In a recent entry, I wrote about my acquisition of my first sienna brown Vibroplex key. More recently, I bought my second one, a surprise purchase at that.
I logged into eBay one recent night and checking the new keys listed, found sienna brown-base Vibroplex Champion listed with an unusually low Buy It Now price. I jumped on the key. The key is missing one terminal (the entire thing) and the dot contact spring assembly. The key also needs a new finger and thumb piece.
The serial number dates it to 1979, which is the year Vibroplex was sold and moved to Maine. At that point, the new owner discontinued a number of Vibroplex models, including the Lightning Bug and the Champion.
I need to check my stock of old parts, I should have a terminal post available; the contact assembly may be harder to locate, but I’ll find one.
TEMPO 2020 UPDATE. The Tempo 2020 is still working FB in Studio C. I recently received the matching external VFO, and I have it in place with the rig. The only thing I’m missing at this point is the matching speaker; the speaker for this rig is actually in my shack, I just need to clean out the stuff that’s on top of it.
I have thoroughly enjoyed using the radio and listening to it. The solid state receiver exhibits very minor drift when first turned on, but it soon settles down. I keep the final filaments turned off unless I’m planning a contact.
I dug up a K.E. Electronics memory keyer I had in the shack and took it upstairs to use with the radio. I had to clean some slide switches and contacts to get it working reliably. After using it, I went back to the MFJ-422 mostly because the MFJ key — the knock-off of a Bencher BY-1 — still has a better feel than the K.E. keyer.
I might wind up bringing the Tempo 2020 down here to the library. Right now I’m using one of those Chinese-made RS-918 transceivers. It works great, don’t get me wrong, but the received audio thru the internal speaker leaves a lot to be desired. I do enjoy the spectrum scope on the RS-918, and the many features it offers, particularly in comparison to the 45-year-old Tempo 2020!
I still haven’t taken time to fire up the parts 2020 I received. The listing showed it turned on, and stated that it worked, stating that the gears are probably cracked.
Right now I have an SB-102 that’s still in the box on the floor blocking the table where I pack most of my outgoing eBay packages. I need to move that rig out of the way temporarily so I have my packing space back. I have a couple of radios on the packing table I need to move, like a Swan 350 with PS and an HW-101. I may just plug up the SB-102 and check it out before I clear the table.
FT-757GX. While I have operated an FT-757GX I got worth the money earlier this year, I got out of the attic the one a Silent Key friend gave me years ago. It is boxed in the box for an FT-77, which is the same size rig.
Ed’s FT-757GX is actually in great shape and as far as I can tell, operates correctly. I was using it until I cleaned up the Tempo 2020. The FT-757GX is a pretty amazing rig when you look at all the features packed in that very small rig. The rig is about 150 Hz off frequency, which is mostly an annoyance, but beyond that its dead-on. The CW filter is sweet as well.
The Tempo 2020’s CW filter works well too, but its a 600 Hertz filter rather than a slightly narrower 500 Hz.
Tomorrow I head back into the shack to bulldoze. Wish me luck!
73 es CUL …. de KY4Z …. SK … SK …. (dit dit ) …