Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 –– While digging around the shack a couple of nights ago I spotted a key that I hadn’t seen lately — my second Bunnell Gold Bug, serial no. 439.
The first one i have is original and complete, and I keep it stored very safely and securely. In late 2013, another Gold Bug showed up on eBay. This one, however was not as complete; it was missing the Gold Bug nameplate on the base. It also is missing the weight and the circuit closer. The key, as you can tell in the photos, was polished in the past; polish residue is still evident in the key’s nooks and crannies.
I got the key out and decided to give it a try. My memory told me that the Gold Bug historically wasn’t that great a performer — which is likely why so few were sold.
This Gold Bug was no different, though it actually did get adjusted to the point I felt I would put it on the air and could send reliably with it. The only thing that stopped me from using it to check into tonight’s Georgia CW Net was the dah contact was dirty and I ran out of time fussing with it to clean it. Tonight or tomorrow night I’ll have more time to spend on clean up the contacts. I also need to fashion and weight for it that resembles the original.
TOO NICE TO PASS UP. As stated in the space earlier, since I already have duplicate bugs (and in some cases, duplicates of the duplicates) in my collection, I tend to follow the less common keys on eBay. Unfortunately, “following” is easy; “paying” is the tricky part.
But last week I saw a Bunnell Martin Flash key listed with a decent Buy It Now price, or Make An Offer. The key was the 5-48, basically a Vibroplex clone.
Its an interesting story about Martin Research & Manufacturing, which was a firm started by two of Horace Martin’s sons. They began in the late 1930s, and by 1939, sold out to Bunnell, who then sold the keys as Bunnell Martin keys in the 1940s.
I don’t own any MRM or Bunnell Martin keys; they just alway seemed to be priced a little higher than I wanted to pay (or there was something else I wanted worse on eBay!). But this looked like an opportunity to score a key I don’t already own. Rather than hit the Buy It Now, I sent the seller an offer, which he immediately jumped on.
The photos show the key in just near-pristine condition. I can only hope it arrives in as beautiful condition as indicated in the photos. The key comes with a carrying case, and obviously, the key spent most of its life in the case.
There have been a number of really nice, really collectible keys on eBay recently. My wife was off work for more than a month in November and December, so I’ve not been bidding on most of them, just watching.
Some interesting keys I should have bid on but didn’t include:
- A 1938B Mac Key standard in dirty but good condition with replacement paddles and weight — it sold for $79.
- A 1907 Norcross Double Lever key in original condition — sold for $990. This is probably one of the rarer Norcross bugs out there; apparently six bidders agree! Congrats to the lucky winner!
- 1906 Mecograph No. 3 right-angle bug — sold for $245.50. I don’t own a Mecograph, but this would have been one worth sniping (if I had $245.50 to spend, hi hi)
- The first chrome Vibroplex Vibrocube with a letter from Vibroplex owner Scott Robbins attesting to this fact. This key did NOT sell; the $172 highest bid did not reach the reserve. Not sure how collectible it really is, but its still pretty cool to have that documentation.
- A brand new Alberto Frattini I1QOD bug, which sold for $810.
- A like-new Knoxville Vibroplex Square Racer with black base that sold for $88.88. It was listed as a Buy It Now key, and I was surprised no one jumped on it sooner. I nearly did so, but decided to hang onto my money. The truth is I’m more likely to use a bug than an iambic paddle. The key was an outstanding value for the money.
RADIO FUND REPLENISH. I have yet to seriously hit our attic and shed our home of ham radio goodies I haven’t used for a while, and unlikely to ever use — including some eBay purchases that I never took from the box.
“Bug man,” you’re thinking to yourself, “How the heck did THAT happen??”
Good question!
At one point in my ham radio hobby, I was hot for vintage radio gear. I wanted to get as much Hallicrafters and National gear as I could afford to get my hands on. At one point I owned a National NCX-5, a National NCX-200 and the NCX-500 transceivers. The NCX-5 I sold, but the 200 and 500 remain boxed in the attic for lack of room in the shack. I also have the National “dream receiver,” the NC-300. It too is in a box in the attic, as is a Hallicrafters SX-101 receiver.
What I would like to do eventually is to recreate the vintage HF station I once had — the Hallicrafters SX-101 and the HT-32A transmitter. I sold both way too cheap back when I wanted to buy my first solid-state HF rig, the Yaeus FT-757GX.
So yeah, I have a bunch of stuff I need to pull out and sell. Part of the problem is that I really don’t want to take time to test every piece, and I hate the idea of using those tired old refrains, “it was working when it was last used,” or “powers on, but not tested further.” I could build up my radio fund if I take time to liquidate the stuff I’ve lost interest in (the only problem with that is in the process of getting the stuff out to check it out, I have second thoughts at selling it. I’m a sucker for a warm vacuum tube, hi!