Since starting to work CW on-air a few months back I became familiar with the sound of other operators using Vibroplex Bug telegraph keys. I have been curious to try one of these semi-automatic keys even though I know that they are not recommended for new operators.
Vibroplex Original Semi-automatic Bug
The Bug uses a sprung pendulum to automatically send DITS. The action of moving the lever to the right starts the pendulum in motion and it creates evenly timed DITS automatically. DAHS are created by manual timing moving the key to the left. Using the key requires quite a bit more practice that using a straight key or paddles.
The Vibroplex semi-automatic Bug is considered a manual key by the SKCC (Straight Key Century Club) so it counts in SKCC contacts.
Used Bugs in decent working condition can often be had for under $70. This one was advertised as being "un-used new in box". Indeed, when I received it, it still had the shipping bumpers on the main spring and still had shipping grease. The glue on the nameplate had deteriorated and come loose and there was significant oxidation on the parts. This bug is a few decades old but that doesn't matter because Vibroplex bugs haven't changed much in design since 1907. The history of their creator, Horace Martin is interesting. He created the bug to help deal with his own degraded sending ability due to long hours operating a straight key as a renowned telegrapher.
Horace was a professional telegrapher so he designed the bug for professionals who sent at speeds well above what is normally used in amateur radio. The slowest speed this bug can send DITS without modification is about 25wpm and goes well above 40wpm.
As a beginning CW operator you will generally be well below that speed in your copy skills and likely your sending speed as well. But when experienced hams work you with a bug they will slow their DAHS down to your speed, however without special added weights there's not much they can do to slow down their DITS to your speed. This gives their FIST a unique sound. The DAHS are sent slowly but the DITS are zinging by. When you first hear this style your brain will not know how to interpret what you hear but give it some time and you will learn to copy them.
You can slow the Bug down by adding weight to the end of the pendulum. An inexpensive method is to wrap the weight with some solder. I've wrapped mine to bring it down to about 22wpm.
Wrap the pendulum weight with solder to slow it a bit
Here is a little video letting you hear a bit of the cadence of the bug. Now I just received this thing today and I practiced with it for about 30 minutes before making this video so I'm no bug operator for sure but it will give you some idea of the bug "swing"...
Here is a video running through the keys to see if learning a Vibroplex messes up my ability to use a paddle with an electronic keyer
The Vibroplex Bug next to a Kent Hand Key.
Manual Morse Code Keys
So don't "bug out" when you hear one of these on the air.
Ok so maybe all the cool kids aren't doing it... who wants to be a cool kid anyway? They have issues.
So whats up with all this beeping?
Morse code is fundamentally a method of encoding every letter in the alphabet plus numbers and punctuation as two pieces of data. Two sounds actually, one 3 times longer than the other. If you were to speak the two sounds out loud one would sound like DIT and the other DAH. That's it. That's all you have to know. Two sounds, one 3 times longer than the other. There, and you thought this would be hard? Pah!
Beep Beeeeeep -- There you have it... Morse Code. Any questions?
Why is it called Morse Code?
Samuel Morse was a painter. Yep, a portrait painter. Ah, you're thinking he must have painted numerology into his portraits thus developing a "code". Nope, nothing so cloak and dagger. The motivation for his invention was due to a sad event in his life.
While he was painting a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette in Washing DC he received a message delivered by a messenger on horseback telling him that his wife at home in New Haven Connecticut was sick. He received another message the following day informing him that she had died. He immediately returned home but she was already buried. Morse was heartbroken that his wife had been ill for days before he could receive a message. He decided to explore a means of long distance communication. Along with his assistant Alfred Vail they developed the primary language used in telegraphy across the world and collaborated with other men to design the mechanism to deliver messages in Morse Code over long distances.
Morse code has been in use for over 160 years, the longest of any electrical coding system. Morse code is still transmitted by some automated aviation beacons and the US Navy still (?) employs the code when using signal lamps for radio silence operations. Submarines have signal lamps in their periscopes. Morse code is still taught by the Air Force at Goodfellow base in Texas.
