Connecting the straight key

After going through the manual for the HD-10, I learned that the terminals on the rear of the HD-10 could be used to attach a key. So off to the garage I went to put some terminal connectors on some wires to use to hook up the J-38 key to the HD-10.

It took a couple of tries before I figured out where the wires were supposed to go on the J-38. There are lots of pictures of J-38 keys on the internet, but not too many that show how the wires are supposed to be attached (the terminals are the two on the inside).

J-38 straight key and HD-10 keyer
J-38 straight key and HD-10 keyer

With everything connected, tapping the key made the keyer make noises and I managed to make some Morse Code sounding noises with the key. Now they can sit on the desk next to me so that I can practice tapping out Morse Code whenever I feel like.

I still need to take the key off the base and clean it up a bit, and then make up a cable that I can use to plug the J-38 into the radio with. Also thinking about seeing if I can find a nice block of wood to attach the J-38 key to for a more solid base and to elevate the key a bit.