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How to Make a Vibroplex Bug Tamer

Although the notion of communicating using Morse code seems like an antiquated holdover from the telegraph era to many people in the information age, many ham radio operators still nurture the form of communication on their signals. Continuously making telegraph keys for more than a century, Vibroplex̵7;s bug key has become the standard for high-speed Morse transmission. The key̵7;s weighted arm allows it to automatically transmit shot dot signals at a high speed. Many operators prefer to slow the dot signal down, and turn to improvised devices, known as tamers, to provide them with more control of their key.

Things You'll Need

Table vise
8-32 tap
#6 aluminum screw spacer
Metal file
Steel wool
1-inch 8-32 steel bolt
Screwdriver

Instructions

- 1
  Loosen the trunion lock screw on the key arm before performing any maintenance or upgrade work such as adding a bug tamer to your Vibroplex.
- 2
  Clamp the #6 aluminum spacer in a table vise, making sure the fit is snug, but not tight enough to force the spacer out of shape. Widen the hole in the aluminum spacer and add 8-32 threads using the 8-32 tap. Only tap the spacer about halfway through its hole. Back the tap out, and make sure the threads inside are continuous and cleanly cut.
- 3
  Flip the spacer upside down in the vise so you can work on the untapped end. Using the coarse side of a metal file, file down the untapped portion of the spacer, then clean up the work with the fine side of the file and steel wool. Removing portion of the spacer makes the added weight used to tame the arm̵7;s dot rate.
- 4
  Remove the spacer from the vise and thread it onto a 1-inch 8-32 steel bolt using the threads cut in Step 2. Screw the threaded spacer weight all the way up the length of the bolt so it sits snugly next to the bolt̵7;s head.
- 5
  Remove the stock Vibroplex weight from the end of the key arm using a screwdriver. Screw the bolt and spacer weight in the hole at the end of the arm where you removed the stock weight.
- 6
  Tighten the trunion lock screw and adjust the arm as necessary.

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