This past Sunday, coming back from a car-show, my friends and I popped into an antique-junk store and I almost bought an old metal speaker box, likely a school PA thing — looked a lot like the grey cabinet in PunchySunshine's post above.
Alas some idiot thought they'd get more money if they brushed it with red. Would've made a cool little box for a Champ build, but I didn't feel like stripping off the red. See the box above I regret not buying it.
Why do Sanfred & Sons- wannabees always think they're "improving" something when it's better left untouched?
What I did buy:
View attachment 47039
Nye Viking Standard Key "Speed X"
Now I'm not the first to think of using one of these in a pedal, and indeed somebody has even gone to market with the concept, but I did think of a telegraph-key-in-a-pedal long before I ever heard of or saw someone else doing it.
This has been a long-time coming. I got 25% off, for CAD56.25. I had no idea if it was a good price or not, as my phone had run out of juice and I couldn't check online. So I gambled — most I've seen of them go from US$25 to US$100, got mine for about US$40 including box and instructions inside. The blue tag on the front is "Smalley's" as in
Smalley's Electronics and no longer in business [nee
Smalley's Radio Service], but it originally cost "$12.96ea" ! Other numbers/letters on the blue price-tag include "859" upper left, "YYS" upper right, and a "5" and a "7" just before the price itself.
I'm guessing this one's from the early '70s, based on info here:
...base has been made since the '30s with the same molds. I don't know, maybe it got put on sale Aug '59, maybe that "859" was "B59". Based on posts from the link above, it could be an '80s unit, based on the price, the black krinkle base means it could be from '57. BTW, They're still being made!
AHA!
https://www.morseexpress.com/nye/ Made by Nye Viking since 1975, before that was other companies with rights to the key: "First made by Les Logan, then by E.F. Johnson, and now by Wm M. Nye Company". Production of my 310-003 model has been suspended, as of 8/01/17.
More info:
https://ai4fr.com/main/page_ham_radio_cw_speedx.html
I got into CBs back when they were the rage because I couldn't afford a ham radio (couldn't afford the CB, it was a gift from the parental units).
Now I hear you don't even need to know morse-code to get your ham-radio license!
Okay okay... I'll stop spamming the thread, or should I say HAMming the thread. I've got more pics of the base, and the box etc, if anybody has interest, just PM me. This quick dive may result in a search for vintage tube-based ham-radios, the Speed X key is too nice to be stomped on...