: The Fists club is an International Morse Preservation Society  based in the UK but has 4550 members all over the world The only requirement for membership is a love of morse and a delight in using it for communication
: In contrast to most Ham societies where membership is stagnated or decling FISTS is growing steadily This reflects a  growing interest in CW communication that appears to be happening around the world
: There is a monthly newsletter called Key Note The Australasian chapter called the Fists CW Club Down Under was started by Ralph ZL2AOH He still acts as the membership and awards manager and has been responsible for recruiting many new members in the last few years including me number 9008
: This is a friendly club Members delight in talking to each other swapping numbers for awards rag chewing and visiting each other when they can Many work QRP and gladly help newcomers to the mode 
: We are not a gang of 25 to 40 wpm merchants but a society of people who just enjoy the mode We welcome new members All you have to do is write to or email Ralph and he will tell you all about it The yearly subscription is only 15 new zealand dollars
: about 27 emails have arrived from 13 people who have built one of the 4 cheap and excellent microprocessor controlled keyers I talk about from time to time Having done so they are are perplexed at having to now select type A or type B iambic timing and ask what does this mean and which is best
: The short answer is 29 use both with equal facility but whichever one you choose be prepared to stick with it because its characteristics will rapidly become embedded in your brain and you won't be able to reliably send with the other type
: These timing protocols were defined by Jack Curtis who in 1973 designed and sold the first keyer on a chip which was the Curtis 4043 Several improved versions rapidly followed culminating in the 8044ABM released in 1975
: Iambic keyers have 2 paddles Closing 1 gives automatic dahs the other automatic dits When both are closed an iambic stream of alternating dits and dahs results which aids the sending of letters like C The difference between modes A and B lies in what happens when both paddles closed for an iambic sequence are opened again
: The classic 1972 Accukeyer of James Garrett used type B and this is the timing I grew up with and indelibly burnt into my bionic CW ROM The advantage of type A is supposedly that the fingers must hold the paddles closed for longer which is said to be easier at high speeds where all paddle manipulations have to be very fast
: Roughly speaking its easier to hold the paddles closed reliably for a short time than for an even shorter time Many transceivers now come out with built-in keyers Their manuals never in my experience tell you which mode they use but but the majority seem to be type A like the keyer on my FT 767GX 
: If you insist on my advice go for B because that is what I use and It will never cause a problem because all modern keyers allow you to change to either mode at any time usually with a paddle initiated command
: At higher speeds it becomes increasingly diffcult to reliably hold the dit paddle closed for the short periods of time required to send the multiple dit streams in letters like H and X and B giving rise to what I call the erratic dit count problem
: The first NZART Morse tests could be delivered from tapes but this brought a potential security problem as now tapes were being mailed out all over the place What if they went astray and the tests became known
: we Introduced encrypted computer sent tests which fixed several problems people had not thought about much I wrote the software that produces these tests to comply exactly with the current MED regulations and sound exactly like the morse you used to hear if you use my teaching software
: Modern soundcard audio sounds much better than small tape recorder audio and the software also allowed the audio frequency to be selected by the candidate which was very helpful to those who had limited high frequency response or notches in their hearing caused by exposure to loud monochromatic noises
: Ron ZL2OY also a FISTS member has a an Argonaut QRP rig which has no CW filter which makes copying on crowded bands very dfficult He wrote to ask whether I had a spare homebrew one I was not using but Mine have long decomposed
: Several people have written concerning how Morse speed was determined in the days of the classical telegraphists triggered by my comments in the last column All gave fascinating stories of their telegraph experiences which unfortunately I do not have space to print
