Numfier 75 — May/june 2001

rVery Early frencfl Needk Tefeflrapfi

I I I I I I I IThe International Journal of Morse Telegraphy

EDITORIALANDSUBSCRIPTIONOFFICES:

Morsum Magnificat.The Poplars.Wistanswick. Market Drayton.Shropshire TF9 ZBA. England.Phone: +44 (0) 1630 638306FAX: +44 (0) I630 63805l

MORSUMMAGNIFICATu'as/irstpublishedas a quarterlynurgazinc in Holland. in 1983. by thelate Rinus Hellemons PAOBFN. It has been producedfour. their six times a year in Britain since 1986.and up to January 1999 was published and edited by Tony Smith. G4FAI and GeoffArno/d.G_?GSR. It aims to provide international coverage of all aspects of Morse telegraphy. pastpresent and future. MORSUM MAGNIFICAT is for all Morse entlmsiasts. amateur or

professiomll. active or retired. It brings together material which n-ould otherwise be lost toposterity, providing an invaluable source of interest. reference and record relating to the

traditions and practice ofMorse.EDITOR: Zyg Nilski, G3OKD

e-mail: editor@MorseMag.com MM home page — www.MorseMag.com

© The Nilski Partnership MMI Printed by Hertfordshire Display plc. Ware. HensAll drawings, photographs and articles are copyright and no part of this publication may be reproduced. storedin a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without express permission of the publishers.The Nilski Partnership. Copyright may also be the property of contributors.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS (six issues):UK£15.00 Europe £17.00 Rest ofthe World£30.00 (US $35 approx)

All overseas copies are despatehed by Airmail‘ Prices in US dollars may vary slightly with currency exchange rates and commission charges

Make all cheques payable to ‘MorsumMagnificat’

“When does my subscription expire ...?"This is printed on the top line of the address label.

Also. we shall jog your memory with a renewal reminder included with that final issue.

MM Back IssuesIssues Nos. 34,35 and 38—73 available from the

Editorial offices tsee top of pager. Price including postage £2.75 each to UK: £2.95 toEurope: £3.25 (US $5! Rest of the World by airmail. Deduct 20% if ordering 3 or more

FRONT COVERVery early French needle telegraph by Foy & Bréguet. The needle could adopt

one of eight positions simulating the signal arm of the (optical) Chappesystem. Two consecutive signals represented a figure between l and 64.

Consecutive figures referred to a word, an expression etc.

Photo/Collection: FonsVanden Berghen

Comment

I was phoned by an MM reader, Terry Thomaslast year. He had just gained his MS amateurlicence (5wpmMorse) and wanted to increasehis speed to 12 wpm for a full licence. He wasworried that he wouldn‘t get the practice neededbecause, with the controversy surrounding theCode— No Codedebate, other stationswouldn‘twork him at 5 wpm.

Well - last week he phoned again to sayhow wrong he was. Other operators wouldalwayswork at his speed. Terry, who is 69, hasnow passed the l2wpm test and applied for afull licence. Congratulations Terry! The spiritof telegraphy lives on.

Because MM is published every two months,news items am've here which would be out ofdate before the next issue. A system is now inplace to e-mail MM readers with this news.

Unfortunately some of the e-mailaddresses on file are obsolete andmessages arebeing returned. If you have not received ‘LateNews‘ e—mails from MM over the past twomonths and would like to receive these newsitems, please send an e-mail tozyg@morsemag.com and your address will beadded to the list.

Apologies to readers who do not have e-mail but it is uneconomic to send thisinformation by post.

Zyg Nilski G30KDWEI/[75 — May/jam: 2001

Contents

2 News8 Launch of the Marconi Online

Museumll A Short History of Oller and

Ericsson Keys12 The Bulldog Iambic Paddle

and Comments on the FallingMorse Standard

17 The Coming of the Telegraphto Arkansas

20 Antarctic Memories22 Why 30 to End Newspaper

Stories24 Showcase26 Morse in the Australian

Antarctic Part 5 — RadioActivities Continue on the Ice

33 The Talking Machine and theRailways

36 Joseph Junker and his Keys38 Showcase ~ Info Please!40 MM Bookshelf43 Your Letters47 Readers Ads

Myers7 Radio Bygones7 MEGSl0 G—QRP Club23 FISTS CW Club42 The QRP Component Co.46 The Radio Officers

Association

NewsThe Once & Future Web:WorldsWoven by theTelegraph and Internet

On 24 May 2001. the National Library ofMedicine.Bethesda.Malyland. USAwillbe launching an exhibition and extensivewebsite. bringing togetherthe similaritiesof the information revolutions thatresulted from the electric telegraph andtoday‘s internet. This theme isencapsulated in the exhibition’s title. TheOnce and Future Web.

Over 150 years ago. a new worldwas born when an electric telegraphtransmitted the message. “What hathGodwrought." through a copper wire strungbetween Baltimore andWashington DC.Soon. governments and privatecompanies had stlung telegraph cablesacross countries and the world to meetthe insatiable demand for high-speed.long-distance transfer of information.

By comparing and contrasting thehistory of the telegraph and the Internet.The Once & Future Web explores how aprevious generation's enthusiasm for anew communication technology holdsimportant messages for people living andworking in the age of the informationsuperhighway. As Tom Standage statesin his book The Victorian Internet. “The

2

hype. scepticism. and bewildermentassociated with the Internet—concernsabout new forms ofcrime. adjustments insocialmores. and redefinition ofbusinesspractices—mirror the hopes. fears, andmisunderstandings inspired by thetelegraph. .They are the directconsequences of human nature. ratherthan technology.”

The Once & Future Web includeseleven touch screen interactives thatdeliver text. images. music, videos. and asearchable exhibition library for subjectsranging from SamuelFB Morse‘sOiiginalinvention to the role the Internet playstoday in delivering medical informationto the public. In addition. the exhibitionincludes four interactive stations: visitorscan send a Morse coded message: learnaboutdigitizingand manipulatingimages;paiticipate in a Virtual conversation withone of the leaders of the Internetcommunity; and see a demonstration ofvirtual anatomy.

The exhibition is grouped in fourthematic areas: creating the technology.who uses the technology and how theyuse it. how new technologies change ourperceptions about ourselves. and themedical applications of thesecommunication technologies. Artefactsand reproductions include originalpublications featuring stories and imagesabout the technologies. key documentsfrom the development of the telegraph

M91475 — May/June 2001

and the Internet, hardware, originalmessages, etc.

Through the use of static displaysand multimedia interactive devices,visitors will walk away from The Once &Future Web with a better understandingof the communications revolutionlaunched by the Internet. And audienceswill have the opportunity to see how newcommunication networks enable peopleto transform their health, their lives, andtheir world.

The web site address will bewww.nlm.nih.gov/onceandfutureweb(Information: Ber/i Wood, ExhibitionCoordinator)

"Wireless Bridges theAtlantic" Commemorative

Coin

To commemorate Marconi‘s historicachievement of transatlantic wirelesstransmission - an achievement that wasto revolutionise global communicationand bring tremendous benefits tomankind, the British Royal Mint hasproduced a special £2 coin.

There are gold, silver and basemetal £2 versions available, which canbe purchased from the online shop of theRoyal Mint web site atwww.1‘0yalmint.com or by phoning theorder line on +44 (0)1443 623456.

A gold version is for sale at£295.00, silver at £28.50 and base metalfor£6.95.Takingradiowavesas its theme,the design by Robert Evans symbolisesMarconi's impact on twentieth-centurycommunication. Radio waves decorate

M75—May/June 2001

both the centre and outer border while aspark of electricity linking the zeros ofthe date represents the generation of thesignal. The commemorative design iscompleted with an edge inscription,“WIRELESS BRIDGES THEATLANTIC... MARCONI 1901”

Industry CanadaConfirms 5wpm

Radio Amateurs of Canada met withIndustry Canada officials at the semi-annual spring meeting of the CanadianAmateur Radio Advisory Board(CARAB) in Cornwall, Ontalio on April26th. At the meeting Industiy Canadaconfirmed that a Canada Gazette noticewill soon be released with regard toreducing the 12 wpm code requirementto 5 wpmfor full HFoperating privileges.

Industry Canada has found andcorrected errors in the new automatic

5

exam generator. There still may be someminor problems to be con‘ected in thenext version.(Guy Charron, VA3FZA - RAC Bulletin)

GACW Introduce eQSLsand Awards

GACW. The CW Group of Argentinawill now accept eQSL cards to achievethe awards that it currently offers. eQSLcardswill also be accepted for any specialcertificates of merit issued to relevantindividuals and/0r organizations.

The GACW coordinators haveintroduced this system for the benefit ofmore than 500 members in Argentinaand some in other countries and wish toencourage the use ofthis very safe. quick

andCheap method of confirming amateurradio contacts.(Information Raul M. Diaz, LU6EF,GACW Coordinator and QSL ManagerWebSire http://www. cysner. conz.ar/gacw/

NVCFAn Interesting Find

The National Vintage CommunicationFair took place at theNational ExhibitionCentre, Birmingham, England on 29‘“

Aplil, 2001. Unusually, one stall includeda numberof rare 19‘h centuryMorse needletelegraphs for sale. used on the Britishrailway sytems. The stallholder was acollector of railway memorabilia and hadbeen forced to purchase these items aspart of a job—lot in order to acquire therailway items he wanted.

W75— May/June 2001

Photo:

Dave

Bock

Help Wanted SCARDEurope

The CivilWar Signal Corps AssociationRe-enactors Division (SCARD),Michigan State representative, DaveHarbin has made a reproduction set ofDaniel] battery jars for Civil War re-enactment activities throughout the USMid-west. They appear to be similar tothe drawings in George Prescott's 1866“History, Theory & Practice of theElectric Telegraph”

Gerd Buchsteiner, currentlyworking in Washington DC will bereturning to Europe in July and is keen torecmit a SCARDgroupforre-enactmentsin Europe. Anyone interested in thisfascinating aspect of Morse telegraphyplease make contact c/o MM.(WallMar/rers,SignalCorpsAssociationRe-enactors Division (SCARD))

Web Site on Franklin L.

Pope

John Casales has put together a simpleweb site about Franklin Pope. He was aprominent American telegraph engineerduringthe 19th centurywho, amongmanyother things, surveyed the route for theVancouver-Yukon stretch of the RussianAmerican telegraph, part of a plan byWestern Union to connect the USA withEurope with an overland telegraph. Theplan was eventually abandoned becauseof the success of the transatlanticsubmarine cable.

Some of the images might be ofparticular interest. John Casales had theopportunityto examine and photographMr.Pope‘s diary and sketch book that hehad with him during the Russian-American Telegraph Expeditionof 1865-66. All the sketches were done by himon

ReproductionCivil WarDanie/l Cellsand, inset,the diagramfrom GeorgeC. Prescott’sbook.

small cards. about the size of 4x6 indexcards and are excellent examples of hisartistic abilities. Unfortunately, most ofthem are faded and stained now. a few ofthe better ones were photographed andhave put on the web site after receivingpermission fromMr.Pope's descendants.

