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Re: Topband: CW rhythm, swing, speed

To: "jim@audiosystemsgroup.com" <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>, topband <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: CW rhythm, swing, speed
From: Donald Chester <k4kyv@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2023 23:16:23 +0000
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
Jim K9YC <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com> 30 June 2023 18:22 wrote:
>> I reluctantly changed over to an Electronic keyer about 5 years ago

> In the '50s, I used a Vibroplex that a cousin had used in the Navy. I
> switched cold turkey in the late '60s.

I did just the opposite. I had used an iambic keyer for several years, 
mastering it to the point that I could change over from bug to keyer in 
mid-word without a glitch.  But I never could send solidly and reliably with 
the keyer.  I always made mistakes, and after more than a few minutes sending, 
I was correcting a mistake every other word. Then about 10 years ago at Dayton, 
 I picked up a 1925 vintage Vibroplex Original, one of those with gold stripes 
painted on black Japan finish on the base.  It was an inexpensive fleamarket 
find, a well-worn basket case, likely having seen decades of service at a 
railway telegraph station, but I was able to repair and restore it.  Although 
the mechanism still has plenty of slop due to years of wear, it sends 
velvet-smooth, with no  contact bounce, a real pleasure to use. My electronic 
keyer and paddle have been collecting dust on the shelf ever since.

Don k4kyv
Don k4kyv


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