[CW] Positioning of any side to side key device and speed/fatigue during sending

Tue Aug 18 22:57:51 EDT 2020

     I thought they might sometimes have been fastened because 
some have holes for a bolt, for instance the TAC bugs and I have 
seen others where a hole has been drilled. I am aware the keys 
were the property of the operators and not either the telegraph 
or radio company. I suspect on a ship if its rolling or bouncing 
around enough to make a bug slide around its going to make the 
key impossible to use. I have wedge plugs for most of my bugs. In 
my teens I saw pictures of them but didn't know what they were 
for. Evidently they are derived from a plug used for wire 
telegraph patching.
    I have been in heavy seas once. On an English channel ferry 
in a heavy storm. I am a pretty good sailor although I had bad 
flu at the time. I just sat still and watched other passengers 
flying around.
    I have never been a professional sailor but have always loved 
boats and the sea. From what I hear it can be a tough life.

On 8/18/2020 4:08 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. wrote:
> Semi-automatic keys (bugs) were never fastened to the operating desk
> in commercial wire or wireless stations.  These type keys were the
> property of the (radio-)telegraphist and were kept when not in use in
> an employer provided cubby hole where he would also keep (for
> radiotelegraphy) any personal headphones he preferred.
>
> Semi-automatic keys were equipped with either a cord with a phone jack
> to plug into an employer furnished jack to the line/keyline, or a cord
> and wedge to insert into the station key.  Some common telegraph keys
> had a "wedge slot" on the left hand side that were designed for this
> purpose, if the key lacked this, it often had a shorting switch where
> there was something similar to the wedge slot, where the wedge could
> be inserted.
>
> I hesitate to include "double speed keys" like those made by J.H.
> Bunnell, or imitators  along with my remarks about semi-automatic keys
> because although Bunnell sold bases for his DSK's so few have
> survived, and Bunnell sold the DSK without the base, unlike the
> Vibroplex (and other) keys which always had a base. If many bases
> were still available, I'd say that most were used with bases, but since
> those bases are extremely rare, I don't know if I can use that as an
> indication of how these keys were used.  I have seen the Bunnell Spark
> Double Speed Key bolted down to a operating desk and the Bunnell
> keys all came with holes to bolt (or screw) the keys down with the
> exception of their semi-automatic keys which were furnished with a
> base, as were all the other semi-automatic keys ever made. None of
> those were screwed down and none have holes to screw them down.
>
> In Wire Telegraph stations, such as train depots, and Western Union
> offices, I've nearly always seen the key attached to the operating desk,
> however with wireless telegraph stations - even from the beginning the
> keys were not attached.  The Olympia class ships (Olympia, Titanic,
> Brittannic) of the early 1910s all had movable keys, most of the ships
> I worked on with post 1970 radio stations had movable keys, those with
> 1940 to 1960 radio stations often had fixed attached hand keys but all
> had those with a short length of cable and a phone plug into a jack
> panel which could be removed and a different key like a radio officer's
> personal key inserted.  I myself kept my Vibroplex, and Trimm
> Professional headset with two straight cords (rather than the station supplied
> "Y" cord which connected each side to the source of energization) which
> allowed me to plug one headset into one receiver (500 kHz) and the other to
> a different receiver (which I tuned to receive the ship on her working frequency
> thus keeping a continuous watch with one ear on 500 kHz for any calls or SOS.)
>
> I found it easiest to send on both a hand key and a bug with my elbow
> bent and my arm making about 45 to 60 degrees from straight in
> front of me.  It just seemed natural.  I never tested myself to see if
> I could send faster, but I knew it was more comfortable, and that's
> important when you have a long message of perhaps 900 words that had
> to go out by the end of mid-day watch.
>
> 73
> DR
> N1EA
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 18, 2020 at 4:57 PM Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>        I am not sure what you are asking but here goes.
>>      Straight keys were often screwed down to the operating desk
>> or table generally in line with the table. Bugs were never
>> supplied by commercial stations but were the personal property of
>> the operators. They were sometimes fastened to the operating
>> surface but often just sat free. A straight key would be used in
>> whatever position it was fixed but a bug could be moved around to
>> wherever was comfortable or convenient. I find I often place it
>> at an angle so my arm faces inward but not always. Where I have a
>> movable straight key I often place it about the same way, maybe
>> 10 o'clock. Its a matter of muscle tension. Also, in my old
>> station I had the straight key mounted on a fairly large sheet of
>> Bakelite and that taped to the desk top facing the front of the
>> desk but I often swiveled my chair to get my arm at an angle. If
>> you sit at a table and put your arms on it with your elbows on
>> the table your forearms will tend to rest inward at an angle
>> where the muscles are relaxed. I think many put the key in line
>> with that. As far as historical practice I don't know and have
>> only pictures to go by.
>>
>>
>> On 8/18/2020 1:20 PM, Bill Lanahan wrote:
>>> GM
>>>
>>> I certainly might be wrong here but the vast majority of
>>> photos, videos, or seeing people send in person - my
>>> observation is whether straight key or not,
>>> the key placement is pretty much at what I'd call 12:00
>>> position, like a handshake - true?
>>>
>>> The reason I ask is I saw a video a ways back with very young
>>> kids (old soveit bloc) sending so fast I could barely tell a
>>> dit from a dah (again I'm not a great judge)
>>> but I noticed the paddle was at about 10:00 on the arc as if
>>> the palm was used to push it from 12:00 to 10:00. (assuming
>>> right-hand-sender)
>>>
>>> I was wondering if this was how they could send so fast? My
>>> experiment without a device, is to place your sending arm at
>>> 12:00, then put your non-sending hand cupped over the deltoid
>>> of the sending shoulder. For ME, even at 12:00 there is a fair
>>> amount of deltoid tension. Going further toward 1:00 it goes up
>>> dramatically.
>>> Conversely sweeping down to about 30 degrees or 10:00 (again
>>> assuming right handed)  - there is almost no tension.
>>>
>>>  From some old martials arts days - no tension means faster
>>> muscle movement and less fatigue.
>>>
>>> Any truth for telegraphy? I don't ever expect to be a spend
>>> demon, but would like to start out with the best habits.
>>>
>>> Tnx, 73
>>> wa2nfn - Bill
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>> --
>> Richard Knoppow
>> 1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
>> WB6KBL
>>
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-- 
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL