Got this key on eBay from a Pawn Broker. He didn’t have any real clue about what it was so I got it cheap. The key is in incredible shape and so is the storage case that came with it. I cleaned it up and then made a “dit tamer” which screws in to a small hole I tapped in the existing pendulum weight. That got me down to about 18 WPM. With the weight off the dit speed is about 22 WPM and with the arm removed all together, the dit speed is about 30 wpm. That’s why they called it the Lightning!

Close up of the homebrew dit tamer.

1945 Vibroplex Lightning Bug Restoration

Overhead view of 1945 Vibroplex Lightning restoration