Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018 — I found a couple of unopened USPS Priority Mail boxes in the backseat of my old Suzuki Sidekick in the barn this afternoon. Woo hoo! Like Christmas in … September!
I often leave packages in the car when I get them with the aim of taking them in when I have time to deal with the contents (that’s code words that mean “When 
the XYL is doing yoga with her cousin.”). One of them was from All-Electronics, and contained power resistors for a project involving a Mon-Key I’ve been working on.
But the second had sufficient heft to be just one thing — a Morse code bug! And sure enough, carefully packed inside was a beautiful example of a late-model Bunnell Gold Bug. It was a purchase from Oct. 2017, back at a time when I had money to pursue a really nice key, lol.
This Gold Bug is Serial No. 918 and has the adjustable paddle. The patina is wonderful. From my research, it seems like the adjustable paddle was added somewhere between SN 600 and around 700. I know it is widely believed about 1,000 Gold Bugs were manufactured, though I have seen serial numbers of 1078 and 1123, which is the highest serial number I recall seeing (so far!).
Personally, the Gold Bug is a little tricky to set up, and I keep having issues with dits that are too “light” and barely there. Perhaps I’m not adjusting it correctly, which is very possible.
All in all, I’m delighted to have this key in my collection, it is the best Gold Bug I own by far, and it is the latest serial number Gold Bug and the only one with the adjustable paddle.
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT ON MY DESK …. I had a large pile of things in the corner of my desk … one of those piles that depend on the wall for support … and I was sorting through it and putting things away when I found a like-new Vibroplex Code Warrior Jr. that I had picked up on eBay probably a year or more ago. This one hadn’t even been adjusted for use yet … the screws that control the “return” magnet attraction were adjusted to the point they were almost touching the magnets … it was the stiffest set of paddles I’d ever felt.
I’m a sucker for the Code Warrior Jr. … partly because I discovered the key when it was still a kit sold by the NorCal QRP club. The first one I purchased was at a long-discontinued hamfest in Ohio. I still like the design and when properly adjusted, the feel of the key. It makes a great key for the desktop as long as you don’t muscle it around.
SPEAKING OF VIBROPLEX. When I’m not using a bug, my key of choice in most cases is the Vibrocube Standard. And believe it or not, one of the parts I like best is not the weight of the key, but the paddles. I enjoy having the big paddles. In fact, I like the large “clown shoe” paddle better than I do the paddle used on the usual Vibroplex Iambic keys. I’m thinking of investing in the “oversize” conversion paddles that Vibroplex offers on my Vibroplex Iambic standard. I just never liked those paddles, and I’m thinking with the larger ones I’ll enjoy the smaller Iambic much more. Just a hunch, hi hi!
73 es CUL de KY4Z … SK SK …. dit dit …