The saga of KlSRR is one more reason for all hams to learn CW - before it's
too late! And when we hear one whose sending is a bit fuzzy at times we
have to learn to bear with it until we KNOW it's a real lid and not someone
disabled. We probably have all known more than one like that. I remember
K3KTH (SK) on the traffic nets. Sending a bit slow and often just plain out
of control. Finally met him. Wheelchair-bound, arms restrained, cerebral
palsy; speech almost intelligible; sending by foot. Super-intelligent and
we learned to send QRQ to him, no problem. KA2ZOR, passed his extra with no
accomodation (back in the 20 wpm era). Was way over 70 then, I believe.
Totally blind, totally deaf. CW only, of course, and you'd never know it
unless someone told you. The famous K9EAB (SK), confined to iron lung,
fantastic sending and receiving on CW. When you hear someone who's hard
to copy for whatever reason, remember the radio might well be his/her only
contact with the outside world, and, it could well happen to any of us.
Dave,K3TX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Close" <rclose@nhwisp.com>
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] The Left-handed VI+
[Bob] I had an accident where my right hand was in a cast for six months
while tendons healed, and spent another six months learning how to pick up
a
bottle of Budweiser again. I found it only took a moment to learn cw left
hand style, and now, in fact, I find my timing is better with the left
than
the right hand, probably due to the scars on the tendons sort of
"snagging"
if my hand is in an awkward position. I think I could send code with my
ears.
CW is a Godsend to some people. My father in the advanced stages of
Parkinson's could hardly speak, but he could rip off a conversation with
his
one "good" hand, (his left, not his right hand, his preferred fist, was so
full of tremors that he sounded rather unusual, to say the least) (sort of
like a CW opp with a stutter)I would translate to Mom and she would just
talk to him. It was so much easier for him to tell us something he wanted
to
say, as opposed to working hard to get a sound croaked out. Mom never
learned the code, but she could pick up certain phrases (tell Mom 88, hw
abt
ice cream? (Mom would be on the way to the freezer before I said a thing,
asking "what flavor").
His Omni-VI+, the only rig he ever really wanted, had to be set to a
frequency and mode, antenna matched and aimed, so all he had to do was
point
at the power switch for Mom, and off DX chasing he was. His logs, so
precise and neat until the last two years, turned into batches of wrinkled
paper with almost unintelligible handwriting , one qso per page. But there
were contacts, many of them, and each one had the same "Thanks for your
patience and understanding" paragraph he sent when he thought his fist was
going bad.(posted on a card in front of him, so he would remember to ask
for
the understanding) No one ever complained about his fist, only his
repeating the entire qso because he forgot he had just had it. So, to any
of you guys who worked K1SRR, thanks from his son, for your patience and
understanding, for his left-hand, no computer logging, not-so-bad cw. The
rig still kicks butt! And, now I will never have any rig as my primary CW
radio other than a Ten-Tec of some sort. Not because of nostalgia, but
because the dang things just work so well, without fuss or bother, no
matter
what hand I tune it with. I wish they made the VII in the old-school TT
colors. Maybe a VII CLASSIC ! Put my order in. 73
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