Thinking Ahead to Straight Key Night

These two rigs sit in my shack all year, but I really only use them on new year's day. I'm talking about my home brew Novice Transmitter and Receiver.

Practically speaking, the transmitter isn't terribly useful. Being crystal controlled, you can't hunt around the band and answer someone -- you must call CQ. And it only covers 40m. 40m is a great band, but not everything happens there.

The receiver would be more practical to use -- it's a pretty nice superhet, with a narrow CW filter. But, really, it's designed for use with the transmitter, so it too, sits idle on the shelf.

2013 will be the seventh year I've operated Straight Key Night with this transmitter. Frankly, I'm considering cheating. Instead of using my old Japanese J-38-style clone, I'm thinking of using the Mini-MOS keyer. The whole idea of Straight Key Night is to return to our roots. Why not use this over venerable equipment? I also wonder how the transmitter will sound being keyed electronically, instead of mechanically.

If I do end up using the keyer, I'll have to disqualify myself.