Mumfier 67 — January/925mm};2000Flyingthe {mg

i V0!Morse

Mani wtTfieMorsefl/[cyazine

fli-MounJflSK-903 Side Movement Key

EDITORIALANDSUBSCRIPTION OFFICES:

Morsum Magnificatflhe Poplars.Wistanswick, Market Drayton.Shropshire TF9 23A, England.Phone: +44 (0) 1630 638306FAX: +44 (0) 1630 638051

MORSUMMAGNIFICAT wasfirstpublishedas a quarterlymagazine in Holland, in I983. by thelate Rinus Hellemons PAOBFN.It has been producedfour, then six times a year in Britain since I986,and up to January [999 was published and edited by Tony Smith, G4FAI and Geofl'Arnold,G3GSR. It aims to provide international coverage of all aspects ofMorse telegraphy, pastpresent and future. MORSUM MAGNIFICAT is for all Morse enthusiasts. amateur or

professional. active or retired. It brings together material which would otherwise be lost toposterity, providing an invaluable source of interest, reference and record relating to the

traditions and practice ofMorse.

EDITOR Zyg Nilski G30KDe-mail: zngmorsumdemoncouk MM home page — http://www.morsum.demon.co.uk

© The Nilski Partnership MM Printed by Hertfordshire Display plc, Ware, Herts

All drawings. photographs and articles are copyright and no part of this publication may be reproduced. storedin a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without express permission of the publishers,The Nilski Partnership. Copyright may also be the property of contributors.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS (six Issues):UK £13.00 Europe £14.00 Rest ofthe World £17.00 (US $30 approx)

All overseas copies are despatched by Ainnail' Prices in US dollars may vary slightly withcunency exchange rates and commission chargeseo-Makeall chequespayable to ‘MorsumMngnlflcat’

“When does my subserlptlon expire ...?”

This is primed on the top line of the address label.Also. we shall jog your memory with a renewal reminder included with that final issue.

MM Back IssuesIssues Nos. 34,35 and 38—66 available from the

Editorial offices (see top of page). Price including postage £2.50 each to UK; £2.70 toEurope; £2.85 (US $5) Rest of the World by airmail. Deduct 20% if ordering 3 or more

FRONT COVERHi-Moundmodel number HSK-903which operates with a side movement. The Morse

code alphabet is printed on the base.Photo/Collection: Heisuke Kimura, JAl DVV

A VeryHappyMillennium to all readers. This has tobe a good year for Morse, after all, what is good forMorse is great for Morsum Magnificat - and inRoman numerals this is year MM!

The new millennium starts with Morsenowno longeramainstreammodeofcommunicationfor commercial users in many parts of the world.Specialist applications will continue to develop andthe work of The Morse 2000 Outreach, Departmentof Communication Disabilities at the University ofWisconsin-Eau Claire is a fine example of this. I amsure that SamuelMorse would have been pleased tolearn that his code hadbeen extended to cover all thekeys on a computer keyboard for people unable touse them.

As regards other areas of interest associatedwith Morse, newcomers to Morse on the radioamateur bands or the internet will be those drawnbythe fascination of communicating with dots anddashes. The growth of interest in collecting andrestoring telegraph instruments of all types is self—

evident by their increasing prices and I suspect thatmore old telegraph systems will be revived to thedelight of the enthusiasts and tourists alike. As wireand wireless telegraph systems become distantobjects of history, it is almost inevitable that thestudy of their technology and effect on social,economic and political history will increase.

MMwill continueto fulfil its role, currentlyunique among publications, as the internationalmagazine devoted to Morse and the telegraphs.Apology. Due to error in printing the labels forMM66, the words ‘LAST ISSUE’ appeared in thetop left hand comer giving the impression that thiswas the last copy that you would receive. Thereshould have been a number printed next to thesewords to inform you of the issue number at whichyour subscription expired. This number did notappear - my apologies for the confusion that thiscreated. Zyg Nilski G30KDW67—January/féruary 2000

2 News6 SAQ Grimeton Radio —

The Link to America9 Developing a Morse

Input Standard12 Parentage of the Ericsson

Keys14 Unusual Results of Early

German Radio15 More Morse with

Computers16 Dah-Dit-Dit22 MMBookshelf24 Showcase26 Receiving Morse Using

Taste29 MM66 Searchword30 The Candler System38 Info Please40 Bluffing Through the

Code41 Your Letters47 Readers Ads48 Solution to MM66

Searchword

20 FISTS CW Club21 G—QRP Club37 The QRP Component

Company40 MEGS

DARC’s Opposition toMorse Hardens

The November 1999 issue of “CQDL”thejournal ofDARC(Deutscher AmateurRadio Club) reports that much of thecontroversial ”Timm Report” wasapparently put on the agenda of theLillehammer IARU Region 1

Conference, despite announcements tothe contrary from officials of DARCbefore the conference (See MM66‘DARCNot Opposing Morse’).

Members of the Germandelegationwere reported to have said thatthere was considerable discussion on thecontent and tone of the paper presented.The British, in an interviewwithG3HCT,and some others, were opposed to theDARC proposal to get a formal decisionon the Morse exam issue at this stage.This resulted in the paperbeing disregarded.

Mr. Voegele, DK9HU, head ofDARC, and even more so Mr. Koenig,DJ8CY, memberof the DARCdelegation,freely admitted in their interview for‘CQDL’ that the rejection of the paperwas obviously caused by its demandingcontent. However, DK9HU and DARCregard the submission of the paper to beapartial successbyraising the issueof notretaining theMorse code exams in future.

2

Strong opposition came from the Irishdelegation whose members firmlyexpressed their disapproval.

It appears that as result of theLillehammer Conference, DARC can nolonger be regarded to be a firm supporterofthe Morse code exam in the belief thatits abolition will increaseDARC membership, though some otherGermandelegateswerereportedas givingpro-Morse exam statements later on.(Report: Martin Hengemuehle,Chairman, Deutscher Telegrafie Club)

Rare DX Stations toListen For

MMreaders who are also radio hamsmaybeinterested in listeningforthe followingDX stations:

MONACO, 3A. 3ANA3EU has beenQRV on 10108 khz between 0300and 04302. QSL to home call.

TUNISIA, 3V. Hrane,YTlAD,has beenQRVfrom club station 3V8BBon 28023khz from 1530 to 16302. QSL viaYTlAD.

VIETNAM, 3W. Members of theTallinnYouth Radio Club will be QRV

W67— January/fefimary 2000

as 3W6KMfrom December 5 to January4, 2000. Activitywill be on all bands andmodes. QSL via ESlAKM.

BURUNDI, 9U. Gus, 9U5D, has beenQRV on CW on 14035 khzstarting around04302. QSLviaSMOBFJ.

PANAMA,HP. Radio amateurs here canuse the prefix 3Funtil January 5, 2000, incommemoration of the transfer of thePanama Canal. Look for 3F1AC, forexample, to be QRV on all bands usingCW. QSL via HPlAC

SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS.Danny, LZ2UU, will be active as LZOAfrom the Bulgarian Antarctic base onLivingston Island from December 4to February, 2000. QSL via LZlKDP.

ANTARCTICA. Look for Niall,VP8NJS, to be QRV until February1, 2000, and Art, KC4/KL7RL, to beactive from Antarctic Base Patriot Hills.QSL via operator’s instructions.(Information: Ed Tanton N4XY)

Vintage EquipmentFraud Convicted

A Florida ham has been ordered to spendmost of the next five years in prison afterpleading no contest to fraud chargesinvolving offers to sell amateur andvintage gear. Michael T. Kirby, WSJBV(ex-K4VFY), of Panama City, Florida,hadbeen arrestedAugust 20 for schemingto defraud using the US mails. Kirby has

W67—]anuary/9’ebruary 2000

a history of arrests and convictions forallegedly accepting payments forequipment he never delivered.

Panama City Police DetectiveRobert Luther said that Kirby pled nocontest on September 30 in Bay CountyFlorida 14th JudicialCourt,“whichmeansheputshimselfon themercyofthe court,”Luther explained. Kirby will get 41 dayscredit for time served in the Bay CountyJail following his arrest.

Luther said Kirby’s fraudulentdealings were extensive. He said thatwhile Kirby actually received somewhatless than $20,000 in proceeds from hisfraudulent dealings, “the attempted fraudis well greater than that.”

The court required Kirby to makerestitution “to as many victims as I canidentify,” Luther said. Some victimsalready have received refunds. Luthersaid those defrauded by Kirby who havenot already received a refund or been incontact with authorities should send him“original proof” that fraud occurred. Hesaid this means original documentation,letters, correspondence and similarmaterial as well as the amount of moneyand the dates involved.

Those believing they werevictimized by Kirby can e—mail Lutherfor more information atpanamaone@aol.com or call him at850—872-3 129.(From QST, December 1999)(Atleast oneMMreaderhas been oflereda rarekeyforhis collection by thispersonbut discontinued the transaction afier hebecame suspicious. Apparently victimsincluded overseas collectors. Ifyou thinkthat you have a claim contact Det. Luther- Ed)

3

Swedish AlexandersonTransmitter to Live Again

The very last known working 17.2 kHzAlexanderson transmitter in the worldwill be on the air on January lst and 2nd2000fromSAQ,Grimetonon theSwedishWest coast. Transmissiontimes are 12.00and 12.30 and 1300 UTC on January lstand 0600 UTC on the 2nd. A number ofthese antique transmitters were built inthe twenties and constructed in the USAby theSwedish-bornErnstAlexanderson.

High power radiofrequency (VLF) output was generatedby alternators which enabled reliablecommunication all over the globe andcould be heard by submarines underwater.

The antenna is a couple ofkilometres long on high towers. Thisfantastic station is now a museum andvisitors are welcome. HansGoldschmidt, SMSKI says, “Our clubwas there a couple of years ago and I hada chance to send vvv..... I will neverforget the v—sounds of the generatoralongwith my keying on the old CW key!! Ifyou remember the old FrankensteinMonster Movies, then you can imaginewhat it looked like with those big handlesand switches. Also the tuning rods goingup and down in waterwhilethe transmitterwas tuned up”

QSL-cards will be returned forreports received. Listening to SAQ willbe a sound of radio history but a VLFreceiver is needed capable of tuning to17.2 kHz.(InformationHans Goldschmidt,SM5KI)See also the article on page 6 - Ed

4

RSGB Seeks MembersViews on Morse Sub-

bands

As part of the consultation phase on newA/B licence proposals, the Radio Societyof Great Britain (RSGB) is invitingmembers to submit their comments onfuture band planning which might beincluded in BR68, theRadiocommunicationsAgency’sLicenceschedule. Strong and diverse views areheld by members on whether bandsegments for using Morse should beprotected on specified frequencies.

