Posts Tagged ‘keys’
It’s been a while
January 29th, 2015 | 
Author: I haven't run this piece in a long time. It's from my old webpage on how to adjust a bug:
Using a bug is a real fun part of using Morse Code. Adjusting one properly so that it works right for you and doesn't frustrate the heck out of you is easy; if you take your time and work methodically. Refer to the photo below for reference.
The first thing you do is to back off all the adjusting screws quite a bit. Not all the way; but far enough out so that everything is nowhere near being set. Once that's done you want to adjust the action of the pendulum. Unscrew "A" - this is the pivot point for the pendulum. Slowly tighten it. You'll know you have it adjusted correctly when the pendulum moves from side to side freely with no binding; but, at the same time, you can move the finger pieces up and down with your fingers and feel very little or no play.
The next thing you want to do is to adjust screw "B". Allow the pendulum to hit the damper. Screw in "B" to the point where you can either see or just perceive the pendulum has touched the damper. Stop there and secure the screw with the knurled lock nut. It is important not to move the pendulum too far away from the damper or else you will not be able to reliably stop your "dits".
The next thing you want to do is adjust the left trunnion screw - D. This will control the amount of side to side travel of the pendulum. For smooth code this gap should be very small. I take a piece of ordinary printer paper, fold it in half to double it and adjust the spacing so that the paper will just slip between the point of the screw and the pendulum. This results in a very small amount of side to side travel. The end result is a nice and clean transition between "dits" and "dahs". I do the same thing for the amount of spacing for the "dah" contact at C. I turn that trunnion screw in so that the paper slips in the gap easily with no binding, then I lock the set screw in place to keep the setting.
The next thing you want to do is adjust the "dits" making part of your bug. This is done by adjusting "E". When "E" is adjusted correctly, you should be able to swing the pendulum to make "dits"; and get 10 to 15 "dits" before the pendulum dampens out and comes to a rest.
"F" controls the tension of the "dit" action. I find it best to tension the spring about half way. Hopefully, if you follow this guide and play around a little bit and experiment, you will find the "sweet spot" that will allow you to send really glassy smooth Morse Code.
Sending with a Bug is just as much fun as sending with a keyer and paddles. However, sending with a Bug allows you to add a little personality. Listening to CW sent with a keyer sounds sterile compared to that sent with a Bug.
If you need to slow down the speed of your Bug to a point that's even slower than what you can get with the weight(s) positioned all the way to the end of the pendulum, then clip a clothes pin or a few alligator clips to the end of the pendulum. This will slow down a Bug to an effective speed as low as 13 words per minute or so.
In my opinion, you know that your bug is adjusted properly when you can send characters like X, Y, Q, C, F and L with little effort, and they sound good - or at least recognizable in my case!
Here's a great video that shows you how to do it, also:
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
New Year’s Day 2015
I participated in the QRP ARCI New Year's Day Sprint as planned, but was disappointed in the lack of activity. I guess everyone was sleeping off a night of merry-making and partying. In the 2 & 1/2 hours that I was on the air, I made only over just a dozen QRP ARCI contacts. It's a good thing that it's SKN, as the bands were busy and I was able to fill in with a couple rag chews in between to keep me from falling asleep at the key.
15 Meters seemed to be the good band for the Sprint. It was less noisy than 20 Meters, and it seemed that it was there that I was hearing the most activity. Towards the end of the Sprint, 40 Meters perked up with some local QRP activity.
After dinner, I came down to participate in a little more SKN, garnering a few rag chews using my refurbished Vibroplex Original.
I was pleasantly surprised that for not having used it in a while, that my fist wasn't all that bad! I cleaned the contacts by rubbing them using a spare QSL card and re-adjusted the spacing and tension. Pretty soon I was sounding almost as good as my keyer and paddles. Notice I said almost, not quite as good as that but not horrid, either. I guess using a bug is like riding a bicycle - once you become comfortable at it, you never forget how.
