The UPS man arrived at my house today, much to my delight. I've been impatiently waiting for one of my eBay purchases, a postwar Vibroplex bug.
The key I purchased is a honey of a key — it is much, much MUCH better than the photos (for once!).
The key is a 1948 Original. Nothing really special about the key except its condition. It's absolutely MINT, and I don't throw that word around loosely. He may have restored it, but I doubt it — unless he replaced everything except the ID plate. It's really that nice a key.
And boy howdy, it plays soooo well. Just like a new one. The one non-original part is the big weight, which looks like a recent addition. The seller said the key has a new dit contact. I don't care, it looks excellent anyway. What a nice key for its age!
I've got half a dozen keys on the shack desk already, so I promptly boxed the key back up to protect it. This one is a keeper, but I sure as hell don't want to let it get banged up due to my key-cluttered desk.
Key Fakery?
In other Vibroplex business, I ran across an interesting key tonight on eBay.
This key purports to be a 1922 Vibroplex Original, but on closer inspection you will find out it is not that at all.
The key has the base and ID tag of a 1922 Vibroplex Junior, which is slightly narrower than the standard base (3 inches vs. 3-1/2). So it isn't the “original” model — a common but forgiveable mistake.
The next problem though isn't as easy to forgive. All of the bright parts of the key, with the exception of the damper, pendulum assembly and circuit closer, are post World War II parts. If you look at the photo at right, you'll see clearly what I'm talking about.
See how much brighter the new parts are? The upright posts and the pivot frame assembly (the big part that sticks up in front)? They appear brighter because they're chrome plated — something that wasn't used on Vibroplex keys prior to 1940 or so. The metal parts were nickel plated, which gave them a color that was more of a gray which dulled down into the color you see in the pendulum. Silvery gray, and kind of dull.
So is this a 1922 key or a 1988 key? It's hard to say. It has so many non-original parts it's tough to call it a 1922 key. If I had the old parts it would be interesting to restore this key — change the frame and the other chrome parts back to their nickel counterparts. It might make a nice Vibroplex Junior key. I have one but its not this nice.
HF & MORE
I've been thoroughly enjoying my IC-746PRO. Funny too, since I have an IC-756PRO3 sitting next to it. I've just been enjoying the newer radio, perhaps because I got such a good deal on it. I do miss the bandscope a great deal.
Well, 20 meters is open and I'm off to work so DX before bed. G'night and 73, de KY4Z SK … dit dit …