CW Key Suggestions... Magnets or springs

[Fred Townsend]

I have been following this thread with much interest but I have not seen a
mention of magnets or springs. Springs may weaken with time but then again I
believe magnets can degrade with time as well. Within limits, I would expect
springs to be linear but magnets would be piecewise linear too. What is the
wisdom of the fists?

Fred, AE6QL

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[Tony Estep]

On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 9:34 PM, Fred Townsend <[hidden email]>wrote:

> ...magnets or springs...?

============
Ya know, Fred, it seems as if magnets ought to be the preferred choice.
However, I have a Schurr Profi that uses springs, and the action is IMHO
absolutely perfect, the best of the many keys I've ever used. OTOH, I also
have an old Vibroplex paddle that uses magnets, and whatever advantage they
may have is vitiated by generally cheesy construction, including stamped
parts.

I think the determining factor is really frictionless bearings and nicely
machined parts that fit right. The Begali, Schurr, and numerous other keys
fit this description. Of course, they cost a lot, sort of like a fly reel
with only 6 moving parts that costs 10x as much as a good mass-produced
spinning reel.

Tony KT0NY


--
http://www.isb.edu/faculty/facultydir.aspx?ddlFaculty=352
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[Cookie]

I think how the key is made is more important than springs or magnets.  My key at home is a Hex Key (like the Elecraft Key but with a Bencher label) and I used a Kent magnet key at field day.  They have a similar feel.  I had a Bencher with a spring that I dropped when moving and it broke into so many parts that I threw it away rather than trying to put Humpty Dumpty together again.  I really prefer a straight key with a spring or a bug with a lot of springs.
 
Willis 'Cookie' Cooke
K5EWJ & Trustee N5BPS, USS Cavalla, USS Stewart


----- Original Message -----
From: Fred Townsend <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Cc:
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 9:34 PM
Subject: [Elecraft]  CW Key Suggestions... Magnets or springs



I have been following this thread with much interest but I have not seen a
mention of magnets or springs. Springs may weaken with time but then again I
believe magnets can degrade with time as well. Within limits, I would expect
springs to be linear but magnets would be piecewise linear too. What is the
wisdom of the fists?

Fred, AE6QL

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
______________________________________________________________
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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
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