Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 — Been a while since I updated here, so I’ll catch you guys up on what I’ve been up to.
Painting.
I’ve missed quite a few CW nets as a result, but did manage to check in the last couple of nights. We’ve had some nights the band went really long prior to the net, and the NCS was barely copyable, and he was unable to copy my signal. Even tonight, one of the stations that was in a skip zone was weak as pond water … I wasn’t using headphones, which I suspect would have helped.
[youtube=https://youtu.be/TE_RB_smxKs]
I’m back to using my 1936 Vibroplex Lightning Bug, and I’m posting a video I made a few weeks ago about the key. While using it I had noticed the dash contact slide mounted on the keying lever had to be set so the contact as actually placed higher than the top of the keying lever. Of course, there’s plenty of room for adjustment and they key operated fine; the lever just seemed to sit lower than normal.
The video explains why — at some point the top triangular plate with the threaded collar was removed and re-installed upside down. Watch the short video for more.
Since I shot the video, I reversed the top plate, which also required me to adjust the lower pivot and raise it substantially. Interestingly, the locking screw for the lower pivot was loose; whoever flipped the top plate never re-tightened the lower pivot lock screw. The key operates as nicely as it did before; not sure why the top plate was reversed. It had nothing to do with the collar on the top plate being loose.
NEAR MISS ON A VERY RARE KEY. I haven’t seriously pursued a key until recently when a really nice Norcross bug showed up on eBay. I really didn’t have the money to go all-out, but I did anyway — and was still out-bid. The key was in really good condition, and the seller was probably shocked the final bid price was just over $900. I pursued it to $890 and change, which was higher than I probably should have, but I couldn’t resist a chance to bid on a very rare key.
There have been some very nice buys on used bugs on eBay; just plain keys — standard or deluxe finish — but solid condition and reliable. I still don’t own a Knoxville key in my collection, and I need to buy one. What I really want is a 100th anniversary Knoxville bug.
FRAGILE 100TH ANNIVERSARY FINISH. For the past couple of months I’ve been using a number of bugs other than the 1936 Lightning Bug, and apparently, during my shuffles of keys, I’ve knocked a chip of paint off the right-front corner of my 100th Anniversary Vibroplex. Not a big chip mind you, but any damage to one of my 100th Anniversary keys is serious business.
This 100th Anniversary key was the one that suffered considerable damage while it was in transit during shipping. The key was getting banged around so hard the main spring broke in two, and the weight rod and weight banged the finish mostly on the base near the damper. Using a toothpick as a brush, I used some black enamel paint to put small amounts of paint into the chips. The paint flowed out as it dried, and the damage is only noticeable if you look closely. Last night I used the same toothpick method to touch up the newest chip.
Let this be a warning — if you acquire one of the 100th Anniversary Vibroplex keys, be aware how fragile the finish is. The black finish is nowhere near as durable as the old Japanned finish or the later crackle/texture finishes.
There is a 100th Anniversary key that’s on eBay and has been listed for quite a few weeks. The Buy It Now price dropped to $275 before going up to $295, which is where it is now. The key is in good condition — with the exception of gold carriage striping, which shows wear in several spots. Apparently the striping is fairly prone to wear as well.
73 es CUL de KY4Z SK … dit dit