Well, it's not all quite THAT bad, but its been a very frustrating day as far as all things Morse are considered.
First, let me back up a couple of days. Our dog decided there absolutely MUST be a cat beneath one of the benches in my shack — the bench being the one I have packed with boxes of a variety of things, including bugs in their original Vibroplex carrying cases — and he proceeded to excavate the area under the desk. He dug out every damn thing! I would have horse whipped him if I only had a horse!!
I have sorta cleaned up the debris; nothing seems seriously damaged, though he did tear up the box of a brand-new-in-that-box Heil Classic 5. We have family coming over for Thanksgiving, and the last thing I needed was man's best friend becoming hams worst friend and heaping more chaos on my already chaotic shack!
I haven't quite forgiven the dog for his transgressions, and he's steering clear of me; wise move for the next day or so. But alas, the mailman cometh!
I received my Brown Brothers CTL-A combination iambic paddle/straight key in today's mail. Frankly, I was a little perplexed at first … the package seemed heavy enough for a key, but not big enough; it was a fairly small priority mail mailer box, flattish and not exactly meant for a CW key.
Apparently, the seller thought it WAS appropriate since my Brown Bros. key was inside — minus ANY packing. Nothing rattling around inside, and that's always good.
The key looked ok, the box didn't look damaged (sometimes the bug will perforate the box during its transit if it isn't adequately packed — not so this key). But wait — did I get a pig in a poke?
Closer inspection revealed the iambic paddle needed work; the outboard adjustment screw was bent downward — apparently, the key took one hell of a blow, which bent the adjustment screw for the left side paddle spacing. It had a significant bend, and the worst part was it wasn't adjusted close enough to actually use — there was 3/8 inch of space between the paddle and the contact.
Then I noticed the straight key … it was crooked, meaning the shaft wasn't parallel to the side of the base. Closer inspection revealed the shaft end was bent; this was evident of another hard hit the key took. The straight key still worked, but it was very not square with the base.
I prepared to raise some hell with the seller.
The seller was one of those many third-party “we'll auction it for you” types of companies. They don't know beans about the things they sell. They DO offer a refund and accept returns; my lucky day!
But look at the photo (the single photo in the auction — the one above is my photo I shot tonight). It's not really evident, but the adjustment screw appears to be bent in the photo; the real giveaway was the straight key shaft; it was already crooked, the misalignment just isn't that noticeable due to the angle of the photo was taken.
I got a real deal on this key; it was a relatively low priced Buy It Now that I snapped up. I've wanted one of these Brown Bros. “double keys” for a while, but I've never been willing to pay top price for one. Should I send this one back, knowing that it was probably already damaged and that I would have to shell out for shipping to get a refund?
You can probably guess the rest.
I decided to keep the key and see if the bent adjustment screw could be straightened. Of course, these adjustment screws appear to be aluminum, so you can imagine the luck I had straightening it — it broke. I decided to rob an adjustment screw from the rear of the straight key lever; it worked perfectly. I rummaged through my old bug parts and found an adjustment screw from an old Les Logan Speed-X bug that was close enough to the style and patina of the original. When it was all over, I wound up with what I wanted — a serviceable Brown Bros. CTL-A combo key.
The knurling on one of the adjustments on the pivot of the straight key was a little roughed up; I had to get the screw out, and ended up needing vice grips to get it to turn. It's not that bad, but it it sucked just the same. Had this been some mega-buck purchase, I would be livid; fortunately, it was a bargain that's still a bargain.
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I don't have the key wired yet for my station, so I can't give a review of its operation. The paddles have a pretty firm feel to them; I think I would prefer a softer touch. Hard to say until I use them. The straight key has a very good feel.
The key is an interesting piece of CW key history. The workmanship of the key is excellent.
I'm still trying to find my operating position again, so I'll quit for now and maybe I can listen to the radio before I turn in.
73 es CUL … de KY4Z … dit dit