Saturday, July 28, 2 a.m. — I’ve been besieged by bugs the last couple of days … I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to open the new arrivals and give them the once-over.
McElroy S-600. I snagged this key on eBay with a sniped bid. Any S-600 to me is a good deal, and this one isn’t minty mint, but still in good conditions considering its pushing 75 years old. It’s only the second S-600 I have acquired, and frankly, had someone bid another $10 it would have been out of my price range. The price was freakishly low on the closing day of the auction, and as is usually the case, there were others watching. I submitted my final bid when the auction timer clicked from 3 to 2 seconds, which is cutting it close. The goal is go bid so late than no one has time to bid before the auction ends. I’m not a great bid sniper, but I sure as hell enjoy it when I’m successful at it, lol!
Speaking of the S-600, I’m still looking to find an S-600 pivot frame like the one at right. The image is from the 1940 Allied catalog I have, and its a wonderful window into pre-war American radio and electronics. It has a full selection of ham gear (most receivers since most hams built their own transmitters). If you notice, the pivot frame, rather than being a rounded arch, the one illustrated has a flat surface and is grooved. I probably should e-mail McElroy biographer Tom French and see if he has ever seen one like it, or if it was simply some sort of photo illustration. The key lacks a name plate and mounting holes. I have read that the S-600 came in several variations, both with and without the name plate, and with and two mounting holes and with three mounting holes. There’s 
denying that the key is an S-600, with or without the name plate.
McElroy P-500. I’ve had this key on my desk now for a couple of months and still haven’t had time to do more than take it out of the shipping box. The once-scares P-500 seems to be much more common on eBay the last few months. It’s a good key, just not as sexy as the S-600.
I’m probably not going to buy another P-500 unless its a model that is different than the ones in my collection. There were versions of the key with smooth painted surfaces, and some with chrome plated bases.
I wonder what a key of the P-500’s mass would cost to make today? The massive cast base and pivot frame … its one of the heaviest keys out there. In the years after WWII, I’m not surprised more key makers didn’t go out of business once keys of all kinds flooed the surplus market. The reason why is probably due in part to distribution — ordering mail order was less common than it is today. We order from eBay or a website and its no big deal. That’s just a theory, anyway.
YOU NEED THIS. If you are a fan of semi-automatic keys, one book that I consider absolutely essential is Tom French’s book on T. R. McElroy and his life and career as “the world’s fastest radio telegrapher.”
The book is available from him directly (just Google “Artifax Books”), and is not in printed form now, but comes on a CD as a pdf file. Because I attend a great many hamfests, I have placed the book on my iPhone as a reference document if the topic of McElroy and his keys comes up. The book is the definitive work on McElroy, and a joy to read. The book also has an excellent reference section on his keys as well as a wonderful biography of the man behind them.
COMING UP. I have a homebrew key that’s a honey, you don’t want to miss my review of this one!
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