I finished up the evening by tuning across 30 Meters to hear 1A0C from the Sovereign Order of Malta (Thanks for the clarification, Karl DK5LP) running a pileup. It was a pretty good pileup but he was quite strong - about 579 and getting stronger. I stayed with him for about a 1/2 hour, trying with 5 Watts. As this is a special one for me, I ended up turning up the juice to 85 Watts and nabbed him on my third attempt after that. The DXpedition is there for about five more days, so I will try again over the weekend using QRP - if I hear them.
The Sovereign Order of Malta is a charitable arm of the Catholic Church. They have been in existence since around 1050 and are dedicated to helping the sick and poor throughout the world. Recently, Raymond Cardinal Burke was named patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a man whom I admire greatly. It was a special treat to have worked them.
So Amateur Radio-wise, 2015 is off to a flying start. I hope it keeps going that way all year long! Let's see if I can work both Foxes in the 80 Meter Fox hunt tonight. ( I did. Yay! )
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Christmas Comes a Little Early
My Christmas present arrived last night. Being a patient and practical person, I waited until this morning to open it and as you can see, it’s the 2014 SKCC Club Key from LNR Precision. Click the image for a better look.
I had wanted to get this one in this calendar year as I’m not sure how much longer it will be available. I had picked up the Pro Pump NT9K Standard Version key while at Dayton this year and have been very pleased with its smooth action. This smaller version is just as well-built and enjoyable to use as the “Pro”.
I know that because the new key already has ten contacts to its credit…
This post is going to get me into trouble!
"Seems when the bands are down every person with a ‘bug’ is out calling cq. Wish they would put code oscillators and dummie loads on sale. Dits at 20 wpm and dahs at 5 wpm."
I guess it's not directly related to band conditions, and I'm not sure that John's claim is 1,000,000% accurate, however - he makes an excellent point.
Not to dump on bug users, because I have a bug. I like using a bug. Using a straight key makes the arthritis in my hands go "Hey! Stop that!" But unless I've practiced with my bug (off the air) for a while .... my sending can be pretty bad. So I try to make it a point to take the KX3 "off the air" and practice sending with my bug on a regular basis. Not as regularly as I should, but I try to keep in decent practice.
I agree with John and I would posit that listening to someone use a bug (or even a straight key or paddles, for that matter), who doesn't know how to use it properly, is akin to listening to nails being scratched across a blackboard. NB: For any younger readers, a blackboard is what we used in school before the advent of whiteboards and smartboards. If you scrape your fingernails across the surface of a blackboard, it makes a sound unlike anything you've ever heard. It literally hurts to listen to it. It will make your teeth ache. There's something about human fingernails and slate that just don't mix. Listening to someone scratch a balloon is almost as bad. But .... I digress.
The phrase, "Dits at 20 wpm and dahs at 5 wpm" resonated with me. Morse Code sent like that is not only unreadable - even worse, it's unbearable. No one is asking that all Morse be sent so that it sounds like it's coming from a keyer or a computer - but for Pete's sake - at least make sure your sending is copyable!
I would suggest that anyone who is inclined to use a bug perform this little exercise. Send some Morse and record it, either with a tape recorder (do they still make those?), or, I believe most smartphones have a voice recorder feature. Do it off the air. Either send your RF into a dummy load or turn off your "VOX" - that usually will put your rig into code practice oscillator mode.
Send some Morse, listen to it, and copy what you sent. Be honest and critical with yourself. If you can honestly copy what you've sent, then you're probably good enough to go live. It might even be a good idea to wait a day or two between the sending part and the listening to yourself part - just in order to make it a bit more objective.
I can tell you for a fact, that I have done this - I have listened to my own bug fist - and have said, "Oh my!". It was a rude, but necessary awakening. I am totally glad that I did not subject my fellow Hams to what I had thought was decent sending.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
New portable paddle
I decided that I wanted to try something new paddle-wise for my lunchtime QRP portable operations. The main criteria was that it had to be on the inexpensive side. That seems to be my main criteria these days where a lot of things are concerned. Besides working well, it would also be nice if the paddle was light in weight.
Palm paddles would probably be the ultimate, but are way too expensive and would not fit within my meager budget right now. I needed to keep it under $50 if at all possible. That really narrows down the possibilities, let me tell you. I have a Whiterook MK-33 single lever paddle. It works well and it also fits the bill, but it tends to get a bit sloppy around the 22-23 WPM mark.