So that's cool but the main reason to learn and use Morse code is for use in amateur radio. CW (continuous wave) communication is the most energy efficient mode of electronic wireless communication that doesn't require computerized encoding/decoding. In the case of Morse Code the human is the modem. CW mode allows amateur radio operators to communicate world wide at QRP (low power) and QRPp (very low power) levels. CW's power density and simple transmitter/receiver requirements provides for simplified station operations and ideal emergency operations. You can carry a small, battery powered radio and some wire in your backpack and talk around the world.
CW is small but powerful
CW uses between 100Hz and 150Hz of bandwidth compared to 2400Hz - 3000Hz used by phone modes. That makes it about 20 times more efficient, or put another way, your signal to noise is improved by a factor of 20 over phone. It's also easier to copy (interpret) a CW signal down in the noise than a spoken voice.
But the real reason to learn Morse code is that it's fun and unique. Learning it can be the mental equivalent of climbing a mountain and, most importantly, all the cool kids are doing it.
So you want to learn "the code"
Usually your first exposure to Morse code will be some chart that shows you what combination of DITs and DAHs (or dots and dashes) make up each character. This might encourage you to listen for the individual DITs and DAHs to learn the code. But it's a trap. There is a part of your brain that counts and another part that handles language. The part that counts will quickly hit a limit as to how fast it can count and interpret what you are hearing. The part that handles language is designed to interpret and transmit communication at incredible speed but the language part of you brain works with sound.
Thus you have to approach learning Morse Code as a language by the way it sounds. An "A" sounds like DIT DAH. Say it out loud a couple of times, go ahead, don't be embarrassed, the people around will simply think you've finally lost it and pull out that power of attorney they've been keeping in the drawer. Ok are you saying DIT DAH? If so you are hearing the letter A. Congratulations, you just learned the first letter of the alphabet in Morse Code.
A "C" in Morse Code sounds like DAH DIT DAH DIT. It has a beautiful rhythm when you listen to it out loud. Go ahead and shout it out, you've got nothing to lose at this point.
So, if you have toyed around with learning Morse Code and have some visual chart with dots and dashes. Shred that chart right now. Go ahead and do it. I'll wait... Did you shred it? Ok let's proceed.
Methodology
There are probably as many ways to learn Morse Code as there are days of the year but I'll address the two ways I learned it. First, a wrong way, then a right way.
One wrong way
Morse Code was a requirement for my General amateur radio license in 2006, but I only had to prove copy skills at 5 words per minute. Someone recommended a set of tapes that employed mnemonic phrases to memorize each letter. Basically each letter "sounds" like some phrase. I'm going to tell you one of the mnemonic phrases as an example but please immediately erase it from your memory because it takes a long time to un-learn this method. The letter "Y" sounds like the following phrase said out loud "Why did I die?" OK, now just imagine you've memorized some phrase like that for every letter of the alphabet and punctuation mark. Now every time you hear a letter in Morse Code one of these phrases runs through your head and you have to let it run its course before the letter pops out on the other side of your consciousness. You can understand how crippling this becomes when the speed goes above 5 words per minute. Trying to counts DITs and DAHs hits the same wall.
One right way
I'm not going out on a limb to say there is only one right way to learn Morse Code so I will say that what follows is "One right way" to learn the code and it is working for me.
Learn the code by its sound. Learn the code by its sound. Learn the code by its sound. Let's review: Learn the code by its sound.
There are lots of different software applications out there that will teach you the code by the way it sounds. Many employ two well established methodologies; the Farnsworth Method and the Koch Method.
Farnsworth Method
Learn the sound of the letters at the full target speed you wish to be able to copy.
Keep the speed of the letter spacing (silence between the letters) to be at your current learning speed to give you thinking time. I.e. you're letter spacing may be set at 8-10wpm to start out with while you're actually learning the characters at a target speed of 20wpm.
This method is recommended by the ARRL and is implemented by many applications used for Morse Code training. This allows you to learn the sound of the letters at the full target speed you want to operate at. If you learn the sound of the letters at 13wpm then you will find yourself stuck there until you relearn them at a higher speed because you're learning to recognize sounds, not DITs and DAHs. Our brain has an easier time of slowing a sound down than speeding it up so if you start at the target speed the slower speeds will work themselves out. I started with a target speed of 18wpm and I am kind of stuck there right now, while learning the sound of the characters at a higher speed to progress. I wish I had originally chosen 20wpm as my target speed because in my experience that is a common speed in many QSOs.
