# everyday keys



## Anabasis (Jan 31, 2018)

Since RO's and CW were all but gone by the time I started sailing, I have a question for you.

What style key did you use day to day? Was it a straight key, bug, paddles? 

I have a Sailor straight key a captain gave me from one of my old ships, but wondered if that was the way the RO's really pounded brass. I know that in the amateur radio world, most people use paddles.

Thanks


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## MikeGDH (May 10, 2014)

Straight key for 1 year then
Bug 1955 to 1976 then
El-keyer 1976 until present day.
Mike.


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

Whatever came with the station (so a straight key) up until mid 70's when I bought an ETM twin paddle electronic keyer, which was (and still is) a nice key.


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## J. Davies (Dec 29, 2010)

It seems most UK-trained R/Os were taught on straight keys and used them at sea . US operators were often trained on bugs and continued with those at sea. In the late 1970's electronic keys (paddles) were available, so some operators switched over. A few coast stations objected (I can remember a Greek ship off Cape Town sending very bad CW on a keyer and being shouted at by ZSC). After a few years they became acceptable as operators improved. 
A good straight key operator could send at 25 words per minute which was sufficient. Bugs and keyers could go faster.


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## Dave McGouldrick (Jan 1, 2007)

Just used whatever key was on the ship. Standard key except for one (Greek ex Japan Line O/O) where there was a mechanical bug. Row of dots one side - continuous dash the other. Took a couple of hours on joining to get competent to use it without embarrassing myself.


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## Varley (Oct 1, 2006)

The only time I have used a bug key was when offered to bash at Armuellesradio when visiting (Tilapa). The C&W (I think) operator commented when I had difficulty regulating the dots "A few more here and there makes no difference".


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## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

My old morse lecturer (and Bob Clay’s) told me that only people who couldn’t send on an up and downer, used side swipers. I suspect Ted Whitehead never could use a bug key. I stuck to my old Marconi up and downer and still have it at home.


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

Yep Ted was a character. I'd been at sea as an engine rating for a couple of years when he taught me Morse but I still learned new swearwords from Ted. :sweat:

I still have a couple of up and downers, but I have to tell you, they're just ornaments now. Give me the twin paddle electronic key every time.

(Pint)


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## Dave McGouldrick (Jan 1, 2007)

BobClay said:


> Yep Ted was a character. I'd been at sea as an engine rating for a couple of years when he taught me Morse but I still learned new swearwords from Ted. :sweat:
> 
> I still have a couple of up and downers, but I have to tell you, they're just ornaments now. Give me the twin paddle electronic key every time.
> 
> (Pint)


Bob - you've become a slave to this modern technology.....[=D] The icon is an old reference to when CW was short for 'Cherubim Wings)


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

Dave McGouldrick said:


> Bob - you've become a slave to this modern technology.....[=D] The icon is an old reference to when CW was short for 'Cherubim Wings)


What other choice was there for a Sparky ?

Smart TV's, computers, the Internet, bikes that go from 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, 100 watt transceiver that could fit into a shoe box, …. this is my kind of slavery .. B\)


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

It was always the on board straight key. My PMG test was with side tone, and when I joined a ship without sidetone I ran a cable from TX to RX to provide it. Nowdays I still use a Marconi 365A. 

Too many Amateurs send poor morse with paddles; extra dits and run-together characters e.g. CQ NST, NAG is BRIP (name is Brian), and I have been called PDRÜ. Well sent error-free code is a delight to copy. I am not perfect! My spaces between words are too short on this clip. 




73, Andrew.
PS sorry about the video, I posted the unedited embarrassing version.


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## holland25 (Nov 21, 2007)

I remember being taught to listen to the clicks when using the old up and down Marconi provided key,which was all I ever used.


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

A lot of people seem to have the peculiar idea that say a twin paddle electronic key is purely about going faster !!

Now I'll agree a Vibroplex bug for example is quite tricky to slow down, it can be done with various modifications and some extra weight, but that key is like a racehorse and wants to fly. But the electronic key will transmit at whatever speed you like from slow, to fast to very fast. 

For me it's great saving was less fatigue, particularly when sending chemical tanker cargo plans (26 tanks, often carrying all kinds of different packets) which often stretched out to several hundreds of words and as you trundled around the islands there would be all types of changes necessitating all kinds of re-transmissions. And of course, once mastered, the Morse is space letter word perfect.

I'm not condemning up and downers, I used them for years. But those who condemn electronic keys as somehow 'inferior' are incorrect in my view. 

Bad Morse stems from the operator, not the key.


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## ernhelenbarrett (Sep 7, 2006)

Used the Marconi 365 key for a few years until I managed to obtain an Elektrix
Bureau key from a ship which had a couple of spares and have used that ever since and still do so today, it is easy to use and as i like a big gap can get up a nice rythm. Old Nobby Clarke on the Karanja taught me to widen the gap as we sent quite a few long messages to ZSD and you didnt tire out as you use your wrist and not nerve-send like a lot of younger R/O's. I believe the "Sparks"in
Bomber Command during the war used all 5 fingers on the key whilst in the aircraft, was almost there myself in the Lincoln Bomber days but opted to return
to a seagoing life instead.
Ern Barrett


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## J. Davies (Dec 29, 2010)

I suppose with a straight key where you control every element of a Morse character, you don't need side tone. You have that tactile feedback from the key. It seems Dickensian. But that is what we did . Now with paddles and bugs it is impossible to send without side tone. I challenge anyone to try.


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

Why would you want to ?

I could usually tell the senders who didn't have a side tone by the state of their morse. Anything but controlled but of course since they couldn't hear it they went blindly on.


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## gwzm (Nov 7, 2005)

I was taught to send on ancient Marconi 365s at the JWMC in Greenock in the early 60s. The PMG tests were without sidetone so you relied on the "feel" of the key and mechanical clicks. Marconi 365s of various vintage were the standard fitment on all the ships that I sailed on.
Later on, as an amateur, I tried using an electronic bug key but didn't get on with that as it upset my wrist movement when I went back to a straight key. 
I taught myself to send left-handed on either a single- or twin-paddle key and use a straight key or mechanical bug key -right handed. I'm not as active as I'd like to be these days but, in order of preference:
#1 Straight key - right-handed (Marconi 365 or Lennart Petterson, no sidetone)
#2 Mechanical bug key - right handed (Any Vibroplex)
#3 Electronic key (twin paddle) - left handed (G4ZPY VHS)
#4 Electronic key (single paddle) - left Handed (Whatever works)
Happy days
GWZM


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## cajef (Feb 8, 2012)

My first ship as a junior was the Empress of Canada which was quite a heavy traffic vessel, then on one run to Montreal we had engine problems and they diverted us to Halifax Nova Scotia, consequently they gave over eight hundred passengers free telegrams so they could notify people that were expecting them and to make alternative arrangements for when they landed.

After sending traffic manually more or less nonstop for hours while on watch I decided to buy a bug key and never regretted it, I used it on all the ships I sailed on and still have it, see my avatar.


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## sparks69 (Dec 18, 2005)

Six of one and half a dozen of the other.
Still preferred my Swallow keyer, so much more relaxing.
Still gathering dust in the loft 30+ years later.
Still waiting for the call ("_We need key bashers, the sun has fried the satellites _" !)


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## Wismajorvik (Dec 29, 2011)

I used whatever the vessel I sailed on was fitted with. The best key for easy operating was a Mckay Marine device which was made from stamped metal and flexed as you depressed it. This allowed for less strain on the wrist. Unfortunately the key was live at 115v above earth, the arm with a bit of insulating sleeve on it and the knob was plastic. Had to be careful though. Working ashore in later life, sending and receiving morse on eight hour shifts an electronic key was the only way to survive!


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

sparks69 said:


> Six of one and half a dozen of the other.
> Still preferred my Swallow keyer, so much more relaxing.
> Still gathering dust in the loft 30+ years later.
> Still waiting for the call ("_We need key bashers, the sun has fried the satellites _" !)


A plot worthy of a post apocalyptic novel ... :sweat:

When I became a civil servant I did three months intensive Morse training which has to be passed or you're out. After that only those coast stations in the sky beckoned, and I never heard a Morse signal again until recently, nearly 30 years.

But given some apocalyptic event perhaps it will make a come back, but don't count on a good wage in a withered world.


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## jimg0nxx (Sep 1, 2005)

Strange coincidence Bob. Just read your post and few minutes later heard morse from a coast station in the sky. After a advert break on Sky
Channel One along with the Sky logo the word "SKY" was sent at about 20wpm.


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

jimg0nxx said:


> Strange coincidence Bob. Just read your post and few minutes later heard morse from a coast station in the sky. After a advert break on Sky
> Channel One along with the Sky logo the word "SKY" was sent at about 20wpm.


Sounds to me like someone has finally gone Portis in the head. (*)):sweat:


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## jimg0nxx (Sep 1, 2005)

I must have! After the next ad break the same thing happened. The first time I heard it, rewound to make sure I was'nt "just hearing things".


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

The engine on my bike often sends Morse to me. It never makes much sense but after I put some oil in it, it goes away .... [=P]


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

> Bad Morse stems from the operator, not the key.


Dead right Bob. 

