Monday, June 16, 2014 — I own two Kent iambic keys and I think they are superb paddles. I prefer them to several other iambic keys, including the Vibroplex Iambic and most of the earlier paddle/keyer combinations, like the Heathkit HD1410.
This isn’t to say I don’t also like those keys (or own examples of them), but I have always had a tremendous respect for the Kent line of keys.
Several months ago I “rediscovered” a Kent iambic I picked up from eBay that needed the paddles. I ordered replacements directly from Kent in Britain. They arrived in short order.
And while I love the Kent keys, you don’t see them pop up on eBay often — until copies of their entire key lineup surfaced last year.
There are at least three different Chinese eBay sellers with exact duplicates of the famous Kent Iambic for sale. Well, “exact” may be a bit of a stretch, at least when you examine the keys in close detail.
The first Kent clone has a feature I appreciate — terminal connections on top of the base, though I understand the reason for connections underneath; it just looks better without terminals uglying up the top of the base, I get that. But I also like being able to add and remove the cable when I please.
The base and top parts of the Chinese knock-off look identical to the Kent. The base looks about the same size, but it seems to be painted with a black wrinkle finish. My Kents have smoother finishes, but not high gloss. But beyond minor differences, the knocks look virtually identical to the Kent. And with the exchange rate of $1.70 to each British pound, the savings are substantial.
An assembled Kent key with shipping is $200.36. The BHC Birdy S31 key is $139.50 plus $30 shipping. Interestingly enough, another vendor with a knock-off that lacks the wire terminals is cheaper ($129.99) BUT the shipping costs — $69.99 — make it as expensive as the real Kent key! If I’m going to pay the same, you know I’m going to go for the “real deal.” However, I would like to have a chance to use one of these knock-offs to see how they compare. I’m not in a hurry however to invest $170 to see how it works.
My wife and I had a little bit of a financial setback from her insurance company over her cancer treatments earlier this year … the insurance company said they paid for things they did not approve, which means we are stuck with $5,000 in additional hospital bills. Can’t justify a $200 key when we have hospital administrators who want their money!
Of course, my radio fund has been depleted for many months … mostly because I quit listing my surplus “stuff” for sale on eBay. I have transmitters and transceivers (old ones) that are still in the shipping container. Don’t have room to set them up and run them. The truth is the amount of time I spend at the operating position is only a fraction of what it was 10 years ago. I’m not sure what has changed … I don’t know if I spend more time in the evenings with my wife, the TV, or the computer …. or a combination of all three. I have friends who spend hours every night in the shack. I’m out of the habit, I guess.
I still have a Drake TR-7 I need to operate. Always wanted one and now that I have one, it deserves a spot in the shack. Maybe I’ll sell something to make room, eh? Naaaah!!
73 de KY4Z SK …. dit dit
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