Winslow J-37 Signal Corps trainingkey

    The third straightkey in my series about the keys I got from the real estate of PA3BCB Gerard. This time a J-37 key from the cold war era. Earlier keys in WW2 from this type had a steel or nickel lever, Winslow Tele-Tronics Inc. went over to fabricate the keys with matte black coating to prevent reflection and corrosion between te 1950's and 1960's.

The baseplate with the 2 bananaplug connectors is typical for use at training sites. That way they could quickly connect the keys to telegraphy boards and networks at the trainingbase. The baseplate is formed like that to wind the cord on it. It is really made for quickly connect and disconnect. Wind the cord and put it in you pocket.

Of course I wanted to clean the whole key and disassembled it. Here you see a detail of the strain relief made with paracord. A special gutter in the baseplate is made for this. Although I didn't keep the complete old connection cord I decided to keep this strain relief detail.

Use of the Winslow J-37 at the US Signal Corps

The AN/GSC-T1 Code Training Set: This was the definitive standard for Morse code training systems in army barracks. The system consisted of a central console for the instructor (who could generate Morse signals or interference) and dozens of student desks. The desks and audio distribution boxes (jack boxes) were equipped with banana plug sockets, allowing students to quickly connect their own J-37 keys. [1, 2]

AN/GTC-T1

The EE-81 / EE-95 Morse Instruction Sets: These were more compact, portable units designed for teaching Morse code in the field.

Modification ("Mae West" style): In the post-war years, the Corps of Engineers or technical services manually modified many J-37 units. A wooden or Bakelite baseplate with sockets was attached to the bottom, and the wiring was securely fastened using army-green lacing cord (the green string) to withstand the rough handling by hundreds of students. 

Many thousands of service members toiled for hours using setups exactly like this to earn their Morse code qualification in the cold war and Vietnam war era.

Polished and shiny J-37 straightkey ready to use.

Of course this key, as a cold war key, should be used to work at least one Russian station.

Friction-maxxing

   Click bait, click bait.... yes I have to admit. And I stole the word from the excellent blog of KE9V, sorry Jeff. The main reason is that you cannot directly comment on Jeff's blog and I wanted to bring this topic up as well. Read the original article here: https://ke9v.net/2026/09/17/friction-maxxing.html. 

“Friction-maxxing is the practice of intentionally choosing less convenient options in daily life to build tolerance for discomfort and reduce reliance on technology-driven ease. It’s often described as adding small bits of effort back into your routines to help you stop autopilot and improve focus.”

It's my opinion humanity needs friction-maxxing. All this new technology makes life easier, too easy in some ways... there is just too much tech. Sometimes technology is a good thing but these days with the development of AI everyone can make and program anything. You just need an idea and  AI makes the photo, video, story, essay, program, software, firmware etc. etc.. Not only for the good but also for the bad things. Look what is happening in several wars around the world. I'm sure drones are already made with AI since a few years. Personally I'm involved in installing robot lawnmowers. And I can tell the development including AI technology in these mowers is developing fast. We are not far away from mowers that you put on a field and just tell them to mow the grass without even really installing them. This same tech is used in drones, cars and other machines not only for peaceful intentions. 

Yes, above might be a bad example. But in our hobby you see AI doing the work. Lately websites and software for hamradio use are growing like mushrooms. Anyone noticed they all look the same? Even if they are for different applications you already see that sites and software are made with AI. Not that it is directly a bad thing, it makes life and the hobby easier. Too easy...

Too easy is not always a good thing, although because of technology some things are getting unnecessary complicated. Jeff already gave an example in this post. No wonder people get mentally ill because of this. Not everyone can keep up with the rapid changes of technology. Young people might keep up faster as old people.

I know people think different about this topic. But personally I'm sometimes thinking about downgrading my station. Not that I have the most tech advanced station but I just have too much digital mode software I use for making contacts. It is so easy to let the computer do the work, you just click your screen and the radio goes to the right frequency and the digimode does the work. When was the last time you just listened to radio without switching on your computer? For me it was not long ago, when on vacation in Denmark. I really enjoyed the simple setup I had. Just a (tr)uSDX, an homemade endfed antenna and a simple small plastic paddle. Yes, I logged on my phone, but a paper log would do. I make thousands of contacts every year but I only remember the ones that took real effort. This is one of the reasons I finally am seriously learning CW and make CW QSOs. Yes, even AI can decode morse and you can all do it with a computer. But real people make mistakes, a computer does not. This evening I had a contact with HA7RJA Rob on CW, and yes we were making mistakes but we loved it. And we knew there were real people on both ends.

What is your opinion about the fast growing tech and your daily life?

I like gardening. Doing work with my bare hands. It's the small things in life you don't need technology for. It's the simple things that make you happy. It's the things you do and build without needing technology and take real effort. And yes sometimes we have to learn that the hard way. How about you?

OZ/PE4BAS paper QSL cards

    I am not really a QSL card collector anymore but I know others do. So for my activation from Denmark last summer I made some paper cards to send around. The photo is made on the last day activation when testing out the lightweight endfed which did very well in the end. The complete card was made with the help of chatGPT. According to my XYL I do not look like that. The AI engine also changed the radio and other stuff. But actually I don't really care. It's just the idea. And most of the cards are ending in the bin anyway. For those that like the paper QSL I hope you appreciate it. Unfortunately

 I lost the FT8 log since I cannot start the laptop anymore it is completely broken now. Cards are only send out to all the CW and SSB contacts I made. But if I receive a card from a FT8 contact made I will reply.