[Elecraft] Re: Now how 'bout a good straight key recommendation? :)

[Max Moon]

Buddy--

One of my favorite straight keys is the Kent from England (or imported by
AlphaDelta). I found a used one through the ARRL classifieds for less than
half the normal (but too high for me) price. It is large but I've wondered
if that fact maybe helps it to have such a fine feel. Very positive.

My other favorite is hard to find, a model 605 from Great Northern Telegraph
in Denmark. I think the company's out of the key business but this clunky
looking thing was designed primarily for maritime use & made maybe 30 yrs
ago. I think some folks make a big deal of its having platinum contacts but
I don't think that changes the feel of it. Another long arm (it's even
larger than the Kent straight key). See one here:
http://www.webx.dk/oz2cpu/key6.htm (the knob on top adjusts spacing, the
knob under the lever arm sets tension in the horizontally-strung spring, the
black enclosure is a heavy bakelite). Another internet buy & something under
$50.

My first "good" key was a HiMound 708 which I have & still use some of the
time. Especially with a cover on it, a very nice key. (Their numbering is
funny in that a 708 with a clear plastic cover is a 706 but if it has a dark
plastic cover it is a 707, and if you put a 708 on a slightly taller base it
becomes, of course, the 709, unless you put a clear plastic cover on it in
which case it is now a 704--idiosyncratic, at the least!) Medium weight, the
knurled knobs all stay put. I didn't care for the original button & bought
their optional "mushroom knob with skirt" replacement & didn't like it, the
mushroom's stem was too thin for me so I wrapped just the stem in several
layers thick, black cotton tape & now I like holding the knob. But,
regardless, I've come to prefer the others. Anyway, HiMound keys are at the
Morse Express website.

Another key whose feel is very nice is a WW2 surplus British military key
with the forgetable name "KEY. WT. 8 AMP. No.2. MK IIIB". A collector's
website said that there were more than 100 different models of the basic "WT
8-Amp" key, and the many varieties were made all over the world--New Zealand
& Australia, USA, England. Some have more bakelite than others, some use one
or two stamped parts, others are all cast, etc., etc. The differences
sometimes are so obvious you wonder how it can have the same # as some of
the others. Anyway, to see a sample that looks like mine (but probably is
the MK II or the MK IIIC or ...;-) check out this page:
http://www.chss.montclair.edu/~pererat/9145.jpg . You'll see the key can't
be adjusted for tightness/looseness of the lever arm--like the HiMound, it
has no trunion screws. The up-side of that fact is that there isn't any play
in the arm & never will be. The key is very small & also light weight--it'd
be ideal for backpacking with a little base under it, etc--and yet it has a
solid big key feel. Best of all, these regularly show up on e-Bay for very
modest prices (mine was about $20 from England).

I did not like the J-37 with its leaf or cantilever spring because it felt
too soft, not enough resistance to suit me. I didn't like the J-38 although
it was "OK."

Also, while "uncommon" & "hard to find" I eventually grew to dislike the
VERY heavy & bombproof NATO key known far & near as the No5803-99-580-8558 .
The feel on closing wasn't crisp--it sort of thudded shut instead of
clicking. (Also in Tom Perrera's key collection:
http://www.chss.montclair.edu/~pererat/9185.gif and in a Japanese internet
collection at:  http://foster2.hp.infoseek.co.jp/natokey.jpg ) I found mine
on e-Bay from a ham in Hong Kong & was thrilled to get it for a very low
price, even considering postage (almost nobody bid on it, I think it was too
unknown to attract any attention, thank heaven!). I admire the beautiful
innards, love being able to adjust the spacing with the indexed knob on the
top, but the acid test is that I hardly ever use it.

Looking at my own comments, I can see how completely subjective this all is.
You can talk about keys in terms of design (for example, the NATO key is
based on the beloved Swedish Ericsson pump design, the Kent gets it's
resistance from a spring that is pulled, rather than compressed like the
HiMound & J38, etc., etc.) but some chaps like a soft feel, or a low know
position, etc., etc. I've enjoyed being able to try out different keys at a
fairly low risk because I buy them used (& set limits so I don't spend too
much) & can sell them afterwards for about the same amount if I don't like
them. I am comfortable with a high knob position & like the mechanics of a
long lever arm--considering where they pivot, there must be a real
mechanical advantage. But the next guy, well, who's to say?

As you mother might have said, sampling straight keys is a good, clean way
to have fun!

Max, k0max