QRPer Notes: South Asian Amateur News Blog, Keying with the IC-705 Mic, and KX2/3 Capacitive Key Clearance

Because I receive so many tips from readers here on QRPer, I wanted way to share them in a concise newsletter format.  To that end, welcome to QRPer Notes, a collection of links to interesting stories and tips making waves in the world of radio!


VU3HZW’s News blog primarily for South Asian Amateurs

Many thanks to Saquib (VU3HZW) who writes:

Hello Thomas,

My name is Saquib VU3HZW from North Eastern India. Your blog is a trove of knowledge for any QRP operator. Your style of writing is awesome!

Now, here’s the story. I’ve started a Amateur Radio News & Blog – itshamradio.com. As a QRPer, you must be familiar with VU3SUA (Sunil Lakhani) from https://amateurradiokits.in.

We would be pleased if you [and your readers] could read some of the articles and give us some valuable feedback. This is just an honest attempt by us to create a vibrant amateur radio news blog primarily for South Asian Amateurs.

Click here to visit ItsHamRadio.com.

Good luck with the new site and thank you for sharing it with us, Saquib!

IC-705 Mic A/B button CW Keyer Challenge

Many thanks to Keith (GW4OKT) who points out that the Icom IC-705’s A/B buttons can be set up to send dits and dashes. It doesn’t allow for proper iambic keying and, as Keith admitted, isn’t terribly easy in practice. Nevertheless, he gave it a go and provided these short videos operating the IC-705 at 20WPM CW:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Keith followed up by saying, “Not for the faint hearted Tom, it’s difficult; I think I’ll just take a spare key!”

Indeed! Thank you, Keith!

KX2/KX3 Capacitive Key Clearance

Many thanks to Dennis (K2DCD) who notes that UC6UAA is selling out his inventory of the KX2/KX3 Capacitive paddles.

If I didn’t already own KXPD2 paddles, I would certainly buy a set. The price is excellent at $40 US with free shipping.

Click here to check it out and/or place an order.

Thanks for the tip, Dennis!

17 thoughts on “QRPer Notes: South Asian Amateur News Blog, Keying with the IC-705 Mic, and KX2/3 Capacitive Key Clearance”

    1. The keyer has already shipped. Russian Post.
      Not sure how this works. Never had anything shipped from Russia before. I assume somehow it will make its way into the usps system.

      1. Don’t worry, Mike! It’s work.
        My main orders are from the USA. Despite the news from TV, our countries cooperate very closely. I’m telling you as a military engineer 😉

        1. Everything I’ve gotten from Russia this year (including a Discovery TX-500) was shipped and arrived on time. You shouldn’t have any problems, Mike.

          Fine little paddle you designed there, Evgeny!

          73,
          Thomas
          K4SWL

          1. I ordered about a week ago a Begali Magnetic Traveler lite. It sat at a FedEx hub for 5 days and now it’s been sitting at FedEx in Frankfurt Germany for 2 days so far.
            So we’ll see

            Mike

        2. Thx. Yeah I’m mostly curious how and where the two mail systems connect. Lol. Is it there or somewhere here.

          Thx 73s

          Mike AD8EV

          1. Ha ha! Yeah, even with domestic shipments here this year it’s been unpredictable. Onmce had an item shipped to me from Ohio priority mail and it took 2.5 weeks. No underlying reason why, it just got lost in the system. Then again I received a package from the interior of Alaska that arrived in three days! 🙂
            So strange! They do get busy.

            T

          2. The parcel passes our customs. Then he sails or flies across the ocean. Then it gets to your customs. If everything is fine, it arrives in your mail system. Then, in most cases, it disappears from the radar for a while until it reaches you. Often our mail no longer sees the parcel on your side and they continue to hang in the system as not delivered, although they actually came. That’s why I use Paypal so that you don’t risk money, even though it takes a few dollars from me every time.

      2. Hi, Mike
        I ordered one from Evgeny on Sep 12. It was entered into the Russian Postal system on Sep 20. I received it on Oct 18. It looked like it transferred to USPS in New York after it went through customs. I really like it.

  1. I guess if all you have for the IC705 is the mic and no keyer paddle for CW then the mic buttons might be usable.

    With my IC705 I carry a good paddle for I mainly only work CW. I want a paddle that is heavy enough it can set on a table and I can operate with one hand, do not wish to be holding the paddle so it can be operated.

    73, ron, n9ee/r

  2. The Yaesu FT-817/818 (and also the 857 and 897) have mic keying. You have to dial the keying speed way down to accommodate the zero-feel, spongy buttons, and yes, it’s ridiculously difficult, but in a survival situation, it might come in handy if you don’t have a proper CW key. It might be easier to just use “voice CW” like that video you posted a while back.

    1. Hello Greg!
      I can’t reply to your email. You probably misspelled your address.
      It’s a good idea. Unfortunately I don’t have 817. I made this key for my KX2. I didn’t think I would sell it, but a lot of people started asking me for it. I’ll look at the schematics of 817, maybe something will work out. Thanks!

      1. That’s odd. I must have mistyped it in your web form. Thanks for replying here. FYI, over 250,000 817’s have been sold in the last 20 years. That’s some huge market potential for such a slick key ?

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