Telegraph Key
date: label: date made
content: ca 1900
name: label: maker
content: Elliott Brothers
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Telegraph keys are electrical switches used to send messages in code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. This British key was designed for testing underwater telegraph cables. The operator used the key to apply a charge then remove the charge from a repaired cable to make certain the circuit worked.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Two single-pole sweep switches mounted on a hard rubber base. A spacer on the left handle prevents both switches from making contact with the common simultaneously. The base handles and insulated parts are hard rubber while the metal parts are brass. Stamped: "Elliott Bros. / London." Similar to the key described on page 254 of "Submarine Cable Laying and Repairing" by H. D. Wilkinson.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
label: See more items in
content: Telegraph Keys
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content: Communications
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from the French Cable Company
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.336824
label: catalog number
content: 336824
label: accession number
content: 1978.2346
objectType: label: Object Name
content: telegraph key
label: Object Name
content: submarine telegraph key
label: Other Terms
content: submarine telegraph key; Telegraphy
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in x 4 in; 8.89 cm x 21.59 cm x 10.16 cm