Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 — I don’t keep track of contests, but given the fact that I enjoy checking into CW nets, I should. After a productive Saturday here at home, I was settled into Studio B and ready to check into my Georgia CW net — if I could find it.
Yes, its Novemer CW Sweepstakes weekend, and there are strong CW signals every 250 Hertz across much of 80 meters. The NCS began the net preamble sandwitched between three strong contesters … I copied him fine, but apparently the QRM was so tough on his end he couldn’t copy me. Go figure!
I spent most of the day outside mowing, and as a result, missed out the end the auction of some very nice collectible keyes.
1906 VIBROPLEX. The first was a second-year Vibroplex Original that was unique because a previous owner had fashioned a carry handle between the main pivot frame and the damper. It sold worth the money in my book.
COLLECTIBLE AUSSIE KEY. Another nice collectible key was a Levenson “Like A Flash” bug that sold today worth the money. My interest in it was mostly because the label — which is silk-screened on the base or some sort of decal — was in much better condition than in the example I own.
E.O. JONES BUG? I was also watching a key that was new to me — an E.O. Jones bug. I haven’t taken time to research who Jones was, but the key is a replica of the Vibroplex Lightning Bug with a chromed “deluxe finish” base. There were some subtle differences; for example the upright posts on the triangular pivot frame were flush with the upper part and did not have screw heads. The bug looks homebrew, but the machining looks excellent throughout. It didn’t bring a great deal of money, but as you may know, I have a soft spot in my heart (head?) for homebrew keys.
EBAY MUSINGS. Most of my latest eBay activity has been non-ham related. For example, I lost a fluid-head video tripod that I use all the time, so I had to try to find a replacement that was both adquate and affordable. One word of caution regarding the terms “fluid head” when it comes to tri-pods.
Some sellers think if a tripod has a bubble level on it, then it is a “fluid head” tripod.
No, not exactly. You have to look for the words “fluid drag” tripod, and if the seller has the original box, its best to be able find the key words on the box.
Of course, the first tripod I bought was not what I wanted, but it was suitable to “get by” … not as smooth as a true quality fluid head tripod, but in a pinch, it worked. Of course, after the replacement arrived, my wife informs me that she found the tripod in the back of her Jeep Patriot. Go figure!
OTHER EBAY STUFF? I didn’t realize it at the time, but finding a copy of the Heathkit HW-99 manual and schematic is tough — I finally found that Joe Fairclough, WB2JKJ, the teacher who was head of the “Crew at 22”, had a number of Heathkit manuals for sale to raise money for his non-profit efforts, and sure enough, he had a copy of the HW-99 manual.
I also found someone selling the manual for the Heathkit SB-104, which I also needed in order to replace the appropriate VFO caps in the HW-99 with those from the SB-104 VFO. Complicated, itsn’t it??
On a lark recently, I also made an offer on a really nice Heathkit SB-102 transceiver. It needs the rubber belts replaced, and have those ready to install already. I really want to recreate my Novice/Technician days CW station, and the SB-102 I had worked really, really well. I ended up with the SB-640 external VFO and the SB-630 station monitor. I really didn’t care for the station monitor, and never had it on the operating desk. My station consisted of the SB-102, SB-600 speaker with power supply mounted inside, the SB-640 VFO and the HD-1410.
I still have the HD-1410 and only set it aside when I bought my first Bencher BY-1 that I used with my first solid-state rig, the Yaesu FT-757GX, which had an internal keyer.
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