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cg VWPJ
1
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e099 17 G4ZPY Keys
37 FISTS CW Club
i
Wm Ma 22 SEP 1993
om, 14.0.; H [Fl 579?
PSE TNX QSL-VIA BURO OR GW3VVC TOMA} 6w3x/t/C
Op. ..............................................................
you recognise it for what it is. Since the rst stage to be achieved
M9131 - Cfiristmas 1993 13
is the INSTANT ASSOCIATION OF mendations are for the learning of one
THE CODE SIGNAL WITH ITS new character in each 20 to 30 minute
CORRESPONDING LETTER, how can practice session. It is presented repeat-
this be accomplished most efciently? edly alone and/or in groups of two to
There are 26 letters, ten numbers and ve until it is immediately recognised.
a half-dozen or so other signals to be Then it is intermixed (in ratios selected
differentiated. How should this be or- by the student) with letters previously
ganised to facilitate learning? Should learned, and practised until it is rmly
similar-sounding letters be learned to- xed in the mind. It is recommended
gether, and/or should contrasting letters that the characters be sent at a 20 wpm
be learned together, or some other individual rate, with a three second in-
arrangement be used? terval at rst for identication. This in-
Since our nal goal is the instant terval is gradually reduced. Constant
association of a code signal with its let- speed or increasing speed runs are pro-
ter, there cannot be a time for mental grammable readily. The average student
decisions, comparing or contrasting in is said to achieve about 20 wpm after
order to identify it. At the end point about four weeks of study consisting
each code character must stand on its of two 2030 minute daily practice
own feet, so to speak, in isolation from periods, or a total of some 2030 hours
all others. Some people may nd that study. This system has much to com-
initially, or somewhere along the mend it. (Letters are introduced in an
learning process, such comparisons or unrelated, uncontrasted sequence.)
groupings may be helpful. But psycho-
logically it may be best for most people The Koch System
to learn unrelated, uncontrasted letters Koch in Germany in the early 19303
together in a given study period, insofar developed an effective procedure as
as this is possible. In this way each letter follows: At rst two letters with dis-
stands on its own feet. tinctly differing patterns were introduced,
each presented to the student individual-
Variety of Schemes ly, then presented to him for recognition
In what follows we shall present a and writing down as sent in random
number of schemes devised to facilitate order. Signals were sent at 12 wpm with
achieving stage one prociency. Most normal spacing (i.e., no lengthened spac-
of them require some kind of instruc- es between them), his theory being that
tor, whether personal or by proxy, and 12 wpm would allow the signals to be
at least one requires a home computer. heard as units, and normal spacing would
The Morse University system is for discourage any attempt to analyse them.
self-instruction together with a Commo- When 90 per cent or more correct iden-
dore computer to accept and operate its tication was reached, a new letter would
module. Many format alternates in speed be added, and so on until the entirety of
and composition are selectable by the the alphabet (including numbers, etc.)
student to suit his own needs. Recom- was completed. At the end of about 14
14 M91431 Cnlstmas 1993
hours of instruction the average student Sound 0r Rhythm Pictures
could receive at 12 wpm. That is a During WWII psychological studies
phenomenal accomplishment. (New on the order of learning the letters were
letters seem to have been unrelated.) made, and it appeared that with the
The whole method, also termed the ordinary sound teaching approaches it
reinforcement method was tried by made little difference in overall learn-
some psychologists. At the rst session ing time. Build-up groups, such as
all 36 letters were taught, and then the E I S H 5, or E A R L seemed to differ
instructor immediately began a series of little from random or other groupings.
reinforcement runs of 100 characters A number of attempts have been
each. Each character was sent and the made through the years to devise a way
student was given three seconds to write to quickly reduce the hesitation time
down his identication, then the in- between hearing and recognition. Shy-
structor identied it. If the student ing away from the visual approach, sug-
erred (writing a wrong letter or none at gestions have been presented to provide
all) he was to write just below its correct a sound or rhythm picture, such as one
identication. One second later the next suggestion pay day today as the rhythm
character was sent, and so on to the for Q. But in no way does this suggest
100th. (Characters were sent at 1820 Q itself. One of the earliest published
wpm.) At this point the student tabu- attempts was by the prestigious
lated the missed letters and had a short Wireless Press in 1921. During WWII
rest period before taking a second simi- three psychologists tested a system of
lar run. Letters were sent at random and mnemonics using key words whose
the entire 36 were covered. initial letter, rhythm, inner grouping,
Four of these loo-character runs accent, length and hierarchy would
were done the rst day. (Overall rate sound like the code signal and suggest
was about ten characters per minute at the letter, to reduce confusion in learn-
this stage.) Each day this practice con- ing. That they only partially succeeded
tinued, but as prociency improved, up can be seen from their list shown on the
to ve or more letters were sent before following page.
