My first encounter with a keyboard keyer was in about 1978. It was 
several years old when I saw it, probably from around 1970.

I forget who made the thing, but it was almost the size of an IBM 
Selectric typewriter. The sending speed was set with thumb wheels, and 
the range was 1 to 99 WPM.

It had a single, one shot memory, meaning that once you fired it, the 
memory became empty.

Just for laughs, I typed in the word Mississippi, then set the speed 
to 99 WPM, and pressed the send button. It made a sound for about a 
half second, and that was all she wrote.

Naturally, I then had to try the other extreme, with the speed set to 
1 WPM. That one, which was not sent in the Farnsworth method mind you, 
went on for long enough to make a sandwich.

Oh, the cheap ways hams entertain themselves.


Mike Duke, K5XU
American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs