Speed Key Adjustment Procedures

Over the past 115 years there have been large numbers of different type Speed Keys available.  Some of them are more difficult to adjust for perfect code with a 3 to 1 dot/dash ratio.   But most share the basically the same senario of adjustments-- (Except for the Vibroplex Model X--  The Model X key can be very difficult to adjust due it uses the same contact for both dots and dashes}.    The first speed key I tried adjusting took what seemed like forever until I had it making  reasonably decent code.   But after using speed keys since the 1950's, I can now adjust a speed key for perfect code just by watching and listening to the make and break of the dot contacts.  The secret to adjusting speed keys for perfect code is to place an Analog VOM (on Ohms X1 scale) across keys wire nuts and adjust the spacing of the dot contact for a 50% deflection of the Analog VOM while making dots.   It has to be an Analog VOM using the X1 ohms scale..  (Not a digital VOM).  It will take tweaking of the adjustable dot contact and the keys left stop screw to find the perfect spacing for the dot contacts with a 50% deflection of the VOM.  And that the dots produced are an almost endless stream of dots.  But keep in mind, some keys with weak main springs might only be able to produce 8 or 9 dots. Keys with very robust main springs will be able to make an almost endless stream of dots.  And you will also tweak the dot side coil spring tension so the dot arm dosnt hit the damper with too much force.   Anything you place on the dot arm to slow the key down has to be very rigid and secure or it will fowl up the production of dots. 

 If you have purchased an old speed key, it will need to be completely torn apart and all the rust and corrosion removed from all the piece parts.. especially the screws that hold it togther.  So that they key has perfect zero ohms continuity from both the dot and dash contacts over to the wire nuts. The basic proceedure with an older key is to completely disassemble it--- and clean the flop sweat off all of the piece parts using a wire brush.  The old keys have  rust and corrosion on all the screws and piece parts--- which has to be cleaned off. So that there is perfect zero ohms continuity from the dot and dash contacts over to the wire nuts.  Then once the key is perfectly clean, set the keys right stop screw so that the dot arm just barely touches the damper wheel.  Use the very minimum dot coil spring tension so that the dot arm dosnt hit the damper with too much force. Using the least amount of spring tension possible that allows the key to function. If the dot arm hits the damper wheel with too much force, it will force the dot arm back onto itself--- which causes dot stutter.  {On some keys that are difficult to adjust, I've had to place 3m double backed tape around the damper wheel).  So that all the dampening of the dot arm takes place on the 3M double backed tape. Placing talcum powder on the surface of the tape to keep it from sticking to the dot arm.    Then adjust the left side stop screw so that the dot arm travels less than 1/8" towards the left.  You will fine tune the travel of the dot arm to the left later with the VOM across the dot contacts.. providing 50% deflection of the VOM on lowest Ohms scale. That will set the perfect 3 to 1 dot ratio.  Then adj the Dash contact spacing for about the same as the dot contact spacing. All keys are different in adjustments due to the wide variation of the main springs used.  Some main springs are very short and sturdy-- like on one of the fastest speed key ever--- which is the Bunnell J36 WW2 speed key. While some of the older keys have very long weak main springs - which causes them to be more difficult to adjust for perfect code. It wasnt until about 1914 that Vibroplex finally got the length of the main springs correct.   The keys with long main springs can be adjusted for decent code but the adjustments can be more critical and take more time and effort.  

Below is a picture of a Ted McElroy's Radio Telegraph Apparatus speed key made in Boston Mass.  It was commonly called the Stream Key due to its shape.   When Ted sold his key company to the Telegraph Apparatus  Company in Chicago, Ill. it became known as the TAC Key.  When Ted made the key in Boston,  he provided this key with braid to ground from both the dash lever and the dot arm.   Which allowed for perfect continuity from the keys dot and dash contacts over to the Wire Nuts. Otherwise the current flow from the keys contacts had to go through the keys pivots.   But later,  the TAC company in Chicago dropped the braid to ground on their keys to save costs-- which was a huge mistake.    All telegraph speed keys should have been provided with braid to ground like Ted provided on this Stream Key.  It produces excellent code over a wide speed range. This particular key has never been abused in anyway and is in like new condition with all the original piece parts.   The 2nd picture shows the braid to ground from the dot pendulum and dash arm.  Without the braid to ground, the current flow from the dot and dash contacts has to flow through the keys pivots..  and on modern solid state transceivers-- it only requires a few miliampers of current flow.  Back in the days of old land lines and old tube transmitters, large amounts of current flowed through the pivots..---  which helped keep the resistance path open.  Modern solid state rigs have no tolerance for anything except perfect zero ohms from the keys contacts.    Thats why its important to provide the braid to ground from both the dot and dash arm. In place of Braid, I've used 30 gauge wire by coiling it up on a nail.  The Vibroplex Deluxe jeweled bearing keys come with braid to ground.   On some keys, I've even placed 30 gauge wire directly from the dot and dash arm channeled through a hole in the base directly over to the keys ground wire nut.   

