[CW] Military Bugs

D.J.J. Ring, Jr. n1ea at arrl.net
Fri Oct 9 03:40:59 EDT 2020 

Bob W4AOS,

If your VibroKeyer is a standard one, tighten up on the the trunnion no
longer rotates. Is there vertical play in the paddle now?

Most of the keys that make the way to me are just lose on the bearings. I
remove the trunnion and clean out the dander and dust from the bearings and
lubricate it with PTFE non oily lubrication I bought years ago (the name
has worn off.)

Anyone else have one of these keys?

73

DR

On Thu, Oct 8, 2020, 10:53 nemo zilch <nemozilch at gmail.com> wrote:

> Vibroplex Vibrokeyer
> I recently bought one.  It is fine, looks good, and allows easy
> adjustment.   But one thing I have noticed is that the paddle has some up
> and down play, about 0.050 inches.  Not much, but in my opinion, not
> representative of good machining practice.  In all honesty I don't think it
> affects my sending with it, but I expected better from Vibroplex,
> especially considering the price.
>
> The play is due to the fit of the yoke, (the part to which the paddle is
> attached), upon the trunnion, (the vertical shaft upon which the yoke
> pivots).  The hole in the yoke where the trunnion goes through is quite a
> bit larger than the diameter of the trunnion.  I called Vibroplex and they
> said that this is normal and required for proper operation of the key.  The
> yoke appears to be stamped from sheet metal and is not nearly as nicely
> finished as the rest of the key.
>
> Would be interested to know if any of you out there who have a Vibroplex
> vibrokeyer have noticed this vertical play in the paddle, and if you feel
> it affects your sending with it.
> Bob W4AOS
>
> On Mon, Oct 5, 2020 at 9:40 AM Chris R. NW6V <chrisrut7 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Loved "THEM" when I was a kid. Later - in the 80s, one of the first guys
>> killed by the monsters -the actor - was my landlord in Southern CA. But
>> don't remember the "bugs" of a different sort. I'll have to find a copy -
>> and yes, ImDB is a good bet.  :-)
>>
>> 73 Chris NW6V
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 3, 2020 at 8:20 PM Kate Hutton <katehutton at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I would say it's not worth paying money for.  Just liked that they stuck
>>> the bug in there instead of a generic straight key.
>>>
>>> 73 Kate K6HTN
>>>
>>> On Sat, Oct 3, 2020 at 8:16 PM Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>     Its there but is for sale or rent. Giant ants eat everything.
>>>> I have enough with regular ants.
>>>>
>>>> On 10/3/2020 8:06 PM, Kate Hutton wrote:
>>>> > Remember the old scifi/horror movie "Them"?  Of course the
>>>> > radio op is using a bug ...
>>>> >
>>>> > 73 Kate K6HTN
>>>> >
>>>> > On Sat, Oct 3, 2020 at 7:54 PM Richard Knoppow
>>>> > <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com <mailto:1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>> wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> >     Thank you. This explains the 1936 date I sometimes see. The
>>>> >     J-36 keys have various contract numbers, I think a separate
>>>> >     one
>>>> >     for each manufacturer but all dated 1942. The are Signal
>>>> >     Corps.
>>>> >     contracts. It would be interesting to know what is in the
>>>> >     contract.
>>>> >
>>>> >     On 10/3/2020 6:22 PM, Thomas Chirhart wrote:
>>>> >     > MacElroy made bugs under contract for the US Navy in
>>>> >     1936/37 and the base was cast with “property of us navy“ on
>>>> >     the left side of the base...
>>>> >     > 73 Tom K4NCG
>>>> >     >
>>>> >     > Sent from my iPhone
>>>> >     >
>>>> >     >> On Oct 3, 2020, at 8:05 PM, Richard Knoppow
>>>> >     <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com <mailto:1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>>
>>>> >     wrote:
>>>> >     >>
>>>> >     >>     I hope on topic here. Does any one know if the
>>>> >     specs or contracts for the J-36 exist? Also, is the J-36
>>>> >     the first bug made specifically for the military?  There
>>>> >     were about five different versions of the J-36, all
>>>> >     different. I don't think any were exact copies of the
>>>> >     Vibroplex Original. Since there has been a lot of
>>>> >     discussion of these keys on the SKCC list  and since there
>>>> >     are some collectors here I wonder what I can learn.
>>>> >     >>
>>>> >     >> --
>>>> >     >> Richard Knoppow
>>>> >     >> 1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com <mailto:1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
>>>> >     >> WB6KBL
>>>> >     >>
>>>> >     >>
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>>>> >     --
>>>> >     Richard Knoppow
>>>> >     1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com <mailto:1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
>>>> >     WB6KBL
>>>> >
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>>>> --
>>>> Richard Knoppow
>>>> 1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
>>>> WB6KBL
>>>>
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