On 11/02/2014 19:49, gareth wrote:
I wonder if any have experimented with magnets hovering over
reed relays to act as the contacts of a Morse Key, possibly on
the vibrating arm of a bug key?

The reason i ask is the difficulty of excising noise on the dot contact
of the bug key I made a couple of years ago.

I bought a Ten-Tec keyer at a rally, which used electromagnets instead
of springs.

I hated it - ended up flogging it on ebay and got a Katsumi instead.

Kafkaësque wr

I bought a Ten-Tec keyer at a rally, which used electromagnets instead of springs.

That seems an 'interesting' way to achieve the required dynamics but a
complex one. What were the claimed advantages?

I can think of several which could be claimed but they would hardly justify
the complexity.

On 11/02/2014 22:19, Brian Reay wrote:
Kafkaësque wr

I bought a Ten-Tec keyer at a rally, which used electromagnets instead of springs.

That seems an 'interesting' way to achieve the required dynamics but a
complex one. What were the claimed advantages?

I can think of several which could be claimed but they would hardly justify
the complexity.

I agree - but if you want the alternative view, see he
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/10796

On Tue, 11 Feb 2014, Kafkaësque wrote:

On 11/02/2014 19:49, gareth wrote:
I wonder if any have experimented with magnets hovering over
reed relays to act as the contacts of a Morse Key, possibly on
the vibrating arm of a bug key?

The reason i ask is the difficulty of excising noise on the dot contact
of the bug key I made a couple of years ago.

I bought a Ten-Tec keyer at a rally, which used electromagnets instead of
springs.

I hated it - ended up flogging it on ebay and got a Katsumi instead.


Didn't semi-automatic keys use magnets for something? I remember seeing
an article about making one, and I remember magnets, even if I can't
remember their purpose.

One could do away with the paddle. Have two microswitches and
attach levers to them, and key by pressing one or the other, rather than
moving a lever sideways. Those have been described in the magazines.

In this day and age of computer keyboards, using two fingers to press
"alternate buttons" might be a more familiar thing than a lever back and
forth. Plus, it's similar to how you use a straight key.

Michael

Michael Black wrote:
On Tue, 11 Feb 2014, Kafkaësque wrote:

Didn't semi-automatic keys use magnets for something? I remember seeing
an article about making one, and I remember magnets, even if I can't
remember their purpose.

I recall a good number of years back, 30/35, someone asking me to help with
such a key.

The magnets generated the relative di/dah length. I don't recall if it had
one or two paddles but it seemed to have a mass of adjustments to get it
right. There were other magnets to adjust the paddle(s).

It was beautifully machined but the electrical connections were terrible,
plus a few other things. I did the repairs and the OP twiddled the
adjustments, keyed away beaming ear to ear, and left happy offering all and
sundry as reward.

On 11/02/2014 23:00, Fred Roberts wrote:
On Tue, 11 Feb 2014 22:04:51 +0000, Kafkaësque
wrote:

On 11/02/2014 19:49, gareth wrote:
I wonder if any have experimented with magnets hovering over
reed relays to act as the contacts of a Morse Key, possibly on
the vibrating arm of a bug key?

The reason i ask is the difficulty of excising noise on the dot contact
of the bug key I made a couple of years ago.

I bought a Ten-Tec keyer at a rally, which used electromagnets instead
of springs.

Electromagnets or permanent magnets?

Electromagnets. There was an adjustment for the current flowing through
the magnets which was a bit like the spring tension on a proper twin paddle.