There is a concern that if accessto the HF bands did not require a Morsequalification then the increasing numberof users would encroach on the Morsesections ofthe bands under the voluntaryband plan scheme. Apparently theRadiocommunications Agency hasinformed the RSGB that “the Agencyrecognises the importance ofMorse codeas a communication mode. It is thereforepreparedto consideramendingthe licenceschedule to set aside certain parts of theHF bands for Morse only”

“The Society sees three option forthe way ahead:- Firstly, to do nothing. We have

existed for many years with a‘gentlemen’s agreement’ on bandplanning at HF and this couldcontinue.

0 Secondly, include a comment in theBR68 schedule that the ‘IARURegion 1 band plans should berespected’. This would giveadditional force to the gentlemen’s

W67— January/{Few2000

agreement.- Thirdly, by specific definition in

BR68, to limit telephony stations tothe existing telephony sections ofthe bands, as defined in the relevantIARUband plan. For most ofus, thiswould represent no change.”

New Morse 2000Bibliography

The Morse 2000 Outreach, promotingresearch in the use ofMorse code inrehabilitation andresearch at theUniversity ofWisconsin—Eau Clairehas recently announcedthat the current revisedMorse 2000bibliography ofresearch and clinicalexperience with Morsecode overthe past 160+years is now availablefree on theirweb site at:http://www.uwec.edu/Academic/Outreach/Morse2000/morse2000.html

Itis also available bypostal mailbut please enclose a self—addressedenvelope with three units of first classpostage for the USA (more for othercountries). ‘Additional donations arealwayswelcome!’ The address is: Morse2000 Outreach, Human Sciences &Services Outreach Office, University ofWisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI~54702—4004, USA.

W67—]anuary/fe6mary 2000

Morse Code “I Love You”

Whilst some think that theworld is losinginterest in Morse, others realise howdeeply it is embedded in the culture of themodernworld — and are making abusinessof it!

Diamond Jewelry, Inc.,California advertise their LOVECODESBracelets on the intemet. They say, ‘Youmay have said it every other way, butsaying “I Love You” in Morse Code willsend the message clear to the heart!’

They offer a range of bracelets

which spell out “I Love You” in Morsecode using ‘round brilliant’ (dots) and‘baguette’ (dashes) cut diamonds,totalling 2.25 carats. The bracelets areavailable in gold at $4800, white gold at$4900 or platinum at $5500.

Visit their web site at http://www.lovelines.com/shop/codes.html orphone 1—800-275-4354

As with all intemet purchases,make sure that you have the terrestialname and address before purchase.

.5“

RIMETON, ON THE WESTcoast ofSweden is the site of thelast complete and working

Alexanderson transmitter. It is now a‘Listed Historic Establishment’, open tovisitors and on special occasions, goes onthe air.

In 1895 the Italian physicist andlater Nobel Prize winner GuglielmoMarconi (1874-1937) had realized thepotential of wireless telegraphy, i.e. thepossibility of transmitting informationwith the help of radio waves.

The experiences from WorldWar I showed that the communicationacross the Atlantic did not function welland the demand for increased telegramtraffic toAmericawasgreat.The SwedishParliament, Riksdagtherefore decided, in1920, that a long wavetransmitting andreceiving station shouldbe built by the thenTelegrafverket.

It was decidedthat the location of theestablishment shouldprovide an entire wavepropagation path to thereceiving station in NewYork across open waters- south of Norway, northof Denmark andScotland. Grimeton, avillage about 10kilometres east of

6

SAQGrimeton Radio

The Link to America

Edited b MM from theGrimeton adio Web Page

Varberg, was therefore considered asuitable choice. The open landscapesaround the site left the way free for the

Control Panel of the Alexanderson transmitter

W67— january/fefiruan/2000

The GrimetonAlexanderson transmitter built by General Electric, USA, installed in1924.

radio waves out towards theWestern Seaand, besides, the name of Grimeton waseassy to pronounce for Americans. The“great radio station”, as it was called, wasthen built during the years 1922—24.

The transmitter, the heart ofwhich is an altemating—current generator(alternator), was developed by theSwedish-born engineer ErnstAlexanderson (1878-1975) who was apioneer in radio engineering, educated inEurope, employed at General Electric inSchenectady outside NewYork and lateron chief engineer at Radio Corporationof America (RCA).

By the autumn of 1923 the

W67—]anua7y/,‘Fe6ruary2000

establishment, except for the six antennamasts, was ready. Construction of themasts was delayed by a general strike atthe Swedish ironworks. They weretherefore built in 1924 as the final part ofthe installation. The six 127 meter highmasts are still there. The masts wereplaced at intervals of 380 meters and 46meter long cross-arms were attached tocarry the 12wires feeding energy into thesix vertical radiating elements.

For certain employees a littlevillage with dwelling-houses for sevenfamilies was built.

OnDecember 1, 1924, the trafficof the ‘great radio station’, Grimeton

7

HEN OUR COMPANYdeveloped its first Morse Codebased computer accessproduct,

wewere surprised to learn that a standardcode did not exist. Old Samuel Morse’scode only covers letters, numbers and afew punctuation marks. We had todevelop our own codes for things likemouse control and keyboard keys likeHome, Escape and Delete. The lack of astandard for Morse Code Access hasresulted in each manufacturer assigningdifferent codes to keyboard and mousefunctions. Thismakes it very difficult forauscr to movefromone systemto another.No one wants to learn a new code set.

A standards committee wasformed at the Morse 2000 conference toaddressthis issue. Thecommitteeworkedon developing a standard for more than ayear. They met via the intemet, using e-mail to exchange information andviewpoints. The committee tried toaddress as many issues as possible and aset of recommendations was developed.Some of the more importantrecommendations are listed below.0 Standard International Morse Code

should be used for the letters andnumberseventhoughamoreefficientcode could be developed.

0 Codes should be designed so theyare easy to use even if it makes themmore difficult to remember (codesshould be as short as possible).

0 Codes should be assigned tokeyboard keys so that a single code

W67—]anua1y/fe6mary2000

Developing a MorseInput Standard

by Jim Lynds

(President, WesTest Engineering,Bountiful, UT, USA)

set could be used for both U.S. andInternational keyboards.

o The user should be provided withthe ability to develop custom codesets tomeettheir individual languageand usage needs.

0 A mouse mode should be providedthat allows the short codes used forletters (e, t, i, etc.) to be used toefficiently controlmousemovement.

0 A number mode should be providedthat allows the short codes normallyused for letters to be used toefficiently enter numbers.

A code set was developed thatincorporates all of the recommendations.This code set became part of a standardthat can be used to control thedevelopment of a Morse Code ComputerAccess capability. In addition to thecode, the standard addresses such issuesas input methods, operation, timing,

.9

feedback,macrosand code set generation.The standard has been given to

the Accessibility and Disabilities Groupat Microsoft. Microsoft has expressed aninterest in providing Morse accesscapability in Windows 2000. Let’s hopethey do. No one should have to pay $500to $1000 to have Morse access to acomputer. If youwould like a copy of thestandard, e-mailmeat jim@westest.com.I’ll be happy to send it to you.(Reprinted, with the author’s consent,from MORSELS, Summer 1999,Newsletter of theMorse2000WorldwideOutreachwhich promotes research in anduse of Morse code in rehabilitation andeducation. TheMorse 2000 web site is athttp://www.uwec.edu/Academic/Outreach/MorseZOOO/morse2000.html).

Extractsfrom the StandardThe full document is too lengthy

to reproduce here, but the followingextracts will give some idea of what hasbeen proposed by the standardscommittee. Titled, “DevelopmentSpecification, Morse Code Input Systemfor the Windows 2000 OperatingSystem”, the standard has been preparedby Jim Lynds on behalf of the committeeand is dated April 22, 1999.1.0 Scope

This document provides thedevelopment specifications for a set ofapplicationprogramsthatprovideaMorsecode input capability for computers usingthe Windows 2000 Operating System.1.1 background

Many people with physicaldisabilities are not able to use a computerkeyboard or mouse. This severely limitstheir access to the educational,

10

recreational and career opportunitiesprovidedbycomputer technology.Morsecode has long been recognized as aneffective computer access method forpeople who are not able to use akeyboardor mouse.

Morse code systems use a binaryinput method that represents charactersand commands as a series of dots anddashes. For example, a dot followed by adash indicates the letter a, a dashfollowedby three dots represents b, etc. If a singleswitch is used for entering the code, adash is differentiated from a dot byactivating the switch for a longer periodof time. In two—switchMorse code, oneswitch is used for entering dots while theother is used for dashes. Three-switchinput is also available for people who cannot reliably control their movements. Avarietyof switchesare available andmostpeople can use Morse code, no matterwhat their disability. Morse code is quiteefficient. Speeds of 15 to 30 words aminute are common and speeds in excessof 60 words per minute can be attained.

Morse code has a number ofadvantages over other alternate computeraccess strategies. It is usually faster,requires less fine motor control and isless likely to produce fatigue than othermethods. Perhaps its most importantadvantage is its ability to become a sub—

cognitive process. After using the codefor a period of time, the Morse code userno longer thinks about the code they’reentering. This is the same process as isused by touch typists and it has asignificant impact on speed, accuracyand the quality of the work beingproduced.Morsecode is theonlyalternateaccess method that can become a sub-

W67— january/fefiruary2000

cognitive process...Some Rules -

Somerulesmustbefollowedwhendeveloping code sets. Keys that outputprintable characters (letters, numbers,punctuation, etc.) are defined by enteringthe character. Keys that do not outputprintable characters are defined byentering the name of the key enclosedwithin <> symbols. For example, theenter key is defined by placing <ent> inthe code and the F1 key by using <f1>.

AppendixDefault Code Set

Table 1 contains the default codeset. This code set is loaded on boot up.While it has been defined for USkeyboards, it possesses the capability ofcontrolling computers that use otherkeyboards. The code set contains the twokeys found on European keyboards thatare not on the US keyboard (42 and 45).Since all codes have been assigned tokeys or key combinations, computersusing nonUS keyboard can be controlledby substituting the name found on thenon US keyboard. For example, theAlternate Character key on manyEuropean keyboards is the same as theRightCtrlkeyonaUS keyboard.Enteringthe code for Right Ctrl would have thesame effect as pressing the AlternateCharacter key.

Some of the codes in Table 1 arethe equivalent ofmultiple key inputs. Forexample, the $ symbol is the equivalentof a shift 4, the % is the equivalent of ashift 5, etc. It is anticipated that code setsfornon-USkeyboardswoulddefine codesfor multiple key inputs that use thealternate character key.

