APPENDIX A DIRECTORY      (To return to another originating page simply click on "back <--- " in your top tool bar)    Item 1:       Phil Boyle, in his shop in Penketh, a small village  situated on the outskirts       of Warrington in the Northwest of England,  busily at work.  Phil is a master       machinist who makes replicas of famous old keys . See another view of his        magnificent  Marconi "Guillotine" key below, and his latest       Marconi "Grasshopper" key.     Phil Boyle in his workshop   Marconi "Guillotine" key     Marconi "Grasshopper" key   Phil's beautiful reproduction of the Marconi  Spark Transmitter "Grasshopper" key.  This key served to act also as a T/R switch to protect the receiver. (Circa abt 1896-99 ??)  Additional Views:    fig 1      fig 2     fig 3    fig 4  (Explanation of purpose of the lever on the Guillotine) "It was usual for at least one key used on a spark set to have a guillotine type lever switch.  With the small gap of the sending lever the gap sometimes arced over and not stop the oscillations of the spark. In other words, it would continue to send). By putting the guillotine switch closed, it would provide a much better return path (lower resistance) than the ionized gap of the sending lever, and instantly, the ionized gap would stop (the spark would continue of course because of the guillotine being switched in parallel), then the operator would lift the guillotine and the spark would no longer be transmitted - and the ionization across the contact gap would be gone. Then, the operator would resume sending from before the problem." David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA Radio Officer, U.S. Merchant Marine (Chief) - (Ret.) [ Editor's note:  Also, because the heavy arm had to be kept     raised until needed, it had a small hook on the front outside to    be engaged by a suspended string so it wouldn't drop down. ] Please visit also the RMS Titanic Radio Page Wouldn't this be a great garage sale find? Click HERE. This is an actual old key someone found.    Item 2:  JONES: This company was founded in 1969 specializing in the machining of custom components to many customers in the scientific and medical fields.  Mr. Jones, on hearing of the need of a good, solid, reliable key, designed and built the Jones Key and it was given to expert CW operators  * (F.C.O.C)  who reviewed it and made important suggestions for its improvement.   *( "First Class Operators Club" ) Here is an magazine ad from CQ July 1996.  Expand this image to read.  Wouldn't you love to have one of each of these classic keys?     PK-205 (Painted steel base)     PK-205-B (Solid brass base )      PK-205-G (Gold plated brass)  ( Letter from Jack (John Althouse), K6NY, Palomar Engineers 7/27/03 ) "We imported Kent keys 1991-92 through our dealer in England. He had delivery problems from Kent(1)  and asked a medical equipment shop owned by Peter Jones to make a similar key refined from suggestions  by members of the First Class Operators Club. We started importing them in 1992. These had a machined brass mechanism with an iron base with a red enamel finish. Our model number was PK-200  ($170) for the dual paddle model.  Later he made a straight key our model PK-205 (07/96 $150) in 1993 he made an all-brass (including the base) dual paddle key, our p/n PK-200-B ( 07/96 $190).  In 1995 there was an all-brass single lever key PK-203-B (07/96 $195) and in 1996 an all-brass hand key PK-205-B  (07/96 $170)    By 1997 we sold only the all-brass models. They were most popular. The PK-200-B was the biggest seller of all. In early  1998 when I needed more keys I called Jones and he said he had stopped making keys. That was the end....." (1)  Palomar Engineers assigned their model number PK-105 to the Kent straight key which they first imported as stated above.  I believe that they imported them in kit form and assembled them in California. )   Item 3:   Ed and Bill Brown "The Brown Brothers Machine Company"    W.F. (Bill) Brown           Hisso #4 BBMC Race Car       E.C. (Ed) Brown  I found the center picture on the Internet, allegedly showing Ed and Bill Brown Jr. standing along side of their Hisso #4 Brown Brothers Machine Company racing car. This picture would have been dated back in the 1920's - 1930's?   The two portrait pictures are from 1962 and were for the OBP Amateur Radio Club directory.  My tremendous thanks to Jim Glasscock, WØFF who joined the OBP Club in 1964 and is still a member today.                      (A tremendous thanks to MERVYN D SCHWEIGERT, KH6/ K9FD, and particularly to Jim GLASSCOCK, WØFF ) William N. Brown,  WØSYK, of the famous York 5000 amps had nothing to do with the Brown Brothers Keys. " WØSYK was in the construction business. Steel erection and bridges was his livelihood. It was started by his father and continued on with Bill. He also manufactured amplifiers that were sold mostly to the Government. They were used in embassies not only by the US but other countries bought them as well. The York-5000 was his money maker. Bill never had a key in his hand after he passed his first license." (Now that that is settled - Let's turn to the real Brown Brothers:) William F. Brown and Edward C. Brown.  Saturday, Feb. 7, 2004 Dave: Thanks for your letter. I sent a short history to KH6JJ Merv a few days ago relative to the exact questions that you asked. I don't know if he shared this with you, but just in case; I will give you a brief history. I knew Both Bill and Ed Brown for almost 30 years and belonged to a small radio club named the O.B.P. ARC founded in 1924. A little before my time but Bill and Ed both were charter members. It was a practice before I became a member which was by invitation only and with several recommendations to boot. I visited their homes as was the custom then, having the monthly meetings at a different members home. Bill and Ed were in my home many times. I became a member in 1964 and still have that honor. The club is limited to 15 members by the constitution and by-laws, and still runs smoothly with that number less one at the time as one passed away this past month. Sooner or later, someone will be selected to fill that vacancy. Bill Brown taught school in E.St.Louis, IL. He taught mechanical studies and electrical principles. He was never a Ham Radio operator. Ed was an engineer at McDonnell Aircraft Co. and worked on the space program fabricating and designing parts for the rockets.  He and Bill engaged in several hobbies together, one being building and racing cars in the late 20's and early 30's. I was fortunate to have viewed a couple of motion pictures that they made showing the race cars and some parts of a race. It was an old 16 MM movie. Ed, (WØBMM) was an avid CW operator.  He and Bill had a farm in Licking, MO. where they had a rather elaborate radio shack where Ed would go and operate the DX contests. The shack was a KW and several 700+ foot Vee Beams that could be switched to cover the entire globe. Ed always made a great number of Q's in the contests. When Ed could not make it to the country, he would come to my home where he liked to work the DX contests mostly at night. He was a great operator and would work from about 10 PM until I would get up and relieve him early in the mornings. We would make a critique of the bands at that time and most always my XYL would make Ed his favorite breakfast of eggs, ham and fried potatoes. He said breakfast was the best part of operating at my place. HI. Ed always brought his own key, which was a CSA bug. He and Bill built them, and that is the only Brown Bros. key that I don't own. On my desk there was a key they had made which was almost an exact duplicate of a Vibroplex . They made only a few of them and Vibroplex threatened a suit over patent infringement, and they ceased to make them. There are only a few in existence, and were only sold for a short time. Ed gave me one as a birthday present, and he said many times when he was operating at my house that he didn't have one in his own collection. I told him that I would let him look at mine whenever he wanted. It was a running joke between he and I. After the threat of the suit, Bill and Ed went to work and made the Iambic paddle known as the BTL. They made the key with a straight key on the same base called the CTL. This dual paddle combination was patented and they made quite a few of them. Later They designed the BTL-A which Ed received 9 patents on that key, which are still in effect today. Apparently someone in the family renews the patent when it starts to expire. I am not sure who or what it takes to do that, but several people who wanted to try and duplicate the BTL-A key and the ST-A were told that the patents were still active.  I have an old sales flier that they had printed and it shows the BTL keys and the CSA Bug. I will make a copy for you and send it to you via snail mail. I have several pictures of Bill and Ed. More of Ed than Bill. Bill passed away long before Ed finally died. He had moved to Springfield, MO. where he lived his final days. I tell you, I sure miss him. He always was a happy guy. He had a story to tell and a joke to go along with it. He was a super CW operator and like me could just sit and listen to a CW qso like listening to people in a room talking. I think I learned that from him, just to relax and listen, it will come. I don't know what has happened to the kids in the family. I know they had all moved from the house on Southwest Ave. where the shop was located in the basement of Bills house. Several years ago, two young hams tried to obtain the license to build the keys. They finally settled with the family and sought a place to do the actual manufacturing. Then OSHA happened. The restraints for molding the zinc bases was beyond reason. The building that they would have to make to OSHA Standards would have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. They looked into having the made by a molding company already set up to do that, and the bases alone would have cost them 50 to 60 dollars each. The painting and manufacturing of the levers and other parts put the cost way out of reach. They finally gave up. Those two boys are no longer in the area, having moved a few years back.  Jim Glasscock, WØFF February 9, 2004 (I later asked Jim if Ed was the prime designer and Bill just the assembler, and also whether they outsourced the parts and just assembled them on site.  Here was his reply:) "Ed and Bill both designed the keys. They did not outsource any of the parts that I ever knew of. They did all the assembly and making of the parts in Bills basement. All the metal parts were casts in Zinc, polished and painted. The levers were cut polished and plated in house. The plastic was also cut and polished there. Printing of labels, etc., was done by a local print shop. Both Ed and Bill worked together in a complete machine shop in the basement of the house. They also melted and cast the zinc bases and other parts. Painting was in the shop area." Here are 2 actual Brown Brothers sales flyers,  courtesy of Jim Larsen, AL7FS, in Anchorage, Alaska, and John Snell, G0RDO.  If anyone else has any similar paperwork on any keys depicted to share, please contact me immediately.    Brown 1   Brown 2  Brown 3  Brown 4 Read about Brown's  keys here in an exclusive online reprint from the Vail Correspondent Vol. 2.  This is the most comprehensive report I have been able to uncover so far.  Super tnx to Jim Zimmerman,  N6KZ who researched all this good information out a while back.           Over the short time Bill turned out these keys,  working alone in a basement shop, he made ten different models: (Vail  Corr. Vol. 2 Jan 93)                 Model     Year    Cost        Size        Type              HRC                                                                                                   Equiv.  BTL CTL   ST UTL CSA BTL-A CTL-A ST-A UTL-A CTL-B 1964 1964 1964 1964 1964 1974 1974 1974 1974 1976 14.95 18.95   6.95 10.95 20.95 30.75 32.95 15.95 23.95 36.95 3.5 x 4.5 4.5 x 3.5 3.5 x 4.5 4.5 x 3.5 3.5 x 3.5 4.5 x 3.5 3.5 x 4.5 4.5 x 3.5 pivot pivot pivot pivot pivot leaf pivot/leaf leaf leaf leaf HK-1 HK-3 HK-2 HK-4              Few have seen or known about Bill Brown's bug The CSA. I  think he may have run  into some patent infringement challenges and abandoned it rather quickly with few made.  Here is a great picture of  this very rare key, thanks to Martin Odenbach, DK4XL as well as Tony Rogozinski, N7BG. This key originally sold for $20.95 CSA   Item 4:  A Mystery needing solving A real BBMC Magnetic Return. A trial MTL?                                                                      .....  I apologize for not being totally up to speed on this but hope you can add to the little bit of info I have. I presume that you are presently writing or in the past have written a book / paper on CW key's and or paddles that have come from several sources one of which is the "Brown Brothers Machine Company" of St Louis MO. I am looking for any info available on a paddle that I am told was made by "BBMC." I say told because I only have an old QSL card with a note written on it. The note says "James Kelley K4YBB Have new Brown Brother CTL - If Interested call 945-6675   73   Ray."  (My note: CTL's were dual keys on the same base - DB) The note is dated July 1, 1974. this note was in response to my advertising for a BBMC Key in a local publication ("Florida Skip") in South Florida  in May, June and July of 1974. I called the phone number and reached a Ray Farwell W4BJ. In speaking with Ray He pointed out that this key - paddle was different, it has no springs. Magnets replace the springs.  Ray went on to tell me that he received the paddle from BBMC and was told to try it out and let them know if he liked it and to give them a critical report on the paddle. Ray did not say when he got the paddle from BBMC, just that he had it for a while and  BBMC told him to keep it.  I purchased the paddle from Ray sometime in July 1974. I put the paddle away and there it stayed for a number of years. At one time I had written to BBMC (late 1974 early 1975) and after writing a second letter I received a reply from Ed Brown and he indicated that he had tried a couple of magnet paddles and they did not work out. (I tell you this NOT being able to prove it because of moving 3 times, and a wife that believes in cleaning out and throwing out at least once a year to keep the stuff down to a gentle roar. Some where in the years as they went buy and I was pressed to clean out, the letter from ED Brown has vanished.) I started again about 5 or 6 years ago, taking the paddle to HAM FESTS and displaying it on my swap table.  After some time went by I was plundering the Internet one sleepless night and had an e-mail exchange with one of the fellows that had something to do with the paddle kit that one of the QRP clubs was making available. That person told me to contact a Jim Fox W0FF (same person you got info from) and that Jim knew Ed personally and maybe could supply some info about the magnet paddle that I had.  So now I have found you in the Internet and I am asking, with my hat in my hand, do you know anything about the magnet paddle made by BBMC in, I believe, about 197! 3 - early 1974. I have attached  3 poor pictures of the paddle but hope it is enough for you to see a little of what it is.   I realize I have given a lot of meaningless, to you, information here especially not knowing if you are the writer of a book / paper on BBMC or not. I hope that from your research you have some information that will help validate the paddle I have as a BBMC paddle. Possibly a prototype that never made production. In My exchange with Jim Fox He said he knew of the magnet paddle but thought that there were only 5 or 6 ever made.   Jim Kelley k4ybb@earthlink.net So, here is a real challenge:  Does anyone out there in the WWW have anything  they can add to this mystery?   I also have what I consider an experimental by BBMC, so it isn't an impossibility that Jim has another one that just never made the cut to full production.  Please, if you would respond to both Jim and myself so I can share the findings with the world.  Thanks Jim Kelley for sharing it with both of us.  Here is an early CTL below. Note the terminal connections on the right side instead of the rear and what appears to be a ground lug on the right rear corner.  Note also the red tag with  Ser. No. instead of Mod on it.    Item 5:  Companies known to make telegraph instruments for the military.  This may be only partial, so add to it if you have info. This list pertains only to those codes used just prior, during, and after WW2. CAY      Westinghouse Electric CABH  Signal Electronic & Mfg. CABJ   Lionel CAKU  Winslow CAM     Manhattan Electric CAPH  Telegraph Apparatus Co.               (McElroy) CAPZ   Telegraph Apparatus Co.                (McElroy) CAQZ  Brelco, NY CAZ     Brooklyn Metal Stamping CAZT   Electro Specialty Co. CBBX  Western Union Telegraph CEA     Bendix CDM    D.P. Mossman Co. CEJ     E.F. Johnson Co. CHD    Hardwick-Hindle, Inc. CJB     J.H. Bunnel CJF     J.F. Frietz CJY     Leach Brothers CK      Kilbourne & Clark CKI     Chicago Apparatus Co.  CL       Fritz Lowenstein  CLR    Leach Relay Co.  CLS    L.S. Brach Co.  CLT    Lundquist Tool & Mfg. Co.  CM      Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co.  CMH   American Radio Hardware Co.  CMI     Molded Insulator Co.  CMK   Theodore McElroy  CN      National Electric Machine Shops  COL   Collins Radio Co., Inc.   CR      Wireless Specialty Co.  CRL   Centralab/Globe Union & Remler  CRR   Bendix  CRV   RCA Victor  CSE   Signal Electric Co.  CTC   Chicago Telephone Supply  CTE   Telephonics Corp.  CUZ   United States Elev. Mfg. Co.    CW    Western Electric  Item 6  The Joseph Junker Gmbh factory persists, and still turns out their trademark telegraph key products.  If you are so inclined, here is their contact information.  I warn you, however, that they have increased their price to 155 Euro or almost $200 and state that they only accept electronic bank transfers.  (My CU in ORL charges me a fee of $50 for that thrill.  Maybe yours is more reasonable?  I can fully appreciate now why Morse Express stopped selling them )  Note:  DBGM indicates a post war peacetime period of manufacture.  DRP would indicate the key was made during the Third Reich.  If you watch Ebay you can still pick these keys up used for around $100 or so in good condition.  Grab them while you can because they are superbly made and great to use on the air daily.   Joseph Junker GmbH August-Lepper-Str. 3 53604 Bad Honnef Tel. 02224/9224-0 Fax 02224/9224-50 Email-Adresse: junker.blech@t-online.de   Item 7  Some Manufacturing codes for the British WT 8 AMP No. 2 Keys.  These are incomplete. Thanks to David Smith who found these in an old article from Morsum Magnificat by Tony Smith, an Englishman. Obviously we need more inputs?  Help if you can? A.M.C.     ? AWA       Amalgamated Wireless, Australia Bunnell   (Self explanatory) Clipsal     "Gerard Industries Pty. Ltd." Australia EWT         ? (Eastern War Time ? :=) ) ET Ltd.    Baxendale & Co. Ltd. ? H&C         ? L.A.M.      ? LMK          LMK Manufacturing Co. Ltd. LC             ? N.E.Co.    Northern Electric, Canada N.C.Co.    ? P.M.G.      Post Master General (Not Mfg. code) PT&EW    Phoenix Telephone & Electrical Works PYE           Pye Ltd. of Cambridge T.B.&S.    Turner Brothers & Siemens Brothers ? TMC          Telephone Manufacturing Co. Ltd. WER          Whitely Electrical Co. Ltd. Westclox (Westclox, Canada)  DIRECTORY      TO RETURN TO PREVIOUS PAGE, CLICK ON ''BACK'' IN YOUR BROWSER.