Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, 10:45 a.m. — I blame it on a temporary lapse of sanity, folks, but I recently acquired a key I just couldn’t pass up — a 1935 McElroy Mac-Key “deep vee” key in superb condition.
Now I’m guilty of describing a lot of the keys I acquire as “really nice,” “excellent,” “near mint” and other accolades, but this key is the real deal. The photos tell the story.
I watch a lot of auctions for keys on eBay, and this one caught my eye — in part because I’ve been using my “shallow vee” 1935 Mac-Key of late As the photos show, this key is a really super nice example of a 1935 Mac-Key.
If you’re reading this you probably are also a follower of Morse key auctions on eBay, and there are some nice keys listed. I watch but don’t generally pursue the rarer ones (unless I have liquidated some of my other ham gear and have some cash in my ham radio fund). Long before the auction for this key ended, I decided to pursue it to a certain price point, and as it turned out the final price was the exact top limit of my bid (funny how that happens!).
I’m not complaining, however. At this point I’ve decided that those of us in the key collecting community aren’t truly “owners” of the keys we have, but “caretakers” or conservators of these unique telecommunications devices. The new Mac-Key is 81 years old, and I’m certain it will outlive me, as will the majority of the rest of my keys.
THE NEW KEY. The new key came with a McElroy wooden shipping container, though the lid has been damaged and repaired. According to the seller, the key was in as-found condition when he acquired it, and I’ll have to say, it apparently was well cared for. I plan to continue to keep it in as-found condition.
I checked the Mac Key serial number list, and added my acquisition of the key to its history. In August 2006, the key was owned by Warren, K2UV. 
I’m not sure when the seller acquired it, but his QTH is northwestern Illinois.
The new key will get a chance to go on the air in the near future — but first I have an operating desk full of various and sundry keys I need to pare down to make some room.
Happy Turkey Day and very 73 … de KY4Z SK … dit dit