A keyer is an electronic device used for signaling by hand, by way of pressing one or more switches. [1] The technical term keyer has two very similar meanings, which are nonetheless distinct: One for telegraphy and the other for accessory devices built for computer-human communication:
In telegraphy, so-called iambic keys developed out of an earlier generation of novel side-to-side, double-contact keys (called "bushwhackers") and later semi-automatic keys (called "bugs"). Semi-automatic keys were an innovation that had an impulse driven, horizontal pendulum mechanism that (only) created a series of correctly timed "dits". The pendulum would repeatedly tap a switch contact for as long as its control lever was held to the right (or until the impulse from the thumb push was exhausted); telegraphers were obliged to time the "dahs" themselves, by pressing the lever to the left with their knuckle, one press per "dah". When the lever is released, springs push it back to center and break the switch contact (including the resetting the oscillating pendulum, if moving). Because the "dits" are created automatically by the pendulum mechanism, but the "dahs" are keyed the old-fashioned way, the keys are called "semi-automatic". (Modern electronic keyers create both the "dits" and the "dahs" automatically, as long as one of the switches is in contact, and are called "fully-automatic".)
More than just convenience, the keys were needed for medical reasons: Telegraphers would often develop a form of repetitive stress injury, which at that time was called "glass arm" by telegraphers, or "telegrapher's paralysis" in medical literature. It was common and was caused by forcefully "pounding brass" up-and-down on conventional telegraph keys. Keys built for side-to-side motion would not aggravate nor cause the injury, and allowed injured telegraphers to continue in their profession.
With the advent of solid state electronics, the convenience of fully automatic keying became possible by simulating and extending the operation of the old mechanical keys, and special-purpose side-to-side keys were made to operate the electronics, called iambic telegraph keys after the rhythm of telegraphy. In iambic telegraphy the "dot" and the "dash" are separate switches, activated either by one lever or by two separate levers. For as long as the telegrapher holds the lever(s) to the left or right, one of the two telegraph key switches is in contact; the electronics in the keyer will respond by sending a continuous stream of "dits" or "dahs". The operator sends codes by choosing the direction the lever is held, and how long it is held on each side. If the operator swings from side to side slightly erratically, the electronics will none-the-less produce perfectly timed codes.[ citation needed ]
Modern keys with only one lever, which swings horizontally between two contacts and returns to center when released, are called "bushwhackers", or "sideswipers", or "single paddle keys", the same as the old-style double-contact single-lever telegraph keys. The double-lever keys are called "iambic keys", or "double-paddle keys", or "squeeze keys". The name "squeeze key" is because both levers can be pressed at the same time, in which case the electronics then produces a string of "dit-dah-dit-dah-..." ( iambic rhythm, hence "iambic key"), or "dah-dit-dah-dit-..." ( trochaic rhythm), depending on which side makes contact first. Both types of keys have two distinct contacts, and are wired to the same type plug, and can operate the same electronic keyer (for any commercial keyer made in the last 40 years or so) which itself plugs into the same jack on a radio that one would otherwise directly connect one of the old fashioned telegraph key types to.[ citation needed ]
Fully automatic electronic keying became popular during the 1960s; at present most Morse code is sent via electronic keyers, although some enthusiasts prefer to use a traditional up-and-down "straight key". Historically appropriate old-fashioned keys are used by naval museums for public demonstrations and for re-enacting civil war events, as well as special radio contests arranged to promote the use of old-style telegraph keys. Because of the popularity of iambic keys, most transmitters introduced into the market within the current century have keyer electronics built-in, so an iambic key plugs directly into a modern transmitter, which also functions as the electronic keyer. (Modern keyer electroncics electrically detect whether the inserted plug belongs to an old type, single-switch key [monophonic plug], or a new type, double-switch key [stereo plug], and responds appropriately for the connected key.)[ citation needed ]
In a completely automated teleprinter or teletype (RTTY) system, the sender presses keys on a typewriter-style keyboard to send a character data stream to a receiver, and computation alleviates the need for timing to be done by the human operator. In this way, much higher typing speeds are possible. This is an early instance of a multi-key user-input device, as are computer keyboards (which, incidentally, are what one uses for modern RTTY). The keyers discussed below are a smaller, more portable form of user input device.
