[CW] Wood Bug by NA6O and Bug Descratcher by WB9JPS

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

Fred,  KT5X sent this to another reflector and I thought you might be
interested.
I call attention to the bug descratcher which is very useful for
modern radio transcribers.

Fred continues below.

73
DR

Fred says:

This bug was hand crafted by Gary, NA6O.  Details on his construct can be
found on his webpage.

http://wb9jps.com/Gary_Johnson/Bugs.html

 He used mostly cocobolo wood which is a relative of ebony which grows in
Central America.  The dot and dash resistance are magnets which are rotated
to vary the resistance, very clever.  The mainspring is very light, very
sensitive, and the vibrating lever is black ebony wood.  The brass weight is
small.

There is no dot contact.  Instead it is a magnet reed switch activated by a
small magnet imbedded in the end of the vibrating arm.  Since there is no
contact, there is no contact bounce.  There is not friction of contact.  The
reed switch is very sensitive.  This adds up to nearly perfectly formed
dits, and it will make dits for a very long time, several minutes.  Speed
varies from about 15 to over 50 wpm.

The shaped finger piece is exceptionally comfortable and made from polished
ebony.  Overall the bug has a light but comfortable touch.  It does not need
to be batted around to generate good dits, and someone accustomed to
Vibroplex bugs, must calm down to make this one sing.

Only five of these keys were made.  This key won first prize from the ARRL
for homebrew keys recently, and deservedly so.  It is absolutely a work of
art.

73,  Fred KT5X
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