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Reviews For: Idiom Press/Ham Supply Logikey K-3 Keyer

Category: Keyers & CW Keyboards

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Review Summary For : Idiom Press/Ham Supply Logikey K-3 Keyer
Reviews: 65MSRP: 129.95
Description:
Although the Logikey K-3 Keyer has been replaced by the CMOS 4 and K-5 Keyers, K-3 repairs and support are offered by Ham Supply. See Website for details.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.hamsupply.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00654.7
WC1X Rating: 2003-07-12
Excellent+++ Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Allcon,

Excellent product! High quality build. Much better than the keyer in my FT1000MP Mk V. CW sending is now effortless. Wish I got one a long time ago.

NNNN

WC1X
KY6R Rating: 2003-06-07
Super Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I didn't know how bad built in keyers were until I purchased this keyer. In fact, one internal keyer in one of my rigs is so bad it affected my sending - I had to compensate for its bad timing. I also wondered if there was something wrong with my paddle . . . .

Now I use the K3 keyer on all 3 of my rigs - 2 have internal keyers which are now turned off, and the third rig is old enough where it doesn't have an internal keyer.

Internal keyers are only good for ultra - portable work where you don't want to lug around an extra box that needs extra power.

It is really neat to give the K3 commands in CW, and the features are far more than I'll probably use - but they will help me get my CW "fist" back to where it once was. The manual and tutorial are super.

Improvement Suggestion

Add a 2 digit led readout for things such as speed, etc and add an on / off switch.

WA2RQZ Rating: 2003-05-27
Great value Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am back to amateur radio after my last QSO in 1965. Needless to say, I needed to get back up to speed cw-wise as quickly as possible. I was in the 30 to 35 WPM range back in those days with my trusty Vibroplex. Well the ol’bug got lost in life’s transitions so I needed to get something to replace it. I knew of those things called “keyers” and read some articles on Iambic keying. Well I had to re-learn anyway so I bought a Logikey K-3 keyer and a P-2 Iambic Paddle from K8RA after reading the eHam reviews. The keyer is really helping me get back my speed and rhythm. Until I get back on the air I can check my sending using the memory to play back my test text. I then know if my character timing is wrong because the playback will be different. I can’t wait to enter my first contest. Of course, I still need to get my receive speed up to my send speed but in a month I am about a 1/3 of the way to my old copy speed and still enjoying it. The keyer is well made and easy to use. I bought a back-up bug from eBay and can’t see going back to it after the keyer.
YV5MBX Rating: 2003-05-21
Outstanding!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hi,

I just say thanks to Idiompress for this magnificent device, also their fast & excellent support while I was deciding if purchase or not, and wich was the model suitable for me, was the driven element for purchase.

It´s amazing how easy I learn to use it (at least the basic principles) and all the functions that could be explored.

The finish it´s excellent too!!!

Definetly an excellent decision.

73's
Javier
yv5mbx
WB0DUL Rating: 2003-03-27
Excellent Product Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I was first licensed in 1962. The years since have seen many changes in amateur equipment. I love to operate CW and am a member of the Colorado Springs DX Group. For about 10 years I was inactive on HF, but kept active on VHF/UHF. When I retired and suffered a mild heart attack I decided it was time to get some new equipment and get back on the air, which I did.

About a year ago, I was considering buying a new keyer. I was not happy with the limitations of the built in keyer in my new Yaesu FT-920. I had considered many different brands and had mentioned it to a good friend who is a avid CW DXer. Well, he took me into his shack and pointed at the Logikey K-3 Electronic Keyer. His comment was "This is the 'only' keyer on the market that will do anything you want it to do and more". He said he hadn't figured out the part on programming it to make and pour his coffee during a CW contest, but he was getting close.

