How to set up a hand telegraph key: old-school master tips

For many radio amateurs, the hand telegraph key (the telegraph manipulator, affectionately called a „pedestrian“ key or „hammer“) is a symbol of true radio amateurism. But to make broadcasting a pleasure, not a wrist torture, the key must be precisely tuned.

In this short guide, I have gathered the experience of generations of professional radio telegraphers and radio amateurs to help you find your ideal balance.

The roots of craftsmanship: the old school

Before we move on to the technical details, I would like to mention the people from whom I „stole“ the craft half a century ago and more in Veliko Tarnovo. These are men for whom telegraphy was not just a profession, but an art and a calling. The craftsmanship was passed down to me by the strict but fair officers Colonel Ovcharov and Colonel Kokalov in the radio club, and later in the military school and Colonel Rakov. In amateur radio, my mentor and teacher was Pop Stefan (LZ2PS), at that time LZ2F166 (hence my call sign is LZ2F266). These teachers didn’t just show us how to transmit and turn the screws on the key, they taught us the „music“ of radiotelegraphy, respect for the correct sign. This article is a small bow to their contribution and recognition of their care, which grew into endless respect and lifelong friendship.

The „love“ of the hand key is a diagnosis that is not cured, but only passed on to the next generations. It is something intimate. The rhythm of the correct key is like meditation – a feeling that no automaton can replace.

A poorly tuned key is like an out-of-tune violin – no matter how hard you try, the melody is lame, and your hand seizes up in 10 minutes of work.

Here is my “philosophy” for tuning the classical treble clef, conveyed as text.

1. Preparation: stability and position

Before turning the screws, take care of the base. The key should be firmly fixed on a heavy pad or directly to the table.

The golden rule for posture:

• The elbow should be at table level.
• The wrist should be off the edge of the table (in the air) so that it can move freely. The hand should be a natural extension of the key.
• Visualization: Imagine that the contact is not in the key itself, but just below the crease of your wrist. Try to mentally „contact“ there, with this joint, which without a signal is slightly raised, and with dashes and dots it goes below the level of the base of the key.

2. The side bearings: eliminating the backlash

First of all, pay attention to the side screws.

1. Loosen them as much as possible until the arm starts to click noticeably.
2. Start tightening them carefully until the lateral movement disappears completely, but no more. The arm should move freely only up and down, without any movement left and right.
3. Caution: Stop right at this point! If you overtighten, the up and down movement will become „wooden“ and heavy, and the spring will not do its job properly.

If the key has lateral play, it „dances“ under your fingers and the focus is lost. You feel it as foreign and unruly.

3. The distance between the contacts: the „A4“ method

Here is the great secret of speed and a clean sign. Too much distance leads to jostling, and too little – to sticking of the signs.

• For beginners: start with a larger stroke (about 0.6 mm) to “loosen” the wrist.
• For advanced users: the gold standard is 0.15 – 0.3 mm.

The A4 sheet trick: Take a regular printer sheet (A4, 80 g). Fold a strip along the narrow side 4 times (to make four layers – this is about 0.6 mm). Place it between the contacts and adjust so that you pull it with force. As you progress in your training, reduce the folds to 1 or 2 layers (this is about 0.15 – 0.3 mm).

Many beginners make the mistake of leaving an extremely large stroke, thinking that this way they transmit more accurately. About a millimeter. Big mistake! Such a stroke leads to a “bump”, which tires the wrist and spoils the rhythm.

4. Spring tension: the weight of the hand

The spring should not “stretch” and fight with your hand. It only serves to return the key to its original position.

• Adjustment: Loosen the spring as much as possible. Start tightening it very slightly until you feel that it can withstand the weight of your hand (with a relaxed hand, without resting your wrist on the table). It should not allow the contacts to close. The key should be “soft”, but firmly open when at rest. The spring should be just enough tension to reliably return the lever up without „kicking“ you back.
• When the spring is too tight, you will feel as if your hand is starting to work „from the shoulder“, and this should not happen – it should only work from the wrist.

5. Conclusion and advice from the old school

Handling with a manual key is not a job with your fingers, but a „swing“ of the entire wrist. Your fingers only surround the knob, without squeezing it. With your index and middle fingers, you press down, and your thumb and ring finger support the ball of the key as it moves up. The swings are made with your wrist, not your fingers! When you achieve the correct setting, you will feel how the key „sings“ along with you, you will feel it as an integral part of your hand.

My “secret” tip: posture and attitude

Don’t adjust the switch while holding it in your lap. It should be firmly attached to a heavy base (a marble slab, a thick metal base, or directly to the table). Your elbow should be at the level of the table, and your wrist should be slightly raised, as if you were holding a tennis ball.

