I love the idea of this minimalist CW paddle - it’s so tiny you can always find room for it no matter how small your field bag is! And it’s super cheap too. So I ordered the kit and it has sat on the shelf for months!! Why??? Here’s why…..
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| CW Paddle from VK3IL |
Yes, those SMD components are incredibly tiny 😳 😳😳 Boy, I knew before I ordered the kit that they were small, but it was only when I came to pick them up that I realised I just how awkward SMD work is for a novice. Even with a pair of tiny tweezers I struggled to pick them up and keep hold of them! They kept pinging out of the tweezer’s grip and very nearly got lost on more than one occasion.
Somehow, I managed to get them soldered onto the pads and although it’s not pretty 😂, it worked!
I plugged the paddle into a transceiver set to 20wpm and was delighted to discover that I didn’t miss a beat on my usual CQ CQ TEST DE M7MCQ string.
Very pleased with this little kit. Recommended for SOTA!
73, Tom, M7MCQ.
2 comments:
Hello Tom, that looks like a nice project. I see some SMD parts, not many. Would be also a challenge for me, will think about it. 20wpm! Wow, I've tried to send CQ with the begali a while ago on 20wpm but wasn't very successful. 18wpm is the best I can do...and even then I make mistakes. Especially with he 4 in my call, it keeps coming out as V. Practise practise I guess. 73, Bas
Hahaha, believe me Bas, my CQ TEST string is the ONLY thin I can do at 20wpm, LOL.
Hope you're well.
73, Tom, M7MCQ.
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