[CW] Fast hand speed - over 25 wpm
Buck - N4PGW
n4pgw-list1 at towncorp.net
Tue May 17 09:01:38 EDT 2005
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David J. Ring, Jr. [mailto:n1ea at arrl.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 1:29 AM
> To: Buck - N4PGW; CW at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [CW] Fast hand speed - over 25 wpm
>
> I, for one, would love to hear the story of how you learned of this
> technique - this was often used in the 1930s and '40s. I've seen many
> pictures of mid-West stations with a telegraph key mounted on the right
> side
> of the radio cabinet, and it was manipulated by a motion similar to that
> of
> a bug: The hand was laid with the side of the hand resting on the
> tabletop,
> the fingers curled inward touching the knob button and tapping it. Some
> people merely used the same posture as sending "topside" on the key, but
> just doing it towards the left.
>
> How did you learn this? Was it a traffic handler? An old-timer?
>
> I am sure it would be an interesting story, Buck.
>
> 73
>
> David Ring N1EA
I am afraid you will be disappointed. I first learned about it by reading
about it possibly in a QST about 1978 when I was a novice. I had previously
had the key glued to the desk with Elmer's glue and glued it to the side of
the receiver when I learned that it was easier on the hand and/or wrist.
The way I do it today is to use the curled fingers so I guess I did that
then. Today, instead of a strait key, I use the right paddle of my keyer
and set my ic-706 keyer to 'off'.
A few months ago, I learned that there was a method of mounting two strait
keys back to back and alternating between each one. They were similar to an
iambic paddle but there was no keyer. I wasn't that sophisticated but it
would have been a more interesting story for sure.
73
Buck
N4PGW
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