Bushwacker and American Morse Paddles -- Anyone familiar with them?

[Jack]

 

 

 

 

CFO members,

 

I am looking for a new Single Lever paddle, and one of interest was the Bushwhacker. I said Was, because it is too wide to fit inside the ash tray of my EuroVan Camper, on the shelf I built for my old Brown Bros Twin. I took the guts from the heavy Brown base, and it survived about 50 years of Mobile CW. [Amend that to almost survived ...]

 

Even while my FYO single was bolted in my car, the Brown was the back-up. When one car burned, I grabbed the loose Brown, but the FYO melted – and was a bigger loss than the car. I still have the pretty FYO base – from the only paddle W8FYO ever had chrome plated.

 

American Morse Equipment also advertises a Mini-B – which is a miniature version of the Bushwhacker. It would easily fit on my two-layer 1/4 inch plastic shelf / paddle base, but I don’t see any meaningful reviews.

 

Any paddle will work OK at 20-25 WPM, but so will any straight key, or saw blade and rubber bands. Cute, better than expected, and 4 pounds are lost on me.

 

73,

 

Jack

W4SON  CFO 59 -- That sounds like numbers I heard on the air once ...

[Andrew Moore]

Jack - no idea what the budget is, but talk to Brett about his single-lever Begali. Okay, not the cheapest paddle around, but probably the last one you'll ever buy, and I bet it would survive another burning VW, and it's quality of the highest order.

Glad to hear you're still doing mobile in the van.  If you get the itch for a road trip, NEAR-fest is coming up at the fairgrounds in N.H.... Friday May 4 to Saturday May 5 in Deerfield N.H., with camping spots and water/electric hookups far away from the crowds, you practically have the entire field to yourself. Park on my lawn if you want to hang out in the area for a little longer... camper-friendly here!

[Imre Forro]

Hi Jack!

Try N3ZN products.
They are the best on the market today,

73 Imi HA7AP CFO#1018

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A1Club#803, CTC#679, RCC#1116, CFO#1018

[Brett Miller]

Jack,

I have about 20 keys in my collection at the moment, and I'm trying to resist the urge to buy any more.  Of course I've tried a lot more in the past, but those that didn't see regular use were sold or traded away long ago.  Out of all the keys I've ever used, the Begali Sculpture Mono is the best I've ever used, and it will probably be my last paddle purchase.  It has once and for all converted me to single lever sending, and I always hated the whole Mode A vs. Mode B dichotomy, which is rendered obsolete by the use of a single lever paddle.  With this key adjusted in a comfortable manner, I *know* any mistakes made are my fault, and not the fault of the key or electronic keyer.

That being said, many of the Begalis make a relatively loud "tick" sound when the contacts actuate.  Some people don't like this, or are annoyed by it.  I love it, since it provides a source of feedback to my ears when sending.  I find this highly useful in the learning process, as well as in everyday sending.  Bottom line:  The Sculpture Mono is the best key I've ever touched, and the elegance of single lever is for me.  This is at least the 3rd single lever paddle I have tried, but it is the first one I've fell in love with.  The only dual lever which comes close is my V2L.

Oh, and the Sculpture Mono is solid stainless steel and weighs a ton.  I never did move keys (or bugs) around the table when sending, but if you got into a panic or became eager during a QSO, this would stay put.

Try it next Dayton and see what you think.

-Brett

CFO #1017

KI4DBK

---

From: Andrew Moore <andre...@gmail.com>
To: chicken-fat-o...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 9:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Chicken Fat Operators-1433] Bushwacker and American Morse Paddles -- Anyone familiar with them?

[Joe Blackwell]

Jack,
I can follow Brett by saying I have about 20 keys myself and liked every
one but the few that were made in the Ukraine. When a question like
yours comes up I always have the urge to send my favorite paddle to the
person for first hand use, it's a Begali Simplex Mono. What a great
feel and how easy it is to QRQ or just sit back and send with the
greatest of ease. The Begali Scullpture has the same lever mechanism
and I was surprised to hear Brett say it did the mechanical click while
sending because the Simplex Mono does not do that, but it might if I
widened the gaps a bit and slapped it around. I bought it several
years ago for $130usd; today it is a bit more than that. The Sculpture,
though, is a beautiful piece of art. Dayton is around the
corner....good place to try all of Begali's keys.

For quite some time now I have wanted to ask you, Jack, if you were in
the business of installing timed traffic lights? I know I worked W4SON
many times as K5GFN from my dormitory room at Louisiana Tech 1957-1960.
Back then I was SOC not CFO, and now I am neither. hee

73,
de Joe, aa4nn
Lake Wylie, SC

[Brett Miller]

Joe,

I too have the Simplex Mono (serial number 010), which I purchased for around $130 as well, when it was offered for that special lower price.  At first I didn't like it at all, plus found it hard to adjust to any setting that was comfortable.  In dual lever paddle use I would always adjust contacts until they were so close I could almost actuate them by a breathing hard on the levers.  In May of 2011 I went on a trip to Baltimore, borrowed a friend's IC-7K and brought along the Simplex Mono and a Hustler RM-40.  I didn't have a good ground plane in the hotel (the air conditioner, hihi), plus the window was sealed.  However, I did make a few fleeting CW contacts.  The greatest discovery of that trip (aside from a CT scan showing 0 cancer cells!) was that if I backed the contacts down a bit so that there was a click and more action in the lever, I could send with much more accuracy than before.

This is a personal discovery and may not apply to many others, but I thought perhaps it was worth sharing.  I started with the Bencher BY-1, used it for quite a while, then upgraded to the Schurr Profi-2, which was a much greater paddle, yet no matter how well I adjusted it, I felt that every now and then, I would miss a dit when I knew good and well I had touched the finger piece with the usual amount of pressure.  Right or wrong, I eventually started blaming the key.  I have read many reviews from operators who claim that the Schurr creeps out of proper adjustment over time.  I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I am quite confident that with the Begali Sculpture Mono, the adjustments have stayed exactly the same since the first day I adjusted it to my liking and every single error made with this key is my own.  Since it's single lever I don't make last minute "freak-outs" about whether I should squeeze for the letter "R" for example, or do a "left-right-left" sequence.  With single lever use, it is irrelevant, as is Mode A/Mode B timing.  I'm happy to have left all that nonsense behind for a simple elegant single lever. 

My friend Bob Carr (w5ux) suggested that 27 wpm is a good speed to practice nearly perfect accuracy with a paddle.  I agree, and will likely be sending at that speed with my Sculpture Mono until I can send for around 1 hour with only 1 or 2 mistakes.  Then I will move up to 30-35, and maybe 40.  In the past I was able to send fairly decent copy up to 40 for a short period of time, but there were too many mistakes.  If I want QRQ, I pick up the board, since I had two years of typing in school and have programmed computers for a good portion of my life.  Of course, on the CW keyboard, interactive full break-in is the most fun way to go, so I try not to get too far into the buffer.

Ok, I won't ramble any more...  If you love the code as much as I do, then the Sculpture Mono is worth the ~650 bux if it helps you send better CW.

73,

-Brett

KI4DBK

CFO #1017

---

From: Joe Blackwell <aa...@earthlink.net>
To: chicken-fat-o...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 9:35 AM
Subject: Re: [Chicken Fat Operators-1436] Bushwacker and American Morse Paddles -- Anyone familiar with them?

-- Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, CLUCK! - CFO Lives!
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[Brett Miller]

I forgot to mention, I have to disagree on the mechanism between the two paddles (sculpture mono/simplex mono) being the same.  True, they are similar, but the Simplex uses a hinged segmented lever and spring tension, whereas the Sculpture uses a lever which presses against a moving piece (containing the movable contact) whose tension is provided by neodynium magnets.  If you study it closely, you'll see that Begali completely re-engineered the mechanism into a contraption not used (to my knowledge anyway) on any prior key.

Also, my bug of choice for last year and this year has been the MacElroy Deluxe with the marbleized base.  I know a lot of people don't like sending with Mac keys, but it just seems solid to me.  I used it in the coop last night quite a bit.  I made some mistakes, but I had a lot of fun.  Maybe I'm just strange in the way I enjoy adjusting and using keys.  73

-Brett 

[Jack]

Hi Joe,

I was very active on CW on the low end of 80, 40 and 20 in the early through
late 1950s, but went mobile CW in 1956. [I have said somewhere 1st mobile
was 1959 -- I can not count that high on my fingers and toes.]

I was in Morgan City, LA from 1956-1957, then to Alvin, TX for 3 years. I
drove around Galveston-Houston area, servicing boats, ships, and some
off-shore and on-shore 2-way systems for Mackay Radio and Telegraph Co., and
played CW at their KLC shore station 1 shift a week + many weeks a year as
vacation relief OP.

When I worked you at AA4NN on some of my NYC-CLT trips, while driving down
I -81, and past L.Wylie on I-85, visiting family in Charlotte area, I did
not realize you had also held K5GFN! Small world. I thought about changing
calls as I moved through 8 states and 2,3,4,5,8 and 0 call areas, but
managed to write enough QSLs to the FCC to get away with keeping this one.
{Mother liked my W4SON call, anyway, so she forwarded QSLs and occasional
FCC mail -- but I never told her it was illegal.}

I did not service traffic lights, but I tipped a few with tall whips, and
was accused of ignoring a few.

After ~1.5 million miles of M CW, and driving in 49 states, 10 Canadian
Provinces, Newfoundland ... I can't operate from home, because </> became
part of my call, and I send it automatically. If you hear /H ...

I had an FCC Maritime Inspector in my VW in downtown Houston a couple of
times. We were involved in a tanker FCC inspection on one occasion, and I
showed off my CW rig [Elmac, with a Collins PTO stuck in dash speaker hole].
He told me I had QSOed his XYL on 80 and 40 M, and even handled CW traffic
with her, while Mobile. When he asked how I did it, I began steering with
left knee, pulled out my log, and began logging the QSO that I was in
[before he cited me for non-logging]. When I saw his white knuckles, I
grabbed the wheel. No citations.

Since he seemed friendly, I asked him if his XYL had mentioned my <bump
modulation> [QSY due to pot holes ...]. I hinted that maybe the FCC just
ignored this from a M CW station. Uhhh - I was quoted the FCC reg. re
unstable emission ... I then explained the Collins PTO had cured most of
it -- to let him know I was trying. I kept expecting to be asked why W4SON,
but residing in TX. I was sure I had mentioned to Lillian how many years I
had been in LA, and TX.

When removing the PTO, I noticed the ceramic ring flex shaft coupling was
always maxed out in one direction, thus wobbling the shaft on bumps.

Years later, I bought a KWM-2 from another FCC Ham / Inspector in Charge of
Norfolk. Still later, I QSOed a retired FCC guy, who said he had worked out
of Atlanta, DC, TX ... and he had worked with both of the 2 other FCC men I
knew personally, by 1st and last names. Since he had been traveling out of
Atlanta FCC office, during the 1950-51 years I had taken Class B tests in
Nashville, I asked him if he knew Uncle Remus. [A friend of mine, who had
taken his tests ~13 times, told me our FCC Examiner was W4UR, so he always
referred to him as Uncle Remus.]

There was a long pause -- -- -- then -- "I o n c e h e l d t h e call
W 4 U R ." When he moved from W4, W5, W3, and back to W4, he always changed
calls. I almost asked him why he had always used the same Instructograph CW
tape, every 3 months: "Emergency exists in zone 1234509876. A gaunt spark
was heard in the cans." -- I forgot the rest, but all 26 letters were used.
He probably still had friends in high places, and I was not going to push my
luck any more ...

73,

Jack
W4SON CFO 59 [Active from club stations: W4ONO @ U. of TN, or W4UJJ @
Auburn -- 1950-1955.]
=====================================================================

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Blackwell
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 9:35 AM

To: chicken-fat-o...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Chicken Fat Operators-1436] Bushwacker and American Morse
Paddles -- Anyone familiar with them?

[Jack]

Bret,

 

Thanks for the paddle info. I need a smaller paddle, that has a removable module I can re-mount on my shelf, then slide into ash tray grooves. After losing my FYO single in a car fire, and a fantastic Mac bug in another VW car fire, I’d hate to trust a $600 paddle in my latest VW ...

 

I sometimes used the Mac while mobile, but I had it adjusted to require be to be moving to get the dit arm to swing – to avoid problems. I kept it under the seat while using keyers, in case my VibraPack vibrator stuck, and my home brewed W9TO keyer QRT. My 7 MHz RFI affected solid state keyers later, and Mackay Radio’s 3 KW 8 MHz RFI was worse – so I used the Mac a lot there.

 

The other OPs respected the bug more than my keyers, but 18 on the straight key was OK, anyway. On long hurricane warnings, I enjoyed the paddle more – if I did not have time to cut a Bohme-Creel punched tape, or it jammed, requiring me to p/u & finish message. If I was across the room, building my final or exciter, I had  to move fast ...

 

As I drove out of KLC drive way, I used the Mac to avoid the 8 MHz RFI, and had to get ~1/2 mile away, to be safe.

 

On my next job, I was parked outside one of our VHF AM remote sites, and had to wait before taking site equipment off the air. I fired up 40 M CW just outside, had a nice QSO, then went back in the site. The VHF OP 500 miles away asked if I had heard the CW QRM on our VHF RX. I had forgotten our Collins RX had 2nd IF ~7.030. A few of our OPs had also worked at some of our Comm Centers where HF CW was still used, and a few OPs were Hams, so I figured I’d been ID’d. “It seems quiet – OH! Maybe you heard my Ham TX.”

 

At another VHF site years later, I heard remote NCS OP 5X5, but he did not answer flights on our RX, or hear me, on AF-to-Telco side of our 4-wire circuit. It was miles to a telephone, and it was his job to report line problems to Telco. I cranked my 1000 Hz AF osc wide open, and tapped out the OP’s 3-letter city ID: <CHI de CMH you are 5X5>.

 

He came back, very business-like: <The aircraft calling CHI --- then his voice cracked – on CW?> I repeated the CMH slowly, and let him know I was a ground tech, and he had a very weak line from that site. Sometimes work is fun.

 

On another job, we had an AF voice Order Wire, from the Cape, to all down-range stations. Somehow, everyone knew CW, so it became a CW circuit. No phonetics needed, accents moot, and only relevant info was passed. A J-38 was securely wired into our submarine cable test board at GBI -- our Grand Bahama station. I asked about bringing in my keyer, but was discouraged.

 

73,

 

Jack  W4SON  CFO 59

=====================================================================

From: Brett Miller

Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 11:57 AM

To: chicken-fat-o...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [Chicken Fat Operators-1438] Bushwacker and American Morse Paddles -- Anyone familiar with them?

 

I forgot to mention, I have to disagree on the mechanism between the two paddles (sculpture mono/simplex mono) being the same.  True, they are similar, but the Simplex uses a hinged segmented lever and spring tension, whereas the Sculpture uses a lever which presses against a moving piece (containing the movable contact) whose tension is provided by neodynium magnets.  If you study it closely, you'll see that Begali completely re-engineered the mechanism into a contraption not used (to my knowledge anyway) on any prior key.

Also, my bug of choice for last year and this year has been the MacElroy Deluxe with the marbleized base.  I know a lot of people don't like sending with Mac keys, but it just seems solid to me.  I used it in the coop last night quite a bit.  I made some mistakes, but I had a lot of fun.  Maybe I'm just strange in the way I enjoy adjusting and using keys.  73

-Brett 

--
Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, CLUCK! - CFO Lives!
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[w8...@sssnet.com]

At 12:00 PM 3/14/2012, Jack wrote:
>I was very active on CW on the low end of 80, 40 and 20 in the early
>through late 1950s, but went mobile CW in 1956. [I have said
>somewhere 1st mobile was 1959 -- I can not count that high on my

>fingers and toes.] ET AL....................

Jack: U need to write a book. Travelogues are not the only
thing...you pepper the exploits with extra commentary... lotsa humor... :-D
I am waiting for the CLE/CAK, etc escapades for ARINC. I figure you
would have some comments on the places I visited for them.

Perry w8au

[w8...@sssnet.com]

At 12:00 PM 3/14/2012, Jack wrote:

>I was very active on CW on the low end of 80, 40 and 20 in the early
>through late 1950s, but went mobile CW in 1956. [I have said
>somewhere 1st mobile was 1959 -- I can not count that high on my

[Andrew Moore]

Agreed -- I really enjoy hearing Jack's stories. There are so many and they're very entertaining.

--Andrew, NV1B

..

[Brett Miller]

Absolutely.  One of the great benefits of being in the CFO and reading the list is being able to hear great stories like Jack's.  K0JVX and I were discussing this just recently.

-Brett,

KI4DBK

---

From: Andrew Moore <andre...@gmail.com>
To: chicken-fat-o...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 7:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Chicken Fat Operators-1443] Re: Chicken Fat Operators-1439

[Andrew Moore]

We live the original CFO days vicariously through them.

--Andrew, NV1B

..

[GEORGE, N9EJS]

Andrew - You sent this "uninformed" OM to the dictionary for a
definition of "vicarious" - ha ha! I came up with ": experienced or
realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the
experience of another <a vicarious thrill> ". Seems to fit! 73 -
George, N9EJS

= = = = = = = = = = = = =

[Brett Miller]

Hopefully we won't have to do this forever.  With all our modern resources, there is no reason why we can't continue practicing both QRQ and QSK CW for fun and friendship as well as train others who are interested.  Following AA0HW's example we can use this legacy as a compass pointer to posterity.  In the process, we can preserve the stories of old forever so that they will continue to inspire.