W67—Janua7y/ffefiruary 2000

EXAMPLES FROM TABLE 1

DEFAULTCODE SET(Total list has 126 symbols)

Keyboard Code<enter><space><backspace><esc> .....<end> — - _ - -<de|> _ - - _ -mouse mode<underline><lab> .....Number Mode —- - - - ._<insert>shift> - - _ - _<ctr|> .....<alt> _____<break><num lock> — .....<tableft> —_-__-<up arrow><home><caps lock><page down><right arrow><prinl screen> — - - - - _<pause><page up><scro|| lock><rlght clrl><right all><sys rq><right shift><|eft arrow>F1 _____ _F10 ______<down arrow>

TABLE 2MOUSEMODE

Mouse Action Codeslop -accelerate —move right -move left —

JJ

Table 2 - continued

move up - -move down — —move click left — -move click right - —move dbl click left — — -move dbl click right - - —move clk hld left — — —move clk hld right - - -move up left - - — —move up right - - - -move down left — — — —move down right - — - -wheel — — — '-

TABLE3NUMBER MODE

Keypad Output Code1 -2 _3 - .—4 - -5 _ -6 _ _.7 - _ _8 - - _g - - -o _ _ _

+ _ _ -

/ ._ - _enter - — - —

Parentage of the Ericsson Keysby Jan Moller, K6FM

keys, with their hard point contactsand stiff levers, sending fast for

hours became hard work. Sometelegraphers developed a soreness in thesendinghand, “GlassArm”, that impairedtheir work. Henric Oller in Sweden cameupwith atelegraphic key design, patentedin 1857, that gave a softer and bouncierfeel to the keying.

In additionto improvedbearings,his key arm had at the end a leaf springinsertwithsilvercontacts.This steel springmoved between two solid brass blocksthat held the fixed contacts. Its flexing12

I N THE DAYS OF CAMELBACK softened the action. In his longer model,Oller could connect the MAKE contactblock to two different sending batteriesby insertion of a conical brass pin. Ashorter model did not have this feature.

Oller founded a company in1859 for the production of “telegraphapparatus, electric bells and terapheuticdevices” andmade these keys. One of hisemployees was Lars Magnus Ericsson,whoworked there for several years in theperiod between 1866 and 1876. The latteryear Ericsson started a small factory thatis now the world size communicationscorporation which still bears his name.

W67— january/fefimary2000

OriginalOllerkey circa 1860

After Oller’5 death his companywent out of business in 1891 butL.M.Ericsson continued to make heavybrass telegraphkeys (amongother things)to Cller’s design well intoWorldWar II.

simplified wartime development by adifferent company but still included theflexible spring steel end contacts, as domany other key makers. The MarconiP.S.213A key shown in MM62, p.41, is

The postwar “Swedish Key” was a another example. MM

Shorter filler-Ericsson key, vintage 1936. Made by L. M. Ericsson

W67—january/fefiruaiy2000 15

E U T S C H E RWETTERDIENST (TheGerman Meteorological

Service) is commemorating thecentenary of the first experimental radiotransmissions of the German MaritimeService. (See MM66, p8). The originalexperiments took place in 1899 at a sitenear Cuxhaven and there were manystories associated with this work.

They were using mighty sparkgap transmitters and the newspapers ofthose days, more than once, claimed thatthe range of the transmitters usingelectromagnetic waves was sometimesshorter than the acoustic range of thenoise from the spark gap whenthe transmitters were keyed!

Another report described policeaction taken against an individualresident who apparently tried to “listenintensively and ith obvious intent todecode the non—public transmissions bylistening to the noise made by the sparkgap”. He was charged with espionagebut laterreleasedwhenproofwasobtainedthat he was a retired former-soldier of theKaiserlicheMarineandwasjust interestedin the new developments. Perhaps hewould have faced a long term prisonsentence otherwise.

Following this, the policecarried out investigations to check thatno one living close to the transmittingsite was able to read Morse code. Attimes I guess there were more men fromthe secret police around than residents

14

Unusual Results ofEarly German RadioTransmissions

by Martin HengemuehleDL5OE

whenevertransmissionsweremade. Lateron military messages were encrypted.

After the first seriesof transmissions andrange tests, the localfarmers took out a law-suit, charging theKaiser’s government, i.e. the owner ofthe transmitter, with running the stationand thus increasing the amount of stoneson their farm land with the “strange”radiation. They also claimed that sincethe transmissionshad startedan unusuallyhigh number of calveswere dying at birthand they were claiming compensationpayments. In the end the dispute wassettled. The farmers withdrew theirallegations, but the reason why they diddo so has never been revealed.

Mysteriously though, when thetransmitting site was enlarged later,government sources were quoted assaying that every acre of landpurchased was more expensive than itwould have been for land in the centre ofthe capital, Berlin! MM

W67— January/fefiruwy 2000

BOUT ONCE A WEEKsomebody contacts me to askabout software for sending

and/or readingMorse bycomputer.Whatcan I recommend? Computer-aidedMorse, of course, is NOT somethingREAL CW people are supposed to talkabout. But I spend a lot of time withcomputers, and rather like them. So I’lltalk to anyone who can communicatewith me on CW using anything at all, aslong as I can read their Morse, and theycan read mine.

Sometimes a two-way computer-Morse QSO with a dedicated SSB ordigital mode op can result in a completechange of attitude to those of us whoconverse in beeps (which they think of aspre-historic grunts) at the bottom of thebands. Sometimes, too, people just wantto showtheXYLor the family what thesestrange sounds they love are saying.

I have said it before, and I’ 11 say itagain - farfrom being athreat, the intemetis a great plus for Hamming. Murray,ZLlBPU, recently passed on an e-majlfrom a European Ham drawing ourattention to yet another couple ofshareware Morse computer programsdeveloped by Sergei, UA9OSV. Idownloaded them immediately fromhttp://ua9osv.da.ru and have been usingthem ever since.

Don’t hesitate. If you have aWin95/98 computer with soundcard, trythese. They’resufficientlyimpressivethatI’ve postponed further work on similar

{MIA/[67—]amtary/,’Fefimary2000

More Morse withComputers

by Dr Gary BoldZL1AN

software I’ve been developing myself.(Note: These programs are both up toversion 15 at the time of revisiting thisarticle for MM, October 1999, and theoriginal BREAK—IN text has beenmodified to reflect improvements)

CwGETThis is the name of Sergei’3 code

reader. It’s written in C++ builder, andSergei’s help file says he has only testedit on a high end computer, but it runs fineonmy 166 MHzWin98 machine. CwGetaccepts input from thephonejack straightinto the computer’s soundcard. Nointerface is required. The audio gain isvery non-critical. I unzipped it, fired itup, plugged it in, and it started decoding.

It’s a true Win95/98 application.All the windows can be resized and

15’

shifted. The screen appears as in fig. 1,which showspart of a three-way 80 metreQSO between Bruce, ZLlADF, Jon,ZLlJON, and me. The decoded text inthemiddle screen showsBruce exhortingJon to contact me for a keyboard sender.The band is not particularly noisy, andcomputer copy is pretty good as Bruce’ssignal was very strong, and he sendsexcellent Morse.

You can see that only a few lettersare corrupted. Most signals you’ll copyon crash—infested 80 metreswill not be asclean as this - all codereaders work betteron 20 metres and up,where the static isless. At the end,

Mensa

where Bruce passes iit to me, you’ll see

frequency CwGET is tracking. I havetold it to track the strongest signal in itsreceiving bandwidth by pressing the“AFC” and “AutoGTM” (Auto go toMax)buttons. The acquisitionbandwidthis set with the “up/down” buttons, and Ihave selected the narrowest of the threesupplied filters.

Incidentally, like other programsthat read through the soundcard, thebandwidthofyourreceiverdoesn’ tmattermuch. Sergei has implemented softwarebandpass filters — in his case Bessel 16

to Eat} E}' "

.M _

some randomcharacters betweenovers before thesoftware picked meup and began todecode what I wassending.

CwGETAttempts toD0 Everything ForYou.

dlljonlzllande zll adf and its good to hear u tte gary its been :13quite a long time, jon u hav hr the guru weeth all the cwprograms, look through breakin, he is offering disks if u sendhorn a blank and that is wheene it tll stgts, i have bn using kbdhr for 15 yrs nweok gary i guess you will be having a breakfrom the hassle right now all anleljon de zll adf ueetill adt/zlljon de zll an 99 bruce es jon es nife to hr u aml

The topwindow is acontinuouslyupdatedspectrogram displaywhich runs from 0 -2500Hz. Youcan seethe fuzzy peak whichis Bruce’s signaloverlaid with avertical lineindicating the

16

Figure 1 - An Example of a CwGETScreen

W67— January/fefiruary 2000

pole types - which automatically centrethemselves on the frequency of theincoming signal.

The text is decoded in the centrewindow, and you’ll see by the scrollbaron the right that you don’t lose anythingoff the top of the screen - you can scrollup and get it back. And of course yourown signal from the rig’s audio monitoralso goes through the soundcard, so youcan see both sides of the conversation. Ifyou register with Sergei (not obligatory,but a nice gesture) you get the capabilityof saving the text to a file.

The bottom window is time-domain display of the incoming audioenvelope which scrolls from left to right,and you can see “to hr u again” on theright-hand side. The horizontal line(mysteriouslymovedup above theMorseby the screen capture software) sets thedecoding threshold.

It can be (and was) placed aboutthe middle of the Morse signal in thebottom window, However Sergei hasimplemented an algorithm which youcan invoke to set this automatically (the“AutoThres” button) which looks at theincoming amplitude and attempts tofollow the mean of the incoming time-domain signal. This works pretty well,and allows the decoder to follow fades.Speed-detection is also automatic, andthe algorithm adapts unerringly frompainfully slow to above 60 wpm - andprobably higher - see later. I can’tfault it.

You can set CwGet up and goaway to do something else. It willautomatically track andattemptto decodeany QSOs in the passband and displaythem for you to inspect later. The size ofthe window, and each sub-window, can

W67—]anuary/_‘Fefinta1y 2000

be adjusted to cope with the resolution ofyour computer screen.

CwTYPEThis is Sergei’s keyboard code

sender, and youcan run it simultaneouslywith CwGet, since CwType outputsdigitalMorseto a com-portwithout goingthrough the soundcard. Sergei gives asimple one-transistor interface, and tellsyou how to configure the initializationfile to contain your own callsign,messages of choice, startup speed etc.

You can see a typical window inFig. 2. The “Speed” window (top left) iscalibrated in characters/minute, which ishow Europeans prefer to think. At mysuggestion, this version also shows thespeed in WPM in the bottom toolbar.

There’s a “callsign” buffer whichallows you to send callsign exchangesautomatically. Pressing ‘alt/c’ puts thecursor in the “C” (callsign) window. Ienter the other station’s callsign in thereduring his CQ.When it’s finished, IpressB.Acallsignexchangeimmediatelystartsfrom the soundcard, the VOX turns thetransmitter on, and we’re away. Whatyou see in the figure is the start ofmynextover in the three-way QSO we werehaving.

There are also“RST” and“Name”buffers, allowing these to be embeddedinmessages. You can pause transmissionand toggle the computer speaker on/offfor audio monitoring.

