rickman wrote on 11/16/2017 12:07 PM:
Bob Wilson wrote on 11/7/2017 9:47 PM:
On 11/4/2017 5:42 AM, Gareth's Kitchen Komputer wrote:
On Mon, 21 Dec 2015 23:33:17 +0000, gareth wrote:

For those who make their own Morse Keys, what do you use for the contacts,
for
I have found the phosphor bronze pillar for the dot contact on my ersatz
Vibroplex
to be very noisy and scratchy?

I'm fairly sure that I asked this question before, but it has been a habit
of never put off till
tomorrow what you can put off till the day after.

I chose phosphor bronze because in the days of making one's own electronic
organs, phosphor bronze was suggested as a suitable keying matreial for the
keyboards.






If a question's worth asking, Gareth...







I have not made lots of keys, but when I do I use contacts from old relays.
I still have some relays I bought as WWII surplus when I was in my teens,
back in the 1950's. They have strange coil parameters, weird mounting
arrangements, etc., but nice little silver contacts.
Bob W, WA9D

Why use a mechanical switch? There are magnetic hall effect switches
around. Or a mercury wetted switch can be operated by a magnet. Are the
magnetic switches too sloppy?

I knew I was forgetting something. An optical switch is easy enough to make
and can be very precise as well.

--

Rick C

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998