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Reviews For: K1EL K42 CW Keyboard

Category: Keyers & CW Keyboards

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Review Summary For : K1EL K42 CW Keyboard
Reviews: 46MSRP: 92.00
Description:
The K42 is the Swiss Army knife of CW keyers, it will provide many hours of CW operation and enjoyment. A
CW keyboard interface, CW reader, iambic paddle keyer, LCD display, and optically isolated keying outputs
are all presented in one compact box. In addition, the K42 will operate many different modes including
QRSS, HSCW, and conventional CW up to 140 WPM.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.k1el.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00464.9
ZL1RD Rating: 2019-09-01
An exceptional kit and finished performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Finally completed the K42 kit after retiring and having a bit of time.
The K1EL kits are superb in both presentation of the kit material and performance.
The kit instructions are exceptional, both in the explanations, warnings and helpful hints.
The K42 simply works exactly as the manual says it will. The ability to send code seamlessly from both the paddle and keyboard is the prime feature for me.

My only wish is that a USB keyboard could be used. It is well documented that the USB to PS2 adapters do not work.

See you near the bottom of the bands.
AE7YD Rating: 2018-04-20
the best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
not much can be added to all those positive reviews.
I have tried many keyers and readers over the years,
this one is remarkable.
K1MLP Rating: 2018-01-28
Superb Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the assembled version, getting to old to bother. I am strictly a CW person but wanted this for contests, dxepiditions etc. This can do so many things it really blows my mind. The boys at K1EL do a great job and build a great product, I highly recommend it....
KC8Y Rating: 2018-01-27
SUPER!!!!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This K42 CW Keyboard keyer is great :) 5++++

Because of my handicap, I use a keyboard-just have to get use to the memories.

I see they have the K44 available, now.

Ken KC8Y
K6WHP Rating: 2018-01-26
Up to four of these now! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Reviewed this unit back in 2010 and I seem to have a "jones" for these as I collected FOUR at this point in time! There are revisions that add niceties but the functions are basically the same. It's just I am a sucker for these when I see an unbuilt kit on eBay or at a swap meet.

The other three go out to my Field Day mates in June so otherwise SSB guys can pick up ten point per Q at our QRP operation. They all swear by them and it's gotten several "Baofeng Techs" into CW and the attendant joys!
WU6R Rating: 2017-11-23
Fantastic Keyer! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
A great kit and a great keyer. I loved building it -- vey high quality, great build directions, very thorough setup and operating directions. I had a few questions during the build process and the customer service was very prompt and very helpful.
AB4IQ Rating: 2017-05-14
Fun Kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've had my Amateur license for 45 years and apparently born with 10 thumbs. I ordered the kit on a Friday and received it the following Monday in the mail. After doing an inventory I started to assemble the board stage by stage and did do the checks as in the manual. Fired it up and all was well. Since I have another station I ordered another one. Well it didn't do to well. Emailed K1EL and he said do an Alt/Ctl/Del and it fixed it. Both work great and solved my 10 thumbs issue. Kit is very well thought out and great boards.
K6LO Rating: 2017-04-22
First Class Kit! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A chronic hand condition has made paddle operation really uncomfortable for me. I am comfortable using one of the old Microsoft egronoic keyboards and decided to type my CW for a while. Enter the K1EL K42 kit. What a well thought out and comprehensive kit it is! The keyboard interface is great. I have not hooked-up the decoder so I cannot speak to that, but the key board interface has me on CW again, and I really enjoyed putting the kit together. Super quality from the instructions to the parts. Awesome!
N4XAE Rating: 2017-04-03
Well engineered Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I finished up with the K42c and the performance is excellent. On weak signals or crowded bands, the K42 zeroes in and begins to copy. It has sharp band pass filtering and can separate two signals slightly different in pitch. Steve, K1EL, does a good job of supporting his product via email as you might expect , his name appears on the schematics. He is thoroughly familiar with all aspects of his design. We had several questions upon start-up and Steve responded promptly with answers concerning trouble-shooting, theory and operation. Design and layout are excellent and you will end up with a piece of gear that will last you many years. You won't find these for sale used and probably for good reason. When completed you will have a high quality reader/keyer. Only complaint is audio output could be a little louder, but this is adjustable through the replacement of a fixed resistor. All in all, I am very satisfied with this product and think it's an excellent tool for anyone considering CW. 73
W3KHQ Rating: 2017-02-19
A fun project Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Here in Pennsylvania January is one of those months your normally house bound, what a perfect time to build a kit like the K42.

This CW keyer is all that has been said about it.

Read the assembly instruction and follow them exactly and you'll have no problems. Foremost take your time in assembly and make it an enjoyment. Now that I've broke the ice of kit building I'll need to look for my next project.