It's about time for me to hit the sack, but I thought I would just pop in and ramble in my journal a bit. Hey, that's what a blog is for, right?
75/80 is just nothing but static crashes tonight … welcome summertime conditions .. yeechh!! Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago when 80 was so quiet you could hear a dit drop?? (Pun intended)
We have a bunch of storms around us, and of course, anytime there's a thunderstorm in the eastern half of the U.S., 80 is trashed … and me without an amp. Well, I've got one upstairs in the attic, I just need to get my 220v line run to the shack … one of those “round tuit” projects.
I need to get back to my shack cleaning project. You can actually see the floor in most of the room. You know it's bad when your kids comment on how springy the carpet feels in the cleaned-out areas … obviously they haven't been able to walk there much in the past few years due to my medical condition, “maximus junkus,” aka “pack rat-icism.”
It's a an inherited disease, you know. My grandfather had barns for things he saved — and he saved everything. When my family cleaned out his place after he died, he had every canceled check I think he and Mamaw had ever written. Every utility bill stub. Even sharecropping contracts he and my great-grandfather executed 70 years earlier. He had stuff he that he last touched 40 years before he died, I'm convinced of that.
Anyway, my brothers and I have all the same symptoms of pack raticism, just like Granddaddy. And guess what? We've all built barns or moved to places with garages to store our “collections.” 'Nuff said.
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I've been looking back over some of my bugs, particularly some that I really haven't used on-the-air. I have a couple of “old regulars” that I mostly use. I have 1961 Vibroplex Original De Luxe that's been my standard desk key. It's a 20-foot key … the chromed base has some pits, and needs to be replaced, but it looks very nice from across the room. Most non-collectors don't really notice the imperfections anyway. It's bright and chrome and shiny. Plus it operates quite well.
The other standard key I keep at the operating position is my 1951 Vibroplex Presentation. This is a key I basically rescued from being a parts key. It's not perfect by any means. For starters, it really needs a new gold-plated brass plate. The original was scratched and the plating had rubbed off in large areas. I simply wet sanded the rest of the gold plating (it's very thin) and then buffed the brass. I did not want a mirror-shine, so I left it a nice satin finish, which is only slightly more shiny that the stain gold plating finish. The natural brass color looks quite nice — you don't mistake the key for anything else, you know its a Presentation.
A previous owner used a grinder on the main spring to remove some of the tension, grinding an hour-glass shape. It's not very attractive, but it did the job. Believe it or not, the key works very smoothly and has plenty of speed range. I haven't tried to have that modification fixed. I like it as it is.
A newer key I have that I have just nearly fallen in love with is a Les Logan Speed-X T-bar bug. This example is painted in crinkle black finish. I just love the look of the T-Bar Speed-X bugs. I've chased a number of them, but only have two — the black one and a De Luxe one.
The black one is in excellent original shape, and I have been amazed at how smoothly it operates. It's actually a much quieter key to use than any of my Vibroplex bugs. It has a nice heft to it, and it seems very solid. It just has a real good feeling to it.
I have not had this key on the air yet, but I'm going to use it soon. I need to clean the contacts well before I do it, the dit contact sounds ragged at times from dirt.
Despite the simple damper arrangement of the Speed-X bug, it's impressive how easy it is to use and how well it operates. It's just a very smooth key, and it deserves some air time. I can't wait to use it for some SKCC contacts.
I've got a near-new condition Vibroplex Original De Luxe that I've never had on the air. Even the contacts look new on this key. I bought it for a song, but never have taken time to use it on the air either.
But I'll tell you, this key — despite its' great looks and flawless chrome — just didn't do it for me. I love the key, dont' get me wrong, but it's so perfect I don't want to handle it. My other keys that have been handled are the ones I prefer to use.
I tried another one of my “old” keys tonight, and I was again surprised how well it worked and how smoothly it operated. This time I was using my 1947 Vibroplex Champion. It was very smooth and man, did it have a very nice feel to it.
Champion keys are relatively cheap on eBay — you can buy them for $60 or less, so they can be had worth the money. Probably the best bargains on the whole system, LOL!
Anyway, the 1947 Champion is in very good shape with the exception of an extra terminal. A previous owner converted the key to non-iambic paddle use; the removed the weight and added a separate post and wired up the new post to the dit contact screw. It essentially became a Vibrokeyer. Fortunately it took little work to put the key back the way it was.
Damn, I'm boring myself to sleep here … it's nearly 3 am, I best hit the rack. G'night to all those infernal static monsters!
73 es CUL … de KY4Z SK … dit dit