Signalling Equipment F-17 Morse Key Information

I have just received some very interesting historical information, about one of the keys in my collection.  The Signalling Equipment F-17... see this blog about it`s restoration...

 http://nemosphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/signalling-equipment-type-f-17-morse.html


For the benefit of researchers and those who maybe interested in the history, because they have one of these keys.. I am putting it on my blog as a separate item... ( I shall also incorporate it into the original blog to give more interest to the story )...

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The following information was provided by Tony/G4FAI.... who had seen my collection of Morse Keys on my Flickr page...

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/32369450@N02/22774770776/

On that picture, I have "guessed" the key was made about 1950... but it could well have been made much earlier, during World War II... 1939 - 1945. My key has the label Signalling Equipment on one end... and according to the information below, that was before 1946...

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I was interested in your Signalling Equipment F-17 as I wrote an article about the Morse products of that company for Morsum Magnificat some 23 years ago. I thought you might be interested in some of the details relating to your key.

It started with the photo of an “unknown” key in one issue followed by two letters in the next issue.

The first said it was a GPO single current key type F17 and that the cast base was copper-plated. 

The second writer said that he had used one of these keys in an Admiralty Wireless station in South West Tower, Admiralty. The key was  embossed with an Admiralty Pattern No.

My article, based on info from someone who had written a history of the company’s products describes it as a Commercial Key, open type frame, Diecast construction, Black and nickel finish, Silver contacts. Export code 279/DC/163/16. 

The same key was noted by another reader on a wooden base with a send/receive switch. It clearly had several lives. 

Signalling Equipment Ltd was bombed out of its premises in Old Street London in 1940 and moved to Potters Bar Middx where they produced Morse equipment for the war effort in various small vacant properties. They made keys, practice sets, buzzers and headphones. 

Some time before 1946 they became S.E.L.

 They later changed their name to J. Randall (Toys and Games) and later Merit.

 Among their toy products they continued making Morse practice sets, mainly for children.

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Thanks, Tony..  

I have had a contact in Australia, who referst to the F-17 key with the export code number as the "type" number.. so it was obviously sent out there for use by the Australian Services. 

Hi Mound HK-708 Refurbishment

I use CWCOM, a program that enables us to communicate using CW , or Morse, either from the keyboard, or from a "proper" morse key connected to a laptop or PC.  An excellent program that can be made to work with Linux OS as well as Windows OS. It enables those of like mindedness, to practice and preserve a very old, and original DIGITAL, method of communication, world wide, without the use of high powered transmitters and receivers... No antenna, ( aerial ) in the garden... and no Amateur Radio Licence is needed... All standards of user are welcome... Over a period of 18 months, I have made over 220 contacts, world wide.. some only briefly, but others have become "regular" and interesting contacts..I have already posted a video of me operating my Hi Mound HK-705 from my car, as a "mobile" operator... and recently a friend in Japan made contact with me, whilst he was travelling on the Bullet Train, doing 186MPH.... I have also made contact with a guy in the Bay of Biscay, on his Catamaran, whilst he travels to the mediterranean for his summer vacation.

One of my original contacts, Mike, who lives in Harrogate, Yorkshire,...  sent me his old Hi Mound HK-708 straight key, because he has arthiritis and cannot use it any more, he uses a paddle key.. On arrival, the key certainly needed some cleaning... so I just took it to bits, and gave it a good scrub with an old toothbrush, and some soapy water,...I repacked the bearing caps,  using Flora Margarine, and put it all back together....

 Looking very smart, then I started to get the setting of the tension spring and the gap, so that it was easy to use.... Unfortuately, the big knob on it, became very slippery, due to the way that I send morse....(  tapping on the knob, instead of actually holding it in the "correct manner". !..}   . I normally use the spark gap skirt, to transmit on, but the HK-708 did not have one... Doing some research, I found a supplier of plastic discs,

www.AcrylicCraft.co.uk

and I ordered 5 discs with a 3 mm centre hole...

after arrival, two days later, ( excellent service ).. I decided that I needed to "round off" the outer edge, so I put a 3mm brass bolt and nut in the centre hole, and ran up my battery powered drill, with it in the chuck, using a file, and some fine wet and dry paper, I had the required round edge all finished within about 5 minutes... You can see the rounded edge on the one fitted to the HK-708 in this pic...

When I came to fit the skirt, it was about the same size as the knob, and so it was difficult to use... I decided to swap the knob with another key, which knob was made from a wooden drawer knob from the local DIY shop !.. Because of the bend in the rocker arm of the HK-708. I needed to secure the skirt and knob, on top of a securing nut just under the skirt... which you can just see on the video... Resetting the tension spring and the gap, did not take very long, and you can now view the video of me sending a test transmission using the key..   It works very well, and will probably become my favourite to use key for a while....

Here is the video... I hope you can read morse ! ! ...( speed is about 22 words per minute )....

Mini Morse Key - the smallest key you have ever seen?

I saw this key, on ebay, a couple of months ago... and thought it would be nice to have a brand new key in my collection... so far, I have only been able to afford cheap secondhand keys, so when I sold the old FRG 8800, I used the cash from that to finance this key.... it cost £30.68p and was advertised as "from China"... however, the package that arrived through my letter box, surprised me..... firstly because I never expected to get the key through the letter box,...( I expected a small packet to be collected )... and secondly, because the place it was posted from was Belgium ! ... When I opened the jiffy bag, I was again surprised at how small it was.... even smaller than my thumb !...

Anyway.. I took a few photographs of it, and then connected up with a spare lead and clipped it on to my Admiralty Pattern 7681, to connect it to CWCOM.

 I did some adjustments to the spring tension, ( a small nut at the back of the rocker arm).... and the gap.... adjusted by the black knob and the big brass washer as a "lock" device......... Did a short "off air test" .. then opened CWCOM.....  As luck would have it, Barry VK3HAP in Melbourne Australia, was on CWCOM, and he was the first QSO I had with the mini morse key...   He said that it sounded good.... and I must admit,... I thought so too !...

Here is a short video of me doing a test transmission.... click on the small square at the bottom right for a full screen experience... don`t forget to turn your speakers on... or put your phones on....

To make sure it stays in place... I used a blob of "blu-tack" underneath the key.... otherwise, it needs to be held down with the left hand.. ....

Ward & Goldstone Digital Text Sender in action

 Here are some pics of a morse key I bought at a radio rally today... I think it is about 1905 and was made by Ward and Goldstone, Pendleton, Manchester.  (UK)....

 

Here is a video of my 113 year old Digital Text Sender in action.....

The key was made by Ward and; Goldstone, Pendleton, Manchester, probably for the Marconi Company, as they made keys and radio equipment for them to install on the ships of the period,

Click on the video for larger version... 

          Click on the little square, bottom right corner for full screen.... have phones or speakers on !

The key has been modified, by changing the shape of the knob, and giving it a "spark gap" shield underneath the knob, similar to my Admiralty Pattern 7681 key... as you can see, this is the way that I use the key ! ! .. unconventional, but works well for me !