Thanks svassh,
This young man was giving a demo and the straight key was hooked up to a speaker so you could "hear the code". He did say that it was fully operational.
Great idea. I wonder how many people these days can understand morse code. Back when I was 15 I had a friend that learned (I think to get a shortwave radio license), but I would think that fewer and fewer people these days would be inclined to learn.
Thanks _jon,
He would send off a series of beeps and burps and his buddy across the room would write it down. It pretty much sounded like a bunch of noise to me, but there was a rhythm to it.
All of you have been great mentors!