I had a Bulldog paddle back when I had my K1 and I liked it. However, I included it as part of the K1 package when I sold that radio to raise money for my KX3. So, relying on my memory, I decided to give another Bulldog a try. I went to the Website: http://www.amateurradioproducts.com/, only to find out that they no longer manufacture the model I had. Mine was the one on a small triangular wooden base that had three tiny suction cups.
They have several different models now, and I decided to go with the BD6, the Mini-Iambic. It arrived on Saturday through the mail, and tonight was the first chance I had to try it out.
I have to admit that I was skeptical when I opened up the package that it came in. It is indeed ‘mini” – in fact, it gets lost in the middle of the 1.5 inch fender washer that serves as a base! But as usual, it turns out that looks are quite deceiving. This little paddle is smooth and is great to use just as it is, no adjustments were required, although the accompanying instruction sheet tells you how to go about that, if needed. I worked both W1AW/5 and W1AW/0 tonight at about the 21 WPM range. The paddles acquitted themselves nicely there. Then I turned up the speed a notch to work EV1R and LZ1WR and C6ATT. Even at the speed where the Whiterook goes kaflooey on me, the Bulldog stays sharp, smooth and flawless and had great feel to it. The fact that it was only $35 was icing on the cake. I will definitely bring these along for Field Day. They may be too small for some of our guest operators, but they work great for me!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
Gorgeous day!
After a rainy start, it turned out to be a gorgeous Spring day. It was sunny and it was nice and warm, despite a stiff breeze. I was able to get to the car at lunchtime and worked two Swedish stations, SM5IMO and SM4NGT on 15 meters and IK2CIO on 12 Meters. The nice thing about operating at lunchtime here, is that at that time, most of Europe is done with the work day and there are lots of stations on the air. They get to relax and enjoy their evening, and I get some good DX.
Thanks to a comment from Kelly WB0WQS, I am taking another close look at LOG4OM. I tried this a couple years ago and was having severe problems getting it to run properly on my computer. They must have made a bunch of improvements, or maybe it’s that the laptop I am using now is a better platform than what I had before. Whatever the reason, I downloaded it again tonight and installed it. It’s working very well and for now? Let’s say I am intrigued. It has most of the bells and whistles that are part of better logging programs these days. It is powerful with CAT, Cluster management and all the other “necessary” stuff. It’s free and it’s easy on the eyes.
Here’s an announcement that I saw in an e-mail today. This looks way cool and is going to get me to try and get back in the swing with my bug (pun intended!):
W6SFM On-Air BUG ROUNDUP – Saturday May 17th 2014
Objective:
This 12-hour event is not a contest; rather it is a time dedicated to celebrating our CW and Bug key heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs using a Bug style key as the sending instrument. There are no points scored in this event, and all who participate are winners.
Once the event has concluded, logs can be submitted to the W6SFM by way of the link provided on the clubs Bug Roundup web page. Nominal prizes/certificates will be awarded to: the person who had the most QSOs during the 12 hour period; and the person who worked the most interesting amount of bug types.
Bands (Suggested Freq.)
10 meters – 28.040 – 28.050 MHz
15 meters – 21.040 – 21.050 MHz
20 meters – 14.040 – 14.050 MHz
40 meters – 7.040 – 7.050 MHz
80 meters – 3.540 – 3.550 MHz
Dates
W6SFM Bug Roundup is held twice annually.
– Every 3rd Saturday in May from 1700 UTC though Sunday 0500 UTC
– Every 3rd Saturday in November from 1800 UTC through Sunday 0600 UTC
Thank you for your participation and we hope you enjoy the event. 73
For more information on this exciting event please visit the W6SFM Bug Roundup website page by clicking HERE (http://www.w6sfm.com/Bug_Roundup.html)
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
Thank you Pietro and Bruna!
Thanks for the sexy, royal blue aluminum finger pieces! I removed the black plastic ones and put these on. Oh, and by the way, they also sent me a spare pair of black aluminum ones, too!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