: I started working as a telegraph cadet in Paeroa then in Invercargill in 1948 Over two years initially working as a telegraph messenger I learnt sounder morse by practising and listening encouraged by an enthusiastic Chief Postmaster After achieving around 12 to 15 wpm keen candidates were transferred to the Telegraph training school
: I was then transferred to the Auckland CPO where the simultaneous clatter of 100 busy landline circuits took some getting used to I spent about 18 months here and that brought me to a level of achievement way beyond what I had ever imagined
: The working speed on most circuits seemed to be around 20 to 25 wpm using the conventional post and telegraph pump handle key and nobody seemed to find that too much effort
: In 1955 I joined the Post Office Maritime Coast Station ZLB Awarua where I remained for 9 years The basic entry requirements were an interest in radio plus an operating speed of at least 25 wpm
: I never used a bug My average speeds sending and receiving well beyond 25 probably closer to 30 wpm under ideal working conditionsbut  40 years on my speed is much reduced around 15 to 20 wpm as is found on most Ham bands these days
: I do not know whether anyone else has quoted this but despite my many years in the radio field of operating I much preferred to copy morse off a sounder as I found it more relaxing irrespective of the quality of the sending operator there was Just something magic about it all
: Brian copied using a telegraph sounder for many years but I know that many newer Hams have never seen or heard one of these Samuel Morse's original telegraph used a cumbersome electro mechanical device called a register
: The register inked incoming dots and dashes onto a moving strip of paper which were then read visually by operators who transferred the words to telegram forms for sending on to recipients initially in wonderful flowing cursive script
: In the 1850s experienced telegraphists began to realize that they could recognize the different characters by simply listening to the registers relay clacks They then started to copy the text down directly as it came in eliminating the time consuming step of transcribing from the inked tape
: Alfred Vail who was one of the collaborators of samuel Morse is said to have invented the sounder soon after to make the relay clicks more audible However the register continued in use for some years since it did not require a skilled operator who could read by ear
: A great variety of designs proliferated many of which you can see on different web pages Bunnell patented his classic sounder design in 1875 and virtually all later ones followed his layout One of my two highly prized Bunnell sounders is shown in figure 1
: An electromagnet formed by windings on the two vertical bobbins pulls a spring loaded pivoted arm down when energised with a solid clunk When released it springs back against a stop with a lighter click so that it makes a different sound
: The spring tension and spacing can be adjusted by knurled knobs It is universally claimed that telegraphists could instantly recognise the particular cadence of their own sounder even in a busy telegraph office even where many other sounders were also in action
: With some practice it is just as easy to recognise the code characters this way as when copying from a tone I learned how to do it from necessity when years ago my keying audio monitor failed in the middle of a CW QSO I was using an electronic keyer but I found that I could still follow my keying by listening to the clicks of the keying relay
: Every year I demonstrate sounder Morse to my second year Electromagnetism class using a Post and telegraph key a 12 volt battery and a two wire circuit across the lecture theatre I teach them a few letters and then send some simple words Invariably the class is fascinated and almost all can distinguish between the letters after a few minutes
: In a class of 50 five or six are able to recognise the letters instantly after my short teaching session and clearly have that mysterious ability needed to become good Morse operators Alas my students are too loaded with University work to take it further and sit the Ham exam
: As a member of the RAF Civilian Wireless Reserve I reported for duty to Number 2 Signal School Yatesbury and with another 200 chaps was assessed for Code Speed we floundered around for three weeks after some Morse Code practice 
: We then started on a Wireless Operators Course which was to last 9 months The minimum code speed requirement was 18 wpm and the maximum was 25 wpm Within 3 weeks I was firmly copying 27 wpm
: I passed the test 18 wpm test but as the postings were overseas it was necessary to be 20 years old so I was left behind but after about two days copying 20 wpm Code I was tapped on the shoulder by the Senior NCO who said Youre not going to sit here for another 8 months
