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Reviews For: K8RA Iambic Paddle

Category: Keys & Paddles

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Review Summary For : K8RA Iambic Paddle
Reviews: 230MSRP: 65
Description:
Modestly priced, beautiful paddle
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.k8ra.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
002304.9
WA2NHZ Rating: 2008-02-21
K8RA P2jr Iamic key Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

I bought a P2jr Iambic key from Jerry for my 90 year old Dad (WA2CFJ) It arrived today in perfect shape..It works like a charm..very well built, and beautiful..I'm used to single paddle Vibroplex bugs and paddles, but had no problem zipping along at 35wpm plus with the P2jr..Jerry and I traded a dozen emails till he was sure he knew exactly what I was looking for (QRP key for FT-817nd)..If I could rate this key and Jerry a ten I would..my Dad is a great cw operator and I'm sure he will be pleased..I think I'll go for a K8RA key for my shack too.

73,
Steve, WA2NHZ
KG9HV Rating: 2008-02-09
P-2jr Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've been looking for a qrp paddle lately
and thought the P-2jr would be a good deal. I
emailed Jerry on a Saturday to ask if he had
any available thinking I would hear from him
Monday. He emailed me back within the hour.
He said he had some ready to go and would ship
me one on Monday morning. I received it in the
mail Wednesday and it was well packed. I was
surprised to find it was better looking than
it's photo on his website. I played with the
adjustments for a couple days and found myself
back where Jerry had them set. I used it today
during the Fists Spring Sprint and it performed
very well. It can be set to a light touch and
a close contact spacing. It stayed put during
the four hour sprint and allowed me to send
good clean code. For the money, I can't think
of any qrp paddle out there that would beat this
deal. As one reviewer said, it is cute.
Jerry was a pleasure to deal with and if you
decide you don't like the paddle, you have 30
days to send it back. That's a guarantee that
few offer these days.
For $75 to my door, I am more than pleased with
my little P-2jr and highly recommend it for a
good solid portable paddle. Get one, you'll love
it.
K9EX Rating: 2008-02-04
Superb Build Quality + Solid, Precision Design Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered my P2 on a Wed and was pleasantly surprised to find it in my mailbox the following Saturday morning. A+ for service - a good sign.

Once you upack your P2 (it takes awhile to unwrap layer after layer of thick bubblewrap!) you'll soon discover that the P2 is literally built like a tank.

I also own a N3ZN paddle and I must say, the P2 not only overshadows my N3ZN paddle in shear size and weight, but the over-all quality of materials and micro-precision is also quite impressive. The P2, quite simply, is a stunning paddle both in size and performance. Not to mention the very reasonable price.

I've owned a ton of paddles over the years, but this impressive product is the first paddle I've owned that I took out of the box and started using without needing to change any adjustments. Impressive.

Tricky iambic sending combos such as end-of-message (AR) and the letters Q, L and F fly off the fingers with ease - certainly easier than any other paddle I've used. The P2 is the real deal.

American made. Ultra-high quality. Value. The P2 is a fantastic product!
KY6R Rating: 2008-02-03
Great Paddle / Great Value Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The P2 has got to be the best paddle value out there. Its a superb key that doesn't move around on the desk, and that almost feels like a magnetic key when tightened down close (I like spring paddles better than magnetic - for whatever reason). The oak finger pieces are beautiful, and while I love my Begali Simplex key, the K8RA P2 is a better value for the money. You also won't meet a nicer fellow than Jerry - a pleasure to do business with.
N4KC Rating: 2007-12-30
Smooth! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK, so I have little basis of comparison. My previous paddle was a 30-year-old VibroKeyer, a decent paddle, but one that has been banged around over the years and will no longer stay in good adjustment. And I've only used the P-2 for a week now.

But man! This thing really feels good and makes my fist considerably better than it actually is. It may take some getting used to, especially on "L" and "F," the two characters that gave me the toughest time on my old key. It was packed very well and required only very slight adjustment before it felt right for me. And I'll probably tweak as I get used to how much more sensitive to touch this fine instrument is. I can't imagine anything being any smoother...including those costing five and six times more. I got the rosewood finger pieces, too, and the whole kit is a thing of beauty.

