TELEGRAPH KEY

This 1916 Vibroplex Original with Pinned Double Pivot is the best key I've ever sent with.   It has a very slow speed range (with two weights) and has perfect balance. I bought it from an estate sale and it had been sitting in the persons basement for over half a century.  And surprisingly is in very good condition mechanically.  As most of the keys that old had been really beat up. The person that owned this key was really partial to it as he inscribed the words "Hands Off" near the dot contact--  as you can see the pictures.    Between 1920 to 1923, Vibroplex changed the mechanical design to Bent Lug Single Pivot.  I've found the Pinned Double Pivot to be much more forgiving to send with and others who are lucky enough to own a Vibroplex with the pinned double pivot tell me the same thing.   I carved some finger pieces out of Murtle Wood and then used a drum sander to hollow out the centers.  It has a very light touch and is the key I use on the air most of the time.      If you look closely at picture #1 you can see the separate pivot for the dash arm used in the Pinned Double Pivot.  I own three Pinned Pivot Vibroplex Originals and they are all top of the line keys.  Most all other key manufactuers copied the Bent Lug design of Vibroplex after 1923.   If you have a chance to pick up a pre-1920 Pinned Pivot Vibroplex, dont pass it up :-)   The test of a great key is if it will produce the same quality dots from low to high speed.  Some keys can be adjusted for good dots at slow speed but the dots slowly fall apart as the speed is raised.  That occures if the key is out of alignment or there is wobble in the dot arm due to other issues.   

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• #3 Comment from n0mud 
  1/21/06 3:08 AM | Permalink

  Wow what a great article.  I too was a Radioman in the Navy.   When it came time for me to go up for Third Class I took the test for CYN3.  I passed first time up and put on my crow on.  I took the RM2 test,  passed it first time. We was decommisioning the Northhampton and I received two sets of orders, one to  DD-889,  the other to RM "A" school in Bainbridge, MD.  I wanted the Destroyer but  was told the RM school orders overrode the Destroyer orders.  I checked into RM A school I was an RM2, this was now five years into my 20 yr career,  the only thing I needed to concentrate morse code.  The Navy was phasing out Morse Code we only had to copy 14wpm to graduate.  Upon grad. I was copying 18 wpm and working on 21,  one more week I would have had 21wpm.  Only time I used code was on a Fast Attack Submarine in South America for Unitas 78  the only way we could communicate with the Navies down there was by code.   I made RM1 onboard the USS Constellation CVA-64 1979.  In 1982 I changed from RM! to MA-1, Master at Arms First Class which helped me in my civilian job after retirement as a Police Officer.  
  
  From one Navy RM to another Navy RM congrats and keep up the god work.
  73's Mike, NØmud
• #2 Comment from mikezonn 
  1/12/06 5:34 PM | Permalink

  I really enjoyed your comments and reviewing your key collection of photo's.  I am wondering which Vibroplex had the "flat" vertical arm for the weights, and how it works.  I have always admired that one for some reason, and never have found one.  I have just acquired a very old Vibroples, almost impossible to read the SN, so still do not know its vintage, although it is obviously one of the early ones.
  Keep the Vibroplex code coming!  It is such a relief to hear the "good stuff" from a Vibroplex or similar rather than the computer generated stuff!
  73
  Mike
  W0LTL
• #1 Comment from enigmuh0 
  1/8/06 7:57 PM | Permalink

  What a great article on bugs!  Thanks for sharing it, which makes for interesting reading, both about the keys and your experiences as a shipboard operator.  Best wishes, KD5QEF