German Spark Keys

 

The Germans were involved in the development of wireless telegraph at a very early date. Professor Adolf Slaby, the head of the electrical engineering department at the Berlin Technical University, participated in Marconi's experiments with wireless telegraph in England in 1897.

Slaby repeated Marconi's experiments back in Germany and developed them further with the help of his assistant, Count Georg von Arco.

In order to develop wireless telegraph commercially, the company AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitats Gesellschaft) set up a radio engineering laboratory for Slaby & Arco in 1898. This radio division was known as Slaby-Arco.

In 1903, Dr. Karl Ferdinand Braun, who was working with Siemens & Halske, merged with Slaby-Arco, and formed a new company, furthering the development of wireless telegraph.

One notable innovation introduced by this team was the "blow-out magnet", an electromagnet positioned around the telegraph key contact, which was used to suppress the spark that was generated during transmission.

 

(Click on the pictures below to see larger versions of the photo)

 

A couple examples of very early German spark keys by Braun & Slaby-Arco that used "blow-out" magnets in the base under the contact for spark suppression.

 

 

Early wood based German spark key by Deutch Telefonwerk & Kabelindustrie.

 

 

 

		Telefunken postal style spark key with large contacts.

 

 

 

Slaby-Arco aircraft spark key. The tall knob makes it easier for the pilot to operate.

 

 

 

Another spark key by Slaby-Arco. Looks similar to the Telefunken Type HT3 pictured below.

 

 

 

A Dutch spark key, Type SS11, by P.M. Tamson, The Hague. VERY similar in design to the Slaby-Arco key above.

 

 

 

Telefunken T.S. 197 step lever spark key. Uses a ball bearing seated in a socket in the contact to increase surface area of the contact. (Gil Schlehman K9WDY Collection)

 

 

 

Another ball-contact key, the Telefunken H.T. 395, which is pretty much identical to the T.S. 197

 

 

 

Telefunken HT-3 spark key. The key in the middle, with larger contacts, is in the AWA Museum in E. Bloomfield, NY.

 

 

Another version of the Telefunken HT-3 spark key with the rear contact isolated from the rest of the base.

 

 

 

A third version of the Telefunken HT-3 with an auxilliary contact lever on the side.

 

 

 

German Flameproof key, possibly for airplane use. Key components made of aluminum to reduce weight in the plane.

 

 

 

Another version of the Aluminum frame German Flameproof key

 

 

 

Another German Flameproof key, possibly used on WW1 aircraft. (w1tp.com)