[KLQRP] Net tonight

Tue Apr 1 21:15:50 EST 2008

Sir Gary:

That was simply awesome!

I could not have said it better myself. And know oh so well how you felt.

I used to sit and type away and rarely got to use the pen to write either.

Either with the left or the right...

I too learned on the mill, with multiple sheets of onion skinned paper

Jammed in the mill to make for quick retrieval of messages out of the mill.

As for the kneeling and puking.. well, unfortunately I was one of those evil

People who sat there smoking the palumbo cigars, the little squiggly ones,
that

Smelled so bad, but tasted so good.. and the messengers and the rest of the

Watch would hate me so..

The CO and XO smoked cigars as well, and I never had to quit.  I knew my
limitations.

I also knew which brand they smoked too.  And I kept a stock of them in my
overhead

Locker above the operating position.  The CO was well known for coming in
there to 

Ask if JP was on watch to get one..

Make points when you can OB.. I learned early on in life to suck up to get
the

Bennies..

Now, Sir Gary, I was wondering, since you are a retired guy now, or are
almost,

About whether you can join us for a while this coming weekend for the ARCI
event?

We will be at Paul's place operating as a team.  You could come down to say
hello

And just run in and out.  We already have the bands covered and it would
just be nice

To see the other left handed op, other than Paul.  He and Derek are both
that way..

And I am practicing to jump on their keys and play.. Or it is just Derek.. 

Or am I hallucinating ... hi hi hi..

Anyway, I liked the story, and it fits so well, I need to add that one to
the bear story

Pile.  I can put your monical on it for sure.

72

And good to hear you also on the net.

JP

  _____  

From: Gary O'Neil [mailto:n3go at nc.rr.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 9:31 PM
To: JohnPaul; Knightlites
Subject: Re: [KLQRP] Net tonight

Greetings Sir John Paul;

    It was an awesome net this week. It ran for nearly a full hour, and
conditions were great the entire time. Your timing was perfect for making
your QNI this week, and your (fist) timing was fine also. I've always found
that sending with a hand key is never as easy as using a keyer, or even a
bug, no matter which paw ya pound with; and I fully agree with you that fist
swapping is not for the faint of heart. :-) 

    My Navy stint was served at sea, so I didn't have a choice. I had to
send with a straight key, and I had send right handed. I also had to copy
with a mill, so it mattered not which hand you held the pencil in... and the
only time it was needed was for the TOR and authentication. LOL!

    All of the shipboard operating positions, equipment, etc., were bolted
in place so they couldn't become missile hazards underway. The Pentagon
declared all Navy operators to be right handed, and mandated the hand keys
bolted (and recessed in tunnel fashion) on the right side of all operating
positions. The tunnels were intended to keep things from accidentally laying
across the key and turning the ship into a homing beacon. :-)

    The net of this historical accounting is that I, as a native born south
paw, was remanded to a life of deceit and deception as I flawlessly
portrayed a noble and faithful servant of the opposite paw. I was able to
elusively graduate first in my radio class, and serve as our division's
primary ship shore CW Op, without once revealing that I was operating
undercover as a lefty. 

    The good news??? My reward for this contribution to our country, is that
I developed the skill to send right handed... something the Navy, the
Pentagon, and others apparently assumed was an innate and natural skill. As
a natural born south paw, writing with my sinister hand was a much easier
skill for me to learn. :-)

    The bad news??? I was conditioned to copy on a typewriter, and never
acquired the skill to copy code with my left hand to develop any QSK
operating skill.  :-(

    As a sidebar though... I was able to capitalize on my hidden skill and
actually did pound out a few with my left... On all to many rough and
turbulent "perfect storms", while deep in the bowels of the superstructure,
and all but the necessary few needed to keep the ship on course were tied
securely in their bunks; I would tap away our position reports and weather
observations off to the mainland with my left hand... in a kneeling bow,
just to the right of the operation position, pouring out my inner feelings
into a standard issue galvanized pail. LOL!

    Ah yes... Now I recall why I decided against making the Navy my most
first choice for a career... 

72

Gary,  N3GO

    P.S.:  I do remember seeing a left handed bug back in the 60's or early
70's... But I don't recall if it was an original or modified right-handed
version. I've seen many of the latter since then, so... although not
common... such an animal does indeed exist. N3GO

----- Original Message ----- 

From: JohnPaul <mailto:jpkeon at nc.rr.com>  

To: Knightlites <mailto:klqrp at knightlites.org>  

Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:04 PM

Subject: [KLQRP] Net tonight

Gang:

I checked in tonight and did something for a while I have not done for
years.

I sent with my left hand.  Seeing that I am right handed it is not as easy
for

Me.  I did pretty good, but made a lot of mistakes.

I am practicing for contests that way.  I can send with my left hand

And log and write with my right hand.

Think it is easy, try it yourself.

I am trying to get used to it still and make a lot of mistakes still.

Luckily I can just hit two keys on the memory keyer and it just switches

Them back and forth.  

With four sets of paddles on the desk, and since they are all in the memory

Keyer it is not that hard to do.  But when it comes to the bug, there is no
way

To get that old thing to know the left hand.. Hi hi hi.

Now with the hand key I have been having a real time of it.

So, for those of you who do know my fist on the radio, I was trying
something

New.

JohnPaul/AB4PP

Sir Scribe..

And, there will be a story after next weekend's ARCI contest.  I am sure we
will

Have something for that one.

  _____  

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