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Reviews For: Vibroplex Iambic Standard and Deluxe

Category: Keys & Paddles

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Review Summary For : Vibroplex Iambic Standard and Deluxe
Reviews: 48MSRP: $180-$323.
Description:
Classic iambic paddle design.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.vibroplex.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15484.4
ZL4AX Rating: 2023-03-16
Good Review Even After DECADES in Use!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've used Paddle Keys from all the big makers for around 40yrs. Still have all kinds, including four Vibroplex Iambics,
Standard and Deluxe. As time has gone by I've given up on cheap stuff like Benchers and Kents, and become disappointed with
the crazily expensive 'jewellery' of fancy Eurpoean manufacturers that look beautiful but never quite deliver the
miracles one might expect for the price.
Vibroplex are high quality products with full spare parts availablility for generations. And for almost no money!

They're all good. I have brand new ones bought last year, and two 50 year old models from my deceased elmer, on which I
learned morse before my test. No variation in quality. But I suggest buying a new one, so that you are
guaranteed it will be in pristine condition and you can adjust it the way you want, and keep it for life.
The feel and precision 'click' on them all is without equal. Adjustment is simplicity itself.

The Standard model is the most reliable. The contacts make their connection through the swivel pivots AND the springs,
giving two paths. Totally reliable, smoother than the 'Deluxe' model, and more accurate to adjust. Painted base and plain
metal-to-metal bearings, no issues.
The Deluxe model has the most stunning quality chrome finish I've seen on my life!! Only in the USA could such high
finish be offered! Glorious to look at. However, because of the deluxe 'jewels' in the swivel pivots, there's no reliable
electrical connection through them, and all keying is carried through the springs.... and these springs corrode to a dark
matt grey, and lose their connectivity so the key starts to send gibberish and breaks down. Boo hoo!
So you decide...plain and efficient, or shiny and less reliable. You choose.

(I also have the standard 'Vibrocube' which is the same key on a monster 6.5lb base. What a beast...even better!).

I'll never use anything else. So relaxing, so reliable, so satisfying to own such a global icon with 100+ years history.
Now I just enjoy my CW. I wish I could live long enough to do these keys justice.

Paul Z L 4 A X / G 4 X T A
IZ1PON Rating: 2022-01-27
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Today I received my VIBROPLEX Iambic of very recent production from WIMO (Germany).
Well built, the bright finish is excellent.
I've always been very satisfied with the VIBROPLEX keys.
The legend "Made in U.S.A."
KT8DX Rating: 2021-12-16
Excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Iambic Standard Review - can't really say anything bad about this key - I own over 50 keys ranging from Speed-x to Begali, to Kent and others. Without a doubt the Vibrokeyer Iambic is my favorite. Solid, has a nice "click" to it and just has that classic look to it. Very sexy to my eye. I've tried the oversize clown nose finger pieces and both love and hate them. I went back to the standard fingerpieces and its been all joy from there. bonus - you can take this on your POTA adventures and it doesn't go out of adjustment.
N7MAM Rating: 2021-04-18
Poor Quality Control, blames HRO Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received my Vibroplex Deluxe in the mail yesterday. It came double boxed by HRO in Portland. After inspecting the key I realized the arms were too loose in the jeweled supports. I also noticed on the bottom that one of the adjusting screws looked longer than the other and both weren't centered in their position. After struggling to remove the screws because they were galled, I got them both out. Sure enough one was not only longer, but also had no jewel. I called Vibroplex and they said to return it to HRO. Great! They're only a 1-1/2 hour drive one way...no problem. HRO, now open, said they had another in stock to exchange if I wanted. When I got there Norm was waiting with the replacement. After a quick inspection of that one, we saw that it too was missing a jewel in the arm adjusting screw. Really? They were 18 s/n's away from each other and HRO didn't have anymore in stock. Norm was great and empathetically asked me what I wanted to do. I decided to try one last time and see if the one from the San Diego store will be OK. We will see. In the meantime I called Vibroplex back and all he could do was try to put blame on HRO for the issue. He said they don't double box, ( they did ) he said maybe the jewel fell out in shipping due to rough handling, to which I asked if the arms came assembled from Vibroplex? He said they do. I asked how the jewel could possibly fall out if the arm is holding them in. Again he balmed HRO for rough handling to the point of crushing the jewel until some how it disintegrated beneath the arm. Apparently Vibroplex can do no wrong and it's all HRO's fault. Well, I'll update this good or bad when the unit from San Diego shows up.
*** UPDATE***
I received the 3rd replacement from the HRO in San Diego. It came in perfect condition and was already adjusted correctly. All 4 jewels were present. One interesting thing. The 2 previous units were taped twice on both ends, this one was only taped once.
N7MAM
WB5YOO Rating: 2021-02-07
OUTSTANDING! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Like the other(s), this is about the Vibroplex Iambic Standard.

Executive Summary: OUTSTANDING!

I recently acquired a Vibroplex Iambic Standard, used. I had to do a few minutes of screw tightening on it, and a bit of spring and contact spacing adjustment, and then I started playing.

The action on this thing is AMAZING. Incredibly smooth, NO "play" anywhere. Adjustment is simple, feel is perfect.

I've used Benchers, I've used the MFJ-564, I've used two CT paddles. The Vibroplex beats all of them, easily. The only things I've found that MIGHT be nicer are the N3ZN magnetic paddles, that cost twice as much.

If someone offers to sell you one of these at an even remotely reasonable price, TAKE HIM UP ON IT! Odds are he won't, though: He likely knows how nice it is and you'll probably have to pry it out of his cold, dead fingers!
WB5AGF Rating: 2020-10-04
Mechanically Robust But Needs Careful Build & Set-Up Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought my key off eBay and the seller assured me that he had bought it from Vibroplex and had not touched the adjustments.

As received (I found) :

--------------------

The left (dot) lever had come loose from its trunnions.

When I examined to find out why I found that the lower trunnion had loosened enough so that the lower and upper jeweled bearings didn't exert sufficient lateral force to hold the dot lever in-place.

When I checked the locking screw (intended to prevent the trunnion from turning) I found that it was backed completely away from touching the threaded side of the trunnion (so it was able to loosen).

When I tried to reset the lower dot trunnion (to hold the lever arm in-place) I found that tightening-down the locking screw caused the trunnion to shift enough so that it put the dot lever arm in-a-bind (i.e. it would not smoothly swing).

(If the eBay seller was being honest this means that the key was shipped from Vibroplex with the dot locking screw disabled because tightening it down put the dot lever in-a-bind with the as-built design.)

From previous experience I have found that trying to press the metal tip of a locking screw directly against the threads of the to-be-locked screw damages the threads of that screw as well as sometimes causing it to rotate slightly as the locking screw is tightened-down.

With firearms the need to lock a screw so that it cannot turn can lead to some extreme efforts because of the shock imparted when the weapon is fired. Thankfully with Morse keys we don't have to deal with that sort of concussive force. Normally only a slight amount of retarding force will be sufficient to prevent a screw from turning in normal use.

There are screws made which have 'rubbery' tips that allow them to be pressed against the side of a screw that is to be held-in-place. In the case of the Vibroplex Iambic Key I found a suitable substitute by taking a small rubberband and cutting off tiny pieces which could then be 'pushed' down the threaded hole of the locking screws (with the screws having been removed first).

The locking screw was then threaded back into its mounting hole and run-in slowly until its tip just began to press the piece of rubberband against the threaded side of the trunnion. The piece of rubberband served to provide a compressible medium which exerted retarding force to the threaded side of the trunnion while allowing the trunnion to be rotated slightly if sufficient torque (a small amount) was applied. Once the trunnion had been adjusted so that it was holding the dot lever in-place laterally the locking screw didn't need to be touched again as it was already generating adequate pressure against the threaded side of the trunnion by virtue of the compressed piece of rubberband.

In this way the threads of the trunnion are not damaged by the locking screw and adjusting the locking screw is done before the trunnion has its final adjustment made and is not tightened further once the trunnion has been set.

--------------------

I also found that the springs for both the 'dot' and 'dash' levers was both too long and too stiff to provide good 'feel' to the key.

(Springs that are too stiff is something I see all-the-time with manual 'straight' Morse keys. Someone will design and manufacture an otherwise perfectly decent key but then install a terrible spring on it.)

The spring pressure adjusting screws had to be backed complete away from the springs for there to be anything like a reasonable amount of pressure applied to the lever arms. As an interim 'fix' (replacing the springs is the only proper solution) I 'snipped' one ring from both the 'dot' and 'dash' springs and then the adjusting screws could be run-in a little so that they caused the springs to generate a slight amount of centering force.

--------------------

- Paul, WB5AGF
K4TK Rating: 2020-01-15
A nice addition to my shack Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have now added the Vibroplex Iambic Deluxe to my small "empire" of keys/paddles. I have the Bencher BY-2, the Kent dual paddle....and now....the Vibroplex.

I've only owned it a few days. So far, I'd say it's slightly better than the Bencher....but NOT as good as the Kent...for my style and money.

It does look nice. The Kent just has a nicer feel/touch when keying. But definitely an improvement over the old "standby" Bencher.
K8WRS Rating: 2019-02-28
Vibroplex Iambic. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is about the Vibroplex Iambic Standard not Deluxe or upgraded as there is no listing for this though it is basically the same key.
I have the Nye Viking Iambic Keyer, two models of the Bencher Iambic key, both of which work fairly well.
But I am getting back into code and was not comfortable with the Bencher as it was as others stated "mushy", lacking a tactile feel.
I bought the Vibroplex and was not happy with the paddle placement due to a hand that must rest on the bench so I ordered the larger plastic paddles that they sell for the key and that settled it.
This is what I was looking for, a solid key that had a positive feel, even though I have a very light touch, and I never had a difficult time setting it up at all. I don't understand what some complain about setting it up as it is a very basic key and has fewer moving parts than a Bencher.
If this is not the better key look at keys for sale on E-Bay and you cannot see more than one Vibroplex Iambic for sale. Than look for a Bencher Iambic and you will see many for sale, this should tell you something!
KF4MKP Rating: 2018-01-24
it's ok Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This key is beautiful to look at. Mine was a gift to me when I got out of the navy in 1994.

I didn't use it for several years, but when I got around to using it I had (read still have) a hard time getting it adjusted where it made good contact AND was comfortable. I would really rate this at a 3.5 because it is definitely not a 4 or better.

The rubber feet get hard with age and they could be replaced with the low-profile stick on feet or maybe something else to keep it from sliding around. I find that when i get it adjusted like I like it, it will slide around slightly enough that I need to hold my other fingers on it.

So basically, it was a gift, and it looks sharp. It works good when you get it adjusted like you want, but be prepared to spend some time tinkering with it.
ON4RO Rating: 2016-06-04
Solid great keyer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using a Bencher BY-3 and a Shurr Profi-2 (handmade by Mr. Shurr himself) for years but recently I thought getting something new and choose for the Vibroplex Iambic de luxe.
It's a great keyer, better handling than the Bencher. And much better quality of the parts. So I decided to retire the Bencher and maybe sell it.