K8RA P4 Key to K3S?

[MaverickNH]

I'm signed up for CW Academy Sept-Oct and picked up a used K8RA P4 Key http://www.k8ra.com/product-p/p-4.htm It has three thumbscrew wire connectors on top at the back. How do I connect that to my K3S?

Bret/N4SRN

[Grant Youngman-2]

Center is common (shell).  Dot is the left (looking from the rear of the key.  Dash is right.  It isn’t critical — if you get it wrong you can reverse these in the menus.  Which is which will depend on whether you’re left or right handed (usually).


> On Aug 12, 2017, at 7:29 PM, MaverickNH <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> I'm signed up for CW Academy Sept-Oct and picked up a used K8RA P4 Key
> http://www.k8ra.com/product-p/p-4.htm It has three thumbscrew wire
> connectors on top at the back. How do I connect that to my K3S?
>
> Bret/N4SRN

Grant NQ5T
K3 #2091, KX3 #8342



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[Dick Dievendorff-4]

Hi, Bret!

I've sometimes found a cable with a stereo plug already formed onto one end
(a "stereo patch cable") and cut the other end off and wire the three
connectors to the paddle.

There are some more involved commercial offerings that have three spade or
ring lugs, such as Vibroplex's CP3, Bencher's EZ-1, or the MFJ-5166.  You
can make these up from the piece parts, too.  DX Engineering and Ham Radio
Outlet advertise all of these, Gigaparts advertises a couple of them.

The shield goes to the common connector of the paddle, which is typically
the center of the three connectors.

The other two wires, which correspond to tip and ring of the 1/4" plug, can
be connected to either of the other two posts on the paddle.  Whether you
want the left paddle to be dots or dashes is a matter of preference, but
most right-handed people I know use the left paddle (the one you touch with
a thumb) to send dots and the right paddle send dashes.  I've seen
left-handed operators operate a paddle in either configuration, some can do
both...

If you wire it wrong initially, you can swap the tip & ring with a K3 menu,
or more easily, swap the two wires at the paddle.

The 1/4" plug goes into the K3 back panel socket labeled "Paddle", on the
bottom row.

Have fun in the CW Academy!  Your K8RA P4 looks like a very attractive
paddle.

73 de Dick, K6KR


-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of MaverickNH
Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2017 16:30
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] K8RA P4 Key to K3S?

I'm signed up for CW Academy Sept-Oct and picked up a used K8RA P4 Key
http://www.k8ra.com/product-p/p-4.htm It has three thumbscrew wire
connectors on top at the back. How do I connect that to my K3S?

Bret/N4SRN



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[k6dgw]

It can depend on whether you're right or left-handed Bret, although it
doesn't always.Right-handers almost always want dots on the thumband
dashes on the fingers [it's called the "Tyranny of the Majority"].  Some
left-handers like to reverse that, many do not, I am one, left-handed
bugs were way outside my price range years ago.  I have a second paddle
set up on the left of the keyboard, also "right handed" which I tend to
use the most.

The good news:  You can change the sense of your paddle in the K3s menuso:

Connect the frame of the key to the sleeve of the plug.  Connect one of
the others to the ring of the connector, and the third to the tip
connection.  Plug it into paddle jack and go into TX TEST. Try it out.  
If you're right-handed you probably want the dots on the thumb.  If
they're not, hold MENU to get into CONFIG, use VFO B knob to get to CW
PADL, and use VFO A to change it.

Both ways with a K-line, no extra charge.

73,

Fred ("Skip") K6DGW
Sparks NV USA
Washoe County DM09dn

On 8/12/2017 4:29 PM, MaverickNH wrote:
> I'm signed up for CW Academy Sept-Oct and picked up a used K8RA P4 Key
> http://www.k8ra.com/product-p/p-4.htm It has three thumbscrew wire
> connectors on top at the back. How do I connect that to my K3S?
>
> Bret/N4SRN
>

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[MaverickNH]

Thanks for the advice all!
Bret/N4SRN