they were identied. On the average it When tested against the usual sound
took about nine hours to reach 95 per approach most people gained little or
cent correctness (less than four hours nothing. No doubt a number of such
for the best and over 20 for the slowest). schemes have been devised. One cur-
After this speeds were increased, and it rently on the market is Code Quick
took about 18 hours to reach 5 wpm, 36 which appears to include the Dog did it
hours to achieve 10 wpm, and 50 hours mnemonic from the aforementioned list.
for 12 wpm on the average (some reached For many years the Dodge Radio
20 wpm by this point). Nothing was Shortcut was advertised widely. This
gained it took about the same instruc- system presented the code visually with
tional time as for other common sound a different sort of mnemonic, (shown at
methods. the foot of page 16 without the printed
M91131 Cristmas 1993 15
Around Japan sand man Sicily
Beat Germany Kangaroo Toot
Casa Blanca Liberia Unafraid
Dog did it Ma-Ma Victory now
Eek Nazi Without arms
Federation Oh-oh-oh Excellent work
Gamewarden Police station Yankee rampart
Hilly-billy Quadruplicate Zulu did it
ltchy Revolver
code symbols (simply dots and dashes) Individual investigators have shown 13
because of its apparent wide use). wpm in 3040 hours (Taylor) and 25
Just how much pencil tapping, head wpm in 160 hours (gestalt method
scratching, whispering to self, etc., wholeness or unity of signals). It is
hesitation time such schemes help is by clear that a well-planned approach is time
no means clear. People have used them. saving.
One of the older standard code teach-
ing manuals stated that learning times in
the 193040 period were:
WPM 5 81014 20 25
DAYS (average) at 1 hour per day
12 24 4O 75 160 210
16 mm Cnstmas 1993
G4ZPY
PADDLE KEYS INTERNATIONAL
41 MILL DAM LANE, BURSCOUGH,
ORMSKIRK, LANCS., ENGLAND L40 7TG
TEL. (0704) 894299
Long have users of Single Lever Keys asked us to produce a
combo for them. Now weve done it and we think its the
first one to be commercially made.
THE NEW
G4ZPY SINGLE LEVER COMBO
Available in ve different nishes, all with keydown
switches incorporated and with one little extra! If you get tired
of using the Single Lever, and would like to change over to a
Twin Lever, there is a jack socket tted to enable another key
to use the same Iambic Electronic Keyer.
KB7BAD
Thomas
L.
Richard
Photo/Collection:
Unknown leg key, inscribed Pat. Applied For across the horizontal pivot bar.
No other markings. It came from the Southern Pacific Railroad depot at
Maricopa, Arizona, south of Phoenix. The circuit closing lever is missing.
Contact points are quite small, about the size of a pin head.
The key was not mounted on the telegraph desk but was attached to a
triangular piece of wood that may have been attached to a wall.
Can anyone shed light on its origin?
Sheen
Derek
Collection/Photo:
GaLLZ
Goacher
Dennis
Collection/Photo:
Unknown key, very small, total size %'W x 2/2"D x 1 /4"H, with tone
oscillator and button cell. Finished in black, no markings. Very well made
and apparently designed to plug into a unit as a complete sub-assembly
via a 5-pin socket arrangement at the rear. Any information welcome
G E T T H E
ii 53'; liniim
'1
C A R R I A G E R E A D Y
5'15"]; Eiiia 315;]
{2} T2} '1} f2 T2} '1 {2 iii
The coachman replies: R E A D Y
51"] {2 Eiii'
B R I N G T H E
C A R R I A G E
actually introduced it into a household of an idea on the part of the author, quite
as a substitution for a simple message properly based on a recognised use of
by a servant. a bell for signalling purposes, which
Perhaps, after all, it was just the germ rather got out of hand! MM
Galudec
Ie
Jean
Photo/collection:
French A.O. P. key, type B-131, polished brass on ebonite base, 1910(?)
LS. Brach, Newark, NJ, USA. Type 262. Black finished brass on ebonite base
24 {Mm/[31 Christmas 1993
Bower
Lew
Photo:
Hi-MoundPalm Keyer, model PK-1, used by Lew Bower G4HKY with his HF field
man-pack rig. Lew says It reminds me how we used to "chat" Via the switch on the
hand set of our field telephones so the officers didnt know we were talking!
Galudec
Ie
Jean
L. Gerard & Co., Liege,
1913. Type C.D.C No3613,
Photo/collection:
serial No 91.
All polished brass, including
base. Used by Belgian P&T
Galuclec
le
Jean
Photo/collection:
G-QRP Club
The G-QFiP Club promotes and encourages Iow--power operating
on the amateur bands with activity periods, awards and trophies. Facilities
include a quarterly magazine Morse training tapes kits, traders discounts
and a QSL bureau. Novices and SWLs welcome.
