CW Paddles

Chuck Sinclair

Looking to learn CW and i need some paddles  that will last me for awhile but i don't have big bucks to spend. any suggestions?

Kevin

Bill English

AH0U

Before you spend $$$ for sny, visit other shacks, go to handsets, swap nets etc and try as many as possible.... there is no one perfect paddle... spacing between levers, height above the desk and on and on... it is a personal decision and you just need to try as many as you can... single paddle, iambic ... the best goes on

Steven WA8Y

You don't need iambic paddles. A Bengali sideswiper style paddle is an option. Bill's note about the Magnetakeyer looks very good. I saw a Bencher (classic iambic) paddle that looked like it had been set on fire and throw in a ditch, selling for $200 at Dayton last year.

Stu 2E0XXO

Chuck Sinclair

Stu 2E0XXO

John

AH0U

I think you will find most iambic paddles are Not used as squeeze keys but as a traditional bug..... I moved from the two lever to a single and like it very much but there are a lot of other factors other than the number of levers that make a paddle the right one for you and finding the right one requires a lot of tryibg

Burt Fisher

Start with a straight key.

Mark_WS7M

Chuck Sinclair

Kevin

The BY-1 is a fine set of paddles. Keep the contacts clean with something non-abrasive.

I hope you enjoy your class and enjoy the key. I look forward to catching you on the air sometime.

73,
Kev K4VD

Ken - NM9P

The Bencher BY-1 is very nice for it's price class, and used to be the "standard" for many CW ops.  I have had mine since 1985 or 1986 (It was about $65-$75 back then).  Once you learn how to adjust it to your own abilities and speed, it is nice.

I am finally going to be in the market for something more upscale with magnetic tension, et. al.  once I retire and get moved this summer.  Everything I am looking at is in the $300+ category, even at Dayton!

That's more than twice what I spent on my quality PR-22UT Mic and broadcast swing arm!

BTW:  My opinion is that everyone should ultimately learn how to send with a straight key (whether initially or later on) so that they can send manual code on simple rigs or when the paddles or keyer are busted.  It also helps develop a sense of the timing in the code.  But some folks have no musical or timing sense and it may be better for them to learn it with the proper timing using automated paddles before trying to do it manually with a straight key.  Different learning styles necessitate different methods.

Ken - NM9P

Ken - NM9P

You, sir, are a glutton for punishment, using a bug!  Ha! Ha! 
I never could get used to one.  But my Elmer, Lew Stafford, WA9TPZ  (SK)  could copy in his head at 40+ WPM and send the same with an old railroad bug while carrying on a conversation with other people in the shack at the same time.

Amazing!  (At the time, I was luck to pass the original 5 wpm!)

Kevin

Stan VA7NF

Ken - NM9P

Sweet memories!  I had one of those back in the early 80's. 
I also had their micro-matic touch-sensitive keyer and didn't appreciate it until after I traded it off!

Ken - NM9P

Yes! yes! yes! on the dots and dashes. 
I learned it that way from my 6th grade spelling book. 
I passed the 5 WPM as a freshman in High School, but and it took me four more years to break through to the required 13 WPM (the HARD way in front of the FCC Examiner) because of the "look up table - code translation" effect.  

I finally "un-learned" it and began to approach it as an "auditory alphabet" rather than a "CODE."  Now I love CW....and phone...and RTTY...and FT8...and.....

Ken - NM9P

Neil D Friedman N3DF

Pat Hamp

Take a look at some that are made via 3D printing, I got the coolest little one for travel for $30

Kevin

Pat Hamp

Good question , but look at the bright no waiting for parts Pat de KA4VNM

Kevin

Good point!

John

Hi Hi

• I attribute my fondness for a bug to the fact that I play the piano accordion using the old fashioned method of bass note - bass chord,  counter- bass note - bass chord.  Younger or more modern accordionists often just hold the bass-note button down and let the electrons do the work.  I tried that and it royally messes up my timing. 
• My comments were not a slam on electronic keyers, paddles, or the users thereof.  Just my experience. 
• So far I can send ~20wpm with the bug and sound almost like an electronic keyer.
• Practice practice practice; I will break the 20wpm barrier

Ken - NM9P

Ha. Just had to yank your chain a bit! I admire anyone who can send with one of those things. I can do about 18-20 on my 40 year old $3.95 Radio Shack Straight Key and it sounds pretty good. But I certainly prefer the paddles.

Ken - NM9P

I made a makeshift bencher-type iambic paddle from electronic perfboard and related hardware with ink pen springs and rubber bands for tensioning. It actually functioned pretty well, but the contacts corroded rapidly. It was fun. But it motivated me to buy a real Bencher soon afterwards. As a Novice in 1974 I also built an old fashioned “side-sweeper” out of a broken hacksaw blade and parts from a knife switch. I could rip it a lot faster than with the straight key at the time. But it had a pronounced “Lake Erie Swing” to it. Ah... the good ole days!