J-38 Telegraph Key - The OG of CW keys! 

When I became a Novice in 1994, I was using a NCX-200 and the ham I purchased it from gave me the J-38. I have been using it for the last 28 years. I still love and use it weekly. It's a great way to learn the code and to practice spacing your words out. Straight Keys are a blast ! Good Luck in your J38 education ! and thanks for the great video !! 73

I've been licensed for almost 30 years and using CW for all of that time. Only recently have I decided to start looking for something besides my trusty Speed-X if I'm going to use a straight key. Thank you for your excellent summary on the J-38, especially the shorting bar. I thought it was for tuning up, and of course it can be used for that, but your explanation gave an option I hadn't thought of. Many thanks!

You did a damn credible job describing this piece of history, old son. Best of luck with your quest to learn the code! You're starting off right with the J-38. 72/73 de k6whp dit dit

The key was actually a WW2 training key, the J-37 and J-44 and a few other variants were the ones actually used in battle, The J-37 used a leaf spring and was a much better design for battle conditions J

I have an original J-38 that is complete. All of the original screws on the plastic base. The brass bar at the top has the original thumbscrews. Got it for $1 USD at a thrift store when I was a kid.

It's a thing of beauty brother! !♡♡♡

Excellent video Jim. A piece of history right there. I do not know CW myself but hope to one day. Looking forward to seeing future videos from you on this.

Dub-ya! That is a pretty sweet looking key 👍

I'm expecting two of these next week from Ebay, one I bought outright, and the other I won on an auction. I also will be giving them some TLC upon arrival - Brasso is my friend!

the shorting bar is handy for initiating a tune cycle or metering for swr and power... hope your cw training is going well... i found that learning was easier with a paddle, and then a single lever (Vibrokeyer) for accuracy