Your training should also incorporate the Koch Method which directs the order in which you learn the letters, numbers and punctuation and determining when to progress to the next element.
Koch Method
Begins with just two characters (K, M). Once strings containing those two characters can be copied with 90% accuracy, an additional character is added, and so on until the full character set is mastered.
Code Trainer
I looked at a number of different code trainers. I tried PC applications, mobile device apps and internet based applications. I live in a very internet connected place and I nearly always have access to the internet. I don't always have my PC with me but I do usually have access to a guest PC or a mobile internet capable device so I chose a website that has a training application that incorporates both the Farnsworth and Koch methods and would keep track of my progress.
Learn CW Online is a really nice Morse Code tutor. You create a login for it to keep track of your progress and settings for character speed and effective speed. It has multiple ways to train so try the different ones out to find out what works best for you. I used the Koch Method CW Course which is accessible after you log in. It starts out with two letters and keeps track of your accuracy, making suggestions as to when you should add an additional letter. There are 40 lessons in that course which include the alphabet, numbers and punctuation. I've read that other people really like the MorseMachine application on that site.
After you've gone through all 40 Koch lessons you may still have trouble with a particular set of characters. Use the Code Groups application to work through your stumbling blocks. Lastly natural language training is provided in the plain text training application which sends real sentences at your speed settings. You can also paste text into the convert text to cw application and download the resulting MP3 to practice off-line.
Machine learning is patient tutor and the best way to get started but after you have learned your letters and numbers and a comma you should incorporate copy of real on-air QSOs into your learning regimen.
Copying real QSOs will teach you a couple of things. First, you'll realize that people by and large do not send perfect, machine generated code. Much of the slower code you will hear on HF is being sent with straight keys, bugs and cooties. Some of these manual key operators will send with timing that is, let's say, creative. At first you may be dismayed that you can't copy a single complete word from some of these operators but give it time and your brain will adjust to the unique cadence used by many manual key operators. Some manual key operators pride themselves in their distinctive style of sending and there are a few operators that I recognize before they ever send their call just by the unique style of their FIST. I'm not encouraging you to emulate that style because it is in essence communicating with a thick accent but you should begin to become familiar with hearing the code sent by these folks because you will eventually have QSOs with them. Even operators using paddles and electronic keyers won't sound like the machine generated code because their letter and word spacing will vary, or in some cases, be nearly non-existent. I describe some operators FIST as sending one extended prosign (no space between the letters) for an entire transmission.
Secondly you'll begin to start copying the myriad of abbreviations and prosigns and jargon used during QSOs that exists nowhere outside of amateur radio CW conversations. As you come across new "words" that you copy. Circle them until you begin to recognize what they mean. Some of the abbreviations are standardized but many others are just shorthand and sometimes unique to a particular operator or region. You'll also start to become familiar with the way operators communicate their goodbyes which vary greatly in content, abbreviations and length. Some goodbyes in morse code seem to take as long as the entire previous part of the QSO. In other cases the conversation ended and you didn't even hear the door slam behind you.
Update 2016-05-06: This article concerns a couple eays to practice your CW copy skills.
A word about Morse Code translators
There are a number of Morse Code translation programs available for mobile devices and computers. My recommendation is to NOT use them when you're learning to copy. They will become a crutch and in real QSOs they tend to not be accurate (excepting for CW-Skimmer) and will get you distracted from trying to actually copy the code yourself. Where they ARE USEFUL is in translating your own sending (see below).
Pace yourself and have fun
The most important thing is to have fun. No one makes their living as a telegraph operator any longer and the code is no longer required for a license. So don't stress out about learning the code or push yourself too fast. This is just a hobby and hobbies should be fun.
If you can, practice a little every day. When you start, if you're like me, you will find that you mentally tire out after about 15-20 minutes so don't push it. You are exercising a part of your brain that hasn't had to work much since you learned to talk, and that may have been a few years back.
Different people will learn at a different pace but I haven't met anyone that doesn't make progress if they keep plugging away at it a little every day and if you miss a day no big deal, just try not to let it lapse. You are building a new muscle in your brain. You may also hit a couple walls along the way where you don't seem to progress but it's coming. Just be patient. Morse Code is not fast food.
