-----Original Message----- On Jul 26, 2007, at 12:51 PM, Ken W5HYN wrote:
> > FYI, Vibroplex offers an extension arm (called Vari-speed) to slow > down their bugs and it makes fine tuning speed easy. I put one on > my old Lightning Bug and it will slow down to below 15 wpm. > I bought my first bug 55 years ago as a 5 WPM novice. That arm wasn't available then, so I drilled a hole in a piece of steel and attached it to the top of the weight with a longer screw. Bob, N7XY -------------------------- Clothespins and (my favorite) large alligator clips hung onto the pendulum have done such duty too. Position them so they don't interfere with the damper action. The thickness of the springs in Vibroplex keys has varied widely over the years, which has affected the minimum speed they would run. That was a serious problem for many commercial operators at maritime land stations who had to QRS to 15 wpm or so. At some facilities they weren't allowed to run over perhaps 20 wpm. One of the keys I own today was given to me by the widow of an old buddy who sailed as a radio officer during and after WWII then worked as an operator at coastal station KPH for years before retiring. In the 1960's for one reason or another he bought a new Vibroplex bug, one of the ones with the thick, fast springs. His solution was to add a cable clamp to the pendulum! It works, but it makes for a very heavy feel! I prefer to use it with an alligator clip to extend the length of the pendulum. Making the shaft longer has a much greater effect on the speed with less weight. There's a picture of my old buddy, Les, at his key with the cable clamp weight while operating at KPH at: http://www.radiomarine.org/historic-5.html Les (LR) is in the top picture. Note the cable clamp on the bug in the lower right corner of the picture. My favorite remains my E.F. Johnson version of the Speed-X bug. It's probably my favorite because I got mine back in '52, a few months after earning my General class license. It has a really nifty weight control: a simple clutch that releases the weight when squeezed so it can be slid back and forth without messing with thumbscrews, etc. And it never works loose <G>. And the adjustment range easily runs from about 13 up to over 40 wpm. The Johnson version of the Speed-X still turns up regularly on the on-line auction places. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] 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
