Handmade Telegraph Key
date: label: date made
content: 1944
name: label: maker
content: Jablin, Julian N.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. A semi-automatic key or "bug" repeated the Morse code dots rapidly. The operator still keyed the dashes but could work much faster. This semi-automatic key was hand-made by an American soldier in early 1944. The catalog card from Western Union reported: "Bug made by Corporal Julian N. Jablin while on the Anzio Beachead [sic]. It was made of scrap brass from a shell case, plastic from a German plane that had been shot down and hardware from an Italian clock. It was actually used in radio communication until the operator on the other end told Cpl. Jablin to change to his left foot."
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
label: See more items in
content: Communications
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from Western Union Corporation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.331323
label: accession number
content: 294351
label: collector/donor number
content: 100-049
label: catalog number
content: 331323
objectType: label: Object Name
content: telegraph key
label: Object Name
content: semi-automatic key
label: Object Name
content: sending key
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cloth (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 3/4 in x 3 1/8 in x 8 1/2 in; 6.985 cm x 7.9375 cm x 21.59 cm