Morse Code is a mode for folks that don't have a lot to say but want to take a long time to say it; so why rush?
Sending Morse Code
Learning to send code is a different skill than learning to copy. Your ability to send good code is primarily formed by your ability to hear good code. You have to be able to hear the code as properly timed sound bites in your head before you can expect to send properly.
Personally, I'd recommend that you hold off practicing sending code until you have worked through all the lessons and can properly copy. Your brain needs time to memorize the proper sound for each letter. If you start practicing too soon you could develop poor timing habits that will take time to correct.
When you are ready to practice; try sending something like a news article. Or write a few sentences about your weekend and practice sending them. At some point you should begin practicing simulated QSOs. The SKCC beginners corner has a good sample QSOs to practice. When I started real over the air conversations I had my QSOs written out with blanks for the other station's call-sign. I didn't try to stray far from the text in the beginning since trying to think of what to say while spelling it in my head and remembering the sound for it was just too much for my puny brain. But after a couple dozen real QSOs the nervousness starts to wear off and you can think and send.
I have had a little over 300 CW QSOs (as of Fall 2015) and while that is still a relatively small number easily a 3rd of them have been lengthy ragchews lasting over 20-30 minutes so I've spent a lot of time "off-script" from the standard exchange. At this point I don't have to concentrate much on what I'm sending, it just comes out. I only have to think about spelling long words.
When you practice I recommend that you record yourself and then go back maybe a day later and see if you can copy what you sent. You will think you're doing great until you listen to yourself. Then you will practice sending more carefully!
Remember the golden rule. It's better to send good code than receive.
Another useful practice tool for sending is a Morse Code Translator but as stated previously only use a translator to work on your own code sending. Don't use one to copy in real QSOs or you will become dependent on it.
What kind of key
Of course there are different opinions on whether to learn to send code with a straight key or a paddle with an electronic keyer. They each have their merits and detractors. I wouldn't recommend starting with a cootie (sideswiper) or bug, they introduce too many variables for a beginner, but they are lots of fun to use after you're solid with a straight key and paddle..
Straight Key and Paddle... which to start with?
The video below discusses some difference in learning to send on a straight key versus a paddle...
Straight key
Straight Key (manual key)
Straight keys are simple, inexpensive and can work with many inexpensive practice oscillators such that you don't need a radio to practice sending. The disadvantage of straight keys is that your reflexes are entirely responsible for properly spaced DITs and DAHs in addition to intra-character and word spacing. The advantage is that after some practice they become an extension of your arm and simply repeat what you're hearing in your head. I personally started with a straight key and still like to use one regularly for QSOs under 17wpm. My reflexes are not good enough yet to use my straight at higher speeds so I use a paddle when I talk with an operator at speeds above 18wpm.
Paddle with electronic keyer
Paddle -- requires electronic keyer
A paddle works with an electronic keyer. The disadvantage of a paddle is it requires additional equipment and that you will be learning a different reflex from the actual code that is in your head. I.e. when you send an I or an S or an H you are not reflexively sending the DITs that make up the letter but are instead training yourself how long to depress the paddle for the string of DITs. This is a new skill and doesn't directly correspond to what you hear in your head. The advantage to using a paddle with an electronic keyer is that the keyer will send perfect length and ratio DITs and DAHs every time so your reflexes don't have to be as quick or precise. Also it requires far fewer movements of your hand to send code with a paddle and you won't tire as quickly as you would with a straight key. I won't go into the concept of squeeze keying here. For now don't worry about it.
As to the specifics of using a paddle with a keyer:
The electronic keyer may be external or built-in to the radio. If it's external then it will normally have a speaker or mic jack to provide a sidetone allowing you to practice without connecting to a radio. If you don't have an external keyer and want to practice with a paddle you will need a radio with a built-in electronic keyer and be aware how to set it to not transmit for practice. Usually this is accomplished, strangely enough, by turning off VOX (which stands for voice activation) in the radio's menu. Keyers have a speed setting and weighting. Speed seems pretty obvious. Weighting is the ratio of the length of the DIT to the DAH in length. In general the weighting should be set to a higher value when you are sending at a slow speed and set to a lower value as your speed goes up.
