That was what went through my mind last night while working on one of my Vibroplex Morse code keys.
The key in question was on of the ones I bought earlier this year that turned out to be big disappointments. In the photo on the eBay listing, the key look pretty complete … not perfect, but mostly complete and unmolested.
It is a 1945 model Vibroplex Original Standard, which means it has a black crackle-painted base and chrome-plated parts attached to that base. It is capable of sending 50 words per minute morse code by a trained operator. Vibroplex, then based in New York City, built nearly 11,000 of these keys in 1945.
I bought the key because it turned out cheap; the original finger and thumb piece had been replaced with a thick homebrew single paddle. The paddle was well executed, but I prefer the original pieces.
The key also did not have a circuit closer switch; it appears to never had had one, which means this key was built as a radioman's Morse code key. Landline telegraphers required a key with a sliding switch to close the line to bypass the key when not in use.
It was only after it arrived that I saw the details I could not really see clearly in the eBay auction photo. For starters, the finish quality of the chrome parts was crap. I mean it looked rough and pitted — not at all smooth like it usually should be. The damper and frame (the large chrome plated cast metal upright parts) should be chrome plated and smooth as a baby's behind. These looked dull and had a rough, pitted surface texture. All the polishing in the world wouldn't help these parts.
I set the key aside for a couple of months. It rattled around in the back of my SUV for a while too.
Anyway, last night I decided it was worth cleaning up one of my Vibroplex keys to take to Field Day this year. I chose this one because of any of my keys, it was the least likely to break my heart if it was lost or stolen or damaged. But before Field Day, I figured I would clean it up some.
And boy howdy, did it clean up.
No, the chrome really didn't improve, but the rest of the key did. The base, which looked terribly dirty and stained, turned out to be nearly perfect. All the chrome cleaned up well; even the ID plate cleaned up, though it's important to note that the ID plate during WWII was made of tin rather than brass. Brass was needed for the war effort, so the company replaced the brass ID plates with ones made from tin but varnished to resemble brass.
As the key seemed to come back to life with the good cleaning I gave it, its history finally seemed to hit home with me. This key was built late in the war, and I suspect that quality metal casting and chrome plating were really more in demand for the war effot. The mediocre quality of the finish of the large cast parts of this key aren't a result of age — they were manufactured the way they are.
The chrome is imperfect because that's the way it was made. It was wartime America, and I think the fact that it was manufactured at all says a lot of the determination of the company to fill war needs.
I'm going to take the key to Field Day, but I'm also now very, very proud of this key. It's a relic of World War II, and a testimony to how people got by and made do. I'll be very careful with my WWII baby, after all, it has a wonderful 60-year-old story to tell.
That's it for now, I'm back to the shack.
73 es CUL … de KY4Z 73 …. SK dit dit …..