The best amateur fist I hear is Tony G3ZRJ, ex GKA. His straight key, bug or electronic keyer all sound practically the same. You can tell if it's not a keyer because of the occasional di daaaah dit giving a "roger." 
Andrew


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

jimg0nxx said:


> I must have! After the next ad break the same thing happened. The first time I heard it, rewound to make sure I was'nt "just hearing things".


OK Jim, for some reason I decided to give _'Jamestown'_ series two a look tonight on Sky One. (Normally a channel a bit like Channel 5, or the Daily Mail, or the _Beano_ ... no come to think of it, that's unfair, the _Beano_ was ok.)

Sure enough I too heard the _*dit dit dit, dah dit dah, dah dit dah dah*_ at the the breaks.  ... with a key gap that sounded like the big ends knocking on a BSA A10, (which I've had experience with.)

So I take it back, you did hear it ... well I did anyway (although I had drunk a couple of bottles of tequila flavoured beer.)

As for Jamestown ..... think of _Eastenders_ in Virginia in the 17th century and you'll get the idea.

(*))


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## sparks69 (Dec 18, 2005)

I remember in the days of Medium Wave Radio 4 listening to DAN's traffic list in the background during the evening news whilst eating my tea.(*))


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

Another time going up the M1 in the mid 70's after spending a few nights touring around the south coast in a Reliant Robin (bike licence only) as I approached the M6 Junction I had the radio on to keep me awake and I suddenly heard loud and clear:

DE GKB

I thought: _I've finally cracked. It's the basket weaving farm and the infinite traffic list for me ..._ 

It went away, and I assumed I'd imagined it, and busied myself prepping for the M6 (which was a nightmare even back then.)

Years later I read that Portishead had some transmitters up by Rugby, and I figured that's what I'd heard breaking through. 

I'm dreading turning up to the Pearly Gates to find I've got got QRY 42 ... (to the power of 42.) [=P]


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

BobClay said:


> Another time going up the M1 in the mid 70's after spending a few nights touring around the south coast in a Reliant Robin (bike licence only) as I approached the M6 Junction I had the radio on to keep me awake and I suddenly heard loud and clear:
> 
> DE GKB
> 
> ...


(Jester)


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## Quiney (Oct 2, 2008)

As a jnr sparks, my senior had a single paddle electronic key. He could rattle away at a good speed on it, and I used to practice on it.
I subsequently bought myself the ELkey twin paddle electronic key with its 'squeeze' facility.
I met-up with my old senior and showed him my key. He had a go on it but kept making mistakes. With his single key, his timing didn't need to be 100% because the electronics set the timing of the dot and dash. With my two paddle set, if you came in too early on the second paddle, the 'squeeze' facility kicked in. It took him a few minutes to adjust his keying to get good copy, didn't think he could master the squeeze key side!


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## majoco (Oct 15, 2008)

My R/O training was at SE Essex Tech College, 1962 to 1964 - we were the guinea pigs, the first course ever run there. Our CW tutor was a big jolly guy ex GKA called Percy something, can't remember. A room with about 20 booths, 365 key and a pair of SG Brown Type "F" headphones. Percy would send us the front page of the Daily Mail for us to receive, then we had to send it back - no sidetone, just the mechanical key clicks. Percy could listen to any individual and later give his criticism. At the end of the first year we got a new tutor, a retired guy from PCH, Hank Bondermaker. He did the same as Percy, but he sent the Daily Telegraph! After we sent back our received signal, Hank exclaimed "You all sound like Percy!" - pretty soon we had a Creed reperf machine which of course sent perfect morse and we learnt to send along with the reperf signal.
Unfortunately I don't have a 365B, but I have an Amplidan which is a beautiful key, nice and bouncy - a "Key, Morse, Type D, 10A/7373" which I suspect was made by Marconi and a Vibroplex which I haven't got my head around despite hours of practice!


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## J. Davies (Dec 29, 2010)

Hi Martin

My experience is very similar to yours, but several years later, 1977-79 at Brunel Tech in Bristol. The trainers used newspapers and Creed. Sometimes it was mixed in with some QRN from a real AR88 receiver. No sidetone either when we sent.
I had a Marconi 365B but gave it to a ham in Australia (VK6GX) recently as a gift, together with the Amplidan which you mentioned. I have kept an RAF Type D on my shelf which in turn was a gift from a fellow ham so I won't give that one away.
I use bug keys on the air exclusively now. The favourite is the exotic Alberto Frattini magnetic hand-made in Italy, but there are few CW operators on the bands these days, due mainly to poor propagation, but also I fear to dwindling numbers of operators.

Keep pounding that brass

73 de John 9V1VV


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