Key: Vibroplex Vibrokeyer Standard
Serial: 41728
Vintage: 1983
Acquired: March 9, 2026
Plate: D8 | No Address | No Patent Info
Base: Gray Crackle
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Review
Even though electronic keying came in the late 1940s, Vibroplex didn’t produce a key specifically to work with an electronic keyer until 1960, when the Vibro-Keyer, as it was then called, came to market. The Vibrokeyer is all Vibroplex business in the front and electronic keyer party in the back.
The Vibrokeyer uses a frame modeled after that found on the Original, including the trunnion. The main lever is similar, though lengthened and does not include a main spring nor pendulum rod. Instead, the main lever reaches all the way back to the dot contact post. At that end, a contact is mated to the lever and lined up with the contact post. The dash lever, contact, and contact posts are all identical to what you’d find on an Original. Earlier models have a Philips screw in place of a dot lever stop screw at the end of the left frame arm. Like the Iambic, the Vibrokeyer requires a three-wire connection terminated with a TRS plug.
An archived copy of the Vibroplex website homepage shows the keys offered at the time as being the Original, the Vibrokeyer, the Iambic, and the Brass Racer (the Square Racer had just recently been announced as well). Text below the photo list states the following, which implies that there should be, in theory, a Vibrokeyer Presentation or two floating around out in the wild somewhere. The website archive was captured in January 1998 and can be seen via the WaybackMachine at https://web.archive.org/web/19980110235407/http://www.vibroplex.com/
“All keys (except the Brass Racer) are available in Standard (black),
Deluxe (chrome), Presentation (chrome base toped with 24K gold plated
brass plate,) or GOLD (entire base 24K gold plated)…”
Tom Perera had included product photos showing the four variations of the Iambic model key on his website at http://w1tp.com/tcr/vib/www.vibroplex.com/IAMBIC.html. A similar page was captured for the Vibrokeyer, which notably lacks a Presentation variant. http://w1tp.com/tcr/vib/www.vibroplex.com/vibrokeyer.html
Even though the website in 1998 suggested a Vibrokeyer Presentation, while looking through archived copies of the parts listings for the Vibrokeyer, unlike with the Iambic at the time, there is no parts item listed for the “gold plate” for the Vibrokeyer. Perhaps a Presentation Vibrokeyer never existed after all? The gold-plated brass plate for the Iambic keys carried part number 8015A (“Gold Plate”) and was sold for $80 each, which is odd because for $80 you could also get the larger Presentation plate for the Original (part number 8015).
Today, the Vibrokeyer is available in Standard, Deluxe, and Gold variations.
Collectible Vibrokeyers would include a special edition “Hallicrafters gray”-based version which was marketed by Harrison Radio and was color-matched to the Hallicrafters TO Keyer. The Presentation Vibrokeyer seems to be uncommon and, if the variant actually exists, would be a great addition to someone’s collection. When the company was in Alabama, around 2006 or so, a “Collins Special Edition” was offered in the Vibrokeyer, Iambic, and Original models. These wear nameplates with an etched “Collins” logo where there used to be patent numbers and serial numbers that begin with “CCA-“.
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