[Elecraft] Re: Hexkey

Sat Apr 14 15:51:32 EDT 2007

Never used a Hexkey here.  Tried the Bencher paddles and disliked them very 
much.  I have two paddles I use with automatic keyers:  Old Vibroplex 
"vibrokeyer" which is nothing more than a shortened and reworked "bug", and 
the German "Palm Key".  The Palmkey is very small, but has a great feel to 
it.  I don't use the iambic key "imbically".  I'm from the very old school 
of the Vibroplex bug and Johnson/Mac keys.  Wish I still had a Mac Key!  My 
avorite Vibroplex "pattern" is the Champion/Lightning Bug "flat lever" key. 
I had an Original and even a Presentation once.  Didn't like them near as 
much as the cheaper "flat pattern" ones.  I also have a very beat up "Blue 
Racer"  which does a nice job, but always had to add weight to them to make 
them go slower than 30 WPM dits!

73,
Sandy W5TVW
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <rondec at easystreet.com>
To: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 1:09 PM
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Re: Hexkey

> Why would you reverse the normal "thumb for dits, index finger for dashes"
> setup? That's been standard since the first bugs and carried over 
> unchanged
> into the paddle/keyers.
>
> It sounds like you are running into an essential difference in sending 
> that
> has shown up since keyers became common. Although both bugs and keyers
> typically use side-by-side paddles, there are substantial differences in 
> how
> they are operated. A bug requires significant mechanical force and 
> movement
> to operate the dit pendulum to make dits and then stop them at the right
> moment. Several designs have attempted to reduce the demands of a 
> mechanical
> bug, but it's still a huge amount of movement and energy compared to 
> simply
> accomplishing the contact closure a keyer needs.
>
> Many newer CW ops who never used a bug developed a preference for very
> close-spaced contacts that can be operated with a feather touch on the
> paddles. That's completely at odds with the action needed for a bug.
>
> Many paddles designed for use with keyers - particularly the earlier 
> paddles
> - featured movement and springs much like a mechanical bug: lots of throw
> and relatively stiff springs. They were operated like a bug - usually
> rolling the whole arm side to side with the fingers held steady to contact
> the paddles with sufficient force without wearing out one's finger 
> muscles!
> The original Vibroplex paddles were one of those designs, like my Scotia 
> and
> HamKey paddles.
>
> Then came the "light touch" designs designed to work with an absolute
> minimum of movement and force. The Bencher was an early one. People used 
> to
> a mechanical bug tended to knock them apart just sending a CQ! Newer
> operators learned to hold their arm still and lightly caress the paddles
> with their fingertips. Used that way, they work fine.
>
> I can't speak for the HexKey. I use my Speed-X or Vibroplex Bugs at home 
> and
> my KXPD1 paddles in the field where it's not practical to haul a bug. The
> KXPD1 paddles, by the way, are able to deal with my fist without 
> complaint.
>
> The bottom line is that it all comes down to how you want to operate the
> key: strong rolling fist like a bug operator or the feather touch of a 
> keyer
> operator? If the former, you need to find someone who has really pounded 
> on
> the HexKey to be sure it will survive long.
>
> There was a secondary problem with the first Bencher that deserves 
> checking
> on any modern paddles. The Bencher uses a single spring that is stretched
> around a chrome-plated post in the back. Bumping the key in just the wrong
> way would dislodge that spring, causing it and the paddles to fly off of 
> the
> base! I suspect the designer assumed they'd be treated like a bug - NOT
> bumped! The sensitive springs and pendulum of a bug can be damaged by
> careless handling, but operators not used to bugs tended to assume the
> paddles were as structurally sound as any straight key. Not so,
> unfortunately, and dropping or banging a Bencher was inviting time spent
> looking for the spring and paddle mechanisms behind the operating desk or 
> on
> the floor somewhere.
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Gil Gibbs
> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 10:27 AM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [Elecraft] Re: Hexkey
>
>
> Gents;
>
>  I'm in the process of relearning how to use a paddle, having only
> gotten the feel of a Vibroplex keyer three decades back from an old pal.
> I'm now stumbling around with a Bencher paddle, the first of the line
> that's of the "fall apart" design, and thus I have to be careful about
> how I handle it, which distracts me from training myself to use "thumb
> for dashes, finger for dits", and my brain isn't as young as it used to
> be to do multitasking. Thus the question - does the Elecraft/Bencher
> Hexkey actually perform better than "the original", and thus make the
> price worth adding to my gear? I'd really like to have more versatility
> in sending, not worrying about knocking the contact points off their
> mounts, which are conical points for hinges, and the darn things are an
> annoyance to have to remount.
>   Any input will be appreciated, many hours to go before I can become
> fluent with my old favorite CW again, having been too lazy to get away
> from voice until now!
>
> Tnx, 73's
> Gil WA5YKK
>
>
>>
>>
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