Early versions of CwType didn’thave a weight control. Many moderntransmitters implement an optionalkeying mode (QSK) which allows you tohear between elements and characters.The fast rx/txchangeover necessaryoften

17

new russian morse software

ge bruce cs 99 ion as nice to hr u agn on this mode jon, rst 3“SM es bruce also Snn - am copying both on screen with

Figure 2 - Typical CwTYPEScreen

clips outgoing elements. Adding positiveweight (delaying the tum-off of eachelement)compensatesfor this. I suggestedto Sergei that he should add this, and hedid. Now you can set a constant positiveor negative weight in the configurationfile.

I noticed this immediately in thefirst version I downloaded because I’mkeying my IC70l via the CmosSuperKeyer. This keyer allows you toprogram apaddle as a straight key, and soI select this option and just connect thecomputer’s keying output across thepaddle. Why do I do this? I had anunfortunate experience once with RFgetting back into my computer, and nowI like to keep the computer isolated from18

the keying line - even though I have anopto-isolator in there.

Anyway, it turns out that in“straight—key mode”, the CMOSSuperkeyerclips6 ms off all myelements.At 35 wpm that’s about a sixth of a dot,which makes the Morse sound choppy(strangely, hardly anyone noticed this,but I did).

At 60 wpm, that’s about a third ofa dot. I checked CwGet’s reading bysimply sending to it with CwType, on thesame computer. I suspect that CwGetwould read well above 60 wpm if theelement weighting was correct, but havenever bothered to check again with laterversions.

There’s more. You can connect a

W67— january/fefiruary2000

Correctly weigh ted morse

Dash lengthened 50%

Positive weighted morse,all elements lengthened. _ L Li _

Figure3 - Weightingsand Ratios

paddle to the games port, and optionallyuse the software as an iambic keyer! Ihaven’t tried this, as I’m sure Sergeihasn’t implemented autospace, and myfingers and brain are accustomed to this.Besides, I love my Superkeyer and K9too much.

Weighting and Ratio-changingI mentioned “weighting” above,

and you may not be quite sure what thismeans. Some people confuse it with“changing the ratio of the elements”, butthis is quite different. Fig. 3 shows, at top,the letter “R” sent with correctly ratioedMorse. The dah and dit elements havelengths in the ratio 3:1, and are separatedby one dit—length.

Some keyers and keyboards(CwType is one) provide the facility forchangingthe elementRATIO.Themiddleplot showsthe effect of changing the dah/dit ratio to 4.5 to 1, which increases thedah length by 50%, while keeping thespace between the elements, and the ditelement lengthconstant.Actually, [don’tknow why you’d want to do this, as the

W67—january/.’Fefima1y2000

Morse that comes outjust sounds wrong.The bottom plot shows correctly

ratioed Morse with positive weighting.All of the elements have been lengthenedby the same amount, in this case, half adit-length. This makes the Morse sound“full”, but it still sounds right. This isexactly the type ofweighting you need ifyour rig/keyer/keyboard clips bits off thefront of each element. You simply add abit at the end to compensate for this.CwType does not allow this (yet) but myDOS program MU does, and so does theCMOS Superkeyer. Negative weightingdoes the opposite, reducing the length ofeach element by the same amount.

Some people contend that slowerMorse should be sent with positiveweighting,andfasterMorsewithnegativeweighting to make it “more readable”,but having tried both, I can’t agree.There’s some evidence that earlytransmitters tended to turn off sluggishly,giving a positive weighting which couldbe compensated with negative weightedkeying, but modern transmitters don’thave this problem. On the other hand, the

19

slightlynegativelyweightedMorseI sendwith CwType doesn’t seem to botheranyone.

A New Version ofHAMCALCHAMCALC is a set of MSDOS,GWBASIC codes giving “painless mathfor Radio Amateurs”. For $5 (US) Youcanget it fromthe author,GeorgeMurphyVE3ERP, 77 McKenzie Street, Orillia,ON L3V 6A6, Canada.

George sent me version 35 toevaluate. It keeps growing, and he’s hadto removetheGWBASICinterpreterfromthe disk, but this is readily available. Askaround.

The HAMCALC disk contains135 programs for computing inductance,antenna parameters, filters, great circledistances, time zones, transmission linematches and losses - almost anythingHam—relatedyoumightwant to calculate!

George is always on the lookoutfor new programs and algorithms toinclude, and will be delighted to hearfrom anyonewith suggestions. Youdon’tneed a “modern” computer to runHAMCALC! Highly recommended!

(Extracted and adapted by Tony Smithfor MM from Gary Bold’s ‘TheMorseman’ column in recent issues of‘Break-In’, journal ofNZART)

Dah-Dit—Ditby Herb Beardshaw

N DAYS GONE BY there lived, on a‘49’ Course, a trainee TAG(Telegraphist/Air Gunner) whose

name was Tee. Now everyone who isconversant with the Morse code willrealise that this is a somewhatunfortunatename. If his name had beenGee orDee orLee, things would have been different.

There was a time when, prior totaking part in W/T exercises over thesouthern end of Nova Scotia, the traineeswould bundle all the relevant gear intotheir allotted aircraft, “Stringbags” andthe pilots would try to coax a little oilpressure into the old Pegasus engine bygrabbing handfuls of throttle and feedingthem to the fan.

traders.

FISTS CW Club — The International Morse Preservation SocietyFISTS exists to promote amateur CW activity. It welcomes members with alllevels of Morse proficiency, and especially newcomers to the key.

The club has awards, nets (including a beginners’ net), dial-a-sked forbeginners, straight key activities,QSL bureau, newsletter, and discounts from

Further information can be obtained from Geo. Longden 63208, 119Cemetery Road, Darwen, Lanes 583 2L2. Send an s.a.e. or two IRCs.

20 {Mitt/{67 — jammy/025mg 2000

During this time the trainee wouldtry to establish WIT contact with theground station. No-one ever knew wherethese ground station telegraph operators

obvious conclusion that either the namestartedwith aD, and the transmission hadbeen cut off in the middle, or it could bea name starting with NE, or was it just

(‘Tels’) spent their workinghours but it was anyone’sguess that they were in theMarineProvincesbut no-onequite knew where.

During these take-offpreliminaries, the groundstation ‘Tel’ would requestthe operator’s name - W1“name? The trainee wouldthen bash out his nameaccompanied by the laiddown procedure, ie, call-signs, etc, and request take-off — WT T.O. (Take-Off)and request GO. After that we bashed outthe names of places we were flying over.

Cluttering up the air with suchmessages like ‘Position uncertain butsitting on a cloud’ and ‘Wedged in overWedgeport’ and ‘Pardon me boy, is thatthe Hectanooga choo—choo?’ werefrowned upon, as were entries in logs like‘Lost touch with CJLS 20 miles’.

However, still on the ground isour friend Tee, trying to get through tothe ground ‘Tel’ that his name is Tee.DAH—DIT—DITfiNT name DAH-DIT-DIT. The ground ‘Tel’ came to the

someone playing the fool?After a lot ofWIS and repeats he

finally managed to get his TD. and GO,only to have to go through the same caperthe following day if a different ‘Tel’ wasworking his frequency.

Poor old Tee. He never did getmuchflying time in onthe course becauseby the time he’d sorted out the confusionsurrounding his name in Morse it wastime to land and go to the mess for lunch(or tee).(Source unknown. Contributed by LeeGrant, G3XNG.)

G-QRP ClubThe G-QRP Club promotes and encourages low-power operatingon the amateur bands with activity periods, awards and trophies. Facilitiesinclude a quarterly magazine, Morse training tapes, kits, traders’ discountsand a QSL bureau. Novices and SWLs welcome.Enquiries to Rev. George Dobbs GsFtJV, St Aidan’s Vicarage,498 Manchester Road, Rochdale, Lancs OL11 3HE. Send alarge s.a.e. or two lFtCs

W67~January/fe6ruary2000 21

SpeciafilrtBooks on ‘Tekgrapfiy 5y MaifOnfer

ALL WORLDORDERS ARESHIPPEDBY AIR MAIL UNLESS OTHERWISESTATED

{liAf‘iSlCS 0FClassics of Communication (English Edition) by Fons Vanden Berghen

COMMENECATMN A book of exceptional quality produced originally to accompany a Brussels

Tl-il’, STORYor: mE K EY

Exhibition sponsored by a Brussels bank. Illustrated with 240 high qualityphotographs, 140 in colour, including many rare telegraph instruments. The textincludes the history and technology of electricity through to wireless and earlytelevision, but a large section of the book is devoted to telegraphy. Withoutsponsorship, a book of this size and quality could not have been economicallypossible for such a limited readership - 107 pages, 24.5cms x 29.5cms (9.7in x

11.6in). £16.95 UK - £18.25 EU - £21.00 World (US $36)*

Perera’s Telegraph Collector’s Guide by Tom Perera

An essential pocket—size reference guide for collector and historian, designed to fit in thepocket. 2“‘1 edition, 100 pages, 300 illustrations, information for identification of keysfrom around the world. Advice on buying keys, price guide, historical background,reference material on lever shapes, manufacturer lists, dates, restoring and adjusting keys.Special sections on bug keys. £7.60 UK - £8.10 EU - £8.90 World

The Story of the Key by Louise Ramsey Moreau

This is The Best of MM Vol. 1. It is a reprint of a series of articles which appeared in

MM6 - MMII. It covers the history of telegraph key from 1837 - 1941 and includes a listof American telegraph instrument makers, 1837—1900. 77 photos/illustrations, 60 pages,53/4 x 8% inches (14.5 x 21 cms), SIB. £4.25 UK - £4.50 EU - £5.00 World

UK EU WORLD

The PhillipsCode - a facsimile reprint by Ken Miller(MM61) £10.00 £10.20 £10.50Telegraph codes for press reports

Vibroplex Collectors Guide by Tom French £15.00 £15.80 £17.60(4 copies left - now out of print)

Wake of the Wirelessman by B. J. Clemons £12.95 £13.90 £15.70A true story of an early maritime wireless operator

“Q41" and Beyond by Shirley Lawson £6.20 £7.20 £7.90The story of a Wren (Womens Royal Naval Service) telegraphist

McElroy: World’s ChampionTelegrapher by Tom French £15.30 £16.00 £18.00The life and times of T. R. McElroy, telegraphist & key maker

RailroadTelegrapher’s Handbook by Tom French £8.00 £8.30 £9.00Old-time telegraphy on the American railroads

22 W67— January/Teflruary2000

UK EU WORLD

Bunnell’s Last Catalogue with notes by Tom French £5.50 £5.70 £6.00Illustrates and describes the company's many telegraph instruments

History, Theory & Practice of the ElectricTelegraph £13.95 £14.95 17.50(facsimile reprint of 1866 edition) by George B. Prescott

The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage (MM63) £8.30 £8.40 £9.30The story of the early telegraph pioneers

Keys, Keys, Keys by Dave Ingram £8.50 £8.90 £9.80A visual celebration of the Morse key

Marconi’s Battle for Radio (children’s book) by Birch & Cortield £5.85 £6.00 £6.80Illustrated story book. A present for the grandchildren

Radiotelegraph l. Radiotelephone codes -Prowords & Abbreviations by John Alcorn £12.85 £13.70 £15.50

A Historyof the GPO Mark 1, 2 and 3Morse Telegraph Keys by Dennis Goacher(MM65) £5.00 £5.50 £6.20

Marconi’s Catalogue of Receiving& Measuring Instruments (circa 1912) £4.70 £5.25 £6.60A high quality facsimile of the 1912 book with photos, circuits and specs

Q3indér5f0rMorsumMignificatTidy up your bookshelf

with these attractive bindersCovered in a hard-wearing red grained finish, with themagazine title blocked in gold on the spine, each binderholds twelve issues of the magazine, retained by strongwires. but easily removable should the need arise.

