Sid Lipkowitz, VE3ZSX

sid.lipkowitz@sympatico.ca

Hamvention flea market prospector strikes Vibroplex gold.

I have been going to the Dayton Hamvention without a miss for 26 years now. It is always an enjoyable experience and through the years I have found wonderful treasures. It turned out that 2010 was no exception.

I am somewhat of a Morse-code-key collector (see Figure 1) and I keep an eye out for the unusual. While casually strolling through the aisles I came upon a gentleman selling two chrome iambic keys. One was the Vibroplex dual lever version we are all familiar with and the other was one I had never seen before. It was round had a heavy bright-chrome base with two bright red paddles on long levers, which I knew right away were of Vibroplex manufacture. I picked it up and looked underneath and it said Vibroplex Venus serial number 0009 (see Figure 2). I had never seen or heard of this model before.

The vendor Ray, K9RS, said he purchased it from Vibroplex about 9 years ago and had used it little. He mentioned that it was a discontinued model. Having recently browsed Vibroplex’s website I knew there was nothing like this in their current product line. Negotiation over the price was polite; as I walked away I knew I had found something great.

Excited, I told my friends over lunch about my discovery. They suggested I go to the Vibroplex booth and ask someone there about it. I arrived at the busy Vibroplex booth and asked someone for assistance. I was introduced to the former Vibroplex owner “Mitch” Mitchell, W4OA, and found him to be very friendly (see Figure 3).

Mr Vibroplex

“Hello sir,” I said “I kind of found a Vibroplex key I have never seen before. Would you know what it is?” He looked in amazement and said “You have a Venus key. You have one of the rarest Vibroplex keys ever made. Less than 20, maybe less than 15 of these keys exist in the world.”

He explained that about 10 years ago Vibroplex began to manufacture the Venus key. Due to manufacturing problems in the chroming process exacting tolerances required for the long levers of this iambic key could not be attained with regularity and the project was discontinued.

“You sir have a rare Vibroplex treasure. It’s even rarer than the upright Vibroplex key made 100 years ago! By the way, the original designer of the Venus key, Wayne Smith, K8FF, is over in the next building. Show it to him and see what he says.”

Mitch kindly signed the bottom of the Venus key for me and as I left I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe only 15 or 20 Venus keys existed in the world. From Vibroplex no less.

Venus and Mercury

I walked over to Wayne, K8FF, a friendly fellow who, upon seeing the Venus key, was also amazed. “You found one,” he said and proceeded to tell me the history of this unusual key. The design was influenced by the original N2DAN Mercury key and hence the name Venus. Using magnets to attain tight and smooth control over key tension, this was Vibroplex’s entry into the magnetic iambic-key market. I have owned a N2DAN Mercury key, also rare to find now, it set the standard for magnetic-iambic keys made today. Wayne still has the original drawings and specifications. He personally owns a gold-plated Venus key and even sold the only painted Venus key made — talk about rare!

Using the Vibroplex Venus key is a pleasure. The smooth function of the levers is controlled by a strong magnet on a central post allowing easy adjustment from the side (see Figure 4). Construction is of the highest quality and the heavy round base with rubber gasket gives solid nonslip support on any surface. This unusual Vibroplex key is generally unknown due to its brief life, but it shows the passion of the designer and the Vibroplex Company to bring it to the ham market regardless of the difficulties involved. For me it just all came together this one day at the Dayton 2010 Hamvention.

Sid Lipkowitz, VE3ZSX, an International Life member, has been licensed for 41 years, first being licensed at the age of 16. He enjoys CW and SSB DXing and has operated from all over the world. Sid has, for the last 26 years, owned a large military electronics surplus store in Toronto called Electronic Surplus Industries, ltd. During this time many useful Amateur Radio items in the local area have come from Sid’s shop.

Amateur Radio has had a big impact on Sid’s life. He was lucky that a ham club was established at his high school in Winnipeg where he picked up the hobby. He also participates in microscopy owning many microscopes and also in amateur astronomy, always looking up with his telescopes. Sid can be reached at 53 Sheffield St, Toronto, ON M6M 3E5, Canada.