[CW] RE: [MorseCode] Help answering a question... please

[George, W5YR]

Many radios of that era had a Send/Receive switch. In Send, the dynamotor
was started and possibly the transmitter tube filaments were lighted but
they usually stayed on unless the transmitter was large and drew a lot of
filament current.

The mike key merely connected the mic into the circuit so that current could
flow through its carbon element and a switch was actuated that operated the
changeover transmit/receive relays.

So, based on that common arrangement in the 30's, I see that it is entirely
feasible to send CW by keying the mic button. Since the rig was AM, the
carrier would be keyed on and off and whenever the button was up the
receiver would be activated - real QSK!   <:}

As to speed, when times get rough and your life is on the line, you can
really bang out the code on a T-17 mic button (WW2 mic - not what Amelia
had)!

73/72, George
Amateur Radio W5YR -  the Yellow Rose of Texas
Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13QE
"Starting the 58th year and it just keeps getting better!"
w5yr@att.net





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Seneker" <dougseneker@centurytel.net>
To: <nw7us@hfradio.org>; "'CW'" <cw@mailman.qth.net>; "'MorseCode'"
<morsecode@mailman.qth.net>
Cc: <acaldwell@aol.com>
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 10:19 AM
Subject: [CW] RE: [MorseCode] Help answering a question... please


> Ref. Earhart sending CW with a mike button;  When I started as a cop in
> the KC area some cars still used the old Motorola 30-D "twin coffin"
> radios with a dynamotor.  To get a message out you had to "press, wait,
> then talk" because they simply wouldn't transmit until the dynamotor
> revved-up.  The first word or two would be lost if you didn't wait.  It
> was a practice to "click" or double-click the mike button as a greeting
> to a buddy, or as an informal comment or acknowledgement of some air
> traffic.  You simply couldn't do the "clicks" if you were stuck with a
> dynamotor unit.  I don't see how one could send CW with the mike button
> unless it was SUPER, SUPER slow, maybe 1 or 2 WPM?   Doug Seneker, n0wan