Feel the switch! Love it! It will pay off and you will be proud that you master the “craft” that only selected people are dedicated to.

Do you have your own specific trick for adjusting the manual switch? Who were your mentors and teachers? Share it in the comments, this will be your personal contribution and motivation for young radio amateurs or those who want to become one.

Материалът How to set up a manual telegraph key: old-school master tips е публикуван за пръв път на Галя и Тони - Галанто.

The 5250 – 5450 kHz range

Allowed for Bulgarian radio amateurs 1 class on a secondary basis.

All classes of emission with a maximum permissible power 100 W are permitted for this frequency range, except for the 5351.5 – 5366.5 kHz band, where amateur radio stations must not exceed 15 W equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP). The fact that it is permitted for all classes of transmission and operating modes does not exclude the formation of certain preferences, and the table below reflects these.

The range is not permitted for class 2 amateurs, but this is a great opportunity to take the exam and win class 1 – and this is completely achievable!

Limitations

It would not be correct to comment on the 15 W equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) limitation for part of the range. It was probably invented by smarter minds than me, but I will try to explain what this means. After all, radio amateurs do not necessarily have to be engineers in this field. I hope my explanation will be of help to them.

What is equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP)

Equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) is a theoretical quantity that measures the total power radiated by an antenna in the direction of its maximum gain.

Or EIRP represents the power that would have to be fed to an ideal isotropic antenna (which spreads the signal equally in all directions) to achieve the same signal intensity that a real directional antenna achieves at its strongest point of radiation.

I try not to write formulas, but my explanation does not seem to make it much clearer. Let’s emphasize the practical with a concrete example.

To comply with the 15 W EIRP limit on a portion of the 60-meter range using a standard dipole, the output power of our transmitter must be set to approximately 9.15 W (with zero cable loss).

This is because the 15 W limit does not apply to the final power of the transceiver itself, but to the energy that is actually radiated into space. Since most antennas (even a simple dipole) concentrate energy in certain directions, they have a „gain“. EIRP takes into account this gain relative to a theoretical isotropic antenna (and it is measured in dBi). Let’s say we use a half-wave dipole for 60 m. The theoretical gain of a half-wave dipole in free space is 2.15 dBi. This means that the dipole radiates 1.64 times more in its maximum radiation direction than an isotropic antenna. To determine the allowed power at the transmitter output, we need to divide the defined power of 15 W by 1.64, which gives 9.146 𝑊. In real conditions, we also have losses in the feeder to the antenna. If they are, for example, 1 dB or 0.79 as a factor, we can slightly increase the power of the transceiver (to about 11.5 𝑊).

In short:

We, Bulgarian radio amateurs, should know that when operating on 60 m with a regular dipole, the transceiver power should not exceed 9.15 W, if there are no significant losses in the feeder. If you use an antenna with higher gain, the power should be reduced even more, and with antennas with losses (for example, shortened verticals or other compromise antennas) – the transceiver power can be increased, as long as the calculated EIRP remains within 15 W.

Why this limitation is only for the range 5351.5 – 5366.5 kHz I also cannot know, if this material is read by some knowledgeable employee of the Bulgarian Radio and Television Commission, maybe he will write some useful explanatory comments. My personal guess is that the 5351.5 – 5366.5 kHz band is the internationally agreed upon WRC-15 (World Radiocommunication Conference) frequency band, which is allocated to the amateur service on a secondary basis worldwide (Region 1). The 15W EIRP limit was adopted by the ITU to protect the fixed and mobile services (military, diplomatic, etc.), which are primary users. The rest of the band (5250-5450 kHz) is a national allocation that the Bulgarian Radio and Television Commission has specifically allowed for Bulgaria, and therefore the more liberal national rules (100W) apply there.

Of course, everyone can share their opinion in a comment! Especially if something is not as I have described it – I will be happy to make the necessary corrections.

Bibliography:

1. Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) – Rules for the use of radio frequency spectrum for radio equipment by amateur radio service, , Issued by the Communications Regulation Commission, Promulgated in the State Gazette No. 35 of May 10, 2022, amended and supplemented by the State Gazette. No. 64 of August 5, 2025.
2. IARU Region 1 – HF Manager’s Handbook, Version 9.0 – Section for the 5 MHz (60m) frequency plan.
3. ITU (International Telecommunication Union) – Final Acts WRC-15, World Radiocommunication Conference 2015, Geneva.
4. Bulgarian Amateur Radio Federation (BAFRF) – National Frequency Plan and Regulatory Framework for the 60-meter Band.
5. G4IFB, John Raydo – 60m Band Enthusiast’s Guide – (International resource for the specifics of 5 MHz operation).

