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Voice Keyers
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Anonymous post on September 19, 2000
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Rather than hear my own call sign going round in my head for days after a contest, I've been considering a voice keyer. At the moment, it consists of a switch over circuit which isolates the microphone, pulls over the PTT and depending on which button I select in some software, plays a pre-recorded WAV file on the laptop. It's a bit of a pain, having to manually switch it. Wonder what the commercial ones are like & if they auto switch over to TX.
Whether they're worth it if I'm considering contest work in the future ?
Cheers Rob MW5EPA
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RE: Voice Keyers
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by N2MG on September 19, 2000
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Generally, anything that reduces the complexity of repetitve operations in contests is a good thing. Hopefully you'll have enough to do logging all the contacts, or keeping yourself awake as you push through the drowsy periods. Things like nearly-hands-free rotator control (set and forget), automatic antenna switching, auto-tune amplifiers, etc., all add to your competitive edge and frankly, enjoyment. Certainly a more convenient voice keyer fits in with this.
There are several ways to achieve what you are looking for. For example, DOS-based computer contest logging programs like CT and TR have interfaces for using different dedicated hardware voice keyers; Windows-based Writelog can use a sound card for voice keying. In CT, for example, once set up, you just hit the F1 key to send a CQ. No other steps required.
In short, YES it is worth it. The question should now be, "What do I use?". That's harder to answer. It's probably best to get some hands-on experience at another ham's station.
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