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#1
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The Morse Key with a switch
Suddenly it has clicked after setting up the IC728 for Jim - the reason
that some Morse keys had a shorting switch must have been to provide a continuous key-down position for tuning the TX and ATU! |
#2
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The Morse Key with a switch
On Sun, 29 May 2016, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote:
Suddenly it has clicked after setting up the IC728 for Jim - the reason that some Morse keys had a shorting switch must have been to provide a continuous key-down position for tuning the TX and ATU! I seem to recall in the old days that when switching to AM on some rigs, you had to pull the key out of the jack (so the jack would then short the point to ground). If so, a shorting switch would be useful too. Michael |
#3
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The Morse Key with a switch
On 5/29/2016 4:39 PM, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote:
Suddenly it has clicked after setting up the IC728 for Jim - the reason that some Morse keys had a shorting switch must have been to provide a continuous key-down position for tuning the TX and ATU! At least in the US: The switch, e.g. on a J-38 key from WWII, dates from before there were tube circuits to be peaked or dipped! On the old telegraph lines, the ancestors of current loop circuits, all the keys and sounders on a large network were simply in series, with a battery also in the circuit. If your key were open, then nobody else could "talk". So you had to short the key when not actually sending. And of course as soon as a switch like that is a "tradition" it is likely to appear on devices long after that need has disappeared. Bob Wilson, WA9D (I think Gareth really meant that as a complaint about some of the always-key-down operators, and I would agree! But I could not leave it alone.) |
#4
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The Morse Key with a switch
On 30/05/2016 00:15, Bob Wilson wrote:
On 5/29/2016 4:39 PM, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote: Suddenly it has clicked after setting up the IC728 for Jim - the reason that some Morse keys had a shorting switch must have been to provide a continuous key-down position for tuning the TX and ATU! At least in the US: The switch, e.g. on a J-38 key from WWII, dates from before there were tube circuits to be peaked or dipped! On the old telegraph lines, the ancestors of current loop circuits, all the keys and sounders on a large network were simply in series, with a battery also in the circuit. If your key were open, then nobody else could "talk". So you had to short the key when not actually sending. And of course as soon as a switch like that is a "tradition" it is likely to appear on devices long after that need has disappeared. Bob Wilson, WA9D (I think Gareth really meant that as a complaint about some of the always-key-down operators, and I would agree! But I could not leave it alone.) Another reason for a shorting switch was so that the transmitter could be left sending for DF purposes while the aircraft crew bailed out and awaited rescue. -- Spike Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose - Helen Keller |
#5
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The Morse Key with a switch
"Bob Wilson" wrote in message
... On 5/29/2016 4:39 PM, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote: Suddenly it has clicked after setting up the IC728 for Jim - the reason that some Morse keys had a shorting switch must have been to provide a continuous key-down position for tuning the TX and ATU! At least in the US: The switch, e.g. on a J-38 key from WWII, dates from before there were tube circuits to be peaked or dipped! On the old telegraph lines, the ancestors of current loop circuits, all the keys and sounders on a large network were simply in series, with a battery also in the circuit. If your key were open, then nobody else could "talk". So you had to short the key when not actually sending. And of course as soon as a switch like that is a "tradition" it is likely to appear on devices long after that need has disappeared. Bob Wilson, WA9D (I think Gareth really meant that as a complaint about some of the always-key-down operators, and I would agree! But I could not leave it alone.) Perchance you are the same Bob Wilson living in Portishead 50 years ago? |
#6
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The Morse Key with a switch
On 5/30/2016 3:30 AM, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote:
"Bob Wilson" wrote in message ... On 5/29/2016 4:39 PM, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote: Suddenly it has clicked after setting up the IC728 for Jim - the reason that some Morse keys had a shorting switch must have been to provide a continuous key-down position for tuning the TX and ATU! At least in the US: The switch, e.g. on a J-38 key from WWII, dates from before there were tube circuits to be peaked or dipped! On the old telegraph lines, the ancestors of current loop circuits, all the keys and sounders on a large network were simply in series, with a battery also in the circuit. If your key were open, then nobody else could "talk". So you had to short the key when not actually sending. And of course as soon as a switch like that is a "tradition" it is likely to appear on devices long after that need has disappeared. Bob Wilson, WA9D (I think Gareth really meant that as a complaint about some of the always-key-down operators, and I would agree! But I could not leave it alone.) Perchance you are the same Bob Wilson living in Portishead 50 years ago? Gareth, Sorry, I can't claim ever to have been there. I've only been anywhere in Britain for a few weeks, years ago, and I did not get that far south and west even then. (But the 50 years ago part would work...) I'd like to get back but at my age and with my health problems it does not seem likely. Bob Wilson, WA9D |
#7
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The Morse Key with a switch
"Bob Wilson" wrote in message
... On 5/30/2016 3:30 AM, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote: "Bob Wilson" wrote in message ... On 5/29/2016 4:39 PM, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote: Suddenly it has clicked after setting up the IC728 for Jim - the reason that some Morse keys had a shorting switch must have been to provide a continuous key-down position for tuning the TX and ATU! At least in the US: The switch, e.g. on a J-38 key from WWII, dates from before there were tube circuits to be peaked or dipped! On the old telegraph lines, the ancestors of current loop circuits, all the keys and sounders on a large network were simply in series, with a battery also in the circuit. If your key were open, then nobody else could "talk". So you had to short the key when not actually sending. And of course as soon as a switch like that is a "tradition" it is likely to appear on devices long after that need has disappeared. Bob Wilson, WA9D (I think Gareth really meant that as a complaint about some of the always-key-down operators, and I would agree! But I could not leave it alone.) Perchance you are the same Bob Wilson living in Portishead 50 years ago? Gareth, Sorry, I can't claim ever to have been there. I've only been anywhere in Britain for a few weeks, years ago, and I did not get that far south and west even then. (But the 50 years ago part would work...) I'd like to get back but at my age and with my health problems it does not seem likely. Bob Wilson, WA9D He (G8ANZ) was an elmer of mine but seems to have disappeared |
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