[CW] Left and Right Handed Bugs

[Bill]

Ah the ole Dow key relay. One f my first purchases as a novice around 1968.
Had continuity issues. I finally decide to risk my $22 investment and pried
open the crimps on the solenoid and found the potting resin was solidified
at an angle so the pressure on the contacts was marginal. Probably a one in
a thousand of that kind of defect.

Anyway thanks for dredging up some ancient memories.

73 wa2nfn
Bill

=30=

On Sat, Apr 6, 2024 at 8:16 PM D.J.J. Ring, Jr. <n1ea at arrl.net> wrote:

> All bugs came in left and right hand versions. They usually cost a small
> amount more and finding used left handed versions can often be impossible
> if they're no longer in production. Some like the Dow Key Universal
> semiautomatic key could be rotated to change into a left or right handed
> key.
>
> A good Internet page on Canadian Paul Dow's beautiful seminar keys.
>
> http://www.telegraphkeys.com/pages/bugs/dowkey.html
>
> Paul Dow started making keys in the basement of his Winnipeg Canada around
> 1943. He made speed keys up until around 1957 when the business was moved
> to Minnesota. After this the company name was changed to Dow-Key Microwave,
> specializing in switches and relays.
>
> Many amateur radio operators who had separate receivers and transmitters
> used Dow Key coaxial relays with auxiliary contacts to switch the receiver
> into standby during transmission.
>
> 73
>
> DR
>
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> =30=
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