Sunday, March 19, 2017 — Due to budget constraints (too many new non-Morse toys, I’m afraid!) I’ve not had the funds to pursue much in the way of keys on eBay. Well, I’m not counting the 1960 Vibroplex Lightning Bug I picked up as a “parts” key.
This key is basically complete; it took a hard hit on the keying lever, breaking off the thumb piece and popping the threaded collar loose from the top triangular pivot plate. I may just mount it upside down and let pressure hold it securely in place. I’ve had fair luck hammering these collars back in place the “keying” them to help hold them in place, so I may try that. I wouldn’t have picked up the Lightning Bug but for one thing — it was cheap. It was worth probably twice what I paid simply for parts, though let me say for certain I will NOT part this key out. Just sayin’.
ICOM 756 PRO / MFJ 969 UPDATE. I have hit on a combination that I can live with in my library shack — I just love operating the IC-756PRO, and for my rather casual operating, I’m not sure I see or hear much difference between the PRO and my Yaesu FT-2000 in the main shack. The PRO’s DSP doesn’t seem as versatile, but it is still quite a rig despite its age. I think the received audio sounds better on the PRO than the FT-2000. Of course, that may simply be how the radios are situationed, speaker quality, etc. My experience is also colored by how much I loved operating my PROIII with matching speaker and power supply.
I really, really like the scope feature. I also like the fact many of the adjustments are also displayed on the LCD. If I had the funds, I would consider replacing the FT-2000 with an Icom IC-7600. But since I don’t, I won’t. The PRO is a great second rig, and I’ve been working it on CW duty.
The MFJ-969 has its quirks, but it works well enough. The finger dimple on the roller inductor is useless because of the amount of force it takes to get the roller turning. I suspect there’s some needed lubrication somewhere. With the cover off, the little plastic ring and pinion-like gear set don’t roll smoothly. The pinion gear has considerable wobble, so that doesn’t help. Its not loose, just mounted crookedly, if that makes sense.
Despite all the really bad reviews, my example of an MFJ-969 just works as intended. The settings are repeatable, meaning that when I switch bands, I can use a 
specific set of tuner settings and get the tuner zeroed in quickly. On the non-roller MFJ tuners, I had trouble duplicating the settings from one day to the next.
Another item I’m using in Studio B is a Signalink USB. I’m using it to go digital, and its working like a charm. I had to pick up some traffic via Winlink the other day, and it worked flawlessly.
I’m still not operating a bug in Studio B. I’m running an old Bencher BY-1 I picked up for $30 on eBay. They key needed some TLC, but its in good shape and plays great.
I still have my eyes open for a better tuner, but frankly, I’m happy with the MFJ. I might take it apart to clean the roller inductor sometime but for now it really isn’t an issue. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, hi hi.
73 es CUL de KY4Z SK … dit dit …