: at 2 oclock this afternoon you will appear in Wing Commander Kirks office commander of the Signal School who will appoint you as an Instructor for Morse Code and another important thing to remember is that your age is 22 years  at 1 oclock today
: There were 50 pupil positions in 5  long benches Each position had a robust straight Morse key which was able to be operated freely and was also Solenoid Operated from a control position on my desk, thus using the output from a Creed Automatic Transmitter
: In addition there was a Tape Machine on which code sent by the key could be recorded as Dits and Dahs by throwing a clutch lever which operated an Inker it was therefore possible for me to send a passage of code using the Creed transmitter at 12 to 46 wpm
: The pupils were principally telegraph types between 33 amd 58 years old someold enough to be my father or in some cases Granddad Some were ex Commercial Operators and only 2 or 3 people took exception to my comments like Which foot were you using
: The receiving text for 15 to 28 wpm was  taken from the Daily Telegraph and Times editorials which  was good basic English but was a bit boring so 1 spiced things up with 22 or 37 extracts from the book No 0rchids for Miss Blandish which carried a few spicy paragraphs for its time 1939
: Somewhere along the line mid 1941 the Basic Test was changed and therefore so was the teaching The part of the test containing 25 of 5 character code groups using letters only was changed to 25 of  4 character groups with letters and numbers mixed and also included a Barred P
: Within 3 months 1 was giving the final Passing Out Tests for Morse Code to 357  pupils and the Assessment Tests for 13 new arrivals at the school Eventually I became a member of the RAF Trade Test Board for Wireless Operations
: I completed my opening remarks to a class of 46 new recruits by promising that most of them would be reading  3 to 5 letter words at a speed of 5  to 8 wpm at the end of 2 hours Their verbal reaction was a mixture of Youll be lucky You must be joking 
: Speed of characters used on Day 1 from The Creed Auto Transmitter would be set at 16 wpm and  characters were separated to give 25 wpm from the punched tape input to the creed so No pupil listened to a character speed less than 16 wpm from his first moment of hearing code
: When an assessed speed of 3 to 4 wpm was being copied the separation of characters was adjusted to give 6 wpm with character speed still 16 wpm So the dwell time between characters was reduced to 16 wpm when the code had the Sam Morse Spacing for the first time
: Courses ran for 14 weeks for Air Bome wireless ops and about 8 months for Ground ops who only had to travel  500 yards to the classroom It was necessary for all  to achieve 18 wpm at least and usually when qualitied at the end of the Course, they were granted 2 weeks leave
: In 1943 was assigned  to Newcastle to give passing out tests in Morse Code to 70 members of the WAAF My job was to send the  tests and assess abilities from 18 to 25 wpm and then to interview girls individually to assess ability in Signals Office routine
: My age was 19 and I wondered what thoughts were going through their minds However by now I was unafraid of them so I sent some passages  from 18 to 25 wpm and was greeted very pleasantly by their 8 instructors. The 70 girls left with smiles after a few questions had been answered
: More people arrived in NZ than departed in September according to the Statistics Dept there was a gain in the population of 1400 people the figures for Sept last year were a loss of 200 
: The feed impedance of the antennas in figure 14 ranges from approximately 35 to 75 ohms but the actual value is dependant on the height above the ground to take advantage of a dipole 
: Your dipole should be dimensioned for 80 meters if you plan to use it for 80 through to 10 metres thus a dipole for 3 point 7 mHz will be 126 feet 6 inches long overall Height above ground 
: In  World War 2 the British assembled 2876  interceptors mostly women whose job it was to tune in every day and night to the 39 radio broadcasts of 16 divisions of the German military using 4 different radios and 8 selectable antennas some 8 wavelengths long
: The Germans were broadcasting in 8 codes so the British couldnt understand what was being said But that didnt necessarily matter because just by listening to the cadence of the 34 transmissions the interceptors began to pick up on the individual fists of 55 German operators