Price including postage & packing:£7.90... ......UK£8.50... ...Europe£9.80.............Rest of the World (Air Mail)

“ Prices in US dollars may vary slightly withcurrency exchange rates and commission chargesCredit card orders welcome by phone: +44 (0) 1630 638306or Fax on +44 (0) 1630 638051w Please make cheques payable to ‘Morsum Magnifwat’ mSEND YOUR ORDER TO: —Morsum Magnificat, The Poplars, Wistanwick, Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 2BA, EnglandPayment welcome by Mastercardor Visa (quote your card number and expiry date)

or by cheque/bank draft drawn on a London bank

W67—January/91251111113] 2000 25‘

Photo/Collection:

Jan

K.

Moller,

K6FM

Photo/Collection:

Malcolm

Brass

G4YMB

Above: Flare land telegraph key made andused by the Swedish TelegraphAdministrationaround the turn ofthe centuryfortheir land telegraph network. It was madecompact to be built into switchboard panelsso the arm ends in a counterweight.Regretful/y, the backcontactscrewheadhasbeenbroken off. It has been usedby K6FMsince 1937. The key has such an excellentbalance that it sits steady as a rock whensending.

Left: British sounder-relay probably fromaround 1880. The nameplate is inscribed‘GPO 157’. This instrument is in workingorder and requires a 24v supply.

W67— January/{February 2000

Photo/Collection:

Dave

Pennes,

WA3LKN

Photo/Collection:

Peter

Park,

GMSPIP

Ftare 19th century British railway bell telegraph instrument

A mostinteresting VibroplexJunior with partly chrome partly nickelparts when they were switching overto all chrome. Also this is a wrinkle base Junior when they were switching fromJapannedbases to wrinklepaintedbases. A true ‘Mule’! The owner’s name interesting/y (on the cord) was ‘Junior’ Kehn.

W67—January/926mm};2000 2.7"

HE TONGUE IS ADAPTED forthe reception of chemical stimulibut when a gourmet speaks of the

taste of some fine dish, he is usuallyreferring not to the sensations derivedfrom the tongue but from those of theorgans of smell, the olfactory nerves.Being perpetually wet the tongue isadmirably, but fortuitously, adapted forthe detection of electric currents. Manypeople will he aware ofhaving perceiveda metallic taste after the attentions of adentist, metallic fillings can generatecurrents.

The sensitivity of the tongue toelectric currents was investigated longago by two Canadian scientists‘. Theyused D.C. which they interrupted by amechanicalsystemat differentrates. Theymade thousands of determinations of therate at which the individual sensationsblurred into one. Below a certainfrequency the stimuli were feltindividually, above that there wasfusion.One of their graphs is shown in Figure 1.

They measured this ‘fusion frequency’and varied the strength of the stimulus.The fusion frequency was higher withweak stimuli.

The curves represent therelationship between the applied voltageand this fusion. They plotted notfrequency but its reciprocal, the period.So the higher the value on the verticalscale, the lower the fusion frequency.According to them, their points fell onthe four curved lines depicted

26

Receiving MorseUsing Taste

Sensitivity of the Tongue toElectrical Currents and anInvestigation into the Use of theSense of Taste for ReceivingMorse Signals

by Dr. E. Geoffrey WalshGM4FH

corresponding to the four primary tastes.I am not aware of this problem

having been looked at with modernmethods. Neither would their apparatusnow be considered satisfactory nor weretheir numerous data handled statistically,but they may of course have been right intheir conclusions.

Peoplewhoare nottechnologistsor scientists may perhaps believethat knowledge in these fields progressesin a straightforward and sensiblefashion. Nothing could be further fromthe truth! History is littered with therecordsof numerousfalse starts andblindalleys. I have occasionally come acrossbooks detailing nineteenth centurypatents and some of them are, to us

W67 — january/fefirwzry 2000

NORMALGUSTATORYSENSAHONSA = Sweet B = SaltC = Sour D = Bitter

be very difficult tohear even withheadphones over theears.

I Ihavecome.0035 across an account of

two Americaninvestigators whothought it would beappropriate to see if

.0030

Second

.0025

by applyingelectrodes to thetongue CW could bepicked up and soavoid theseproblemsz. Theystarted with someexperiments withDC. They notedhowever:-

.0020

\\\\_

“Onclosingthe key, the operatornoticed an effectwhich at first, madehim think that the

.0015iv 0-3 0.4

Volt

Figure 1 - Sensitivity of the tongue to electrical sensations

nowadays, so preposterous as to becomical.

The noise in the early aircraft,with open cabins and piston engines wasso great that it was difficult for the pilotto hear Morse signals sent from theground. This was, of course, at a timewhen telephony was in its infancy and asevery radio amateur will agree, Morsebeingmuchmorepenetratingthan speech,is the mode to be preferred in a noisyenvironment. Even so, it evidently could

W67—January/$636M 2000

0.5 0.6 0-7 lights in the roomwere flickering. Onfurtherinvestigation,however,it wasnotedthat the

apparent flicker of the lights occurredonly when the key was closed. As nearlyas could be determined, the effect of thisrelatively large current passing throughthe mouth was to cause the iris3 of theoperator’s eyes to contract momentarily,thus giving the effect of a flickering lightin the room.”

They were, I think, wrong. Therehas been a large literature on electric‘phosphenes’ seen when currents passthrough the head. The action is in the

27

OMNIGRAPH

20 N l

l

MAX CAP x‘(2005 at

‘ vmx ‘CAF.# .

sf I 120061.11 XF 7L“

EUZZER‘J

ll

ELECTRODES

L

2 star?AJDIU

FREQ AMP?

,.L.i yl

0005pt f;L \_‘ 1/}.,,.~

l

UUTPL‘T

$7: ,, c, ,Fi, ‘l

4

7/:IRANSFOHMER

Figure 2 - Circuit of radio frequency test apparatusretina itself at the back of the eye. Longago I was involved in studies of some ofthese effects“. The iris is equipped withonly slowlycontractingmuscle andcouldnot be responsible for the rapid flicker.

They then used 60 Hz tappedoff from the mains. No transformer wasused: I wonder what our Health & SafetyExecutive would have commented !

They then proceeded to testswith radio frequency signals. One set ofapparatus they used is shown in Figure 2.The electrodes to the tongue were fedfrom an audio amplifier which in turnobtained signals from a triode detectorstage. There was a buzzer in aneighbouring circuit which induced R.F.currents in the coil in the grid circuit ofthe triode. On the top left hand side of thefigure there is a connection to an“OMNIGRAPH”. I do not know whatthis is but presume it must have been amechanical system of sending Morsesignals. If so, the method of keying washighly unusual; this was apparentlyachieved by connecting and

28

disconnecting a variable capacitor acrossthe coil in the circuit excited by the buzzerand so pulling it on tune.

They give details of theirexperiments with radio signals asfollows:-

“The antenna used was a singlewire 150 feet high and 180 feet long(45.8m x 54.9m) It was found necessaryto use four stages of audio frequencyamplification in order to get tastesensations of the proper intensity.”

In a way, they succeeded !

However, they could only copy aboutfivewords perminute, but optimistically,they thought that this might rise to tenwith training. Having completed theirstudy they remark that:-

“The effect on the operator’seyes of contracting the iris when strongsignals are received would be verydisadvantageous,especially in airplanes”.

Considering the speed ofaircraft, even the early biplanes wouldhave covered aconsiderable distancebefore a sentence could have been taken

W67— january/fefiruary2000

down; it would have been of little use foran emergency landing! Perhaps theirworkfits intothe category of havingbeena Glorious Failure.Notes:‘ Allen F. & Weinberg M. (1925) The GustatorySensory Reflex. Q.J.Exp. Physiol, 15, 385-420.

Taste Reception. Proc. IRE Vol 9206—224.3 Barlow H., Kohn H. & Walsh E.G. (1947) Visualsensations aroused by Magnetic Fields AmericanJournal of Physiology, 148, 372-375.4 Barlow H., Kohn H. & Walsh E.G. (1947) Theeffect of dark adaptation and of light upon theelectric threshold of the human eye. American

2 Goldsmith A.N. & Dickey ET. (1921) Radio 1 Journal of Physiology, 148, 376-381.

(For an article on the Omnigraph see MM22 p22 - Ed.)First pulished in'Transmitting’ The Museum ofCommunication Foundation Newsletter - Spring 1998

MM66 Searchword - by Tony Smith(Find the answers to this puzzle in MM66)

Across1 Conference of 5 (3)

42 Their licensing authority is the I...-Frequency Allocation Board (4)4 Kitchen sailor! (5)5 International regulatory

body (3)6 Harry Timm’s was not well

received by the DeutscherTelegraphic Club (6)UK key maker (4)

10 Steamship Company employingtheir own wireless staffs (6)

13 San Francisco museum (8)l4 Fons lives there (5)16 Spanish club (6)19 Sighted in 1899 (7)21 He already knew the play (4)23 To be sent with your contest

entry (7)25 Owned by Western Union (11)26 Location of IARU Region 1

Conference 1999 (6)

Down1 Prominent Stationers in Wellington,

New Zealand (10)2 Author of “History, Theory & Practice of the

Electric Telegraph” (8)3 Radio & Telegraph School attended by Harry

Lewis (7)6 “Incorporated by reference” in an ITU

document (14)8 Some fast operators in this club (4)9 School at Otley in WW2 (12)11 Key with tilted yoke (3)

W67—]anuary/,‘Fe6ma2y2000

l.-

12 Its Morse operating room was known as “theden of thieves”! (3)

15 Its national society is AARC (5)17 Canada’s national radio society (3)18 You’ll never get a glass arm if you’re using

this method (6)20 American Antarctic Station (7)22 Needle telegraph patentee (5)24 It aims to promote and encourage

amateur CW (4)

Solution on page 482.9

Y 1904 WALTERH. CANDLERhad learned the American Morsecode and worked for two years

as a telegrapher. He had practiseddiligently and felt qualified to apply for ajob as commercial relay operator in theWestern Union office at Atlanta GA. Buthe didn’t last out there even one day, andhad to take a night shift job as telegraphoperator at a small town railroad station.

