What happened when the key on the first telegraph was pressed?
The straight keys used in wire telegraphy also had a shorting bar that closed the electrical circuit when the operator was not actively sending messages. This was to complete the electrical path to the next station so that its sounder would operate, as in the operator receiving a message from the next town.
What is a telegraph key used for?
Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire.
What is a Morse code keyer?
Electronic Morse keyer: This term really refers to a keyer that includes the mechanical paddle as well as the electronics to create the dots and dashes. Some keyers incorporate a reed relay so that high voltages can be switched – this may be required if valve vacuum tube transmitters are being used.
What is a Vibroplex bug?
Vibroplex or mechanical bug keys have been used for many years. They were the first form of automated key and they were able to produce a series of dots when the lever or paddle was moved to the right.
What is a telegraph bug?
During the 1870s, long before the semi automatic key was invented, a “bug” to telegraph engineers, inventors and telegraphers had a very specific meaning. It was commonly associated with false signals that were heard on early multiple telegraphy circuits, specifically on duplex and quadruplex circuits.
What is Morse code keyer?
A keyer (combined with a “paddle”) makes sending Morse code easier than the traditional “straight key” which most people would imagine is used. Instead of having to precisely time the dits, dahs and the spaces in between a paddle/keyer combination does a lot of the timing for you, using a speed setting of your choice.
How do you practice Morse code?
There are many ways to learn to send and receive the Morse code very successfully:
- Using a Morse code tutor.
- Use our YouTube Video series (see below).
- Learning the characters by saying them.
- Listening to general Morse code transmissions over the radio.
- Listening to special practice slow Morse transmissions.
What is iambic keying?
Iambic keying involves squeezing both paddles – the first paddle to make contact sends its element (dit or dah) immediately followed by the opposite element. This continues as long as one or both paddles are squeezed. This allows many CW characters to be sent more efficiently.