Below is a picture of a very early 1905 Horace Martin Vibroplex in the first year of production (Serial #749).    Its in very good condition for being 115 yrs old and has the original small Dot Contact Assembly.  Its in excellent condiiton and has no indication of having been used commercially.  And apparently kept in someones personal collection all these years.  The first keys Horace produced had a long screw adjustment across the bottom of the damper assembly that allows the articulated damper to be moved left or right as needed.   That feature was only available in the early production models.  In this picture--- take a look at how long the main spring is.. compared to pictures of the keys made after 1914. It makes excellent code but in the first years of production --Martin used exta long main springs.  He didnt reduce the length of the main springs till around 1913.  The later keys with the shorter main springs could be more easily adjusted for higher speed code.   The longer main springs cause the key to be more difficult to dampen the dot arm. The damper wheel immediatley stops the motion of the dot arm after making a series of dots.. which is a very important key adjustment -- otherwise the key could produce dot stutter--- (if it bounces back onto itself}.   Usually on these 100 year old keys, the U shaped dot contact assembly was replaced due to wear of the contacts on commercial landline circuits.   On some keys I've had to place 3M double backed tape around the damper wheel-- so that all the dampening takes place on the 3M tape. Just use some talcum powder on the exposed 3m tape to remove its sticky surface that hits the dot arm. 

Below is a picture of an A to Z Electric Novelty Speed Key serial  #5330-- which was made around 1914 time frame.  It was a violation of Horace Martins Patent and illegal to use commercially unless the name plate was removed and a new name plate purchased from Horace Martin.  This key has the original A to Z name plate as shown in the 2nd picture..   and it shows no signs it was ever used.  The copper plated base is in great condition for such an old key.  It produces decent code.  The picture dosnt show it but the base on it is very thick and heavy.  Much heavier than a Vibroplex. But you can see that the main spring was much longer than it should have been--- which causes it to be more fickle to adjust for best code. 

Below is a 1914 Vibroplex in very good condition.   Even the Vibroplex Decal is still plainly visible.  Most of the decals were worn off due to rough use on commercial radio circuits.  You can see how short the main spring is compared to the early keys starting in 1905.  The short main spring on this key is the perfect length to produce very high quality high speed dots. 

And here is a 1962 Vibroplex Gold Plated Presentation.    The early Presentations made after WW2 are one of the best keys ever made-- with their adjustable main spring held in place with 2 screws.  I always use the adjustable main spring in the shortest position for best quallity dots. If you slide the main spring further out, it will cause the dot arm to flop around too much on the damper wheel-- which can cause dot stutter..  This key makes such high quality code that its untold from machine generated and embarrassing to use on the ham bands-- As no one believes that I'm using a speed key!!   I prefer this early version over the later production Presentations.  The first thing they changed was they only used one screw to hold the adj main spring in place.. and finally they dropped the adjustable main spring.   The first speed key I ever purchased in the 1950's was a used Les Logan 515 for $3.50..   I wasnt all that happy with how it produced code..  so then I purchased a new 1959 Vibroplex gold plated  Presentation.  But it seemed like forever until I finally figured out how to ajdust it for best code.. due to how the adjustments interact.  But while testing the key on 20M CW.. a station with the call sign RAEM kept answering my CQ.. I ignored the station due to the strange call sign.. but finally I asked him about his call sign. And thats when he told me he was a Russian military Hero who was given the call sign he used when he saved a large number of people stranded on an Iceberg ---by sending the distress message==  and they awarded him the call sign RAEM for life. The Russians have a yearly CW contest in his honor, The RAEM contest.   Later when I joined the Navy in the 1960's, I passed the Navy speed key test by sending code at over 20 wpm for 10 min with no errors using the Presentation.   But I never used the Presentation on Naval circuits due we would have to send as slow as 10wpm at times.. so I took the old Les Logan 515 and cut the dot arm off and used it as a keying paddle for a transister multi-vibrator  keyer -- which I built on the rear of the key.  It was battery operated with a relay output to key the Navy 250V tube cathodes on KW transmitters.   I used it during the 4 yrs while aboard ship in the Navy.  But when I got out of the Navy, I threw the electronic key in the trash and sold the Vibro Presentation to an FBI agent.. In those days -- FBI agents had to use morse code as a requirement.  But it wasnt till many years later that I started to collect all different kinds of old telegraph  keys-- until today I have a huge collection of all types of hand keys and speed keys.   

