[Elecraft] Hexkey OT

[Fred Jensen]

rfenabled at gmail.com wrote:
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No fooling that's what showed up when I hit Reply.  To the reflector, 
there may be others looking for comments.

I have a Hexkey with the Elecraft label [got it from them].  I think it 
is actually made by Bencher.  I have two standard Bencher paddles as 
well, the ones with the looped spring.

Short answer:  The Hexkey is the best dual-lever paddle I've ever had in 
56+ years as a ham, bar none.

It is magnetically tensioned, and it took me awhile to get it right for 
me.  I was way too old to learn the "squeeze" when Iambic came out and I 
just slap the paddles back and forth like I always have.  The 
adjustments require very tiny changes to have significant effects.

It is very nicely engineered and fabricated, and the feel is very 
smooth, solid, and reliable.  I can actually send several sentences of 
text before making any misteaks, better than I can do on a computer 
keyboard. :-)

Although the base mass is fairly high, I found that it tended to slip 
around just a little on the desk.  YMMV, this could be a function of the 
desk surface, mine is a Formica finish with just a perceptible texture. 
Not to worry, however --

Dave, W8FGU, [ w8fgu.home.comcast.net ] makes a slick transparent 
plastic cover for it.  The Hexkey sits on a plastic base, the cover fits 
over it, the key doesn't move on the base, and the base doesn't move on 
my desk.  It also keeps the chrome shiny, the base dust-free, and the 
contacts clean.

I use it direct into the K3.  I have another proletarian Bencher that I 
use into the USB Winkeyer.  That way, I can set the K3 for whatever 
speed I want with the Hexkey, and run QRQ in contests with N1MM and the WK.

73,

Fred K6DGW
Auburn CA