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- Опубликовано: 3 май 2019
- This video talks about the basic timing of CW / Morse code elements (dits and dahs), and how to send them using a few device - such as a traditional straight key, as well as using a dual-lever paddle with an electronic keyer. Iambic keying with a paddles is also described and demonstrated.
Notes from the video: www.qsl.net/w2aew/youtube/Mors... 
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It took only 15 seconds to answer my unknowns. Knowing your craft is one thing, teaching skills are another. Really appreciate your channel.
I spent the summer of 1970 learning squeeze keying. Once learned, I could easily send 40 plus words per minute. Saved me from destroying my right hand.
I've been a Radio Amateur for 45 years, but only now have I decided to dedicate myself to CW. I hope to meet you on the radio one day. 73 - PY1 VPK - ROBERTO - BRAZIL
In my teens I was fascinated by Morse code and wanted to learn, and even today in my 6os, I'm still fascinated by Morse code. In my aviation field, it is still used to identify ground-based navigational aids by receiving their ICAO ID. Great stuff.
My teens was mostly masterbating..how we differ 🤔
I appreciate that they allow Technicians on the 40M band, but ONLY if it's CW. It's a great way to incentivize new HAMs to learn CW.
Learned Morse when I was a kid. There was a time when I could hear code and not have to think much to decode. I am a Ham (VE3SJP/VP9LC and former VO2CP) but gave up using MC years ago, and although I still have my station gear, haven't been on air for many years. Every now and then I get the urge to get back on-air, but never act to do so. This video brought back some great memories!
I have been in and out of ham radio for 40 yrs and this is the best video I have seen and was a great help. Iambic A keying is so easy to do. Thanks.
Well, I can officially say I understand how Morse Code works now. Thanks!
Until tomorrow, when you forget it all. HAHAHA
#300 video! Congrats Alan, please keep it up! Thank you for your videos!
even though I already have some knowledge of CW (I can copy 15 WPM with 98% accuracy on average) it was a pleasure to listen to your demonstration. I really like your teaching style and I'm looking forward to more content like this! 73 DE IU2KIY
I'm looking to buy my first morse key, so this was an ideal video for me. Thank you.
You did an excellent video on explaining the finer points of the iambic keyer. I learned the Morse Code may years ago because it was required to earn all classes of licenses and did not use it since then. However now I am desiring to become proficient at CW again to use with QRP. Between the knowledge you shared and practicing with the Morseerino I just built, I am confident that I can get my code speed back up to a reasonable level. 73 Bret C/AC0AE
Another old fart banging on about "oh the exams were harder back then" ..give it up, we've all heard it before, and we are all bored 😴
Great demonstration Alan. I still use my old original radio shack straight key, the metal one not the later plastic one. In the early 90's I got the MFJ keyer which is the bencher with the electronic keyer built on top of it. Still works a treat. Thanks Alan for sharing. May the 4th be with you!
Ah yes, MFJ. Mighty Fine Junk. Still got my MFJ keyer on a shelf in the shack.
You can also emulate the bug keyer with an iambic key. I like to set my straight key and my bencher to the minimum Gap I can get so I don't listen to the tap. Very nice video!
Electronic keyers and computer aided keyboard CW have really cleaned up a lot of CW. I've been an Amateur radio op. for over 40 yrs. and can remember many times when I wanted to send 'QLF ?' . I'm sure you've also heard guys with very distinctive personal sounds. One of the most common are guys who make their DAHs about 5 (or more) units long: dit DAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH dit dit. As you said, its not too bad if they are consistent. I've worked CW ops. who were DEAF. One German gal I worked on CW was able to copy CW by putting her fingertips on a speaker cover and feel the vibrations. Other deaf ops. use a flashing LED to copy CW. CW has always been my favorite mode. I so lamented the ARRL's decision to dumb down licensing requirements to eliminate CW that I quit my ARRL membership (and my sideline as a VE). I've used all methods of sending CW: straight key, Bencher paddles, computer keyboard, etc. One time I did a little test with one of my CW buddies. I sent a sentence 3 times, using each of the aforementioned methods. I then asked him if he could tell which was which .. and he couldn't tell. That's when I knew for sure I was a CW junkie. I've not been very active on the bands the past few years, but no matter how long the interval, I can still get back on the air and send/copy CW ... its like 'riding a bike'. Thanks for your demo. 73 de KB8EB
Hi, I have been a ham approaching 60 years. At about the halfway point, I also terminated my ARRL associations for the exact same reason. "Antiquated mode", the soothsayers insisted. Yeah, right. Anybody with a brain and a receiver knows that CW is as functional, and thanks to ever improving technology - it's more reliable and as popular as ever. Quite simply, CW works. The problem for agenda-driven soothsayers is that CW requires so little in the way of costly high-end equipment. Expertise yes - money NO. And as we all OTs know, it's the money, or should I say the lack thereof, that drove the no-code licensing advocates pushing their agenda - aka financial stimulus package.