Below is a Ted McElroy deluxe speed key. I have a huge collection of Mac keys of all years of production.   All of the McElroy keys suffer from its U shaped dot contact assembly going into high speed  self oscillation after making a series of dots.  Which causes fuzzy sounding dots due he designed the dot contact assembly wrong.   In order to prevent the self oscillation of the dot contact assembly-- he invented the dot stablizer... which is nothing but a metal arm that puts pressure on the dot contact assembly to prevent the self osc.  But the metal arm goes in and out of adjustment constantly and actually kills the dots. The proper fix for a Mac key with a self oscilating  dot contact assembly is to simply wrap some dental floss around it--- to pre-tension it away from the fixed dot contact. In some cases its necessary to open up the U shaped spring a little so it can be pre-tensioned properly. Or you can place some light weight foam between the U shapped spring and then tie some dental floss around it to hold the foam in place.   I've never found a Vibroplex key to have a problem with a self oscillating dot contact assembly.  The self oscillation on Mac keys cant be seen with the naked eye due to how fast the oscillation is. You have to use a 3 or 5 power magnifying lens to see it.  I have this Mac key Deluxe equipped with an aluminun speed control that has an adjustable rod and end weight. For the rod I used a simple nail. But I've found that the best speed control rods are larger diameter galvanized nails.   I also use 1/8" stainless steel weight rods.    McElroy used large diameter fine threaded screws on his keys.  And on a great many of his keys,  the person who tapped the fine threads in the keys base did a very poor job.. causing the screws to not hold steady in the frame.  He should have used standard 8-32 threads like on all Vibroplex keys.   No piece parts on a Mac key interchange with a Vibroplex key and I'm sure he did that intentionally....  Like the dot arm on the Mac keys is much larger diameter than on Vibroplex keys so that the speed control weights dont interchange ~~~~  It takes some experimenting to bring the Mac keys into producing proper high speed code due to how fickle the adjustments on the his keys are.  Ted had quite a few different versions of his speed keys.  The first ones he made in his home shop were very crude.  If you have access to a small drill press and 8-32 tap... you can duplicate this speed control fairly easily.  The aluminum speed control shown below is very easy to make..  all you do is drill the 4 holes and tap the 2 holes for 8x32 threads in a short length of 1/2" aluminum round stock.   Then use some nylon 8-32 adj knobs.  Drilling and taping in 1/2" aluminum round stock is easier than taping into hard brass. You can find aluminum round bar stock in most hardware stores..  The shown speed control works exceptionally well on this Mac Key.  Sliding the body back and forth on the dot arm and also sliding the weight rod back and forth.  I used a rather short nail for the rod but longer nails can be used for slower speeds. 

