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Sometimes you just have to come full circle.
14 November 2023 | by 
As one of my regular readers of the blog, you would know I am a CW buff and the main part of CW is the CW key. For some time now I have been at odds to get the one that works for me. The first key I ever had was the Bencher BY-1 key. It is a very straightforward spring tension key that worked great for me, so what happened to it you ask? As with most of you, I got married, had kids, a job and all the activities that go along with that portfolio. Ham radio was put to the side and things got sold including the Bencher paddle.
Fast forward to now when the kids are grown, work is no longer and retirement is here. I started to get back into radio again about 4 years before I retired as life did at that point start to slow done. It was time to start looking for a key again. I had read about Begali keys and looked online and decided on their Contour which was magnetic return and not sprin. Me and the key were not getting along very well. I thought it was a matter of adjustment, I had adjusted the contact spacing more than I can remember and I became over time more and more frustrated. I ended up selling the Contour key.
I then move to a solid-state touch key made by 9A5N. This is a very well-made key which is very solid and works as advertised. For me, I could not get the electronic touch adjustment done in a way that would work for me. Seemed it was either too sensitive to touch or not enough, now there was nothing wrong with the key it was just me. With this key, I tried adjusting and adjusting but never could get what I was looking for. I found myself sending extra dits or dahs.
It was time for me to come full circle and move back toward a spring key as that was the only one that worked for me. I ended up going back to Begali and purchasing their Simplex Basic Iambic key. It is their least expensive key but not at all poorly made. The key arrived about a month ago and I have been reacquainting myself with a spring key again. In a nutshell, it seems I have found my happy place again with keys.
It's very odd as in the past I would have thought a key is a key is a key but not so there is a feel to each of the types of keys and I just had to find a type with the correct feel for me.
6 Responses to “Sometimes you just have to come full circle.”
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I sprang for a Kent key made in Germany that has a great feel, at least for me. It’s made with old-world craftsmanship, and and it’s just a beautiful piece of technology.
Good morning Robin thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. Kent is a great key and to be honest I had tried my best to get one. I had an order in at DX Engineering for TP-1B and the order arrival time kept getting moved up. I just checked and it is now saying April 2024. I have tried many times to contact Kent to see if I could order one direct. Each time I never heard back.
I was very much looking forward to having a Kent but seems it was just not meant to be.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
The best hand key I’ve used is a German ww2 T2 key, the best paddle is the vibroplex iambic
Good evening Mike and nice to hear from you, I have never been able to try a vibroplex iambic key. I do know they make a great product and maybe someday I will order one and give it a go.
Thanks for stopping by,
73
Mike
VE9KK
Too bad you didn’t get to try an Kent, I had over 200 Keys in my collection back in the 1990s and when I had to sell most to go full time RVer I kept my Kent, a Nye straight key and a Vibroplex original bug. I had all types of keys in my collection and enjoyed switching them around during a good rag chew cw contact. I sold an Schurr Profi and lots of other great keys and paddles but these I kept. I now have a Begali Contour and M3ZN-SL which are recent purchases and still prefer the Kent for an Iambic. The 3ZN is a single lever key and a new for me type of key, I really enjoy it for a change and the Contour? it’s OK. I love that old Kent and in fact have picked a second Kent for use on another rig so I don’t have to switch it out. The key you love to use is always the best one.
73, Chuck
Good morning Chuck and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, yes for sure I would liked to had found a Kent key. I have come to the understanding that I am going to look for a used one if I can find it. As you read in my post I did have the contour but I just could not find my happy place with it. So far the Simplex is working out just fine. But a kent key would be a nice addition.
73,
Mike
VE9KK