[CW] Cootie Sending

[David J. Ring Jr - N1EA]

Hi Fred,

(previous subject was titled:  Re: [CW] Re: [Fists] Which iambic paddle for
a beginner.

I just wanted to add one comment to your great write up on the sideswiper.

When operating the cootie key, the arm rocks LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT and
continues back and forth - never changine to the same side twice.

LRLRLRLRLR or RLRLRLRL - either is fine - but don't "stutter" by going
LRRLLR it produces a jerky swing.  I found that was a problem I had to
overcome.

When practicing, send each letter and start on the LEFT - then do the same
letter but starting on the RIGHT.

This will really help.  I've noticed that sometimes I freeze up and linger
on the "dash" side when I should realize that there is NO dash side on the
cootie!!!

Dashes are made on both sides, dots are made on both sides - the key works
smoothly by going LRLRLRLRLRLRLR all day.

But I've really started to improve by practicing sending each letter
(number) by starting alternately on the LEFT then on the RIGHT side.

73

David Ring
N1EA
(L RLRLRLR)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Adsit" <ny2v@earthlink.net>
> Someone who was starting after many years away from CW also saw my comment
> about a sideswiper made from a hacksaw blade. The latest on that was, he
> said it seemed like a hand key an its side. He misunderstands. For the
> uninitiated, here goes a bit of bandwidth. The sideswiper has two hot
> contacts and one center ground contact. To send R, you swing left (right
> is fine, just be consistent), right and hold for the longer dah, and left
> for a dit. For a K, it would be left long, right short, left long. It is a
> smooth back and forth motion and leads more than any other device to a
> recognizable fist, often called a lake erie or banana boat swing. It is
> music to the ears of some. I used to listen to two nearby hams talk about
> everything you can imagine almost every afternoon on 80 CW. One was a
> keyer speed demon, the other an old-time owner of dozens (scores?) of
> sideswipers. He sent at maybe 15 wpm and it was really more like music.
> The contrast was striking and funny. Anyone who has not experienced this,
> or say working off the auroral curtain on the low end of 2M, has missed a
> lot - it is all about the much maligned term "magic" of CW. To me it will
> always be the best mode there is. Ham radio with no familiarity with its
> magical heritage is, to me, not ham radio.
>
> 73
> ZUT!
> Fred Adsit, NY2V - FISTS 1293
> ex-W2ZOJ - 1948
> W2ZOJ - ZUT ARC -FISTS 7900
> ZUT: "CW Forever" use approved by
> Coast Guard CW Operators Assoc.
> Signs Of The Times.. one well-known glossy catalog lists only one
> Vibroplex key - the Presentation. When I decided to buy a BY-1 again, I
> called a dealer in an entirely different ham product for the most part. I
> wanted one and he wanted to cut a deal and sell all six he had left. He
> was a very crochety fellow I thought. What have we come to? Most don't
> seem to care. They did not care when the original FCC proposals for change
> came out, and so we have what was asked for. It is hardly that simple but
> it is close enough to the truth. CW contests do bring out hordes of good
> operators, so the mode is not dead - not yet.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Daniel Metzger
> To: GRogers2@aol.com
> Cc: fists@mailman.qth.net
> Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 10:28 AM
> Subject: Re: [Fists] Which iambic paddle for a beginner.
>
>
> > which iambic would be the best<
>
> Benchers give me a pain.  Feels like butterfly wings.  I prefer the more
> substantial feel of the old Vibroplex.  Note, I use a bug and a side
> swiper, as well as a paddle, so that may be why I like the heavy feel.
>
> BTW, does anybody REALLY use iambic keying?  I see lots of iambic (dual
> lever) paddles being sold, but everybody I know actually uses them in
> single-lever mode.
>
> Dan, K8JWR
>
>
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