CW.
>>> The problem with dual paddles is that I squeeze too often and end up
>>> generating garbage. And that nasty Iambic B mode sends out the
>>> 'extraneous' extra element at the end!
>>> Ultimatic mode makes sense to my mind - I close the dash paddle and
>>> out comes dashes, close the dot paddle and out comes dots. The last
>>> paddle activated gets priority. It allows the insertion of one or
>>> more dots (dashes) in a string of dashes (dots) as well. It makes
>>> sense to my mind - the paddle that I close last is what is produced.
>>>
>>> I know there are not many users of this mode today, mainly because
>>> the popularity and convenience of the Curtis keyer chip and a few
>>> others encouraged the world to Iambic long ago. Ultimatic was the
>>> original keyer mode and was the main thing available back in the
>>> '50s and '60s. It is just more natural to me than those alternating
>>> dots and dashes.
>>>
>>> Those who must do 'slap' keying or must use a single lever paddle
>>> with an Iambic keyer might want to try Ultimatic mode - it is
>>> available in some of the K1EL keyers (the K12 is one) as well as
>>> several others (but no internal keyers that I am aware of).
>>>
>>>
>>> Ultimatic users 'stand up' and request that it be added to the K3
>>> internal keyer! Wayne did give a strong 'maybe' when I asked.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Post to: [hidden email]
>> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
>> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
>> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Post to: [hidden email]
>> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
>> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
>> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>
> _______________________________________________
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Jerry T. Dowell

RE: K3 Keying - minority opinion?

In reply to this post by Jack

I also would like Ultimatic mode implemented.

Jerry AI6L

-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Regan [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 3:23 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] K3 Keying - minority opinion?

Wayne (and Gary)

I hope you and Gary will reconsider adding Ultimatic/Single Lever Paddle
support to the K3 internal keyer. I think that more than Don, Dave and
myself would welcome that addition to the K3.

The elegance of the K3, a rig that rivals and even surpasses many of the
very high end radios, is diminished by the need to use an external keyer to
use a mode that many find invaluable. Removing the need to add another piece
of gear to the table top is not a minor inconvenience. The small size of
the K3 seems to be an attempt to make it convenient for field/portable use
and to then require another piece of gear to make it work seems to diminish
its attempt to reach that goal.

Jack, AE6GC, KX1 1403, K3 1433

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