Monday, April 30, 2018 — Just a quick update here on the E.F. Johnson straight key I bought mounted to that cast iron base a week or so back. Yes, the base was indeed the cast iron base for an early model Emory Go-Devil bug. Of course, there’s nothing more than the base there to show for it, but it is what it is. Can’t imagine stripping the parts off to mount a straight key on the base, but perhaps the fellow who bought the Go-Devil didn’t like it. See the advertising, the G0-Devil made some big promises.
VERTICAL MADE WAVE$! The Vibroplex Vertical listed on eBay last week sold with a final bid of $3,405.59 — actually less than I had figured it would sell for. Of course, it was not in great condition, but never the less, the key appeared complete and hey — its a dang vertical!! Rare, rare, rare, rare!
Actually, the top bid may have been well over the final amount — the buyer submitted his final bid roughly five hours prior to the end of the auction, which to me, tells me it was probably a bid amount that was the maximum the bidder was willing to pay.
On eBay auctions, I like to check the timing of the bids in the final couple of minutes. In this case, there were only three bids on the day the auction closed (April 25, 2018). The first, at 4:40:26AM Pacific Time, left the winning bid at $3,125. That bid lasted until 10:40:27AM Pacific Time, when the bid of $3,355.59 was submitted at 10:40:27AM Pacific Time. That bid however was topped by a bid submitted at 5:46 AM Pacific Time that left the winning and final bid at $3,405.59.
Unlike bids for less expensive items, the final minute was not peppered with bids. The second to last bid was the only bid submitted in the auction’s final minute (4 seconds before the listing ended!). Congrats to the new owner of the Vibroplex Vertical! I would love to have been in the bidding for the key, but our finances — well, MY ham radio finances particularly — would not allow such a high-dollar purchase. There’s always next time, eh??
GOING POSTAL? NOT THIS TIME 🙁 Another key I was watching was a Postal Telegraph bug. According to what I’ve read, most of these bugs were destroyed by the companywhen the Postal Telegraph Cable Company merged with AT&T in 1945. I haven’t seen one on eBay that I can recall in recent years. The one that was listed sold for a final bid of $510, which I thought was a reasonable price for a hard-to-find bug. However, as we all know, scarcity doesn’t always equate to monetary value. The allure and sex appeal compared between the Vibroplex Vertical and the Postal Bug, well that contest goes to the Vertical, no contest. Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.
Until next time … 73 es CUL de KY4Z SK …. dit dit …