New arrivals prompt Zed Man’s return to radio activity …

Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 — As noted earlier in this space, I’ve not been very active in the pursuit of additional keys for my enjoyment of late. Our daughter’s reception in January went well (and required writing several checks with too many zeros left of the decimal point).

My check-ins on the CW net have been sporadic, but I’m trying to go to the shack now to participate in the CW nets so I can use one of my bugs. Its time I get my bug fist back in shape.

My go-to key is my 100th Anniversary Vibroplex; this is the key that was damaged in shipment when the lever actually broke at the mainspring, and the parts and loose weight beat up on parts of the key’s finish. Using black enamel and paper matchsticks cut at a diagonal as a “brush,” I was able to successfully dab tiny amounts of paint in the scratches, with the goal just to fill them without having big globs of paint on the base. The repairs look pretty good; I see them, but unless you know what you’re looking for, you won’t see them until you look closely under bright lights. All in all, I’m pleased to have the key on my operating desk.

The classic Les Logan Speed-X 501 is tough bug to beat.

Of course, its one of many. Tonight I put my Les Logan Speed-X 501 to work. Most of my Speed-X keys seem to have the ability to operate at slower speeds and do it well. I enjoyed using it tonight.

NEW ARRIVAL? YEP! Late one night last week I was cruising eBay and I had the need for some retail therapy. I often check the latest listings for code keys, just to see what’s out there. I hadn’t been doing that regularly, and sometimes it is good to take a break from watching eBay categories because when you go back, you find lots of new listings.

The factory Hi-Mound bug weight stuck into the head of a bolt to add more weight.

Luck was with me that night, and I immediately ran across a Skillman BK-100 Coffin Bug, though this one was the generic version that had no identifying marks or the name “Skillman” on the plastic cover. The key was complete and unmolested with an extremely cheap BIN price. I jumped on it immediately.

The key arrived today and I gave it a close inspection. These Skillman coffin bugs have some of the most fragile paddles of any key I’ve used. They frequently break in shipment if the key isn’t really well packed; I halfway expected the paddle to be broken off when I unboxed the key. Fortunately it was not … great news.

The key came with a cable terminated in a 1/4-inch plug, so I decided to check the key’s action. The throw on the “dah” contact was really long, so I adjusted that. But the keying lever had a problem. It was dragging or binding somewhere.

A little investigation revealed the weight on the lever was dragging on the base of the key. Not much, just enough to screw up the action. The weight didn’t look right … then I realized what it was — a previous owner had added weight to the bottom of the original Hi Mound weight. Basically, it looks like someone cut the head off a large bolt and drilled out a round hole in the head; they pressed the base of the Hi-Mound weight into the hole.

It didn’t add a lot of weight, but apparently was enough to slow the key sufficiently. The problem I had was the lever was resting just slightly low enough for the bottom of the weight to drag. I adjusted the lever several times, trying to keep the weight from dragging. When I was done, the best I could do was limit the amount it dragged. It didn’t drag enough to screw up all your sending, but it made sending a chore because you had to stay aware of the pendulum and if it had stopped short of the damper.

I removed the weight and wasn’t able to easily separate the weight from the bolt. I can do that better in my shop in the barn. So for now, I took the Hi-Mound weight from my parts key and replaced the modified one. End of story.

The key works fine, once I completed a little adjusting. I get the occasional scratchy dit, but I have yet to clean the contacts. That should help.

NEXT UP. I have what appears to be a clone of a Vibroplex Lightning Bug that came today as well, but without a nameplate. It has some similarities to the A 2 Z Improved Vibroplex, but the key has a “bent lug” keying lever hinge and not the early “box hinge” that’s typical on the A 2 Z clones. The knurling on the key doesn’t at all match Vibroplex’s knurling, and there are some differences that all point to it being a non-Vibroplex key. Photos tell the tale … next time!

73 es CUL de KY4Z SK ….. dit dit

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