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

[John Barnwell]

That is a beautifully crafted bug. Very impressive indeed.

73
John KE7TPA

> On Dec 20, 2020, at 8:13 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. <n1ea at arrl.net> wrote:
> 
> 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
> <IMG_0833.jpg>______________________________________________________________
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> =30=