[Fists] Iambic and similar messages

[Fred Adsit]

Since this subject is turning into a brag fest, how about one major "round
two" of this whole topic, taking a survey of all members of FISTS plus
anyone else who would like to weigh in on it? What would result is a
massive spreadsheet showing all kinds and brands of keying devices. Would
it really mean anything? I really doubt it. Some trends might be there,
such as the original statement, as I recall, that hardly anyone uses
iambic keying. Maybe true, maybe not. WHO CARES? (we all do, but not if it
just says " I like such & such)

If you know of a key that someone should not buy for some good reason,
that would be relatively significant. So here is an example of that. Don't
loosen an Ameco hand key too far. The ball bearings will roll out, and you
will be left with a black knob that might be handy. The rest will be junk.
This happened to me. The ludicrous 'fact' is this. It had more snap to it,
was the best cotton-pickin' hand key I ever used, in my opinion. Great
action, lousy design, dirt cheap, no big loss, but just be warned. Don't
let the bearings roll all over the place, and they logically do, and get
lost, when even a bearing factory here in Syracuse can not match them with
any they produce.

Take the time to use Google or any search engine of your choice, and go
take a look -- it will take you many, many hours, looking at keys -
thousands of kinds of keys - and very, very good writeups about the whole
subject of CW.

And then there's the 3rd edition of The Art & Skill of Radio-Telegaphy you
can download, and now the 4th edition which has mostly the same info but
is far better written and indexed and includes an intro by Bill's brother.
I don't have that latest one yet - I suppose I do not need it now, but I
will no doubt get it, and learn from it, and definitely have a far easier
time finding subject matter in it..

All this is more informative about keys and the code in general than what
I seem to have started by posting on here.

When all is said and done, you will do it your way, you will have some
proficiency limits, and you will never know for sure if you are done with
checking out one single aspect of the world's simplest communications
mode - the device you like for merely Sending it.

And what will it prove? Nothing much. Just that if what you send with is
that fascinating or - for some - worth so much that buying ancient keys
just for a collection is a phobia, then Morse Code, made practical by a
man named Vail, is perhaps the most fascinating topic in ham radio. Long
live "CW".

73
ZUT!
Fred Adsit, NY2V - FISTS 1293
ex-W2ZOJ - 1948
W2ZOJ - ZUT ARC -FISTS 7900
ZUT: "CW Forever" use approved by
Coast Guard CW Operators Assoc.

----- Original Message ----- 
(lots of them)

Subject: [Fists] Iambic (and similar)

 As for this next mess:

"--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
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The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML or had an
attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.

To learn how to post in Plain-Text go to:
http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---"

Would you who can't figure this out, please read the above until you CAN
understand it? TNX.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all. May it be safe, unflooded, not
blown apart by winds or wrecked by quakes or shot up by guns. May it be a
very special day of honoring all those who have died so that we may have a
free country  -- one that allows us to have our own ham stations and to
freely discuss what we do, in a communications medium that has
revolutionized the sharing of ham radio information for all who have
access to a computer. For those who do not have all the USA's freedoms, I
pray someday you will -- no matter what type of government you have, no
matter your color, no matter your religious beliefs. SK AR N