I always felt that ops should have the choice of a more inexpensive key and that’s why I designed the TBCP V4 paddle with the option to use it as a cootie. Seems like most folks nowadays want something with more weight to it like my “Fat Boy” key so I’ve decided to retire the V4 TBCP to simplify my life and not have to inventory parts for them.
Much much nicer than the VibroKeyer I had been working with.
This makes me want to practice now.
Just received my new Key, it’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I’ve been practicing on it for about an hour this afternoon, it’s so smooth & precise… truly love it.
Steve, The slater slate key came in the mail today. Beautiful work, and its sends perfectly like the others I have of yours (Green Machine, TItan and the old TBFB). Thank you again for picking such a fine piece of VT slate to work with.
Hi Steve. I’ve been using the key for a few months now and really enjoying it. Has helped with On the Air clarity and ,in CW training, trying to increase my speed and comprehension. It has been a real joy to use. Very easy to adjust and has been a great addition to the shack. I Just wanted to express my appreciation, especially on the Quality Workmanship that it represents.
Hi Steve just wanted you to know I love this key I’m giving it great reviews in my orbit thanks again !!
Hello Steve san,
I have received the key today.
It is so beautiful, and I am looking forward to use it.
I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Package arrived Saturday. Unwrapped this morning. Everything I expected and then some. Thank you for the quick service.
I received my beautiful burgundy cootie today! I have never seen one of your keys or used one, but your design makes sense to me! Most cooties I have used have a hard stop on each side so you get a click-clack sound, but your design has a soft stop and sounds great! I plugged it in and worked a couple stations right away! So, thanks and 73
Hi Stephen – thank you for this beautiful key. I just made my first QSO with it and it’s a pleasure to operate and truly one of a kind. 73
Hi Steve – wanted to send you a quick note letting you know I received your key today. It is beautiful! Thanks a bunch, your craftsmanship is spectacular!
Took the key down stairs and practiced with it for about half an hour. My first time ever trying to use a cootie key. What an experience. The key feels so smooth and precise just as you set it up. It’s going to take some practice to get sending down reliably but I can see this cootie keying is very effective. Just need to put in the practice time.
Thanks so much for such a fantastic key!!!
Already I have noticed I make less mistakes with your key than with the others especially on S’s and H’s. Wish me pleasant Morsing on the bands.
Steve I just received my new FAT BOY key and I LOVE it it is exactly what I have been searching for, a little added weight would be good but not a major issue.
I would be glad to give a superior review on this key if you would like it.
Great workmanship, classie look and works GREEEAAT. 😜😋😜
Best day was 5 marathons!
I think a great deal off you! When we first talked you told me about the horizontal and it’s history. You were so right about it would help with wrist pain! After 5 weeks straight of 1 to 5 marathons a day without pain, I’m thrilled with your design!
Best wishes for your continued success!
WOW ! ! ! WOW ! ! ! WOW ! ! !
I just received my W1SFR Sideswiper Paddle and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It is really something to be proud of and I am. I especially like what you engraved on the brass plate for me.
Wow Steve! Your key just arrived, it’s a work of art!
I can only say “WOW”. It is beautiful, but is even more beautiful when pounding out code. It is smooth and stable with no tendency to bounce. It is easy on the eye and on the hand. I love it! Thanks for building such a high quality key.
These one day will be collector pieces, I really believe that.
Hi Steve,
Having had the key a while now I can give you my opinion and observations as a user.
The build quality is excellent, you have done a great job.
Aesthetically the key looks very pretty and totally different from the heard.
It is a pleasure to use but most importantly it has the correct FEEL, light touch and very easy to use fast or slow.
Set up for operator preference is a breeze and it maintains the settings too.
An unexpected bonus is that it does not appear to make any mistakes when sending, so good job Steve and a big thank you from an avid morse junky, 62 years of practice under my belt, military, commercial and now the hobby.
I am not an experienced ham, and actually learning CW through CWOps CWA and the LICW Club offerings. However, I have been struggling with my second-hand Begali HST. It just seems to require a lot of effort for my 75 year old hands. The FATBOY is so effortless and just feels right. I know it will take a few minutes or so to adjust but I am impressed already. Can’t wait to show my CW buddies over Zoom tonight. Expect more orders!
I just shipped my last 2 Titan Sideswipers. A fantastic key that has been received with rave reviews from ops.
I decided to stop making them because of the cost of the stainless steel, the CNC costs and the shipping…all increased a LOT since the pandemic. It’s a lot of investment in raw materials and without going all out with advertising and marketing (which I won’t do), I’ve decided to put them to rest.
To those of you that currently own one of the Titan keys…good on you and you now have a collectable you can pass down to generations to come.
