This simple Morse Code practice device dates back fifty years, to the May 1966 issue of Boys’ Life.  At the time, Scouts had to know both semaphore and Morse Code to earn the First Class rank, and this set let them practice sending and receiving Morse Code via the “wigwag” method, using a flag.

According to the magazine, the idea was sent in by Scouts from Troop 240 of Fair Lawn, N.J. It was simplicity itself–it was just a block of wood, with a small version of the flag mounted on a coat-hanger wire. The code was printed on top of the block, and “even a Tenderfoot can send messages–since he can read code from board–and he’ll unconsciously start learning the code early.”

The bill of materials called for a piece of red felt, a white patch for the middle, a coat hanger, some tape, a pine block, and “one ambitious Scout.”

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