[GreenKeys] New Video! Paper Tape "Wheel" as KSM

[Richard Dillman]

Since almost the beginning of maritime Morse communications coast stations have sent the "wheel" whenever they were not engaged in sending and receiving messages.  

The wheel sent a repeating message stating that the station was open for business and listening for ships.  The original wheels were rotating disks with notches used to key the Morse message.  Some stations used amazing contraptions of motors, shafts, gears and microswitches to perform the task.  One of these has been preserved at WLO.  Later, punched paper tape was used to send the wheel and also longer prepared messages like weather and press.  Kleinschmidt was the preferred brand of punch.  These looked something like typewriters and were housed in beautiful rosewood cases.  Some had Teletype name plates but were invariably referred to as the "Klein".  The tapes were read by keying heads made my Boehme, Creed and others.  In more modern times the wheel was generated by an electronic keyboard.

Wheels are rarely heard today.  HLO, HLW and other coast stations in Korea still hold forth along with XSG in China.  And of course the KSM wheel may be heard every Saturday.

The MRHS has several Kleinschmidts and Boehmes in inventory.  Recently we had the great good fortune to find someone not only willing but qualified to work on these machines for us.  One by one we are passing them through his hands.

As of this Saturday, 4 July, a newly overhauled Klein and a Boehme were brought to KSM and put into service.  These will be used to send the KPH wheel on Night of Nights X on Sunday 12 July.  Today we used them to send the KSM wheel to test the system.  They both worked like a charm.  You can see them in operation in a YouTube video at the URL below.

When making the loop of tape for the wheel, custom and tradition demand that LePages mucilage be used to join the two ends.  The problem is that LePages has not made the needed item for a decade and more.  We have one bottle of the original KPH LePages mucilage left.  But today we also took delivery of two new bottles of mucilage that we had to import from Canada!

SPECIAL REQUEST: The other expendable we need besides mucilage is the paper tape used by the system.  Actually, we have a lot on hand.  But it is old and brittle and tends to break when drawn through the Klein.  If anyone can lead us to the paper tape we need or to a company that is willing to take on a special order we would be very grateful.  The tape is 15/32" wide on a 2" hub.

Now... on to the video.  See it at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWtdHKrxGfA

Take a look at our other videos while you're there.

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VY 73,

RD



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Richard Dillman, W6AWO
Chief Operator, Coast Station KSM
Maritime Radio Historical Society
http://www.radiomarine.org
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