Shown in the photos are a series of straight keys made up
from pieces of
springy contact material salvaged from old telephone switches and relays.
The Plexiglas base unit in photo uses a knob from an old J-38.
In Photo 2 is another straight key with a magnetic base. Handy for sticking
to the rig. This was originally made to stick to the dashboard in my car,
but nowadays they are made of plastic! Progress.
Photo 3 The next one is a mini version and all the parts came from a
telephone switch, including the base.
Photo 4 Last in this series is the micro-switch straight key. I needed a
really rugged but very small unit for a QRP kit I have, and this really
fills the bill nicely.
Photo 5 For reference this photo shows the telephone switch
from which many
of these keys were made.
Happy Homebrewing
Geo>K0FF
Further construction info and parts sources at
email me at
Copyright 2003 GEOelectronics