When I'm not using my J-38 or Speed-X bug, I use a pair of original Scotia paddles that I picked up at a Club meeting auction years ago.
They use magnets, not springs so the feel is reversed compared to a spring loaded paddle. The magnet pulls the strongest when the key is at rest, and that resistance decreases rapidly (according to the square of the distance) as the paddle is moved toward contact closure. That is, of course, just the opposite of a spring whose resistance typically increases as it is compressed. The action of the Scotia paddles is very, very nice, better, I think, than my original "Ham Key" spring loaded paddles that I built into my first homebrew Accukeyer in the early 1970's. Each magnet on the Scotia paddles is adjustable so one can set the amount of "resistance" just like changing the spring tension. 73, Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- 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:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
