Before I detail the goodies, I need to mention a “baddie.”
I won the auction for a 1913 Vibroplex Key out of Canada. The key was in “original” condition, which meant it needed cleanup, etc.
I paid a healthy price for the key, though I realized I was paying a premium price for it. It's an old key with mostly original hardware. Not bad for a 95-year-old key!
Well, the key has been rode hard and put up wet. The base has been very crappily repainted. The bright parts are fair, but the damper — which is the original squared-off style — is pretty crappy looking.
The key arrived in a box with minimal packing. Wait, that's being too generous. Here's what the seller did.
There was no padding or packing on the bottom of the box. He set the key in, added a couple of wads of paper and two cardboard wedges, and shipped it on its way.
The poor key had the shit beaten out of it. The original feet, which were harden rubber by this time, were mostly shattered by the rough transit to my QTH. I wasn't impressed with this guy's packing job, to say the least. I'm still not sure what to do with the key, but I'm going to let him know via feedback that his crappy packing job was not appreciated.
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I've got a couple of new keys coming, and these are some of my latest eBay “catches.”
The first is a homebrew bug — that's right, a key made from brass in the Vibroplex style. There's no date on the key or callsign, so it's really a pretty anonymous piece. But it looks well made and executed.
Another acquisition is what I'm calling my “Bastard Key.”
This key is — or WAS — a Vibroplex Original bug that's been bastardized by making it into an iambic paddle. This isn't something new, but what IS new is that the owner added a straight key to the rear half of the bug's base! YIKES! Check out the photo, this is a Frankenstein creation of the first order! It was so ugly I had to have it, if that makes sense. It's proof of “A Good Bug Gone Bad!” HI HI …
In addition to this, I have a Skillman bug coming, and a mint condition Vibroplex Original De Luxe with a Vibroplex hard case. This one is a beauty, with the only missing item being the red decorative “jewel” on the frame where the lever pivots.
The “jewel” is something of a misnomer anyway. The De Luxe and Presentation Vibroplex keys have jeweled movements, or pivot points. The decorative “jewel” is simply a small dot of red plastic that's glued in place.
Years ago, the plastic jewel actually screwed in to the hole in the frame (the chrome part). And for a time, the red “jewel” was incorporated into the actual upper pivot point. In addition to the “real” jewel on the pivot point, the top end of the threaded pivot point had a red plastic “jewel”. I have a couple of Vibroplex keys with this type of pivot point. The majority of them have the seperate glued-in jewel.
The damn jewel is $5 from vibroplex, too, and that's a rip off of sorts. I love the keys and the company, but $5 for a piece of formed red plastic that's half the diameter of a pencil eraser just rubs me the wrong way. But, you have to have the parts, so I don't complain — though I've considered making my own. If I could find a translucent red plastic, I would definitely give it a try.
Back to my new Original De Luxe with case. Frankly, I don't need another Original De Luxe. I have several. But this one included a case in good condition. The key was listed with a Buy It Now price of $100 — and that was too attractive to pass up. The case along will bring nearly $50. I didn't see a down side to this purchase.
Other eBay musings ….
I've been cleaning up a recent eBay purchase that I mentioned some time back — yet another Cedar Rapids Bug.
This key (shown below), isn't the cleanest example of the Cedar Rapids Bug in my collection. I got it for a good price, and it was complete despite the evident wear.
I've spent some time cleaning it (it was filthy) and doing some work on it.
The damper was missing the rubber ring. I went to the auto parts store about bought an o-ring of approximately the correct thickness. It was way too long for the damper wheel, so I cut a section out and crazy glued it back together. That worked very well. I've done that with o-rings before on my old Heathkit SB rigs … they used o-rings to tie the tuning mechanisms together, like belts. To replace one you have to damned near disassemble the rig … or do it like I did, and cut the o-ring and glue it back together. Trust me, its a timesaver that works.
The key cleaned up very nicely. The pivot frame has some paint chips on it, and the chrome needs some cleaning. I did not disassemble the key to clean it top to bottom. The key actually has a very nice action to it, and I spent some time tonight adjusting it for on-the-air use. It's a pretty sweet key, believe it or not.
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I just get a kick from these old keys sometimes. They've been around half-a-century, and they're still working like a champ. Such simplicity and reliability is uncommon in today's devices.
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I'm looking forward to getting my Bastard Bug here. It was one of those things that you don't see very often. It was unusual, though I don't believe I'll try to return it to a full-fledged “bug.” It's really kind of a testamonial to how hams adapted their old gear as iambic keying really took off in the 1960s.
There were even magazine articles showing how to butcher — I mean convert — a bug into an iambic paddle or single lever paddle arrangement. What makes this one so unique is that the guy who did it went to the trouble to add a straight key to the unused “rear” portion of the base. No use having that part taking up space, right? The guy actually made the key a dual use key. He obviously put some thought into what he wanted to have on his desk, and this way he killed two birds with one proverbial stone.
Well, that's all for this trip. I'll report in as my bugs get here and I get to play with them.
73 es CUL … de KY4Z SK …. dit dit ….