Tuesday, June 28, 2016, 1:45 a.m. — Sometime back I won an auction for a box of various and sundry Vibroplex bug parts. The reason for the purchase was for the repair of the Lionel J-36 that was damaged early this year when I inadvertently knocked it off a desk and it hit business-end first and bend the top pivot plate.
As documented a few posts back, I straightened the top plate and have the key back in service at the operating desk. The small box of parts (including the base) were still on a counter in the kitchen, and my wife was after me to get them out of her way this weekend.
After my Field Day debacle I was looking for something more productive, so I decided to open the box of parts and put them in with my other key parts. After opening to box I realized that what I had was not just an assortment of random parts, but a nearly complete 1944 Vibroplex Lightning Bug (SN 134,172) standard finish with the tin nameplate.
If you can look beyond the decades of dirt and grime, I think you can see that it won’t take but a couple of screws and some other hardware to make this a completely operational Lightning Bug. I don’t know that I have original screws in my parts bin for the top plate, but even if I have to get them from the hardware store I’ll be happy to know that a 72-year-old Vibroplex bug will have another chance to transmit Morse.
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