Years ago, I purchased a package of five 100 year old speed keys from a pawn shop in NewYork but I've only put one of them into working condition so far.   With the old worn out keys --you have to completely tear them apart.. clean all the rust and flop sweat off all the parts using a wire brush etc.. Most of those old keys were painted black.. and most require new paint around the edges... due the edges took a beating while being moved around on the operating position.  What I've done in the past is clean the outside edges of the base with steel wool, then re-paint the edges with Satin Black Enamel.   Once all the piece parts are clean and assembled ----- its faily easy to adjust it for proper code.  You set the right and left stop screws so that the dot arm at idle is just touching the damper wheel.  Then set the travel of the dot arm for about 1/8" of travel to the fixed dot contact.  You will fine tune it using an analog VOM on the ohms scale for 50% delection while making dots.  Which produces the proper 3 to 1 dot ratio required.  You have to use an analog VOM... a digital VOM cant be used.. analog VOM's are still available for a low cost.  I like to set the dash contact spacing as close as possible for sending high speed CW.. but if your just learning to send code, use a contact spacing for the dash with the same gap as used for the Dots. Set the dot side spring tension so that the dot arm dosnt hit the damper with too much force.  Adjusting the dot arm to hit the damper without too much force is a critical adjustment ---and it will take a new user some experimenting to find the best settings for a proper 3 to 1 dot ratio--- without the dot arm hitting damper with so much force --that its forced back on itself---- Which will cause dot stutter..I've adjusted such large numbers of speed keys of all types and ages, that I can take any old speed key and have it producing high quality code in no time--- but each key has its quirks to overcome.  Such as a weak main spring.  Some of the keys I've come across can barely make 5 or 6 dots in a row..  they had such weak main springs.  The worst weakest main spring I ever came across was on an old 1946 EF Johnson Speed-X key---  It was capable of producing only 5 or 6 dots ---but just barely.   EF Johnson bought the Speed X brand from Les Logan after WW2 and it was all downhill after that.  All of the Les Logan speed keys I've tested have excellent main springs.  The only thing I've had to change on the Les Logan speed keys was reduce the number of rubber feet from 4 to 3.  The 3 feet on the base of the speed keys are self leveling and prevent base wobble--so all of the Les Logan keys in my collection have been changed to  3 feet.. Its not difficult to remove the 2 rear feet and replace them with one foot in rear center. Using rubber feet that have stick on glue.   Then the key is self leveling.   Something else Les Logan did to reduce the cost of making his Speed X keys was he used Pot Metal for the main frame casting -- rather than use decent brass castings like on Vibroplex keys.  The pot metal main frame castings can break easily if the key is dropped.   Like what happened to me on a Les Logan Deluxe 501 speed key.  I was able to fix it by using Super Glue to glue the main frame back in operating condition.   Another thing that causes problems with the pot metal main frame is the adjustment screws can seize up in the pot metal..  so its best to remove them and place some anti-seize lubricate on the threads.   Below is picture of an early Les Logan Deluxe 501.. Its one of the very early 501's that had serial numbers..  The very first Les Logan 501's with the serial numbers had solid silver contacts..  But after he dropped the serial numbers ---they used some sort of alloy for the contacts.  Which was a cost saving idea but dosnt help to make proper code with the goofy alloy contacts.   Here is the pictue of the one in my collection with the serial numbers and solid silver contacts. 

And below is a TAC hole in the wall speed key...  Its in like new condition and makes excellent high speed code.  Called Hole in the Wall due it has a large piece of brass for the main frame with a huge hole in the center for the dot arm assembly to slip through.  

Below is a 1932 Vibroplex Lightning in new condition never used.   To slow it down, I drilled a lengthwise hole through the square weight and added a weight rod with an end weight.  When I purchased the key, I had no idea it had never been used..  a very unusual old key in new condi and came in a Vibroplex carry box to protect it.   I didnt polish the nickel plated piece parts with MAAS polish yet.  MAAS is very mild and wont hurt old nickel plating.   

All the Vibroplex Lightning keys use a tiny pin to hold the critical dot arm coil spring.  The tiny pin dosnt hold the dot side coil spring sturdy enough on some keys.. which causes weird flaky dots.   What Vibroplex should have used is a solid piece of flat metal to hold the critical dot spring solidly in place.  On some of the Lightning keys in my collection, they drilled the hole for the pin too large, which causes the pin to flop around-- producing goofy crazy dots.  On those keys, I had to use a center punch to close the hole in on the pin in order to hold it securely in place.   So shame on Vibroplex for not supporting the dot side coil spring with a secure flat metal support on their Lightning keys!!!  They stopped production on the Lightning key in 1982 and I own one of the last produced deluxe Lightning keys.   What happened was I would adjust the Lightning keys for perfect dots and then a few days later the dots became crazy bad.. and I finally figured out that the tiny pin holding the dot side coil spring was the problem.  Very poor mechanical engineering on the part of Vibroplex.  Production of the Lightning keys started around 1927 and ended in 1982.   I have a large collection of Lightning Keys from the first ones produced to last ones!!!  Including the other brands of keys that copied the Lightning.. such as the WW2 Lionel Lightning..  

Below is one of the highest speed-- speed keys ever made.   The Bunnell J36 WW2 speed key.  

