Sunday, May 13, 2012 – I don’t know how many Cedar Rapids bugs I own, but I know its several. They are good performing keys, and I have always liked the damper — the key is one of the few that tried to create a key that didn’t “clank” as much as many other semi-automatic bugs (as many Old Timers point out to Young Whipper Snappers today, one big source of noise is if you adjust the key for a great deal of pendulum throw. Not only does it make the key clanky, it’s more tiring on your arm and wrist to slap the key around).
I was attracted to this fine example of the Cedar Rapids bug for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact it had a case. I have seen (somewhere) a Cedar Rapids bug with what was believed to be a factory (or perhaps aftermarket?) metal carrying case. As you can see in the photos, the case isn’t exactly a deluxe one. It’s form from galvanized steel. The bug is a tight fit into the unlined, unpadded case. The door on the end has a latch, but no lock.
This is not a rare key at all, but the case intrigued me, mainly because I have casually been looking for ways to create inexpensive, durable cases for my bugs. Not that I want to sell them, but it sure would be nice to have a more permanent box to store each one in, and perhaps make them easier to stack.
This Cedar Rapids key is complete, save for a missing screw on a weight. It has the factory cord, and the key is in mint condition. It hardly looks used.
RADIO VS. TELEGRAPH? One interesting note is that this key was offered as a “telegraph key” rather than a “radio key” by its maker, the Electric Specialty Manufacturing Co. What’s the difference between the “radio” key versus a “telegraph” key? The only difference is the circuit closer. The radio key did not need a circuit closer — it was a feature however that was needed if the key was used in a telegraph circuit. The Cedar Rapids bugs were available in both flavors, though it seems to me most of the ones I see are of the “radio” flavor.
All Vibroplex keys had circuit closers until the Champion model was introduced about 1939. It was considered a key for Amateur Radio use only, and did not need a circuit closer. It’s sibling bug, the Vibroplex Zephyr, was sold with a circuit closer. The only other difference between the Champion and Zephyr models was the Zephyr base was 1/2-inch narrower.
PACKING? WHAT PACKING? I have been buying bugs via eBay for … a dozen years or more, and my family members can tell when a box in the mail is a bug. They’ve also learned the “feel” of trouble in a shipping container with a bug — the telltale rattling of parts, the dents in the box created from inside the box, and the feel of a 4-pound mass moving freely inside. Its news I dread, and sure enough, the Priority Mail box had a distinctive, sickening “thunk” when you moved the box around. Ugh!!
Once in the shack with my precious cargo, I opened the box to find two big wads of shipping paper, with one layer or so wrapped around the carrying case with the Cedar Rapids bug inside. As usually happens, an item with any weight will easily compress wadded paper used as packing; at that point, the item has room to “fall” inside the box every time it is moved. And worse, it felt like the key was also banging around in the carrying case. Double ugh!!
A couple of small wads of paper were stuffed in the open end of the case to “pack” the key and keep it from moving (mega packing FAIL). I gingerly extracted the key, and the only evidence of damage I found were some very small chips on the bottom edge of the thumb piece (the paddles on these keys frequently come loose in shipping, and this one had dropped so its lower edge was resting on the key’s base. The small chips were the result of the key’s movement inside the case. Not severe injury to be sure, but certainly an aggravating one.
UNREASONABLE EXPECTATIONS? When I buy a bug, I expect the seller to pack it well. There are some wonderful sellers who go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to careful packing. These sellers are a joy to buy from, there’s never any question the key you buy is going to arrive in the same condition it was in when it was shipped. But then there are sellers — some of whom have feedback numbers in the thousands — who don’t seem to understand that an item with a lot of mass is going to flatten wadded paper when used for packing. From time to time, I have e-mailed a seller my “suggestions” for packing a key, particularly one of the few that were the more collectible ones. Invariably, the sellers I send the instructions to have been selling keys nearly as long as Vibroplex has made them.
ETHER CLIPPINGS FEEDBACK. I receive a steady stream of comments about my (mostly) incoherent ramblings in this blog, and I appreciate those who take time to read and comment. Just for the record, please understand that I do not count myself among the upper echelon of key collectors. I have neither the money nor spouse to allow me to pursue those highly prized super-collectible ones. I don’t own a tiger-striped based Mecograph, nor do I own an Autoplex. Heck, I don’t even own a Vibroplex Model X (yet!).
But I am a fan of CW and a big fan of Morse keys in general. I love buying bugs and putting them on the air whether they are rare or not. One part of my hobby is following those rare keys as they show up on eBay … please, if you decide to part with your own keys via eBay, for the sake of others like me who enjoy examining collectible keys from afar, please use larger, higher quality images with your auction ad. I’ll probably never operate a Mecograph, so your high-quality photos may be as close as many of us will ever get to giving one a close examination.
I have another homebrew bug on its way, will post photos when it arrives. And can you believe I nearly won (another) 100th Anniversary Vibroplex bug?? It’s a sickness I tell ya!
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