Thanks to all of you guys! Gary, Robert, Frank, Dan and Steve...

I just checked my Yahoo.com email (that I use to avoid spam), and found a
message from Jerry telling me about http://www.fingertiptapper.com/. which
is also the product Robert mentioned. The fingertiptapper cards look like
they would work great with adjacent fingers like index and miidle finger.
I have emailed the company to see if I can get parts, or a card that splits
wider to accomodate the two-finger spacing between the ring and index
finger.

Also, thanks for the info on Handi-Hams Gary. They may have already solved
this one. :-)

I go see the person tomorrow. I'll see how much control she has of those
fingers. I should know more after that. I also found out that some pretty
smart folks already tried similar things with her 20 years ago and failed.
I hope the new technology can make the difference. :-)

73,
Rick

"Gary S." Idontwantspam@net wrote in message
...
On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 04:04:33 GMT, "Rick Nevill"
wrote:

And yes, I checked out the eye reading software and the prices were high,
up
to $30,000. The above hardware was only about $300. If it works that
will
be great.

Another thought:

There is a group called Handi-Hams, which consists of both those with
various physical challenges, and those who build adaptive ham radio
gear.

I don't if you have already, but they might be worth chasing.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

Rick Nevill wrote:


Hello Garique, Dale, Frank, Michael and Gary,

I appreciate the ideas. I am not sure how to interpret some of the answers,
so let me give more details. I set up an MFJ-564 paddle into an MFJ-464
Keyer/Reader which converts the Morse into visible letters, and then feeding
that into a PC running HyperTerminal to display larger text.

I'll really show my ignorance here - It sounds like the "Iambic" function
must be in the keyer/reader and not in the paddle hardware (I didn't even
look for an IC chip on the MFJ-564 paddle)? So that means any pair of
switches I use will properly feed the keyer/reader? Then I just need to
find a switch that she can reliably press and release. Do I have it right
now?

That's about the size of it. If you press one paddle of an Iambic
keyer, it goes "didididididididit" until you release the paddle. If you
press the other paddle, it goes "dah dah dah dah dah dah", again, until
you release the paddle. If you press both paddles, it goes
"didahdidahdidah" until you release at least one paddle.

And yes, I checked out the eye reading software and the prices were high, up
to $30,000.

Ouch.

The above hardware was only about $300. If it works that will
be great.

ISTR the New Jersey QRP club had a "finger tapper" key at one point. I
have no direct knowledge of how durable the key was or what type of
force it was set up to need.

And now having dredged the address from the depths of my mind I can
report it can be seen at http://www.njqrp.org/tiptapper/index.html and
it's actually named the "Finger Tip Tapper". It might be worth a look.

HTH

de kg7yy
--
To design the perfect anti-Unix, write an operating system that thinks
it knows what you're doing better than you do. And then adds injury to
insult by getting it wrong.
- esr

Rick Nevill ...

^ I set up an MFJ-564 paddle into an MFJ-464 Keyer/Reader ...

I'm not familiar with the equipment so I can't comment here.



^ It sounds like the "Iambic" function must be in the keyer/reader
^ and not in the paddle hardware ...

True. There are two devices: the key and the keyer. At one time the key was
simply a mechanical switch that turned on the transmitter. The keyer was
later added between the two to give it more versatility.

I prefer a straight key but I understand that there are in general three
types of keys:

straight - the traditional type.
paddle - push one way for a DAH and the other way for a DIT.
double paddle - Touch one for DAH and the other for DIT.

The paddles require an electronic keyer to handle the timing and switching. A
straight key can also be used with the keyer or it can be wired directly to
the radio.

In your case you can probably use any type of keyer and it is the actual key
that you need to customize.

The radio might have a built-in keyer -- mine does, the Yaesu FT-897 -- so
check the operating manual for it. In my case I need only plug a key into the
radio. The miniature phono plug has either two wires for a straight key or
three for a paddle.

