If you’ve been listening to the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, you might have heard Vince (VE6LK) mention that he and VE6TD planned to order parts to produce a batch of pre-built VK3IL pressure paddles.
Well, I just heard from Vince that they have completed a limited run. Here are the details from the ordering page:
For a limited time, VE6LK and VE6TD are selling pre-built 4″ (100mm) long VK3IL v2 pressure paddles. They ship with a high-quality attached 4′ silicone cable with your choice of a straight-through or right-angle TRS plug on the end.
We are the only place you can buy one of these pre-built in North America. If you would rather order a kit, check out VK3IL’s blog [linked here] where he lists other places that sell kits. We are not selling kits, these are pre-built.
You’ll receive exactly the following:
-
- Pre-built paddle with integrated 4′ silicone super flexible cable
- Your choice of straight or right-angle plug on the end of the cable
- Wrapped in black heat shrink tubing, padded on one side for comfort
- Paddle is approximately 105mm (4″) long x 25mm (1″) wide x 9mm (5/16″) thick and weighs 28g (1 oz.)
We pre-test each and every paddle before it leaves our hands.
The price for each pre-built paddle, shipped to Canada or within the continental United States (CONUS), is $85 CAD or approximately $59 USD. I believe this is a fair price for those who prefer not to source the parts themselves to build a VK3IL paddle.
I must say that the pressure paddle design functions beautifully. It provides very accurate keying in the field and, so far, it has worked with every radio I’ve connected it to.
Will there be an offer at the Orlando Hamcation 2025?
Vince may reply differently, but I doubt they’ll have a booth in Orlando. Both of these guys are based in Alberta, Canada, and this is a limited run of these paddles, so I doubt there’d be a good financial reason to take them to Orlando.
I will ship you one Bernd. Hit me up via the website http://www.ve6lk.com/shop/
Hi Vince, I live outside U.S. in Germany. But I will stay in Orlando for 2 weeks in February. Need my address there?
I can ship to you in Germany or USA. Shipping is included to USA, but to Germany will add $25. Up to you, if you want it to USA place an order on my website and it will be waiting for you by the time Hamcation is happening.
Okay. The USA option is the better one.
Alas, sold out in less than 12 hours!
I have more on the way – check out the website.
Stay tuned… I will have a batch of these as kits coming available after January 1.
Already running low! https://n5dux.com/ham/pressure-paddle/
These are my favorite paddles in the field. Durable, super compact, very easy to use, very accurate. They’re also shockingly simple/easy to build, even for me with no (other) SMT building experience. The pressure pads are the only costly part.
The silicone cable is a smart/nice touch. I need to source some of those for my own paddles.
Todd we are using the “Seadream” https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01M14J3TM and they are my personal best cable choice.
This is a great product for field use! I’ve built quite a few of them, and I love their responsiveness. One of these keys lives in each of my field kits. I wish Vince and VE6TD great success in making these more widely available to the CW community!