Norm, you bring up a possibility I never before considered. It IS possible I was imprinted with a reverse dit-dah on my Vibroplex. I had always presumed pointer finger for dahs, thumb for dits was "normal" and since these many years I never used any other bug than my own, I've had no experience otherwise. I don't have my bug with me right now to determine if I know what I'm talking about but 47+ years of habit is difficult to overcome. Same/same paddle when I used one: I just wired it up for right paddle dah, left paddle dit. Am I getting a revelation that after all these years, this is contrary to standard practice?
Arthritis-wise, I have severe arthritis in both hands (and many other body parts) which is why it's easier for me these days to use a straight key. However, my major problem with CW is writing down the message - my fingers just won't sustain more than a couple minutes of writing down callsigns and my grey cells also don't work so well on memory retention. Alas, growing old requires adaptations so I've grown quite comfortable with a straight key albeit I still have the writing problem although I'm working on computer keyboard stuff to record messages/callsigns/QTHs. In any instance, CW rules the airwaves no matter from which direction the dits and dahs come. 73 de Fred K2FRD At 2:28 PM -0400 19/5/08, Norm Gertz wrote: >Fred......it appears that you obtained a bug which was configured for a left >hand sender. Even today the electronic keyers almost all are reversable for >dots and dashes for the same reason. >My very old friend W4GK (sk) recognizing the signs of arthritis in his right >hand started practicing with his left hand. He never told anyone about it and >made the transition quite easily. > >73 Norm K1AA Subscribe/unsubscribe, feedback, FAQ, problems http://njdxa.org/dx-chat To post a message, DX related items only, dx-chat@njdxa.org This is the DX-CHAT reflector sponsored by the NJDXA http://njdxa.org