It has the strongest and shortest main spring ever placed on a speed key.  If you like to make high speed code, this is the key to own!  It requires a speed control to send below 25wpm...!! But because of the robust main spring..  the code it produces is top of the line super excellent for those who enjoy sending the higher speeds !!!    

Below is an FA Wilcox Canadian Serial 007 speed key..  Its a very well made unusual key with a huge 1/2" diameter silver plate for the fixed dot contact.  And it makes excellent code. 

And below are 2 Canadian keys,  A Ralph Brown nickel plated key made about 1917 sitting next to a Dow Key.  Both keys make excellent code.   

And below is another Canadian key made during WW2.  I call it the Canadian Maple Leaf key due to the Canadian maple leaf decal in the center.  It was made for the Canadian military as a promotion to encourage people to join the military during WW2.  Featuring a woman sitting at the operation position using it on military circuits.  Its a very high quality tiny speed key that makes excellant code. Smaller than a vibroplex blue racer.  Being a one of a kind.. its the rarest key ever produced!!  It has unique spring loaded wire holders with a push button to remove the wire. 

And Below is a very unusual 1906 Vibroplex Original deluxe nickel plated speed key which I acquired from a pawn shop in Toronto Canada.  The pawn shop wouldnt release the details of the person who brought it in.  Its in such good condition for being 115 yrs old..  that it must have been kept in someones personal collection all the years.  Its serial number 1926 and a tag attached to the bottom says:

Proptery of Roger Astley... so he was no doubt the long time owner.  The nickel plating is starting to flake off due in those days nickel plating wasnt all that wonderful. It makes decent code but you can see in the picture that the main spring is much longer than used on todays speed keys. So adjusting it for best code can be a little tricky !!!   

Below is a 1912 Vibroplex Original with its red terracotta finger pieces.  It has an extra long main spring and I made a main spring reducer using an aluminum body.. as you can see on the dot arm.  The super long main spring limits ability to produce high quality dots. But by 1914, Vibroplex finally got the main spring length much shorter for higher quality high speed code.  Back in those days all they had to go on was the clicking of Sounders on landlines !!!  It works much better with the main spring length reducer installed. 

Other than the extra long main spring, its a very well constructed heavy key.   Back in the 1950's, the railroad was still using landline Continential Morse code communication and I learned to send and receive with Sounders by visiting the local train station.  Listening to the clicking of the Sounders can be frustrating and almost take a 6th sense to master it.  I collected a large number of Sounders and eventually donated most of them to Museums.   When the sounder operates, you can tell when the amature of the sounder is held down for a dash-- and mastering Continental Morse can be difficult.  Roy Rogers was a telegraph operator in his early life and from what I understand--- he was very fast at the Continental Morse. 

And below is a Ted McElroy black crinkle based speed key made in Boston.  You can see the dental floss I wrapped around the U shapped Dot Contact spring to prevent the high speed self oscillation of the spring before it comes to a rest..  which causes the dots to sound mushy.   The high speed self oscillation cant be seen with the naked eye..  it requires using a 3 power magnefying lens to see it happening before it finally  comes to a rest after around 5 or 6 seconds.   All the McElroy keys need to be used with a dot stabilizer and I dont mean the metal arm that Ted invented. ((()))

 The production of the Model X  came to an end in 1921.   The new and improved Model X is shown below is from 1920.  But there was nothing new or improved about it... and thats why production ended...   I have it equipped with a sliding rod speed control.  The Model X was the most difficult speed key to adjust for decent code.  And thats why production ended in 1921.. it uses one contact for both dots and dashes. With a 3" long contact assembly coming from the rear of the key to the center.. Its the only key ever made with one contact in the center for both dots and dashes.   It can be adjusted to make decent code but its a very fickle key to adj...  -- There were about 3 of 4 different versions of it before it was taken off the market. 

Below is a 1920 Mod X sitting next to a 1920 Blue Racer.  

And below is a Deluxe Vibroplex with an Extendadot in line speed control by W7IS  -- Its made of stainless steel and because its an In Line Trombone speed control, its very stable on the dot arm. The larger diameter of the Trombone allows the dot arm to dampen better on the damper wheel. The end weight can be quickly removed to increase the speed range for higher speed code.  The Vibroplex deluxe jeweled bearing keys produce machine generated quality code.  They work that well. 

Below is a 1920 Vibroplex Original in very good condition for being 101 yrs old !!