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Author Topic: Begali Expedition is "clicky"  (Read 424 times)

W4MSL

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Begali Expedition is "clicky"
« on: February 02, 2022, 10:56:42 AM »

My Begali Sculpture is, to my ears, completely silent from a mechanical perspective. My Begali Expedition, on the other hand, adjusted to match the Sculpture in terms of 0.3mm contact spacing and 25 gm paddle tension, manifests a distinctly audible "clicking" sound when either or both paddles are depressed. It is as if the tolerances for the Expedition are much more generous than for the Sculpture. If I leave the feeler gauge between the contacts on either side and touch the associated paddle, there is no clicking sound from that paddle. That doesn't prove that the sound is from the actual contacts, I realize, but is noted for info. Perhaps immobilizing contact motion also prevents something elsewhere along the path between the contacts and the finger pads from rattling. I don't know. Nothing is visibly loose that I can tell. I've written Begali, so am sure to hear back, but thought I'd query here to see if other Begali Expedition owners have the same experience. I won't call it a problem yet, because this might just be the expected behavior in a lower-tier Begail key. I hope not. Any input appreciated. Thanks.
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W6MK

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Re: Begali Expedition is "clicky"
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2022, 04:16:00 PM »

The appropriate parallel experience may be in musical instruments. Seemingly identical instruments, pianos, saxophones, whatever, will have different timbres because of slight variations in structure and dimensions. I suggest that the Sculpture has a different mechanical sound profile from the Expedition simply because they have different length levers, likely different finger pieces, vary greatly in mass, etc.
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W4MSL

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Re: Begali Expedition is "clicky"
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2022, 04:43:57 PM »

Michael,

I think you are probably correct. The arms on the Expedition are machined but relatively light-weight alloy, as best as I can tell. The Sculpture arms may be alloy as well, but are shorter. But, as I examined my Sculpture just now and played with it a bit, I could hear very similar but not identical clicks like those which bother me on the Expedition (but very much attenuated). I'd never noticed this before now. I can hear the Expedition clicks mixed in with my oscillator tone. So, different arm length, different mass, different acoustics. In this case, higher pitch, lower volume, less noticeable with the Sculpture. Makes sense. Thanks for the thought. A helpful way to look at it.
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W6MK

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Re: Begali Expedition is "clicky"
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2022, 09:06:03 PM »

I have three Begali keys: a bug, a single lever paddle and a Sculpture Swing (hate to call it just a "cootie"). They each have a very different mechanical sound profile. None is perfectly quiet. The Sculpture Swing, being the most massive, has the darkest mechanical "tone."
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NI0C

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Re: Begali Expedition is "clicky"
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2022, 04:52:38 AM »

My N3ZN keys (single lever and iambic) both give off a soft clicking sound when in use, but it's never been a distraction, especially when wearing headphones. I've also used N1KW's iambic touch key, which is very nice (and perfectly quiet). See: https://www.qskllc.com/tp-1
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W1VT

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Re: Begali Expedition is "clicky"
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2022, 07:05:42 AM »

The same is true of Drivers, clubs for hitting golf balls off the tees in golf.
They are specialized clubs for hitting the ball as far as possible.
Just like fine keys, the sound they make hitting the ball influences the purchasing decisions of drivers.
Most guys play golf for fun and aren't going to put  up with a club that sounds bad.
Some guys won't play a club if it is the wrong color, no matter how well it works!
« Last Edit: February 03, 2022, 07:09:22 AM by W1VT »
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W6MK

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Re: Begali Expedition is "clicky"
« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2022, 08:34:03 AM »

They are specialized clubs for hitting the ball as far as possible.
Just like fine keys, the sound they make hitting the ball influences the purchasing decisions of drivers.
Most guys play golf for fun and aren't going to put  up with a club that sounds bad.

LOL!

This makes it all very clear: the sound-based impression of performance strongly affects many people's perceptions of actual performance. I think also of the louder exhaust systems some people put on their cars. Much louder than stock and possibly delivering a very few additional horsepower. But the greater sound lets one feel like a real racer!

A very quiet key may help some ops think that their expensive key is well-worth the price and really helps them send faster (or with fewer mistakes, etc.).
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