Enquiries to Rev. George Dobbs G3RJV, St Aidans Vicarage,
498 Manchester Road, Ftochdale, Lanes OL11 3HE Send a
large 3. a.e. or two lFiCs
38 {WM/Bl
- Christmas 1993
Q-codes. What is left of those? I know I cant bring back the ori-
This is not a crusade against the ginal meaning of QTH to the ham
prospective loss of the Qcode. There is world, and that the mis-use of QRZ?
no sense in weeping over the inevitable. is virtually legalised in contests. But I
In some books you can read about its am still irritated when I hear QRL?
former universal character; how it immediately before CQ CQ CQ, and
facilitated communication in all lan- when German TV (again incorrectly)
guages of the world. And how nice it is uses QAM for its weather report.
to read this: One world, one language = It doesnt seem right either, when a
Morse (Q) code! Morse enthusiast obviously doesnt
Truly an attractive concept, but it know the proper codes. However, when
reminds me too much of a slogan from in QSO, he says he has to answer the
about 50 years ago which also never call of nature and uses QAU its a
came to fruition. humorous situation. It shows that he is
Theres not a great deal to be gained cut from the right wood and probably
today by the dedicated Morse-amateur knows most of his other codes.
in telling his Japanese brother his It is refreshing, also, to listen to a
magnetic course to reach you with no contact between a [MM station and an
wind (QDM); or that a doctor is aboard ex-sparks ashore. Q-codes abound and
(QSQ); or that he is airborne (QTO) the true signicance and value of the
Not really! code becomes apparent.
Ex-sparks excluded, repeat to your- Its true that amateurs have plenty
self the Q-codes you use regularly! of time and have no urgent need to
Do you know the difference between abbreviate signals, but the loss is still
QSA and QRK? Congratulations! theirs! It is the loss of a precious gift
You sometimes hear on telephony, from the professionals. The loss of that
QSAS, strength 9!; or thanks for the mysterious atmosphere which used to
pleasant QSL. Admittedly they are characterise Morse ~ an atmosphere
phone-boys, but do you know, for ex- some of us still cant forget! MM
ample, the meaning of QRI?
QSO? QSV? QTR? QSG? QRH?
QSM? Do you know that QRA-locator Just Remember!
doesnt make sense? Look it up! Seen on the wall of a freight-handlers
ofce. When it goes in a rail car, its a
Communicating shipment; when it goes in a ship, its
Q-signals are for communicating cargo.
and are not intended for exclusive use Contributed by Charles P. Krause N7ESJ
in specic areas of activity. Every
Morse communicator should have a
good knowledge of them in the interest
of those better CW-QSOs we all like
to have. but when a loco goes on a ship ?
Battery Battery
A 'B
I: I:
II II
Coherer Relay
0 --
Tension
spring Inker
O A
_
Trembler
\
Contact
7051al legvapb
Mackay Radio ? (Ill anterica Cables.
Comrnetcral Cables Canadian Funfic Telegraphs
some sort of working display with an heard in each episode, with the German
emphasis on Telegraphy. army tracking down CW-broadcasts in
Also, the old Asheld Post Ofce, a Holland.
suburban post ofce about seven miles I recorded the introduction and
west of the Sydney GPO, has been hand ending which had several CW stations
ed over to some more enterprising types fading in and out, sending groups of _
and they have set up a good display of numbers at around 25 wpm, plus QRM,
equipment, again with the emphasis on and accompanied by numerous back
Telegraphy. ground violins (both harmonic and dis-
It usually opens Wednesdays, how- sonant pitch), with the whole exciting to
ever special arrangements were made to listen to!
open it on a Friday evening recently, the Unfortunately I cant remember
night before the annual general meeting details of the stars, etc., of this good
of the Sydney Morsecodians Fraternity. series which, surprisingly, has only
Incidentally, at the AGM, held on Sep- been rebroadcast once (1973/5) since
tember 23, we had a record attendance then. Has anyone seen the series in
of 173, plus a further 34 at an outposted other countries?
meeting at Ballina which we linked up Monika Pouw-Arnold PA3FBF
with by dialup Morse. Miidrecht, Holland
John Houlder
Charnwood, ACT, Australia The operator of F for Freddy in
the WWII movie Target for Tonight
Morse at the Movies sends some unauthentic Morse when in
I recall a German-made TV mini-series trouble on the way home from a raid. I
broadcast by ARD in 1971 called Die saw the movie when at RAF Lubeck,
rote Kapelle, dealing with the famous and in the audience were several wire-
group of spies in WWII. Naturally, there less ops familiar with the daily broad-
was a lot of Morse operating seen and casts from the Air Ministry.