The web site address is: http://membersaol.com/wZni/telegraph/pope/index.htm(Information: John Casales, WZNI)(Franklin L. Pope ‘5 book “ModernPractice of the Electric Telegraph,pnblishedin 1871 is also available online

Pigeons at War‘The Flying Telegraph’

Exhibition

Not strictly Morse — but The Museum ofSubmarine Telegraphy in Porthcurno,Cornwall is mounting an exhibitionentitled “Pigeons at War — The FlyingTelegraph‘ until 26‘“ October, 2001.

As a message carrier, the homingpigeon has played an important role formany thousands of years. From theancient Egyptians to the Second WorldWar, pigeons were used to communicatevital messages.

Over the centuries. pigeon postbecame awidely used andwell-organisedsystem of communication. but with thecoming of the electric telegraph andwireless in the 19th and early 20thcenturies, the civilian pigeon post beganto disappear. It did however, remain avital meansof communication in times ofwar.

Before the outbreak of WWI,

Germany had established a network ofsecret pigeon lofts throughout England,whichwere used to can‘y secretmessagesbetween the two countries. By 1916Britain had converted old pre—waronmibuses into mobile pigeon lofts foruse in France.

During WWII 200,000 pigeonswere supplied by ptivate breeders to theNational Pigeon Service in Britain. andanother 50,000 were bred by the UnitedStates Army. Birds were used by theRoyal Air Force as standard equipmenton all bomber and reconnaissance aircraftand on manyoccasionswere instmmentalin the rescue of aircrew.

Because a pigeon flies silentlythrough the air and creates no wave toreveal its presence, they were also usedby the army and intelligence services and16.554pigeons were parachuted onto thecontinent of which, 1842 retumed.

The Dickin Medal. the animalversion of the Victoria Cross, wasawarded to 32 birds.

The exhibition includes uniquephotographs, pigeon parachutes, scalemodels and secret messages. For moreinformation contact the PorthcurnoMuseum of Submarine Telegraphy,Eastern House, Ponhcurno, Penzance,TR19 61X, UK or phone +44 (0)1736810966. The web site iswww.porthcurno.org.uk

trntnimemrasoggarmament; .« mestream:uni 191

Commemorated everywhere - this brown sugarsachet was served with coffee to the Editor in a

pub in Co. Durham, Eng/and.MM75—May/June 2001

KPH on 500kc

Ex-RCA coast station KPH will attemptto contact the Liberty ship SS JeremiahO‘Blien/KXCHon Sunday.20 May 2001.The O'Brien will be cruising in SanFrancisco Bay at the time.

A qualified commercial operator(Rod Deakin of Globe Wireless) will beaboard to activate the vintageRadiomarine console on the ship.

Primary activity will take placeon MF. As is standard procedure in themaritime service the initial contact willtake place on 500kc. then shift to 426kc(KPH) and 425kc (KXCH). KPH will beusing about 3kW on these frequencies.KXCHabout 200W. Since this operationwill take place in daylight the range ofthesignals is likely to be limited. HoweverKPH may also use 6477.5kc. whichshould be heard over a greater distance.

3The6Mccalling andworkingfrequenciesofthe O'Biienhave yet to be determined.

Commemorative messages andI

possibly a traffic list will be broadcast byKPH so there will be opportunities tocopy the station at times other than thecontact with KXCH.

The exact times of operation have. not yet been decided but KPH willi probably be on the air beginning at about1030PDT (1730GMT) and possiblycontinuing through about ISOOPDT

‘

(L’ZOOGMT).If you‘d like to hear KPH. the

“wireless giant ofthe Pacific“. on the aironce again please tune in. Please also see

‘ the Web site of the Maritime Radio3 Historical Society at http://‘ www.radiomarine.org for furtherinformation about KPH.

‘

(DickDi/iman,MaritimeRadioHistorical‘ Society, San Francisco)

RadioBygones

the vintage wireless magazineAnnual subscription (6 issues):

UK - £18.50; Europe - £19.50; Restof the World £23.75.

Or send £3.25 for a sample copyFor further details, contactWimborne Publishing LimitedRadio Bygones, Allen HouseEast Borough, WimborneDorset BH21 1PF, England

Phone: +44 (0) 1202 881749Fax: +44 (0) 01202 841692

E-mail: radiobygones@wimborne.co.uk 7A. F—www.radiobygones.com VISA .—

THE MORSEENTHUSIASTS GROUP

SCOTLANDMEGS was formed in 1991 to encourage theuse of Morse. especially bynewcomers. Regular skeds are held using ourcallsign ‘GMORSE' each Monday andThursday from 7 until 9 p.111. (local time)around 3.53OMH2. Among other services. weoffer Morse practice tapes free of charge. otherthan postage. This offer is now also availableto MM readers. Membership is openworldwide. the ‘Scotland‘ in our title simplyshows place of origin. Lifetime membership£1.00.Details from Secretary: G.1\1. AllanGM4HYF. 22 Tynwald Avenue.Rutherglen. Glasgow G73 4RN. Scotland.

MM75 — May/jam: 2001 7

By

kind

permission

of

Marconi

plc

Launch of the Online Marconi Museumwww.marconicalling.com

On 3rd May 2001 British e-MinisterPatriciaHewittvisitedGreyCoatHospitalSecondary School in London to launchthe interactive online Marconi Museumsponsored by Marconi plc, now a globalcommunications and IT company. Thewebsite launch coincides with the 100-

year anniversary of the world‘s firsttransatlantic wireless transmission byGuglielmo Marconi, and captures the

extraordinary achievements and theinnovative tradition of Marconi, thepioneer of wireless communication

http://www.marconicalling.com/is a comprehensive site featuring 10,000web pages containing an historiccollection of 500 pieces of ephemera,426 photographs, 33 sound clips and 10film clips. The Marconi Online Museumcaters for the interestsof all agesincluding

No.50 - The Haven Hotelkey with mahogany base andlacqueredbrass fittings - 16cm (6 3/8in.) long.

8 W75—May/June 2001

By

kind

permission

of

Marconi

plc

students, historians‘ researchers andwireless enthusiasts, and particularlyschoolchildren.

It embraces the very latest intemettechnology and boasts a wealth offascinating archive material.

The Museum spans Marconi‘sachievements from 1901 to the presentday and has an easy to use timelineenabling users to navigate through thesite visiting key events which define thehistory of communication.

There are special visual andinformative areas on Titanic and DrCrippen, the first criminal apprehendedwiththe aid ofwireless telegraphy.Withinthe area dedicated to Titanic there are the

messages transmitted between the linerand Olympic, cataloguing the icewarnings and deterioration of weatherconditions on the Titanic’s route. Alsothe messages survivors sent to lovedones once aboard the Carpathia and afilm clip of Marconi preparing to meetsurvivors.

The site also includes interestingand historic wireless telegraphinstruments. Of historic significance isthe Morse key used by Marconi duringhis experimentsat the HavenHotel,Pooleleading to the development of hisspecification for tuning which resultedin the ‘Four Sevens‘, 7777 Patent ofApril 1900. It wasmadeby theMarconi's

W75—May/June 2001

The ‘Grasshopper’ key. It has a taperedebonite handgrip, ebon/te back-arm andmahogany base - 33cm(13m.) wide, 12. 7cm (5in.) deep, 21 .6cm (8.5/n.) high.

.9

By

kind

permission

of

Marconi

plc

TheMorse inkerorautomatic recorder device - 33. Sam (13.25in.) wide, 28cm (1 1 in.) deep,21 .5cm (8.5in.) high.

Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd in 1900.Of special interest is the

“Grasshopper" Morse key, so-calledbecause of its shape. The key also actedas a ‘send/receive‘ switch. The temiinalat the rear of the ebonite rod wasconnected to the aerial by a flexible wire,and the screened terminal beneath it wasconnected to the receiver by a lead-coveredwire. A spu'ng kept the terminals'contacts togetheruntil theoperatorpulledthe handle for transmitting, therebydisconnecting aerial and receiver to

prevent damage to the receiver by high—powered transmitters. The key is fromthe Marconi archives and was made bythe Wireless Telegraph & SignalCompany Limited in 1899.

Also from the Marconi archives isa Morse inker made by Marconi‘sWireless Telegraph Co. Ltd., circa 1900.For use with an early wireless receiver,the mahogany base contains a drawer fora spool of paper tape. On the base is aclockwork motor, the key of which canbe seen. MM

G-QRP Club

498 Manchesterlarge s.a.e. or two IRCs

The G-QRP Club promotes and encourages low-power operatingon the amateur bands with activity periods, awards and trophies. Facilitiesinclude a quarterly magazine, Morse training tapes, kits, traders' discountsand a QSL bureau. Novices and SWLs welcome.Enquiries to Rev. George Dobbs G3RJV, St Aidan’s Vicarage,

Road, Rochdale, Lanes 0th 3HE. Send a

10 MM75— [May/jam: 2001

A Short History of filler andEricsson Keys

mine for 60 years, wrote an articleabout Swedish keys in MM67. Can

I offer some additional information thatmay be of interest to MM readers.

Anton Henric Cller conductedmany experiments with his keys toimprove the design, and together with awatchmaker N. P. Lundstrom, registeredpatent number54 on 17‘h November, 1857for the key which, with small changes,became a kindof standardformanyyears.

A month later he opened his firstworkshop, stalting with two employees.Around 1870, Lars Magnus Elicsson(LME) joined the company, but in 1872applied to the government for ascholarship to study abroad and went toGermany to study and improve hisknowledge in telegraph communication.There he worked for Siemens-Halske inBerlin.

Ericsson returned to Oller inStockholm in 1875 but in 1876 left againand opened his own factorymanufacturing the same type ofequipment as Oller.

Anothertwo 0f011er'5 employees,A. J. Lindholm and J. L. Wikstro'm,noticed that orders from the SwedishTelegraph Administration dropped dueto competition from LME and in 1878also left Oller to opentheirown workshop,manufacturing the same type ofequipment, especially the keys.W75 —May/June 2001

JanMoller, K6FM, a good fliend of

by Gunnar Eriksson, SM4GL

Anton Henric OI/er

Thus there were threemanufacturers of keys with almost thesame design and dimensions but ()llerheld his patent for 6 years.

On the longer models the 3 metalblocks at the far end of the basewere usedto attach either a big battery (SB) for thelonger telegraph lines. On the shortermodel a smaller battery was connected.

For several periods in his life,()ller was employed by the SwedishTelegraph Authority.

Due to financial problems, Ollerdiscontinued manufactun'ng in 1886 butcontinued to repair telegraph equipment.He passed away in 1889 at the age of 73.Lindholm & Wikstrom bought the stockand orders from Oller‘s estate andcontinuedmanufacturinguntil 1905whenthey seperated. MM

1]

OLINMACKAYwrote “I thoughtyou might be interested in thisexample ofthe “bulldog" paddle. I

imported a couple forhomebrewprojects.As you can see. it is a cunning re—useofanoffice clip."

What Colin sent me was theBulldog model BDl-HD. which sells for$12.95 (US). You can see what you get.front view. in Fig. l. A NZ twodollarcoinis shown for size comparison. It's just asimple paddle “head". which you mountyourself. Fig. 2 shows a side View.

You can also purchase a ready-to-go version mounted on a woodenbaseboard for $24.95. This has three

‘

suction cups on the bottom to stick it toany convenient smooth surface.

It‘s small.Theunitmeasures about ;

32 mm front—to—back, 20 mm between thefaces of the metal finger pads. Threewires come out. to be connected to a keyjack in the standard manner - the ‘

convention is tip. dit; ring. dah; ground.common. Those of you who are web- g

capable can see further pictures and1

ordering information on K9LU's website :

http://www.amateurradioproducts.com/h_BDl_pl .html

Wandering around thiswebsite. I found several reviews: All wereenthusiastic. Here‘s a sample: “I wasintroduced to your little Bulldog Paddleat our QRP Field Day operation by a hambuddy. What a really slick item! AlthoughI had my computer with keyboard CW. aK8FF paddle and an MFJ/Bencher keyer.

12

The Bulldog IambicPaddleand

Comments on theFalling MorseStandard

by Dr Gary Bold ZL1AN

I used the Bulldog for about 90% of myi

QSO's on 20M QRP (NorCal 20).It was just plain fun.

Congratulations on a fine product! 73 deGeorge WOAV”

iThis seemed encouraging. but I‘m

fairlysuspiciousof strangepaddles.whichare usually sloppy and somewhateccentric in operation. Not wanting to

1 drill mounting holes in Colin's unit. I

simply clamped it to the front of myoperating table with a G-cramp. wired itto a plug. and fed it to the CMOS

1 Superkeyer II. Surprise! It wasn't sloppyl at all, and indeed fingered much betterl than some of the strange homebrew units

I have encountered in various shacks.I like very rigid anns. a slop-free

1 action, and a fine gap. The instructionl sheet tells you how to change the gap bybending the contact wires. and this is

1 easy to do — no tools are necessary. I set1the gaps as fine as I dared. and ran my

MM75~ May/junta 2001

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Figure 1 (Above). Bulldogmodel BDi-HD paddle, front View.

Figure 2 (Below). Bulldogmodel BDl-HD paddle, side view.

standard paddle accuracy test.This involves reeling off a

sequence of “quick brown foxes" atincreasing speeds until errors start tooccur. I found that I could comfortablysend with the bulldog at 35 wpm. whichis the maximum speed my keyer isnormally set for. (Above this I go tokeyboard software.) I was impressed.

The action is not as clean orpositive as my Brown Brothers model.but it's surprisingly good. and I can seewhy the reviewers enthused about it.particularly for portable operation. Thereare no adjustments to vibrate loose intransit. no bearings. no hinges. virtuallynothing to go wrong at all. The idea isvery clever!

The complete paddle and base ischeaper by about a factor of 5 than thelowest priced models from well-knowncommercial manufacturers. Maybe it‘sworth thinking about.

A Brilliant \VheezeMany of us great thinkers get our

most revolutionary ideas when asleep. ornearly so. (Walter Candler. the great codeteacher. relates in an introductory lessonhow he discovered early in his career thathe read code best when drowsy. with hissubconscious mind unhindered byrestrictive analytic processing). Thismorning I awoke to find that mysubconscious mind had designed abrilliantkiwi versionof the bulldogpaddlewhile I was asleep and left it highlightedin my brain. This afternoon it took 15minutes to construct. using one usedbulldog clip (of a different design). andmaterials from my meticulously stockedbasement junkbox (my whole basement

14

has turned into a junkbox).I clamped a bulldog clip around

the back of a small block of wood nailedto a baseboard. and pulled the handlesaround to the front. I stuck a drawing pininto the block inside each handle. andsoldered wires to each. These are the ditand dah contacts. Two nails outside thehandles serve as stops. A rubber bandlooped around the handles passes aroundtwo more nails. then behind the block toprovide outward tension. The handlesare already electrically connected. andform the common or ground terminal.To test it. I simply clipped the 3 wires tothe Brown Brothers paddle and g—

cramped the base to the front of theoperating table. While I was fingeringexperimental quick brown foxes. TonyZLZVG startedmakingexploratOIy peepsin the passband ofthe IC7OI. then calledCQ. We held a short rag-chew. and I

found that I could use this paddle alsoperfectly satisfactorily.

This has to be the simplest andmost successful zero-cost homebrewpaddle I‘ve yet constructed (others haveused clothes—pegs. hacksaw-blades.aluminium strips. micro-switches. reedrelays). It was so simple I immediatelymade another. using a smaller bulldogclip. You can see this in figure 3. againwith a two dollarcoin for size compalison.It works just as well. and I've now usedit for several DX contacts. Why did I notthink of this before? My hat is off toK9LU.who realizedthat a simplebulldogclip incorporates all the elements of asimple paddle. and nowoffers this kitset.

My local version is sloppier. itswire handles are not as classy as theround metal finger-pads on K9LU‘s

W75 —May/jam: 2001

product. and rubber bands makesomewhat elude springs. But it works,and again I can use it at 35 wpm. If youcan follow the constructional description,put one together and check it out.

If such simple devices work OK,why do dedicated Morse-people payhundreds of dollars for expensivepaddles? The answer is that while the opat the other end can‘t tell whether I‘musing this zero-cost contraption or mybeautiful Brown—Brothers paddle, I

certainly can.A crude paddle like this sends

Morse just the same, but I have to workharder at it. Several people have told mehow surprised they were when theyfingered a high—quality paddle for thefirst time and felt its “smoothness' ' and asensed a feeling of “tightness‘ ‘. Butjustas a musician only becomes aware of thedifference between a fine instrument anda mediocre one after some experience, ittakesmanyQSOsbeforemostof us reallyappreciate the aesthetic pleasure a finepaddle gives.

My goodmate Jess,W8MCP,nowalas a silent key, spent time as a seagoingcommercial op. He said to me once thatthe bottom line is this: “The mark of agood operator is the ability to send goodMorse onwhatever key you find yourselfin front of". A nice key is a bonus.

The Falling Morse StandardYou‘ll probablyknow that several

countries have introduced new Ham HFlicences with lower Morse qualifyingspeeds, and the USAhas now dropped itsmaximum testing speed to 5 wpm. TheNew Zealand Radio SpectrumManagementGroup hasplaced a revisionof our own radio regulations beforeparliament. When this is passed, theMorse speed for full HF access in ZLwillalso drop to 5 wpm. Grade names willalso change. Several people have asked

‘. me to comment on this. I now do so.‘

Firstly, this proposal is not al unilateral, heavy—handed action by the‘ MED (Ministry of EconomicDevelopment). The NZART was fully

v-n‘12,”, v aa,” , ;'l I,11.. < u.w ‘”D f "It,“I; "I1“ht p. uR .

I v‘ ul. ‘ #3."m“ WmH I . " t0r t r‘ ‘ho.u-l,’ '

_ “I. 'v " .-” -3\ ""p h ""71”,”, mu., I...”t ., h,

Figure 3. Gary’s ‘local’ version of the bulldog paddle.

{MM75 — May/junta 2001

aware of all details given in the letter, andin fact recommended them.

Secondly, I predict that a smallincrease in the number of HF operatorswill result, but entry-level recruitmentwill not be affected at all. This has beenthe case in the USA, where in May thisyear2.3%of all operatorsusedthe relaxedlicensing standard to upgrade to a higherclass. but the total number of Hams fellby 0.1%. This is a sobering, given themuch higher profile of amateur radio inthe USA.

This global and dramatic fall inMorse-testingstandardhas beenrelativelysudden. But it‘s not a result of“enlightened" policies, it‘s caused bysimplefear of extinction. I have a theoremabout the actions ofthreatenedsocieties.This states that: “when an organisationperceives that its membership hasreachedsome criticallow level, it reactsby lowering its entry standards.”

There is also a corollary to thistheoremwhich states: “Thishas no effecton reversing the membership trend”.

I have seen this reaction and itsnull result in the activities of universities,serviceclubs, andreligiousorganisations.Now it is happening in Hamdom.Numbers are declining. and the headhonchos are running scared. But thegolden age of Hamming has passed. andwe will not attract new members simplyby making it easier to get in.

I will be fascinated to see theresults of the new regulations, and I‘dlove to be proved wrong. But I‘m notholding my breath. Neither am I

despairing. Morse lives! Build a bulldogpaddle andjoin us in the long grass at thebottom of the bands!(Adapted and edited for MM from GaryBold‘s The Morseman column in Break-In, journal of NZART. August/September, 2000.) MM

HThe station f Nell Corry, G2YL, Tadworth, Surrey. She was the second female (YL) radio amateur

in Britain. All the equipoment was home built. This photo was taken in 1934.

16 W75— May/June 2001

HE MOST RAPID MEANS ofcommunication.previousto the year1860. between Little Rock and the

outside world was by stage coachesand stern wheel steamboats plyingbetween Little Rock and Memphis,the former having the advantage inmaking a little faster time between thesepoints. This stage line was operated bythe film of Hanger, Rapley & Gaines,and was equipped with large six-horsecoacheswhich anived and departed dailyon a 24-hour schedule, whichschedule, however, depended on the

1

conditionof the roads. rivers. andbayous.The stagecoachescam'edthe UnitedStates 3

mail and alsoas many passengers as couldbe accommodated,

The Coming of theTelegraph toArkansas

by Edward C. Newton

(from The Arkansas Gazette,Little Rock, November20, 1919)

‘ The railroad between Little Rock andMemphis was projected, butnot constructed, and the ArkansasTelegraph Company had to find a wayfor its lines through the primeval forests

and swamps,which,that is. nine on thethree seats insideandtwo with the driveroutside.

But in 1859H. A. Montgomeryof Memphis came toLittle Rockand proceeded to

This article was kindly provided by GregNewton. It was written by his great-grandfather EdwardC. Newton who was bornMay 4, 1844, probably at NewMadrid, Missouri. He died at Little Rock,ArkansasJanuary1 1, 1923. His brotherswerealsotelegraphers, Jeremiah L. Newton (1846- 1917) pounding the brass at Houston andSan Antonio, Texas, and Charles Newton

in many instances,offered manyobstacles not easilyovercome. Butthe promoter was aforceful man ofindefatigableenergy. and as soonas it was possible to

organize the (1853 - 1901) at Frankfort, Kentucky. get the wire andArkansas TelegraphCompany for the purpose of building atelegraph line between Little Rock andMemphis. with Chas. P. Bertrandpresident, and James A. Henry secretary, .

both of Little Rock, and H. A.Montgomery superintendent. Some stock ,

in this company was placed locally, butMr. Montgomery retained a majority.

W75— May/junta 2001

material distlibutedby wagons along the route through thewilderness he proceeded with the work inthe then primitive way of buildingtelegraph lines. Brackets, designedto carry square glass insulators, werenailed to trees. and where there were notreesavailable,post-oakand cypresspoleswere used. The wire was of plain iron

17

animal and reptile indigenous toArkansas. 1 haveheardMr. Montgomerytell of his adventures in buildingthe telegraph line in this region, whichwere both thrilling and laughable.

The wire, however, was finallyerected and completed in the year1860 with offices at Little Rock.Brownsville. Des Arc, Clarendon,Madison and Memphis. The office atLittle Rock was located on the secondfloor of an old brick building on thenortheast corner of East Markhamand Scott streets, which had formerlybeen the residence of W. E. Woodruff.founder of the Gazette.

It was now demonstrated that asteamboat could announce itsdeparture 0n the very day of its leavingMemphis, and orders formerchandise could be placed bytelegraph for shipment by that boat andalso a telegram might be sent to NewYork and an answer received thesame day. Furthermore. atelegraph newsreport. of perhaps 200 words,was appearing in the Gazette, which wasconsidered both remarkable and veryenterprising on the part of the paper.

Thebuildingofthistelegraph linewas not only an event in the history ofArkansas, but greatly appreciated by thepeople.especially just attheinception ofthe Civil War.

The second telegraph line wasbuilt between Little Rock and PineBluff in 1861 by the PineBluffTelegraphCo., which was organized at Pine Bluffby Snow & Ketchum, and which alsohad its office at Little Rock in the oldWoodruff Building. David O. Dodd, theyoung Confederate martyr. who had

M75—May/yum 2001

t

1

learned the rudiments of telegraphy, wasthe operator on that line in 1862 for abrief period. His knowledge ofthe telegraph alphabet proved hisundoing, for he used it as a code inan attempt to conceal the informationabout the Federal forces he had obtainedon a later visit to Little Rock, resulting inhis capture and execution as a spy in1864. This unfortunate boy, modestand unassuming in his manner andappearance,showedthe qualitiesof a heroat his trial when, on an offer of clemency.he refused. even to the last minute on thescaffold, to disclose the name of theperson who furnished the importantmilitary information found inhis possession.

When the Confederate troopsevacuated Little Rock in September1863, the Arkansas TelegraphCompany,with which I was thenassociated. retreated also. saving as muchwire and material as possible forthe purpose of extending its line fromArkdelphia via Camden to Shreveport.The United States Military Telegraphcontrolled the wires running out of LittleRock during the occupation of the city bythe Federal forces, which wires werereturnedto the companiessix months afterthe close of the Civil War.

H. A. Montgomery, the pioneer ofthe telegraph in Arkansas. disposed ofhis telegraph interests to a largercompanysoon after the war. He became aprominent and wealthy citizen ofMemphis. The celebrated MontgomeryParkwas named after him. He died in thatcity anda life—like marble statueofheroicsize was erected to his memory at histomb. in Elmwood cemetery. MM

19

EADERS MAY RECALL anitem in MM66,page 14 “A Hamon the Ice"wherein I mentioned

the exchange of midwinter hand-madepresents among Scott Base staff. where I

was postmaster. The followingexplanation of the gift I received may beof interest to some Morse operators.

The 8" x 8" x 4.5" box (Photo I)made by John Williams, laboratorytechnician. houses a mechanism andcircuit that spellsout at 12 wpmthe phrase“Courage Sacrifice Devotion”. This isthe inscription on the reverse side of theAmerican Antarctic Service medal thatwas awarded to all personnel whowintered over.

The wooden case and mounted medal

20

Antarctic Memories

by Neville CopelandZL2A KV

With no knowledge of the Morsecode. John had painstakingly drilledthrough a 5" diameter aluminium disc aseries of 1/32" holes at 2" radius (Photo2). Single holes to produce “dits” and agroup of 3 holes filed into a slot to pro-duce “dah’s”. The disc is mounted on theshaft of a small 3 rpm synchronous mo-

tor, A 2.4-voltlamp closelymountedabovethe Morse pathshines throughthe combina-tions of holesand/or slots asthe disc rotates.The inter-mpted light ispicked up by aphotoelectriccell, which intum activates amulti-vibratorand 3—transis-tor circuit toprovide an au-dible tone.

MM75 — May/june 2001

Internal viewof the disc.

2N3633 2N3638 CAPIZ ZNI700

—l .Uluf

.II | 3.2qr

.Oluf ” I

. v .

EI

l f/E one

Il

1

Push to I

start M M_J_ 3 r n L'

2x131V —P Eff/:1.— T

230v n F—.———iMams -

The original circuit diagram conveys an idea of the electronics involved.

W75—May/quz 2001 21

A dwell in the periphery of therotating disc activates an on/off switchonce per revolution. If continuousrunning is desired there is a second switchprovided to ovem'de the dwell action. Asmall speakercombinedwithan ealphonejack is mounted on the top of the case.Provision is made for a hand key or autokeyer to be plugged in for practicesessions. Also mounted on the case is asmall plaque (read Double sided PCboard) upon which is inscribed in GothicScript details of presentation. to whom,from and date etc.

On the inside of the box John hadinsc1ibed the following verse.

To he who sends greetingsfrom thesnow,From those intrepid folks downbelow,He's really quite a devil,Is the one called Neville,Our man who inhabits the P0.

‘Tis midwinter the year ofseventv-threeThat this box of goodies comes tothee,So Neville ourfriend,When you 're going ‘ronndthe bend’,Plug in —anh the button — let it key.’

MM

Why 30 To End Newspaper Storiesby Richard L. Thomas

A retired newspaperman friend ofmine was asked by a working woman-journalist the history behind the use of“30" by newspaper people to indicate theend of a news story.

My friend. knowing I‘d been atelegrapher, then asked me. I wrotethe following “off the top of my head“ ina hurry. Most of you already know this.and perhaps the rest don‘t care.

In any event. having done thechore, I figured I might as well passit along to others. I don't think newspaperpeople use “30" to end ston'es anymore.not since computers came into thenewsrooms. I got outof the newsbusiness

22

31 years ago. and at that time we werestill usingmanual typewriters and \Vliting“30...

Why ‘30’ To End NewspaperStoriesIn short. the figure 30 was part of

the Phillips Code. and it was used first byAP telegraphers starting in the 18705. Itmeant “end of story." Since AP was. ofcourse. servingnewspapersand the figure“30" was at the bottom of “wire"(telegraphed) stories. the newspaperreporters picked up on it and startedputting “30" at the bottom of theirlocal stories. It is strictly a telegrapher‘stool. and in no way was invented or used

W75—May/jam 2001

first by newspapermen.To back up, a guy named Walter

Phillips was an AP telegrapher whorose to an executive position. He“invented” the Phillips Code. The codewas, in effect, literally hundreds ofabbreviations that would speedthe transmission of news stories bytelegraph. Until about 1906. all telegraphmessages were sent by a “straight” key,the key most people think of when atelegraph key is mentioned. It requiredan up—and-down motion to make dotsand dashes. This was pretty slow, and anoperator‘s arm would get very tired.Many operators developed“telegraphers' paralysis,” known todayas carpal tunnel syndrome.

So Phillips cameupwith, in effect,two codes«within-the-Morse-code, bothnumbers and abbreviations.

Example: 30, end ofmessage; 25,busy on another wire; 73, bestwishes; POTUS, president of the UnitedStates; SCOTUS, supreme court of theUnited States, msj, message. (Why “j”instead of “g” I don‘t know.)

By 1906 the “bug" was becominga popular alternative to the straight key.This is a semiautomatic key in which theoperator uses his thumb, and index andmiddlefingers, to pusha leverwith springsand weights on a horizontal pendulum,right for dots and left for dashes. It was

more than twice as fast as a straight keyandmuch less tiring on the arm. Some ofthe storiesof the San Franciscoearthquakeof 1906 were sent with a “bug.”

The Phillips code remained in useuntil the AP replaced telegraphers withteletype machines starting in the late19205. My friend, the late Aubrey Keel.an AP telegrapher working in Texas, saidteletypes weren‘t installed there untilaround 1933.

The Phillips Code was used to alesser extent byWesternUnion, railroad,and private-wire operators untiltelegraphy finally expired altogether inthe 19603.

I have a copy of the Phillips Codebook, but I can‘t find it at the moment.Over the years, the codewas updated andrevised. I know a guy who owns a 1945edition, published by Telegraph &Telephone Age. It has 96 pages.

My friend said it took about a yearfor an operator to really get the codedown in his head. The sending operatorwould send POTUS and the receivingoperator would have to typeout Presidentof the United States.

My friend said a good sendingoperator would send somePhillips abbreviations and then slowdown a bit on the straight text to givethe receiving operator time to catch up.

MM

FISTS CW Club — The International Morse Preservation SocietyFISTS exists to promote amateur CW activity. it welcomes members with allE levels of Morse proficiency, and especially newcomers to the key.

w The club has awards, nets (including a beginners’ net), dial-a-sked for: *1 EEth/ beginners, straight key activities,QSL bureau, newsletter, and discounts from\Fl 5T , / traders.\ CLU B I/ Further Information can be obtained from Geo. Longden G3ZQS, 119\, .

Cemetery Road, Darwen, Lancs BBS 2L2. Send an s.a.e. or two IRCs.

W75—May/June 2001 23

Photo/Collection:

Dave

Pennes,

WA3LKN

Photo/Collection:

Jacob

Henri.

F6GTC

ShozucaseReaders are invited to contribute any additional informationand stories, no matter how minor, to the

Editor, Morsum Magnificat. There have been thousands of designs of keys & telegraphy instuments.Information will be lost unless it is compiled in one place and shared with other readers.

Chester weight-driven embossingregister. NewYork

circa. 1855-71.Electrically intactand functional.

This is a solid straight key; the arm can be removed by releasing the screw in the middle, making it easierto clean the large contacts. The base is made of alunimiumand bake/ite, and the cover is pressed steel.The contacts are marked ‘0' and ‘T’, and it is stampedin white: "T" with twocrossed flags and the number28. It is supposed that it a French army key but may be for aviation use.

24 W75—May/jam 2001

Photo/Collection:

Jacob

Henri,

F6GTC

Photo/Collection:

Fons

Vanden

Berghen

Above: Siemens-Halske relay. Theassemblyis marked on the bottom “Geb.9.4.31" "Geb. " stands for ‘gebaut’ (built).The mechanism is solid brass and stillworking!

Left: Mirrorgalvanometer for use as areceiver on submarine cables. This one isby the Telegraph Works Silvertown(London)

W75—May/June 2001 25

HE YEARS 1960 onwards saw anexpansion of scientific programmesat the stations for which additional

support was required. More powerfultransmitters, radio teleprinters andimproved antenna systemswere installedto handle additional radio schedules andincreased communications traffic. Forall this progress (with the exception ofoccasional personal calls made fromWilkes using the “SFERICS” schedules)radiotelephone links were still non-existent between our stations andAustralia.

In 1961. Doug Twigg joined theAntarctic Division as Senior RadioTechnical Officer and enthusiasticallyembarked on a

Morse in theAustralian Antarctic

Part 5 - RadioActivities Continue

on the Ice

by Allan Moore, VK1AL

l Higher PowerA new generationofhigh-powered

Australian transmitters was about toemerge. Two new 5

programme ofmodernisingcommunicationsequipment and systemsat the stations. At thistime. Morse telegraphywas still giving goodservice but was allowedto decline on some ofthebusier circuits. ANARE

Australian

Although Morse is phased out bythe Post Office in Australia, it

continues to hold its own in

communications.Despitethe coldwar, there is friendly collaboration -

with Russian expeditioners andtheir air-crews - and the Q-codeis found to be extremely helpful.

kilowatt Type CTH7transmitters. built for thecommercial market byAustralian mamifacturers.A,W.A., were purchasedfor Wilkes and Mawson.The march away fromWW2 surplus equipment,efficient and effective as itwas, began to gather

Antarctic

was making greater useof the faster RadiovTeletype system(RTT).

Operators needed to be goodtouch-typistsandbe competent in visuallyreading another code punched on tape.the Baudot 5 unit code. However. thepresence of operators with Morse skillswas still mandatory at all our stations.

26

momentum.Once installedin new remote transmitter huts, their 10

pre-set frequencies could be changed in30 seconds or less by simply dialling asingle digit number.

By operating another switch,transmitting antennas could beelectronically selected within seconds,favouring the direction of the stationwith

MEM75 — May/flung 2001

which we were communicating. Thesepowerful transmitters operated on CW,RTT and AM. and could be switchedbetween modes in seconds. However.they were not equipped with SSB. whichwas rapidly overtaking the old AM voicesystem at the stations.

They were heavy users ofelectricity. In winter,whenoverall stationpower requirements were high. it wasoften necessary to run two dieselgenerators in tandem to help feed the‘monsters‘ as theywere generally called.

In 1962, a UK made 1.5 kilowattRedifon G423A transmitter becameMacqualie Island' 3 main transmitter.Thisunitwasmanuallytuned and wasinstalledin a small alcove just outside the mainradio operations room. It operated onCW, AM, and 583. It was close enoughfor technicians and operators to readilyaccess it. change frequencies and re-tuneas necessary. All traffic still flowed byMorseto Sydneyand Awarua(NZ). Voiceschedules withMelboume were changedto the more efficient SSB mode. The oldRAAF AT20s were now to play asupporting and emergency role.

RussianHigh SpeedsRadioOfficerDave Keyserrecalls

that Mawson in 1961. with four radioofficers, was a far busier station thanMacquarie Island. Four operators at atime may have seemed excessive. butfieldworkrequired the inclusionof a radiooperator. At that time Mawson was acollection station. and totally Morse.

Dave also recalls the high Morsespeeds of the Russians. particularly whenbroadcasting their five-figure synopsesusing automatic Morse equipment at 55

W75— May/junta 2001

.

l

words per minute. sometimes faster.Dave‘s best effort was copying figures at55 wpm. a very high speed with whichsome operators can relate.

In 1962, a new rhombictransmitting antenna was erected atMawson to maximise signals to Wilkes.With this high performance antenna andthe new CTH7 transmitter. permanentRTT schedules commenced with Wilkesand Morse code contacts werediscontinued on the circuit. Wilkes wasnow Mawson‘s main point of contactbetween the continent and Australia. AllMawson traffic was transmitted severaltimes each day in this way. Messageswere received at Wilkes on punched tape.and retransmitted to Sydney using thesame tape.

Similarly, Wilkes received andretransmitted traffic received fromSydney on tape to Mawson by RTT.without having to manually re-punch ortype every message. Mawson retainedtwo daily Morse schedules with PerthRadio as a back-up for weather or otherurgent messages if necessary. Perth wasan excellent back-up circuit andwas usedfor years to come.

Morse Tape SkillsExchanges of weather traffic

between Mawson and South Africa byCW continued duiing 1962 using theCTH7 and prepared Morse tapes lunningthrough an automatic Morse transmitter.After operators tuned each other in. theylet their tapes 11m and copied the other‘straffic. It became hectic if interferencewasexperienced.Tapeshad to be stopped.re-inserted at the c01rect point and re-mn.This was a skilful exercise and required

27

Photo: G. Butterworth

much practice. RTT tests were alsomade from time to time with thesamedistant terminal, located at JanSmuts Airport, Johannesburg. TheSouthAfricans, in turn, commencedRTT test transmissions during theyear to Mawson.

At Wilkes in 1962communicationswereworkingwell.With RTT fully operational withMawson, several Morse circuitsremained —McMurdoSound,Mirny,Dumont d‘Urville, Davis andMacquarie Island.

Four Months Field TripOne celebrated Australian

Antarctic field trip that year was theWilkes-Vostok traverse usingcompletely mechanised transport.The journey lasted almost fourmonths with the party anivingbackat the station on 14th January 1963.Anunusual aspect of the trip was theabsenceof a qualifiedradiooperator,due in part to the composition of theparty and other logistical problems.Previous experience indicated that voicecontact was often unreliable once a partycommenced to ascend the blue ice plateaubehind the station, but the Officer inCharge, Bob Thompson, who couldmanageslowMorse at perhaps five words01‘ so per minute. was prepared to give ita go.

During the trip, the station radiogroup made extra efforts to monitor theprogress of. and maintain contact with,the field party using a changing patternof transmitters, receivers and antennas,combinedwith extra vigilance. It appearsthat propagation was only fair at best and

28

John MckenzieandGraham Currierepairingradio masts, Wilkes 1963.

Bob Thompson sometimes had to revertfrom voice to slow Morse.

Because of the need to keep thetractor train moving in very lowtemperatures, and for other reasons,schedules were sometimes by-passed bythe field party. On one occasion, theradio group was much relieved to haveconfirmed, after several attempts atsending slow Morse to the field party,that precise timing details of a planneddrop of fuel and supplies for them by anAmerican Globemaster aircraft had beenaccurately received.

It was a creditable and lengthy

MM75—May/June 2001

example of perseverance which alsohighlighted the problems that can beencountered when using voice,particularly the old AM system. and thefact that Morse can get through on mostoccasions when other means fail.

The End of Morse Telegraphy inAustralia

The conclusion of the 1957 PMGtelegraphist—in—trainingcourses. in whichMorse code was still being taught to asmall number of Sydney and Melbournetrainees. saw the last of this uniquetraining within the organisation. Futurecourses concentrated on machinetelegraphy (Teletypes and teleprinters)although the designation ‘telegraphist‘managed to survive until the mid-l980s.

By mid-1963. sounder-systemMorse telegraphy was phased out of theAustralian PMG public telegraphnetwork. having been completelyovertaken by Teletype/teleprintermachine systems. A few small radiosystems using CW lasted a little longer.Brisbane to Thursday Islandclosed downin June 1964. and in Western Australiathe last radio circuits were closed afterthe final messages were sent fromRoeboume to Onslow and WittenoomGorge in November 1968.

Antarctic Morse ContinuedIn contrast. Morse in Antarctica,

although declining on smaller circuits.was still very muchalive to the satisfactionof PMG telegraphists seconded toANARE. The Australian Armed Forcescontinued to train radio telegraphists forsome years to come. which provided apool of experienced men and women

W75—May/jam: 2001

§

l

l

l

l

l

attracted to Antarctic radiocommunications work.

As in previous years. Morse wasused between Mawson and Davis,Kerguelen. Amsterdam and MarionIslands. SANAE. Perth. and veryoccasionally, Macquarie Island. HeardIsland was also worked when it wasreactivated by a summer partyundertaking scientific studies - with radioofficer Nils Lied using his beloved‘pekkinklakker‘ side-swiper. previouslymentioned. CW was also still the mainmeans of contact with Australian andforeign ships and aircraft.

One unusual circuitwas the MirnyMorse broadcast. Twice daily, morningand evening. Mirny station broadcast anall-stations call for about five minutes sothatoperatorscould tune in theirreceivers.This was followed by a lengthy series ofRussian collective weather observationsin five—figure weather code.

The Mirny Morse tape was runthrough equipment similar to ours. atabout 30words per minute. During timesof good propagation some Mirnyoperators ‘played‘ occasionally with thespeed dial. moving it up and down inquick succession during the broadcast.This kept receiving operators on theirtoes. as speeds could alternate in splitseconds between ten and forty words perminute. The broadcast was instituted notlong after Mimy was established andcontinued for years to come.

Hours of DutyAt Mawson.with a four operators.

radio schedules(Morseand RTT) coveredseven days a week for about 20 hourseach day. commencing at 0600 hours

29

Photo:

Ken

Shennan

local time. One man was rostered for New Hut for RadioVLVeach of the daily shifts. The fourth had a During changeover at Mawson inday off, orundeitookotherchoresaround 1963, a new VLV prefabricated radiothe station, such as night—watchman, operations hut was erected. ltwasalargeslushy (cook‘s assistant), painting, building, much more spacious than thehelping the supervising technician, or on'ginal 1954 radio hut. One half wasoperating equipment on field trips. At designed to house Morse and voicetimes afourth person was neededto work operations, log book and report writing,Russian aircraft, our ships, and other anda‘public‘countertoacceptmessages.non-routine circuits. One quarter was designed for RTT

The last operator finishing duty, operations, with the remaining quarterat about 1 am, ensured that RTT traffic equipped as a technical workshop andwas taped up ready for the early morning technician‘s office.operator to send, completed radio logs, To some radio staff members, theleft information notes, pre-selected new but was a little unsettling in veryantennas, and set up the transmitters and high winds. Its movement resembledreceivers on appropriate frequencies aircraft turbulence when high winds andready for the first schedule four or five blizzards screamed under the raisedhours later. Similar routines occurred at flooring and bearers. The guy wiresall ANARE stations. seemed to fight to hold the building from

Had/'0 VL V, Ma wson rad/o hut, constructed 1963.

30 W75—May/June 2001

Photo:

Allan

Moore

Radio VL V. Operating consoles, 1963.

lift-off. In similar blows, the cosy oldpioneer hut appeared to hug the groundmore tightly and engendered a sense ofsecurity.

