AA1LL's keys.
Homebrew sideswipers 1 & 2.
Pictures of two of my simple homebrew sideswiper keys. They are pretty crude, but it does get the idea across that sideswipers are really easy to build, and not too hard to send with, and that's why we like them! The keying feel is very smooth since there are no bearings. However care must be taken to make the Morse characters the correct weight, i.e., not too heavy (not enough time between dots and dashes). This can be achieved by leaving the thumb and fingers apart and not touching both paddle sides simultaneously.
Sideswiper 1 PowerPoint assembly instructions.
[AA1LL].
10 buck homebrew sideswiper.
It looks like somebody took parts from a J-36 or a vibroplex Zephyr or Champion and mounted them on a base. The base is actually a krinkle finish aluminum plate over a clear plastic layer. The dash arm has been screwed directly to the lever--there is no well defined 'rest' position as there is with a bug. The rest position is determined by two tension screws on the uprights. [AA1LL].
