Posted by
Ron D'Eau Claire-2 on
Jun 21, 2005; 8:13am
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/Why-is-K2-so-easy-to-send-cw-with-tp379585p379588.html
Tim NZ7C wrote:
I've been using my Icom 706 a lot lately while I build the amp for my
K2. As an 18- 20wpm cw novice I seem to have FAR more difficulty
SENDING cw on the 706 then I do on the K2. I could swear it's not my
imagination. After 30min on the 706 - a switch over to sending on the K2
makes it feel like I just "jumped into a Formula I from an old truck."
Are there factors that make one radio far easier to send cw with than
another or is it just my imagination?
--------------------------------
If you're sending good CW at 18 to 20 WPM you are definitely NOT a Novice by
any stretch of the imagination, Tim. That's the sort of speed 99.9% of the
Amateur and Commercial operators use (when Commercial CW was still active).
The only thing that comes to mine about one being easier than the other is
the "mode" of keyer operation you have, which will show up if you're using
iambic (squeeze) keying. Elecraft defaults to Curtis Mode B. If your Icom
uses mode B that might account for the 'problem'.
The difference between mode A and B lies in what the keyer does when both
paddles are released. The mode A keyer completes the element being sent when
the paddles are released. The mode B keyer sends an additional element
opposite to the one being sent when the paddles are released. The original
Curtis chip is mode A - the WB4VVF Accu-keyer is mode B. You can tell the
basic difference between the modes with the letter C. In mode A you could
squeeze both paddles (dah before dit) and you would let go of both after
hearing the last dit. With mode B, you start the same BUT let go of both
paddles after hearing the second *dah*.
I've read that the Curtis Mode A was actually a logic design error, but by
the time it was discovered, a lot of Hams had learned to use it that way and
so it got codified as a "real" mode. (If you can't fix it, feature it!).
Whatever the reason, most Hams have trouble switching between keyers using
the two modes, sometimes without even realizing why one bothers them.
Ron AC7AC
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