MWI Cristmas 1993 45
When the Morse started coming it back!! I presume he also became a
through they were surprised to hear the perfectionist!
familiar daily idling callsign, and after On one extended voyage I passed a
hearing GFA/2/3 they all completed it short time constructing a bug key, the
by chanting dah-dah-dit di-di-dah-dit pendulum and paddle being a hacksaw
dah-dit di~di-di-dahdah, and broke into blade. Despite its Heath Robinson ap
laughter. pearance, it worked quite well.
Bob Eldridge VE7BS John Beech
Pemberton, BC, Canada Whitby, Yorks.
In my seagoing days, I too used bug
Semi-Automatics at Sea keys, connected across the standard-
Having recently read my initial copy issue Marconi 365A. At rst, I also had
of MM, Nr 29 (congratulations by the an Eddystone, but later changed to a
wayl), and the letters therein, especially 19503 Japanese model which I bought
those about semi-automatic keys, I am during a visit to Kobe (and still own).
reminded of a couple of instances dur- I found that the main problem in
ing my seafaring days. using a bug at sea was positioning it so
Ofcially, we Marconi operators as to reduce the effects of the motion of
were not supposed to use anything but the ship. Otherwise, when the ship rolled
the standard operational gear tted and one way, the key would send a string of
supplied. For many years, however, I dots all by itself, as the trembler arm
had my own semiautomatic key strapped came off the damper; but when it rolled
across the terminals of my standard t the other way, you could send no dots
ted straight key. It was, I believe, an at all, for the trembler was held fast
Eddystone, now long gone having been against the damper by gravity! Ed.
mislaid in transit during my travels. It
was an excellent device and sent nigh on Russian Collection
perfect Morse. I am proud to be a reader of MM. I am
On one occasion, I visited my oppo- 54 years old, I have been taking part in
site number on an American vessel. He radio sports for 36 years and have been
had a straight key supplied and tted to a radio amateur for 23 years. I obtained
his desk. In conversation he revealed an American licence (N7PLX) at the
that he had a Vibroplex bug which had GoodWill Games in Seattle in 1990,
been ofcially supplied by his employ and I am a member of EHSC, SHSC,
er. He had never used this, not being and U-QRQ-C.
conversant with its operation. I have a collection of 53 keys, and
On request, he produced this key, apart from many well-known keys, this
brand new and sparkling in its box, and includes a speed key made in Moscow
said I could have it! I then made the by the Electropribor factory before
foolish mistake of demonstrating its pro- WWII. I am wondering if other readers
ciency on the dummy aerial and he have seen or heard about this bug? I
immediately changed his mind and took also have a railway key of 1922 and
46 M91431 - Christmas 1993
Aircraft Identification Switchbox
I have only recently become a sub-
scriber to MM, although I operate on
CW quite a lot and have been collecting
keys for quite a while.
Concerning the article by Tony
Smith, (MM30, p.18), these devices, in
various constructions, all very similar,
were certainly fitted to the following air-
craft: Tempest V tted to starboard
The smallest key in the world? cockpit wall. Spitres IIA, IIB, VII, VIH,
IX, XI, XVI tted to starboard cockpit
others, military, naval, spy, training and wall, and were probably tted in all
so on. marks. Oxfords I and II tted to port
I enclose a photograph of the small- cockpit wall. Lysander III and IIIA
est key in my collection. It is posed in tted to starboard cockpit wall. Lancas-
the same manner as the one on page 7 of ters.
MM24. Mine is clearly smaller and I On some Spitres, a lever controlled
think must be smallest key in the world, colour lters of red, green and amber on
even smaller than the Lilliput key on the downward I.D. lamp. A check on the
page 5 of MM29! RNARS Firebrand torpedo ghter
I was very interested in the Lorenz bomber shows a totally different arrange-
key shown inside the back cover of ment and device, and appears to have
MM20, which came from a German two keys, mounted on the starboard
bomber shot down in Holland in 1940. cockpit wall.
My own Lorenz key has the following Gerry Farrance G3KPT
numbers: On top cover LN26906, on Birmingham
bottom of key LN26907, on plug assem
bly LN26908. V for Victory
The one shown in MM20 has the I found the article Aircraft Identica
number LN 26907 on its top cover. Is tion Switchbox by Tony Smith (MM30,
it possible that the bottom of my key p.18) very interesting. During WWII,
belongs to the top of the key from when in the Royal Navy (Fleet Air Arm)
Holland? I clearly remember looking up on nu-
Valery Pakhomov UA3A0 merous occasions at night when RAF
Moscow, Russia Bombers ying overhead flashed the
(Please send us more information on letter V downwards. This must have
your miniature key, Valery, especially been from early 1945 onwards.
its dimensions. Does anyone else know The newspapers reported that the
about the Electropribor speed key? bombers were following the same prac-
Also, can anyone explain the numbering tice as they ew over France but I saw
system on the Lorenz keys? Ed.) it for myself over West London! Seeing
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