So, I called HRO and ordered the Logikey K-3 and the Hookup Kit. When it arrived the following day I anxiously opened the box and looked at it, and the first thought that came to my mind was "What will I be able to do with only 6 buttons and a knob?" Well, was I surprised. I have owned several electronic keyers over the years, but this little jewel is the winner. For $129 I got more than my moneys worth. I have actually entered contests and haven't had to touch my Bencher Iambic paddle more than once or twice. (I need to state that I can copy in excess of 30 wpm. Not a record, but not too shabby). The K-3 just makes life so much simpler. When a DX station is on the air and a pileup is pouncing all over him, I just touch one button. When he returns my call, I touch another button, give him a report, and when I get an acknowledgement, I touch another button and give a RR/TU. Bingo. contact logged and on to the next one. The K-3 has the ability to store functions within messages. A serial number. A contest exchange. You can change speed in the middle of a message and not have to touch the knob. The speed change can be programmed into a message. One message an be made to "call" another message, which can "call" another and so on. Continuous loops can be programmed easily. For example you can program message #1 to call CQ, send a "K", pause 3.5 seconds and start calling again. As soon as you hear a station answer you, just tap your keyer paddle to stop the loop and go from there.

I have not even begun to use the K-3 to it's full capability. I use that portion that fills my needs and let the rest just be available. That gives me something to do when I want to learn something new about this little jewel.

There are many fine products on the market and they can do a lot of things. But do yourself a favor and don't waste a lot of time with other keyers. Just buy the Logikey K-3 and you will have spent your hard earned dollars on one of the finest keyers to come along in many years. If you're used to the Curtis or Accukeyer, no problem. Just program the K-3 to emulate the one you want. Made a mistake programming it? No problem, just send 8 dots and it'll back up and let you send the correct character(s). Need to send a serial number? It'll handle it. Need to send it again because the other station missed it the first time. One button to decrease the number and send the same number again. Ah, the good life was made better with the Logikey K-3.

You won't regret the purchase, I assure you. But for the learning curve, just keep the manual handy. It's well written and if you've done something once, it's easy to remember how to do it again.

Thanks to Idiom Press for a job well done.
N3WT Rating: 2003-02-12
Perfect for QSK Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Agree with previous positive reviews, very smooth with many features.

However I have not seen comments on the ability of the K-3 to correct choppy QSK of many modern rigs. Most modern rigs (okay, not Ten Tec) produce very choppy full QSK code. For example, the turnover time of my IC-756PRO is reported at 10ms. While in full QSK, every dit and dah is therefore reduced by 10ms, producing a very choppy code with very light dits. Weight control will not correct this timing problem. However, with the K-3 "k" command, I can add 10ms to every element, regardless of speed. With a dummy load and separate receiver and on the air reports, I can verify that this corrects the choppy code problem. Now, my IC-756PRO sounds as perfect as my Ten Tec Omni-D while using full QSK.

I wish Icom added this feature to the 756PRO menu options, but did not. They did put rise time adjustment at least. But, The K-3 does the job Icom left out!

Now, if only Logikey would add a spell check feature.
W1OBJ Rating: 2002-12-19
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my K3 for 24 hours and I can say its the best keyer I have ever used in my almost 50 years of Amateur Radio, and I have tried almost all of them.
The one thing I would have appreciated though, a 12 VDC wall transformer as an option.I am sure Idiom has a good reason for not making one available.
They K3 keyer is without question, first class.
N3DPL Rating: 2002-06-14
Missing features Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Performance-wise, I agree with all of the previous reviews - this is a great keyer and it does it all. But for $130 I should not have had to add the monitor volume control and 1/4" jack that my keyer now has. Fortunately there is plenty of room for both of these additions. Just be careful where you drill the holes.
K1ZW Rating: 2002-06-11
best keyer made Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Its the best keyer I have ever used in 30+ years of having fun with cw.Simple to use , and the embedded commands really are useful.One hint-use ur own connectors or buy the kit, this keyer does not like havey plug adapters hanging off the back :)
WA8KOQ Rating: 2002-04-02
VERY SMOOTH Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I don't know why I waited so long to buy one of these K-3 keyers. I've had a lot of keyers in the past 39 years, but this one is the best, I must agree. Very smooth and enjoyable to use. I like the emulation feature as well as the ease in which you can reverse paddles(so you don't have to re-wire one). After reading some of the reviews here last week, I went out and bought one. You won't be disappointed.
73 WINK WA8KOQ