Frank

"Frank" wrote in message
news:01c40ffe$0c71f040$0125250a@ccfwnwpijdsqhiow.. .
Rick Nevill ...

^ I set up an MFJ-564 paddle into an MFJ-464 Keyer/Reader ...

I'm not familiar with the equipment so I can't comment here.



^ It sounds like the "Iambic" function must be in the keyer/reader
^ and not in the paddle hardware ...

True. There are two devices: the key and the keyer. At one time the key
was
simply a mechanical switch that turned on the transmitter. The keyer was
later added between the two to give it more versatility.

I prefer a straight key but I understand that there are in general three
types of keys:

straight - the traditional type.
paddle - push one way for a DAH and the other way for a DIT.
double paddle - Touch one for DAH and the other for DIT.

The paddles require an electronic keyer to handle the timing and
switching. A
straight key can also be used with the keyer or it can be wired directly
to
the radio.

In your case you can probably use any type of keyer and it is the actual
key
that you need to customize.

The radio might have a built-in keyer -- mine does, the Yaesu FT-897 -- so
check the operating manual for it. In my case I need only plug a key into
the
radio. The miniature phono plug has either two wires for a straight key or
three for a paddle.

Frank


Somewhere in a older QST I saw some articles about using touch keying. It
is a device that detects the human finger. Forget the name it was called,
but it is a capacitive effect system.

Perhaps that would work ??

Dan/W4NTI

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 19:21:00 GMT, "Dan/W4NTI" w4nti@get rid of this
mindspring.com wrote:

Somewhere in a older QST I saw some articles about using touch keying. It
is a device that detects the human finger. Forget the name it was called,
but it is a capacitive effect system.

Perhaps that would work ??

Some concerns with these:

The precision of when/where exactly they activate is a bit variable,
and it could be hard for crisp code xmissions. There is a fairly wide
"maybe" area with this type of switch.

Experiment with the ones on some elevators.

OSHA does allow them in limited circumstances in lieu of the spring
activated buttons used as go/no go switches for industrial equipment,
but that is a different situation.

Also note that some capacitive switches are sensitive to stray RF.

Worth a look, but I would go for some sort of photolectric device
first, where the user holds a paddle or some opaque object and waves
it back and forth to cut the dit circuit or the dash circuit. Much
more particular about the on/off distinction. One could use these NO
or NC as the situation warranted.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 19:21:00 GMT, "Dan/W4NTI" w4nti@get rid of this
mindspring.com wrote:

Somewhere in a older QST I saw some articles about using touch keying. It
is a device that detects the human finger. Forget the name it was called,
but it is a capacitive effect system.

Perhaps that would work ??

Some concerns with these:

The precision of when/where exactly they activate is a bit variable,
and it could be hard for crisp code xmissions. There is a fairly wide
"maybe" area with this type of switch.

Experiment with the ones on some elevators.

OSHA does allow them in limited circumstances in lieu of the spring
activated buttons used as go/no go switches for industrial equipment,
but that is a different situation.

Also note that some capacitive switches are sensitive to stray RF.

Worth a look, but I would go for some sort of photolectric device
first, where the user holds a paddle or some opaque object and waves
it back and forth to cut the dit circuit or the dash circuit. Much
more particular about the on/off distinction. One could use these NO
or NC as the situation warranted.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

"Frank" wrote in message
news:01c40ffe$0c71f040$0125250a@ccfwnwpijdsqhiow.. .
Rick Nevill ...

^ I set up an MFJ-564 paddle into an MFJ-464 Keyer/Reader ...

I'm not familiar with the equipment so I can't comment here.



^ It sounds like the "Iambic" function must be in the keyer/reader
^ and not in the paddle hardware ...

True. There are two devices: the key and the keyer. At one time the key
was
simply a mechanical switch that turned on the transmitter. The keyer was
later added between the two to give it more versatility.

