[Elecraft] Key, Keyer, Paddle etc. Recommendation?

Thu Mar 21 01:32:01 2002

I have been in love with CW for 41 years. My favorite paddle is the Bencher. It comes in three finish grades starting around $110 and they all feel the same. I think it's the best tradeoff between price and feel. I have two. They are also available used - but make sure the mechanism is sound. It holds up better than you would think by looking at it. Don't panic the first time the ring gizmo falls off its pivot points - just gently pull it back into place.

I also like the Norcal magnetic paddle which I built from the club kit (typically these are available only once). Smaller, if that's a value, and sturdier. It needs double sided tape under the feet unless you have a pretty delicate touch. I think you can get them today ready built from Vibroplex. They call it the Code Warrior but it's not priced on their Website. Should be under $100 but who knows?

The Kent paddle is built like a battleship and has nicely adjustable magnetic tension. Expensive and personally I don't like the lack of "give" beyond the point of first contact. I bought one because I admired the machining but sold it because I hated sending with it.

There are dozens of other serious paddles such as the Vibroplex Iambic Deluxe or Brass Racer, the Mercury (BIG bucks) and the beautiful brass one that Wayne and Eric take to hamfests. I've forgotten its name but it feels quite good. Probably expensive, but I may buy one some day for my collection. ;-)

There are lots of nifty new paddles coming out of the QRP/homebrew movement and I own several. Most are very small and much too light unless you hard-mount them to something heavy or stationary. Nice toys, good for travel, not for serious CW.

Don't get any single-lever paddle. Insist on dual lever. You don't have to take advantage of iambic keying with them, but you can't with single-lever. I waited 25 years before forcing myself to learn iambic keying and I still regress from time to time but it's clearly a speed-enhancing technique worth learning when you are good and ready.

Straight keys are very romantic but you'll outgrow them for speed very quickly if you are serious about CW. Use them only for Straight Key Night!

Everything above is in the category of religious fervor. There are more opinions than there are CW operators. Now you've got mine! To study the field, check the sporadic but never-ending series of articles on keys in K4TWJ's World of Ideas column in CQ Magazine. He loves them all.

GL & 73,

/Rick N6XI

"Kirby J. Davis" wrote:

> OK... now for a really stupid question...
>
> Now that I've about finished the base rig what do I do about a key or
> keyer or paddle...? I haven't worked any CW in about 15 years but
> would like to get back into it (even though my K2 will probably
> operate mostly SSB). The only thing I have from back then is an old
> (straight?) key that my father-in-law gave me (the key has the
> designation "J30" on the black base under the key).
>
> Here's my question:
>
> If you had (1) just built your very first (and only) HF rig [the
> K2!], (2) didn't have a whole lot of extra cash sitting around to
> spend (see (1)), and (3) wanted to become proficient in CW using the
> K2... What would you purchase? Would/could/should you just use the
> straight key?
>
> No, I haven't done my homework yet... I don't know what is available,
> what the pros/cons are for different types/models of keys, or what
> folks are using with their K2's (and K1's). I'm going to spend some
> time looking at eham.net, going back through the reflector archives,
> etc. to get up to speed on it but wanted nevertheless the ask you
> folks first.
>
> Any suggestions as to which way I should go?
>
> 73 and thanks for the great help as always!
>
> .. Kirby (KB4UTZ)
>
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