He was deeply hurt and puzzled.What was the matter? What mysteriousingredient was missing? As was thecustom at the best telegraph schools, hehad visually memorized the Morse codefrom a printed table of dots and dashes,and then practised and practised. (This“standard” procedure was confirmed bya former teacher at the well-knownDodge’s Institute - no connection withthe later C. K. Dodge “Radio Shortkut”.)

One night on the job, quite byaccident, he discovered that when oncein a while he dozed off at the operatingtable, he could read the fastest codecoming over the lines to his sounder. Yetwhen he was awake and alert he couldcatch only a word here and there.

It was then that he began to realizethat telegraphy is primarily a mentalprocess, and that the so-called “sub—conscious mind” must play a vital part init. (At that time there was quite a bit ofpopularwriting about the “sub-consciousmind,” which no doubt helped him put itall together.)

He began experimenting until he

30

The CandlerSystem

by Wm.G. PierpontNOHFF

had solvedhis ownproblem andmasteredthe code himself, and in time he becamequalified to teach others how to do it, too.

By 1911 he had established hisown “school” in Chicago to teach “TheCandler System,” later moving it toAsheville, NC. Although he died on 23April 1940, his wife, who was already anexperienced telegrapher herself whenthey were married in 1924, and hadworked with him since, continued tohandle the course for a number of years.(It was last advertised in QSTin 1959.)

The CourseOriginally his “High Speed”

course was designed for operators whoalready knew American Morse, but werestuck at some too low speed. Later headdedtheInternationalcodeto it, coveringboth codes.

Still later a new course, called“The Scientific Code Course,” designedto be successfully used by beginners

W67— january/ffefimary 2000

<5.“‘O‘rgfigfilm Val/Ra

hhfiw CANDLER SYSTEMTRAINS YOU TO MEET NEW CODE SPEED REQUIREMENTS

WKLTER H. CANDIERI)rlxlf|:lln nufthPlam”U1' \\UIHR\\ \E\lalf)undrlthe(.mileer Wemi<rman

Obtain Your Amateur or Commer-cial License'in ‘/2 Usual Time With

* The New CANDLER SYSTEM Training

Extract from an advertisement in the 1942 edition of the ARRL Radio Amateurs Handbook

working alone, was created from theregular “High Speed” course bymodifying it to add helpu i0 get thebeginner started. (Thus it contained allthat the “High Speed” course contained.)That new course was later renamed “TheJunior Code Course,” and was the one Iobtained in October 1939, and madeextensive notes on.

There is evidence that, althoughthe essentials stood out strongly andfirmly, over the years the details variedinminor ways. His basic philosophy maybe stated as:- “This system trains you touse your MIND” to develop“scientifically your coordination,concentration and confidence” - yourresponsiveness.

Thecourseconsistedoften lessonsplus considerable valuablesupplementarymaterial,mostly as letters.It is summarized below.

We7—]anua7y/fefimar_y 2000

The EssentialPrinciplesSinceCandlerwas concernedwith

those training to become commercialoperators, he first emphasized theimportance of healthy living: eating,exercise, breathing, etc. This emphasiswas needed in those days because thetypical city operator worked long hoursin unhealthy smoke—filled, darkish,crowded and poorly ventilated offices.1) Develop sound consciousness. — InLesson 7 he wrote: “In learning code it isnecessary to consciously count the ditsand dahs of the various signals, both insending and receiving. By repetition, thesub-conscious mind gradually assumesthis burden of counting them.

“As long as youmust consciouslycount them, work will be slow, but as thesub—mind takes them, they go faster andfaster.” “As you progress,” he wroteelsewhere, “Begin to respond more

.5]

readily to the soundpatterns than to visualones: learnto shift fromwhatyou mentallysee to what you hear.

“So long as youmust consciouslyremind yourself that so many dits anddahs ‘stand’ for certain letters, you arenot learning code.” So, “when you heardidah, no longer say to yourself: ‘didahstands for A.’ Instead, when you heardidah, hear A. Do not translate.”

“In learning code you do not haveto relearn words, but you do have tochange the approach...from visual toauditory... Once you have mastered thisconsciously, your sub-mind will handlethat detail, and do a faster, better job thanyour conscious mind possibly can.”

Critique: Wemust remember thathe and most of his students had already“learned” visually, and now this must bereplaced by direct auditory recognition.Here was the real reason they all hadgotten stuck at some slow speed.

This traditional approach musthaveblinded his thinking so that it did notoccur to him to start the beginner withsound alone, and so save the beginnerfromhaving to cross that annoyinghurdlewith its discouragement.2) Your sub-mind will only do what youhave consciously trained it to do.Therefore, teach it the right way and thesame way consistently from thebeginning.Think andactpositively: (The“I can do it” attitude).

If youmaintain a positive attitudeas you think and consistently practice,the sub—mind will take over the taskmorequickly, and it will become easier eachtime youdo it. Conscious effort is neededuntil it becomes automatic.

First you learn by consciously

32

employing the principles in your regulardaily practice. Then gradually, if youpractice as directed, your sub-mind willtake over the job with less and lessconscious effort, and youwill make goodprogress.3) Learning to read code, to receive, isthe important thing.That is, to understandwithout having to write it down. Readingmeans listening and understanding whatis being said, just as in reading ordinaryprint orwhen listening to someone speak.

Reading code must never dependon copying. As soon as you have learnedall the letters, start listening to good codeon your receiver (or nowadays, practicetapes, etc.) for 5, 10, 15 minutes at a time,or until you become tired - even if youcannot put together enough consecutivesignals to form words.

Keep on, and soon you will becatching small words and then largerones. But do not practice too long at onetime - never when fatigued. “I amacquiring the ability to read wordssubconciously now.When reading code,I know, as soon as a word is sent, what theword is, although I didn’t consciouslyspell it out to myself as it was coming in,”wrote one student.4) You cannot write down what youcannot read (receive). This is step twoafter learning to receive. Writing downwhat you receive is a routine matter thatwill take care of itself if you are properlytrained.

Of course, in the initial stages oflearning the alphabet and numbers, etc,you must copy letter by letter, slowly,just as you had to learn to read that way.

After this stage, stop until:- Whenyou get so you can listen to code and read

Ell/[£71467— january/jfefiruary 2000

it at 15 to 25 wpmwithout copying; begincopying some at eachpractice period.Commence this way:each day copy for 10 -15 minutes, striving tocopy oneormore signalsbehind, then spend asimilar period justlistening to good codewithout writing.5) When you do copy,learn to copy behind. Ifyou have been copyingletter by letter you mustbegin systematically toovercome it, and the bestway is to listen to goodcode and form the habitof reading it withoutcopying.

As you acquirethe independent codereading habit, by dailypractice, you will find iteasier to drop behind afew signals withoutconfusion or fear oflosing out when you arecopying.Youmustbreakthe bad habit of copyingletter by letter.

Get in the habitof carrying the letters inyourmind,forming themsubconsciously intowords and sentences,without writing themdown. “When I found Icouldbegin to read smallwords as easily by sound

Gunman Trainer!Jean Hudson, 9yearsold,W3B.«-\K,{,1fl‘iciai Clean}pint:of the ‘33er inClass E.Jean obtained herham license at theage of 8, and twomonths after shebegan Candler SCI—ENTIFIC. C9331?)and Touch Type-wriring Courses,could copy 3i) wpmon her ”mill.” A:the age of 9 she wonofficial champiomship in Class E,against rigidcompetition.Extract froman advertisement in the1937 AHHL Handbook - 9 year oldJean Hudson could copy 30 wpm

W67—January/$625M)?!2000

as by sight, I wasdelighted. I soonlearned to read words‘inmyhead’.After that,copying them by pencilwas easy. Previously, Ihad beenwriting wordsdown letter—by-letter:that waswrong!” wrotea student.6) Practiceintelligently:in the right way, daily,regularly, in short andwell-spaced periods,purposefully. Neverpractice errors.Practising when tired isnotefficientuseoftime.

A good schedule is30 minutes daily, 15minutes in the morningand 15 minutes in theafternoon or evening.The time betweenpractice periods isimportant — use it toprepare yourself to bereceptiveby cultivatinga positive attitudetoward yourself andwhat you are trying todo.

The Ten LessonsWith these

statements of basicprinciples in mind, letus look at the lessonsfor the beginner. Notethat each new group ofcode letters waspresented in the old

.53

visual dots and dashes manner, but thestudent was told to think of the letters interms of dits and dahs as they sound. Heseems to have anticipated that a typicalstudent would take a week or two tocomplete each lesson.

Lesson One:Emphasis on soundunits.The first

group was E I S H, to be sent smoothlyand in accurate, regular timing by thestudent with his key, saying the dits as hepoundedthemout. Candlerrecommendedthat twoormorebeginners work togetherso each could send to and receive fromthe other.

As soon as he can recognize themeasily and send them smoothly, he was toformwords, such as “he, is, see, his, she.”Next to take the letters T M O, and do thesame way, saying the dahs as he sendsthem, and then to make small wordsusing both sets of letters, as before.

Lastly the letters: A NW G. Thenpractice small words, including as manyof the 100 most common words (listedbelow)as canbe formedfromtheseelevenletters.

At one period Candler eithersupplied or recommended the use ofmechanical senders, suchas theTeleplex,with his course for the student studyingalone. This would provide an accuratetiming sense as well as good hearingpractice. With a machine or companion,hewould be able to listen and, during thisinitial period, copy letter by letter as heheard each character.

Lesson Two:Emphasis again on thinking of the

letters in terms of dits and dahs as they

34

sound, not as they appear in dots anddashes.Groupsofnew lettersto be learnedthe sameway: DUVJB;RKLF;PXZ C Y Q.Words to be practised includedthe rest of the shorter 100 most commonwords. Emphasis on accuracy of timing,and that repetition builds habit (whethergood or bad).

Lesson Three:Emphasis on knowing you are

right, then going ahead and making it ahabit by repetitive practice. Analysis ofthe letters in code, accuracy of signal,spacing and speed: precision. Get in thehabit of instantly recognizing each andevery letter when you hear it, withouthaving to stop and think: automaticassociation of each signal with its letter.

Also now learn the numbers andcommonest punctuation. When you havelearned the letters so that you do not haveto “stop and think” ofwhat character anycombination of dits and dahs represents,begin listening to good code every dayregularly without copying, even if onlyfor 5 minutes at a time.

(The radio was his favorite sourceof good code: commercial press andgovernment stations were on 24 hours aday. Now we have ARRL code practice,tapes. etc.) Catch everything you can asyou listen. You may not getmuch at first,but keep trying and you will soon beginto hear letters and words.

