Monday, December 15, 2008

Dit dit dah

A.J., the device is called an iambic paddle (or a semiautomatic key), versus a "straight key". I've also noticed that many of the newscasts archived here use the Morse Code character, "dit-dit-dit-dah", which is the letter "v". Wonder if that was intended, or did it just sound good?

For some more understanding on the letters versus "dit" and "dah" relationships, as well as more information about the above keys here's a nice website:

http://www.qsl.net/wb3gck/morse.htm

Have fun! Bud, KC4HGH, somewhere near Mobile, AL
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Sorry that name doesn't ring a bell. Name some manufacturers. I can see it plain as day but I can't recall the brand name.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, A.J., Bencher made some really nice units, as well as Hi-Mound and Vibroplex (the latter is mfr'd. here in Mobile, AL!). Here are a couple of sites that may help in i.d.ing some early units:

http://www.morsex.com/misc/keyadj.htm

http://www.vibroplex.com/

And, I have to apologize: the term "iambic paddle" really isn't descriptive of the Morse code key, just the type paddle used on some automatic keyers. If you need more info, I'll be glad to forward more websites for classic keys! Bud, KC4HGH, somewhere near Mobile, AL