This video brought tender memories of youth when I became a flight radio officer in 1948 and ended as a ships radio officer in 1985 when radio officers became redundant. Since then I never listened to Morse signals till now listening to your video thrilled I could read with ease the messages you keyed. I even used those high speed keys you described. Thank you.I will listen out more of your videos as it thrills me to get as oscillator and a Morse key and join Ham radio as a pastime.
Gosh... Great video for new cw operators!! Got my first license in 1958 and never used cw after passing the 13wpm test for advanced class!! Btw.. After viewing your vid... I just a silicone sheet from Amazon!!! Thank you for that cool idea David w9sss
Very well done, Steve. I started on a straight key, moved to iambic on a Heathkit touch keyer (required constant adjustment), to a CW Touch keyer (no adjustment required!) for fixed station use and a Te Ne Key for portable use. The best key to use is the one you enjoy using.
Exactly whAt I was looking for as most people getting bk into from the 80s and never having used a iambic keyer before. The dual lever single still seems as a good starter looking at a N3ZN product. Tony’s quality is second to none. Great demonstration! Learning iambic can be a curve there. Thank you for great demo! Bath bed and beyond is on my list for silicon baking mat. Brilliant ! 👍
This video is priceless for a newbie like me. I have several straight keys but I am signed up for cw academy in Sept. and you must have a faster key to participate. I am currently learning on an MFJ 418. You can take it with you and practice silently all day long, it has Farnsworth. You can practice QSOS, numbers, punctuatioin, etc. Like this video, you gotta have it if you want to succeed. Steve K8BZ is the bomb.
Glad you found it helpful. Good luck on your CW Ops CW Academy training. It's a great program. I'm a life member. See you in the Wednesday CW Ops Contests. 73.
Great video and thanks for the great information. I liked the baking mat to keep the keys from moving around. Out of curiosity is it difficult to move from the bug to iambic or single lever since the method of sending is different? If you had to use one key out of the three which would it be? tnx de KG5IF
@@KG5IF If I could only use one key it would be the Iambic. I can also use a single lever and I still have one that I used from time to time just to maintain usability. I have also used a bug in the past but I don't currently have one. I broke my right wrist a couple years ago and learned to send left handed until it healed. I didn't find it that difficult to switch between single lever and iambic or left handed. But I have been using keyers for 30 years before I tried the other methods, so I don't know how easy it would have been if I didn't have all that time in. I have seen some RU-vid videos of people who could send much better than me with either hand. There are some really good ops out there.
Great explanation and demo! Just getting back into HF after a 20 year hiatus. I used to use a straight key but I’m going to do this right this time! Thanks, Jim KE8WC
Thank you for the key tutorial.....also, what a "BEAUTIFUL" QTH and shack you have. My sister-in-law lived on Hilts Rd. at the north-end of Hockaday. A wonderful area, for sure!
thank you for the advice I have a MFJ key as well , I learned the 5 wpm in my novice class back in 82 , now im just a tech but took a long time off from cw so will have to relearn it
I got two of those silicone baking mats from AmazonBasics for $13.Thanks for the great idea. It is far better than the shelving material. Forgot to mention free shipping with Prime!
Nice info but a code chart? I think that listening to correct code is a better way to learn it. Then you can practice sending it. The Japanese learn English in school but they are very hard to understand if they've never heard the spoken language. In fact, when I was in Japan, many Japanese wanted to practice their English on native speaker, that makes a huge difference.
Very good video. Well done, informative & timely. In a previous life, I had just started to develop good muscle memory with my Iambuc when medical problems pulled the rug out from under me and turned me into a PTT only Operator. I'm restarting my HAMing Activities with an 'almost completed' QRP-Labs QCX kit. The paddles will be a pair of jig saw blades screwed to a 1x1 square dowel. See Gil's 'radio-prepper' & 'iambic' on YouTude. I just love the simplicity of that key. Your video has a professional quality about it, with many realy good sugestions. It's also supportive of my new CW/QRP/NVIS/40Mtrs/PORTABLE Ops focus. Job Well Done and BTW, I just 'liked' & subbed. 73 Russ-in-NH KA1RUW
Thanks, Steve... great intro.... I am converting from Straight Key ( with which I am very comfortable ) .. iambic is STRANGE.. but.. I am going to persist... thanks again...
Thanks Dave. Being determined is half the battle. Don't give up just because the first few attempts seem hopeless. It takes a while for the movements to become second nature. After you don't have to think about forming letters you will start doing the same thing with prosigns, Q-signals and short words. Good luck.
at below 30 wpm the iambic works fine with low error rates.....above 40 the single paddle has lower error rates in sending than the iambic paddle. Just my observations.
