# Ex-Coast Station Morse Keys



## Larry Bennett (Aug 28, 2005)

There seems to have been a flurry of activity recently on selling ex-GKA/Coast Station morse keys - at the recent GKA reunion a 1980 "Rugby" key sold for £520 (for charity), and in the last few weeks on eBay a 1950 GKA key sold for £870 - and an ex-GKR "Rugby" key made a staggering £1356! New world record for a morse key?

Enough to send ex-Coast Station R/Os scurrying to their attics and cupbards to see if there is one lurking amongst the boxes....

I do have a 1980 key myself but it is used regularly on the amateur bands, and I know quite a few ex-staff have one.

Looking forward to seeing one on the Antiques Roadshow in due course.

Larry +


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## schris (May 25, 2012)

Larry Bennett said:


> There seems to have been a flurry of activity recently on selling ex-GKA/Coast Station morse keys - at the recent GKA reunion a 1980 "Rugby" key sold for £520 (for charity), and in the last few weeks on eBay a 1950 GKA key sold for £870 - and an ex-GKR "Rugby" key made a staggering £1356! New world record for a morse key?
> 
> Enough to send ex-Coast Station R/Os scurrying to their attics and cupbards to see if there is one lurking amongst the boxes....
> 
> ...


A couple of "Marconi's Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company" (sic) old wooden base "Guillotine" keys from the 1910s sold on a certain auction site for £5k + over the past few years - one to Germany and the other to Switzerland, so have a look in the loft for one of those first . . . 

The same auction site currently has another Swedish style keyer from the 1920's under the title of "MORSE KEY" . . . 

This doesn't have the A.S. No 300A or a serial number engraved on it, but it looks to be the brownish bakelite and ebonite of the Trinity House lighthouse and lightship model . . .

It would be interesting to know if Marconi's bought them in from Oller or Ericsson, or if Marconi's copied the idea and some went for export without branding or serial numbers . . .

They are quite a departure from the big beefy 5A contacts of the spark keys ( hence the guillotine switch with a cord to break the circuit if the gap started arcing across ) but very nice to use . . . 

cb


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## Varley (Oct 1, 2006)

Larry. That would be interesting to see on TV. Precious little of our technological history gets to the public eye these days.

Mind you I noticed longer queues around the beginning of April. Anything to do with retiring R/Os departing with mementos?


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## sparks69 (Dec 18, 2005)

Sounds to me like a serious case of MMTS (more money than sense) as my late mother used to say


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

What sort of price would the Roadshow put on this ?? It is a CV1630, about 12 inches tall, but not the biggest I have !

David
+


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## Troppo2 (Jun 25, 2018)

I have the key used to send the last ever QTC to the Australian Coast Radio Network.

And, no, it isn't for sale...


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