Lytle Triplex, Wilcox, and Xograph Keys


Lytle Triplex

The first rotatable semiautomatic bug was introduced in 1924 and was called the Lytle Triplex. It was intended to be used left- handed, right-handed or as a straight key. Manufactured by the Precision Thermometer and Instrument Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it sits on a relatively small base and has an oddly shaped damper.


Xograph

"In the 1920's, Rolph Brown of the Canadian Pacific Telegraph Company in Toronto brought out a bug which he called the "Xograph." This was a neat small bug with a black or nickeled base."
--History of the Canadian Key by Murray Willer




A fire alarm in a simple form consists of a thermostat and a bell. The thermostat is composed of a bimetallic spring (shown in orange and gray) bent into a crescent. Copper is on the outside of the spring, and expands more than the steel on the inside. As the temperature goes up, the spring elongates and the copper bends the spring downward toward the contact point. When the temperature hits 130 degrees Fahrenheit, contact is made and the alarm bell rings. In the example above, touch your mouse to the mercury in the thermometer. Slowly raise the temperature until it is above 130 degrees. As the temperature rises, the bimetallic strip slowly elongates and bends downward toward the contact.
Click here to see an explanation of how the bell works!

F.A. Wilcox Key

"Another Canadian, Fred Wilcox of the Canadian National Telegraph Company of Toronto, was an excellent machinist. He even had a machine shop at home and, in the 1920's and 30's, built a number of bugs for his telegraph friends. Fred did not use standard tooling and his various bugs show slight differences in detail. However, all had heavy nickeled steel or brass bases."
--History of the Canadian Key by Murray Willer


NWRR Tel key

This key may be a bit of a hybrid, as the lever arm doesn't look quite right, but the base and hardware of this key make it likely a key from the Canadian Northwest Railroad. The hardware is quite distinctive, with large nippled screwheads and heavy construction. This key was obtained at the Wellington, Ohio hamfest, a relatively short distance from the Canadian border.




A cell is an apparatus for producing a current of electricity by chemical action. A battery consists of a number of cells joined together. A cell usually consists of two different conductors immersed in a solution of acid. Chemical action is set up by the acid attacking the zinc in this case, and the energy liberated by the dissolving of the zinc appears in the form of a current of electricity. Hold your mouse down on the cell to connect the two electrodes and start the flow of electrons from the submerged zinc to the submerged carbon and back through the connector! The current will continue as long as there is any chemical action going on, until the zinc plate is all dissolved, or the acid all neutralized by its solution. Adapted from "The Elementary Principles of Wireless Telegraphy" by R.D. Bangay.




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