Vibroplex Original Bug 1842

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This Vibroplex model is known as the Original which has been in production for over 100 years. The serial number of the key shown here is 120564 which places this bug as being made in 1942. According to the "Birth dates of Vibroplex keys" by John Elwood, WW7P, he states that in 1942 the following serial numbers were used 118,453 thru 122,536. The base has a wrinkle black finish. This 1942 Vibroplex Original was manufactured at 833 Broadway New York, NY.

A Vibroplex Original made in the early 1980's can be seen HERE for comparison.

The Vibroplex original bug first appeared on page 32 in the June 1905 issue of The Commercial Telegraphers Journal and is still in production today.

The Vibroplex company

Founded in 1905 in New York.

In 1907 Mr. Martin briefly moved the company to Norcross Georgia and sold his keys under the name of United Electric Mfg. Co.

By 1910 Vibroplex bugs were manufactured back in New York and were sold under the Vibroplex name and New York on the nameplate.

1979 the company went from New York to Portland, Maine.

In 1995 S. Felton Mitchell Jr., WA4OSR, purchased Vibroplex and moved the company to Mobile Alabama.

In 2009 Scott Robbins, W4PA purchased The Vibroplex Company and relocated it to Knoxville, Tennessee. Currently the company is located at 2906 Tazewell Pike, Suite A2B, Knoxville, TN 37918.

Vibroplex is the oldest continuously operating business in Amateur Radio. They were founded in New York in 1905 by Horace Martin, the inventor of the semi-automatic or "bug" Morse code key. After many years in New York and a handful of ownership changes over the 115 year period, Vibroplex has been operating in Knoxville, TN since 2009. Vibroplex keys are manufactured in the USA and they presently manufacture Morse code keys under the Vibroplex and Bencher brands. In addition Vibroplex manufacturers INRAD(International Radio) which is aftermarket crystal and roofing filters for use in transceivers and receivers from the 1960's to the present day. The company also supplies the OEM filters for the Elecraft K3S transceiver. In 2017 the company introduced the INRAD line of microphone and headset products. To complete a ham station the company also manufacturers the Par Endfedz antennas for both single and multi band operation.

With W7FG Vintage Manuals, Vibroplex creates reproduction manuals for vintage Amateur Radio, shortwave radio, scanners, audio and test equipment. They have 17,000 titles in stock for both service and operation manuals for equipment dating from the 1930's to the present day.

In addition, Vibroplex is the North American distributor for Spiderbeam, Easy-Rotor-Control, mAT-TUNER automatic antenna tuners, 4O3A Signature Products, and DXPatrol receivers.

If it comes from Vibroplex you known it has to be good! Although I personally prefer their pre Knoxville TN keys as the few that I have examined seem to be built with a touch better quality then their modern day equivalent.

Another way to look at Vibroplex is from a quote by S. Felton Mitchell Jr., WA4OSR, “The Vibroplex name is older than amateur radio and has come to represent the one piece of equipment in the ham shack that symbolizes the interest, camaraderie, and esprit de corps of the world-wide ham radio community.”

Where did the name “BUG” come from for this style of mechanical key?

Researching the subject I found a few references which I’ll list below and let the reader decide.

According to the Wiki Vibroplex page which anyone can edit and change it states: “The original device became known as a "bug", most likely due to the original logo, which showed an "electrified bug".

According to an article by Randy Cole which is found on the vibroplex collector website Mr. Cole states: “In those days a poor telegraph operator was called a “bug,” and some operators bought a key from Vibroplex or a competitor and started using it without much practice. The result was poor sending, and the keys themselves became known as “bugs.”

According to “The Origin of the Word Bug" by J. Casale W2NI found at the telegraph-history website.

The first use of the word Bug has its roots as a technical problem(false signals) heard on duplex and quadruplex telegraph circuits. Even Thomas Edison attempted to come up with an arrangement that rendered the false signals insignificant and named his new device a “Bug Trap”. By 1890, the term "bug" in the telegraph industry had evolved to describe a fault heard on multiple telegraphy systems and may have been used in others fields at this time as well.

The second meaning evolved from when the first semi-automatic keys appeared around 1904 or 1905, they were advertised and called transmitters. Some time around 1908 telegraphers started to call them by the nickname, "bug," because they sounded like one on a circuit. When telegraphers started using these new transmitters they naturally sent many errors. Their lack of experience and mis-adjustment of the transmitters sometimes resulted in excessive and "clipped" dots also causing what sounded like a "bug" on the circuit.

The article goes on to describe a court battle between The Vibroplex Co. and the J.H. Bunnell & Co. over the use of the word “Bug”. Very interesting and insightful reading that I highly recommend.

The book titled “The Telegraph Instructor” by G.M. Dodge dated 1911 states the following on page 50: “Bug in a wire – A slang phrase frequently used when a wire is in trouble”.

The book titled “The story of the key” by Louis Ramsey Moreau(SK) W3WRE copyright 1989 states the following on page 21: “The word bug as used on the wire during the late 19th and early 20th centuries was pure telegraphic profanity. To these men a bug was a lousy operator with a fist that only a mother could love.

The picture on the left shows how I like to set up the Vibroplex bug. Notice the pendulum is just barely touching the damper. The screw adjustments on the bug allow the operator to adjust the arm from missing the damper completely to slapping it so hard that the damper bounces around. The damper found on this Vibroplex Original is known as an "L" damper. It is made from two pieces of cast metal. The lower piece is shaped like the letter L and is secured to the frame by two screws. The upper cast piece is hinged onto the "L" section and contains the damper wheel.

The picture on the right is of the bottom of this bug. Notice the three rubber feet. That is not a manufacturing shortcut but rather done intentionally. Many Vibroplex keys are found with three(3) feet on the bottom. The reason why three feet are better than four is because if one of the feet is at a different height from the rest the key will wobble on a desk. With three feet the key will always sit stable when in use.

This style of Vibroplex label found on this 1942 model Original bug is known to collectors as D5. The D5 Vibroplex label found on the bug featured here has a serial number of 120564 and contains 6 patent numbers as well as the address of the company at that time which is 833 Broadway New York, NY. The D5 nameplates began in 1941.

The pictures above were all taken from the ad when I purchased this Vibroplex. I've included them here to show the condition of the item when I purchased it. The seller made no attempt to clean the item which in the case of old telegraph equipment is extremely smart to do. My cleaning efforts involved nothing more than soap and water. No mechanical means(dremmel tool) was used. A set screw for one of the pendulum weights was aftermarket and much too long as seen in the picture on the left. I cut it down to the proper size. Otherwise the bug needed no repairs and works perfect.

Provenance:

I purchased this bug and a few others from Brian Harrison (KN4R) who stated in the ad that this bug came from a recently-acquired sizable key collection. Brian did not tell me the name or call sign(if any) of the prior owner nor did I pry very hard except to ask about any provenance. All Brian would say was that he acquired a large key collection from a collector. So I started to watch his for sale ads which paid off a few months later. Brian removed the prior owner's call sign from nearly all of his items but on a couple of them it would have caused extensive damage to do so. It was on these 2 items that I learned that the former owner's call sign was K4KP. Someone else uses that call today.