[Elecraft] Good morse key?

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I was taught "American style" straight-key sending to lay my arm on the desk
with and keep my wrist relaxed but straight. The whole forearm moves to
operate the key with the bending taking place at the elbow.

In the merchant marine and Army radio schools, moving the wrist was
considered the quickest way to get a "glass arm" that would cripple the
individual and prevent further sending (I suspect the medics would call the
problem it caused "carpal tunnel syndrome" today).

Similarly, a bug (or keyer paddle, I suppose) was operated by rolling the
forearm back and forth, not by pressing with the fingers. The fingers
remained relaxed but fixed in position, the space between them whatever is
comfortable to accommodate the finger pads as the hand and arm rolled back
and forth to operate the dit or dah levers.   

Using those techniques, a good operator can send strings of messages for an
hour or more at a time without taking a break or being fatigued. I'd never
try that moving my wrist or fingers!

Ham setups today tend to be different. In commercial CW it was suicide to
have the key contacts spaced closely or the spring tension light. Often we
were sending on a moving, vibrating ship, in a bouncing airplane or some
other unstable surface. The solution was to open up the gap on the key and
tighten the spring. Most keys were left that way. Modern hams seem to like
very close spaced contacts that can be manipulated by a soft touch of the
finger tips. That seems to work very well for them, but it's definitely a
relatively *new* technique. 

The good side of the "old" system was that we could send consistently good
CW even if the key was stiff with a heavy spring or if it had had worn
pivots instead of precision bearings, or even if it lacked a single shiny
chrome or polished brass part <G>. 

Ron AC7AC


-----Original Message-----
Darwin, Keith wrote:
> American style is done with the forearm on the desk and sending is 
> done by rocking the hand up & down, pivoting at the wrist.
> 
> European sending starts with the key at the front edge of the desk. 
> Your upper arm hangs at your side, elbow close to your rig cage.

I believe it was G.B Shaw who once said: "England and America are two 
countries separated by a common language."  So, we can now add to that, 
"and by morse sending technique?"

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2008 Cal QSO Party  4-5 Oct 08
- www.cqp.org