Thursday, July 4, 2019 — I trust eveyone had a good 4th holiday. Mine was pretty low key, thanks to a backache I’m nursing. I had plans to do some things outside today but opted not to aggravate my sore back.
My wife was off work today, so that also changed whatever plans I may have been planning, hi hi.
EBAY MUSINGS. If you keep an eye on the code key listings on eBay, I’m sure you have probably seen the listing for what purports to be a chrome-plated version of the Vibroplex Code Warrior Jr.
The key has been listed for sometime now, and has a decent Buy It Now price. Of course, what the seller doesn’t realize is that the key is hot the Vibroplex Code Warrior Jr. — it is the original incarnation of the K8FF key when it was available as a kit from the Norcal QRP Club.
The Norcal club held a key design contest in 1997, and K8FF, Wayne Smith, had the winning design. The club subsequently kitted his design and offered it for sale to the public.
The key in the photo is the one listed on eBay, and the original base appears to have been stripped of paint and chrome plated. The plated base makes it a nice-looking key, but it obviously isn’t the Vibroplex version.
I have two or three of the K8FF kit versions, and they’re all solid, but admittedly, Vibroplex’s version is easier to adjust thanks to the lock nuts. The secret to using the K8FF / Code Warrior Jr. key is to set the tension so it doesn’t require a heavy hand. If the tension is high, you’ll wind up batting the key around the operating position — which is one of the frequent complaints about the key on eHam.net reviews.
Another complaint is the vertical play in the lever arms. Its kinda just the way the key is designed — the use of the oil impregnated sleeve bearings leaves some play in the lever.
The YouTube video below shows how one enterprising ham eliminated most of the vertical play in his Code Warrior Jr. — something I think I’m going to try on one of my Code Warrior Jrs.
100th ANNIVERSARY VIBROPLEX. Yeah, I know — like I need another one. Well, this one — SN 436 — is your run-of-the-mill (pun intended) 100th Anniversary key, but what made it interesting is that the buyer opted to purchase what I wanted to buy but did not — a matching wooden case with a matching serial number plate.
The key and case are all in mint condition, and this is the first “modern” era key case I own. Vibroplex dropped offering the case at some point, apparently when the company was purchased and moved to Tennessee.
I’m back at work shedding some surplus gear in the shack — not sure what I’ll use the proceeds for, but I’ll cross the bridge when I get to it.
I would love to make some room in the shack to set up some different rigs — I would love to have my SX-117/HT-44 Hallicrafters station on the air, or my Heathkit SB-102. Stay tuned!
73 es CUL … de KY4Z SK …. dit dit! ….
