re: Bug Tamer
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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: [hidden email] 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 |
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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: [hidden email] 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 |
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In reply to this post by ni0c
Chuck, NI0C wrote:
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! ------------------------------ That works. I find that it's more effective to add length to the pendulum like the "bug tamer" does. I have a large alligator clip whose jaws just fit around the pendulum, so it can be clipped on the end without interfering with the damper. Extra length does a lot more to slow the speed down, gram for gram, than extra weight along the center area of the pendulum. The downside is that it requires more depth on the operating table where the extra length won't bump into anything. Of course, you can always use a really robust weight, like a cable clamp. See my Vibroplex bug in use at an RCA shore station by its original owner at: http://www.radiomarine.org/historic-5.html Note the weight! I've used it and it works, but the alligator clip is easier to deal with. I also have a vari-speed and find it the least friendly solution. Also it doesn't have the ability to slow my bug down enough. Vibroplex keys of the same model vary a great deal in their "natural" speed, depending upon the date of manufacture. Some checking various keys has shown that Vibroplex tended to use leaf springs with widely different thicknesses that greatly affected the natural dit speed. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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 |
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Ron and Group,
I tried the alligator clip with a few wraps of .050 solder and it works great. You have bailed me out again. I have put the Vari-Speed in the drawer. I enjoyed the pictures, especially the second gentleman--no relation <g>. I have one out of focus picture of me, in 1946, sitting in front of a bank of Hammerlund Super-Pros in a weather station in Greenland. Bob Baxter AA7EQ Walnut Ridge, Ar. On 1/31/06, Ron D'Eau Claire <[hidden email]> wrote: . I find that it's more effective to add length to the pendulum > like the "bug tamer" does. I have a large alligator clip whose jaws just fit > around the pendulum, so it can be clipped on the end without interfering > with the damper. Extra length does a lot more to slow the speed down, gram > for gram, than extra weight along the center area of the pendulum. The > downside is that it requires more depth on the operating table where the > extra length won't bump into anything. > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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 |
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In reply to this post by ni0c
On Jan 31, 2006, at 12:13 PM, Chuck Guenther wrote: > 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! Back in my novice days (1952), I drilled a hole through a piece of ~1/2 x 1 / 1/8 in steel and attached it to the weight of my Vibroplex Lightning Bug. It went so slow that today I'd probably fall asleep between words. I also have an Original which came with a Vari-Speed but had never heard of the Bug Tamer before. I did a Google search and most of the hits were for mosquito netting, but I did find this one with several nice pictures: http://www.visradio.com/cata/vib-bt.html 73, Bob N7XY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] 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 |
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