Hi guys, I have returned to cw after a long absence,been using cw now as my only mode now for 2 years,i listen to a lot of cw on the bands but cant help but noticing a lot of bad cw being sent out there, I cannot fathom why people feel the need to use bug keys on a modern transceiver, they just sound terrible,and ihave got to the stage that I will send back from a cq call NO BUG. is it just me or do other people in the group feel the same about bug keys, I use a tw magpad , bencher st-1 and st-2 paddle keys amongst various straight keys. would love to hear your comments, De MI0VKO aka EI6IQ

It's not just bugs unfortunately

I found some using bugs just don't have then set right ,for example there is an F station I speak with who has his dots way too fast for the dashes he sends , if he slowed the bug down to his dash sending characteristic he would sound sweet as a nut ..

The use is just personal , much the same as using a cootie key or any other for that matter , it's a separate skill ,one needing much more practice IMO than a standard single or twin paddle .. Maybe if people stepped back a bit on speed when starting out with these things it would help , bugs don't need to run hell for leather ..

Listening through the ands it's evident many havn't a clue re spacing/timing and in many cases what code actually is supposed to sound like

TH IS SO RTOF THING DO ES MY HEAD IN ..

My other gripe with some cw ops is that when you give an RST of 3 3 8 with qsb why in the lords name to people seem the need to go into a long winded tx and tell me what they had for breakfast, surley to Christ when you give a poor rst why cant the other station keep the message to a minimum???

i say flog them with a curly mic lead

As I've said a number of times on this forum, it's not the keys that are the problem, it's the operator not listening critically to what they are sending.

Rather like bad drivers who swear it's everyone else who's to blame

Morse code has only three simple rules as regards spacing. So why do we still hear overly long dahs, or over-speed dits, or the worst crime (in my opinion), everything merged in to one long string of dits and dahs with no discernible character/word spaces???

Because>>>

Simples

As I've said a number of times on this forum, it's not the keys that are the problem, it's the operator not listening critically to what they are sending.

Rather like bad drivers who swear it's everyone else who's to blame



Simples [/quote]
Are you serious with your statement, so in other words its ok to listen to some one sing with a bad stutter and stammer and call that music, catch a grip old man, cw when sent correctly should be like music, it needs a rhythm, not some sporadic junk that is sent and then its my fault because I cant receive it. catch a grip.

That's not how I'm reading his post, it's the transmitting operator not listening critically to their own sending that is the problem, not the receiving operator.

That's how I read it too

Yep, that's what I wrote and what I meant...



I think ei6iq needs to go to specsavers

One of the problems, and its only one of them, is since morse is no longer a "requirement", tested at examination standard, even if it was only 12 wpm, and later less, is now taken up by some out of a "alternate interest basis", rather than meticulously monitored and taught requirement!
Thus with no "assessment of bad practices, corrections" taking place, away some go full of bad habits, and using KZZ's example of driving, a bilt like completely teaching yourself to drive, without the benefits of a professionals advice, on where you may be going wrong!
Now don't get me wrong, the fact some still want to learn and use morse to me is wonderful, but self teaching, and self assessment of ones own prowess, can lead to some of the bad sending practices, we sometimes hear!

I bet he is hoping this thread will drop off the end of the page no he's had a go at you, he hasn't come back to apologise

I don't think it's anything to do with being taught or taking the test, there are enough poor operators who have been taught in the services and taken the test and their sending is atrocious, it all comes down to self pride in getting it right, some just don't seemed to be willing to so that.

Just this morning I was calling CQ at 25WPM and an Italian station called me at about 50WPM, which is fine because I can read that, but he was using a bug key and he obviously didn't know how to use it properly because the dits came out like a machine gun and too many of them at that, so I had to guess at what he was sending. I'm sure if he slowed down to about 40WPM he would have been fine.

Self pride is fine, but without any "yard stick", what you "think" is fine, and something you are "proud of", to others may just seem like bad sending!
Yes many were taught.....just to get through the test, and often after that didn't really embrace it and improve, often not even bothering with it for years, and when later deciding to "have another go", came back at an even lower standard than the one they squeezed through the test with!
I still think a good trained grounding, followed then by an appreciation of what is suitable to actualy "be proud of" is the way most good CW ops are born!
Also perfect morse that may seem a tad slow, to me is far prfeferable, than quick fire morse, that is all over the place!
Acurate high speed morse is a wonder to behold, fast for the sake of it, full of errors morse, just grates on my nerves!

Maybe this how he feels most of the time...??

Either way its offensive language.

David

This is so true! Very recently I worked a "G7***" station and for the life of me I was puzzled by his callsign...couldn't really work it out, but hoping I'd eventually crack it I continued with the QSO using "BK" in stead of his call. Eventually it dawned on me when I decoded his QTH that the call was not GT***, but GM3***, and yes...the op was using a straight key. I admire his determination to continue using that key as I lost that art some years ago and rely on a Kent twin paddle.