Monday, Nov. 17, 2014 — I’ve had this little gem for several weeks and it is one of my prize key acquisitions — a 1937 McElroy Mac Key. The 1937 model is unique because of the damper; it was the only year McElroy used a “C” shaped damper.
Because the key is unique to 1937, you just don’t see them go for sale often … the ones I have seen sold were way, way outside my meager budget. I also don’t have a 1934 Mac Key, but those are indeed both rare and expensive. I have a 1935, and several 1936As, 1936Bs 1938A&Bs, and a couple of 1939 keys. Don’t forget the P500 and S600s as well, but 
those aren’t truly “Mac Keys” in the same way the earlier keys are.
The truth is I probably paid too much for this key, but I got it from a fellow key collector who has liquidated his collection. I missed the Rotoplex he was selling (and have been kicking myself since!), but have purchased a couple of keys from him — the gold-plated 1910 Vibroplex Double Lever key and now the 1937 Mac Key. I still owe him for the Mac, but I’ll settle up with him soon enough. On a personal level, it means something to me to just to own a couple of his keys.
From what I understand, McElroy landed a contract with the U.S. Navy to provide CW 
keys, and the keys were cast originally with “PROPERTY OF THE U.S. NAVY” on the left side of the key. The Navy keys had a large nameplate, like those used 1938; the civilian keys continued to use the smaller nameplates made of aluminum. My 1937, like many of keys that were sold for civilian use, had the ‘U.S. Navy” ground off (you can see how much of the base they ground away in the process if you look closely).
One feature I forgot the 1937 key had was the wire clip to lock the damper in place (just like the earlier keys had). This allowed the user to turn the Mac Key on its side and use it 
like a straight key. I’ve tried it that way, and frankly, its not a very comfortable way to send CW. Its just not very comfortable to have to hold your hand up that high to pound brass; most hand keys are much closer to the table top. But it was still an option the user had available (of course, you could always just use the dah lever to make dits and dahs manually and not to have lock the damper or turn the key on its side).
At some point in the past, the damper was damaged — broken off at the thinnest part of the “C”. I’m not sure how it was repaired, but it was well done and still very strong. I image that the damper was the weakest part of the 1937 key — and probably the reason why Ted McElroy dropped the design for the 1938 keys (my guess, anyway).
I haven’t had the chance to put the key in place at the operating position yet … hell, I haven’t even cleaned it up. I’m just tickled to death to finally land a 1937 Mac Key, and its even more special that it came from the collection of my fellow collector Joe.
SDR ROCKS. I’m still enjoying the Cross Country Wireless SDR4+ here at my workstation in our family’s library/TV room/den. I have a very modest antenna but it works very well. I have used FLDIGI with it for digital modes, and again, it works well. Maybe its time I remote operate my own FT-2000 from across the house … I would love to operate CW or digital modes from the comfort of my chair here in the library. I need to do a little more CW work anyway.
The shack gets pretty cold in the winter time compared to the library … I’m going to have to check into that!
I’m hoping Santa brings me a Flex 1500, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. We’re still dealing with my wife’s medical bills, and now my own (I was hospitalized Oct. 2 for an upper GI bleed).
73 es CUL de KY4Z CL …