Personally, I love manually sent morse, sent with mechanical things...either hand key, sideswiper, or bug. Maybe I'll get the hang of a sideswiper sometime, but I haven't yet. I've got five....no, six straight keys. A Russian TKF key (the one with the big filter in the base), a miniature Russian military key, a J-38, a J-45, a key of unknown manufacture, and a Czech military key. My favorite is the Czech key, and if you can get one, they're excellent at the price. I also have four bugs: a Lionel J-36, a SpeedX model 515 (Les Logan era), an Electro bug, and a Cedar Rapids bug. Haven't used the cedar rapids bug much, nor the SpeedX. I also haven't tried the unknown key. Oh. I have one cootie, a Vizkey one. I currently lust after a Vizkey right angle bug. One of these days. ...

--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
Phone: 814-860-3194 
Mobile: 814-431-0962
Email: [log in to unmask]




> On Nov 26, 2015, at 7:07 PM, Jim Shaffer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Gosh, wonder who that nameless ham was?
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Phil Scovell
> Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2015 4:17 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Sending Code
> 
> My first code key was one I pried off my World Radio Lab code practice
> oscillator and mounted on a smaller board for a base.  I had it for about a
> year and used it as a novice on my DX20 for 6 months until I passed my
> general.  My mom wouldn't let me have an electronic keyer unless I passed my
> general.  I was mad at my Elmer for telling my mom to make me wait but I
> knew he was right, haha.  So, for the last two weeks of being a novice, I
> was using the H A 1 T O keyer designed by W9 T O, whom I later worked on a
> regular bases on 40 meter QRQ, and the vibroplex paddle.  The keyer was 75
> dollars in 1966 when I got it for passing my general exam, and the vibroplex
> paddle was 25 dollars.  In January of 1980, I bought my first CW keyboard
> for 130 dollars made by the late K4KN.  It had a single letter buffer.  Yep,
> 1 letter at a time so you had to be careful the way you typed.  Later that
> year, I heard the Jack Curtis, who made electronic keyers and CW keyboards,
> sometimes had used keyboards.  I called him on the phone, once I found the
> Curtis company phone number, and he answered himself.  I told him a CW QRQ
> buddy on 20 meters told me you had used keyboards once and awhile.  He said
> he did and he had, for 200 dollars, one of his keyboards with a 285
> character buffer.  I told him I had a hundred dollars I would send him and
> as soon as I got the next 100 dollars, I'd mail it to him and to keep hold
> of that keyboard for me.  He said he would and he said the one he had also
> had two roller switches to preset the cw speed from 01 to 99 so it would be
> easy for a blind guy to set and know what it was set for.  About two days
> later, UPS delivered a box I wasn't expecting.  I had a bad winter cold and
> had lost my voice.  It was so bad, I had to whisper most of the time so I
> wasn't working any sideband at the time due to my loss of voice.  When I
> discovered it was the Curtis keyboard, I called Jack Curtis right away on
> the phone and forced as much of a voice into the phone as possible.  I told
> him I had no idea when I would have an extra 100 dollars and he said, "If
> you ever have another 100 dollars you don't know what to do with, send it to
> me.  Otherwise, forget it; the 100 dollars is fine."  My new keyboard was
> nearly 500 dollars brand new originally and the only thing it didn't have
> compared to the one for 100 dollars more, was memory function keys.  The
> more expensive keyboard had 4 extra memory buttons.  I was in hog heaven.  I
> carried the Curtis keyboard down to my basement office and set it up
> immediately and started making contacts after practicing for a few minutes.
> I ran the thing for years until I met a ham, who shall remain nameless, whom
> I worked on 30 meters one day, and sent me a copy of his CW software CW and
> contesting program.  A friend built an interface and we hooked it up to the
> Ten Tec Omni I had back then and I was jettisoned into the world of software
> CW.  How cool.  Logging, CW speed setting, QSL printing, bunches of function
> key memories; you name it and it was in the software.  It came just at the
> right time because some of the keys on my Curtis keyboard were starting to
> either fail, or bounce, which was a term used for sending double letters
> without meaning to.  This was the old DOS days and long before I remotely
> got interested in Windows.  I literally made thousands of contacts using
> that software DX ing, contesting, and just rag chewing.  I knew when I
> worked guys more than once, preset contest memory keys and key separate logs
> for each band and each contest if desired.  Man, DOS made everything easier,
> haha.  So, I have not made a contact on anything other than a keyboard for
> over 35 years.  In other words, I never looked back.  I wish I had my old
> hand key, it would be over 50 years old now, but I loaned it to a friend and
> when I called and asked if he still had it, he couldn't find it.  It was
> just a cheep key but for old times sake, I'd probably drag it out and use
> it; especially after I heard a guy the other day running at least 30 words
> per minute on a hand key.  I don't even think I could send on a keyer or bug
> any more and there is nothing like listening to smoothly sent, and spaced,
> code.  Just listening to yourself type is cool.  I have many hours just
> randomly copying those 5 letter code groups that's been recently discussed
> on the list, smile.  I know; it's crazy.
> 
> Phil.
> K0NX 
> 
> 
> ---
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