OT: type of Keying

[DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL]

Well, this topic has migrated from requests for "my" kind of keyer to
a comparision of the various types (including words such as "relic").

For the life of me, I can't see the practical difference.  I
understand the difference, but comparing iambic to utlimatic, I see
essentially the same number of finger movements for the majority of
letters/numbers.

1.  The letter C in iambic requires each finger to close and open
once. Ultimatic seems to involve more movements.

2.  The figure 2:  same for both: each finger closes and opens once.

3.  The letter J:  a shorter version of the figure 2.  Both methods =
same number of finger movements.

4.  Punctuation "period": Iambic seems to have fewer movements.

5.  Letter R:  both the same: each finger closes and opens once.

6.  Punctuation "?": Thumb closes and opens twice with iambic.
Ultimatic: thumb opens/closes just once.

I'm not going to go through the entire alphabet, it it seems that this
is purely personal preference with no advantage for Ultimatic over
Iambic.

Am I missing something?  Please enlighten me...I am always anxious to learn!

:-)

de Doug KR2Q
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[Ken Kopp]

Doug,

I agree.  Perhaps it's as simple as we all think the
format we've learned is the "best".  In the end it makes
little difference.

There would be little reason for me to learn a new
method only to save a few slight finger movements.  

And I'm a serious contester where "time spent" counts. (:-))

73! Ken Kopp - K0PP
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[Joe-aa4nn]

It's not the reduction in finger movement that is at stake here,
rather what the "keying mode" does when you let up on a
closure.
de Joe, aa4nn

> For the life of me, I can't see the practical difference.  I
> understand the difference, but comparing iambic to utlimatic, I see
> essentially the same number of finger movements for the majority of
> letters/numbers.
>
>
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[Don Wilhelm-4]

Doug and all,

For me, the number of finger movements is not relevant, it is the timing
and coordination that I have the most trouble with.  Iambic A with a
single lever paddle helps a lot, but good ones are either difficult to
find or more expensive than suits my taste.  I can handle Ultimatic with
a dual lever paddle.

My problem with iambic is twofold - I learned a bad habit with a bug
that I just can't seem to shake completely - I sometimes depend on my
thumb to 'push-off' my index finger and vice versa - leads to bad
characters for me.
Secondly, I had an injury to my arm that left me with more limited
muscle control of my fingers.  Yes, it is a problem with keyboard
operation too.

So, I use a K1EL keyer which does include Ultimatic, but it certainly
would be nice if the Elecraft rigs incorporated Ultimatic natively.

For those who do not know what Ultimatic keying is - there are no
alternating dots and dashes.  With both levers closed, the last one
closed takes control and will send a string of dashes followed by dots
if the dash lever had been closed and then the dot lever is also closed
(works the other way around too).
Think about the letter P - close the dot lever, and after the first dot
has started, close the dash lever and hold it until the second dash has
started and release the dash lever - continue holding the dot lever
until the second of the two dots has started.  Insertion of a single dot
is even easier.

73,
Don W3FPR

DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL wrote:
> For the life of me, I can't see the practical difference.  I
> understand the difference, but comparing iambic to utlimatic, I see
> essentially the same number of finger movements for the majority of
> letters/numbers.
>
>  
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[Don Wilhelm-4]

OK folks - no one has chastised me for it yet, but I obviously do not
know morse code!!
P is not .._ _ .., but ._ _ .  I don't know where that particular code
thought came from, but the principle remains the same, so I hope my
example is more accurate than the code translation.

73,
Don W3FPR

Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Doug and all,
>
> For me, the number of finger movements is not relevant, it is the
> timing and coordination that I have the most trouble with.  Iambic A
> with a single lever paddle helps a lot, but good ones are either
> difficult to find or more expensive than suits my taste.  I can handle
> Ultimatic with a dual lever paddle.
>
> My problem with iambic is twofold - I learned a bad habit with a bug
> that I just can't seem to shake completely - I sometimes depend on my
> thumb to 'push-off' my index finger and vice versa - leads to bad
> characters for me.
> Secondly, I had an injury to my arm that left me with more limited
> muscle control of my fingers.  Yes, it is a problem with keyboard
> operation too.
>
> So, I use a K1EL keyer which does include Ultimatic, but it certainly
> would be nice if the Elecraft rigs incorporated Ultimatic natively.
>
> For those who do not know what Ultimatic keying is - there are no
> alternating dots and dashes.  With both levers closed, the last one
> closed takes control and will send a string of dashes followed by dots
> if the dash lever had been closed and then the dot lever is also
> closed (works the other way around too).
> Think about the letter P - close the dot lever, and after the first
> dot has started, close the dash lever and hold it until the second
> dash has started and release the dash lever - continue holding the dot
> lever until the second of the two dots has started.  Insertion of a
> single dot is even easier.
>

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