Материалът Frequency range 5250 – 5450 kHz е публикуван за пръв път на Галя и Тони - Галанто.

What is a typical CW radio contact?

Here is a typical, slightly longer (Rag-Chewing*) CW contact (QSO) between Bulgarian station LZ3AI and American station W1ABC, using standard abbreviations:

Sample CW Radio Contact (QSO)

Most commonly used CW abbreviations:

• CQ: General call to all stations.
• DE: From / Here is.
• K: Invitation to transmit (to all stations).
• KN: Invitation to transmit (to the specified station only).
• RST: Report of signal strength (Readability/Strength/Tone).
• R: Received (Roger).
• TNX / TU: Thank you / Thank you.
• FB: Fine Business.
• DR: Dear
• OM: Friend, amateur radio operator (Old Man – used for a fellow amateur radio operator).
• ES: And.
• QTH: Location.
• QRU: I have nothing else for you.
• HW?: How do you take me? (How Copy?).
• AR: End of message.
• 73: Best regards.
• SK: End of contact (Silent Key).
• E E / TU E E: Final confirmation.

*Rag-chewing – amateur radio slang for a long, informal conversation or chat, a friendly conversation that goes beyond a short exchange of lines and covers a variety of topics, detailed discussions on the radio, from everyday life to hobbies, and is a major part of the social aspect of the hobby with all its remaining specificity.

73! de Tony, LZ3AI

Материалът What is a typical CW radio contact? е публикуван за пръв път на Галя и Тони - Галанто.

Basic one-time settings for Yaesu FTDX-10

I am not claiming that these are the best, most important or „only“.

These are the settings that I have made and with which I work successfully. They are made once and generally do not need to be changed, which is why I have called the publication „Basic one-time settings for Yaesu FTDX-10„. Some are simply initial or most frequently used values, it does not prevent them from being changed operationally.

Anyone who wishes can check which setting does what exactly or ask in a comment. I don’t plan to write this here, so as not to unnecessarily burden the publication. I will try to answer everyone.

I will separately publish the operational settings for operation in the different modes, and I will also put references here.

I am sure that you will quickly get used to the way it is written and what it means – the writing is analogous (or at least similar) to that in the operating instructions.

General basic settings

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <MY CALL> – home screen – callsign – up to 12 characters

[FUNC] <EXTENSION SETTING> <DATE&TIME> – date and time setting

(more about these two settings you can read here)

[RF/SQL] on the far right position

(maximum gain on HF – this does not mean that it should always be there – in any situation on the air, another position may be better and the audibility – also better, i.e. it is good to try it out operationally. But it is a good „initial“ position.)

Recommended initial settings related to the display

[CS] continuously {LEVEL} – for easy adjustment of the „grass“ with [CS]

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <SCOPE> <SCOPE CTR> <CARRIER>

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <SCOPE> < 2D DISP SENSITIVITY> <HI>

[FUNC] <DISPLAY SETTING> <SCOPE> <3DSS DISP SENSITIVITY> <HI>

Basic CW listening settings

[FUNC] <BK-IN DELAY> <200 ms> delay when returning to receive

[FUNC] <BK-IN> <OFF> must be turned on manually when transmitting CW

[FUNC] <CW PITCH> <750 Hz> (according to preference)

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <CW BK-IN TYPE> <SEMI>

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <CW FREQ DISPLAY> <PITCH OFFSET>

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <CW INDICATOR> <ON>

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <PC KEYING> <OFF>

[FUNC] <CW SPEED> <14> (this is 70 zn/min – according to preferences)

<CW OPERATION>

Basic settings for CW/DATA from external software via USB cable

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <DATA MOD SOURCE> <REAR>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <REAR SELECT> <USB>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <RPORT GAIN> <12>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE PSK/DATA> <RPTT SELECT> <RTS>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE PSK/DATA> <TX BPF SEL> <100-2900 Hz>

[FUNC] <OPERATING SETTINGS> <GENERAL> <CAT RTS> <OFF>

[FUNC] <OPERATING SETTINGS> <GENERAL> <CAT TIME OUT TIMER> <10>

[FUNC] <OPERATION SETTING> <GENERAL> <CAT RATE> <38400bps>

Setting the <PRESET> button for operation in digital modes

<MODE> <PRESET> and <DATA-U>

<MODE> <PRESET continuously> until the PRESET functions appear:

