What is a sideswiper or cootie key?
A sideswiper, also called a cootie key, is a Morse key with one lever that moves side to side and closes a contact on either side. Both sides do the same job: they key the signal for as long as you hold them. Nothing is timed for you, so you make every dit and every dah by hand. A common way to send is to alternate sides from one element to the next.
It looks like a paddle and works like a straight key turned on its side, and it is neither.
How a sideswiper is built
A sideswiper is about as simple as a key can be:
- One lever on a pivot, with a knob or finger piece at the front.
- Two contacts, one on each side of the lever.
- A spring or two that bring the lever back to the middle when you let go.
- Two wires. The two side contacts are wired together, so touching either one closes the same circuit.
That last point is the whole idea. Electrically, a sideswiper is a straight key with two ways to press it. It plugs into a straight key input, needs no keyer and no power, and does nothing on its own. Because the design is so simple, it is also an easy key to build at home: a springy strip of metal, a pivot, two contacts and a base will do.
Where the name “cootie” came from is not recorded with any certainty. It is an old design, and it never quite went away.
How it differs from other keys
The easiest way to place a sideswiper is next to the keys it is usually confused with.
| Key | How it moves | What times the elements |
|---|---|---|
| Straight key | Up and down | You, every element |
| Sideswiper | Side to side, one lever | You, every element |
| Bug | Side to side | A vibrating arm makes the dits; you make the dahs |
| Single-lever paddle | Side to side, one lever | A keyer: dits on one side, dahs on the other |
| Dual-lever paddle | Two levers, which can be squeezed | A keyer, with iambic squeeze sending |
A sideswiper and a single-lever paddle can look almost identical on the desk. The difference is what sits behind them. A paddle’s two contacts go to a keyer, which makes a string of perfectly timed dits while you hold one side and dahs while you hold the other. A sideswiper’s contacts go straight to the radio or oscillator, so holding a side gives one long, unbroken signal, and you decide how long. Single-lever vs dual-lever paddles: what is the difference? covers the paddle side of that comparison.
Against a straight key, the difference is the motion. A straight key makes every element with the same downward press. A sideswiper splits the work between two directions, thumb one way and finger the other.
How to send on a sideswiper
There is no dit side and no dah side. Either side can make either element. A common approach is to alternate: each new element goes to the opposite side from the one before, with the lever passing through the middle in between. That return through the middle is your one-unit gap.
Some examples, starting on the left:
| Letter | Morse | Sides |
|---|---|---|
| E | . |
Left |
| A | .- |
Left dit, right dah |
| S | ... |
Left, right, left |
| O | --- |
Left, right, left |
| C | -.-. |
Left dah, right dit, left dah, right dit |
The sides follow the same back-and-forth whatever the letter. Only the time you hold each side changes. Alternating is a habit, not a rule; some operators send repeated elements from the same side, and any pattern that gives the right lengths is correct. Pick one way and keep it, because a pattern your hand never has to think about is what makes even sending possible.
A practice order that works:
- Find the middle. Send single dits and dahs on each side, letting the lever settle to the center every time, until both sides feel the same.
- Pairs and threes. I
..and M--, then S and O, then H....and 5...... Letters with long runs of one element are where alternating pays off, and where uneven sides show up first. - Mixed letters. A, N
-., R.-., K-.-, C and Y-.--, where the length changes from one side to the next. - Words, then a recording. Send short words and listen back later. If the elements on one side come out longer than the other, slow down and even out the pressure of your thumb and finger.
Keep the speed low at first. On a straight key or a sideswiper, the timing is entirely yours, so speed comes after evenness, not before. If your letters run together, the gaps between them are usually the cause, and they are yours to time as well; Why your Morse letters run together, and how to fix spacing has drills for it.
Why some operators love it
A sideswiper is not the fastest key or the easiest to send perfectly on, and the operators who use it tend to know that and enjoy it anyway.
- The motion. Some operators find the sideways, alternating movement easier on the hand and arm than pressing a straight key down for every element, because the work is shared between two directions. How to use a straight key without tiring your arm covers the up-and-down version.
- Its sound. Sideswiper sending often has a rhythm of its own, which some listeners say they can recognize on the air.
- Simplicity. Two wires, no keyer, no power, nothing to configure. It works with any radio that has a straight key input, and it can be built from parts in a drawer.
- The challenge. Every element is yours, in both directions. Sending cleanly on one is a skill you earn, and that is much of the appeal.
You can also try the idea without buying anything new. Join the dit and dah connections of a single-lever paddle so either side closes the same circuit, plug it into a straight key input, and electrically it behaves as a sideswiper. Remember that you need a license to transmit on amateur bands; you do not need one to practice into an oscillator.
Practicing hand timing on a Mac
Dot & Dash has a straight key and paddles. Its paddles are timed for you, like a paddle and keyer, so they are not a sideswiper. Its straight key is the closer cousin: one key, Space by default, where every element is yours and Dot & Dash reads your keying at your own pace. In a lesson it draws each dit and dah you key against the length it should have been and marks the ones that ran short or long, which trains the same hand timing a sideswiper depends on.
Questions
Is a sideswiper the same as a single-lever paddle?
No. They can look alike, but a single-lever paddle feeds a keyer that times the dits and dahs for you. A sideswiper has no keyer: each side closes the circuit for as long as you hold it, and you time every element.
Which side of a sideswiper sends the dits?
Neither and both. The two sides are wired together, so either side can make a dit or a dah. A common habit is to alternate sides from one element to the next.
Is a sideswiper a good first key?
It can be, if you like the motion, but it is not the easiest. A beginner already has the code and its rhythm to learn, and a sideswiper adds a two-direction technique on top. Many people learn on a straight key or paddles first and try a sideswiper later.
Can I use my paddle as a sideswiper?
Yes, with a single-lever paddle. Join its dit and dah connections together and connect it to a straight key input, and each side will key the signal for as long as you hold it.