I prefer a straight key but I understand that there are in general three
types of keys:

straight - the traditional type.
paddle - push one way for a DAH and the other way for a DIT.
double paddle - Touch one for DAH and the other for DIT.

The paddles require an electronic keyer to handle the timing and
switching. A
straight key can also be used with the keyer or it can be wired directly
to
the radio.

In your case you can probably use any type of keyer and it is the actual
key
that you need to customize.

The radio might have a built-in keyer -- mine does, the Yaesu FT-897 -- so
check the operating manual for it. In my case I need only plug a key into
the
radio. The miniature phono plug has either two wires for a straight key or
three for a paddle.

Frank


Somewhere in a older QST I saw some articles about using touch keying. It
is a device that detects the human finger. Forget the name it was called,
but it is a capacitive effect system.

Perhaps that would work ??

Dan/W4NTI

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 04:04:33 GMT, "Rick Nevill"
wrote:

And yes, I checked out the eye reading software and the prices were high, up
to $30,000. The above hardware was only about $300. If it works that will
be great.

Another thought:

There is a group called Handi-Hams, which consists of both those with
various physical challenges, and those who build adaptive ham radio
gear.

I don't if you have already, but they might be worth chasing.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

Rick Nevill wrote:


Hello Garique, Dale, Frank, Michael and Gary,

I appreciate the ideas. I am not sure how to interpret some of the answers,
so let me give more details. I set up an MFJ-564 paddle into an MFJ-464
Keyer/Reader which converts the Morse into visible letters, and then feeding
that into a PC running HyperTerminal to display larger text.

I'll really show my ignorance here - It sounds like the "Iambic" function
must be in the keyer/reader and not in the paddle hardware (I didn't even
look for an IC chip on the MFJ-564 paddle)? So that means any pair of
switches I use will properly feed the keyer/reader? Then I just need to
find a switch that she can reliably press and release. Do I have it right
now?

That's about the size of it. If you press one paddle of an Iambic
keyer, it goes "didididididididit" until you release the paddle. If you
press the other paddle, it goes "dah dah dah dah dah dah", again, until
you release the paddle. If you press both paddles, it goes
"didahdidahdidah" until you release at least one paddle.

And yes, I checked out the eye reading software and the prices were high, up
to $30,000.

Ouch.

The above hardware was only about $300. If it works that will
be great.

ISTR the New Jersey QRP club had a "finger tapper" key at one point. I
have no direct knowledge of how durable the key was or what type of
force it was set up to need.

And now having dredged the address from the depths of my mind I can
report it can be seen at http://www.njqrp.org/tiptapper/index.html and
it's actually named the "Finger Tip Tapper". It might be worth a look.

HTH

de kg7yy
--
To design the perfect anti-Unix, write an operating system that thinks
it knows what you're doing better than you do. And then adds injury to
insult by getting it wrong.
- esr

Rick Nevill ...

^ I set up an MFJ-564 paddle into an MFJ-464 Keyer/Reader ...

I'm not familiar with the equipment so I can't comment here.



^ It sounds like the "Iambic" function must be in the keyer/reader
^ and not in the paddle hardware ...

True. There are two devices: the key and the keyer. At one time the key was
simply a mechanical switch that turned on the transmitter. The keyer was
later added between the two to give it more versatility.

I prefer a straight key but I understand that there are in general three
types of keys:

straight - the traditional type.
paddle - push one way for a DAH and the other way for a DIT.
double paddle - Touch one for DAH and the other for DIT.

The paddles require an electronic keyer to handle the timing and switching. A
straight key can also be used with the keyer or it can be wired directly to
the radio.

In your case you can probably use any type of keyer and it is the actual key
that you need to customize.

The radio might have a built-in keyer -- mine does, the Yaesu FT-897 -- so
check the operating manual for it. In my case I need only plug a key into the
radio. The miniature phono plug has either two wires for a straight key or
three for a paddle.

Frank