Thursday, April 2, 2015 — I know I haven’t been that active of late, but it is time for me to return to ham radio — and to Bluegrass Ether Clippings!
My enthusiasm for Amateur Radio has been on the wane for sometime now, partly due to other areas that have demanded my time. Tuesday, March 31st was my last day as ARRL Section Manager. After serving eight years, I am looking forward to returning to life as “just another ham.”
My office is still fairly swamped with code keys …. a worn but as-found 1914 Vibroplex bug sets to my right, still wrapped in its cloth-covered wedge cord. A World War II-era Lionel J-36 sits next to the 1914; it is in great shape, just needs a repro label to look nearly as good as new.
While cleaning up the shelves next to my desk, I ran across an MFJ-422 Keyer mounted to an MFJ 564B iambic paddle. Hell, the battery still worked. I modified this one with a pushbutton switch to remove the speaker from the circuit; even at its lowest volume, the annoying sidetone on the key still is quite audible; I prefer to use my rig’s sidetone (and I wonder why they didn’t include this as a feature originally).
So yeah, I guess the CW bug lives on. I also ran across my lovely K.E. Electronics Memo 512 memory keyer. I don’t know why I bought it, other than its case is close to my favorite shade of green, “Benton Harbor Green” … hi hi! Its a versatile keyer that can key just about any solid state or tube rig.
Speaking of the MFJ-422, after using it a few moments I remembered how poorly the MFJ-564 key works in comparison to the real deal — the Bencher BY-1. I have several Benchers, including the first one I bought back in 1988. Like butter!
I’ve expected to see consolidation among key manufacturers, but I’ll admit that I didn’t really expect to read that Vibroplex has acquired the Bencher line of keys last month. It makes you wonder how the acquisition will impact Vibroplex’s line of keys.
Of course, there’s a need for keys of differing styles, feels and price points; I have Vibroplex’s Iambic in a couple of versions, and they’re excellent keys, but they have a very different feel that either the Racer line of Vibroplex keys or the Bencher offerings.
But does the market really need such variety? More importantly, can the market support the continued production of those keys?
The Vibroplex Iambic is a keeper in my book; however, I think it could be offered in fewer variations. I would offer the Standard black base and the Deluxe chrome (with upgrades for jeweled movements of course), and drop the gold plated base and the Presentation model.
In the Vibroplex Racer series, I would absolutely drop the Brass Square Racer. The triangular Brass Racer is currently not available, and my advice would be to permanently discontinue the model. The mechanism is the same as the other Racers, and it works well. I have a couple of Brass Racers but never put them on the air more than a handful of times. I prefer the square Racers in standard or chrome finish.
I would recommend looking at the sales of the Vibrocube models and either dropping the version that isn’t selling. I have never been convinced there’s a need for a six-pound key, but that’s just me. If I need a six pounds of weight to keep my key steady, I need to quit using my feet and use my hands instead, hi!
I would keep the Code Warrior Jr., its just a great little paddle perfect for travel, camping, etc. I don’t know how many Vibrokeyers the company sells these days. I would have to look at dropping the gold plated model at least. Again, sales figures and demand would tell the tale.
I’m not inclined to buy the ZN Ultimate model, though I’ve wondered about equipping a standard Iambic with the same features of the ZN. I would like to try one to just test the feel of it … I’m not a high-speed operator, so perhaps its smoothness would be loss on my fist and its Lake Erie swing.
I see that Bencher’s website has dropped its keys and Butternut antennas. The BY-1 was an affordable key, and I hope Vibroplex keeps it that way. Morsex lists the black-base BY-1 at $124.95. That’s $45 cheaper than the cheapest Vibroplex Iambic model.
I don’t know there’s a huge demand for the Bencher “ST” models — the single paddle version of the Bencher key. I’ve considered buying one, but couldn’t for the life of me understand why I need one. I would drop the gold-plated BY-3 from the line up — unless sales make it worth the trouble.
My concern is that key sales may be in a long, steady decline anyway. Only a very small percentage of new hams opt to try to learn CW.
My one regret is that I failed to buy a 90-degree Viz Key from Tom before he stopped making them. It was one of those purchases I just never got around to making.
Anyway, change is the one constant in Amateur Radio, so we’ll see what other changes are ahead. My goal is to get back on the air on CW, probably 40, between 7.110-7.125. See you on the radio.
73 es CUL de KY4Z SK … dit dit