: If you listened to 20 or 30 call signs over a certain period you would begin to recognize that there were say 3 or 4 different operators in that unit working on a 6 shift system each with his own characteristics says Nigel West a British military historian
: invariably quite apart from the text there would be the preambles and illicit exchanges like How are you today How are the 3 girlfriends What's the weather like in Munich So you fill out a little card on which you write down all that kind of information
: The interceptors had such a good handle on the transmitting characteristics of the 23 German radio operators that they could literally follow them in 7 countries wherever they were which was extraordinarily valuable in constructing an order of battle
: In the Trajectory Correction Maneuver Ulysses is firing its thrusters for its closest approach to Jupiter and to speed itself up by 99 meters per second which is about 220 miles per hour 
: The key thing about fists is that they emerge naturally Radio operators dont deliberately try to sound distinctive They simply end up sounding distinctive because some part of their personality appears to express itself automatically and unconsciously in the way they work the Morse code keys
: December the 12th month has a special significance in the radio history of Newfoundland It was on the 12th hour of the 12th day that Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal on Signal Hill in 1901 Many accounts of the event including Marconis lectures to the Royal Institution have been published
: Contemporary references to the 1901 Poldhu transmitter have specified the wavelength as 1200 feet or 366 metres others have placed it between 2000 and 3000 metres but Since the transmitting aerial was relatively small at these wavelengths it was unlikely to radiate  long waves efficiently unless an elaborate grounding system was used
: Two months later marconi determined that the maximum distance over the Atlantic that the Poldhu transmitter could be detected with a tuned long wave receiver during the daytime was about 700 miles This suggests that long waves were not detected in Newfoundland on December of 1901 and indeed nothing was heard on the long wave receiver
: What was heard was detected on 1 untuned receiver which unlike the 1 tuned circuit would not reject shortwaves so It is not only possible but quite likely that Marconis transatlantic signal comprised these shortwaves for Such signals could be detected by an untuned coherer circuit
: Since 1901 corresponded to a sunspot minimum a wavelength shorter than 20 metres would be unlikely D layer absorption would probably limit the wave to a maximum of 60 metres This range could be narrowed  by computer modelling of the ionospheric propagation of the conditions at the time
: Professor Bob Brown callsign NM7M worked as Physicist at University of California at Berkeley as expert of the upper atmosphere and the geomagnetosphere Now retired he has celebrated his 81 birthday in 2004 and he is still very interested in propagation and works mainly on the top band of 160 meters
: for electrons there is a difference between being excited by 28 MHz RF and 1.8 MHz RF For one thing it depends on how often electrons bump into nearby atoms and molecules for At those high frequencies say 28 MHz the wave frequency is high compared to the collision frequency of electrons and absorption losses are relatively small The same cannot be said for 1.8 MHz signals on the 160 meter band
: Takapuna reached 124 and took another Hibiscus Coast wicket for 14 runs by mid afternoon next Saturday they may be heading for the beach with their own personal supply of bright sunshine 
: Nearer the city Suburbs New Lynn owed much to Guptills 63 from a total of 116 caused mainly by the four wicket hauls by Pakurangas Murphy and Armour Howick did no better in reply 56 for 5 
: Guptill one of Aucklands premier cricket old timers is at a peak last year he set a club record 843 runs for the season from 17 innings despite the fact he missed most of January 1993 
: Guptill averaged 57 point 79 to smash his own record for a season becoming New Lynns most prolific run getter with 6531 from 275 innings he scored his first premier hundred in 1985 
: Squash Queen 26 year old Susan Devoy will conduct another charity drive for disabled children next year as she scales down her tournament programme she spent 52 days walking New Zealand 
: He grabbed all 4 wickets as the Kiwis ended the first day four wickets down for 40 runs after 22 year old Chris Pringle inspired NZ to bowl out Pakistan for 102 in their first innings 
: They began the second day at 40 for 4 chasing a first innings total of 102 Crowe hit five boundaries including a square cut off medium pacer AAqib Javed and a lovely off drive from Japper 
