Ha! Well it may be controversial but I also find that a number of straight key operators send some difficult to copy Morse. I listen out for SAQ every so often and the plain text message is sent with a straight key - the Morse that the usual operator sends is very easy to copy and yet you can still detect the āfistā, so it is possible to send good Morse on a straight key.
In the interest of being frank, I struggle with a straight key, Iāve very rarely used one. My Morse is pretty wobbly on a straight key.
I wear thin gloves for using my Pico Paddle in cold weather and I manage just fine.
Yes, I hear some excellent SK sending on air. I was very good when I first passed the test [the test examiner even complemented my fist]. But after I switched to iambic paddling my SK fist decayed. After ~15 years I bought a desktop SK then later a portable SK and have been working to restore my fist. Using a short-lever SK on summit is so much more effort than my heavy long-lever shack key (Kent Pro KT-1) on a nice firm bench. For a start, I have to SK very lightly on my thigh/knee-top ālogging boardā to prevent the board/knees moving. Not a problem with the gentle side-to-side motion of the paddles.
Iāve recently started headcopy training again [I did it a few years ago but stopped]. Iām (subconsciously) transcribing most of what the chaser is sending me, which is making a mess of my log sheets. I hope my headcopying will be fast soon where I write only the stuff I need for the log (callsign, summit ref, etc). But Iām not going to second-guess on which overs Iāll need a pencil on my straight-key activations. Chasers will just have to be patient with my slightly longer response times.
Looking at your reflector photo, you look a lot younger than me. Cold fingers was less of a problem 20 years ago [albeit I wasnāt sitting in winter weather on mountain tops writing and sending Morse back then].
Most I can cope with providing they donāt run their callsign characters together [mind you, a lot of high-speed paddle users do the same].
I sometimes have one chaser who I think probably has had a stroke and is struggling to operate the SK. Iām very patient and want a valid QSO with him but have to ask him to resend his callsign sometimes.
I remember one-valve-tx āchirpā Morse was a bit weird. I like sideswipers (cooties) too - a bit like someone speaking with a strong accent.
Well I have lived in Yorkshire for more than 30 years.
Just my opinion. Itās obvious you are using a straight key Gerald but I never have any trouble decoding it.
That is certainly true. They are usually trying to send faster than their competency level.
I hold the paddle with my left hand and key with the right while holding the pen. And then write in the log. I donāt need to swap or be ambidextrous.
Those who have had to transcribe my log sheets have complemented on the readability, especially compared to some other operators. Because the pencil is held against the forefinger when writing, it actually works pretty well. (I learned that technique when I had a sprained thumb in school, and couldnāt hold the pen in the normal manner.)
So, you straight-key and write your log with the same (right) hand. Perhaps āswapā was the wrong word. Just to be clear, I meant swapping between holding the SK (on tx) and the pencil (on rx). It sounds like you continue to hold the pencil whilst keying (which I prefer not to do).
I use a paddle. I think I would struggle with a straight key. Perhaps itās a skill I should try to regain. I prefer to send without holding the pen. I often call CQ without holding it and when someone replies I have to pick up the pen and often forget their call!
I do the same, hold paddle in left hand, key with right. I try to hold pen in right hand but often drop it onto the ground when my keying becomes sub-par (much of the time).
I donāt like straight keys but can just about use them. Only time I use them is on our contest groups stations were Iāll have a Palm Paddle with me for the main station Iām operating but may need to use a key on other stations.
There are plenty of people who have dire straight key styles i.e. continuously variable and random timing. And paddle users with the speed too high who send di-di-di-di-di-dah for 4 etc.
A decade or more ago I really used to enjoy 2m CW QSOs from the summits with Reg G3WPF. His morse was of such a calibre that I could head copy without any recourse to write anything down. When you think about it, head copy for SOTA is relatively simple and unless you get āclobberedā by someone who doesnāt understand you are sat on a summit in horizontal driving sleet, then itās really just a case of callsign and report. Itās always nice to exchange names of course.
My activation key is a right rag-tag thing which originally had a plastic base, but that split and I had to reassemble it on a piece of perspex. I clip the perspex onto the clip board that I use to hold the log paper which I steady with my left hand while sending with my right. As for where I stash my pencil when Iām sending, well usually a lump of moss or a flat rock makes a decent temporary depository, indeed wherever is most convenient.
It is all smoke and mirrors Andy. That photo was taken seven years ago. I am 74 next month and my Raynauds is getting no better as I age.
I do try to send decent morse, after all getting the information across first time is the aim. Bizarrely the mental health issues that I experienced last year did me no favours, presumably on account of it all being down to stress. Practice makes perfect, so Iām keeping my hand in. The ability to use morse is so precious, that I wouldnāt ever want to lose it.
Sadly, despite calling and waiting a lot, I got no replies to my 2m CW CQs on this morningās G/LD-056 activation - SSB was okay though. Based on my 3 previous activations so far this month the 2m CW QSO rate was very much lower than I usually get on HF especially during a 30m pile-up.
Given that 2m CW is always likely to be a more relaxed affair, Iāll use my Palm straight key on the next activation just for a change and a bit of fun. Perhaps I should practise at home getting my logging board and knees/leg position right so the board doesnāt move about during keying.
That photo was taken seven years ago. I am 74 next month and my Raynauds is getting no better as I age.