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Author Topic: Bencher BY1. What cable?  (Read 519 times)

N1AUP

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Bencher BY1. What cable?
« on: April 08, 2022, 05:22:48 PM »

Need to wire a bencher paddle to my Kenwood TS-590sg.  What sort of cable do I need?  Shielded?  2 conductor with the shield as 3 or 3 conductors?

Thanks.
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KM0U

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WA2EIO

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2022, 07:13:59 PM »

You can use either a  plain 3 conductor cable, or a 2 conductor plus shield.  Both will work, and the shield is not really needed as a shield, but only as a third conductor. (the 'common'.)
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N8AUC

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2022, 08:00:04 PM »

I bought a 3 conductor stereo cable with 3.5mm male connectors on both ends.
Chopped off one of the connectors, and attached crimp on terminals.
Secured those with a drop of solder, and a little bit of shrink tubing.
The crimp on terminals attached cleanly to the screw terminals on the underside of the BY-1 base.
The 3 conductor 3.5mm plug on the remaining end is exactly what I needed for my
Yaesu FT-817, FT-857D, and FT-897D. Works great.

You might have to move the connections around a bit to get the dit paddle and dah paddle in the right spot.

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N1AUP

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2022, 05:12:43 AM »

Thanks.  I'd probably better check.  I thought the plug was 1/4 inch.  It might be 1/8.
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WB6BYU

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2022, 02:20:24 PM »

Quote from: N8AUC

...You might have to move the connections around a bit to get the dit paddle and dah paddle in the right spot.



I solved that by wiring in a skinny DPDT slide switch
under the front of my paddles, so I can switch them
either way.  Allows use by right- or left-handed ops.

WO7R

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2022, 05:48:13 PM »

This kind of backs into an issue about shack standardization.

1/4 inch plugs for CW keys used to be common.  1/8" is now more the norm and has been for some time.

I long ago decided all my CW keys would end in 1/8" plugs.  If I ever own/need to use a rig with a 1/4 inch plug, I'll just get an adapter.

I've used shielded cable for the common ground since forever.  Not sure that it is strictly necessary, but the cost difference is negligible.

Most rig manuals will tell you whether the tip is dot or dash.  That's gotten to be fairly standard now too.  Been a long time since I had to worry about what the tip was supposed to be.

The rig manual, at least for the present setup, is all anyone really needs.
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NU1O

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2022, 10:49:51 AM »

This kind of backs into an issue about shack standardization.

1/4 inch plugs for CW keys used to be common.  1/8" is now more the norm and has been for some time.

I long ago decided all my CW keys would end in 1/8" plugs.  If I ever own/need to use a rig with a 1/4 inch plug, I'll just get an adapter.

I've used shielded cable for the common ground since forever.  Not sure that it is strictly necessary, but the cost difference is negligible.

Most rig manuals will tell you whether the tip is dot or dash.  That's gotten to be fairly standard now too.  Been a long time since I had to worry about what the tip was supposed to be.

The rig manual, at least for the present setup, is all anyone really needs.

I did not have an Elmer.  So I learned how to use a paddle with dahs on the left, dits on the right.  A local ham who had a 35 wpm certification from the ARRL visited me one day and he told me I was sending CW backwards.  Well, I was not going to relearn after all the time I had spent sending that way, and I didn't see what difference it made.
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N1AUP

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2022, 04:11:08 AM »

This kind of backs into an issue about shack standardization.

1/4 inch plugs for CW keys used to be common.  1/8" is now more the norm and has been for some time.

I long ago decided all my CW keys would end in 1/8" plugs.  If I ever own/need to use a rig with a 1/4 inch plug, I'll just get an adapter.



I've used shielded cable for the common ground since forever.  Not sure that it is strictly necessary, but the cost difference is negligible.

Most rig manuals will tell you whether the tip is dot or dash.  That's gotten to be fairly standard now too.  Been a long time since I had to worry about what the tip was supposed to be.

The rig manual, at least for the present setup, is all anyone really needs.


Is it correct that the right paddle is dahs, and the left dits?

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W9IQ

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2022, 05:15:47 AM »

The more common configuration is that the thumb of whichever hand you are using produces the dits. But some do prefer or require the opposite.

You will tend to send more dits than dahs.

- Glenn W9IQ
« Last Edit: April 23, 2022, 05:27:21 AM by W9IQ »
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- Glenn W9IQ

God runs electromagnetics on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the wave theory and the devil runs it on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by the Quantum theory.

NU1O

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2022, 12:06:26 PM »

The more common configuration is that the thumb of whichever hand you are using produces the dits. But some do prefer or require the opposite.

You will tend to send more dits than dahs.

- Glenn W9IQ

Just a quick guess but e, i, s, and h are used quite often.
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WO7R

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #11 on: May 26, 2022, 10:36:56 AM »

Quote
Is it correct that the right paddle is dahs, and the left dits?

Every remotely modern rig lets you choose which is which, actually.

The rig's built-in keyer will have one as "normal" and the other as "reverse", but that's just the rig's opinion  :) .  You can "run" whatever you want.  There's a menu option somewhere to adjust it.

Whether it is "correct" or not, I've run the left paddle as dot and the right as dash for 30 years now.  I don't care if it is wrong.
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K0RS

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #12 on: May 26, 2022, 12:13:42 PM »

When electronic keying came into fashion, keys emulated bugs, which is to say the thumb sent the dots and the forefinger sent the dashes.  This is regardless of whether you are dominant right or left.  This remains most common, but some resist.  Careful when you say the "left" side is the dots and "right" side is dashes.  Not everyone is right handed.
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WO7R

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2022, 09:56:55 PM »

Quote
Not everyone is right handed.

I'm actually ambidexterous and can key or "mouse" accordingly.  I generally key right handed, but not always.  I mouse whatever makes the best physical sense in a given computer layout.

Left and right are accurate in my shack.  That's the way all my keys/keyers are set up.  Left is dot (whatever finger touches it) and right is dash.
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AE0Q

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Re: Bencher BY1. What cable?
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2022, 11:26:20 AM »

Before computer logging, I taught myself to send with a keyer paddle with my left hand because I write with my right hand.  I had originally learned to send with my right, being right-handed.  I wanted to be able to send and log in contests without moving my hands as much.

It was easy to switch hands but seemed to work better also reversing the keyer paddle wiring so I always sent dits with my thumb, no matter which hand.

Glenn AE0Q
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