Well the bug has bitten me quite literally. I just picked up 3 bugs from ebay: a 1933 Vibroplex Lightning Bug with s/n 106654, Lionel J 36 with name/sn plate missing, and a nice 1920 Martin Junior(Original on a smaller base) with s/n of 80622.

The collection so far(4).

1933 Vibroplex Lightning Bug. This was owned by a Major in the Canadian army during WWII.

Serial number 106654 – dates it to 1933.
A nice find on ebay, this Lionel J 36 is missing the plate but one can still see the 5 pins on the left side of the base as well as notice the orange signal corps stamping on the bottom.

My favorite of all, the “Martin Junior” Vibroplex original, circa 1920.
Serial number 80622.
The paddels are still intact, unlike the unfortunate Lightning Bug I received – the triangle thumb paddle broke off during shippment.

The only thing that bugs me(pun intended) is that with the older model bugs the paddles tend to give off a not-so-nice oldfactory smell which kinda makes me feel sick. I ordered new triangle paddles, knobs, and switch knobs to replace the aging and fragile ones which will then be stored in a safe place as they are the original pieces. The only things not original on the Martin Junior is the weight and arm dampaner with damper wheel but I still wonder what messges these humble bugs have sent over the years, the news they brought, the places they’ve been, the people they served, and the people who operated them.

Yes, I’ve been bitten by the bug. Watch out, you maybe next. I’m going to enjoy restoring, preserving and using these bugs. 73 for now.

– Mike
KC2BNX

sent in from Bob Geis N2DET: This might be an interesting broadcast for all radio mode monitors and operators.

WLIW 21 LONG ISLAND (SEE WNET and NJN schedule info at end)

NOVA # 3602 The Spy Factory
9:00pm Wednesday, February 04

For the first time on television, NOVA exposes the hidden world of
high-tech, 21st-century eavesdropping carried out by the National Security
Agency (NSA). Today, the NSA is the world’s largest intelligence agency,
three times the size of the CIA and far more secret. Its mission is to
eavesdrop on the world — from cell phones in Europe to pay phones in
Afghanistan to email messages from Pakistan to Baghdad. Since 9/11, NSA
has listened in without warrant on thousands of American citizens. Based
on the latest best-seller by journalist James Bamford. (Closed Captioning)

Additional Airdates:
1:00am Thursday, February 05
3:00am Monday, February 09
1:00pm Tuesday, February 10

This program will also be on:
WNET/13
February 3rd at 8PM, February 7th at 3PM and February 10th at 1AM.
NJ Network/50&58
February 11th at 9PM

Also on WGPH Schenectady in February.

Here’s a few pictures of my first homebrew, portable transmatch:

I built it out of spare parts in the junk box and from a few gathered at hamfests. I used a typical radio shack plastic black box, they’re usually sturdy enough. The capacitor is an air variable, silver plated type while the toroid is from an old, scrapped computer supply. The design uses 5 switchs to parallel different inductances which gives about 32 possible combinations, all from a common inductor. The setup is the typical “L” network type with a slight twist: its a high pass design rather than the common low pass type. I also put in a homebrew led swr bridge – one of my first attempts to reproduce a similar circuit by N7VE(http://www.qrpkits.com/files/LED%20SWR%20v1.pdf). Here it is in action with my trusty FT 817 and CTE flameproof navy key atop of Mt. Taurus in Cold Spring, NY:

Will try to post some schematics later on when I scan them in. If anyone would like to attempt building some of these circuits you can reach me at kc2bnx@gmail.com – 73 for now de KC2BNX.

Greetings all, figured I’d share with everyone a neat little project of mine that I just recently finished. Built out of parts from my junk box and a few from ebay and hamfests I managed to put together this little miniature “T” (C-L-C) network transmatch:

It uses two polyvaricon capacitors – the kind you’d find in most am/fm pocket radios both with a range of ~11-150pf each, an swr L.E.D. bridge, and 12 position rotary switch connected to a toroid which was taken from an old computer power supply. Range of inductance is from a few fractions of a uH to about 47uH. I built it mainly to reduce weight considering my other “portable” transmatch is a basic “L” network configured as a high pass filter which weighs a bit more and takes almost twice the space as the “T” transmatch. Looking forward to taking it hiking with me when the weather gets better(and warmer). Will be posting some more blogs soon, 73 for now de KC2BNX.

This could be why the FCC asked for help from the Amateur Radio Community:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/36608/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-cable-psa#s-p1-st-i1

They might need it more if the conversion is delayed:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/54019/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-tv-psa-update#s-p1-st-i1