"Tim Shoppa" wrote in message
...
A few nights ago I got my J-38 out to help with Straight
Key Night.
(Had a blast!).

The J-38 isn't particularly new to me... I got it from my
Elmer before
I was licensed, probably when I was 9 years old.

But... as I look at it, I see it has a screw eye and two
posts in the
back, and realize that I never knew what they were for.
The two posts
in the back might be some kind of shield tie-down (or
maybe something
I have no conception of related to land-line telegraph
wiring), but
what the heck is the screw eye there for?

Tim.

The J-38 was mostly used for mass code classes. Each
position had a key and phones. The screw eye is for the
strain relief on the tip end of the earphone cord. Each
position was connected to a central oscillator and tape
sending machine. For recieving practice the circuit closer
was closed allowing the code from the sending machine to
come through, for sending practice it was opened and a
steady tone was sent down the line.
These are very good keys. I also have one I bought new
surplus in its original box about a thousand years ago,
probably cost about a dollar at the time.


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Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA