Logikey K-3 KEYER
15
But what correction is appropriate for your rig? Ask stations on the air how your weighting sounds, particu-
larly if it is set at 50%. If other operators tell you it is light, try adding say 5 milliseconds (K 5) and ask for
further reports, preferably from the same station. Remember, it takes only a few seconds to change the set-
ting for an experiment. Note too that you may need to use a different setting when you switch your linear
on or off.
The "K" function setting can be read from the "Inquiry" mode if desired by responding to the "?" prompt by
sending the letter "K" through your paddle.
Also, during normal playback through the monitor, the effect of the "K" factor is masked by the keyer. How-
ever, when a stored message is played back through the Inquiry mode, the extra compensation may become
noticeable.
Another function mode control is to switch auto spacing on or off. Auto-spacing has always been controver-
sial among CW operators; some operators prefer it while others abhor it. What auto spacing does is force
the operator to leave at least three space elements between transmitted letters, so that with auto character
spacing letters are not run too close together. When you send a letter and then pause before sending the
next letter, the keyer senses that more than one space element has gone by in the timing, and will not begin
transmission of the next letter until a full three space elements have passed. Without auto spacing, the oper-
ator alone is responsible for the timing of transmitted letters.
The reason some operators dislike it is that if they try to force letters through too quickly, the keyer "stut-
ters" and won't start sending the next letter until the mandated three element spaces have gone by. This
causes a feeling of loss of control in the mind of some operators. Other operators relish the extremely pre-
cise letter spacing that auto-spacing allows. The Logikey default is to have auto spacing off. To turn it on,
enter the function mode, then answer the "F" prompt by sending "A". Since auto-spacing is a toggled func-
tion, this will reverse the existing state, and auto-spacing will be turned on. Once it is on, send a little CW
for practice, and see what you think. Auto-spacing is much more noticeable at slower speeds, especially for
operators going slower than their normal operating speed. To turn auto-spacing off, again enter the function
mode (by pressing buttons one and two, in case you forgot) and answer the "F" prompt by again sending
the letter "A" through your paddle.
The on or off state of the auto-spacing switch can also be checked by using the Inquiry mode. Respond to
the "?" prompt with the letter "A". The keyer will answer with either "ON" or "OFF".
Please, one last comment about auto-spacing on your keyer. If you disliked autospacing on other keyers, try
it again on your Logikey Keyer. You will almost surely find the implementation far friendlier than that of any
other keyer you have ever used, and you might just change your mind. Give it a chance.
While we're playing around, let's try resetting the monitor tone. The default setting is 700 hertz. Enter the
Function Made, and enter "T9Ø". Suddenly, you will find a monitor note of 900 hertz. The command is "T
dd
"
where "
dd
" represent the first two digits of the monitor frequency. If you don't like 900 Hertz, a "T7Ø" will
restore the monitor to the default. The available tone range is 500 hertz to 990 hertz.
Another available function command offers a choice between "Character Mode" or "Real Time Mode" for
loading messages. You already know that when you hold down the memory button to initiate the loading of
a message, the keyer responds with a Morse "C", telling you the keyer is in "Character" mode. When we dis-
cussed this earlier, we were more interested in getting you up and running, rather than covering all the fine
points at once. We stated that we would come back to that "C" for Character mode later - and now is the
time.
You already know that to program a message you send a word, and that the keyer sends a high-pitched "I"
to tell you the word has been added, as well as a word space increment, and then accepts the next word.
You also learned that you could remove a mis-sent word by sending a string of dots, which the keyer would
recognize and would then erase the last word loaded. These techniques allow maximum utilization of the
memory, allowing the longest possible message to be loaded. They also are more convenient for most oper-
ators.
There is an alternate load mode available, however, called "Real-Time". In Real-Time mode, what you load is
mirror-imaged back to you, warts and all. This mode can be useful if you have a special characteristic way of
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