Hello!

I would like to to make a custom iambic keyer for a person with
quadraplegia. She mainly has use of only her index and ring finger. She
can only flex her thumb and cannot release the thumb pressure at will.

Does anyone know of an iambic keyer kit or inexpensive keyer that I could
dis-assemble to build a keyer with side-by-side rather than opposing
paddles? That way she could use her ring finger for the dashes and her
index finger for the dots (or visa-versa) . She cannot move her arm at all,
so I will have to make a splint that can hold the keyer and her hand in the
correct position.

The closest I have found is this site that lists alot of keyers:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/16 and the MFJ-561K Minature Iambic
keyer kit.

BTW, she cannot use a straw, so I cannot build her the keyer that was in QST
last month!

Thanks for any help I can get!

73,
Rick
WD5FRZ

Rick Nevill ...

^ I would like to to make a custom iambic keyer for a person with
^ quadraplegia. She mainly has use of only her index and ring
^ finger. She can only flex her thumb and cannot release the
^ thumb pressure at will.

My radio has a built-in keyer (Yaesu FT-897) so I made a simple key for it
out of two Popsicle sticks, some wood blocks, and a few nails. My key has
both a straight key and a paddle, one on each side of the block that holds
the Popsicle sticks. The tension is adjusted by moving the stick into or out
of the blocks that hold it. The nails provide tie-downs for the wires and
contacts for the keys.

It works well. Perhaps you can use something similar as a test platform to
find out what sort of key will work best for your friend.

Frank

"Rick Nevill" wrote in message
...
Hello!

I would like to to make a custom iambic keyer for a person with
quadraplegia. She mainly has use of only her index and ring finger. She
can only flex her thumb and cannot release the thumb pressure at will.

Does anyone know of an iambic keyer kit or inexpensive keyer that I could
dis-assemble to build a keyer with side-by-side rather than opposing
paddles? That way she could use her ring finger for the dashes and her
index finger for the dots (or visa-versa) . She cannot move her arm at
all,
so I will have to make a splint that can hold the keyer and her hand in
the
correct position.

The closest I have found is this site that lists alot of keyers:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/16 and the MFJ-561K Minature Iambic
keyer kit.

BTW, she cannot use a straw, so I cannot build her the keyer that was in
QST
last month!

Thanks for any help I can get!

73,
Rick
WD5FRZ

In one issue, I cannot recall which, QST had an article on a sip&puff
"paddle". This used pressure switches and a plastic tube. The user
activated dots and dashes by either gently blowing or "sipping" on the
tube.Here is just one link that Google found:
http://www.makoa.org/jlubin/morsecode.htm

Dale W4OP

Just read the bottom of your message re cannot use a straw- sorry for the BW
Dale

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 05:14:24 GMT, "Rick Nevill"
wrote:

I would like to to make a custom iambic keyer for a person with
quadraplegia. She mainly has use of only her index and ring finger. She
can only flex her thumb and cannot release the thumb pressure at will.

Does anyone know of an iambic keyer kit or inexpensive keyer that I could
dis-assemble to build a keyer with side-by-side rather than opposing
paddles? That way she could use her ring finger for the dashes and her
index finger for the dots (or visa-versa) . She cannot move her arm at all,
so I will have to make a splint that can hold the keyer and her hand in the
correct position.

The closest I have found is this site that lists alot of keyers:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/16 and the MFJ-561K Minature Iambic
keyer kit.

BTW, she cannot use a straw, so I cannot build her the keyer that was in QST
last month!

Thanks for any help I can get!

Interesting article in a recent QST about a sip and puff keyer, might
be worth a look.

The mag is out in the car, but I will try to check later, unless
someone else has posted it.

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" ) writes:
Hello!

I would like to to make a custom iambic keyer for a person with
quadraplegia. She mainly has use of only her index and ring finger. She
can only flex her thumb and cannot release the thumb pressure at will.

Does anyone know of an iambic keyer kit or inexpensive keyer that I could
dis-assemble to build a keyer with side-by-side rather than opposing
paddles? That way she could use her ring finger for the dashes and her
index finger for the dots (or visa-versa) . She cannot move her arm at all,
so I will have to make a splint that can hold the keyer and her hand in the
correct position.