Modern computer interface keyers typically have a large number of switches but not as many as a full-size keyboard; typically between four and fifty. [1] A keyer differs from a keyboard in the sense that it lacks a traditional "board"; the keys are arranged in a cluster [1] which is often held in the hand.
An example of a very simple keyer is a single telegraph key, which used for sending Morse code. In such a use, the term "to key" typically means to turn on and off a carrier wave. For example, it is said that one "keys the transmitter" by interrupting some stage of the amplification of a transmitter with a telegraph key.
When this concept of an iambic telegraph key was introduced to inventor Steve Mann in the 1970s, he mistakenly heard iambic as biambic. He then generalized the nomenclature to include various "polyambic" or "multiambic" keyers, such as a "pentambic" keyer (five keys, one for each finger and the thumb), and "septambic" (four finger and three thumb buttons on a handgrip). These systems were developed primarily for use in early, experimental forms of wearable computing, and have also been adapted to cycling with a heads-up display in projects like BEHEMOTH by Steven K. Roberts. Mann (who primarily works in computational photography) later utilized the concept in a portable backpack-based computer and imaging system, WearCam, which he invented for photographic light vectoring. [2]
Computer interface keyers are typically one-handed grips, often used in conjunction with wearable computers.[ citation needed ] Unlike keyboards, the wearable keyer has no board upon which the switches are mounted. Additionally, by providing some other function – such as simultaneous grip of flash light and keying – the keyer is effectively hands-free, in the sense that one would still be holding the light source anyway.
Chorded or chording keyboards have also been developed, and are intended to be used while seated having multiple keys mounted to a board rather than a portable grip. One type of these, the so-called half-QWERTY layout, uses only minimal chording, requiring the space bar to be pressed down if the alternate hand is used. It is otherwise a standard QWERTY keyboard of full size. It, and many other innovations[ example needed ] in keyboard controls, were designed to deal with hand disabilities in particular.[ citation needed ]
A keyset or chorded keyboard is a computer input device that allows the user to enter characters or commands formed by pressing several keys together, like playing a "chord" on a piano. The large number of combinations available from a small number of keys allows text or commands to be entered with one hand, leaving the other hand free. A secondary advantage is that it can be built into a device that is too small to contain a normal-sized keyboard.
The technology of computer keyboards includes many elements. Among the more important of these is the switch technology that they use. Computer alphanumeric keyboards typically have 80 to 110 durable switches, generally one for each key. The choice of switch technology affects key response and pre-travel. Virtual keyboards on touch screens have no physical switches and provide audio and haptic feedback instead. Some newer keyboard models use hybrids of various technologies to achieve greater cost savings or better ergonomics.
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called dots and dashes, or dits and dahs. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of the early developers of the system adopted for electrical telegraphy.
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of switch is an electromechanical device consisting of one or more sets of movable electrical contacts connected to external circuits. When a pair of contacts is touching current can pass between them, while when the contacts are separated no current can flow.
A teleprinter is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations.
A telegraph key or Morse key is a specialized electrical switch used by a trained operator to transmit text messages in Morse code in a telegraphy system. Keys are used in all forms of electrical telegraph systems, including landline telegraphy and radio telegraphy. An operator uses the telegraph key to send electrical pulses of two different lengths: short pulses, called dots or dits, and longer pulses, called dashes or dahs. These pulses encode the letters and other characters that spell out the message.
A phone connector is a family of cylindrically-shaped electrical connectors primarily for analog audio signals. Invented in the late 19th century for telephone switchboards, the phone connector remains in use for interfacing wired audio equipment, such as headphones, speakers, microphones, mixing consoles, and electronic musical instruments. A male connector, is mated into a female connector, though other terminology is used.
