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Reviews For: Begali Contour

Category: Keys & Paddles

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Review Summary For : Begali Contour
Reviews: 7MSRP: 340
Description:
Iambic paddle with magnetic adjustments and gold/palladium/nickel plating
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.i2rtf.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0075
K0HB Rating: 2015-08-05
Classic Italian Beauty Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK, I'll 'fess up...... this was totally an impulse buy. Roaming the floors at Hara this spring, I was drawn back several times to the Begali booth to admire the workmanship of the many keys Pietro had on display. The "Contour" model especially called to me.

"But, hey, Hans, you have a very nice set of Kent paddles in your shack. Don't be seduced by a pretty face when you're far from home."

So I left Dayton and returned faithfully to my TP1 from Kent. It was a long cherished and trusty friend. After all, how much better can magnets work, in comparison to coiled springs?

But late at night the vision of that Italian Beauty I met in Ohio called to me, so I lobbied and won a pass from SWMBO and ordered up a Contour in a palladium dress.

It arrived yesterday.

I'm in love all over again, and yes, magnets really ARE better than coil springs.

For a view of my sweetheart, visit http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/blacksilver_bucket/Mobile%20Uploads/Begali2.jpg

73, de Hans, K0HB
AKA: "Smitten"
AA7FV Rating: 2011-02-23
Superb paddle, superb service Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I originally ordered and received a Begali Magnetic Classic. This turned out to have one intermittently sticky bearing, but after I contacted Bruna Begali she insisted, with great apologies, that they send me a replacement paddle. Although the Magnetic is an excellent key (aside from my slightly defective bearing) I decided to take this opportunity to upgrade to the Contour. The Contour is designed to have much lower moment of inertia in the paddle arms, and so should be easier to user at higher speeds. (For me, "higher speeds" means ~40 wpm, my current limit.)
My best key before purchasing a Begali was a Vibroplex Iambic. I consider the Vibroplex to be an excellent key, easily capable of more than 40 wpm speed, although may take a little bit of effort to adjust the spacing and key pressure to liking. The Begali Magnetic has a slightly nicer feel than the Vibroplex, although I am not quite sure why. However, comparing the Vibroplex Iambic to the Begali Contour, there is a huge difference at higher (~40 wpm) speed. The Begali is less tiring to use, probably because of the lower moment of inertia, and (although I don't know why) my error rate is significantly lower with the Begali Contour. The adjustments of spacing and paddle pressure could not be easier on the Begali, and the settings stay where they are put. I liked the Begali Magnetic very much, but I am pleased I decided to upgrade to the Contour.
At slow speeds (say 25 wpm and below) to be honest I find little practical difference between any of the keys; I make as many errors with any of them. But at higher (say 40 wpm) speed the difference becomes fairly obvious.
I am delighted with the Contour. The service and customer care from Begali could not be better. I would highly recommend it to anyone for use at any speed, but especially if contemplating regular use at >30 wpm.
4X1FC Rating: 2010-10-18
upgrade to all users Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After extensively using the “Contour” paddle during the last 3 months both on contest and rag chew, I feel obliged to upgrade my review. It is really a perfection for smooth flawless sending and a jewel on the operating desk. My comment that it is best for high speeders does not have, necessarily, disencourage a beginner to start with it, as he is not imprinted with the feel of spring loaded paddle of old timers. All these sum up to a real 5/5 grade.
VE9KK Rating: 2010-06-10
Fantastic !!!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have had my Key for about 3 months now and it's true you pay the money you get the key!!! It is very smooth and simple to adjust, best of all it stays were it was adjusted. I did have one problem and that was the cable that was supplied with the key to the rig (K3). Had 2 cables sent to me both did not work. Bruna was great at getting them to me. I just gave up and used a cable I had in the shack.
If you ever get a chance to try any Bengali key give it a go, you will find yourself saving up for one.
KK9H Rating: 2010-01-07
Delightful Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I treated myself to a Bengali Contour (Serial #2) at the Dayton Hamvention last May. I operate mostly CW and I absolutely love using it. The adjustments make it very easy to get the the key's feel to be whatever you want it to be. Its weight keeps it right in place while you use it and CW seems to flow effortlessly from brain to antenna. If you enjoy CW, more could you want?
K5END Rating: 2009-07-10
Glad I got it. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I would never have made this investment had I not seen these paddles at Dayton and tried one for myself out of curiosity. "How good can they be?" I wondered. Everyone had told me my other twin paddle was all that I would ever need.

But then I tried one. It was the most smooth and effortless action one would want.

That sold me right there. Once again, "you get what you pay for."

This goes down as one of my wisest investments in Amateur Radio equipment.

Whatever it is they do to make these things work so well--magnetic return and so on--they are doing it right.
W2PA Rating: 2009-05-03
Solid, beautiful Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had the pleasure of using a new Begali Contour (and also a Pearl) keyer paddle in a CW contest this past weekend, and compared it to the others I’ve used over the years. The two share a very similar design for the working mechanism and so they feel very similar (see my review of the Pearl for details (http://www.eham.net/reviews/review/80421).

The main visual and physical difference in the Contour is its rectangular base, compared with the Pearl’s round one. The main housing for the pivots is also a slightly different shape, to make it visually consistent with the base (in typical attention to aesthetic detail). Although I didn’t weigh it, I’m guessing that the Contour is slightly heavier due to the shape of the base making it a bit larger.

Even though the feel was nearly identical to the Pearl (precise), the Contour makes a distinctly different clicking sound. This is not a value statement – it was just different. Maybe it’s like the difference in musical instruments from the same maker. The one other difference I noticed was that the ends of the finger pieces are just slightly closer to the base than on the Pearl, but further away than on the Graciella (this distance is something I’m particularly sensitive to – it may not matter depending on your keying style).

73, Chris, W2PA