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Reviews For: Bencher BY-1

Category: Keys & Paddles

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Review Summary For : Bencher BY-1
Reviews: 156MSRP: 110 to 395 rrp
Description:
Iambic paddles
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.bencher.com/radioequip.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001564.3
N4MJG Rating: 2022-09-12
Still using it great key so far ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
UPDATE

I pick up my bencher by-1 to practice my send my code now since I since I had stroke 2019 that don't stop from belove of cw this I brought years ago thank to jim sell to me I always wanted one when put it up on slef I keep it clean ! and keep dust out when not use


I been wanted one since i pass the code , i saw this ad from Jim on this eham the paddle key is in real good shape like new !

73
Jackie
N4MJG
SKCC 7305 SINCE 2005
NAQCC 5233
OMISS 11548

I try it without get on the air ! to see how it does it works great ! :)

I been off cw air like 8 yrs ! now need to catch up and relearn the code again will take time !


I had no problem so far ! so i keeping this keyer ! as long as i can !


73
Jackie
WWW.N4MJG.COM
Tullahoma,Tn

SKCC #7305

NAQCC #5233
W2CWL Rating: 2022-09-12
Great you can still get parts ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After twenty five years of operating phone, I dug out my old chromed Bencher BY-2 paddle and decided that I really enjoy CW more than I thought. The key's contacts had a good tarnish on them and it was obvious they needed to be replaced. What a joy to chat with Scott, W4PA, at Vibroflex and find out that you could still get the contact sets. Had the new contact set complete with new plastic paddles within the week, hooked it up to my FTdx-10 and became a brass pounder again. Thanks Scott !
NN2X Rating: 2022-07-06
Fun! Outstanding! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I passed on Extra Class in 1980...20WPM, never really used code, and worse I used only a straight key...

Well, I tried a paddle (Bencher), it surely makes CW fun...It is easy to use, and well made..(Bencher)

I am using the FT DX 10, with the filtering, and CW Decoder (I am little rusty), but all I can say, what joy to use...With the straight Key it is more strenuous, but with the paddle it is easy..

I leave my last comment with Bencher. All I can say, is it is well made, and easy to adjust to your individual preference.

Outstanding!

DE NN2X / Tom
W4WVW Rating: 2020-06-29
No problems with this paddle. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have my BY-1 set up with tight contact spacing. I don't do iambic keying (no desire) so basically I use the paddle like it was a single lever. I also own a CW MORSE paddle for field use so the BY-1 stays in the shack. My BY-1 has been flawless since I bought it new in 1985. It is a pleasure to use.
WU7X Rating: 2019-04-04
Thumbs up! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use CW primarily for working new DX. In today's world that means the ability to pick your call out of the pileup and reply with a 5NN TU. Unlike contesters, most DX stations seem to like 20-25 wpm. My BY-2 works beautifully for this process. I've been using the same one for over 25 years. I doubt that I have had to change adjustments on it more than twice during that time. It is a keeper. I am going to get back up to 25-30 wpm sending/copying and have a picked up a Kent to see if it "feels" any better. Will let you know what I think in the future.
KN0V Rating: 2018-03-08
Gave me good service for 41 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased an early model of this paddle that had the 'fly apart' paddles. Not much I can add that others haven't already mentioned. It deserves a 4.5 though.
It was replaced with a Begali Simplex.
K7EXJ Rating: 2017-11-10
Highly Recommend as 1st Key Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been a CW op - both amateur and professional - since 1957. I figure I can send Morse on any key you put in front of me. I've even sent emergency traffic using the "tune" switch on a transmitter.

Sooner or later you'll end up using a BY-1. Like the Vibroplex bug, the Bencher BY-1 is everywhere. Some ops love them, some ops don't. But for a first "paddle" you'd have to look long and hard to find a better key to start out with. And, since you'll probably own one someday anyway, you might as well buy one right off the bat and save the suspense.

The BY-1 is a well-rounded key. Heavy enough to stay quiet on your operating table, easy enough to adjust, not too expensive and pretty well made.

It's not an ideal key for portable or field work because it's a little heavy. But for the home QTH shack - or even out on the back patio feeding a sloper with your QRP rig - it works well, looks good and lasts forever.
DV2AWN Rating: 2017-04-03
Great Paddle! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got my first ever CW keyed (actually, my first ever CW keyed... period), a Vibroplex Bencher BY1 paddle. I was hesitant at first to buy this as it was quite pricey but in the end decided to anyway. I was pleasantly surprise as to how easy it was to hook up on my IC7300 and it worked like a charm. The build quality is excellent and the operation is quite smooth. I thought i would have a hard time adapting to a paddle keyer, but in no time at all, i'm using it like i've been using a paddle for years already. I would recommend this anytime... if you have the spare cash to spend on it. 73!
ZL4AX Rating: 2016-07-18
Industry Standard but badly made Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just about every CW op I know has used a BY1, or owned one. Me too, it was my first paddle and worked well.
Indeed, it needs a light hand or you'll knock the paddles off their pivots or send it sliding sideways over the table, but that's something you adapt-to. I have no regrets about my time with this key. I'd give it 4.5 out of five if it hadn't been supplied so seriously faulty, just like my Bencher RJ-1 straight key.
Just like my straight key, the BY-1 only had the threads tapped halfway down the drill-holes in the main swivel block assembly. It was sitting-up at an angle with a big gap under one side when I opened the box.
One of the screws that holds the block down to the base wasn't fully threaded. Their tap had stopped halfway into the hole. The screw comes up through the base and clamps the block down- or it should. When I tried to tighten it down, the screw sheared-off leaving a jagged stump stuck in the block. It was beyond repair.
I took it to a local engineering shop where they drilled-out the stump and hole in the base, then fitted a larger, different screw. But every time I flipped the key over and saw that mess, I never enjoyed owning the bencher again. I was like owning a badly repaired car after a serious wreck.

Shoddy, shoddy second-rate engineering assembled in a hurry by people who don't care. Bencher makes good, basic products... but only if they work. This was below usable standards.
W1BR Rating: 2016-01-20
Good key, for a light hand Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned a Bencher BY-2 since 1980.

This the chrome base model. But, I would doubt that the base finish--chromed or painted, has any real affect on the handling or utility.

This is a good key... but, like any key, it has to fit the user. I am a bit too ham fisted to adapt to the BY-2 key. It has served me well, but for heavy handed CW ops it may NOT be the best fit. I recently migrated to a pair of Bencher Iambic paddle keys, and for MY hand, they are more comfortable. For the more effeminate fist, the BY series of keys will probably do as well as any other.

The quality of the BY-2 is excellent. The chrome finish doesn't show any faults.

Like most keys, the adjustments might benefit from the use of FINE THREAD adjustments!!! I've found that almost universally almost all key manufacturers use thread sizes that result in too coarse adjustments.