Sunday, April 3, 2011 — I’m now the (questionably) proud owner of a K8RA P1 iambic paddle, a product of some quick eBay sniping.
First, let me state this fact: I have never really liked the K8RA key. Oh, I think the design is fine; but the details of the key never impressed me. My main objection to the K8RA designed keys are the adjustments: All of the adjustments — the contact spacing and spring tension — use sliding rods that are adjusted and then set in place with an allen head screw.
I cut my iambic teeth on a Bencher BY-1, which featured adjustments that easily fine-tuned to the operator’s liking. I never felt the K8RA paddles were very “polished,” given the method used to make fine adjustments just didn’t seem very “fine.” With that said, I never bought one, but always had the desire to try one. That moment came about a week ago.
The K8RA paddle was listed on eBay without a name brand, but I recognized it as a P1 model. I sniped it for a decent price.
The key is one of the earliest keys Jerry, K8RA, produced, bearing Serial No. 29, which dates it to 2002. The brass isn’t as shiny as it probably was new, but the surfaces are a “satin” finish that ages pretty well. It’s dull, but not tarnished looking. The oak base (as seen in the out-of-focus photo above right) has aged well, too.
But the photo really didn’t reveal the “gotcha” on this key — the set screws on the dah contact adjustment is stripped out. It’s easy to see why, too — the posts for the key are fairly small square brass posts; by the time you bore it for the contact rod, you don’t have a lot of brass to dedicate to threads for the set screw. The set screws are nothing more than hex-head cap screws, and with an allen wrench you could easily strip out every one of the screws. Even with the fine threads on the set screws, there’s not many threads to catch on the brass posts in any adjustment. The screws are steel, the posts are brass, and when push comes to shove, the brass is going to strip out.
After the owner stripped the set screw, he opted for his own fix — he soldered the dah contact adjustment rod to the brass post! What’s worse was that the gap was significantly wider than most guys would prefer — and couldn’t be changed. I tried the key with the gap as “set” and it was NOT fun. Adjusting the dit gap as wide made for a sloppy-ass iambic paddle that wasn’t worth the scrap value of the brass it was made of.
This being an early key, I checked on K8RA’s website to see how his keys have evolved (see photo at right).
For starters, he made the posts substantially larger; he also made the contact/spring adjustment rods larger, and knurled the ends to make it easier to grip them while adjusting them. The adjustment screws look like set screws rather than cap screws. All-in-all, the key looks better — and I’m betting the set screws are less likely to strip out.
I took the key apart and removed the posts; I had to remove the post to unsolder the contact rod. I also did so to confirm the set screw hole was stripped; it was. I successfully unsoldered the adjustment rod and reassembled the key: Now I have a K8RA paddle I still can’t use. I’m going to see if I can find a fine thread tap and go up a size on the set screw; there’s just not a lot of brass to thread, so I may wind up calling K8RA for a new post, or try drilling a new set screw hole on the opposite side. That would work.
This key isn’t especially collectible, but I would like to give it a fair trial. I’m not crazy about how the adjustments are executed, but that doesn’t make it bad, just not my cup of tea. The eHam reviews of this key are literally glowing, with an average score of 4.9 out of 5 after 196 reviews. The one “bad” review expresses my thoughts pretty well — that many of the reviewers haven’t operated a lot of CW prior to owning a K8RA paddle.
I do think the key is solid, and an overall good design (with the exception of the adjustments). I don’t know what sort of wear-and-tear this key had on it, but its held up reasonably well.
The assembly of the key I have seemed a little lightweight; there’s only one screw attaching the brass base of the key to the larger wooden base — the center “ground” screw on the cable connections at the rear of the key. That single screw passes through the entire key, and secures the top brass part to the wooden base — and that’s it. My surprise really is how secure the key felt once assembled — you wouldn’t have convinced me a single screw held it all together!
I’m still mulling over what to do with my K8RA paddle; I think rethreading the existing hole will be my first choice. If that fails, it may be time to simply drill a new hole. The question may be if I can find a fine thread tap that can enlarge the hole and leave some threads for the new set screw to grip. Replacing the post with a new one is an option; however the new version of this paddle has larger posts that don’t match the early ones. Decisions, decisions!
KY4Z POST SCRIPT
Monday, April 4, 2011, 2:30 a.m. — After finishing the above entry, I decided to e-mail K8RA regarding his suggestions for fixing the key. He said if I would send it to him with $10 return postage, he would refurbish the key and update it with all the latest hardware. That’s an offer I can’t refuse — and undoubtedly, its evidence of the top-notch customer care he exhibits. Despite my misgivings about the paddle’s adjustments, I think I’m finding out why people rave about the key. You don’t buy it from some unknown vendor, there’s a real person who is interested in you getting your money’s worth. I’ll get it to him this week, I’m excited to see how it turns out.
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