[Boatanchors] Johnson-Viking 122 VFO Freq. Jump

[Vic Rosenthal]

Ed Swynar wrote:

> I've had similar experiences with the old 1929-style rigs I use for the
> different AWA events here, & my Vibroplex...when I get "jumpiness" in the
> signal, sure enough, the contacts on the bug are BLACK!

I use a 12v reed relay from Radio Shack, powered by a 9v battery, with a 3.3 uf 
capacitor and reverse diode across the coil, as a 'bug crud remover'.  It will 
key reasonable BA's (I haven't tried to cathode key an 813 with it) as well as 
modern rigs, which are often quite sensitive to contact resistance.  I'm sure 
that significant sparking would ultimately damage this relay, but I haven't had 
any problems, and I'd prefer to replace it than the bug contacts.

The capacitor across the coil is needed because reed relays are quite fast, and 
can actually follow the contact bounce of the bug!

-- 
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco