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Reviews For: Vibroplex Original Bug Deluxe

Category: Keys & Paddles

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Review Summary For : Vibroplex Original Bug Deluxe
Reviews: 2MSRP:
Description:
Semi-Automatic Bug Key
Product is in production
More Info: https://www.vibroplex.com/contents/en-us/d1.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0024.5
W6CJ Rating: 2020-09-12
I wanted to experience "bug" operating. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I'm not a "hard-core" high-speed CW operator. I began with straight keys years ago, and stayed with them for a long time. I graduated to a Bencher iambic key. I also wanted to experience what so many Ham, military, and other early radio operators experienced before memory keyers and squeeze keys, so I ordered a Vibroplex Original Deluxe as well as the optional weight to slow down my sending speed (kind of like the training wheels on a kid's bike).

The bug arrived, well packed - and in a cardboard box with a serial number. I'm keeping the cardboard box. I followed the printed instructions, as well as taking some time to view information on the Web about how to adjust a bug. Unpacking carefully, and adjusting the bug are very important.

I was impressed with the retro look of this beast: All chrome, knurled set-screws with a cherry-red lever... cool. I've read that the Original Deluxe model has not changed much since the 1940s.

I gave mine a just a "good" mark, because of a few issues:
(1) After adjusting the tension on the pivots (jewelled movements) I noticed that the dot contacts did not line up precisely. I had to do some tweaking there.
(2) Another issue is that the keying circuits in many modern transceivers are touchy... so scratchy contacts making or breaking may be heard over the air in your keying. Back in the early days, we had cathode or grid-block keying and those did not pass through scratchy keying. Some bug owners have had to add a capacitor or other debounce circuit across the bug terminals. To be fair, this partly the fault of the transceiver.

There are a lot of videos and articles on the web on adjusting, and learning how to send with a bug and most of them are helpful. If you are transitioning from a straight or squeeze key, be patient and take a break once in a while.





IZ1PON Rating: 2020-02-13
A perfect deluxe "Bug" key Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Always perfect a very great bug: is "the only Original Bug" but Deluxe.
Congratulations to Vibroplex.