Nevertheless, the new hut was awelcome addition and allowed the workto be conducted in a more structured waywith plenty of room to move. Visibleseveral miles out to sea from the station,the large VLV sign on the front of thebuilding, known to hundreds ofexpeditioners over three decades. wasmade by radio officer TonyWarriner andcarpenter Jock Davidson. Incidentally,the little pioneer radio but receivedheritage status in 1997 alongwith severalother original Mawson buildings of theearly 19503.

In this newenvironment.RTTwasincreasingly used, but there were timeswhen operators had to revert to Morsewhen RTT signals were simply too weakto print. However, this new technologygradually contributed to a lessening needSMEM75— May/junta 2001

for every operator at the larger stations topossess Morse qualifications.

Communications with Russian AircraftIn early 1963. a group of Russian

fliers visited Mawson. As in the past.Mawson (and Davis) continued to bevery much a part of the Russian aeradio‘team'. together with Mirny.Molodezhnayaand their aircraft,workingon a common Russian air—to—groundfrequency of 6244 kHz. The AT2Otransmitter was activated many timesduring the year on this frequency withnever a loss of contact. When workingRussian aircraft, its master oscillatorwasalways used as the working crystal wasnot held.

In bad weather, Mawson hostedseveral ‘sleep over‘ parties of Russianfliers. If stays were imminent. theiroperators used the station‘s radioequipment to call Mirny and/orMolodezhnayato brief them. callingagain

.3]

Photo: Allan Moore

prior todepalture. CWwas used butoccasionallythey triedvoice eachway.

The Q-code wasextremely .helpful for usebetween landstations.ships,and aircraft.for example,QAL RUZU?When do you[and atMolodezlznaya?Response, QAL RUZU12302 I land at Molodezhnaya at 1230hours GMT. helping to overcome manylanguage difficulties. Russian flyingdemanded a good deal of time, effort andpatience which was always accepted byour people in a happy and co-operativemanner.

On severaloccasions,approachingRussian aircraft flew very low, not too farabove the radio aerial masts. and passedonce or twice over the station beforelanding at Gwamm airfield, tilting theirwings in greeting. Very occasionallythree, or even four. aircraft flew together,using two—letter call signs such as RA,RB. RC, and RR. Although Mawsonusually sent weather observations to onedesignated aircraft in a group, sometimesthe other operators also acknowledgedreceipt or signalled a blief greeting. Atthe end of their flights. a short “thankyou‘ was always sent to the stations.

Despite the so—called ‘cold war‘,

32

ARussian aircraft radio operator Valentin with the author atMawson 1963. Li-2 aircraft in background.

relations between our expeditions werevery friendly.On a few occasionspersonalgifts were exchanged betweencounterparts. and Russian cigarettes andvodkawere sometimes forthcoming. OneRussian flight operator, a regular on therun between Mirny and Molodezhnaya,was Valentin (with a difficult surname)whom the operators got to know in theair, and by several visits to the station.Another visitor this year was big OlegBrok, a Mirny station operator who laterservedat Molodezhnaya.It was enjoyableworking theseexcellentMorseoperators.

(Extracted/sunnnariseclfrom ‘Fift)‘ YearsofAustralian Radio Communications inthe Antarctic, 1947-1997', a series ofarticles written by Allan Moore tocelebrate the Jubilee YearofANARE(the

1 Australian National Antarctic ResearchE.\‘pediti0ns)for”Aurora’, ClubJournalofANARE. )To be continued

MM75— May/junta 2001

MM

USTTEN DAYSbefore the accessionof QueenVictoria, theGreat Sealwasapplied to Patent no.7390 of 1837.

Number 7390 “Improvements in Givingsignals and Sounding Alarums in distantPlaces by means of Electric Currentstransmitted through Metallic Circuits“was the brain-child ofWilliam FothergillCooke and Charles Wheatstone.

It consisted of five verticalmagnetic needles fixed onto a diamond-shaped dial, which was marked with agrid of twenty letters (the omitted lettersbeing C,J.Q,U.X and Z). The letters wereindicated by the convergence of two ofthe needles when an electric current wasapplied.

In January 1836.

The Talking Machineand the RailwaysPart 1 - The Electric

Telegraph

by Peter Brankin

The railwayswerein their infancy.The first public railway. the Liverpool &ManchesterRailway. hadopened in 1830and was experiencing difficulties at theLiverpool terminus in Lime Street. It wasquitecommonfor trains to be cablehauled

in certain sections,Cooke. an anatomicalwax modeller, hadwitnessed ademonstration inHeidelberg of a singleline telegraph. Heimmediately saw itspotential and by Marchhad constructed his firsttelegraph. Professor

An Outline of the Part Played bythe Railways in Britain in theDevelopment of Communications.

First published in ’Transmitting’ -

The Newsletter of the Museum ofCommunication Foundation,Bo’ness, Scot/and.

often because of thegradients. At LimeStreet, the train randownhill. through atunnel and into thestation, and waswinched back up bycable attached to awinding engine.0 b v i o u s l y .

Charles Wheatstone‘sexperiments on the transmission of soundin rods -coupled with his knowledge ofelectricity -led to his interest in thetelegraph and by the time the two menmet in January 1837, he had alreadyconstructed ‘two or three' telegraphs and 1

had four miles of wire laid out forexperimental purposes.

W75—May/jam: 2001

i

i

communicationbetween train and winding engine wasvital.

Cooke saw an opportunity, metwith the directors of the L&MR and inJanuary 1837. demonstratedhis telegraph.Although they were impressed, Cooke‘ssystem was not adopted and he retumedto his experiments.

32’

Worried about thepossible deterioration ofsignals over a distance. hecontactedWheatstoneandwith the impendingopening of the London &Birmingham Railway,ideas were pooled andPatent no.7390 became areality.

The finalsectionofthe L&BR(at Euston)wascable hauled, with thewindingenginesitedattireheadof the longest inclinein Camden Town. a mileand a half from theterminus.In July 1837, Cooke andWheatstonedemonstratedfirst a 4—needle and then a5-needle telegraph. withthe wires encased in awooden channel. Thesystem, thoughimpressive, was notadopted-possiblybecauseof installationcosts.whichwereestimatedat between £400 —£500 per mile.

Success eventually came in June1838. with the opening of the GreatWestern Railway. Cooke installed a 5-needle telegraph. using 6 wires runningin iron conduit. from Paddirrgtonto WestDray ton for a cost of £2,817. 103.The system was replaced in 1843 by 2-needle instruments and extended toSlough. Localmessages were transmitted-inc1uding the birthof a son (Prince Albert)to Queen Victoria at nearby Windsor inAugust 1844.

i

The 2—needle instrument required

34

Replica of the Cooke and Wheatstone 5-Needle Telegraph

a specially trained operator: the simplelettering on the dial hadbeen replaced bygroups of coded symbols. which wereindicated by various movements of theneedles.

In 1840. a single needle telegraphwas installed on theLondon& BlackwallRailway (an entirely cable-hauled line innorth-east London), where the telegraphwas used to pass on simple ‘Start/Stop‘instructions to the winding engineoperator .

This was the first application ofthe electric telegraph to control themovement of trains.

[Mil/[75— May/jam 2001

Otherinstallations soonfollowed. Later in 1840,telegraph was installed tocontrol the passage of trainsthrough the North MidlandRailway‘s Clay Cross Tunnel.The system was refined thefollowing year to show ‘lineclear‘ or ‘blocked‘.

In his 1842 publicationentitled ‘TelegraphicRailways‘. Cooke advocatedthe use of telegraph to controlthe movement of trains byintervals of space, rather thantime as was then the practice.

The methodwas simple.The track was divided intosectionsor ‘blocks‘; ifhis blockwere clear. the Signalmanindicated that he could receivea train. The blocksystem was adopted by singleline railways — on the Norwich& Yannouth in 1844 and theNorwich & Brandon in 1845.The London & Birmingham‘ssingle line branch from Blisworth toPeterborough also incorporated the blocksystem in the same year.

In 1845, the paitnership betweenCooke and Wheatstone was dissolvedafter a long, shimmering row.Wheatstone's rights were purchased for£30,000and assignedto the newly formedElectric Telegraph Company whichCooke, financierJ.L.Ricardo andrailwayengineer G.P.Bidder had established todevelop and install electric telegraph.

In 1846. the South Eastem and theLondon & SouthWestern Railways werebothequippedthroughoutwith the electn'c

W75— May/flung 2001

t

l

Cooke and Wheatstone 2-Need/e Telegraph

telegraph (separate wires being providedon the latter for use by the Admiraltybetween London and Portsmouth).Telegraph was also installed on theLondon & Birmingham and the MidlandRailways in the same year .

Up to this point, the electrictelegraph had been used pn'ncipally topass messages and in this respect, was agreat advancement in communications.However. its othermajor role ofenablingthe safe control of trains (as advocated in‘Telegraphic Railways‘ was. with only afew exceptions, not being developed.To be continued MM

35

‘

Joseph Junker and His Keysl by Thomas Roth, DL1CQ fi

The “Junker MT” Morse Key is a fineprecision instrument, designed andmanufactured by German Navy WWIradio operator and engineer, JosephJunker. Junker passed away before theend ofWWII, early in 1945 andhis gravelies in Bad Honnefwhere the company isstill located. He and his wife didn‘t have

H ‘\i\iilPREZ§SIONS~ MORSETASIE 9.343%.

{ml andgjlmm nus Kum-‘aiuit Mualbéwung m: Khmeugolhanm;

mm M, H

any children. so ownership of the

MCKWHW W WM”; company fell to his wife and the{Zijisiiiiimm companywas run by the Procurist

(DeputyManagingDirector)untilthe end of the war.

The Junker Key, typeD.B.G.M. is about 1 Kilogram inweight and available in green or

ifjfffiiigrffim aw HiTJNHEP a new: FER‘NRUF ml gl‘ey' The D'B‘G'M' type is p0“-war manufacture. Pre-l945

36 W75— May/junta 2001

It: :L‘oalnéy!r Abnmuuhg:(7:: widn'Fl:?.>£ihk'l.’.

models will have D.R.P. stamped on theside. These have become quite rare. Theplatform extends forward of the knob forstability. A filter network is locatedinside the base.

The Junker company also made alimited run of bug keyswhich were basicallycopies of the Vibroplex"Lightning Bug". Theyare quite rare andexpensive.Imyself havenever seen one.

The photos are ofJoseph Junker in the late19305. a 19603 leaflet forthe D.B.G.M.MTmodelwith leg clip, a 19603leafletfortheJunkerBugkey (see back cover —

Ed) and a 19705 leafletfor the D.G.B.M. MTversion with swivelcover.