Lesson Four:Think of the code as being easy to

learn. Trust your sub-mind to do itswork.Review and practice, especially anycharacters you tend to miss or confuse,until they are automatic.

W67— January/fefimary 2000

time for it to develop until it becomesautomatic, habitual. This is the scientificway. Do some practice copying mixedfive-letter groups, but do not write downany letters of a group until the wholegroup has been sent. Have wide enoughspaces left between groups to allow youto write it down before the next groupstarts. (His emphasis throughout thecourseis on receivingand copyingnormalEnglish, not ciphered groups.)

Lesson Seven:Emphasis on proper timing while

sending. Start by sending a series of letterE’s withwide spaces between them, firstwith six counts between letters, thengradually reducing the space to normalone letter space. Then do the same waywith S, T, H, 0, etc. (Here he discussed“counting” as given above under“Essential Principle 1 - SoundConsciousness, Critique”)

Lesson Eight:A discussion of “glass arm,” or

telegrapher’s paralysis, andits preventionby certainexercises,relaxationand properwarm-up. Continuing practice offundamentals.

Lesson Nine:Obstacles to progress listed as: 1)

lack ofpractice,2) thinking visuallyratherthan by sound, 3) hesitation over poorlylearned signals, causing loss of thefollowing ones, 4) looking back overone’s copy while copying, 5) negative

36

Wanted - articles and tips on making and restbring keys - contact MM

attitudes. Onemust force oneself to copybehind by degrees, gradually.

Lesson Ten:Learning to carry words in your

mind by continuing the copying behindpractice. Learning to write rapidly andlegibly as an aid to receiving. Learning tocopyon the typewriter. (Hehada separatecourse specifically for this.) Learning bydoing until it become second nature.

The 100 Most Common Words InEnglish

go amme on by to up so it no ofashe ifan us or in is at mywe do be andmanhimout not but canwho hasmaywas oneshe all you how any its say are now twofor men her had the our his been somethen like well made when have only yourwork over such time were with into verywhat then more will they come that frommust said them this upon great aboutother shall every these first their couldwhich would there before should littlepeople(Six of these words take the same time tosend as the number zero (0): are, him,men, on, so, no.Fourteen more of them are shorter still:the, its, to,, us, am, if, as, be, we, an, me,at, is, it). Twenty short words.

(Reprinted and specially editedfor MMfromBill Pierpont’s book “The Art and Skill ofRadio-Telegraphy” This is a revised andexpandedversionofan article whichoriginallyappearedin MMIO, p. 1) MM

W67— januazy/fefiruary 2000

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W67—]amlary/_’Fe5nazry 2000 37

can share the information

Photo/Collection:

Wyn

Davies

Australian Post Office key marked 588 1/123/7. It has a close resemblanceto Ciipsal keys.

Photo/Collection:

Wyn

Davies

Did this instrument have a specific application? Signalling torch by ShimwellAlexander & Co., 20Bevis Marks, London E. C. 3. There is a spare bulb in the key housing

38 W67— Januag/ffebmwy2000

Photo/Coilection:

George

Robbins

British coast radio station key

Photo/Collection:

Jean

Le

Galudec

A key of unknownorigin in thecoiieciion of JeanLe Galudec.

W67—January/ffefirumy2000 3.9

t was in the early 1930s. Thedepression was taking its tolleverywhere including Nebraska.

Cecil Coombs, Morse telegrapher, wasout of a job. He heard that broadcaststation KFAB in Lincoln was looking foran operator to copy the International codetransmissions made by Press Wireless,Inc., for Transradio Press Service at NewYork, over WCX and WJS.

Cecil did not know theInternational code, havinggrownupwithAmerican Morse, but he was desperate.He went to see theKFABChief Engineer,who gave Cecil a pair of phones pluggedinto the AGSX receiver to see what hecould do. Cecil told me years later that helistened to the test for a bit then asked theChief to “turn off the squeal” (turnoff theBFO).

The resulting headphone clickswere enough that he could get two orthree letters, sometimes more, in Morseout of each word, “so I had no trouble inputting the stories together. I did a bit ofguessworkonfigures as youcan imagine,but I got the job done and gave KFABperfect copy, thanks to all the press I’dhandled for Western Union over theyears.”

The next day he asked the Chief

Bluffing Throughthe Code

by Donald K.deNeuf,WA1SPM(SK)

for a copy of the International code whoreplied “Whatfor?You copied the stationfine for over an hour”. Cecil told him hejust thought it might come in handy forreference on some of the seldom usedpunctuation symbols.

He later got a job with theBurlington Northern Railroad andeventually became both a radio “ham”,president of the Morse Telegraph Cluband Editor of “DOTS & DASHES”. Heused to say he was glad when he becamea hamthat he didn’t have to useAmericanMorse on his call, W9LHL!

He retired from the Burlington andbecame a silent key someyears ago. MM

% THE MORSE ENTHUSIASTS GROUP SCOTLANDMEGS was formed in 1991 to encourage the use of Morse, especially bynewcomers. Regular skeds are held using our callsign ‘GMQRSE’ each Mondayand Thursday from 7 until 9 p.m. (local time) around 3.530MH2. Among otherservices, we offer Morse practice tapes free of charge, other than postage. Thisoffer is now also available to MM readers. Membership is open worldwide, the

:- ‘Scotland’ in our title simply shows place of origin. Lifetime membership £1.00.Details from Secretary: G.M. Allan GM4HYF, 22 TynwaldAvenue,Rutherglen, Glasgow G73 4RN, Scotland.

40 W67— january/ffefiruary 2000

Readers’letters on anyMorse subjectare always welcome, butmay be editedwhen space is limited. When morethan one subjectis covered, letters maybe divided into single subjects in order to bring comments on various

matters togetherfor easy reference. Please note that the views in readers lettersare not necessarilythose 0! MM

KPH-WirelessGiant

I have just read my first copy of MMavidly,withmanynostalgicthoughtsbeingtriggered by the words before me.

I served as aMerchant NavyRadioOfficer for a few years travelling theoceans of the earth. The article on thedemise of something as great as RadioStation KPH (giant it was!) struck me asterribly sad. We have to move on but todestroy its very existence is vandalism.

Reading of the confusion whichreigned at times of great activity, in partanswered a question about KPH I havehad in my mind for many years.

In the year 1974 I was on a Reefershipcrossing thePacific fromLongBeachto Yokohama, receiving information ofweather systems via Ocean Routes/KPH.Somewhere in mid-Pacific we ran into anextremely fierce tropical storm and for awhile the ship was in danger of beingoverwhelmed - not a pleasant experiencefor those on board.

We had not received notificationof the stormfromKPH.TheCaptain askedme to contact KPH for an explanation. Iwas surprised to receive an apology fromthe operator, saying that the TropicalStormWarning addressed to us had been

W67—January/febmary2000

inadvertently put in a drawer and nottransmitted to us. Mytrustandconfidencein KPHwas a bit shaken but at least I wasexonerated from being thought slack induties.

Perhaps the confusion at KPHwasthe answer - so now I can forgive them.

WilliamP. JonesSouth Shields, England

The French DYNA Key

With reference to Wyn Davies’ DYNAkey shown in ‘Info Please’ in MM66, thisis the ‘1927 PTT Key’ manufactured in1929 by the French DYNA—CHABOTCompany. The trademark DYNA is onthe wooden base.

The first version was all brass andthe second was nickel-plated. Later,another French company, G.JARDILLIER manufactured the samekeys.

DYNAwas founded in 1921 by A.CHABOT. He had worked for the‘EstablissementsPERICAUD’since 1909where he made the first crystal radio set.

41

DuringWWI he was aradio officer in theSEme Re’giment du Génie and afterwardsreturned to PERICAUD as companymanager until 1921.

The DYNA Co. manufacturedother keys - Manitone (circa 1954) ,

ManiflexAmericanmodel (double actionside-swiper) and a lot of radio andelectrical components. In December1989, theDYNACo. closed for financialreasons.

Christian ChefnayLucinges, France

Illustrated Morse

I recently acquired a booklet (undatedbut possibly published during WWII) byN. Sandor, entitled The Morse Code,which describes what the author calls“‘A New System of Learning the MorseCode’. I wonder if any of your readersever managed to learn Morse by usingthis method.

The system explained in thebooklet uses the rhythm of Englishlanguagewords and syllables torepresentthe dots and dashes of Morse characters.There are 26 words/phrases to learn, eachrepresenting a Morse letter. This ispurported to be easier than learning whatis referred to as a meaninglesscombination of dots and dashes. Theoriginal illustration is in colour and is a4-pagespread.Examplesof the illustratedwords/Morse characters are shown.

K. J. LloydCheltenham, England

42

as; “owes. n .Examples of IllustratedMorse

We7— January/926nm2000

The North Eastern School ofWireless Telegraphy

Tony Smith’s article indeedbrought backmany memories. My seagoing trainingwas done at the School of Marine Radio,which was then (1949/50) part of AirService Training, the Civil Aviationtraining establishment at Hamble, nearSouthampton.

The description of the coursewas very similar to that in the Bridlingtonschool prospectus, so I guess it must havebeen based on some agreed formatproduced by the marine wirelessemployers and the schools. I no longerhave the Hamble prospectus, but I dohave my copy of the “Memorandum ofAgreement”dated 1947, which laiddownconditions of employment for RadioOfficers, negotiated between theemployers andtheRadioOfficers’Union.At that time, the starting pay stood atjust£20 per month, and the top rate for anexperienced Chief R/O on a fairly largepassenger ship was £43 p/m! Food andaccommodationwere,ofcourse,providedfree whilst on board.

The course leading to the PMG(PostmasterGeneral’ s) certificates at thattime nominally occupied 8 months toreach the 2nd Class standard (plainlanguage Morse at 20wpm and codegroups at 16wpm) and 12 months for lstClass standard (p/l Morse at 25wpm,code at 20wpm), but because of therelative timing of the course and examswe actually took the 1 st Class exam after10 months.

One pointregardingtheMarconi“Oceanspan” - it is described in the photo

W67—]anua1y/fe£ruary2000

caption on page 33 of MM66 as a CW/ICW transmitter, but it is in fact CW/MCW. In an MCW (modulatedcontinuous wave) transmission, an audiotone is used to vary the amplitude of akeyed continuous carrier, typically witha modulation depth of up to 80 per cent.In the “Oceanspan” this is achieved by a1 kHz oscillator based on a parallel pairof 807 valves, which anode-modulatesthetransmitterpower amplifierconsistingof three parallel 8075.