Very glad you fools are dying off so that radio can move into a new generation.
Radio would have died had it remained as it was.
I'm over 60 and just got my ticket. Has CW been a requirement, I would never have done it. Perhaps you should hang up your keys.
@@rayh592 I'll chalk up your ignorant remark to the fact that you are a stroke survivor. I'll now block you, so that I don't have to be exposed to your continued ignorance. Enjoy the rest of your life.
@@rayh592 Yeah, CB radio moved right into the middle of the 'new generation'. How's that working out?
@@rayh592 But now with the great FT-8 generation we can let our computers converse with one another useless and boring information as we send our high tech ASCII messages LOL on FB messenger.
For a beginner, this ALL can be quite daunting. Thank you for your simple tutorial!!! m
Very nice explaination of iambic mode Alan!
Thanks Alan. Something one day I want to do is get proficient in CW. Something on the to do list for sure. Great video!
I was fairly proficient many years ago when I upgraded to Adv/Extra, but then was off of CW for 15+ years. Working on getting back into it.
w2aew CW has not part of the exam process here in Australia for many years now, so I never had to practice. Maybe one day we’ll work each other on it.
@@HamRadioDX CW was eliminated in the exam process here almost 20 years ago as well. Still a lot of avid CW operators out there - now there for the love for the mode, not because of the need to know it.
@@w2aew I got my tech about 30 years ago. Didn't use it much at all and let it expire. Just retested for tech again and was floored when I was told no cw was needed anymore. I would have taken the general had I known otherwise. Daughter and I are starting to learn cw together...
AEW----Very nicely done. You got it all, in a very short time.
Just started learning about Ham radio (in my mid 30s) via RUclips. Have always heard of it. But I find it really interesting. Even when first starting to learn about Ham radio in general I thought who would still mess with CW. As I continue to watch videos I am really interested in CW. Such a neat and efficient way to communicate, pretty amazing really. I don't own any ham receivers or transceivers nor have any license but I find it really interesting and may do so in the future.
Thanks Alan. I’ve been thinking about getting back into CW. Haven’t used it in decades. I’m making a Keyer that uses the Curtis Iambic chip to drive an old Ameco code practice oscillator, so I can practice iambic keying.
I had been off of CW for about 15 yrs too, until recently. Still working on re-building the skill
Thanks Alan, good basics video. After 50 years of using the same Vibroplex single paddle I never learned iambic keying and of course, you can't teach an old dog new tricks! ;-) 73 - Dino KL0S
haha.. i wish i was able to use a bug - i never mastered it, but unlike you i fully intend to learn it eventually :-)
i think bugs deserve more love, because theyre mechanical marvels, unlike the iambics that cant do shit w/o integrated circuitry.
"Of course"? I'm sure that isn't true :-) An Iambic key and twin paddle has to be even easier than a bug - especially when one's bones and muscles get a little worn. Yes, there will be some adjustment time, but nothing compared to learning CW in the first place ! 73 - Julian N4JO.
@@zoolkhan No need to be negative about keyers. A radio is made up of integrated circuitry too. Bugs aren''t "marvels", they were simply a solution to the problem of excessive stress on the wrist; but they still need manual "dah" keying. An Iambic keyer does that for your too, and it can be a great help to a person with reduced muscular and skeletal strength.
You have little right to speak negatively: if and when you "eventually" learn CW you can offer your personal opinion which, even then, will be worth no more or less than anybody else's.
Best to grip the hand key using three fingers rather than tapping. Thumb on the left of the knob, middle finger along the left edge, and the index finger gripping the top. The Navy key helps force this proper form. See William Pierponts book: The Art and Skill of Radio Telegraphy, and Carlos Consoli - The Art and Zen of Telegraphy.
Thanks for a useful comment on a very nice video.