Update (5/3/2016): Here is a video I made a few months later regarding equipment for practicing sending CW. Among other key types, this video shows me using a Vibroplex Bug. I do not recommend a Bug for a beginner, and at the end of the video you can see why...
Your first on-air QSO
So now you've practiced your copy skills and you can confidently copy on-air stations at the speed you wish to operate. You have also been practicing sending and when you listen to a recording of yourself it actually makes sense.
You are ready to venture into your first, heart pounding, fight or flight response on-air QSO
If you can find a local ham who already knows the code to practice with that certainly makes for a less intimidating first foray. If you don't know anyone ask your local 2m repeater club if they have any CW Elmers who are within ground-wave distance of your station to work with you. Barring that ask someone in a forum and see if you can schedule a QSO but scheduling QSOs is often hit or miss based on propagation.
If none of those options present themselves then just go for it on-air. Find an ongoing QSO that you feel you can copy or is moving just slightly faster than you can copy. Copy the call-sign of the station you can best copy and wait for them to sign with each other (they will each send their 73s / 72s and send a DIT DIT at the very end). Then call that station.
AA4XX AA4XX DE N4PBQ N4PBQ N4PBQ PSE QRS KN
If you've been listening to regular QSOs you'll recognize the form above. The repetition of the other station's call is to get their attention. You repeat yours for their benefit. The PSE QRS is asking them to slow down and the prosign KN means you're asking only them to respond. Have a prepared QSO text ready in terms of what to send. The SKCC beginners corner has a good sample QSOs.
Here is a sample QSO from when I was just venturing onto the air.
What is going on in the radio
As far using Morse Code in radio communication is concerned; a transmitter modulates a 100Hz to 150Hz wide signal called a Continuous Wave or CW at a particular frequency. The time the signal is transmitted corresponds to the length of time the trasnmitter key is depressed. When listening on a receiver you hear a tone whose pitch is determined by your offset from the frequency of the transmission. If you are listening exactly on the same frequency you will hear nothing because there will be zero Hz offset. So most modern receivers offset the receiver frequency above or below the signal and offset their own transmit frequency by the chosen offset. So if the offset is 750Hz you will hear a 750Hz tone if you are exactly on frequency with the other station. Confusing? Good, you're well on you way.
Summary
So you know as much as I know now... well admittedly I don't know a lot, I'm just learning this stuff myself but I can almost promise you that it will be fun if you have some patience with it and you will meet some of the nicest people in ham radio... well meet them virtually, well meet them as monotone beeps, well meet them as decoded signals sent from one human computer to another human computer, but trust me; after you've had a 15 minute conversation with them and only exchanged your names, where you live and what the weather is you'll feel as though you've known them your entire life.
So lower your power and raise your expectations
73 / 72
Richard - AA4OO (formerly N4PBQ)
Update 11-05-2016:
I wrote this article after about 6 months of operating in the Fall of 2015. A year later now I have over 1,100 CW QSOs not counting contest operations for Field Day using our club call WQ4RP. I'm presently operating up to 23 wpm during ragchews and still working through the challenges of improving my operating skills. I still think this old post is valid for new operators and I re-visit it occasionally to make sure I still agree with myself... Usually I argue with myself all the time but by and large I think this is still a decent primer. I appreciate corrections and constructive pointers.
As a relatively new CW operator my copy skills are still relatively weak, especially at higher speeds. DX stations seem to send their calls at 25wpm or faster so I often can't copy them without listening to them over and over and usually there are so many other stations working them that it gets confusing.
Well this morning I wasn't having much success getting an answer to my calls on 40m, and 20m seemed dead. So I popped up to 17m and there was a good signal coming in that no one else was answering. I listened over and over and finally copied EA8T (op name Jorge) located in the Canary islands off the coast of Africa. I replied to him and worked him at my relatively slow 18wpm sending speed. I wasn't very graceful in my response and he got my call wrong on the first go 'round but resent it correctly after that. The entire time no-one else answered him even though there was plenty of activity elsewhere on 17m. Are the Canary Islands considered blasé as far as DX?
Anyway I was happy to get the response. I know (or surmise) that my 80m Windom has some fairly pronounced gain nodes in different directions on the higher bands but I didn't know which directions they pointed. I guess one of the nodes points toward Africa (yaaay!)
Path from N4PBQ to EA8TL in the Canary Islands
My copy speed is slowly increasing as I've been operating CW for about 3 months now, but I wonder if there are DX stations on some segments of the band plan for slower speed operations. I spent about 20 minutes sending my call at 18wpm down to 12wpm on the QRP segment of 17m (18.096 MHz) but no one answered. I know I was getting out given the previous contact.
Do DX operators just not want to bother with newbies such as myself? I wonder. I'd appreciate suggestions in the comments section.
That's all for now
So lower your power and raise your expectations 73/72
Richard N4PBQ
Operating QRP
Can mean operating from a "Quiet Restful Place"
I had the day off today and it was a beautiful morning. I decided to spend part of it at Lake Wheeler Park in Raleigh, NC operating QRP from a stone bench under a tall oak tree.
rock 'n radio
I was operating the Elecraft KX3 from its internal AA batteries for the two hours I was there running 5 watts and it worked well. I had brought an external battery but didn't need to connect it.
I threw a line over a tree using a throwing weight. I hit my mark the first time, untied the weight, tied on the end of the antenna, and hoisted the 31 foot end-fed up exactly where I wanted it with the feed point a couple of feet off the ground.
31 feet of wire end-fed by a 9:1 balun.
A kite string winder holds the throwing line
A metal stake with a bit of rope anchors the balun and the other end of the rope
Another view of the end-fed with 9:1 balun, stake and coax
The 20 feet of coax serves as the counterpoise so hookups couldn't be simpler. The KX3 simply has the coax attached to one side and the morse key and headphones in the other.
QRP operating position
The morning was very pleasant, if a bit windy, clear with a temperature of 55 F.
The KX3 will match the end-fed wire on about any band other than 160m but on 80m you could likely throw the radio farther than the signal travels. The KX3 auto tuner is pretty amazing and I believe it could tune a piano if you hooked it up correctly.
I worked stations on 20m, 40m and 30m.
I called CQ on the 20m QRP calling frequency (14.060) and had a brief QSO with a lot of QSB (fading). I didn't hear much activity that early in the morning on 20m so I dropped down to 40m and worked the QRP calling frequency (7.030) and had my call answered right away. After that QSO another station jumped in there calling for a specific station so I moved on. 40m was busy. Every time I thought I'd found an open frequency someone would jump back in or if I called QRL? I'd get an R R.
So I went up to 30m, and had a very nice long ragchew that lasted nearly an hour. The internal AA batteries on the KX3 were getting a workout operating at 5w for that entire time but I never saw the transmit wattage drop below 5w and when I finished up the internal batteries still showed 9.8 V The cutoff is 8.5 V so there was plenty of juice left. I may just stop carrying the external battery on these brief jaunts.
My long ragchew was with a station in GA about 400 miles away and he gave me a report of 599 so I was thrilled with 30m this morning. Coincidentally, this end-fed antenna, balun, coax-counterpoise combo is nearly resonant on 30m and I've had some of my best reports when operating this portable antenna on 30m.
Key wise, I was using the Palm Single Paddle. It is a great little key when you don't have a table to operate from and you don't want to strap something to your leg. I get strange enough looks from passer-by's without them wondering why I have some mechanism strapped to my thigh and the Palm Single is very inconspicuous.
The Palm key has a clip-on, magnetic base which I use to temporarily attach it to my clipboard when I'm not sending. When I'm ready to send I simply pull it off the clipboard and hold it in my left hand. As I noted in an earlier review of the Palm Single Paddle it can be used as a straight key if you turn it on its side. The long ragchew I had on 30m was with a gentlemen who sent me his SKCC number in the first exchange so I quickly turned off the electronic keyer in the KX3's and turned the Palm Single on its side. That station sent me a nice compliment on my straight key FIST; so the little Palm Single key can serve duty as a paddle into a keyer or (in a pinch) as a straight key. I far prefer to use my Kent Hand Key if I'm operating manual key but it's too big to bring along for portable operations and I can't quite picture myself trying to hold onto the giant Kent Hand Key with one hand whilst operating it with the other like I can the Palm Single.
The Palm Single Paddle works great in portable operating positions
I made a silly little video of my trip to the park...