The companystill exists. but I don‘tknow whether or notthey still make the key.Many of them can befound on the surplusmarket. They were usedby the police andGerman Army and all of

us DL hams took our code exam with it.I have still got mine stashed away

somewhere...Thomas Roth, DLICQHannover, Germany

th.r0th@knuut.a'e

glosephpsmashes”Lh1vspy:an:zle'ca;

szmonsM0:1le:51 min

li—rrz’rikCfl |1orsetoste lyp:v’l T,

,. p“iii

(A picture of the advertising leaflet for the Junker ’bug' key is on the back cover.For other information on Junkerkeys visit CliveRedfern's website at

http://lmme.earthlink.net/~g4czr/ - Ed)

Please mention Morsum Magnificat when responding to advertisements

WEI/[75 — May/June 2001 3/"

Photo/Collection:

Wyn

Davies

Photo/Collection:

Wyn

Davies

Shozucase-Infi)Thad,

Readers are invited to contribute any additional informationand stories, no matter how minor, to the

Editor, Morsum Magnificat. There have been thousands of designs of keys & telegraphy instuments.

Informationwill be lost unless it is compiled in one place and shared with other readers.

Redifon marine key with

send/receiveswitch. Notethe similarity to theMarconi 365

38 W75—May/June 2001

Photo:

Lyn

Burlingame,

N7CFO

Photo/Collection:

Henn'

Heraud,

F6AOU

Collection: John Elwood, W7GAQ

Horace G. Martin “Hotoplex” bug key.

From the collection of Henri Heraud, all the components of this key made of ”German Silver".Information requested.

MM75—May/june 2001 39

WflmfiréfSpeciafllst$006.5 on Tekgmpfiy by WfaifOnfer

ALL WORLD ORDERS ARE SHIPPEDBY AIR MAIL UNLESS OTHERWlSESTATED

The Victorian Internet by Tom Slandage (MM63)

The histmy ofthe electric telegraph in the nineteenth century. from its beginnings.and the social impact of instant connnunication on the Victorian world. Thisbook is about a technology that made the world a lunch smaller place. Enrichedwith examples and anecdotes of telegraph applications. Soft back. 216 pages.£8.30 UK £8.40 EU £9.30 World

Classics of Communication (English Edition) by Fons Vanden Berghen’ CLASSICS OFCOMMUNICATION A book of exceptional quality produced originally to accompany a Brussels

Exhibition sponsored by :1 Brussels bank. Illustrated with 240 high qualityphotographs. 140 in colour. including many rare telegraph instruments. The textincludes the history and technology of electricity through to wireless and earlytelevision. but a large section of the book is devoted to telegraphy. Withoutsponsorship. a book of this size and quality could not have been economicallypossible for such a limited readership — 107 pages. 24.5cms x 29.5cms (9.7in x1 1.6in). £16.95 UK - £18.25 EU - £21.00 World (US $36)*

’m Telegraph Collectors Reference CD-2000 by Tom Perera. .. (Also works on the Apple Mac)

An absolute mine of information for collectors compiled from variety of sourcesincluding important web pages (See MM70. pll for details). Users need a PCrunning Explorer or Netscape web browsers to access the CD. The greatadvantage of using the CD is that the browser software is used off-line. whichmeans that no phone connection is needed. As a result access is much faster andthe CD includes the whole of ‘Perera's Telegraph Collectors Guide‘ and his

cyber-musenm but with high resolution pictures. many in colour. A draft of thecumulative index of MM is included. £9.00 UK - £9.20 EU - £9.70 World

UK EU WORLD

Perera‘s Telegraph Collector’s Guide by Tom Perera £7.60 £8.10 £8.90An essential pocket-size reference guide for collector and historian

The Story of the Key by Louise Ramsey Moreau £4.25 £4.50 £5.00

The Best of MM Vol. 1. 77 photos/Illustrations, 60 pages.Wake of the Wirelessman by B. J. Clemons £14.20 £14.70 £17.00

A true story of an early maritime wireless operator“Q41" and Beyond by Shirley Lawson £6.20 £7.20 £7.90

The story of a Wren (Womens Royal Naval Service) telegraphistCONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

40 W75—May/June 2001

UK EU WORLD

Railroad Telegrapher’s Handbook by Tom French £8.00 £8.30 £9.00Old-time telegraphy on the American railroads

Bunnell’s Last Catalogue with notes by Tom French £5.50 £5.70 £6.00Illustrates and describes the company‘s many telegraph instruments

History, Theory & Practice of the Electric Telegraph £13.95 £14.95 £17.50(facsimile reprint of 1866 edition) by George B. Prescott

Watchers of the Waves by Brian Faulkner £15.00 £15.50 £17.10A history of maritime coast stations in Britain

Keys, Keys, Keys by Dave Ingram £8.50 £8.90 £9.80A visual celebration of the Morse key

Marconi’s Battle for Radio (children‘s book) by Birch & Corfield £5.85 £6.00 £6.80Illustrated story book. A present for the grandchildren

Radiotelegraph & Radiotelephone codes -Prowords & Abbreviations by John Alcorn £12.85 £13.70 £15.50

A History 01 the GPO Mark 1, 2 and 3MorseTelegraph Keys by Dennis Goacher(MM65) £6.00 £6.50 £7.20

The Phillips Code - a facsimile reprint by Ken Miller(MM61) £10.00 £10.20 £10.50Telegraph codes for press reports

Marconi’s Atlantic Leap by Gordon Bussey

Published by Marconi Communications. this is aI116]r€0}li )5 hardback high quality book of 96 pages anddescribes the endeavours of the 27 yearold Marconi

A l l.

’ vi \ to prove that trans-Atlantic wireless transmissiont ant . was possible against the views of manydistinguished scientists.

The book has been published to mark thecentennial year of the landmark achievementbetween Poldhu. Cornwall and Signal Hill.Newfoundland on 12th December 1901. Illustratedwith 71 archive photographs. documents and mapsfrom both sides of the Atlantic. the book ispublished at £6.99 and is available from the MMBookshelf at a special price. A copy of the 1999Marconi Centenaries booklet will be sent freewith orders,£7.00 UK - £7.50 EU - £9.50 World

EU and World orders - Priority/Air MailPrices include postage and packing

* Prices in US dollars may vary slightly withcurrency exchange rates and commission chargesCredit card orders welcome by phone: +44 (0) 1630 638306 or Fox on +44 (0) 1630 638051“ Please make cheques payable to ‘Morsmn Magnificat’MasterCard

SEND YOUR ORDER TO:Morsum Magnificat. The Poplars. Wistanswick, Market Drayton. Shropshire TF9 ZBA. England

Payment welcome by Master-card or Visa (quote your card number and expiry date)or by cheque/bank draft drawn on a London bank

—}' VISAL—I

91191175 —May/June 2001 4’]

The CW CentreR A Kent- Hand key, kit

Hand key, assembledKTl Professional keyTwin paddle, kit

Twin paddle, assembledSingle paddle, kitSingle paddle, assembledThe Dual KeyMorse trainerPractice oscillatorPractice oscillator kitEK4 keyerEK4/ M memory keyerEK4 memory upgrade kit

Touch twin keyer kitElectronic keyer kit

Bencher keys and paddles. BY1 Twin, black base

BY2 Twin, chrome base8T1 Single, black base8T2 Single, chrome baseFM | Pump, black baseRJ2 Pump, chrome base

Keys and accessories

UK Price ListSwedish Pump Key

£4730 Pettersson DK1000

62.50,

72.50 Logillfeyl‘keygskogi ey eyer62.50 .

76.50Superkeyer 3, kit

53'50 Samson keyers65-50 ETMQC x3, with paddles99-90 ETMQCOG x3, no paddles49-95 ETM SQ Twin paddles19.507.95 Schurr keys and paddles47,50 - “‘Proti" twin paddle

7350 “Portable” twin paddle

29.50 gainfmeghanism, no baseI 0 Of eyers27.90

1500Hand key, mahogany base

DK1 WE“Minky” miniature pump

£7995 “‘Twinky” miniature twin89.9579.95 MFJ94.95 MFJ418 Morse trainer

69.95 Soft case for 41874.95

Spares stocked, Repairs undertaken.Please 'phonefor details

£89.95

£129.9559.95

£139.95109.9539.95

£129.95119.9574.9579.95139.95

£79.9594.95

£58.958.50

Postage 81 Packing extra. Payment welcome in cash. cheque (UK $1). Visa or Mastercard

G3TUXThe QRP Component CompanyPO Box 88 Haslemere GU27 ZRF, England

Fax: +44 (0)1428 661794Tel: +44 (0)1428 661501e-mail: g3tux@g3tux.com web site: www.g3tux.com

42 WW75 — May/17117122001

YwfiettmHeaders’ letters on anyMorse subjectare always welcome, but may be edited when space is limited. When morethan one subject is covered, letters may be divided into single subjects in order to bring comments on variousmatters together for easy reference. Please note that the views in readers letters are not necessarilythose of MM

Info Please MM69

The key at the bottom of page 34 appearsto be the same as the one I queried at thetop page 25 in MM51.

My query led to several replies inMM52 with a photo from Tom Arr-isshowing the original packing, and a letterfromAlbert Heyes identifying it as beingsold by Gamages. There was no mentionof a manufacturer.

I have since found two more keysof a similar design but having solid basesand slightly superior brass-work andknobs. One has a round-shoulderedcontact bridge and the other a square-shouldered bridge.

The latter key has a novel tension

control consisting of a screw with a discat the bottom, which lifts or lowers thepin holding the spring (see photo). Thisseems rather an elaborate gadget for acheap key — still no markings ormanufacturer though.

Jack BarkerSurbiton, England

Eddystone Bug MM74 P.45

I have owned an Eddystone Bug key foryears, a present from G3JCZ and hadnever thought about it having a serialnumber.

I turned mine upside down andfound “Model S689” and “R0 No853967" cast in the base-plate but no

W75—May/Jwte 2001 42’

serial number. Then I noticed a numberstamped into the strap connecting the dotand dash contacts. The number/lettercombination is E20660. Perhaps the straphas been turned over on the key ownedby the enquirer.

I found the first advert for this keyin the magazine ‘Practical Wireless‘.Apn’l1948 p169 at £3-17s-6d but no modelnumber. This was quoted in the May1948 advert.

I use my Eddystone Bug on mostdays and being left handed, find it mucheasier to use than a Vibroplex.

M. Watson, G3JMEYork, UK

(OwnersofEdclvstone Bugs with no serialnumber - Its wort/z checking that thestrap lzasn 't been put on upside down. Itcould also have been dismantleclat sometime and put back incorrectly. — Ed)

Eddystone Bug Key

Thank you for placing my request for

Eddystone name on some cases wasmissing. I hope to hear frommore readersperhaps someone can help with themissing bits on my key.

Andrew HumphrissLeamington Spa, UK

Survival Heliograph

My son discovered the followingadveltisement for Survival Heliographsin “Shotgun News". They were issued toWWII RAF aircrew for rescue signallingpurposes.

