[CW] Article in 73 Magazine by Bob Shrader, W6BNB (SK) about Keys!
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
Mon Sep 2 00:57:03 EDT 2019
Where its comfortable. Might have to move it around if you
get fatigued sending. I don't think there is an "approved"
position as with typing. There are military training manuals that
show where the key should be. Take this with quite a bit of salt.
On 9/1/2019 6:55 PM, Bill Lanahan wrote:
> Before I start resurrecting my cw sending after a very long
> hiatus, and causing a muscle issue or just a bad habit I’m
> wondering about position of bug or keyed paddle to your body. In
> my ancient and limited experience, it seemed the key or bug was
> on the desk in sort of the “shake hands position” but a while
> back someplace I saw s YouTube of youngsters in Belarus(?) with
> the paddle in front of their abdomen, and with the paddle arm
> almost parallel to the “shake hands” position - their speed was
> significant. Do you have any recommendations ? BTW if I place my
> left hand on my right deltoid I notice significant tension; as I
> rotate to the parallel position it seems a lot less.
>
> Any input greatly appreciated
>
> 73
> Bill
>
> On Sun, Sep 1, 2019 at 4:13 PM Chris R. NW6V <chrisrut7 at gmail.com
> <mailto:chrisrut7 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Hi Richard.
>
> You said: "I know the "vibrating" method and could do it when
> I was younger. It does use the forearm muscles. I found it
> very fatiguing."
>
> If you found it too fatiguing, we may be speaking of
> different things. But words are tough, so to - hopefully -
> clarify:
>
> Forearm muscles come in two varieties, flexors and extensors,
> and they are in three primary groups based on the joint:
> elbow, wrist, and fingers.
>
> My technique depends heavily on the muscles which flex and
> extend the elbow; specifically the various "radialis" muscles
> counterbalanced by the "triceps" muscles on the back of the
> upper arm.
>
> The flexors and extensors of the wrist and fingers hold the
> wrist and finger joints in relaxed tension as a "springy arm"
> attached to that upper arm lever. They don't do all that much
> work in the method I'm describing and don't tire rapidly. The
> fingers are never deliberately "flexed" as in typing.
> image.png
> **//___^
> That forearm, the "springy lever" is almost like the lever
> arm of a bug. The upper arm makes the beat, and the forearm
> taps out (vibrates) the tune - modulated by complex flexing
> of the wrist and fingers. The muscles are more involved in
> returning the wrist and fingers to their neutral positions,
> than moving them to flexed positions.
>
> As another detail: I use what I call "modified American"
> technique - my elbow is on the arm of an office chair, but
> only the fingers touch the key. No part of the forearm ever
> rests on the desk; the keys are close to the edge, European
> style, and about level with arm of the chair. The contact gap
> is very small - about .0015" on my Frattini.
> ////////
> As a point of interest regarding technique: after winning
> that radiosport contest in 2016 at 30+, I got to wondering
> how I might get to 35 - or better yet - 36... the notion of a
> Guinness Book world record was appealing. So in the quest for
> more speed I decided to experiment - and tried something
> described in an old army training film available on-line:
> holding the wrist horizontal, so you can balance a quarter on
> the back of your hand (my technique holds the wrist closer to
> a 45 degree angle, in order to better engage those radialis
> muscles - similar to holding your arm to shake hands). Long
> story short, I tried doing some high-speed work with a flat
> wrist - and within 15 minutes pulled the radialis muscle
> where it inserts into the humorous! Doh!
>
> That was three years ago, and it still gets sore if I'm not
> careful - and I don't care to go much above 25 wpm on a hand
> key ever since.
>
> So much for THAT officially sanctioned suggestion.
> **//___^
> Ironically, that injury is what got me using bugs more - and
> I got hooked on rag-chewing with a bug :-)
>
> Surprisingly, I see a lot of similarities between my hand key
> and bug techniques. On the bug, it's a combination of
> wrist-roll and finger flexing, sometimes leaning more heavily
> toward one than the other. But in all cases the motion is
> fairly constrained - my hand and fingers are not moving in
> any exaggerated way, or flying all over the place. The
> hand-speed developed on the SK directly translates hand-speed
> on the bug, which means crisper code and fewer "scratchy
> dits" or bongy" dahs due to contact bounce. But it also means
> the forces are pretty high: my bugs need to be very non-slip
> or they'll be all over the place.
