Telegraph Key
date: label: date made
content: ca 1890
name: label: maker
content: Manhattan Electric Supply Co.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Telegraph keys are electrical on-off switches used to send messages in Morse code. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The operator pushes the key’s lever down briefly to make a short signal, a dot, or holds the lever down for a moment to make a slightly longer signal, a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers. This key has a switch on the side called a circuit-closer that takes the key off-line when not in use. The wooden base was made in the museum to display the key. In operation, the key was mounted to a table using the bolts and wingnuts.
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 Manhattan Electric Supply Co.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.222131
label: catalog number
content: 222131
label: accession number
content: 41948
objectType: label: Object Name
content: telegraph key
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: aluminum (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 3 in x 6 in; 12.7 cm x 7.62 cm x 15.24 cm