So enjoy some nice fall weather if you still have it and have a Rock 'N Radio adventure.
What could be finer than to be in Carolina in the Mooo-oor-ning
Enjoying the last nice days of our Fall... birds singing and morse code beeping
Ok, so I have my nifty 1977 Ten-Tec Century/21 and it has one CW key input and of course at its age it has no built-in electronic keyer, so no paddle for you buddy. I like to switch back and forth between a paddle and a straight key during a QSO so I went looking for an electronic keyer that would allow me to have both types of keys attached at the same time without touching any switches or controls. Some people simply plug both keys into a Y-Cable and then switch the keyer on in the radio when they want to use the paddle but I switch frequently enough to where I don't want to have to change any settings and I especially don't want to go into a menu (I'm a confessed menu hater).
A modern marvel... The HK5A HAM KEYER
Aren't those gold tone knobs lovely... this must have been the Deluxe Model
This electronic keyer dates somewhere between 1975 and 1985. The St. Louis Ham Radio Center primarily made and sold keys, both paddles and straight keys that were knock offs of the old Brown Bros. keys. One of their models was a "dual-key" with both a paddle and a straight key on one base so I assume that with this in mind they created the HK5A with dual-inputs allowing both a straight key and a paddle to be attached simultaneously. The HAM KEYER uses the clever Curtis 8044 keyer chip which is long out of production.
This keyer has no provision for memories but I don't expect to do contests with the old Ten-Tec and my memory is still fine so no worries... mmm, now what was I saying?
The HK5A has a sidetone speaker with a volume and pitch (tone) knob. It's not terribly unpleasant sounding, certainly no worse than the square-wave sidetone of the Century/21. Maybe I'll set it five semitones lower than my Century/21 for some sidetone harmony. The keyer weight knob has an enormous range and can turn your DITS into longer DASHES than the DASHES themselves so just a dab will do ya on that one, some component is probably out of spec inside the old boy. The far right knob turns it on/off and lets you turn side tone on (with Tone) and the last position is key-down for tuning without touching the key.
So it's a fairly normal keyer with the added bonus that it has outputs for both direct keying and grid keying for older rigs with high plate current, that is assuming you don't want deadly voltage on your key.
The business end
On the back of the keyer you can see the outputs for grid and direct keying as well as the inputs for the straight key, paddles and a funky 2.5mm T/R 6v power supply plug.
Paddle and Straight inputs, outputs for both Direct and Grid rig keying
It can also be powered by 4 internal C-Cell batteries which I've read last for ages so I went with that option rather than deal with RFI in one of my 6v wall-warts. If it turns out to be power hungry I'll put a different plug on one of my old 6v wall-warts and try to choke it sufficiently to keep it RF free. Best of all these old keyers come up frequently on auction sites and usually sell for very little. I got mine for $16 + postage.
So the HK5A HAM KEYER is the ticket to key coexistence.
Schematic
Demo
Other options?
There is another option for wiring manual keys together with an external keyer that only has a single key input. You can wire in the manual key(s) in parallel with the output of the keyer. So you could use a Y-Cable at the output of the keyer and then the transceiver would be triggered by the keyer when a paddle is used and also be triggered when a manual key when it is used. The only real disadvantage is that you cannot use the keyer for sidetone of any keys that are wired in parallel with its output.
If you are using a rig with an internal keyer and only one key input there really isn't an option for two keys at once without changing a setting in the rig, that was the genesis of this article and the sister article for the KX3 two-keys-at-once.
That's all for now
So lower your power and raise your expectations
Or the way my posts have gone lately I should say "So purchase your grandfather's era equipment and lower your expectations, hi hi"
The Windom (or OCF Dipole if you prefer), offers a true multi-band, experience without much use of a tuner.
The tuner in the images below is in BYPASS mode. I'm using it to demonstrate the resonance of the Windom on different bands. If you're not familiar with reading a cross-needle meter, the needle pointing to the left is the forward power (transmitted) and the needle pointing to the right is reflected power. You read the intersection of the two needles to determine the SWR. The red, curvy lines in the middle are the SWR based on the intersection of the two needles. It sounds complicated but it's so easy to view at a glance it's much nicer in my opinion than a digital SWR display.
