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- Well, the cat is out of the bag. I did a "straight key" style activation. I haven't used a straight key to activate since 2021! I started with a G0NVT straight key while watching football at General Coffee State Park. I didn't even call CQ POTA; I called CQ SKCC because for CW that was a familiar area for me.
Fast forward 485 activations and now I present to you the KN4YB bug. The only problem is that I kept calling it the wrong thing during the video. This is the "Inline Single Lever SL170IN" that sells for about $190 in late 2023. You can follow the progression of sending improvement as I get used to the key. It's been about 2 years since I last used it. Since starting POTA activations using CW, I migrated to a paddle. I had to 3D print one until I could buy one. The poor thing being made of PLA, it melted in the Jeep!
For this activation I used my Xiegu X6100 at 5 watts to the MFJ-1898 telescoping antenna on a NEW SUPER ANTENNA tripod using the radials from the NSA kit. If you buy the MFJ-1898, you'll need a supporting cast of items including at least a tripod to accept the 3/8-24 threads and some radials. I'm sure the antenna would work without radials, but the performance would be degraded.
The key on hand was the SL170IN by KN4YB. It's a sweet key, and is perfect for beginners at about 10-12 wpm all the way to a speed demon. I mainly used it for conversational CW, and my speed for that is about 15wpm with some Farnsworth spacing.
Now, the X6100 is a weird radio when it comes to straight keys. I edited most of that out, but I couldn't push the stereo (TRS) plug all the way in or the radio would just beeeeeeeep away. I'm afraid that I didn't follow the rules for hooking a straight key up to the rig. Maybe, just maybe, the key has to be plugged in BEFORE powering the radio. Maybe. Or it is because the RING of the key is grounded, and the straight key function in the programming of the X6100 is missing a line that says ignore the RING connection of the stereo plug for the straight key. Pure speculation.
I shortened the activation through the magic of editing. I know why @ThomasK4SWL uploads full length videos after watching one of his more recent videos. He spends most of his time doing writeups on his website. I'm quite the opposite. This is the most I've ever written. :P I like to have fun editing videos. I rarely ever post to my own website. I will have to publish my review of the MFJ-1898 at some point. I've been testing it out. I've run the analyzer. I've made contacts. What I haven't been able to do is get it to tune 60 meters. That's why I haven't done an official review of it yet. I gotta work it to death before I say anything. I will say this, my youngest child threw it across the room when he got mad at me...the antenna survived.
Enjoy the video. Subscribe, and check back later. I'm just having fun and sharing it with you.
-Rob W1RCP
-Robbie W1RCP
I'll also answer to Bob, but not "Late for Dinner."
73!
