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Reviews For: BaMaKey EHT-I

Category: Keys & Paddles

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Review Summary For : BaMaKey EHT-I
Reviews: 2MSRP: 250
Description:
Straight key based on Marconi PS213
Product is not in production
More Info: https://www.bamatech.net
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0025
KG7WGX Rating: 2020-08-02
Light action straight key Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is an excellent key with the high quality one would expect from a German manufacturer.

It uses a magnet instead of a spring for keying force. The keying force is very light, even at the heaviest adjustment.

The contacts are at the rear of the operating lever and they can be set for extremely close spacing, if you want this.

The knob is around 3/4 inch in diameter and the height is approximately 3 inches above the table. This could be a little too high for those who use the "American style" of keying, but it works just fine with the "European style", arm elevated above the table.

The keying is very clean, with no evidence of contact bounce.

The key comes with a 3 ft cable and 3.5mm stereo plug, wired TS. If your transceiver requires different connections, the bottom plate of the EHT-I can be easily removed to rewire the cable as necessary.

Update: I did replace the narrow knob with a J-38 sized knob, which lowered the height slightly. Now the knob feels the same as my other keys (!)

I didn't want to drill the lever, so I reused the factory knob screw by inserting a M3 thread brass insert in the replacement knob.

I also replaced the factory-supplied cable with a shielded cable.

After a year of use, I am very happy with this key.
VK5ISO Rating: 2019-10-12
Superb key Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Bamakey EHT-I is a copy of the famous Swedish Ă–ller key designed in 1857 also manufactured by his former employee Ericsson (not to be confused with Swedish pump keys which are a simplified, cheaper, version produced for the Swedish military).

The Marconi PS 213A is derived from this design.

The Bamakey implementation uses a magnet instead of a spring and as a result the action is extraordinarily crisp and clear. The design enables adjustment to a very small contact gap.

Build quality is superb, superior to that of the Begali keys I have used. There is, for instance, none of the "mushiness" which is quite characteristic of the Blade and the Bamakey lends itself to much sharper adjustments than the Blade.

I had initially thought that the small Swedish-style knob would cramp my hands (which are quite large) and, as a matter of fact, it is the exact opposite: the small knob with a slighly convex base lends itself to the most accurate keying I have ever done. It induces no fatigue at all (far less than the large Navy-style Begali knob).

Unsurprisingly, I just sold my Begali Blade!

As a result, I cannot recommend the Bamakey too highly: I think it is the best key on the market at this price point with no exception!