‰ NOW 35 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM MAY 2019 QST PAGE 82 ‰ CLASSIC RADIO THE MCELROY STREAM KEY WHEN WORKING WITH A STRAIGHT KEY, CW ENTHUSIAST BOB MAYO, W2DL, HAS ONLY ONE CHOICE A 1938 MCELROY STREAM KEY, USED ALONGSIDE HIS ELECRAFT KX3 TRANSCEIVER. WITH A SHINING CHROME BASE AND DETAILED FITTINGS, ITS HARD TO BELIEVE THE KEY IS 80 YEARS OLD SEE FIGURE 1. BOB SAID SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT KEY WAS LIKE FINDING THE PERFECT BASEBALL GLOVE AS A KID IT REALLY HAD TO FIT, AND I WENT THROUGH QUITE A FEW BEFORE THE MCELROY. SMOOTH AS SILK, MINE IS HERE TO STAY. MORE THAN A FEW HAMS CONFESS A SIMILAR PREFERENCE FOR THE STREAM KEY, FOR HOW WELL IT PLAYS AND ITS ENDURING GOOD LOOKS. ADDED TO THAT, IT WAS THE BRAINCHILD OF THE REMARKABLE TED MCELROY, W1JYN SK CHAMPIONSHIP TELEGRAPHER, INVENTOR, AND ENTREPRENEUR. TED MCELROY PREPARING HIMSELF FOR A CODE RECEIVING CONTEST IN 1935, TED MCELROY TOLD A FRIEND THAT HE PRACTICED BY READING NEWSWIRE TEXT GENERATED BY A MACHINE AT 70 WPM. HE DID PERFECT COPY FOR STRETCHES OF 5 TO 10 MINUTES AT A TIME. HEARING CW AS A FLOW OF WORDS, NOT DOTS AND DASHES, HE TRANSCRIBED TO HIS TYPEWRITER A WHOLE 15 SECONDS OR MORE BEHIND THE SENT MESSAGE. MCELROY BECAME A PROFESSIONAL TELEGRAPHER AT AGE 15. A NATURAL, HE HANDLED TRAFFIC FASTER AND MORE ACCURATELY THAN SEASONED OPERATORS HE WORKED WITH AT THE BOSTON WESTERN UNION OFFICE, AND LATER AT OTHER OPERATIONS, INCLUDING WIRELESS AT ‰ END OF 35 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