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Operating Notes: CW, CW, and more CW

Posted: 14 Dec 2016 11:17 AM PST
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Here are some things Ive noticedÂ*about my CW operating lately:

AboutÂ*nine months ago, I mentioned that I started working on sending R, L,
and F iambically. These characters all have a dahÂ*sandwiched between two
dits, and sending them with a dual-lever paddle is more difficult than
sending characters with a ditÂ*sandwiched between two dahs. So much so that
up until about nine months ago, I wasnt sending them iambicallyÂ*at all.
Well, Ive been consciously practicing, and Im actually getting the hang of
it. Just like CW in general, you just gottaÂ*keep at it.
Im also getting faster. For the past year or so, when I got on the air, Id
set my keyerÂ*speed to 23Â*wpmÂ*and shoot for contacts at that speed. Lately,
though, Ive been calling CQ at 25 or 26 wpmÂ*and looking for faster QSOs. 20
wpmÂ*is starting to sound really slow to me. Tell yourself that you can do
it, and then just do it.
When I spoke at Dayton, I mentioned that its become the practice not to
send a comma between a QTHs city and state. Someone in the audience
mentioned that he thought it was a good idea toÂ*retain the comma. He said
it helped him copy the state. With that in mind, Ive started sending the
comma, especially when the operating speed is below 20 wpm. If it helps the
other operator copy my code, then Im all for it.
This probably belongs in one of my From my Twitter feed posts, but I love
it so much, Im going to post it here.



Michael (GØPOT) @DrOrthogonal

@MW0IAN @M3HXE @MU0WLV Every CW QSO is a duelwith some fists they appear to
be using aÂ*cudgel \




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