eHam Logo

Community
 Home
 eHam.net Home
 Articles & Stories
 Speakout
 Strays
 Survey
 My Profile

Resources
 This Week's Contests
 Classified Ads
 Contest Links
 Product Reviews




Site Information
 About This Site
 Contesting.com Team

Contesting Online Forums : Tips : Voice Keyers Forums Help

1-2 of 2 messages

  Page 1 of 1  


Voice Keyers Reply
Anonymous post on September 19, 2000 Mail this to a friend!
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
 
RE: Voice Keyers Reply
by N2MG on September 19, 2000 Mail this to a friend!
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.
 

  Page 1 of 1  

 
Next Topic:   IC-751A
Previous Topic:   CW Contests
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.

Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help


Search Tips:

Check our help page for help using Forums, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the Forums Manager.