THE STANDARD RADIO Co. USA BUG KEY.
Superbly restored by Fred Maas / KT5X.
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The Standard Radio Co. Bug Key. c1940's.
What a gem ! Here is a quite scarce world war II vintage Standard Radio Company bug circa 1943.
They were made to special order for the U. S. Army Air Corps for use on planes, mainly operating in the Pacific.
Not many were made, and few survive, only occasionally seen. They were made
in black, nickel, green, and most rarely maroon bases. The base finish has
been professionally restored with 24 coats of lacquer. Other than restored
base finish this big bug is original.
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The Dot and Dash posts of these keys are slotted and grip the adjusting screws nice and tightly, thus ideal in aircraft where there is a lot of vibration to upset the settings of a normal bug key.
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Above can be seen the Damper mechanism. It is of the U shaped design that can be found on the early Vibroplex Blue Racer bugs, but this damper is BIG !
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The beautiful maroon finish base with its gold pinstriping is testimony to the excellent restoration skills of Fred Maas / KT5X.
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There are only 16 of these keys currently recorded in collections. Eleven have no label, these were military issue, and five with a label and serial number, possibly made for friends after the war. The lowest serial number recorded is 1517 and the highest 1599. If in reading this, you have a Standard Radio Company bug which you would like to add to the record, contact KT5X at his website.
"BK"
