Wednesday, May 18, 2016 — I’ve been rummaging through the shack like a maniac (at least a “when-I-have-the-time” maniac) in a hunt for the power cable for the Youkits TJ4A transceiver when I literally unearthed a bit of Morse code treasure — a 1937 McElroy Mac Key.
The key was one I purchased a year and a half ago from a fellow collector who was selling off his collection. I purchased a couple of his keys — the 1937 Mac Key and a Vibroplex Double Lever key.
I still have NOT located the power cable for the TJ4A; the rig has this funky 4-pin connector that I’ve never seen used on any ham rig as a power connector. I know I have the cable, just haven’t located it yet. The Great Cable Search has uncovered a few gems … like the aforementioned Mac Key.
Unearthing the Mac Key was quite a treat, however, and not something to gloss over.
The key is in really fine condition — more so that I remember, actually. It hasn’t been refinished or touched up.
Like other 1937 Mac Keys, this one has the raised letters “PROPERTY OF” on the left side of the base. I looked closely, but can’t see obvious grinding marks that would have removed the “U.S. NAVY.” That doesn’t mean the marks aren’t there, the base could have just been well prepped to minimize the marks.
The damper — which is a “C” shape unique to the 1937 model — appears to have been broken and repaired. Perhaps that’s why Mac went with a much simpler — and durable — damper arrangement in later keys.
The damper also has the “C” clip to lock the damper in place, presumably to allow you to turn the key on its side for use as a straight key. Frankly, I’ve tried this, and its the surest way to sounded like a ham-fisted LID that I’ve seen since I made my first straight key from a strip of metal from an old soda can and a discarded kitchen cabinet knob.
OTHERWISE, HOW’S IT PLAY? I cleaned the contacts a bit and the key came to life. With both weights, it runs a little hot but not nearly as hot as some other Mac Keys I own — no bug tamer necessary. It’s one of my favorite Mac Keys … oh wait … my favorite Mac Key is whichever one I’m using at the time. The “C” clip does a great job of securing the keying lever when you’re transporting the key.
The serial number is 7626, which puts it in about the middle of the pack as far as Tom French’s Mac Key serial number list goes for 1937 models.
SO LONG, TOM. Speaking of Tom French and Artifax Books, as I was preparing this report, I decided to go visit his site … only to find it no longer existed.
One of my favorite resources on the Web has simply … vanished. Tom was just a wealth of information about many topics, not just morse keys. I had hoped his site would continue, it offered such great information and was just a tremendous resource.
For what its worth, the Artifax Books domain name registration is valid through sometime next year; apparently his hosting company pulled the plug on his account. Sad. If I had his website (and permission from his estate) I would keep it online just for the resources it offered to those of us crazy enough to collect code keys.
His list was on the web when I checked it in late April, so it only recently went dark.
I bought several keys from Tom over the years, as well as a couple of his books. I tried to keep him updated with my McElroy key serial numbers, particularly of the keys I acquired that he did not have on his list.
LOOKING BACK AT THE FUTURE … The development of the telegraph changed communications in ways no one expected as it developed in the 1840s and beyond … much like the Internet and the web have changed communications and how we transact business in the 20th and 21st centuries.
I fully expect that in another 50 years, there will be “old school” computer geek types who will be collecting “vintage” computer hardware (more so than now). That old XT compatible that boasted of 640k of memory could be worth something by then, eh?? And of course, it wouldn’t be complete with the CGA graphics, lol.
As an experiment, try to explain to your 20-something children or grandchildren about ASCII artwork that was all the rage with computer and engineering majors in the 1970s and 80s. My son thought it was interesting, and primitive, lol.
73 es CUL … de KY4Z SK CL … dit dit …