CW key collection: Vibroplex Vibrokeyer Standard

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.

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.

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.

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.