Well, it happened. I had a relapse of bug-itis. Something about seeing “good deal!” written in print on an online auction or web site just turns my self-control to jelly … or did this weekend.
First, there's a guy who was listed a 2-year-old brand-new bug for sale. It's hardly been used, and he's shedding it … said something about having “too darned many keys” … ??? Anyway, I sent him via Paypal payment for that key (the only recent one I have are the 100th Anniversary bugs). I had these thoughts for some time about buying the basic, black-base Vibroplex bug for my standard desktop Vibroplex. That way maybe I can clear out the others (my first-year 1905 Vibroplex, my Double Lever bug and a couple of Mac Keys are gathered around the operating position at present, and I'm using the Mac Keys most of the time.
Then over the weekend, some guy early one morning lists a 1960s vintage Vibroplex Original DeLuxe with a ridiculously low But It Now price. I jumped on that key with both feet! The base has some pitting of the chrome, but the key is worth more than I paid (even with shipping) just in the parts that I could get from it. If I wanted to be fancy, I could buy a new black base ($45) or replace the chrome one ($70). I'm not one to part-out a key, but I might.
Of course, then I saw an eBay listing for a second nearly-new key, and … well, you can guess the outcome of that one!
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I have sitting in the shack an SB-102 transceiver. The rig is still in its box, I don't plan to unpack it until I have a place to set it up. I've finally caved in to nostalgia for the second rig I owned, and which really was the right I used to get my CW speed up to 13-plus wpm. With the CW filter, it wasn't a bad CW rig. I hope to use the rig on CW again, provided I can find a place for it.
My favorite CW rig right now is my Tempo 2020. Even with all its fancy DSP filtering, there's something I like better about the receive audio on the Tempo 2020. Being a hybrid rig, it doesn't drift once its warmed up, and puts out the snot just fine.
One problem I've had with the Tempo is on 15 meters. The transmitted signal is distorted, and on CW, the rig will go into oscillation (I think it does, been a while!). I have the complete Tempo line — the 8010 VFO and the matching speaker. It fills a four-foot shelf with little room to spare!
I actually have two complete Tempo 2020 stations; the second I purchased from a local ham who owned it and needed money to buy some Civil War re-enactment supplies. I really wasn't that interested in it when he put it up for sale, but he sold it for 1/4th his original asking price. He bought his Civil War supplies, and when I brought it home, it fueled the Civil War at home, too!
My goal really is to try the station out and then sell whichever pieces are surplus to my needs. I do want to keep the Temp 2020 station, but not two complete stations.
On eBay, they tend to run “hot” and “cold” on pricing these things. I've seen the transceiver alone sell for more than $350; other times you can buy a working one for way less than half that price. At any rate, the Tempo station is the next thing I'm going to test in the shack, I need to get the gear tested and either keep it or sell it.
I'm thinking of selling the three pieces — rig, VFO and speaker — in separate auctions, though I've seen that work against the value of the rig. Guess I'll get them checked out before committing to doing anything, eh?
Better run for now … 73 es CUL … de KY4Z … dit dit