The closest I have found is this site that lists alot of keyers:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/16 and the MFJ-561K Minature Iambic
keyer kit.

BTW, she cannot use a straw, so I cannot build her the keyer that was in QST
last month!

Thanks for any help I can get!

73,
Rick
WD5FRZ


I can't give any specifics, though I thought some of the keyers had
terminals on the back for a good paddle. Come to think of it, there
was a time when the paddles were not build into the keyer, so you had
to come up with something or buy something after you had the keyer.

But I can't see any problem taking any keyer, and merely adding some
wires across the paddles so you can have an external "paddle". No
matter what the keyer, those points have got to be available to solder
on some wires.

As for they "paddle" maybe try two microswitches sitting next to each other?
Maybe that's too small? I'm sure I've seen such "paddles" described in
the ham magazines in years gone by, and it was shown as an alternative not
something specific for the disabled, though I sure couldn't offer up
any dates.

Michael VE2BVW

"Rick Nevill" wrote in message
...
Hello!

I would like to to make a custom iambic keyer for a person with
quadraplegia. She mainly has use of only her index and ring finger. She
can only flex her thumb and cannot release the thumb pressure at will.

Does anyone know of an iambic keyer kit or inexpensive keyer that I could
dis-assemble to build a keyer with side-by-side rather than opposing
paddles? That way she could use her ring finger for the dashes and her
index finger for the dots (or visa-versa) . She cannot move her arm at
all,
so I will have to make a splint that can hold the keyer and her hand in
the
correct position.

The closest I have found is this site that lists alot of keyers:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/16 and the MFJ-561K Minature Iambic
keyer kit.

BTW, she cannot use a straw, so I cannot build her the keyer that was in
QST
last month!

Thanks for any help I can get!

73,
Rick
WD5FRZ

Hello Rick .... I have made some call buzzers for my patients over the
years utilizing mercury switches. They are cheap, easy to mount on Velcro
and can be made to respond with minimal motion. Perhaps using two beads
either side of a pivot would work as I do not know of a double throw single
pole Hg switch. Radio Shack had them in the past ...not sure now. Please
feel free to e-mail me from QRZ.com. to discuss this or give me your phone
number.

God Bless KI3R Tom Popovic Belle Vernon Pa.

ps ..there are systems out there that utilize eye movement for communication
....maybe modification is possible from that aspect ....

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?

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.

Thanks to all :-)

-Rick
WD5FRZ

"garigue" wrote in message
news:rdO6c.46868$po.386960@attbi_s52...

"Rick Nevill" wrote in message
...
Hello!

I would like to to make a custom iambic keyer for a person with
quadraplegia. She mainly has use of only her index and ring finger.
She
can only flex her thumb and cannot release the thumb pressure at will.

Does anyone know of an iambic keyer kit or inexpensive keyer that I
could
dis-assemble to build a keyer with side-by-side rather than opposing
paddles? That way she could use her ring finger for the dashes and her
index finger for the dots (or visa-versa) . She cannot move her arm at
all,
so I will have to make a splint that can hold the keyer and her hand in
the
correct position.

The closest I have found is this site that lists alot of keyers:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/16 and the MFJ-561K Minature
Iambic
keyer kit.

BTW, she cannot use a straw, so I cannot build her the keyer that was in
QST
last month!

Thanks for any help I can get!

73,
Rick
WD5FRZ

Hello Rick .... I have made some call buzzers for my patients over the
years utilizing mercury switches. They are cheap, easy to mount on Velcro
and can be made to respond with minimal motion. Perhaps using two beads
either side of a pivot would work as I do not know of a double throw
single
pole Hg switch. Radio Shack had them in the past ...not sure now.
Please
feel free to e-mail me from QRZ.com. to discuss this or give me your phone
number.

God Bless KI3R Tom Popovic Belle Vernon Pa.

ps ..there are systems out there that utilize eye movement for
communication
...maybe modification is possible from that aspect ....

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

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