Fine Tuning Speed Keys
Frank (W7IS)
on
January 8, 2006
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I just finished an extensive Journal on Speed Keys with pictures and other interesting information on Speed Keys.
I hope it will help to spark new interest in using speed keys on the ham bands!!!
At this Link:
http://journals.aol.com/w7is/TELEGRAPHKEY/
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by W4DL on January 8, 2006
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Quite the compilation of info on keys Frank...I still use the Vibroplex iambic given to me as a Christmas gift some years ago. I have gone through the original Bencher paddle flying apart on the desk as I became too rambunctious chasing DX and the Nye Viking paddle which was rather crude by todays standards. Next stop is the Profi..preferably used.
Good DX,
Mike W4DL
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RE: Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by AA8YO on January 8, 2006
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Thanks for the info Frank - I just got a Vibroplex Lightning that I am in the process of cleaning and 'fine tuning' myself. Your posting could not have come at a better time .....
Regards - Bob / AA8YO
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RE: Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by K0BG on January 8, 2006
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I know several amateurs who who collect, restore, and admire all manner of keys. Every time I see another collection, my awe is renewed by the number of varieties and styles. I always wonder how many unique ones there might be if you include both commercial and military ones? Perhaps we'll never know, but I'm sure this makes collecting them even more rewarding when you find one you didn't know existed.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by PA7WWO on January 8, 2006
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Hoi Everyone
I use a homenbrew full stainless steel key on my FT920 and FT857 wiyh 250 hz cw filter.
The thing is precision made with all stainless steel paddles and all the other parts are stainless steel,all are made on with CNC controled machines, as I made it myself I can always adapt, refine, redesign, reproduce all warn out parts, or parts I feel are not to my wishes.
For the hams with not the knowledge for homebrew design I would shoose one of the Italien Begali keys probably the Gracielle or Verticale (only the foto,s and sight and sound of the names in Italien give me a warm glow).
The Begali's are beautifull by design and used materials in my eyes real works of exelent craftmenship and true art.
73 PA7WWO certified in CW above 25 WPM , and favourite speed in rag chew at 21 WPM.
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by WA2KBU on January 8, 2006
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Hey Frank,,
I guess our tastes run similar with respect to bugs/paddles. The Vibroplex Presentations seem to be overlooked these days but a great bug none the less.
The Profi 2 and March R-3a are two of the finest ever built.
I have a page on my site dedicated to these at:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~k8ny/K8NY_KEYS.htm
Congratulations on your knowledge and wonderful key collection - impressive!
Cheers,
Bob K8NY
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RE: Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by K3EY on January 8, 2006
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I must comment on the last reply. I agree the Profi is a great paddle. I will always own one. But the March is surely not the best ever made by any stretch. I have owned several of them and sold them all, but they are a very good looking paddle, no doubt. I have been a machinist forever and what some people consider the best ever made is laughable. The best ever made can be found only at one vendor. The Begali, period. No I don't own a Begali, sold them off too. Feel is a personal thing and quality is quite another as well as the cost factor and most hams that don't have a back ground in machining or manufacturing are woefully off base and it shows in their strange remarks about what is good and what is bad. Like a crow seeing a shiny object, many hams are blinded and snookered into believing a fallacy.
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by NY7Q on January 8, 2006
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I still have my vibroplex original from 1956 and it works perfectly. with the original carry case.
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by K0EWS on January 8, 2006
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Thanks for the article! Great stuff. I use a 1955 Vibroplex Presentation. It was given to me 5 years ago when I had just become a ham for my birthday. It was found at an estate sale. The previous owner had been the last land-line telegrapher in that town, and they retired him and CW at the same time. Rather than let it sit on a shelf as a conversation piece, I thought I'd see if the old key could make music again, so I've spent the last few years active on CW, getting my bug fist. I now use the bug as my primary sending instrument in my shack, while my paddles sit on the shelf. I really enjoy the feel of that Presentation and wouldn't part with it. I think somewhere that old landline telegrapher would be happy to know that his bug went to a new home that used it once again.
Anyway, thanks for the information on my Presentation, and the other bugs. It will help me appreciate that bug even more than I already do.
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by WA0ZZG on January 9, 2006
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Thanks Frank. I've been trying to learn how to use
a Vibroplex Bug. Never could get it right. You helped
me find the problem. I didn't have the alignment
right to begin with. Always felt awkward.
Dave
WA0ZZG
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RE: Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by W6TH on January 9, 2006
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.
You can believe me when I tell you that I have tried them all, bugs I mean.
The best bug I use now and forever is the Y2K Vibroplex Blue Racer and top it off with a speed changer that I may slow down for the novice.(Only one weight needed).
Vibroplex Original Presentation Gold "key"? No, it is a "bug" and not a "key" as most mention. Please refrain from calling a "bug" a "key".
There is no difference between a military bug or a commercial bug, they are one of the same.
Thanks for the very nice comforting article Frank, although my method differs.
73,W6TH
.:
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RE: Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by N5RMQ on January 9, 2006
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Does anyone here know about Brown Bros Keyers? I have one in excellent shape and some people have told me they are quite rare. I don't use it so I thought I would sell it but I don't want to leave any money on the table. Any info anyone can provide to help me determine its worth would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by KD7T on January 9, 2006
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Funny, although I have about a dozen or so "Speed Keys" in my collection, I've never heard them referred to by this name before.
Unfortunately, too many operators never learn to use them proficiently, and tend to emphasize the "speed" instead of the "quality"!
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by N8CUI on January 10, 2006
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Some may be interested in a page I recently visited:
http://www.morsex.com/misc/keyadj.htm
Jim
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by EXWA2SWA on January 11, 2006
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I use a 1945 Vibroplex Original Deluxe (born the same year that I was) with a BugTamer extension and two weights "inside". Seems to run well at about 18wpm; sliding one weight about 2/3 back toward the trunnion brings it to about 22, maybe 25 or so. It's a delight to use. I'm still searching for the sweet-spots!
73,
Jim KE5CXX
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by WD5ISI on January 14, 2006
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I AM VERY MUCH IMPRESSED WITH YOUR COLLECTION, I HAVE
A FEW, ONE (SMALL BRITISH) PADDLE, AN OLD VIBROPLEX
LIGHTNING (CHROME) WHICH WAS LIKE ONE OF THE
FIRST "SPEED KEYS" I USED. I WAS SURPRISED ABOUT YOUR
FAVORITE WHICH I HAVE A CHROME 1964 (VIBROPLEX) PADDLE THAT IS MY FAVORITE ALSO. JUST STARTED MY COLLECTION ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO AND MY OLD CHROME VIBROPLEX IS MY
LATEST ADDITION. YOUR ADJUSTMENTS ON KEYS ARE VERY HELPFUL.THANKS FOR SHARING WITH US.
DAVE WD5ISI
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Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by KE5C on January 17, 2006
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Any mention of semi-automatic keys is good, and a discussion is better. As with all amateur gear, opinion varies widely. My experience is that "if you want the best possible key to use on the ham bands", you have better options than to "pick up a Vibroplex Original Presentation Gold key with the adjustable main spring".
For my light keying style at 25 to 35 wpm, the best semi-automatic key I have used is Alberto Fratini's "Semi Magnetico" reviewed here at http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3894. Close behind are the GHD optical and mechanical (my preference) dual lever keys reviewed here at http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3603.
As for Vibroplex, each key is very different, but when making generalizations, I think the earlier keys are the best. Those made in the teens and 1920's just seem to have "better" springs, and that really does matter. Keys from the 1940's on that I have used, including a Gold Presentation are okay, but just don't feel pleasant when used. My favorite of the twenty or so I have owned over the years is the 1910 double lever which you can see at http://www.bosshardradio.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=1910DL. Again, different strokes for different ops.
(Only slightly) off-topic is KT5X's telling of the most memorable semi-automatic key QSO in which I have participated. By way of background, early Vibroplex Blue Racers used a "cloverleaf" frame, and the following happened one ARRL Straight Key Night:
"[A new] tradition began on the New Year's Eve 2000 when KT5X boldly broke with [old] tradition and put a 1917 Cloverleaf blue racer on the air. His CQ was answered by KE5C who was using a 1923 Cloverleaf blue racer. Soon the QSO was broken into by WD9FJL who by sheer chance was responding to the bug sent CW using HIS 1919 Cloverleaf blue racer! This three-way QSO was interrupted by N6KR (SK) who was using, yup, a 1918 Cloverleaf blue racer --- A Four Leaf Clover QSO was created. A few days later, KT5X received a QSL from a W6 who said, 'I heard you guys and tried to break in with my 1921 Cloverleaf blue racer, but no one could hear me.' But of course not. Who ever heard of a FIVE leaf clover, I ask you???"
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RE: Fine Tuning Speed Keys
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by WD5ISI on January 19, 2006
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PLSE SEND YOUR THOUGHTS ON ADJUSTING KEYS FOR SOME
REASON I HAVE LOST THE ARTICLE.
THANKS IN ADVANCE
DAVE (WD5ISI)
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