I've not been very active on any ham band the last week or so. I'm still very, very happy that my Icom doesn't need to go in for repairs, and its still performing flawlessly as it always has in the 2 years I've had it.
Back in the middle of December, I received a 1936 McElroy Mac Key I had won in an eBay auction. The key suffered some minor damage in transit — the lower pivot for the dash lever was damaged, and it despite my best efforts to save that pivot, it was toast.
The pivot is nothing more than a standard size screw that has the tip drilled to accept the point of the pinion shaft. The “hole” in the end of the pinion screw holds the lever in place. Pretty simple system.
A few nights ago I disassembled the key with the intent of removing the damaged pivot screw in order to craft a replacement. After it was apart, I realized that the screw was the same size as the pivot screw used in Vibroplex keys. Scrounging through my bug parts box, I found an old pivot screw that was a bit beaten up, but serviceable. The pivot screw fit perfectly. I reassembled the key, and it works like a champ. The Vibroplex pivot screw is chrome and really doesn't match the Mac Key, its not very visible because it is on the bottom. What I need to do is to cut the large “head” off the Vibroplex pivot screw and then cut a slot in the remaining shaft. This would more closely duplicate the original pivot screw, and cut the length down to match the original. I only need to remove the keying lever to make this change, so it won't be a huge deal.
In the photo at right, you can see how the dash lever is hinged separately from the main keying lever. In the photo, the pivot screw for the main keying lever is partly cut off at the top of the photo. The screw head just below and to the left of that is the top pivot screw for the dash lever. Compare that rather convoluted arrangement to a Vibroplex keying lever, which was not only simpler but cheaper to build.
The Mac Keys are unique in appearance; as keys go, they aren't exactly aerodynamic in design. They're huge and rather funky looking, particularly compared to the Vibroplex keys of the day. This Mac Key plays fairly well now, with a minimum of effort.
The early Mac Keys did not have terminals on the base for connecting the wires, you had to fashion those yourself. Many owners drilled their keys for terminals themselves. The first Mac Key I bought had been drilled for terminals, but they had been removed. I added them back just to make it easier to put the key to use in the shack.
SPEAKING OF MAC KEYS. In the words of my XYL, “Not another one!”
Yep! I was watching a 1938 McElroy DeLuxe on eBay, and when the bidding stalled on it, there was no way I could keep from snapping it up. The key is complete and in excellent shape. I've purchased two other keys from this seller, and he's been excellent to deal with.
The DeLuxe has the “marbelite” faux marble finish. In my opinion, the 1938 and 1939 Mac Key DeLuxes were really the top of the whole 1932-1940 lineup. Of course, I've not addressed the oval-base S-600 model, that's really one of the prettiest keys ever produced — and one of the more collectible ones to boot (Due to the law of supply and demand, the S-600 is out of my price range).
Besides, I snapped this key up for $20 less than I paid for another similar Mac Key several months ago. Ironically, a standard finish Mac Key a year or two older brought higher bids, but for a decidedly less attractive key. Mac Keys have been appearing more often on eBay the last few months, but they're much less common that Vibroplex.
Nuff said about that … 73 and GN … de KY4Z … CL