You said middle finger on the left edge, did you mean right edge perhaps?
Thanks Alan! Live long and prosper!
This is a real good video, the speaker explains well and has good use of the English language
That was great Alan very informative about Morse Code.
Good one, but I'm a recent Cootie convert- with the control of a straight and the ergonomics of the paddle.
Need to ask my 78 year old Navy vet if he still can recall his Morse training.
I never learned Morse 55 years ago - when friends did.
Great Video, you are a natural teacher, thank you
Morse code is the most versatile mode of communication ever devised.
It should be taught in all primary schools, along with sign language.
Lives would be saved that way.
very good
I like the clarity of your explanations, so I was hoping you would cover the technique for using a Vibroplex Bug here. I got the Vibroplex Zephyr of a friend who is now a Silent Key, and I'm determined to learn the code and get on the air with his old key. But through a bit of research I'm beginning to realize that adjusting and properly using the Bug could require as much study and practice as learning the code, so I'm looking for a good starting point. Thanks again for your channel and your clarity.
Hi John - I wish I could help, but I've never used a Vibroplex bug, thus have never setup/adjusted one either. I understand the principle of operation (automatic repetitive dits, and the dahs are all manual). The bug is probably not the best key to *learn* code on, but can be very effective once you master it.
Morse code fascinates me and I am amazed how the iambic keyer worked. Thanks! Make more vids! Teach us Morse code!!
Well remember it's the keyer software or firmware that creates the stream of dits and dahs, not the key; the key simply tells the keyer to produce the tones.
And if you _really_ want to get specific, the keyer itself doesn't produce the tones either - it simply tells the transmitter to turn the "carrier" (the basic radio signal) on and off repeatedly.
Actually, even the transmitter doesn't produce "tones" either! It just sends out the carrier, which a receiver will pick up and create an audible tone from by being tuned to a frequency just slightly off the frequency you are sending. The pitch or frequency of the tone the listener hears is the difference in frequency between that of the signal the sender is sending and the nominal frequency the receiver is tuned to.
So where _does_ the tone come from? A modern transceiver will also produce what is known as a "side tone", which is just an audio tone for you to listen to, so you can tell that you are keying properly.
I hope all this makes it even more fascinating :-) Learning Morse code takes patience and practice. You can learn if from a chart, but doing so that way won't make it useful, because learning to "copy" it (hear it and translate it into English in real time) is a different skill to sending it. Most radio amateurs learn to send much sooner than they learn to copy, which can be frustrating - but it's worth the effort when you can hold a conversation with somebody across the country, or even across the world!
This was a very informative explained video. Thank you brother for the lesson
Extremely well done!
Back in the day there were operators who liked to use what we called a "sidewinder", it looked sort of like a speed key (bug) but you had to make the dits and dahs manually, unlike the Bencher which was a device that does things electronically for you. They were sort of interesting to try and decipher, but you'd get used to it.
Morse code have a very nice beeping sound, always love listening to them.
600hz is a good tone.
VERY well explained tutorial!!
Great little review, nicely done - Thank you Alan 73 de W2DAB
Nice video and explanation of the iambic. For the straight key, I wish you would have demonstrated the 3 finger grip and the use of the whole arm for controlled sending. 73 de HP1VWW dit dit
Great intro into CW, and love the video. Maybe a follow up video about modern training methods of learning CW? I'm using lwco online and some android apps to learn my alphabet
how did it go, Kevin ? Are you on the air yet? I used the same methods - very effective.
Morse tutorial
This is your daily dose of Recommendation
Very cool - Great content. Thanks.
Very good demo Allen! Great to see as it is not taught as much by Elmer's anymore.
Helpful...I'm learning code and trying to decide what would be my best choice in a first key. Tnx
Have been an Extra Class Ham Radio Operator since 2016, and I’m still working on Morse Code! Pretty sure my spacing needs improvement as well as copying. Both are a challenge! But I’d like to operate CW more if I can get it down better 😎👍
In iambic mode A, you can key the letter K (example) without tapping, as long as you let loose of the dot paddle in time. 73 de HA7RJA
I started with the Bencher when I got my ticket but I've been trying to work a straight key lately. I always set my keyer to Iambic A but I didn't really know why, it just "worked better" for me :) 73 NE5U Mike
Thank you Alan. I could get back to CW with paddles! I found that the VU2RWH/VU3XVR paddle which I bought has Iambic function as well. Tested it after seeing this video. 73 de Jon, VU2JO.
Excellent video, thank you.
When I run paddles my right thumb is dah, middle finger dit. Just feels natural. Obviously rules out the Vibroplex, but I never could manage one anyway.
The do make left handed bugs if you wanted to give that a shot.
Great idea Allan thanks
Thank you for sharing. I love it.
Fabulous instruction!♡♡♡
Thank you!
🤜🏻👍🤛🏻
Fantastic video! 73!
thanks for sharing
w2aew
Thanks for the info!
This was really great! I think I’ll get a duel lever paddle key. It’s so much better than a straight key. Once one gets used to it, it seems like it would be very nice and smooth.
Very good - just make sure your radio has the electronic keyer built in.
@@w2aew Thanks for this tip. Can an electronic keyer be put inline if the radio doesn't have one or does a person need to get a radio with an electronic keyer built in? Another question: Can we CW with a mic on an analog radio? I've got an ICOM IC 2730a. I've only been in HAM for two years so I'm pretty new at this.
@@quailstudios Yes, you can add an electronic keyer circuit between the paddles and your rig, if your rig doesn't have the keyer built in. In theory, you "can" do CW with a mic (just picking up an audio tone from a 'practice' oscillator), but it is bad practice to do this - mainly because the mic will also pick up room noise, clicks from the key, etc. and the resulting signal will occupy more bandwidth than a proper CW signal.
@@w2aew Thanks for your input. I could find this all out by myself but it's great to have someone who knows give a little guidance. I really appreciate it! Saves time and money.
Its a good explaination, but many of the vessel ive been on dont have those switches. We have tap.
Being English Navy these are DOT and DASHES
Yeah, but I think there it's an easier way to remember the letters by sound with dits and Dah ^^
Very well explained.
Thanks for the video. Well done. I am not a ham operator but I do listen in. On the 446.6400 SPARC repeater in CA. every other word is the F word. What's going on?
that is surreal cool, it keeps the timing for you?? insane
Still visit this video all the time. FB.
Very nice
🎉🎉🎉super episode tanq 😂😂😂❤❤
Excellent explanation of iambic keying. 73's
There is only one explanation as to why I am watching this video: NOSTALGIA
Excellent! I'm learning CW now but didn't fully understand what Iambic was other than two paddles instead of one. Does everyone use dits on the left and dahs on the right? Is there a "left handed" mode? I'm a righty but curious now.
Iambic really only refers to the squeezing of the paddles. You can use the two paddles with a keyer and never use the iambic feature. Most people will wire the "dit" on the thumb and the "dah" on the forefinger - so for right-handers, it is dits on left and dahs on right. There are some that prefer the other way around. Many keyers allow to reverse them in the menu so you don't have to re-wire it.
@@w2aew - Ya, I didn't recall seeing a "left handed" selection in any radio menus but seeing as I am just now learning CW I've always just skipped over the CW settings. I really need to ramp up my practicing. Much easier to learn to send than receive. :-(
Thanks for the reply, Alan.
I used the squeeze and buffer on iambic until I found a "limitation" such that at high speed, electronic keyer buffer weight and cadence causes buffer to actually lose track of rapid hits. Moving to the single lever Begali...mode B didn't cut it. Or even if I leave it on, I no longer use it.
Just something to consider, not counterpoint.
Hallo, i dont know how i got to this, but now i can at least say i learned the basics of mors code......
Thanks for the info
I have used both (professionally) for years. For those already used to a use of traditional morse key and start using the paddle my tip is to use your other hand.
i assume you know morse sir, so can you give me some tips please
@@emir3029 My most important tip is to be realistic. The problem with Morse is that it takes a long time to learn it at a certain level, lets say 2 years to get to 20 words/min. Receiving morse is the most important in my view. And you have to feel the rhythm. Keying yourself is all about the position of the hand and wrist. Try to move the wrist in a relaxed way up and down. The counting method helps with that when you are just starting. Moving to a paddle didn't take me very long. Maybe just one month of practice.
