[CW] A viewpoint about CW "writing pens"
David J. Ring, Jr.
[email protected]
Tue, 21 Oct 2003 13:39:20 -0400
I don't know what you're talking about in your first paragraph, it makes
little sense to me.
I think you might be saying that speaking of writing with an ink-pen when
copying fast code somehow would add fuel to anti-CW people. I can't imagine
that being so at all.
I didn't say I was copying code with an Esterbrook Radio steel nib and a ink
well that were used in the early twentieth century. I HAVE done that - just
because I found them at a stationery store, and wanted to do something
"authentic" regarding my job as "Sparks". When signals were weak in the
early days of crystal detectors, the MILL would make too much noise to still
be able to hear the spark signals, so they had to copy weaker signals with a
pen.
The problem with pencils - at least in my hand - is that they can break and
you will be forced to reach for a spare. When I was taking my 25 wpm test,
I didn't want to loose several letters. I try to avoid any problem. I
usually copy solid, but something could have distracted me, or the FCC could
have sent a deliberately misspelled word - as they were wont to do - and I
might stumble in my copy. If I broke my pencil after such a stumble, I
would probably loose a few letters in the copy. Letters groups like IER or
HESE are very troublesome for me with a pen or pencil at 25 wpm - the
letters come very fast as they are just dots (or mainly so) but the letters
have more strokes.
The only other writing tool at the time was the fiber tip marker "FLAIR" -
which is still on the market. If roller balls were being made, I probably
tested them, but found the Write Bros to actually write faster. The roller
balls of 2000 are much better than the roller balls of 1980.
The other reason for choosing ink over graphite is the darkness of the
writing - black ink is much darker than a #2 pencil, which is quite soft,
needs sharpening or replacing, and has the annoying habit of breaking just
when I need it most.
Best Wishes,
David Ring
N1EA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pedro J. Santa" <[email protected]>
To: "David J. Ring, Jr." <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>;
<[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 9:29 PM
Subject: [CW] A viewpoint about CW "writing pens"
Hi all:
I respect the question about "pens" and the suggestion in response as
reflecting legitimate areas of conversation among Morse Code operators.
However, I must note that this colloquy about which "ink pens" are best for
writing "fast" when copying "fast" CW only adds fuel to the motor of our
detractors, and really smacks off dinosaur-emitted shrieks in an era that
seems will be increasingly controlled by "mammals".
Well, I, for one, took my 20 WPM Morse test with a pencil; spent one or
two years "copying" on paper and wasting notebooks using whatever writing
instrument I found at my reach in the shack (the rollerballs seemed perfect
for that stage of the Morse operation) but eventually ended up writing down
only name, call, and those other few words that would allow me to recapture
a relevant link in the QSO--the main part of "copying" eventually staying
inside the brain. Be that as it may, I hope that this inquiry about "ink
pens" does not refer to those "fountain pens" (of which I am very fond --to
the point I keep a modest fountain pen collection) and I always use to sign
final papers in my job. As much as I love those, they can't substitute
rollerballs nor even pencils when it comes to fast, unreliable jotting down
of notes in your Morse Code notebook.
Devoting dialogues ad nauseam to "technical" minutiae dealing with how
mechanical crutches help us with Morse Code copy only serves to prove the
point of those coveting our annihilation as radio operators, the demise of
our favorite mode, and the elimination of our assigned band segments. I
recognize that romance remains part and parcel of the passion of those who
cherish the past, but I propose that modern and eternal Morse operation does
not need to rely on crutches (such as pens, ballpoints, pencils, notebooks,
erasers etc...) which, albeit "classical", "romantic", and very relevant
today for many, are really antiquated, obsolete and exposed to legitimate
deprecation by our strong detractors worldwide--including those at "home".
73 Pedro KP3X..
----- Original Message -----
From: "David J. Ring, Jr." <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 12:34 AM
Subject: Re: [CW] writing pens
> I did a comparison 20 years ago when I needed to take my 25 wpm code test
in
> front of the FCC in Boston for my 1st class telegraph license.
>
> I actually timed myself and found out which pen I could copy 25 wpm with -
> the winner: Write Bros. pen.
>
> I also found the "other" test.
>
> To write fast, a pen (or pencil) must write a solid line under its own
> weight. That is by taking the top of the pen in your fingers and draging
it
> across a piece of paper. NO pressure is on the pen other than its own
> weight.
>
> Pens that do this are: Uniball roller writers and Standford roller
writers.
>
> TRY before you buy - you will immediately see the difference.
>
> 73
>
> DR
>
> David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Cc: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 10:55 PM
> Subject: [CW] writing pens
>
>
> > At one time here on this cw site! There were some comments on the best
ink
> > pens for coping fast code. That were better that most, for having very
> little
> > drag. Can't remember the name. One may have been (write bros) ? Couldn't
> find on
> > Archives. Anyone know ? Thanks. Very good site for us who love CW. For
> those
> > that don't like CW. Don't be knocking CW here. Stay on the phone bands.
> >
> >
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