>
> I really do intend to make videos of this one of these days.
>
> 73 Chris NW6V
>
> On Sun, Sep 1, 2019 at 10:05 AM Richard Knoppow
> <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com <mailto:1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>> wrote:
>
> This is a very interesting post. I know the
> "vibrating"
> method and could do it when I was younger. It does use the
> forearm muscles. I found it very fatiguing. I also think the
> adjustment of the key, i.e. gap and tension, can make a huge
> difference.
> I am curious about the difference in muscle use
> between
> sending on a straight key, typing (on a mechanical
> machine) and
> playing the piano. Typing is done almost entirely with the
> fingers. The finger muscles are in the forearm but seem
> to be
> different from those used to operate the key. Playing the
> piano
> seems to use a much greater variety of muscles. My carpal
> tunnel
> problems were mostly from typing. On any kind of keyboard
> but
> perhaps mostly from the computer. That may be because I
> use the
> computer keyboard much more than a mechanical typewriter.
> Before
> my surgery my left hand would become so painful I had to
> stop. My
> right hand has never been this bad but I am close to
> getting it
> done too.
> There are at least two techniques for using a bug:
> one uses
> mostly the fingers and the other a wrist motion with little
> finger movement. I mostly use the second.
>
> On 9/1/2019 7:34 AM, Chris R. NW6V wrote:
> > Howdy there DR.
> >
> > Thanks a bunch for putting up W6BNB's article. It
> contains a
> > wealth of information.
> >
> > One thing however: his description of how to send with
> a straight
> > key is VERY different from my own technique - and in
> my opinion,
> > may be at the root of many of the "glass arm" reports
> that drive
> > people away from hand keys, and cause "glass arm."
> >
> > Having been clocked at 30+ WPM on a straight key
> (plain text
> > equivalent) in a radiosport contest (which I won) I am
> one of
> > those ops he speaks of who can "vibrate" their fingers
> at high
> > speeds. But fact is, the fingers aren't what's doing the
> > vibrating! At least the muscles that control the
> fingers - the
> > forearm muscles - aren't what's causing the vibrating
> - they hold
> > the wrist and fingers in dynamic tension - like the
> mainspring of
> > a bug holds the contact spring - the fingers thus
> "vibrate" when
> > hit with the impetus of the muscles of the upper arm -
> the biceps
> > and triceps!
> >
> > There is NO thought whatsoever of "moving the
> fingers." It's more
> > like cracking a whip composed of upper arm, forearm,
> wrist and
> > hand - with fingers at the end - than shuffling
> through a stack
> > of file folders with one's finger tips. And my wrist
> motion is
> > the opposite of what he describes - my wrist tends to
> be moving
> > down on contact closures - not up.
> >
> > I admit the possibility that my technique may be
> entirely unique
> > and entirely my own, and "right" only for me. But
> again, so many
> > people find the SK a challenge, I have long suspected
> they are
> > being taught ergonomically incorrect techniques (I have a
> > professional background in ergonomics).
> >
> > Perhaps I'll have the time and resources to make vides
> about
> > technique some day. I'm hoping to do a seminar on
> SK/Bug use and
> > adjustment at next year's Seapac conference.
> >
> > 73 Chris NW6V
>
>
> --
> Richard Knoppow
> 1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com <mailto:1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
> WB6KBL
> ______________________________________________________________
> CW mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net <mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net>
> CW List ARCHIVES: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/
> Unsubcribe send email to
> cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net
> <mailto:cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net>
> Subscribe send email to cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net
> <mailto:cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net>
> Support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> =30=
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> CW mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net <mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net>
> CW List ARCHIVES: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/
> Unsubcribe send email to
> cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net
> <mailto:cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net>
> Subscribe send email to cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net
> <mailto:cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net>
> Support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> =30=
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> CW mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net
> CW List ARCHIVES: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/
> Unsubcribe send email to
> cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net
> Subscribe send email to cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net
> Support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> =30=
>
--
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL
More information about the CW
mailing list