Home-made semi-automatic morse key

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Semi Automatic "Bug" Morse Key

Feeling like a change from ship models, a few days ago, I decided to try and build a semi-automatic bug key. This type of morse key was first developed in the United States. Conventional morse keys move up and down, and both dots and dashes have to be made manually. When I first went into passenger liners as a junior radio officer in 1965, I found it very hard going sending large numbers of messages, often containing hundreds of words. My wrist was quickly in danger of seizing up, so I obtained a cheap Japanese bug key in Cape Town. The bug key works horizontally, and the side of the palm can be rested on the desk. Pushing the paddle to the right with the thumb, produces a string of dots by vibrating a piece of weighted steel spring with electrical contacts fitted. Pushing it to the left with the forefinger, the dashes have to be made individually. I found this a great help, and was soon able to send for considerable lengths of time without getting tired. In the next twelve years, I got through two Japanese bug keys, the first being accidentally dropped by the third radio officer when it was only a few weeks old. That broke the paddle arm off, and I had to effect a temporary repair until I could replace it again in Cape Town. Despite being quite cheap, I had no complaints about the Japanese keys, they were really good. But I had heard that the American Vibroplex keys were the best of the best. Eventually, I was able to purchase on in Houston, Texas, for about £50. I used that one regularly from 1977 until leaving the sea in late 1992, and still have it today. The key illustrated is purely my own design based on trial and error, and it took almost a week to get it working correctly. I have compared it with my Vibroplex, and although I am a bit "rusty" at morse after 25 years, can still produce perfectly readable code, and cannot tell any difference in handling between mine and the Vibroplex,

I incorporated small ball races for the top and bottom bearings that gave a very smooth action. The spring steel is a piece of a junior hacksaw blade with the teeth ground off. The vertical pillars are all old rifle shells cut off to the correct length, and bolted to the acrylic base via holes drilled through ends. The dent caused by the firing pins was a great guide for the drill. The open tops were fitted with home-made caps made from brass, with a fancy brass bolt in the top for purely aesthetic reasons. Solving the spring problem was beyond me, as I could nor find any springs small enough, or of the correct strength. I got round this by using powerful neodymium magnets instead of springs, and they work really smoothly. The tension can be easily adjusted by moving the magnets further apart, or closer together. Neither could I get the dot contacts correct, so I used a small magnetic reed switch. It is actuated by a magnet fixed the vibrating arm. The speed of the dots can be adjusted by moving the brass weight along the vibrating arm. The closer it is moved to the front of the key, the faster the dots. Most of the construction is in brass. The base and paddle are acrylic sheet and the finger knob is a small "button knob" normaly used for glass cabinets.

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Now that’s something you don’t get to see very often…

Isn’t human ingenuity wonderful?

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Almost a work of art. Something that would sit on a gentleman's desktop and provide interest and a talking point.

Ashley

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Thanks,

This is where I got the shell cases from in 1983. The abandoned whaling settlement at Grytviken. The ship on the left is my ship, RMS St. Helena, (in which I spent 11 years) that in normal service was a Class I passenger liner running from Avonmouth, Bristol to Cape Town with 76 passengers and general cargo. The sailing ship hulk lying beached on the right, was the old American barque Jennie S. Barker, completed in 1869. Bet the Argentinian who slipped them into his rifle 35 years ago would never have imagined that they would end up in a morse key! No chance of it giving off bad vibes though, as no-one on either side was actually killed in the battle. Amazing really, considering the number of empty shell cases lying around. I sometimes use them as funnels for models, and they are really high quality brass.

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Very impressive Bob. I bet when you were using those you never imagined the touch screen keyboards on modern mobile phones – or indeed the phones themselves.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

No, I had no idea how things would develop, but I did know that awful things were happening in electronics. Here I am in my final few days at sea in the new St. Helena (Twice the size of the old one, and 132 passengers). Note the whites in the Bay of Biscay, to give the impression to passengers that we were sailing in tropic seas) It was a continual battle to try and keep up with all the new technology. We did have one of the first mobile phones aboard, but it was the size and weight of a housebrick In late 1992, I couldn't stand it any longer, and when the chance of voluntary redundancy came up, I decided to quit the rat-race and took it after 31 years at sea. In the photograph, I was repairing one of the internal telephones. In addition to operating all this communication equipment, I had to maintain and repair satellite communications, satellite  navigation, radar sets, computers, TV sets, videos, teleprinters, fax machines, transmitters, receivers, automatic steering computer, engine-room servo-watch monitoring systems, fire alarms and public address system etc ect blah blah blah. And as most of it was not in the radio office, I had to do it when I was supposed to be off duty. Then, in the evening, I was expected to help entertain the passengers as well The upside was excellent food and accommodation. Excellent pay. Worked one voyage on, one voyage off (2 months) with full pay on leave. Could take wife along free of charge all the time if she wished.

Bob

Edited By Bob Wilson on 27/08/2017 10:04:39

[Empire ParkstoneParticipant @empireparkstone]

I would guess you likely had dealings with Portishead Radio station ?

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Certainly, I first made conatct with them on my first trip to sea in early 1961, and communicated with them on a regular basis, using morse code until 1979. But in 1979, my ship was fitted with a teleprinter and from then until late 1990s my Portishead communications were either by teleprinter or radio telephone calls, but I still used morse until late 1992 for communication with other stations such as St. Helena and Cape Town.

Bob

[Empire ParkstoneParticipant @empireparkstone]

I live next door to where it was There is Avon &Somerset police HQ there now and a housing estate.When we moved here the masts were terrifying in a high wind deafening not to mention radio /tv interference they could even make the needles move on my tape deck switched off.Of course us all having overhead power supply no helpee

John

[Mark Jarvis 2Participant @markjarvis2]

Hi Bob, was there any reason that the key and its bits were open, not in a box??

Mark

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

It seemed a shame to cover it all up after having gone to the trouble of making it! I have since fitted a self-contained one valve oscillator on it, with the loudspeaker mounted under the vibrating arm and the LT & HT batteries underneath. I don't suppose I will ever use it, as I am not a radio Ham, but I found that I can still send morse OK on it.

Bob

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