I've been slacking up on my CW lately, and I was embarrassed the other night when I was taking traffic at my flubs. I have been tuning around 40 CW this afternoon, but the band is pretty quiet. Nothing shaking in the 7.100-7.125 neighborhood today. Must be senior day at Krogers across the country.
I've been running a Vibroplex Lightning Bug DeLuxe for months as my main key. I don't know why, but it is still one of the prettiest keys Vibroplex produced. My daily driver Lightning Bug looks nice, but has a some pitting in the finish. It's very, very minor. To me the key looks better than the Original, and because it is built with stamped steel parts rather than castings for the main frame and damper, it has to be cheaper to build.
Since I had to cancel my Dayton trip at the last minute, I didn't get to stop at the Vibroplex booth to chat with Mitch, the owner. I've really wondered what kind of sales the company has these days. The truth is, if the company ever went up for sale, I would be willing to invest in it and move it to Kentucky. Again, I don't know what kind of demand he has for keys. The damn keys are built to last forever, and they do. My Lightning Bug was built when the company relocated to Maine, though the name plate has the New York address on it. They had to use up all the old plates before they changed them.
My Lightning Bug is one of the last produced by Vibrpoplex in 1976 before the company was sold in 1979 by the family that had owned it for 65 years. Vibroplex moved to Maine until Mitch W4OA bought it and moved it to Mobile, Ala. When the company was sold in 1979, there were nine different Vibroplex keys available, including the Original, the Lightning Bug, the Champion and Blue Racer. After the move to Maine, Vibroplex dropped all the other model bugs and only offered the Original.
The whole purpose of making the Champion and Lightning Bug models was lower manufacturing costs. I guess demand for keys is such now that there is no need for a lower-priced version. One aspect I like about the Lightning Bug is that it is a quieter key to operate. The damper on the Original will clack pretty loudly when used; the damper on the Lightning Bug, if adjusted correctly, is nearly silent (or at least much quieter).
I haven't purchased a bug lately, and for good reason. I really need to thin out the herd a bit. There have been a few rare bugs sold lately, one of which was a very, very rare bug that was one of the earliest one produced. It sold for more than $5,600, and was missing parts to boot.
I'm setting the