Great Northern Telegraph Co Danish key

G

GM0WEZ

Super Member
A bit of an ugly plastic monstrosity but I understand these were used on ships, and have the long lever design, and of course Scandinavian engineering is generally very good. I see a Polish chap on ebay is selling a lot of them.

I wondered if anyone has used one and what you thought of it?
 
As requested, photos of a GNT Sedgewall key...

73, Mark...
 

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Yup - that's certainly is an "...ugly plastic monstrosity...".

Having said that, it has a certain Art Deco vibe and wouldn't look out of place on the set of a Hercule Poirot film (and maybe the radio room of a 1930's ocean liner). Context is key (if you pardon the pun).
 
foggycoder said:
Yup - that's certainly is an "...ugly plastic monstrosity..."...
Click to expand...

I don't think they are plastic you know. It is far too hard, and looking at the finish I would say they are actually made from Bakelite.

As straight keys go it feels quite good, similar to Amplidan or Nato keys (or any one of the other 'long arm' marine keys).

It might not be the heaviest key in town, but they are solid in construction (don't let the 'plastic' look fool you!)


73, Mark...
 
I have one too.  I got mine from an EI at the Lough Erne rally last year over here in GI. Mine has a RACAL sticker on it and the code AA670F. Underneath there is a white sticker  with the word SEDGEWALL  9728020002

I guess who ever made them did so for a number of companies.  Its got a nice action but no weight in itself so I used double sided tape to stick it to a steel plate.
 
GI4SJQ said:
I have one too.  I got mine from an EI at the Lough Erne rally last year over here in GI. Mine has a RACAL sticker on it and the code AA670F. Underneath there is a white sticker  with the word SEDGEWALL  9728020002

I guess who ever made them did so for a number of companies.  Its got a nice action but no weight in itself so I used double sided tape to stick it to a steel plate.
Click to expand...

First of all, welcome to the forum. bd

I'm guessing, but maybe the white sticker is the 'real' serial number?

If you look at the last photo above there is a white sticker beneath mine, that also says Sedgewall and a number below it.

I have two of these keys, and other than the white stickers there are no other markings. Having said that, I noticed there are some for sale on eBay that have a metal badge or plate riveted to the rear of the base plinth.

I'm sure I've seen these keys in the past mounted on some kind of box (maybe a click filter?), and I've also seen them with just a large metal plate.

I think these GNT keys are a bit like the RAF-D keys in that they look 'ugly', but they feel and work really well.

73, Mark...
 
Yup, the RAF Type D key is certainly an ugly bakelite monstrosity (see image below).

Having said that (in jest), I'm not terribly happy with the descriptors "ugly" or "monstrosity" - these are very much keys of their time, and tastes change. Seen in their historical context, these were attempts to bring some contemporary style to an old-fashioned mechanism.

Maybe we should label these "unconventionally beautiful" keys?
 

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foggycoder said:
... Seen in their historical context, these were attempts to bring some contemporary style to an old-fashioned mechanism.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the style aspect, I think the cover was more of an attempt to stop some unwitting soul getting a 'hair straightener' if they were to accidentally touch the metal parts of the keys which could be carrying hundreds of volts depending on the keying method/equipment employed.

By the way, the key in the image has the knob from an RAF Bathtub Key fitted, the originals looks smoother and more rounded in shape.

73, Mark...
 
Yup, that's the one. bd

There is a standoff fitted below the knob which raises it up to the correct height so as to clear the case top.

If the key is used without the top cover fitted this makes the key look awkward, so op's tend to remove the standoff so as to lower the knob down on to the arm of the key.

This is all well and good, but if they mislay the standoff then when the cover is refitted the knob will be sitting down inside the case and makes it very difficult if not impossible to use correctly.

I've seen one for sale recently that has that exact issue (a missing standoff) >>> https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/classic-marconi-raf-type-telegraph-165773675

73, Mark...
 
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