: After 153 minutes Crowe succumbed and was out Pakistan had the wicket they wanted Morrison did a sterling job holding down one end as he had only been sent out seven minutes before stumps 
: Smiths quick fire innings of 61 was the major reason for New Zealanders 115 run first innings lead he faced only 42 balls and was at the crease for only 82 minutes hitting 11 fours in all 
: The patient 52 run stand for the fifth wicket during a tense first session of consolidation for New Zealand was brocken 10 minutes before interval by Crowe driving to a ball from Jaffer 
: When he was caught by Shoaib Mohammad at third slip off Younis for 25 he had held up one end for 243 minutes and faced 133 balls Morrison came in at 37 for 4 with his job more than done 
: The 22 year old medium pacer Chris Pringle has no second thoughts about how he feels on the first day of the third and final cricket test against Pakistan he took 7 for 52 in 16 overs 
: Pringles figures are the third best recorded by a New Zealander in a test and are surpassed only by Sir Richard Hadlees 9 for 52 in Brisbane in 1985 his 7 for 23 against India in Wellington 
: The All Blacks halted their two game losing streak with a 22 to 6 victory at Narbonne but ill discipline and mistakes meant that the result was nailed down only in the final 10 minutes 
: Lescure missed 6 penalty attempts and two drop goals to the great disappointment of the crowd even with that huge number of misses his side were only 6 to 9 adrift with 15 minutes to go 
: At 9 to 6 ahead and 10 minutes to go the All Blacks ground back to the French line for Zinzan Brooke to score a powerful scrum push over try Four minutes later Little made another rush 
: During the morning the home side had moved steadily to 327 for 4 at lunch losing only the wicket of keeper Salim Yousuf for 68 who edged a ball to Ken Rutherford waiting hands in slips 
: Among his young teammates 18 year old bowler Charman proved a fine partner as he and Bracewell completed 20 overs against Rotorua with Charman taking six for 29 and Bracewell 4 for 32 
: The previous leaders Melville crashed to be 66 all out and lost to Fraser by 77 runs Old Boys reached a modest 167 for 9 with Anstis topscoring on 36 but that turned out to be enough 
: The defending champion started the day with a six stroke lead and held on to triumph by just one shot after shooting a solid one under par 71 in humid conditions on the Magnolia course 
: In the first session of the final day at Lords yesterday the England opener proved to be the stumbling block to the tourists as he took his overnight score of 86 through to 204 at lunch 
: Their pace combined with a low error rate and ruthless tackling proved too much after being ahead 14 to 6 at halftime the Australians quickly moved to a 37 to 9 to take the advantage 
: A crashing right hand to the face by 28 year old Evander Holyfield dropped the conqueror hero of Mike Tyson on his back where he was counted out at one minute and 10 seconds in round 3 
: James Douglas who weighed 104 kilograms when he beat Tyson caused a stir when he weighed in at 111 kilograms for his first defence immediately his condition was questioned the fight 
: For his part Douglas is back again to being a prime contender whose pride will again be questioned Holyfield now appears headed for a title defence against the 42 year old George Foreman 
: Shortly after lunch at Iqbal Stadium the home side were 92 for 4 after being put in with skipper Javed Openers Ramiz Raja and Shoaib Mohammad made a watchful start and after half an hour
: It was a valuable break through for New Zealand as Shoaib coming into the test with 350 runs already behind him in the first series had looked reasonably comfortable hitting two fours 
: With the score at 37 for 2 Pakistan added only 5 runs before Pringle and Smith combined again to remove Salim Malik for four Willie Watson replaced Danny Morrison at the golf course end 
: He took time to settle into his line but when he did he looked the most dangerous of the 3 bowlers used and he went into lunch with 4 for 29 Watson was again sticking to a good line 
: The pace attack continued and dominated the play in the second test leaving the tourists at 69 for 3 in their second innings they are still 144 runs away from making Pakistan bat again 
: The innings was declared closed at 373 after the fall of the ninth wicket during the morning the home side moved steadily to 337 for 4 at lunch losing only the wicket of keeper Salim Yousuf 
: Only 14 minutes and five runs later Ijaz Ahmed was out without adding to his prelunch tally of 86 he was on his way to a third test century when he edged a catch to Mark Greatbatch 
