Wilcox Engineering

Fifty years ago I designed and built a tube keyer to replace my Vibroplex. Then a transistor keyer. All this before the iambic keyers came along. As Murphy's Law would have it, I learned a unique keying mode that became a technical orphan.

In my keying mode, the paddles simply provide the following ...

Left paddle = dots
Right = dashes (no dot insertion possible)
Squeeze both paddles = dashes only.

The technique I developed was to

• Always squeeze both keys for dashes; if I was a bit late getting the dash paddle closed, the logic turned the dot into a dash (as long as the dot hadn't finished, of course.)
• If dots followed dashes, just simply let loose of the right paddle.
• A string of dots would turn into dashes simply by squeezing both paddles together.

I could send good CW at fairly-respectable speeds, and was happy. For decades ... until my K2 and K3. Then I tried to get the hang of iambic keying, and the best I could do was slap-keying or stagger along at 10 wpm or slower iambic.

My query to the Elecraft Reflector led me to the K1EL K12 Keyer Kit. This keyer, and only a few others, have the ultimatic mode, and what caught my eye about the K12 is that it also has a "dah priority" mode. The price was right, so I built this project hoping that the keyer would match my preferred keying technique.

The pure ultimatic mode, which sends the last paddle closed, trips me up on G, Q, and Z: as I initially close the dash and then dot, I get just one dash and then the dot comes on. Oops. With the "dah priority" mode, holding both paddles sends dashes until I release the right paddle. Then the dots if I'm still holding the left paddle.

Result ... I think it will work for me. Using the "K" command, I setup for the "dah priority" mode, and it seems to fit. However, it does not have logic to turn a dot into a dash. There are 9 letters when I initially squeeze both keys (BCDGKNQYZ), so I need to be just a tad late closing the dot side now. My simple solution: angle the paddles so my thumb doesn't get to the dot side so fast.

The Project

In the top view, the speed-setting knob and its red pushbutton are closest the front. The idea is to hold the button down and turn the knob for the desired speed, so I laid it out for one-hand operation. Right hand. Except that I forgot I'd want to use my left hand to operate the keyer, so I could keep my right hand on the paddles. The other red button is the "Command" button. The two black buttons are to activate two messages. I laid out the pattern so I could add 3 more buttons if I wanted to take advantage of all the K12 offers. The jack for the paddle is in the rear, not visible.

The project box has mounts inside, and the K12 is secured with 2 screws at the front end. I drilled a hole in the side of the box near the tiny speaker (just left of the battery), so I could better hear the keyer responses to commands. Ribbon cable from old computers makes perfect wire to neatly loop up to the cover for the switches and pot. The pot is wired so that low-resistance is CCW, which corresponds to slower speed settings. The peculiar loop of cable to the right of the switches can be connected to several additional switches. 

The last photo shows the jack for the paddles. Tip is dit, ring is dah, sleeve is common. The cable to the rig is the same configuration. Notice that I have extra ribbon cable folded over on itself in the box. If I need to take the K12 PCB out of the box, I have plenty of slack so nothing needs to be disconnected. I don't expect problems, but I always design with serviceability in mind.

The parts that I used for this little project are ...

Other material: Ribbon cable, grommet in hole, stereo cable (half from box to rig, other half from paddles plugs into jack).