The Vibroplex Collector's Page

The Vibroplex Collector's Page

Vibroplex nameplate

Maintained by Randy Cole, KN6W

The Vibroplex semi-automatic telegraph key, or bug, has played a major part in land line and wireless telegraphy since Horace G. Martin introduced it in 1905. Join me and learn more about these interesting devices and the company that made them.

The Vibroplex Bug - A short introduction
Identifying Your Vibroplex - How to tell the models apart
Vibroplex Image Gallery - Images of almost all models and types
Date Your Vibroplex - The WW7P serial number list tells when yours was made
Vibroplex Nameplates - As compiled by W1IMQ
Clones, Related Manufacturers, and the Signal Corps J-36 - Several other companies made copies or near-copies
Information Sources - Books, etc., about Vibroplexes
Related Web Sites - Telegraphy and other interesting subjects
The KN6W Collection - Vibroplexes and the amazing Melehan Valiant, plus keys wanted
Duplicates - Vibroplexes and other keys for sale or trade Updated March 17, 2002

About the Vibroplex Collector's Page

This Web page is maintained by Randy Cole, KN6W, as a source of information for collectors, bug users, former landline operators, radio amateurs and other CW operators, and anyone else interested in Vibroplex bugs and related subjects.

This Web page was begun in late 1996, and will be under construction on an ongoing basis. Many text descriptions will be replaced by drawings or images. Comments about the page and questions about Vibroplex bugs are always welcome -- please send me a message Email Randy Cole.

The Vibroplex Collector's Page is not connected to The Vibroplex Co., Inc. Vibroplex, Lightning Bug and the bug logo are trademarks of The Vibroplex Co., Inc.

This Web page is hosted by www.la.ca.us, which is maintained by a real master of the Web, not just a Webmaster. Looking for a Web server? Check it out.

The Vibroplex Bug

Since Horace G. Martin made the first Vibroplex in 1904 or 1905, about 300,000 Vibroplexes have been made, and the Original model Vibroplex is still being made after more than 90 years. Vibroplexes were by far the most predominant bug on land line telegraph systems like Western Union, Postal Telegraph, the railroads, and hundreds of others. Beginning in the Twenties, commercial, military and amateur wireless operators began using Vibroplexes. Production peaked in the Fourties and Fifties along with the popularity of ham radio, but the Vibroplex Company is still making them -- be sure to visit the Vibroplex Co. This Web page is intended to help owners identify their Vibroplexes, determine when they were built, and learn about the interesting company and people that made them.

What's a Bug?

The telegraph key was invented in 1844 by Samuel Morse's associate, Alfred Vail, and was called the "Vail Correspondent". It was basically a switch with a knob mounted on a spring-loaded lever. The design evolved somewhat until the modern design was invented and patented by Jesse Bunnell in 1881. He called his key the "Triumph Key."

However, many telegraph operators who used a key for long periods of time developed a debilitating problem, which they called "glass arm." Today the same type of problem has a kinder name -- "Repetitive Motion Disorder," or RMD. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one type of RMD.

In 1902, Horace G. Martin, a New York inventor, patented the first semi-automatic telegraph key, which he began to manufacture as the "Autoplex." Using a battery and coil like those in an electric bell, the Autoplex made endless strings of dots when the operator pushed a lever in one direction. Dashes were made manually by pushing the lever the other way. Since only dots were made automatically, the key was called a semi-automatic key. Unfortunately, the Autoplex required a separate battery and was probably fairly expensive.

Two years later, on May 7, 1904, Martin filed a patent for a completely mechanical semi-automatic key, which he named the "Vibroplex." The Vibroplex was based on a lever that rotated around a vertical pivot. Pushing a paddle mounted on one end of the lever to the right and holding it there caused a spring-mounted contact on the other end of the lever to vibrate against a stationary contact, making strings of dots. Dashes were made manually by pushing the lever to the left and releasing it.

Martin was probably not the sole inventor of the semi-automatic key. William O. Coffe of Cleveland patented a mechanical semi-automatic key with a vertical pendulum on January 11, 1904. He must not have sold many copies of his "Mecograph" with the vertical pendulum, because only one is known to exist today. However, he made and sold a number of Mecographs in several different versions with horizontal pendulums.

The Vibroplex did help telegraphers avoid RMD, but it also helped them send faster, which meant they earned more money, since telegraphers were generally paid by the word. Within about ten years, the Vibroplex and a number of clones made by others became very popular.

In those days a poor telegraph operator was called a "bug," and some operators bought a key from Vibroplex or a competitor and started using it without much practice. The result was poor sending, and the keys themselves became known as "bugs."

The Vibroplex Company has made a variety of bugs during its long history. Some models are unusual, some are scarce, and some are common. Several other manufacturers made clones and copies of Vibroplexes, some legal and some illegal. Some of the people involved are interesting and colorful, including Martin himself and J. E. Albright, who ran the company for more than forty years, many of them spent in court defending his product.

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