The folks who work for the family-owned hardware store here know that most of the times when I come in I'm not there to buy hardware stuff for the house. Nine times out of 10, I'm there for something related to ham radio — wire, clips, switches, copper tubing, etc.
Janet and the others who I've dealt with forever know this, so they don't bat an eye. The part-time school kids are the ones who ask me “what's this for?”
My trip to the hardware store today was to buy hardware for my new 1938B McElroy Mac Key Deluxe. As mentioned in the post yesterday, it arrived in good shape, but minus some hardware. Replacing it wasn't as simple as I had hoped.
For starters, the hardware store was out of the proper size nylon and neoprene washers. Over the past year, I've depleted their stock of them for use with various bugs I've been working on. They have never restocked, which left me no choice but to try to use the next smaller size.
The original attachment bolt had a couple of thick fiber washers, one bakelite spacer (to insulate the bolt threads from grounding against their attachment boss cast in the key base), and one flat washer. Simple to replicate this, right? Well, sorta.
The nylon washers are paper thin, and don't give much thickness. I used two of them in the place of the fiber washers. They had nothing in stock to make the bakelite spacer from. Initially I cut a very short piece of soda straw. That didn't work because the spacer had to fill the void in the lug. The spacer needed to be large enough to fill the gap in the mounting boss, while at the same time, the hole in the spacer needed to be a snug fit for the bolt.
I considered using layers of heat shrink tubing, but I couldn't find any in the parts drawer. But I did find my pocket protector full of my Radio Shack tuning wands — which included an extension for the wands, which was nothing more than a heavy plastic tube. The extension was a bit large, and the hole in it was big, but I carefully sliced a couple of spacers for the mounting screws. So far it works.
I'm not totally satisfied with the hardware, and I'm going to make a list in order to pick up the proper size washers, and I'm going to see what I can find better for spacers. I suspect I can probably find some ink pen barrels that can be whittled to the right size.
My Frankensteinish assembly of the key still allowed me to give it a whirl and to adjust its action. I'm still working on that. This key's return spring is stretched out, so I'm still toying with it for proper tension. The key's action is a little sticky, so I'll probably remove the lever and check the pivots for rust. The contacts need cleaning too.
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My Key of the Week is still my 1936 Mac Key, as ugly as it is. It's a bit like your favorite sweatshirt — it doesn't look like much, but its very comfortable.
I've read others complaints about the Mac Keys and how clanky they are how much more effort is required to use one. Heck, I've made that observation numerous times in this blog. After playing with a variety of different Mac Key models, I've come to realize its all in the adjustment. A Mac Key can be as smooth as a Vibroplex. The devil is in the adjustments. I can probably dial in a Vibroplex to my liking in much less time.
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There's a 1938B McElroy Mac Key Deluxe currently listed on eBay by a fellow in German. Right now, the current bid is $180 — too rich for my blood. The key has a few issues, which in my book would lower its value somewhat (even for a key addict like me).
First, it has a late model Vibroplex finger knob, and a Vibroplex replacement triangular paddle (thumb piece) on the key. The key has a single weight, and the weight screw appears to be a Vibroplex adjustment screw. The key has the “thin” dot stabilizer (like my latest one has), but the arm of the stabilizer is adjusted so it doesn't do anything — the arm of the stabilizer is placed so the hook is between the keying lever and the u-shaped dot contact, touching nothing.
Shipping to the U.S. is set at $45, so this key would be a rather pricey addition to a collection.
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My curiosity got the best of me, and I found that the fellow who sold me the latest Mac Key is indeed a longtime collector. He has a well-regarded e-mail collector's newsletter that I've signed up for.
I'm planning to attend Dayton this year, so I'll be on the lookout for some of the heavyweights in the world of key collecting. I have a couple of keys I would like to get ID'ed, so perhaps I should bring some photos with me.
I would like to look at a new Vibroplex key; if nothing else I'll stock up on some parts. I have a list of needed parts, just never have completed an order yet. My wife is going, but I think she may go shopping. If she does that then I can go shopping at the fest, lol!
That's all for tonight. I'm going to tune 80 cw a while. 73 de KY4Z … dit dit …