The advertisement is by acompany called InternationalMilitaryAntiques. PO. Box 256.Millington. NJ —— 07946. USA. Phone +1908 903 1200.

They haveaweb site at www.ima-usa.com

They may still be available but itwould be best to check first.

John Elwood, WW7PPhoenix, Arizona

help in MM74. I receivedseveral replies mostlyconfirming that Chas H.Young sprayed the casesgrey and not with a cracklefinish. Theywereassembledwith components obtainedfrom Eddystone to producecomplete bug keys whichhe soldfrom his shop.Theseprobably had no serialnumber on the strip belowthe chassis.

It is also thought thatthe name Eddystoneappeared on some of thestrips below chassis and the

BBlTl§H flWll ElLQT'S HELIQQBflEflSURUIUALSET

round in a British Coast Guard Station on the south coast. thcsaare the Original Heliograph Survival Sets issued to all l‘lWll Arr

Crews to: attracting the attentiun of rescue aircraft. Each setcansrsls of Steel 2" Square mirror with a hats in the center, aSighting post with aperture all attached by string to that originalsmall canvas carry bag. Full use instructions printed on the rearol mirror Bags water starred sighting post some rust mirrorsexcellent, lust what you need when the search parties are lookingfor you. Extremely rare original WWII Briti h Pilot‘s HeliographSurvivalSet ., . .. . ..... 29.95lm1005)

44 {AM/[75— May/june 2001

Marconi 365 and OtherKeys - MM74

Following Wyn Davies' interestingarticle on Marconi 365 keys. I thoughtthat readers may be interested in adocument in my possession which liststhe range of Marconi keys and theequipment with which they were used. Ihave had it a very long time and can‘trecall where it came from. In my opinionit's a page out of a stock list. an oldcatalogue or something similar.

The table has been modified by

hand and I do not have an explanation forthese changes. nor the meaning of someof the references. e.g. “A/C No.“

Can any reader provide additionalinformation?

Guido Roels, 0N6RLHamme, Belgium

(The listhas been reaped/’0rpublieation.Deleted original entries are included butshown as cancelled. The wordfollowing

‘ (I cancelled (’Ilfl')‘ is written by hand on‘ the original. A/C N05. marked ** havebeen changed by hand but the originaltext underneath is unreadable. — Ed)

LIST OF TYPE NUMBERS RELATING To MARCONI MARINE EQUIPMENT

TYPE DESCRIPTION USED WITH DWG No. NC No.88 KEY, TRANSMITTING Superseded by 18281

5—10 amps in aluminium case Type 316Awith plain make &break fortelephone sets.

111 KEY, TRANSMITTING % kW 33620 K2011Plain make & break includes emergency setS/R switch.

111’ KEY, TRANSMITTING 341 0.1794 K2013with pillar and arm on barrel.

111A KEY, TRANSMITTING 34735 K2011with back contacts for operationof M: kW set from ship‘s mains.

111A* KEY, TRANSMITTING 356 0.2883 K2013Type 111* and 111A combined.

316 KEY, TRANSMITTING 506, 503 SK.40999 c.2150Superseded by type 316A.

316A KEY,WINGMORSE TW—te—le-T— D.17610 KEY.18**

type—3+6fleut—meehenieally—improved

MM75— May/flung 2001 4’;

TYPE DESCRIPTION USED WITH DWG No. NC No.

3168 KEY,TRANSMH=F+NG MORSE FoHamp N/D.4709 KEY.19"as—type—CHGA:with insulated signa+linghandleMW.

365 MORSE KEY 360, 376, M06, D.12840 KEY.20**single main contact and two MC.13, MC13A,back contacts. Specification 527/8, 309, 356,Z/MB.1113 369

365A KEY, TRANSMITTINGMORSE 5508, 386, N/D.1195 KEY.3A 21standard key designed as a 386A, 387/8/9,cheaper edition of type 365 533, 719, 558,key. Single main contact and 398/9, 381two back contacts. Includesone spare set of contacts.

3658 KEY, T—RA—NSMITTWGMORSE "Oceanspan", W.27588 KEYSB 22similar design to type 365A. ”Trader", etc. Edn. “A"Single change-overcontacts.Includes filter circuits for keyclick suppression. Includesspare set of contacts.Supersedes type 971.

3650 KEY, TRANSMITTING "Albatross" W.27588 KEY.3Csimilar to type 3658 but with Edn. "B"back contact not connected.Includes circuit for clicksuppression.

365D KEY, TRANSMFFFNGMORSE 1232 W.27588 KEY-39 23single change over with filter Edn. Dcircuit. Includes spare contacts.

365EZ KEY, TRANSMITTING G.P. N/S.11313 KEY.27

The Radio OficersAssociationMembership is open primarily to former MN radio officers but is also open to anyone who has had anassociation with maritime communications or is interested in the subject. Members receive the quarterlynewsletter 080 and its associatedamateurcomponent QRZ. There is an annual reunion and AGM. 2001

sees the meeting taking place in Bristol. For further details and information please contact the Membership

Secretary - John Russell, 21 Landcross Drive, Northampton, NN3 SLR.

46 WEI/[75 — May/junta 2001

£ez‘z‘erj - 50/2;th

International TelegraphConventions.

1 am seeking more info to assistresearching early procedures taken intoradio usage. Can anyone help me withinformation on the following:

Regulations to the InternationalTelegraphic Convention, St Petersbnrg,1875. 1 have the Protocols. (the politicalbits) but the procedures are in theRegulations. These were taken intoWireless Telegraphy in 1903 at Berlin.and inl912tUSA).

Regulations to the International RadioTelegraphic Conference, Berlin, 1903.Again the procedures are in theRegulations.The specificprocedures andprosigns etc are listed in the Regulationswhich are at the end of the Conferenceresolutions etc.

I have the resolutions andprotocols etc but the sources I've foundhaven‘t bothered to include theRegulations.

I‘m sure the archives of StPetersburg. Berlin. London, Paris orWashington and many other locationswill have them. It‘s simply a matter offinding them.

Please contact John W.Alcorn.VKZJWA, 33 Spring St.. LISMORE.NSW. 2480. Australia. Phone: +61 02-66215217. Email :jalcorn@nor.com.au

MM75 — May/June 2001

l ZearémflfiReaders advertisements are free to MMsubscribers.The number of insertions should be specified,otherwise it will be assumed that it is required in thenext issue only. Non-subscribers are welcome toadvertise in the Classified Ads section. Pleasecontact MM for styles available and rates.New - Ads can include one photo free of charge

FOR SALECOMPLETESET OFMM. numbers 1

to 74 in mint condition - £150. buyercollects. Jim Harrison. 43 ChurchfieldCourt. Walton. Peterborough,Cambridgeshire PE4 6GB, EnglandHUGE 11 YEAR Telegraph Surplus tobe whittledaway. Wireless. landline.codebooks. & other books/paper. learningmachines. U.S.. foreign. military. parts.etc. - Specific enquiries invited - can sende-mail. pics etc.. Dr. Joe Jacobs. 5Yorktown Place. Northport NY 11768.U.S.A.Fone:+1-631-261-1576.Fax:+1—631—754-4616. E-mail:TITANTIC-TYPEKEY - replica of theMarconi manipulator key with side leverisolation switch. See MM74 Showcasefor photo. For more information contactGreg Ulsamer. DLlBFE. Logumer Str.66. Dv26723 Emden. Germany.Tel: +49-4921—61460. Fax: +49-4927-187799. E-mail d11bfe@emsnet.de

THE MM Q & Z CODEBOOK, a com—

prehensive 82-page list of the Q-codesand Z—codes. including a one-page listof the original Q—codes of 1912. Avail-able from Dick Kraayveld PA3ALM.Merellaan 209. 3145 EH Maassluis. Hol-land. Price £5 UK. or US$10.00 outsideUK. including postage in both cases.

‘ Payment accepted in cash only.

47

Kai/WEXCHANGE & WANTED

VIBROPLEX Double Paddle Keywanted.Please phone Keith on 07946663109.

WANTED TO BUY: Old largecommercial Morse key such as H. White1918. or GPO double-current type keys.with or without the metal/metal—glasscover. Would consider exchanging myold Air Ministry Morse Key Type Bl,Ref: 10F/7839 in as new condition.Lettersto: D. Johnson W5FZ, 15514 EnsenadaDlive. Houston. TX 77083-5008, Texas,USA. OrEmail: fulle1phone@yahoo.comI AM A KEY COLLECTOR with over300 different keys from 20 countlies andhave 50 keys available for swapping.Wn'te to Henri Heraud,F6AUO,9Avenuede Bellevue. 91130 RIS ORANGIS,FRANCE.

WANTED: TELEGRAPHY ITEMS(esp. land—line). I am looking forsomewhat special telegraphy apparatus:Single and Double Needle. Wheatstoneetc. Buy or swap. I can swap for earlyelectricity (e.g. tubes from Crookes,Rontgen and Geissler‘. Ruhmkorff;Wimshurstz..) . vely 01d radiovalves,sometelephony and of course telegraphy. Whoelse collects telegraphy ?? All lettersanswered. Fons Vanden Berghen;Lenniksesteenweg462/22;B- 1500 Halle,Belgium.Tel. +32.2.356 05 56 ( home: after 8 pmmy local time) oroffice: +32. 16.38 27 21

or e-mail: fovabe@telindus.be

48

WANTED TO BUY: Telegraphic CodeBooks, as used to reduce the costs oftelegrams by replacing common phraseswith codewords. Would be interested inboth originals of photocopies. I am ahobbyist in Cryptography and amfacinated in different ways data is andhas been represented for differentpurposes (e.g. speed. economy,confidentiality etc.) Also interested inrelated items. Letters to Mark Darling,132 Knowlands, Highworth, SN6 7NE,United Kingdom or e-mail:darling@patrol.i—way.co.uk

WANTED: Early paddles such as theNikey, Autronic, Ham-key HKl & HK2.Ray Bullock, 40 Little Harlescott Lane,Shrewsbury SYl 3PY,England. Tel: +44(0) 1743 245896.

9WBinders

£7.90 ............. UK£8.50 ..... ....Europe£9.80.............Rest of the World (Air Mail)

MM75 — {May/June2001

.ll \ K If]:

HALBAUTOMATISCHE MORSETASTErm! Grundplnfln am 991090000“ SHIN: Syflem JUG'

Edcimciallkonfak'e

Abmeuung: 2151 BS :50Gowidfl: L520 kgva—M‘St: Amdfluhkobol m3!

Sud-r injodor go.wumdu-n Auslfihmng

JOSEPH )UNKERELEKYIO-APFAR‘YEBAU OMEN‘ - BAD NQNNEF A. RHHN ~ FEDNRUFRM

A 19503advertisement forthe Junker semi-automatic bug key - see article onpage 36.

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