January 2, 1996



Dear Sir,



I only got to make two contacts on SKN this year, the first with W7MN, Walt in St. Helens, Oregon on 7040 and the other with N6SSQ, Fergy in Altura, California on 3554.5.  These were on the leading edge of a windstorm here in Southern California which entangled my GAP DX-IV in a tree and required me to make repairs most of New Year's Day rather than make more contacts.



Both QSOs were enjoyable and well held.  Wish I had time for more 'get acquainted' contacts.  Although I generally use a keyer and am sure the other guys do too, using a straight key didn't seem to hamper or slow things at all.  In fact, a story that I told in both of my contacts:  In summer 1994, I set out on vacation with the HF rig in the car.  Thinking that I might try CW once or twice but not wanting to mess with the wiring and hassle of the keyer and paddle, I just threw in a straight key and drove off.  Well, after several contacts on 30 and 17 CW, I was having such a good time that I ended up making a couple dozen CW contacts throughout the trip.  Sending with the straight key in my lap wasn't that tough on those lonely straight-aways through Texas and Arizona, but last year (summer 1995), I brought the keyer paddle along and did even better.  Well, when I wasn't fooling with the keyer controls or trying to get it running right.



There's just something elegant and imminently understandable about a straight key that nearly nothing else has anymore.  Of course, its use requires something else rare: proper training in the operator's God-given wrist and elbow!



73, Courtney, N5BF/6