---

From: Andrew Moore <andre...@gmail.com>
To: chicken-fat-o...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 8:20 PM
Subject: Re: [Chicken Fat Operators-1445] Re: Chicken Fat Operators-1439

[Bob Dillon]

Yes George, the word "vicarious" isn't related to the word "vice." Unless the stories are about things that were illegal.

--

[Jack]

Hi Perry,

I thought maybe you would read ARINC into a couple of my comments -- IF you
didn't hit Delete too fast!

When I admitted to some of my FCC escapades, I thought about the one time
the FCC walked in a site while I was working. That possibility was always
near the surface -- I guess they had indoctrinated us pretty well.

I was in an AAL office in Columbus [OH] tuning a stubborn Comco VHF TX one
day, and was thinking I should have brought in my dummy load. [I always had
a small one in my tool kit, for a few second test, but that time I keyed
the TX off and on for quite some time -- long enough for the FCC engineer to
pick it up in another part of the airport, look up freq. in his records, and
walk over. He watched me for a minute or two from a short distance, then
asked what I was doing. [No introduction, no FCC ID displayed, or
requested.]

I explained in semi-layman's terms -- thinking he was working in the area,
and was just curious. [I guessed part of it correctly!] He asked a few
questions, and I realized more technical answers would be OK. After 4-5
minutes, he told me his name, FCC ... but never asked for my commercial
license FCC card. He left, and it was then I realized he could have written
me up for 4-5 violations -- and he may have come up with more. [No dummy
load, QRMing an active airport freq., excessive keying, my FCC ID card?, no
ID on the keyed TX -- with the mike in my hand ...]

If he did not already have it, in 1 more minute, he could have had my life
history in his hands. When I saw my Ham and commercial files in the ATL FCC
office one day, I was amazed at the paperwork filed therein. 6 Ham
addresses, conflicting first names, 4 call areas as W4SON, many missing
months of notifying FCC of my portable operation ...

Then, there was a record of my phone call to FCC -- requesting permission to
operate 1 ground station and 1 aircraft on 21.5 MHz for the Gasser Alaska
Expedition Corp. [I thought the call had been to FCC in DC.] I was told by
Monk Gasser the radio was on "21.5 MHz" -- having no idea he was using pilot
short-hand for 121.5 MHz Calling / Emerg. The FCC had given me verbal
permission for 21.5, if we only used it inside KL7. [That was after Hams had
21.0 / 21.455 MHz, and months before KL7 became a state.]

I never did fire up 121.5 [or 21.5!], as I left KL7 before Monk arrived back
to Alaska with his surplus L-13 plane -- notorious for folding wings, that
also folded while airborne. I never bothered to call FCC back to tell them
of the 100 MHz error. I hope they didn't send someone to look for us. Monk
didn't have anyone with a license to install his equipment after I left. His
Onan would hardly have powered a small base station, anyway, if even a few
of our several freezers and refrigerators were running.

One of our guys had explained to him why we couldn't just bury them in
permafrost -- while the rest of us had to turn around. Why didn't he speak
up before we hauled them up the ALCAN? Canadian Customs could have told him,
but they were too busy trying to determine if we were really a prospecting
expedition. Monk couldn't have them call Delaware, as he had only pretended
to file corp. papers.

I wasn't nervous, mostly because he was so casual, and seemed to be
satisfied with my answers, and his observations. Also, while working with
FCC on a few ship radio inspections some years before, I had met some savvy,
friendly, professional FCC men. Not one of them displayed that "Bad Cop"
attitude I had heard about from a few Hams & CBers -- who had really been
caught red-handed with power or frequency issues. [The CLE Ham who had been
caught with 27 KW was one. We used input in those days, so he may have only
had 12-15 KW Output.]

The FCC had a good relationship with my company, at HDQ level, and we had
been licensing the USA Airline industry since early 1930s. Maybe one more
violation in CLE that day would have changed my attitude.

After so many of my past transgressions have been made public, I need to go
back to only giving QTH, Name, WX, 579 and 73 in my QSOs. DX, here I come.
5NN SK.

Jack W4SON
=============================================================

Perry w8au

[Joe Blackwell]

On 3/14/2012 12:00 PM, Jack wrote:
> Jack said...
> Hi Joe,

> I did not service traffic lights, but I tipped a few with tall whips,
> and was accused of ignoring a few.

I well remember working you, Jack, while you were mobile. Other
regulars, too. It must have been another fellow who installed
synchronized traffic lights...His motto was "Our traffic lights are
always green!"
73 de Joe, aa4nn
Lake Wylie, SC