On 8/4/14 18:38 : , Peter Klein wrote:
> I found an ex-Western Union Vibroplex bug at one for cheap - that was
> exciting, since I love antique telegraph keys.
You love the Tillamook (Oregon) Air Museum, which I visited last
week. They had some WWII-era Hallicrafters radios in relatively good
shape on exhibit. Behind glass and with mixed light sources, but I did
my best:
Super Skyrider receiver with a paper-tape based Morse keyer. There
were no straight keys or bugs on display.
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/tillamookair/P7290058.jpg.html>
Sweet.
Sky Buddy receiver mislabled as a transmitter and receiver, with a mic
plugged into the headphones jack. :-) Below are some single-band Navy
receivers and their "twin" transmitters. I actually used a
transmitter like this for a while, think it was called an ARC-5.
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/tillamookair/P7290059.jpg.html>
Yep. A lot of those old military rigs look very similar. All ugly and
utilitarian.
S-22 on left, Navy receiver mislabeled as a "rectifier power unit" on
right, a tester and a VLF receiver on the floor
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/tillamookair/P7290088.jpg.html>
I remember these "boat anchor" radios well. When I got my ham license
as a teenager in late 1968, many of us had them. WWII surplus stuff
was relatively cheap and worked well if you could calibrate your dial
and cope with the drift, not to mention be able to lift them on and
off your desk. You could always tell the guys who keyed with "bugs" by
their "Lake Erie swing"--long dashes followed by very fast dots, and
sometimes one or two too many. :-) The ones who were really good at it
were amazing in the same way that a virtuoso musician is amazing.
My first station was a Heathkit DX-100b and a Knight R-something
receiver, homebrewed T/R relay. I never got the hang of a mechanical
bug, but built an electronic keyer. Original paddle was two straight
keys back-to-back vertically on a base. Upgraded to a Brown Brothers
BTL-A paddle, which I still have.
--
Paul Braun
Certified Music Junkie
Valparaiso, IN
"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever." - David St. Hubbins
"Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life" - Berthold Auerbach
--
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