The term ICW (interruptedcontinuous wave) describes a techniquein which the carrier is turned completelyon and off at an audio frequency rate toproduce a tone-modulated transmission.In some designs, the interrupting signalis applied only to the PA stage, but oftenthe carrier oscillator is interrupted at AFas well. The interruption can be achievedin several different ways:(a) By means of a mechanicalcommutating switch, attachedto the shaftof a motor-generator set, for example.(b) By increasing the feedback couplingin the carrier oscillator to the point whereit begins to “squegg”, biasing itself tocut-off and then coming back intooscillation again as charge leaks awayfrom the grid capacitor, with componentvalues chosen so that this process repeatsat audio frequency.(c) By using unsmoothed pulsating DCas HT. In the Marconi 381 transmitter,pictured on page 31 of MM66, this isdone by switching out the “pi” filter inthe supplylinefromthefull—wave rectifierto the single RF oscillator/PA valve. Thetransmitter is supplied from a 500Hzalternator, so the output RF is interruptedat 1 kHz.

43

A sophisticated variant of (c) is to befound in the ET8025 emergencytransmitter, part of the RCA Type 4Uradio rack installed in American-builtT2 tankers of theWWII era, in which thecarrier oscillator and PA tetrode valveseffectively doubled up as rectifiers. Thecircuit comprised a push—pull LCoscillator (2 x 1624 valves) driving apush—pull PA (4 x 1624 in parallelpush—pull), with the valves arranged intwo independent chains. The HT wasrawAC suppliedthrough a centre—tappedtransformer from a 350Hz alternator,pulsingeachchain in turn to givea700Hzmodulated output.From the point of view of the receivingoperator,MCWand ICWsignals soundednot all that different, with ICW perhapssomewhat rougher, but it is important todistinguish between the two techniques.

Geoff Arnold, G3GSRBroadstone, England

N.E. School ofWirelessTeIegraphy

With reference to the article on NB.School of Telegraphy in MM66, I did notattend this school but the article was ofmuch interest, bringing back memoriesof those times. The war was two monthsold when I enrolled at the ManchesterWireless College. I was 17.

Only the ‘Special’ certificatewas on offer at that time, the demand forjunior R/O’s being great, to enable acontinuous radiowatch on all ships. I canrecall that all day and every day for the

44

first six weeks,onlyMorsewasthesubjecttaught. At the end of that time all studentscould meet Postmaster General’s (PMG)examination requirements of 20 wpmplain language, and 15 wpm code. It ishard to understand the trouble somepeople have in learning Morse.

It is also remembered how aMarconi representative appeared atexamination time, seeking recruits fortheir sea-going staff. I have spoken to‘Special’ certificate holders,who say thatthey did not send so much as a single dotthroughout the war, ‘radio silence’ beingresponsible. The Morse qualificationcould be ‘banked’, so that at some futuretimea secondclassPMGcertificate couldbe obtained by passing a technicaltheoretical test only. For a first classPMG certificate the complete set ofexaminations must be passed. This wasthe route I took, hours of sea time beingspent pouring over the Admiralty books.A first class certificate is now on displayat my modest amateur radio telegraphystation. Since leaving the sea, I havemostly been involved in radiocommunications, finding my knowledgeofMorse useful on many occasions, bothas operator and engineer.

H. Hampson, GWQA WNPenmaenmawr, Gwynedd, Wales.

Vibroplex Bug?

Does any MMreader know what kind of“bug” (insect) appears on the Vibroplexlabel

Chris Bisaillion, VE3CBKOntario, Canada

W67— January/fefimary 2000

Needle Telegraph?

During a recent extensive trip to theUSAmy wife I visited Harrisonburg, Virginiato see the Virginia QuiltMuseum. I havemade several important career switchesin my life, one of them running, with mywife,apatchworkandquilt shop. Throughthe years, watching my wife teachingpatchwork techniques to hundreds ofladies, and running the shop while mywife was teaching, I have become quiteknowledgeable on the subject of quilts.Thus, a visit to that museum wassomethingwewere both looking forwardto. It is housed inaniceoldbuilding(301 South MainStreet, tel: (540)433—3818) and itc o l l e c t i o 11

contains somevery old, niceantique quilts,some dating backfrom the early1800’s. Most ofthe quiltsexhibited arewelldocumented andshow their‘historic CV’.

was made (1976) and that the Morse textwas a biblical admonition, but nothingmore. The lady who made it had passedaway someyears ago so therewas nowayto find out why this Morse text had beenincorporated in the design. Of course Idid not rest till we had the whole quiltunfolded and in front of us. The Morsecode text, which ran around the border,read: “ the way of transgressors is hardproverbs 13:15 ”, whilst the embroideredtext read: “ lucy catherine bowieculpeperVirginia 1976”(For those who know about patchwork:the fabric making the text was appliquéd

1 Albert Spaans points to the Morse message around the quiltsuddenly spotteda relatively new patchwork quilt, a“Drunkard’s Path” a.k.a. “Salomon’sPuzzle” design, but with a Morse textsewn as part of overall the design, plussome small text inMorse, embroidered atthe bottom. I was intrigued and asked theStaff for information. They knew thename of the lady who made it, the year itW67—]anuary/fe5mary 2000

to the top, and it was well dimensioned,well spaced, no errors. The samewent fortheembroideredtext. Thisquiltwon ‘Bestof Show’ in the 1977 NQA NationalShow and also at the 1981 NQABicentennial Show).

Albert SpaansSaint Brice de Cognac, France

45'

Keys Used by the GreatNorthern Telegraph Co.

I have one of the keys shown in the articleon The Great Northern TelegraphCompany (MM number 59 page 52) andhave been trying to find out who made it.the key is marked No.43066 St. N .T.S’sFABRIK KJOBENHAVN which lookslike the samewriting as on the1890 model 200/604ownedbyWynDavies. In theGNTarticle details ofother models werer e q u e s t e d .

Enclosed is pictureof another key andwould appreciateany otheri n f o r m a t i o nanyonemight haveon this model. I’me s p e c i a l l yinterested in theyear as it looks alotlike the 200/604with theS/Rswitch andwoodbaseI also have a GNTMorse KeyNo. 605 which I was able toidentify from the samearticlepage 52 ofMM59. I obtainedboth of these keys from theland down under, NewZealand and Australia.

SteveMassey, N6TT/K6KEY

Manhattan Beach,California, USA.

46

New Web PagesMany items from my telegraphycollection can be seen at a new web site.There are many new telegraphinstruments to view. The address is:http://www.faradic.net/~gsraven/fons_images/fons_museum.html

Fans Vanden BerghenHalle, Belgium

We7— january/fefimary2000

Headers advertisements arefree to MMsubscribers.The number of insertions should be specified,otherwise it willbe assumed thatitis required in thenextissue only. Non-subscribers are welcome toadvertise in the Classified Ads section. PleasecontactMM for styles available and rates.

New - Ads can include one photo free of charge

FOR SALE

FOR SALE: RAF Morse key Type D£90; Rare 190 British railway belltelegraph instrument - offers invited. SeeMM Showcase for a photo. TelephonePeter on: +44 (0)1771623 654 fordetails.

THE MM Q & Z CODEBOOK, acomprehensive 82-page list of the Q-codes and Z—codes, including a one-pagelist of the original Q-codes of 1912.Available from Dick KraayveldPA3ALM, Merellaan 209, 3145 EHMaassluis, Holland. Price £5 UK, orUS$10.00 outside UK, including post-age in both cases. Payment accepted incash only.

BOOK: “Radiotelegraph andRadiotelephone Codes, Prowordsand Abbreviations.” 2nd Edition.AUD$16 posted within Australia. 90

Pages. Q,X,Z Codes, 97 Phonetic, 20Morse Codes.Phillips,Myer, 10,11,12,13Codes. Much other info. Probablyworld’s best listings. Internet: http://www.nor.com.au/community/sarc/phonetichtm.Also via MM. VK2JWA,John W.Alcorn. QTHR. +61 02-66215217. jalcom@nor.com.au VISA,MASTERCARD, BANKCARD (Aus,NZ) accepted.

FOR SALE OR TRADE: Early 20thcentury Manahttan Electric SupplyCompany Morse key on original factoryissue Mahogany base. Clean andcomplete with all original parts. Includesa photocopy from a tum-of—the-centurycatalogue showing this key for sale. $50

Vibroplex ‘original’ bug With grey basein excellent condition with a plexiglasscover. $135. Other keys, bugs, sounders,relays and odd telegraph items alsoavailable. DavePennesWA3LKN;4607-C Santa Cruz Drive. Indianapolis, IN46268—5354. phone (317) 471-9605. e-mail: dpennes@hotmail.com

Wanted - articles and tips on making and restoring keys - contact MM

W67—January/fem2000 47

FOR SALE - continuedOFFERS: L. C. Smith No. 8 typewriteras shown on the inside rear cover ofMM66.BobRollheiser, 10001 -104Ave.,Peace River, Alberta T88 1M4, Canada.

18+ PAGE ILLUSTRATEDLIST allkinds of telegraph related items surplusto my needs including straight/semi—au—tomatic keys, sounders, relays, KOBs,military items and many miscellaneousitems (e.g. WU dolly gram — 1950s’—code learning machines. $3.00 plusequivalent of 4US stamps ($5.00 refundon $25 purchase). Dr. Joseph Jacobs, 5Yorktown Place, Fort Salonga, NY11768, USA. Phone: 516-261-1576.Fax:516-754-4616. E-mail: joekey@aol.com

WANTED

BOOK WANTED: Original orphotocopy of the book ‘A TelegraphicCode for Fingerprint Formulae’ bySuperintendent C. S. Collins, publishedin 1921. Contact Geoffrey Walsh, 64Liberton Drive, Edinburgh EH16 6NW,UK. Phone: (0) 131—664—3046. email:Geoffrey.Walsh@ed.ac.uk

WANTED TO BUY: Telegraphic CodeBooks, as used to reduce the costs oftelegrams by replacing common phraseswith codewords. Would be interested inboth originals of photocopies. I am ahobbyist in Cryptography and am

48

facinated in different ways data is andhas been represented for differentpurposes (e.g. speed, economy,confidentiality etc.) Also interested inrelated items. Letters to Mark Darling,132 Knowlands, Highworth, SN6 7NE,United Kingdom or e-mail:darling@patrol.i—way.co.uk

WANTED: TELEGRAPHY ITEMS(esp. land-line). I am looking forsomewhat special telegraphy apparatus:Single and Double Needle, Wheatstoneetc. Buy or swap. I can swap for earlyelectricity (e.g. tubes from Crookes,Rontgen and Geissler; Ruhmkorff;Wimshurst;..) ,very oldradiovalves,sometelephony andof course telegraphy. Whoelse collects telegraphy ?? All lettersanswered. Fons Vanden Berghen;Lenniksesteenweg462/22;B—l 500Halle,Belgium.Tel. +32.2.356 05 56 (home: after 8 pmmy local time) or office: +32.16.38 27 21

or e-mail: fovabe@telindus.be

SOLUTION TO MM66 SEARCHWORD

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