For a week now I've been watching one of the most intriguing semi-automatic code keys (aka “bugs”) I've ever wanted for sale on eBay with the intent of being there to snipe like hell when the auction ended. It turns out I brought a water pistol to a gun fight.
The key is the Rotoplex, desgined in the mid-1940s by Horace G. Martin, the telegrapher who 40 years earlier had designed the Vibroplex Original semi-automatic bug. The Rotoplex was manufactured in Louisville by the James A. Clark Manufacturing Co., and I don't believe it was built for long.
This key was Martin's last, but it's a doozy. The unique feature of the key is how the keying lever pivots. There is no “frame” as there is on his original Vibroplex design. The keying lever pivot is under the round dome seen in the photo. The keying is split into two parts at the pivot point, with the pivot area being a round, flat area the same size as the dome. The layers stack on top of one another, and they are keyed internally so that when you move the lever one way to make dahs, the rear part of the lever doesn't move (vibrate). Push the lever the opposite way and the rear part vibrates to make dits.
Under the “dome” the keying levers had sealed bearings for long life. Other unique features include the knob and paddle being a one piece unit, and the fact the key had no rubber feet, but a rubber mat on the bottom to insure it didn't scoot around.
I have seen only one of these keys go through eBay in the years that I've been interested in collecting keys. I figured demand would be great for this one, so I set an upper limit (enough to buy a late model transceiver) and waited.
I do fairly well with sniping on eBay, my real worry was how well-watched would this key be? Who would be pursuing it? I had a meeting to attend a couple of hours before the auction ended last night, and I got home with less than 10 minutes to spare. I added a couple hundred bucks to my upper limit, realizing that it was my only chance of snagging it.
In the end, my timing was good but I was woefully short of the winning bid of $2,868.93. I can't imagine paying that much for a single code key, but I don't live in the rarified air of the high-end key collectors.
REPAIR AFFAIR. In other ham radio stuff, I have my Icom 746PRO off the desk and I've been trying to get it boxed up for several days. I'm sending it out West for repairs after I apparently zapped the front end with too much stray RF. While its there, I'm having the front panel replaced to get rid of a very deep gouge on the top edge of the front. I think its a good investment, particularly if I look at selling it in the near future for another Icom, the 7600.
NEW STUFF. I haven't acquired any additional keys of late, but I have picked up a couple of bargains while browsing eBay.
A guy was selling the “DC to daylight” Icom computer-assisted receiver, the PCR-100 along with a laptop for just over $100. I researched the receiver and its a pretty good one, though its limited only to AM, FM and WFM … no SSB unfortunately. The laptop is a older Toshiba, but it works well. I'm interested in using it as a scanner. My initial tests — with a short piece of wire as an antenna — show its a pretty sensitive receiver. I'm going to program some of the 1,000 memories and use it a while. It was just too interesting a receiver to try to let it pass. More to come on this one.
ATLAS 210X NOTES. I've been enjoying the Atlas 210x now on the desk in the shack, even with its rather rudimentary features. I'm surprised at how stable it is too. There's some drift, but I've seen much worse. The dial has some drift too — at some points in the tuning range, the dial is under tension and will actually creep backward from the last tuning direction. To take out that tension, I overshoot the frequency about 5kcs, then tune back down (or up) to the desired frequency. I would like to try to improve the grounding and microphone (eliminate the unshielded jumpers!) to reduce the RF that's getting into the rig. I want to run the rig off the shack supply too, just to see if all the wiring in the original supply is a source for RF. You never know.
SPEAKING OF EBAY. I have another FT-757GX to put on eBay sometime. The prices on HF rigs amaze me at times. This model Yaesu sells for way more than it is probably worth, but I've figured out why. On the ones I've sold so far, I get numerous questions from 11-meter operators asking if the rig already transmits on that band. One guy recently told me he's an avid CB'er “but I prefer the quality of ham rigs.” If he's truly interested in quality, I probably should have offered him my 746PRO for a “bargain” price of $2,999.99.
The FT-757GX isn't the best rig to use on AM — not if you expect to get 100 watts output. One of the rigs I had had been “tweaked,” meaning the output adjustments were maxed out. The thing would do 175 watts on CW! I kept it throttled back to a measly 80 watts. I've know two local ex-CB'ers who are now hams who both ruined the finals in their 757s by trying to run the at higher-than-rated output on AM.
And I still have that Tempo 2020 station to list on eBay. I plan to give the station a thorough test, I may wind up keep the newly acquired one and selling mine. Heck, I probably should sell both stations. The only reason I keep the Tempo is that it was one of my first rigs after Old Ironsides. Nostalgia's fine, as long as you have enough desk space. The Tempo station makes an impressive (albeit expansive) lineup. I have to say the Tempo is a very sweet CW rig. The receive audio is like music to my ears. (Insert your favorite sappy, nostalgic accolade here —->………….).
The prices on the non-PRO 746s are relatively cheap at times. This winter I'll be spending a lot of time in our library, and my HF monitoring rig there now is my Yaesu FT-890AT. If I sold both Tempo stations and the 890, I'm sure I could afford a used 746, which is would make a very user friendly and familiar rig. Like my wife reminds me, “you're always wanting something else …” So far there's no 12-step program for ham radio … perhaps we could be “friends of Hiram P.” rather than Bill W. … the motto? “One Rig At A Time.” Maybe it could be sponsored by an antenna manufacuter and called a 12 SteppIR program (no disrespect aimed at legitimate 12-step programs!).
73 … de KY4Z … dit dit