[CW] What is a Sideswiper, or Cootie Key?

[Richard Knoppow]

     My main mentor (I hate the term elmer) used a side-swiper. 
He used the method of continuous keying. I don't think he changed 
direction at the ends of words but am not sure. He had used SS 
keys for decades. His was home made but eventually someone gave 
him a Bunnell key. I tried to learn the same method but had 
learned to use a bug when I was a kid. Its still more comfortable 
than a straight key regardless of method although method may 
affect speed. If you stick your arms straight out you will find 
your hands naturally face each other with thumbs up. The position 
required by a straight key (or normal typewriter keyboard) had 
the palms down and wrists twisted. You can feel the strain. SS 
and bugs put the operating hand in natural position without the 
strain.
     A while back I decided to get a SS but was astonished at the 
prices they get. Collector's items rather than usable keys. Too 
rich for my blood so I will have to make one. They are easy 
enough to make as pointed out below.

On 4/8/2018 8:04 AM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote:
>  From Cootie lover, Mike Pilgrim, K5MP.
> 
> Let's  begin by describing “What is  a “cootie key”, as follows: 
>   Some of the other names for a cootie key might be more 
> familiar– sideswiper, doublespeed key, and slap key. The simplest 
> definition is a double-sided straight key, operated horizontally. 
> Around 1910, during the heyday of manual telegraphy, it was 
> common for telegraphers to spend entire shifts either sending or 
> receiving, often at the same speed and with the same operator on 
> the other end of the line.
> 
> The incidence of RSI ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 
> Repetitive_strain_injury ) or “glass fist” became a serious problem.
> 
> The solution was to eliminate the vertical motion of the wrist 
> typical of straight key operation and replace it with a 
> horizontal movement of the entire hand. The two devices developed 
> with this in mind were the “bug” or semi-automatic key, and the 
> “cootie key.” Both feature a horizontal motion in which the lever 
> is held (not tapped). The thumb and fingers do not flex and the 
> hand is rocked back and forth on the “heel” of the palm.
> 
> Since there is no flexing of fingers or wrist, there is very 
> little chance of RSI. The cootie key consists of a single lever 
> which can be swung back and forth between two contacts, either of 
> which will close the circuit like a straight key. Thus the return 
> stroke of a dot or a dash can become the stroke of the following 
> element, almost doubling the speed of operation. You start each 
> character on one side, and each subsequent dot or dash is made on 
> the opposite side, in a back and forth motion.
> 
> If you’d like more information about using a cootie key, read 
> Jerry Bartachek’s “The Art of Side-Swipery.” 
> http://www.mtechnologies.com/ cootie.htm or see 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfLrgYHIpjo A cootie key can 
> easily be made using a hacksaw blade. Bugs were very expensive by 
> comparison, so most cootie keys were home-made. The few 
> commercial cootie keys were also relatively expensive and with a 
> few exceptions are very hard to find today.

-- 
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL