Strange CW Keys
50 comments
·August 29, 2025thombles
throw-qqqqq
> For today's 10000
Just in case someone didn’t catch the reference: https://xkcd.com/1053/
low_tech_love
Nice, they used an obscure reference to explain another obscure reference, requiring two nested levels of explanation.
swiftcoder
You can't 10,000 the 10,000...
pkdpic
Somebody could probably throw out the probability of those two 10,000 sets overlapping. Not me though, unless it's 10,000^2...
actionfromafar
You wouldn't 10,000 a car.
thunderbong
Mobile view https://m.xkcd.com/1053/
re
A CW Key is apparently a switch used for transmitting Morse code. Make sure to click through to the individual pages to see them in use, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghx3r_OFmt4
Barbing
Great video.
Trying to think of another activity where one hand is doing something so complex while the rest of the body practically looks bored. Nothing comes to mind.
jdietrich
For a skilled CW operator, it's just like touch-typing. There's no conscious effort involved in either sending or receiving. You hear words, not dits and dahs, and your hand just sends whatever you're thinking automatically.
alanbernstein
Video games?
whizzter
Some of these would make great oldschool spy- or detective-movie props, like the rubber stamp being overlooked by "stupid" detectives whilst the smart detective directly connect it to a callsign to uncover the murder victims secret life with regards to ham operations.
kevindamm
I've seen morse code written around the border of images (e.g. Spy vs Spy did this) which easily goes ignored by the uninitiated, and even when noticed can often escape further detection.
Another note: since in the US there are only four letters allowed as the first letter (A, K, N, or W) and will be 4-6 characters with further restrictions on which can be letters and which can be numbers (2-by-3 being the most common, 1-by-2 and 2-by-1 only being available to higher license classes, where those are the numbers of letters before and after the region identifying number). You could use this in your detective story, along with other details like inferring where they got their license from or getting more details from the FCC. Following this up with an inspection of the radio and which frequency was recently used, could make for some interesting detective work. Ham Radio doesn't make very many appearances as a plot device.
null
cluckindan
Judging by the paraphernalia, this is what happens after a Finnish amateur radio operator retires and suddenly has way too much free time.
geoffeg
There are a few members in my amateur radio club that have a (~200) collection of CW keys. Bugs, paddles, straight keys, etc. Some very obscure ones (only one or two made), some old ones, strange designs, etc. They'll occasionally bring one to a club meeting and pass it around for people to examine and try.
imrejonk
I fully expected the smoke alarm CW key to work by picking up smoke signals: https://sites.google.com/site/oh6dccw/smoke-alarm-cw-key
resters
less strange ones:
https://www.i2rtf.com/keys---paddles.html
https://www.westmountainradio.com/product_info.php?products_...
geoffeg
Some more options, the first two are less expensive options:
austinallegro
The first URL, Begali are the Ferrari of CW keys, with prices to match.
Incredible workmanship and still a family-owned and run business. Worth every cent.
masklinn
Got to say it’s interesting to read this comment and check the site and prices are 150~600 (the upper end being an anniversary edition aluminium and stainless beast).
Obviously really expensive for what is at the core a spring and an electric contact or two (depending on type) — which can be just one part at the expense of longevity, but as hobby pieces it seems quite reasonable, I’ve seen way worse spends from friends who fell in love with mechanical keyboards.
dr_kiszonka
When you compare the price per contact, mechanical keyboards come out quite favorably!
motorest
Here we are railing against $500 mechanical keyboards, and some dude whips out $500 CW keys. The ultimate one-up.
julian_t
The comparison with mechanical keyboards is spot on! Despite having nothing to do with radio or morse in any way, I was given a Vibroplex and it is quite a piece of kit - solid as a rock and obviously a tool well suited to its one task. It reminds me of some of the old tonearms used on turntables, with many springs, counterweights and possible adjustments.
fscaramuzza
I like the Aluminum Finger Pieces from the first URL.
resters
I got a Begali and oddly I ended up preferring the feel of the plastic finger pieces (also included). I like a really light touch.
mikewarot
Recently my much older friend said "nobody knows how to properly adjust a Vibroplex[1] any more"
I've not willingly sent CW in about 40 years, but I think I'm going to ask him to show me how to adjust one, just to know.
I've learned more about repairing vacuum tube equipment than I'll ever need to know, I'm actually thinking I could do it. It's the 1000+ volts in amplifiers that scares the sh*t out of me, and why I'll not be doing that myself, thank you very much.
[1] https://www.vibroplex.com/contents/en-us/d12_SEMI-AUTOMATIC_...
userbinator
These are basically a switch for "human bit-banging". Here is a more conventional one in use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPsgEdmlUf0
jpatten
Love these! On the record player, would be fun to play Morse code “records” where the message was encoded by selectively removing spots of copper from the rotating plate.
hilbert42
Hum, just posted a facetious comment in Morse and HN corrupted it. Thinking how to get it to post sans formatting/verbatim. Ideas anyone?
kevindamm
put a few spaces before what you type
it will produce a blockquote which I hope will remove the HN "corruption" pass
.... .- ...- . ..-. ..- -.hilbert42
Yeah, should have thought of that. Bit late now but here goes:
.-- .... .- - | -... .. --.. .- .-. .-. . | -- .. -. -.. | -.-. .-. . .- - . -.. | - .... . ... . | ..--..null
VectorLock
How many of these have they made contacts with?
i_am_proteus
They all have contacts; they operate by closing a circuit.
73 ;)
zikduruqe
H e e H e e
(It's not Hi Hi like most people think)
Old brass pounder here.
Biganon
That was probably the joke.
VectorLock
No I was actually wondering how many have been used to send CW messages that people have been able to receive.
gizajob
"Handmade CW from Finland" - explains everything.
For today's 10000: amateur radio operators call Morse code "CW" since it's a Continuous Wave (unmodulated) transmission while you're pressing the key. The most basic kind is a straight key which simply transmits when you push and stops when you let go. Electronic keyers often use iambic paddles/buttons where you use one switch to create a series of "dits" and the other switch to create "dahs" yourself, which is less physically demanding and lets you hit higher WPM. There are examples of both types here.