‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  
CHANGES, DOUBTLESS BECAUSE OF THE WAR.  MODELS 100 AND 300 WERE
DISCONTINUED.  THE 200 REMAINED IN VERY BASIC FORM, USING SLOTTED HEX HEADS
FOR TRUNNION SCREWS, A MIX OF SLOTTED SCREW TYPES FOR LEVER ADJUSTMENTS,
AND HEX LOCKNUTS ON ALL.  THE BS LEVER WAS RETAINED, BUT LESS PRECISELY
MACHINED.  BY THE END OF 1943, MCELROY STOPPED MAKING KEYS, CONCENTRATING
ENTIRELY ON TELEGRAPH EQUIPMENT.  PRODUCTION OF STREAM KEYS WAS
SUBSEQUENTLY TAKEN UP THROUGH 1947 BY TE

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

WSO, RCAS TRANSATLANTIC STATION ON CAPE COD.  AT 20, HE ENTERED THE 1922
BOSTON RADIO EXPOSITION CODE RECEIVING CONTEST ON A WHIM.  HE CAME AWAY
WITH THE WORLD RECORD OF 51R5 WPM.  IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS, HE CONTINUED TO
SET RECORDS, CAPPING HIS RUN IN 1939 IN ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, WITH
75R2 WPM.  MCELROY ALSO HAD THE INGENUITY OF A BORN ENTREPRENEUR.  SETTING
UP AS A ONE MAN OPERATION IN 1934, HE DEVELOPED THE MAC KEY, HIS OWN
VERSION OF THE SEMI AUTOMATIC TELEGRAPH KEY.  MOST OF HIS PRODUCTS WOULD
HAVE THE PREFIX MAC OR MAC, AFTER HIS NICKNAME.  HE MACHINED, ASSEMBLED,
AND SOLD THEM OUT OF A SPARE ROOM IN HIS BOSTON APARTMENT.  IN 1936, HE
INTRODUCED THE MAC AUTO, A CODE PRACTICE TRANSMITTER OF HIS INVENTION,
USING IMPRINTED PAPER TAPE WITH A PHOTOELECTRIC READER.  ONE OF HIS
PASSIONS WAS DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE AND SPEED THE LEARNING
PROCESS.  IT EVENTUALLY BECAME HIS MAIN FOCUS.  IN JUST 5 YEARS HE HAD A
FULL FLEDGED ENTERPRISE.  GROWTH ACCELERATED DUE TO DEMAND FOR MAC TRAINING
DEVICES AND TELEGRAPH EQUIPMENT.  A DECADE AFTER HIS START, MCELROYS ANNUAL
SALES EXCEEDED 57 MILLION IN TODAYS DOLLARS.  FORM AND FUNCTION  THE STREAM
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