As a new Novice in 1958, a high school friend (not a ham) introduced me to an
older neighbor of his (also not a ham). The old guy lived in a two-story house,
a rarity in our Tucson neighborhood. The second story was just one big room
filled with keys, sounders, clocks, etc. IIRC, the guy had been a Western Union
operator and he built a replica of a station. He did have a homebrew receiver
and a surplus Navy TRF receiver, but he and my friend were experimenting with
common-carrier communications over the power line.
After learning that I was a new ham and operating with some junk key, he gave me
a Western Union Telegraph Co, "1 B, Pole Changer Key" made by Bunnell.
My rig in those days was a crystal-controlled Millen transmitter (6L6-807) and a
BC-342 receiver. I remember making a 40 meter QSO one day with a guy with a
two-letter call, who painstakingly rag chewed with me for 30 minutes or so.
When we ended our QSO he was called by another two-letter guy, probably a
friend, and they proceeded to comment, very favorably, on my fist. I about
popped a button or two. Regrettably, I no longer have the logbook, but I still
have the key, 65 years later.
Wes N7WS
On 7/2/2023 3:37 AM, Rob Atkinson wrote:
There were a few electronic key designs that surfaced in the '50s,
maybe even late '40s, usually appearing in QST. But then Jim Ricks
W9TO designed his TO Keyer which Halicrafters started manufacturing
and that pretty much ended the other designs such as the MON-KEY.
Vibroplex made a single lever paddle, the Vibrokey, in colors to match
the TO Keyer and the combination was and is unsurpassed in my opinion,
if you want a fully automatic key that feels like a bug.
I never liked sending with a straight key and not long after I was
first licensed I found a J-36 at a hamfest and stuck with that for
years. I tried an iambic keyer and paddle set around 20 years ago and
never really liked it. Then I fixed up a used TO Keyer and Vibrokey
paddle and felt like I'd found a fully automatic bug, to me it was
wonderful. A friend sold me a spare Original Deluxe a few years ago
and I think that model is the best bug you can buy. If you look at
old photos of commercial radiotelegraph operators, they're usually
using Original Deluxes. Sadly, I don't operate CW much at all now and
lately have been wanting to get back into it because believe it or
not, I think it might help stave off dementia. Sending and receiving
CW, if you don't use any gadgets to copy, uses your brain a lot more
than yakking into a microphone.
Rob
K5UJ
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