When I was studying for my technician, I saw one of your videos when you were pulling in contacts as far a Europe for SOTA on CW. Back then I thought that CW was never going to happen. Almost a year after passing the General, I am now teaching myself CW with good results. Now, I am back to your channel to watch your Morse key reviews. Tip of the hat to you and the other HamTube creators for making radio fun, accessible, and more understandable. Much respect. 73 KO4JKV
Fist I wish to congratulate you on passing your General. Also, I applaud you for your efforts with learning Morse code. I remember having the same thought as you early on (Morse code is never going to happen). Thank you for your kind words. I shared your comments with my RU-vidr friends. They will appreciate it as well. And finally, I thank you for returning to the channel and dropping a message! Good luck moving forward with your worthy ham radio goals.
N6EF-I have 2 of these paddles. One has the heavy steel base and the other has the base with flanges. I use the one with the steel base for home use and the other is mounted to a piece of plywood to give me a stable base on which I rest my hand to keep it stable which I use for POTA activations, Field Day, and camping. Both work great and I have no problem sending up to about 30 WPM. Highly recommend. I've used the paddles on a number of POTA activations and camping trips and haven't had any issues with the cover coming off.
Thank you for these comments Bill. Glad to know how durable they are and how well you like them. And yes, it should be a problem with the cover. Mine seems to stay in place for the most part. I appreciate knowing we have similar thoughts about the paddle.
Greetings from the UK! Great review, very detailed. I purchased one of these (the outdoors version) to train at home but would like to use it outdoors as well. This is the only key I ever used so I have no way of comparing. I like the size and weight. The precision and speed is very good as reviewed and the key is very easy to service or fix in the field. Customer service is also 5 star - Had a small issue, contacted them and they came back fast and super helpful. The screws could have been better designed and integrated in the chassis and the cover is a bit too loose for my taste. Thanks for sharing
Vitor - thank you so much for leaving comments about your personal experience with the paddle. I'm sure others will appreciate what you said about the paddle. I see you have left several comments on some of the other videos. Sorry, trying to get caught up. Thanks
I ordered the double paddles a couple of months ago and really like them. I'm getting back into CW after a long time away from it and this key has motivated me and made the journey back really enjoyable. I've been waiting a while to see if you would do a review on them and I'm glad you did. We agree in our assessments of the paddles. My cover pulls off easily as well but I've never had a problem with it falling off. It should be easy to secure it if it becomes a problem. Overall I think the double paddles are a good value for portable operations. I purchased the steel base for use in the shack and it's a toss up between this one and my Bencher . - 73, - Steve 1
The portable paddle is great, I prefer his single lever model and find it super smooth, but I own this one as well and it works just fine, The cost is hard to beat, one note in my experience forget mounting concerns, , the best way to use this key or any of his portable paddles is grasp it like a Lolly pop mic and rest your arm and wrist on the table the key will be angle up around 45 degrees or so and with the other hand just key away or relax and set back in your chair or seat and hold it in your lap and do the same. set your angle with the hand holding it to your liking no matter where your forced to sit at, sitting on a log or rock on a SOTA or POTA outing even then you will still be so much more comfortable keying, you will never have to worry about the cover coming off as well as having your hand all around the outer case holds it tight and also dampens what noise you may hear. Even in the field or sitting in your vehicle working mobile it works great. You're ready to key on the fly and you don't even have to worry about reverse paddle and going to some menu to change a setting, just rotate the key 180 degrees in your hand and now your set (instant reverse paddles) , use the magnets to hold the key in place when your on SSB or FT-8 or transporting quickly, 73 and good DX- J
Hi James - these are all good points and I pretty much hold the same opinions. In fact I do hold all of my paddles in the field, it's my preferred method. But there are many people that want the option to mount the paddles. I have to continue discussing that aspect for the other viewers. All your points are good though, and I appreciate you posting this so that others can see it and consider your suggestions. Thanks for this!
Right at 4600 Cw contacts and 40 activations with mine. I’ve dropped it many times and slam it on sending. No malfunctions as of yet. I use it for Cw ops test at 32wpm. It’s a smooth key and well worth the money. I would also get the higher grade print if I were to be leaving it in the sun. Customer service is A
Indeed! I love hearing what others have to say about their experiences with the paddles I review. It's a great little paddle. You've gotten a lot more use out of it. I suspected it would be durable and your experience seems to validate that.
@@RedSummitRF everything is good with practice and condition. I’ve been using the by1 lately with good success. I’ve been wanting to try the pico palm but I may never see one. Lol
For someone who is learming CW, is this an ok primary paddle? It seems handy to have a portable paddle, ajd also not commit to a more expensive paddle until i know my preferenfes better.
Sure, you could use this paddle. If you are planning on doing portable radio it will be perfect to learn on. If not, you're good for a while but you'll want to get a proper bench paddle at some point.
That they have the adjuster screws sticking out of the sides, tells me the company didn’t consult much of anyone in designing these keys. Totally eliminates the possibility of affixing the key to the side of a QRP rig or even the ability to hold it comfortably in your hand while sending. Back to the drawing board!
Hi Branden - I appreciate you posting your thoughts, which are very valid. I honestly don't know the thought process that went into these paddles. Maybe they had a good reason, but regardless, you are right, they pose some problems. Thank you for watching!
For portable ops in the field, it's probably the unbranded one you can buy on Amazon ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NyylS9iRreA.htmlsi=X4f6voPTToetsGD4 - Inexpensive and good performance. For the bench at home, probably the Bencher BY-1.
Hi, I am a new ham and am practising Morse codes. Not only that I need to buy a key/paddle, I am looking for an oscillator. Could you please tell me how I can get a CW Hotline and how much it costs?
That is fantastic! I wish you all the success in the world learning Morse code. The CW Hotline is $50 for the kit, which is fairly easy to build (you can buy assembled too for more $$). You can purchase with PayPal on their website here: hamradio.solutions/cwhotline/
Not sure why anyone would concern the cover would come off. What is someone doing that the cover would come off. I own 7 cw Morse keys and I’ve never had a situation where the cover came off.
Ok Ted - fair point. Mine has come off in the field doing SOTA while I was sending code, but not a big deal. Just trying to keep it real and mention it since others have reported the same thing to me as well. I did say I couldn't find anything else wrong with it. It's just a minor thing. I'm glad yours have performed so well.
@@RedSummitRF Right I get it my comment was a general comment not directed to anyone in particular. Just having used it on pota acts myself I can’t figure out how the cover could come off. At least the way I hold it. Thx for the vids and response. 73s.
Hi Oscaro - what a coincidence, I purchased that paddle at Hamvention and have been field testing it ever since. I just need to record the review and post it. Sometime in the next week or so it should be out.
I suppose it depends on the person. It's $40 now. I think I bought it for a little lest than that. I enjoy making my own paddles, and it sounds like you do too. Great! I will be reviewing a paddle you can 3D print for about $3 soon. Now that's a bargain if you know somebody who has a printer and will print it for you. Thanks for visiting.
