David and All, Well, I actually didn't intend to infer that the upper arm had to be perfectly vertical. That is usually dicated by the height of the operating table. I was basically trying to say that the arm would/should not be totally extended, and that the forearm would/should be supported by the table. However, your question makes me wonder if there might be some benefit to having a key lower somewhat so that the upper arm could be more vertical. I'll have to try that.
Basically though, the idea is to have the forearm resting comfortably, so that weight of the arm is not a factor. The hand and wrist do the work, not the arm. It just seems to me, from your drawing, the arm would tend to be more involved in the process. That further suggests to me that the tension thing I talked about would be more of a problem--perhaps not. When I rest my forearm on the table, I can relax my arm. In the position shown in your drawing, I would have to support the weight of the arm using arm and shoulder muscles. It just seems logical to me that this would have to cause some amount of fatigue at some point. The bottom line I think is that the arm should be as comfortable as possible. It has been a while since I really did long hours with a hand key. When I was in the Army though, it was 8 hours a day. I distinctly remember that some operating tables seemed too high, so I was always looking for an adjustable chair. My arms seem to be more "relaxed" when they are closer to my body, but that may really be a question of relaxing the shoulders as well. I prefer to have the key closer to me, so that does suggest that the upper arms be more vertical than extended. That may sound mundane, but for long operating periods I think it matters. You might experiment a bit. Dave W7AQK ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Cutter" <d.cut...@ntlworld.com> To: "David Y." <w7...@cox.net>; "Ron D'Eau Claire" <r...@cobi.biz>; "'Ken Kopp'" <k...@rfwave.net>; <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Saturday, August 08, 2009 1:27 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Off-Topic - Straight-key speed cpontrol > David > > That's something I can't understand. How do you make the upper arm > vertical (in both views) with the elbow on the table? The table would > have to be very low or your chair very high and your stomach right up (and > over) the edge of the table. Do you sit square to the table or at an > angle? A picture would paint a thousand words. > > 73 > > David > G3UNA > ps a friend has suggested that you sit that way to send American Morse > whereas we sit our way to send International Morse. Phew, I can feel the > flames licking around me already ; - ] > > > >> Hi All, >> >> May I offer another suggestion? First of all, I tend to agree with those >> who say the forearm should be supported by the table, with the upper arm >> vertical. Seems to me that not supporting the arm with the table would >> substantially add to the probability of fatigue. >> >> Anyway, my suggestion is this--relax! Seriously, I think a substantial >> contributor to fatigue and "glass arm" is tension. The wrist and hand >> cannot really perform effectively when tension is permitted. Under >> tension, the muscles soon tire. I like to compare this to a golf swing, >> in that nothing will defeat a golf swing more than tension. There is >> absolutely no way you can properly execute a golf swing if your arms are >> locked and tense. I think the same principal applies here. >> >> I taught CW for a while when I was in the Army. I probably didn't have >> command of all the appropriate techniques, but when I saw a student (most >> of them actually) with a "death grip" on his key, I knew the output was >> going to be pretty stinko--at least after a short while. By just getting >> them to relax their forearm and wrist, the improvement was really quite >> dramatic. It sometimes took a while to adjust their rhythm to a "proper" >> and relaxed rocking motion of the wrist, but it usually worked. >> >> There's a lot more to good technique than just what I have described. I >> think folks like Ron, KU7Y, (he wrote a booklet on this sort of stuff), >> and others, could add a great deal. I'm pretty sure my overall technique >> was lacking in many ways, but there are some folks out there who can make >> a hand key sing! >> >> Dave W7AQK >> >> ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
