CW – AB4UG Radioblog

CW key collection: Begali Camelback

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.

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.

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.

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.

CW key collection: Hi-Mound BK-100

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.

Hi-Mound BK-100 semi-automatic bug with the plastic cover on. — Hi-Mound BK-100 bug

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.

Lever, springs and contacts for the section of the BK-100 bug that produces the dah sounds — 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 section of the BK-100 bug that produces the dit sounds — 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.

CW key collection: The Key key

One of the more unique straight keys in my collection is one I acquired from an ARRL Auction a few years ago.

Yay, @arrl auction items arrived! Love this CW key made from a…key #hamradio pic.twitter.com/J3i4DJ3Hi1
— imabug (@imabug) October 30, 2020

It’s a metal (brass I think) decorative (I presume) old fashioned key mounted on a simple plywood base. The two spring terminals on the left side of the above image provide the connection to the radio or a code practice oscillator.

A vintage looking brass key mounted on a plywood base. The key is mounted to act as a straight key for tapping out Morse code. — Straight key made from a decorative brass key

There are no identifying marks on the key or base, and I don’t remember who it was that donated it to ARRL for their auction. It’s a pretty decent bit of work by whoever created it though.

Although it’s fully functional as a straight key, I feel like it was created as more of a decorative conversation starter piece. You’re touching a piece of bare metal to operate the key, which is essentially opening and closing a switch with what’s supposed to be a small voltage across it. When connected and used normally the shock risk should be pretty insignificant, but it’s not something you can rule out if it’s not connected properly.

Whether anyone actually used this on a regular basis, I can’t say. There doesn’t appear to be much tarnishing at the handle that you might expect to see when brass is handled often. Still a fun looking piece and an easy-ish key to use with a pretty decent feeling action.

CW key collection: J-38

I’ve managed to accumulate a small (5) collection of CW keys over the years, starting with the J-38 straight key, and most recently the Begali Camelback.

After I got my amateur radio license, I knew I wanted to learn Morse code (still working on it), and I knew I wanted a straight key. I love the simplicity and the imagery of and connection to telegraphers of old hammering out CW.

When it comes to “vintage” straight keys, the J-38 and its many variants aren’t too hard to find. My J-38 was one of my first hamfest acquisitions, and is a nice simple key to use.

J-38 straight key mounted on a wooden base

It’s missing the shorting bar across the top two terminals and the shorting lever but otherwise works perfectly. When I’m practicing my Morse code, this is usually the one I work on the most. I really like the way it feels.