I purchased a Lionell J-47 telegraphy key made for World War II. It sat as a novelty mounted to a wall for many years. But recently, I retrofitted a jack to an ancient CB microphone and added a small oscillator. Then I plugged the antique Lionell J-47 key to activate the primative oscillator and the oscolatoe to the microphone. I connected the ancient microphone contraption to an equally ancient C.B. Radio, probably made in the late 1980s, . I then cut an ugly 206 inch antenna with an insolator dead in the middle and hung it vertically off the apex of the roof from a horizontal pcv tube. This was all a pitiful effort to revisit an old childhood project. I put the ancient CB radio on channel 40 USB and taped out a slow CQ, not expecting anything at all. I got a response. I did not even know anybody used Morse Code anymore. The other person returned my CQ with a moniker of Kilowatt 37. I barely remembered my childhood callsign but I taped out, with great difficulty, KBX1339. I do not even know if the callsign is still valid. But nothing was said about the old callsign. I struggled away for over an hour, taping away and copying. I had a very rough time but really enjoyed the CWQSO. Kilowatt 37, Joe, was very far away from me, over 1200 miles away. We agreed to meet on 40 USB again the next day. But radio conditions have not accommodated our long distance communication using my junk equipment. Citizens band has changed dramatically since I was young. The band is empty. I only hear some extremely far transmissions on channel 6 AM, and in channel 38 LSB. The transmission are very few and very far between. I still tap away a CQ on 40 USB from time to time. I have never heard from kilowatt 37, Joe, again. I really think CB is dead. Even entering my ancient callsign into the search bar, I get nothing.
My son learned Morse code and signal flags for a special merit badge celebrating scouting’s centennial anniversary.
Super helpful. But any video describing the connection to the electronic meter paddle to the transmitter and the signal that is sent when using CW? Ie. What tone frequency and how is that mixed with the carrier?
No video, but here's a quick description. The key or the paddles connect with a simple mono or stereo plug/jack, usually a 1/4" or 1/8" - very similar to a headphone connection. The key and paddles are simple normally-open switch contacts - neither generate any kind of a tone - they simply turn on/off the transmitter. The electronic keyer doesn't produce a tone either - it is simply a circuit that turns on/off the transmitter using a prescribed timing. Most modern radios have this keyer function built-in, but there are external keyers available that you can use with a set of paddles and a radio that doesn't have the keyer circuit built in. The tone you hear (called a side-tone) is actually generated by the radio simply as an aide so that you can hear what you are sending.
Awesome, thanks a lot.
Could the Morse code be used in the event of a global communications stop?
Yes
Most certainly. You've heard of the "Prepper" initiative; many preppers are very involved in amateur radio because it does provide a very fast, robust, effective and efficient means of communication over long distances. You'll even find one such person who identifies himself as "The Radio Prepper" on RUclips. He is a Frenchman named Gil (with a soft "g", like in the word "triage"). His videos are interesting, informative, and even entertaining.
Thanks for share your video!
I'm studying for the HAREC exam and I'm interested in radio CW. What's is the best of those two types of keys for a noob that must learn from zero?
73!
Personally, I think it is best to use a straight key since I think it helps you learn the pattern of each character. There are others that feel the opposite. At the end of the day, use whichever you are more comfortable with. The best advice I can give you is to use the Farnsworth/Koch method - where you learn the characters at a high speed - at least 20wpm - that will help you to hear/learn the sound of each character and not try to map out the individual dits and dahs. Spacing between characters can be slow, but learn the characters themselves at speed.
thanks Alan....basics steps...73
I have to think & that slows me down. I transmit slowly because I have to think about what I'm want to send, am sending, & any corrections. In receiving I must wait for the last tone & then spend time figuring out what the letter was. I'm not even up to the point of writing it down because of the excessive time delay. I can only think of 1 thing at a time & many times when one thought peg comes in, the previous peg gets pushed out. Once I get "lost" it's hard to find a new start point. Sort of like when a Square Dancing square breaks down & must wait for the Caller to call something that everyone can quickly get in the right position. It all takes practice which I can do on some weekends.
I know this is probably sacrilege, but can you maybe go over the keyboard keyers and decoders from MFJ (or others ) I would like to at least listen to CW conversations on my Kenwood TS-830S, and possibly one day, even transmit...
Cool. Thanks.
Thank you very much !!!
The two finger device ist very strange but extrem cool
this one is very beautiful！would you like to tell me where can Ibuy it？I want to buy two keys
Thank you.
Grandpa will be love this
Maybe he already knew it
I passed the 20 wpm test for the Extra class years ago, but it was a struggle. I guess I just didn't process the sounds well or something. I understand the advantages of cw, but I always like to hear a voice anyway. To this day I've never made a cw contact.
I suppose I should brush up on it and try it one day, but to be honest I'd rather spend what little brain power I have left on chess.
I'm similar - passed the morse exam many years ago, but didn't do any CW for many, many years after that. So much so that I really lost most of my ability to do it. I developed an interest in CW again about a year ago and it's been fun (for me) to slowly regain this skill.
@@w2aew Great! I have a cw keyboard and converter around here somewhere. I don't know if any digital modes can be done on Android. Connecting a computer to my radio isn't really my style.
It's all packed away and on hold for now until I move anyway.
Well done! 73
Don't forget the Cootie key!
Could you tell me which model of Bencher you have on your video? thx.
Bencher BY-2
Thank you for this video Alan. I watched it two days ago and and enjoyed it. This is a great way to encode information in a concise way and then to send it over to some other place using radio. I have a question about your camera though. I understand you have recently changed your camera. The picture quality and the audio are both very good. Would you please tell me about the camera, the microphone and also the way that you use them. Do you record on a camera, save the file to some memory card and then transfer it to a computer or do you record directly on a computer? How about the audio? Thank you very much.
I've been using the same camera since about March 2014 - a Canon HF-G20. For audio, I simply use the mic on the camera. I record my clips to the SD card and then transfer to the PC for editing. I use either OpenShot or ShotCut for my editing. If I notice a lot of imbalance in the audio (left to right), then I convert to monophonic when compiling.
@@w2aew Thank you very much!
I learn morse. Since i memorise it, there' no transmitter so i use stapler insted of Morse Code Transmitter.
Do I still need a "dummy load" when practicing, if I turn QSK, VOX, Gain & power down???????????????????
Where can you buy a straight key? and what for a straight key did you use?
There are still many people that sell straight keys. www.vibroplex.com sells at least four different brands of straight keys, and there are many more out there. The straight key I used is a 90 year old Bunnell key.
What are you using for a practice tone generator?
Actually using my HF Transceiver (Kenwood TS-870S) - with the VOX disabled, it generates the CW sidetone without transmitting.
Nice Job! Are you aware of any software that will evaluate how well one is sending (correct character spacing) with a straight key?
Good question, I"m not sure. I'll ask around. There is some good advice on sending here:
morsecode.ninja/practice#SendPractice
My friends at the Long Island CW Club came through with some info - CW Fist Check:
www.qsl.net/dj7hs/download.htm
www.qsl.net/dj7hs/help/helppcwfistchk.htm
@@w2aew Thank you! I do have a keyer for my Bencher but I would like to practice with a straight key too.
100 years late but now I know!
In the process of learning cw. Got the alphabet and numbers learned and now focusing on hearing. Way harder and I am super slow. Like anything it will come with time and practice. Try to work on it daily with an app listening and inputing letters. Yet to work on keying. Very difficult skill to learn at least for me.
It just takes practice - even just 20-30 minutes a day. Try learning with the character speed "fast" so that you learn to associate the pattern of letter with the letter. I made the mistake of learning at a very slow speed 40 years ago, and got hampered by the mental translation that I was doing in my head (dit-dah to * -- to "A").
@@w2aew - thanks for the advice. Everyone says that, but when its fast all I hear is dits and dahs. No idea what anything is. I get if you hear it and know that sound is an A for example without translating, but I am finding out there is learning it and also hearing it. Got the learn part (necessary to send), now its the hear part (hard part for me). Once I get that I will have learn the third part - keying. Definitely a unique skill once mastered in this day and age (friends and family think I have lost it).
are there any of them without connecting to giant computers like those?
just a small, pocket sized key
The key and paddles can be used with any kind of small practice oscillator (key) or a small external keying circuit (paddles).
thanks :)
I have made a lot of QSO's in CW with both the straight key and the paddle. But never could get that squeezing right. One thing I do know it is important to have the dit's (points) on the paddle that you push with your thumb.
Your thumb must be the finger to give the dit's. If you want to jump to a mechanical bug, it is much easier. This because with a mechanical bug you give the dit's with your thumb.
I have a mechanical bug and maybe that;s the reason I never got into that squeezing (iambic).
73
There is no "must". If you want it that way you can have it that way. I haven't come from a bug, and I no intention whatsoever of going to one, which would be the only reason I can see to default a thimb-dit. I still haven't decided if thumb-dits are the way to go.