Hi Randy,
Sounds suspiciously like the 9TO Mark II which appeared in the
June 1967
issue of QST, was called "Dot Insertion" It was my 1st keyer and I still have
it!!
You can get the article on line at the ARRL if you want to
check
it out. I think
it is an Ultimatic type but relieves some of the timing issue with "slapping"
in
dots.
Also helped keep the shack warm in the winter, had 4 or 5
12AU7"s and 2
regulator tubes (hollow state zeners).
73,
Bob
K2TK ex KN2TKR (1956) & K2TKR
On 8/12/2012 9:25 PM, Randy Farmer wrote:
> On an even more obscure note, in the summer of 1965 or 1966 (can't
> remember which) as a recently-minted Conditional class licensee I was
> spending a lot of time on 40 meter CW during the day. High school was
> out for the summer and I was busy building electronic keyers and
> learning to use them.
>
> I ran across a W4, down in Alabama I think, who was a regular 40 QRQ
> guy. He had developed what he called the "Squeeze Keyer". It used a
> bunch of 12AU7s and had a similar philosophy to the Ultimatic. His
> version used what he called "single dot injection" and closing the dot
> paddle while the dash paddle was held closed would inject a single dot
> in the stream of dashes. Other than for this condition, the dash paddle
> always had priority over the dot paddle. Using this technique, any
> letter in the alphabet except X could be generated with a single
> properly timed squeeze of the paddles. He wouldn't publish the design,
> so when he went SK it presumably died with him. Sometime in the early
> '70s I designed and built a keyer that did the same thing using 74xx TTL
> chips. It worked great, but I was about the only one who could send on
> it. Does anybody else remember the "Squeeze Keyer"?
>
> 73...
> Randy, W8FN
>
> On 08/12/2012 17:00, Erik Basilier wrote:
>> Ron, thanks for your comments, and I recognize that there must be a sizable
>> minority of operators that are fully competent with iambic. And, when iambic
>> is mastered it can probably produce faster code than either a single paddle
>> or a double paddle used by a non-iambic operator. What I don't believe is
>> that if you put a dual paddle with iambic logic in the hands of an
>> established operator, he will gradually slip into making use of the iambic
>> features. Yet, that seems to be the assumption of manufacturers. I can think
>> of 3 dual paddles available from Elecraft, but no single paddle option. Two
>> of the Elecraft paddles are for portable rigs. My experience with portable
>> operation is that the sitting position is usually uncomfortable, the hands
>> may be cold and shaking (due to cold or exertion), and motor skills are way
>> below the level at the shack. In such a situation, my mistakes with a dual
>> paddle go way up, and either Ultimatic or a single paddle would help a lot.
>> Before my KX1 I used a single lever made from flexing PC board with my
>> portable radios. It didn't go fast, but was very reliable after I soldered
>> little pieces of sterling silver to the contact points. Somehow I am
>> guessing that the tendency of manufacturers toward dual paddles and
>> complicated keying logic has something to do with the desire to appear to
>> deliver the most for the money. Beginners may be swayed by that. Some
>> manufacturers seem to really promote "more is more" as in pounds of radio
>> and number of knobs. Others, particularly when selling qrp rigs may promote
>> "less is more". For the thinking ham, neither slogan makes sense. Elecraft
>> provides lots features where more certainly is more, but saves us from
>> backbreaking radio weights and impractical numbers of controls. When it
>> comes to keying, the "more is more" seems to have won out without real
>> justification.
>>
>> BTW many years ago like you I built a keyer from discrete CMOS (published in
>> 73 mag). I don't remember what the keying logic was, but since dual paddles
>> were used, I am guessing that the whole project was motivated by the new
>> iambic ideas. I never learnt to use it at all (let alone the iambic
>> features) until I reversed the paddles to get the dits on the thumb. I can
>> relate to the pleasure of learning a physical skill like that (used to play
>> classical guitar), but feel that the movements with iambic are just too
>> small and delicate. Maybe I just need to set bigger spacing an use more
>> forceful movements to feel what is going on, but I seem to have a preference
>> for very small contact spacings. Interesting to hear about your need for
>> time to adjust between different sets of muscle memories. I experience
>> something similar in copying morse. I can copy quite fast, but it takes a
>> few moments to "load the decoder into my brain". One time I was filling up
>> at a gas station and another customer saw my mobile antenna and asked what I
>> was doing. When I said I was a ham, he started voicing "di-dah's" at me and
>> I couldn't copy at all. In addition to the general boot-up time, I just
>> wasn't programmed for that.
>>
>>
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Erik K7TV
>>
>> --------------------------------
>>
>> To answer your question, after 20 years of using a straight key and bug, I
>> built a discrete-component CMOS iambic keyer in the 1970's.
>>
>>
>>
>> I did start out slow but speed came quickly, IIRC, as my fingers learned the
>> correct pattern of movements for each character. But I had to do the same
>> thing when I learned to use a bug in the 1950's. Knowing Morse doesn't mean
>> one's body knows how to operate a particular key to generate it. That takes
>> practice.
>>
>>
>>
>> I was pleasantly surprised to find that the iambic keyer built into the K2
>> and K3 was as comfortable to use as my old homebrew keyer.
>>
>>
>>
>> Unfortunately, I found that I could -not- use a bug and the iambic keyer (in
>> iambic mode) interchangeably. My "muscle memory" was too strong and I found
>> myself squeezing the bug paddle. Also my timing on the bug was lousy since
>> the keyer did all the timing and spacing for me. So, after about 25 years on
>> the iambic keyer, my bug won out after another re-training period -- at
>> least as long as I enjoy sending CW with it. However, I have gone back to
>> the iambic keyer from time to time to load CW memories, etc., and iambic
>> fingering comes back in a few seconds.
>>
>>
>>
>> But I enjoy learning physical skills like that. It's part of the fun of Ham
>> radio for me. Otherwise I'd not have bothered switching to an iambic keyer
>> and then back to the bug. I don't think I'm part of a silent "majority".
>>
>> Most likely I'm part of a substantial "minority" - either on an iambic keyer
>> or on a bug.
>>
>>
>>
>> 73, Ron AC7AC
>>
>>
>>
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