recommendation of a low cost iambic paddle / Beengali Simplex shipping with gold contacts

[Chris Wagner-9]

I ordered the regular Simplex and paid a few bucks
more due to making an EU payment. Anyhow, they will
send me the model with the gold contacts as this is
the one they have in stock, while the regular contacts
will be manufactured in a few weeks. So if you plan to
get one of these, ask if you could get the upgrade.
72, Chris Hs0zfe

OT: is any one of you coming to Bangkok in November?
Need help or have questions? Anyone going might want
to trade bringing 2 paddle kits and some transceiver
kits in exchange for getting picked up at the airport
and getting a dinner. Ph: [phone] / in
Thailand 085 955 1578

voice mail: [phone] or [phone]


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[Vic K2VCO]

Chris Wagner wrote:
> I ordered the regular Simplex and paid a few bucks
> more due to making an EU payment. Anyhow, they will
> send me the model with the gold contacts as this is
> the one they have in stock, while the regular contacts
> will be manufactured in a few weeks. So if you plan to
> get one of these, ask if you could get the upgrade.

If the 'regular' contacts are the same as what was previously supplied
with the various Begali magnetic paddles, they have problems with many
keyers, including the K2's internal keyer, the Logikey, and others. So
the gold contacts are a very good investment.

If you're interested in details see my review of the Begali Magnetic
Professional, about the 5th one down at
<http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3468>. Other than the non-gold
contacts, I love this paddle.
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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[Joe Subich, W4TV]

> If the 'regular' contacts are the same as what was previously
> supplied with the various Begali magnetic paddles, they have
> problems with many keyers, including the K2's internal keyer,
> the Logikey, and others. So the gold contacts are a very good
> investment.

The "issue" with the regular Begali contacts (as well as those used
by Schurr and others) is that they appear to be of an alloy that
forms a semi-conducting surface.  That results in contacts with a
minimum voltage drop - independent of current - of around .5 volt.
That 1/2 volt offset is too high to allow low power CMOS inputs
(e.g., Logikey and others) to reliably register a logic "Low" and
is enough of an offset to upset the decision point on PIC based
keyers with a multiplexed (analog) paddle input (e.g., WinKey and
others).  

The solution is to add a schmidt trigger inverter and FET driver
(or dual comparator) in line with each paddle contact.  

73,

   ... Joe, W4TV
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Vic K2VCO
> Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 12:18 PM
> To: Chris Wagner
> Cc: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] recommendation of a low cost iambic
> paddle / BeengaliSimplex shipping with gold contacts
>
>
> Chris Wagner wrote:
> > I ordered the regular Simplex and paid a few bucks
> > more due to making an EU payment. Anyhow, they will
> > send me the model with the gold contacts as this is
> > the one they have in stock, while the regular contacts
> > will be manufactured in a few weeks. So if you plan to
> > get one of these, ask if you could get the upgrade.
>
> If the 'regular' contacts are the same as what was previously
> supplied
> with the various Begali magnetic paddles, they have problems
> with many
> keyers, including the K2's internal keyer, the Logikey, and
> others. So
> the gold contacts are a very good investment.
>
> If you're interested in details see my review of the Begali Magnetic
> Professional, about the 5th one down at
> <http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3468>. Other than the non-gold
> contacts, I love this paddle.
> --
> 73,
> Vic, K2VCO
> Fresno CA
> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco

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[Joe-aa4nn]

That is correct, and also the K1EL Winkey keyer.  Steve provided
me with a chip fix for the Begali Simplex Mono which had the funny
material for key contacts.  Steve did considerable research and
finally declard the Begali contact material was acting more like a
diode, creating a peculiar problem for the way Winkey detected a
paddle closure.  This is not a problem with the WinkeyUSB keyer.

Begali offers a kit, I think, that will fix the contact problem.
de Joe, aa4nn

From: "Vic K2VCO" <[hidden email]>>
> If the 'regular' contacts are the same as what was previously supplied
> with the various Begali magnetic paddles, they have problems with many
> keyers, including the K2's internal keyer, the Logikey, and others. So
> the gold contacts are a very good investment.

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[Rich Ardolino]

Or how about just a little "do it yourself" gold plating of the standard
contacts?

>
> The "issue" with the regular Begali contacts (as well as those used
> by Schurr and others) is that they appear to be of an alloy that
> forms a semi-conducting surface.  
>
> The solution is to add a schmidt trigger inverter and FET driver
> (or dual comparator) in line with each paddle contact.  
>
>  
>
>
>  
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [hidden email]
>> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Vic K2VCO
>> Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 12:18 PM
>> To: Chris Wagner
>> Cc: [hidden email]
>> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] recommendation of a low cost iambic
>> paddle / BeengaliSimplex shipping with gold contacts
>>
>>
>> Chris Wagner wrote:
>>    
>>> I ordered the regular Simplex and paid a few bucks
>>> more due to making an EU payment. Anyhow, they will
>>> send me the model with the gold contacts as this is
>>> the one they have in stock, while the regular contacts
>>> will be manufactured in a few weeks. So if you plan to
>>> get one of these, ask if you could get the upgrade.
>>>      
>> If the 'regular' contacts are the same as what was previously
>> supplied
>> with the various Begali magnetic paddles, they have problems
>> with many
>> keyers, including the K2's internal keyer, the Logikey, and
>> others. So
>> the gold contacts are a very good investment.
>>
>> If you're interested in details see my review of the Begali Magnetic
>> Professional, about the 5th one down at
>> <http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3468>. Other than the non-gold
>> contacts, I love this paddle.
>> --
>> 73,
>> Vic, K2VCO
>> Fresno CA
>> http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
>>    
>
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>  

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[Paul-285]

>Steve did considerable research and
>finally declard the Begali contact material was acting more like a
>diode, creating a peculiar problem for the way Winkey detected a
>paddle closure.

You might want to try some Caig DeoxIT Gold on the contacts if they're clean.

If they're burnished, you may want to try Caig DeoxIT.

Leave the excess on.







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