The meter below is set to the 30w range rather than 300w so you are seeing 5w there rather than 50w
This antenna is resonant with a SWR of 1.1 or below on 80m, 40m, 20m and 10m.
80m SWR 1.1
SWR 1.1 on 80m at 3.530 MHz
40m SWR 1.0
SWR on 40m at 7.030 MHz (forgive me I was transmitting 10w on the Ten-Tec)
20m SWR 1.1
SWR under 1.1 on 20m at 14.060 MHz
SWR on 10m 1.0
SWR 1.0 on 10m at 28.030 MHz
15m is the worst with a SWR of 2.5 so it requires tuning
SWR on 15m 2.5 at 21.030 MHz
Who Cares?
So in the days of auto-tuners maybe this isn't that big a deal except that SWR does eat some power in the coax and if your running low power then your 5w may become 2w without you realizing it.
For older rigs that don't have an auto-tuner like my Ten-Tec Century/21 I don't have to worry about tuning at all except on 15m. It's also nice to just have the simplicity of transmitting into a wire without a inductance / capacitance circuit in-between.
Band change without re-tuning (except 15m)
So show me the antenna...
Images of wire antennas are not terribly interesting but here you go:
The apex of the antenna is hung from the peak of my roof. The coax attaches to a 4:1 current balun with the positive side of the balun feeding the longer wire. The shorter wire is 44 feet long and is supported at the apex height of 25 feet by a birch tree in the front yard. The long end of the antenna is 89 feet long and runs into the back yard. It is supported 12 feet off the ground by a fiberglass pole until I get a piece of wood permanently in place.
To tension the wire I have a support rope in the front tree attached to a 5lb weight. This will eventually wear through the rope and when it does I'll probably do it right and get a pulley up there. The support rope for the long end of the wire at the fiberglass pole goes through a pulley to a spring for tension.
80m Windom (OCF Dipole) hung from the peak of the roof
The line heading to the window is just rope that goes into the window so that I can pull it back to work on it, detach it, etc.
Long end of the wire (89 feet) is supported by a fiberglass pole about 12 feet agl
Back story
My 40m Windom had lain under the bushes for a number of years before being resurrected this past summer. It was bare wire and the balun was likely wet, corroded and filled with critters. Nonetheless I made hundreds of contacts using it QRP so I'm not knocking it too badly. The issue I had was that it had gone out of resonance for a good match on the bands it was supposed to support and I had to use the ATU in KX3 to touch it up. On some bands the SWR was as much as 5:1 so I was losing some power in the 100ft run of coax to my meager QRP radio.
When I recently picked up an old Ten-Tec Century/21 it had no auto-tuner and I'm not a big fan of manually tuning my MFJ Deluxe Versa Tuner II no matter how Deluxe it is. It's just time consuming and if I answer a QSO after tuning around and see that I need to re-tune, well that's just a bummer with a manual tuner. I'm trying to keep my costs down and using an auto-tuner with the old Ten-Tec just didn't seem right anyway so I wanted a resonant multi-band antenna.
I had an extra 4:1 current balun from years past and a fellow ham had recently given me a good supply of insulated wire. I also wanted to get an 80m so that all played together to putting up an 80m Windom in place of the 40m Windom. Only this time using some fresh parts. That was a little over a week ago and I've had some time to play with this new antenna.
I've received good reports and finally am able to operate on 80m without the tricky tuning of my 40m Doublet in the Attic.
So that's all for now
Update (11-20-2015)
I originally only tested the antenna with my Ten-Tec C21 which had no WARC bands. I was running the KX3 at the house yesterday and found that it also presents an SWR below 1.2:1 on 17m, 12m and 6m. That makes it resonant without tuning and with a super low SWR on 7 bands (80, 40, 20, 17, 12, 10, 6). That is truly an amazing antenna for those who don't like to use a tuner. It requires tuning on 30m and 15m as it is natively 4.5:1 on 30m and 2.5:1 on 15m which is well within the capability of any built-in auto-tuner and easily matched by a manual tuner.
Update (2-11-2016)
I have been puzzling over the good performance from this antenna and updated information in this post:Feeling Skippy on 80m
Lower you power and raise your expectations 72
Richard
N4PBQ
