Last Saturday, I added to my collection of Morse Code instruments. I bought a modified Vibroplex Standard from a guy who was selling it from an SK estate sale.
It’s amusing for a couple of reasons:
- Whoever owned it before I did, took all the parts off the original base and mounted them on a hunk of steel. Presumably, this made the base more stable.
- You can’t really see it in this picture, but the guy who did it, didn’t center the mechanism very well. You have to screw in the contact on the right side much more than you do the contact on the left.
- When the guy modified the paddle, he must have lost the trunion screw that the left paddle arm pivots on. Instead of buying a new one, he simply used a screw he had around the shack. I didn’t notice this until I purchased it. Oh well.
Fortunately, Vibroplex still sells this part, as they do with the overwhelming majority of parts for their keys, and I’ve already placed an order for one. I just hope that the guy didn’t rethread the hole to make that machine screw fit.
How does it play? Well, like a Vibroplex. I’ve been using the key for the past couple of days, and while I still prefer my Begali Simplex, I do like this key.
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