The bands have been quiet this week, though the CQ WW DX CW contest kept the CW bands busy. The club's Sunday night nets went well, and we had a record crowd on our Tuesday night 6-meter net last night.
I've gotten a couple of new Morse Code semi-automatic keys — also known as “bugs” — this week, which filled my heart with the spirit of Christmas joy, albeit a little early.
The first key is one I probably paid WAY too much for on eBay — a Les Logan Speed-X Model 501. It's the deluxe model, all chrome, and known as the “T-bar” bug. I have seen them sell on eBay for big bucks, and frankly, when I saw this key I had to have it.
The key is simply beautiful, and in very, very good condition, as the photos at right can prove. I've got a bunch of other bugs, but I've wanted a nice T-bar bug for many, many months. They're apparently very collectible, as they tend to command pretty hefty prices. Another example of this model key, with the chrome plating flaking off, sold recently on eBay for $61, and it was the “standard” model with the black painted base.
The key has an excellent feel to it. The dual paddles are adjustable and don't appear to have suffered much use or abuse. A coil of lead solder is sandwiched between the weights in the photos. This particular Speed-X 501 bug has a serial number. Later ones did not.
Note the very large diameter contacts! These are huge by bug standards, much larger than those found on Vibroplex keys of the day. Vibroplex did offer a special “radio key” with larger contacts, but I wouldn't swear they were as large as those on this Speed-X. An additional nice touch is the original box in mint condtion — with the original price, $17.50. If you look closely, you might see the reflection of some of my other rigs in my shack in the chrome plating on the base. Very pretty, indeed.
I decided to pursue this one, and waited for the auction to end. In the closing minutes, the price began to rise. I don't bid on something until the final seconds, and I put in a very bid of nearly $175 with 3 seconds left. My competitors didn't re-bid in time, so I won this beautiful key!
I also recently won a 1921 Vibroplex Original De Luxe that arrived in fine shape today.
This key is in very good shape for its age. It shows some wear, but apparently it was well taken care of. Of course there's some wear on the nickel plating (the pre-1940ish Vibroplex keys used nickle plating on the bases and hardware), but it is still quite nice. There are what appear to be some flaws in the metal that were plated over … it makes me wonder if the base was replated at some point.
The key has what appears to be some sort of polish or metal cleaner residue on it, probably from an earlier owner. It still needs a good cleaning up now.
One of this key's more unusual features is the Vibroplex ID plate. This one has been removed and replaced, judging by the nonoriginal fasteners. The ID plate appears to have been nickle plate brass rather than the standard varnished or lacquered brass plate like all the others have. Very unusual! It gives some credence to my theory the key (or at least the base) may have made a trip to a plating shop.
The contacts on this key show a good deal of wear, though not extreme. I would judge it worked for a living in the past, and my theory is a previous owner must have liked the key enough to have the base either plated or replated, along with the ID tag. I own more than 2 dozen Vibroplex keys, and many from this same era, and none have nickle-plated ID tags.
When this key was listed for sale on eBay, I asked the seller if the key was painted silver. The photo that ran with the listing wasn't the best quality. All I could really tell from the fuzzy photo was the usual brass ID plate looked silver. The seller replied it was all chrome plated and in good condition, too. I was skeptical, still not knowing why the hell the ID plate looked silver.
The key sold fairly cheap for a older Vibroplex. I suspect that anyone who looked at the photo was suspicious of it. I know I was! I was the only bidder on this good condition 1921 Vibroplex!
I haven't put either key on the air yet. Both of them came with wedge plugs in great condition. The contacts on this Vibroplex are the small ones typical of this era.
That's about all for now. My Internet is not working as I write this, I've got to reset my cable modem and see if I can figure out what the hell is going on. Maybe I'll get off the computer and go use one of my new keys! Now that's a great idea!
73 es CU AGN … 73 73 de KY4Z SK … dit dit ….