<PRESET> <CAT RTS > <OFF>

<PRESET> <CAT RATE > <34800bps>

<PRESET> <CAT TIME OUT TIMER> <10ms>

<PRESET> <LCUT FREQ> <100Hz>

<PRESET> <HCUTFREQ> <3200Hz>

<PRESET> <TX BPFSELECT> <100-2900Hz>

<PRESET> <REAR SELECT> <USB>

<PRESET> <RPORT GAIN> <12>

<PRESET> <RPORT SELECT> <RTS>

<PRESET> <AGC FAST DELAY> <160ms>

<PRESET> <AGC MID DELAY> <500ms>

<PRESET> <AGC SLOW DELAY> <1500ms>

<PRESET> <LCUT SLOPE> <18dB/oct>

<PRESET> <HCUT SLOPE> <18dB/oct>

<FT8-FT4-PSK-DATA OPERATION>

Installing software on the computer connected to the radio

A USB isolator is placed on the USB port in use for protection.

Install the FTDX-10 drivers from the Yaesu website https://www.yaesu.com.

Install and configure your preferred software (personally, I use JTDX Enchanced most often and prefer it – it is not suitable for competitions).

Additional software for accurate time is mandatory. (For example, NetTime http://www.timesynctool.com – I would not say that I recommend it, but I use it and I am satisfied).

Turn off the automatic time update from Windows itself.

Basic settings for SSB, AM, FM, PSK, DATA operation

[FUNC] <AMC LEVEL> <60>

[FUNC] <MIC EQ> <OFF>

[FUNC] <MIC GAIN> <30>

[FUNC] <OPERATING SETTINGS> <TX AUDIO> <AMC RELEASE TIME> <FAST>

[FUNC] <PROC LEVEL> <12>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE SSB> <SSB MOD SOURCE> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE SSB> <TX BPF SEL> <200-2800Hz> ? <50–3050 Hz>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE AM> <TX BPF SEL> <50-3050Hz>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE AM> <AM MOD SOURCE> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE FM> <FM MOD SOURCE> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTING> <MODE PSK/DATA> <TX BPF SEL> <100-2900Hz>

<SSB-AM-FM OPERATION>

SSB mode when using USB cable, software and speech from computer

(if this mode is not used, the values ​​are in orange)

<MODE> <DATA-U>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <SSB MOD SOURCE> <REAR> <MIC>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <REAR SELECT> <USB> <DATA>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <RPORT GAIN> <50> (according to software) <50>

[FUNC] <RADIO SETTINGS> <MODE SSB> <RPTT SELECT> <RTS> <DAKY>

I would be happy if you could share in a comment what the differences are with your settings, and also why you prefer them.

73!

Материалът Basic one-time settings of the Yaesu FTDX-10 е публикуван за пръв път на Галя и Тони - Галанто.

CW Operation

CW Operation Settings by Hearing

If you were working in digital modes before switching to CW, be sure to turn off SPLIT (if necessary), narrow the bandwidth and turn on transmission with the Morse code manipulator (and the automatic key if necessary). Depending on the range, you will also need to increase the frequency spectrum displayed on the display.

<BAND> (selectable according to preference)

Select desired frequency.

<MODE> <PRESET> <OFF>

<MODE> <CW-L> below 10.1 MHz without 5 Mhz or <MODE> <CW-U> on 5 Mhz, 10.1 MHz and above 10.1 MHz

[FUNC] <BK-IN> <ON> automatically turns on CW transmission

[FUNC] <KEYER> <OFF> for manual key or [FUNC] <KEYER> <ON> for auto key

[FUNC] <CW SPEED> <14> (keyer transmission speed – this is 70 bpm)

[FUNC] <MONI LEVEL> <15> (according to monitor volume preference)

<ATT> <OFF> (attenuator according to preference and IPO preamp)

<IPO> <AMP1> (according to preference)

<R.FIL> <500Hz>

<ACG><AUTO>

<TUNE> (press and hold until tuning begins)

<SPAN> <50k> or <100k> (width of the display image)

<CURSOR> <CENTER> <FIX> or <CURSOR> <CENTER> <FIX>

<CS> <outer knob> <adjust the „grass“ according to preferences> <CS>

Basic settings for CW operation with specialized software

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <PC KEYING> <DTR>

For CW operation in SSB mode (Caution – ignores BK-IN!)

[FUNC] <CW SETTING> <MODE CW> <CW AUTO MODE> <ON>

Screen capture

<MODE> continuously until double beep and „Screen Shot“ on the display

<BASIC ONE-TIME SETTINGS OF YAESU FTDX-10>

<OPERATION ON SSB-AM-FM>

<OPERATION OF FT8-FT4-PSK-DATA>

Материалът CW Operation – FTDX-10 е публикуван за пръв път на Галя и Тони - Галанто.