[QCWA] SideSwiper Techniques

[Doug]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gerry Skinner" <k4lvz at cfl.rr.com>
To: "QCWA- mailman" <QCWA at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 8:55 AM
Subject: [QCWA] SideSwiper Techniques


To all who knew(know) or were CW Operators on shipboard or shore stations in 
the 20's es 30's.

The homemade sideswiper type key is not hard to make, however the keying 
technique is a problem!!!!!
Did these operators use one side for dots and the other for dashs or did 
they use one side for all? How much spacing between the posts?
My curiosity was aroused by a sea story in an old Saturday Evening Post.

73 es Tnx  Gerry, K4LVZ
QCWA# 17107
_______________________________________________
I attended a high speed Morse demonstration in the 50s and the sideswiper 
was shown and demonstrated by W7CHN (SK). He had been a railroad telegrapher 
for many years. As I recall it, he said the real sideswipper pros used both 
sets of contacts for both dot and dash. That is, the op held it to the 
contact long enough for what ever duration was needed. To me this seemed to 
call for some mental activity in addition to dexterity. He also said some 
ops used one contact for dash and the other for dots. It all being a matter 
of op training/preference.   The demonstration was about 90 minutes and I 
recall the two ops, both hams, switching between International and 
Continental code in the middle of a transmission also. Cut numbers was 
another technique I learned about that evening. They also displayed a true 
left handers bug.
73
Doug K7ABX