An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio workstations. In technical terms, an electronic keyboard is a synthesizer with a low-wattage power amplifier and small loudspeakers.
Vibroplex is the brand of side-to-side mechanical, semi-automatic Morse key first manufactured and sold in 1905 by the Vibroplex Company, after its invention and patent by Horace Greeley Martin of New York City in 1904. The original device became known as a "bug", most likely due to the original logo, which showed an "electrified bug". The Vibroplex Company has been in business continuously for 116 years, as of 2021. Amateur radio operator Scott E. Robbins, also known by the call sign W4PA, became the eighth owner of the Vibroplex Company on December 21, 2009. The company is located in Knoxville, Tennessee.
A membrane keyboard is a computer keyboard whose "keys" are not separate, moving parts, as with the majority of other keyboards, but rather are pressure pads that have only outlines and symbols printed on a flat, flexible surface. Very little, if any, tactile feedback is felt when using such a keyboard.
The Friden Flexowriter produced by the Friden Calculating Machine Company, was a teleprinter, a heavy-duty electric typewriter capable of being driven not only by a human typing, but also automatically by several methods, including direct attachment to a computer and by use of paper tape.
A KVM switch is a hardware device that allows a user to control multiple computers from one or more sets of keyboards, video monitors, and mice.
The Microwriter is a hand-held portable word-processor with a chording keyboard. First demonstrated in 1978, it was invented by UK-based, US-born film director Cy Endfield and his partner Chris Rainey and was marketed in the early 1980s by Microwriter Ltd, of Mitcham, Surrey, UK. By using a mnemonic alphabet, it was claimed to allow note-taking of up to 8,000 characters at an input rate averaging 1.5 times that of handwriting.
A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows the input of characters without the need for physical keys. The interaction with the virtual keyboard happens mostly via a touchscreen interface, but can also take place in a different form in virtual or augmented reality.
In computer hardware, a port serves as an interface between the computer and other computers or peripheral devices. In computer terms, a port generally refers to the part of a computing device available for connection to peripherals such as input and output devices. Computer ports have many uses, to connect a monitor, webcam, speakers, or other peripheral devices. On the physical layer, a computer port is a specialized outlet on a piece of equipment to which a plug or cable connects. Electronically, the several conductors where the port and cable contacts connect, provide a method to transfer signals between devices.
Procedural signs or prosigns are shorthand signals used in Morse code telegraphy, for the purpose of simplifying and standardizing procedural protocols for land-line and radio communication. The procedural signs are distinct from conventional Morse code abbreviations, which consist mainly of brevity codes that convey messages to other parties with greater speed and accuracy. However, some codes are used both as prosigns and as single letters or punctuation marks, and for those, the distinction between a prosign and abbreviation is ambiguous, even in context.
A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s.
In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, computer mice, scanners, cameras, joysticks, and microphones.
A digital accordion is an electronic musical instrument that uses the control features of a traditional accordion to trigger a digital sound module that produces synthesized or digitally sampled accordion sounds or, in most instruments, a range of non-accordion sounds, such as orchestral instruments, pipe organ, piano, guitar, and so on. Digital accordions typically encode and transmit key presses and other input as Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) messages. Most digital accordions need to be plugged into a keyboard amplifier or PA system to hear their sounds.
The 12 Step foot controller is a bass pedal-style programmable MIDI controller pedal keyboard made by Keith McMillen Instruments which was released in 2011. It has small, soft, rubbery keys that are played with the feet. As a MIDI controller, it does not make or output any musical sounds by itself; rather, it sends MIDI messages about which notes are played to an external synth module or computer music program running on a laptop or other computer. Each key on the 12 Step senses the velocity, aftertouch pressure, and the amount of tilt the player is applying with her feet. The messages from the player's foot presses can be sent via USB to a computer-based virtual instrument or to a synthesizer or other electronic or digital musical instrument.