Finally, I'd like to thank Jerry K8RA for taking time to speak patiently with my daughter, who had no idea what she was ordering me for Christmas (I'd left the website pages in a conspicuous place so she and her mom would find them!). She was very impressed with his helpfulness.

Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
n4kc.blogspot.com

VE1DX Rating: 2007-12-14
Best I ever touched Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
What can I say about K8RA’s paddles that already hasn’t been said? I ordered the P-4 version, and 2-3 weeks later they arrived in the mail. Words and phrases like “handsome”, “awesome”., “fantastic” leave me with little to say that hasn’t been said before. I’ll keep it simple” If you are a CW operator who appreciates quality, you will never find a set of paddles that equals Jerry’s workmanship.” Simple as that. It’s Jerry’s labour of love. Believe me, all of the positive reviews before me are “spot on.”
N9ZI Rating: 2007-11-05
Nice Paddles Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I am well pleased with my P2-Jr paddle, it is a real nice smaller sized paddle, looks & works fine.

Would like to see him make a single lever paddle sometime, that is what I have been using for many years, however, these can be used as a single lever as long as I keep my mind on what am doing.

Good value - Jerry is a really nice person to deal with, he will go the extra mile to be sure you are happy.
N2WLS Rating: 2007-10-22
downright awesome! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'll be the first to admit, after all these years of using a straight-key and a vibroplex bug, I'm tired. As of late, I've been so tired that I've actually resorted to using a keyboard for CW. Sure, MixW makes sending code easy -- set the WPM and type... But really, who wants to sit forward, type, squint to read the monitor, etc... You get what I'm saying...

So I decided, there must be life after the keyboard. I wanted a way that I could kick the chair back, stretch the arm out, and just let the code fly, preferably without the fatigue from the bug or the straight-key... I've never had the pleasure of using a paddle before and was a bit intimidated by the whole thought of switching to something new. Of course, when faced with something new, it's wise to check things out in these reviews before making a purchase. After reading all these reviews, I settled on the P-4.

Let me just say, the P-4 is not only agile, it is a work of art! I played with the adjustments, but ended up right where they were set when I received it. Such a light touch is needed to activate the paddles that it's literally a zero-effort means of keying. Within minutes, I was able to work my way through the characters without any difficulty. In fact, the P-4 made the changeover to iambic so simple that it actually took longer to attach the cable to the paddle than it did to learn how to use the paddle. The weight is perfect for keeping the P-4 solidly in one place on my desk. Packaging was perfect, shipping was quick, and the P-4 is just downright awesome. I'll never go back to the straight-key or the bug, let alone the keyboard!
K9AMP Rating: 2007-10-19
Nice! Nice! Nice! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I wanted to throw in my two cents. Been in and out of hamming over 30 years, mostly CW and have used many types of keys. Last winter I got back in the hobby again and have been collecting keys so have a number of different one’s now. I wanted to comment how pleased I am with a P-2 I just got from Jerry. I’ve been mostly using a Vibroplex Iambic, and sometimes a Kent TP-1, but I believe the P-2 will now be my main key. As others have mentioned, it is very well built. You can tell Jerry put’s a lot of pride into his work. I mentioned to him I would be going out of town and he sent it immediately to make sure I got it before going. Can't beat that for service. As soon as I took it out of it’s well packed box and hooked it up, it felt great immediately. I “toyed” with the adjustments to get the feel for them, but really didn’t even need to. Light to the touch, and not clacky. The lock screws will keep the adjustments in place. I got it with the redwood paddles and the whole thing looks really nice among the other keys on the desk. If you're looking for a nice, well built, non-commercial key at excellent pricing, K8RA has what you need.
N9GRG Rating: 2007-10-14
Outstanding quality & even better service! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the P2-Jr for use as portable. It didn't work out for needs, not becuase of any design issues but it just wasn't what I was looking for. It is a beautiful machine, works great and is well engineered. Jerry's done a great job making this a fantastic paddle and you can't get better for the price.

But since it wasn't right for me I wanted to return it and Jerry issued the full refund even before he received the returned paddle in the mail - what service!!!! Name one other company that would do that today!

Even though this key didn't work out for me I will be buying another of Jerry's paddles in the future when the need arises and I recommend everyone seriously consider a K8RA paddle - you can't get a better paddle at the same value with this level of service!