I continue to make my other keys and will focus on the “Slater” and the “Fat Boy” which are my favorites. I have an inexpensive source for the slate and can do all of the finishing myself here in my shop so it enables me to make a fantastic key and still keep my prices reasonable.
I will also stop making the “Green Machine” for the same reasons. The mill is now charging me double what they used to and I have to do all the work so that’s not looking good for future keys. All good things must come to an end eh?
CU on the radio!
73/73,Steve/W1SFR
Ask Joe
Ask Joe Speroni/AH0A
http://www.ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html
As of January there are 755,952 in the US alone!!! I wonder how many of them are CW ops?
I’ve had this slate in a pile in my barn for many years now and finally got a chance to cut it up and make a couple of bases out of it. It took a LOT of sanding and finishing but I’m real happy about how it looks and feels. I put it on the air for awhile today and it works beautifully. Go to the Keys listing and it’s on the top so you can get more info and of course purchase one. The base is already several million years old so it should last another several million years and maybe wind up at a colony on Mars with one of your great-great-great-great-great grandchildren!
I do.
A true craftsman and creator pays attention to the minutiae…to things most people will never notice or care about. Things that form the backbone, the heart and soul of that thing that has never existed on this planet. That is until he dashed out a silly “stick man” drawing on a post it note, then flipped it over and scribbled his name and date on it knowing it was SOMETHING real and not just another idea that will never see the light of day.
Yes, I polish my nuts. I don’t have to. I don’t think anybody would notice unless I told them. But it’s important to me as a creator. It says something about how I see the world and what I have to say about the process. How things “should be” in my highly subjective view. Same reason I take great care in making sure the shipping labels are centered on the box and that there are no bubbles under the shipping tape. I know, it’s obsessive, but it’s also the simple things that talk to us. And that’s my point. It takes very little extra effort to do a job that’s remarkable . Something people will remember. Something that shows thought, integrity, rightness, care, respect…all the good things we look for, that we pine for.
So next time you hear yourself saying “That’s good enough”, ask yourself what you could do to make it better. To make it great. To make it as good as it gets.
Excellence is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution
—Aristotle
73,Steve
Now off to the Post Office to send out some keys.
What the hell, The “Fragile” sticker is a little crooked! 😉
Yesterday I finished building a QRP Labs QMX 5 band transceiver. It wasn’t an easy build but after loading the firmware, it lit up and I heard the sweet sound of QRN in my earbuds. Yay!!
Well at the very same time I finished up that kit, I ran out of solder. I realized that I had been using that roll of solder for over 10 years…ever since I built my first rig, an OHR 100 40M QRP transceiver. There have been a lot of kits and a couple of thousand end fed antenna rigs as well as thousands of keys.
Sorta weird, but that little roll of solder has been a fixture on my desktop for over a decade and I’m sad to see it empty, but on the other hand, I am grateful to know that its been there for me as I managed my way through the sometimes steep learning curve of being an enthusiastic builder and 100% CW op.
I’m 75 in a few days and I expect that the next roll will outlive me. With any luck perhaps my granddaughter or grandson will become hams and use it to create a new world of discovery in a spare bookcase tucked away in their future “computer room”, happy to be using my then vintage IC-7300, wondering how anyone could use such a primitive thing to communicate when their glasses could do the same thing.
Will there be such a thing as solder then?
Ok, it’s been a while since I’ve sold these keys. I kinda got burned out making them for SKCC members and was finding it hard to get to the marble mill to make the bases. I’ve been able to streamline my production time so I can get to the mill and knock out a few when needed. Although the price of everything has skyrocketed in the last couple of years, I have decided to keep the price the same at $265, and I’m even including USPS Priority mail for FREE.
Wait time is now very short and deliveries go out the door on a weekly basis. There has never been a better time to order this or any of my other keys!
Laser etching of the Green Machine is available for club or callsigns. Etching is done by Walt Hoppe in San Diego. You will have to pay for shipping to and from along with the etching fee which is VERY reasonable so still a bargain. Of course that will add a couple of weeks to the production of your key, but the end product is very special indeed.
Walt also make covers for all of my keys. Go to the cover page here on my site for ordering info.
73, Steve, W1SFR
In the making for over a year, I finally had time to finish the designs for my new Titan Sideswiper, Straight key and Paddle. They feature a massive 3+ pound stainless steel base with a decorative border milled into the surface, and a very high quality 3.5mm jack built into the base. All keys are available with or without callsigns. All keys come with a very cool 30″ retractable cable and the Paddle includes a stereo to mono adapter to change the key into a cootie on the fly.
Email for info until I get the ordering page up with the pricing
Well, I’ve managed to make a bunch of keys and get them out the door, so time to start taking orders again.
Thanks all for being so patient. Emails have gone to those of you that asked to be put on a waiting list.
73, Steve—W1SFR
W1SFR Handmade Torsion Bar Morse Code Keys 