Telegraph Key
date: label: date made
content: ca 1900
name: label: maker
content: Muirhead & Co. Ltd.
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 key was used to apply a charge then remove the charge from a submarine cable to make certain the circuit worked.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Test "Rymer-Tones Key". Two single-pole sweep switches mounted on a hard rubber base. One handle on this key is broken. Stamped: "Muirhead & Co. Ltd. / No. 39355". Key is similar to the type described on pages 253-254 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
label: See more items in
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.336823
label: catalog number
content: 336823
label: accession number
content: 1978.2346
objectType: label: Object Name
content: telegraph key
label: Object Name
content: submarine telegraph key
label: Other Terms
content: telegraph key; Telegraphy
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 in x 9 1/2 in x 4 1/4 in; 10.16 cm x 24.13 cm x 10.795 cm