Tonight’s episode: “Cleaning Crew” or, “What the hell is that thing doing in my clean kitchen sink?”

 

Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, 11:30 p.m. — After last night’s escapades and the missed CW net, I had time to regroup tonight and better prepare, i.e., I made sure my key worked well in advance of the net’s 9 p.m. start time.

There was quite a bit of activity on 80 CW tonight; the net had to shift down about 1 kc due to other stations occupying the band. I copied several stations seeking SKCC numbers, others chasing DX or ragchewing.

I decided to go back tonight and put my Les Logan Speed-X Model 500 on the air for the KYN. The key is pictured above, and the subject line on this blog refers to my taking the key for a brief dunk in the kitchen sink. It wasn’t much, trust me … if you look closely, you can tell the dirt and grime are largely intact, but it DID get the dust and loose dirt off the key.

I have always had a fondness for the Les Logan Speed-X bugs, particularly the “T-bar” bugs like this one. They usually tend to operate at slower speeds than most Vibroplex bugs, and I just enjoy the styling as much as anything.

The T-bar apparently goes back to the Electro Bug days, though if you examine the T-bars on both keys, they are similar but not exact duplicates.

One of my favorite features of the key is the simple damper. It just doesn’t get much simpler mechanically, its a design that is also effective and reasonably quiet; I’m sure it was much less expensive to build compared to the cast/machined damper Vibroplex was using at the time.

I also think the circuit closer switch on the Speed-X 500/501 is sexy. Yeah, I know, you’re thinking to yourself, “Self, the Crazy Bug Man has plumb lost his mind!” From a design perspective, the curved arm just is visually pleasing.

The key came with two weights, and unless I’m totally off base, I think one of the weight screws looks like one used on the Cedar Rapids Bug weights. The weight and screw may both be from a CRB.

One of the things that throws me off a little when I’m using one of the Les Logan Speed-x bugs is the fact that the early ones did not use the traditional finger and thumb piece; the Speed-X keys of that day used two paddles, which were stamped with what collectors have referred to as “bulls eyes”. The paddles are slotted, so the user can adjust the height of the paddles to the user’s preferences. That’s a nice feature most other bugs never had, though I’ll admit I always set the paddles straight out and have never adjusted them up or down when I’ve put a Speed-X on the air.

The key did fine tonight, as it always has. I have two other Model 500s tucked under the first shelf at the operating position under my Yaesu FT-2000. I haven’t used either one in ages; perhaps its time I correct that.

At any rate, I’ll continue to try to remember to check in on the CW net, and perhaps I’ll have time to put a different key on the air each time. The goal isn’t to exercise the keys in my collection (though that’s not a bad idea), but to get my CW fist (and ear) back in shape from lack of use.

CORRECTION (I THINK). I have referred to this key repeatedly in earlier entries as a Speed-X Model 501, when it is actually a Model 500. The Model 501 almost always features a chrome or nickel-plated base. The voice in my head tells me that I have a couple of Speed-X bugs that don’t follow this naming convention in my collection, your mileage may vary.

73 es CUL … de KY4Z SK   … dit  … dit …