I just picked up a 1923 Vibroplex Original. I haven't used a bug in 40 years so I have about 25 years of electronic keyer to unlearn. Maybe only 12.5 years because I only have to unlearn the dah side.
I was looking all over the house for a clothespin. No luck. But I did find some brass tuning that slips over the end of the arm. I cut a 2 inch piece and crimped it very slightly so it would not fly off in a heated QSO. I drilled a fishing weight I found in a drawer so I could slide it over the brass tubing, then ran a self tapping screw through the side to hold it in place. Without the extender, I can't get the dits below about 22-25 wpm. With the extender, I can get reliable dits down to about 14-15 wpm. And slide it up to get what I want...I'm doing OK at around 18 now, but too many flubs to go on the air with it yet. There seems to be quite a resurgence in CW activity with the birth of the SKCC group. It's amazing to hear so many straight keys and bugs just about any time of day or night now. Straight key night every night! It really is fun using old keys with a modern rig like the K2. Eric KE6US www.ke6us.com SKCC 86 -----Original Message----- It's not very pretty, but a great way to slow down your bug is to clip an old-fashioned spring-type clothespin to the thumbscrews of the weights. You can wrap solder around the ears of the clothespin to add more weight and slow those dits down to match your dahs! 73, Chuck NI0C _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
