A KEY FOR LEARNING MORSE CODE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 62, 30 August 1940, Page 15

A KEY FOR LEARNING MORSE CODE

Instructions From **Modelmaker’’

N August 5, the NBS inaugurated a scheme to facilitate instruction in Morse Code for approximately 900 Air Force candidates; on that date, Stations 2YC, 1YX and 4YO presented at 6.45 p.m. a fifteenminute course of detailed instructions. The session is heard every evening except Sundays, But since the first broadcast there has been so much interest that the time has been extended by 10 minutes, and the session now begins at 6.35 p.m, Men, unlike ‘planes, are not massproduced, and in this war the cry has been for more and ever more pilots.

Many young trainees have had to take instruction, at least in the elementary stages, by correspondence, and it is felt that for men in country districts these instructional sessions in Morse will prove very valuable. And of course the broadcasts are of interest also to those who are not going into the Air Force but who would like to learn the code; and it is probable that many a quiet country sheep station is filled with strange sounds from Monday to Saturday evenings while father or Brother Bill suck the ends of their pencils and endeavour to straighten out the dots and dashes. For those who are interested, fgr business or other reasons, in learning Morse Code, we publish here the plans for a simple Morse Key constructed by "Modelmaker,’ who is well known for his broadcasts in the Children’s Hour from 1YA Auckland. And if, after having read these instructions you still have a few doubts about how to make it, tune in to the Children’s Hour from 1YA at 5 p.m. on September’ 3, when "Modelmaker" will describe the model. "Modelmaker’s" plan should suit the needs of all enthusiasts, and it need not cost, he says, more than a shilling to make. This Morse Key is taken, with slight modifications, from a P. & T. type key,

and is made almost entirely of wood. The exceptions are given in the index to lettered parts. The diagram should explain the entire construction, with the aid of the following index: Knob, Lever or arm (hardwood). Fulcrum block (hardwood). Fulcrum (4in, nail cut to required length). Contact blocks. Base board. G Lower contact points (brass wood screws). Qte vowp

H Coil spring (5/16in diameter), J Pin holding spring under base board; the hole through which the spring passes is shown in dotted lines, K Tension screw (brass). Hole of 3/16in. diameter drilled in end to take spring as shown at M, Ki Adjusting screw (brass) for gap between points. K2 Contact point. L Locknuts, shown at K, K1 and K2. M_ Hole for spring. N Wire for connecting to buzzer or battery; this wire is placed under the head of the screw G, OQ Locking nut for other wire from battery or buzzer. P This dotted line represents wire joining the two contact points together, Fig 3 shows the shape of the fulcrum | block from the end view. Drill the fulcrum pin hole before the corners are cut. From these instructions you should find the construction of the Key fairly simple, but don’t forget: in case you are puzzled, tune in to "Modelmaker," from 1YA-at 5 p.m. on September 3. .