Etherkit EtherKeyer Mini printed circuit boardKM4CFT 3D printed CW paddlesKM4CFT 3D printed CW paddles
I’ll need to see if I’ve got a spare TRS cord lying around to use with the paddle.
The other board he sent along was a code practice oscillator board (the Etherkit CPO Among Us edition).
Printed circuit board in the shape of a character from the video game Among UsPrinted circuit board in the shape of a character from the video game Among Us
These should make for a fun weekend project.
Jason’s got some fun looking things in the works these days. Go see what he’s been up to on his Applied Etherics Substack.
According to the results, W4BXC had 115 QSOs, 58 multipliers, 29 counties, scoring 21498 points (including 850 bonus points). Looks like 4 QSOs got busted or something.
That got us to 13th place in the Phone only category.
This year’s SCQP had a total of 406 logs submitted and 27468 QSOs this year.
Next edition of the SC QSO party is February 22, 2025. Looking forward to it.
The Begali Camelback is the newest addition to my straight key collection. I had been wanting to get a Begali straight key for a while and finally got one at Hamcation last year.
Begali Camelback straight key
If any company can lay claim to being the Cadillac of CW key makers, I’d say it would be Begali. The Camelback isn’t their most expensive key, but it’s still beautifully made and crafted. It’s a nicely designed key with a simple, elegant aesthetic. It is without question my favourite straight key in my collection to use.
The Camelback weighs in at a hefty 1.8 kg (4 lbs), by far the heaviest of anything in my collection. The weight means it’s not moving anywhere on my desk while I’m using it which is good because you definitely don’t want this thing sliding off your desk.
Begali Camelback straight key
Two knobs at the rear of the key make it easy to adjust the contact spacing and spring tension to fit your preference.
Like most straight keys, it’s pretty simple and there’s not much to it. The wiring connections are made by soldering wires to terminals in a recessed channel at the bottom of the base. The cable is routed through the channel to the back and makes things nice and tidy.
Bottom view of the Begali Camelback showing the terminal connections and recessed channel for the cable
It makes a satisfying thunk-y sound while I’m tapping out Morse code, as opposed to the more clacky sound that the J-38 makes. This is just a really comfortable key to use.
I don’t remember how I ended up with this Vibroplex Vibrokeyer Standard, but it’s been part of the collection for a few years.
The Vibrokeyer is a nice paddle and doesn’t take a lot of effort to use. It’s built on a solid weighty metal base and has a pretty nice, smooth action. The feet on the bottom have become hard and slick from age so it tends to slide around on the table a bit. I have to hold it still with my other hand when I’m using it. The feet are screwed in to the base so they should be easy enough to replace with fresher, softer feet that will grip the table better.
The key has seen a few years, and based on a compilation of Vibroplex serial numbers by WW7P, the serial number stamped on the plate (272333) dates this particular key possibly around 1973. It’s still in pretty good condition though.
Vibroplex Standard single lever paddle
Based on pictures of current Vibrokeyers, it looks like this one might be missing an adjustment knob that goes in the hole at the top.
Vibroplex Standard single lever paddle
This is a single lever paddle and needs to be connected to an electronic keyer that generates the dits and dahs. Connected properly, pushing the lever to one side makes the keyer generate dits, and pushing to the other side makes the keyer generate the dahs.
Vibrokeyer connection terminals
Connections to the keyer are made using the three terminals at the back. The center terminal is the ground/common connector, and the left and right terminals are for the dit/dah sides.
I suppose it could be used as a side-swiper style key or by pressing the lever just to one side like a sideways straight key if a keyer wasn’t available.
The Hi-Mound BK-100 bug style key is one that I picked up at a local hamfest a few years ago. It’s a very distinctive looking and easily recognizable key and commonly referred to as a “coffin bug” because of its shape. The person I bought it from mentioned that it’s rare to find one without cracks or damage to the plastic cover. This one is in pretty good shape and the plastic cover is undamaged aside from a bit of age-related haze.
It’s a pretty large and heavy key, about 22 cm long (including the lever), 7.5 cm wide and 6 cm tall including the cover. Except for the speed setting plate, there are no identifying markings at all anywhere on the bug.
As keys go, I think this one is pretty neat. It falls in the semi-automatic class of keys. Dahs are generated by pushing the lever to the left, which is essentially a straight key. The tone is generated as long as the lever is held to the left.
Contact point for generating dahs
The dits on the other hand, are generated by pushing the lever to the right which starts a weighted arm vibrating.
Vibrating arm for generating dits
As the arm vibrates, the contact on the right of the above image is opened and closed, generating the dits. The arm continues to vibrate as long as the lever is pushed to the right, but eventually dampens out. The large knob on the left side is a weight on the arm that controls how fast the arm vibrates. Sliding the arm to the right makes the arm vibrate faster, producing a faster dit rate. If you don’t press the lever to the right hard enough though, the arm vibrates but not enough to cause the spring to open and close the contact.
There are lots of knurled knobs that can be used to adjust the contact spacing, lever spring tension, and lever swing distance for both the dit and dah side to your preference.
There are only two terminal connections, so it’s wired up like a conventional straight key. One terminal is the ground/common, and the other terminal goes to the contacts.
I don’t know if there’s any kind of chart or table that converts the 0-10 speed indicator on the plate to a dit WPM rate, but it shouldn’t be too hard to work out.
I haven’t used the BK-100 as much as I have my other keys. Although operating it is straight forward enough, it’s a different enough style of finger movements that going back and forth between this and a straight key gets a bit confusing. It’s a very nice key to operate though. One of these days I’ll get it set up so that I can start practicing with it more.
