[CW] Early vibroplex bug info

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

Those old bugs are fabulous, but usually the others up to about 1970 are
very good to excellent but there are exceptions.

I'd either look for a basket case piece of junk from 1940s that has the
mainspring and dot spring intact and junk the existing parts after swapping
them.

There was a period where Vibroplex started chrome plating the mainspring
and dot spring and this changed the quality of the dots. People on the
MorseCode at mailman.qth.net key collectors reflector speculate that just the
thickness of the plating over the previously unplatted springs was enough
for them to become stiffer and less flexible.

I don't know how Scott Robbins of Vibroplex is manufacturing these springs
now but in all great telegraph keys an enormous amount of time, research
and money was spent on getting exactly the right characteristics in the
springs including such legendary keys as the PS-213, the Junker keys, the
German Maus keys and the Baumuster T1 keys (shown in attachment).

Maybe the perfect springs could be made by simply omitting the chrome
plating of these parts which would be a cost savings to Vibroplex.

73

DR



On Thu, Apr 6, 2023, 12:00 Donald Chester <k4kyv at charter.net> wrote:

> I have two Vibroplex Originals.  One was made circa 1947, with flat black
> finish and  chrome plated mechanism. The thing is stiff and uncomfortable,
> and  contact bounce is intolerable.  I have tried numerous measures to fix
> the bounce problem,  to no avail.  The other one dates back to the 1920s,
> with the classic black Japan finish and gold stripes.  Other than the base
> and springs, all metal parts are  nickel plated brass.  It is velvet
> smooth, with practically zero contact bounce.  It is well-worn, with plenty
> of slop in all the pivots, which is probably what makes it comfortable to
> use, kinda like wearing an old shoe.  It’s now the only key I ever use.
> <snip>
>
> Don k4kyv.
>
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