K7QO's N3ZN Iambic Paddle Review

The first thing that you have to ask yourself. "What is it that I want in an Iambic paddle?".

If you ask any two CW ops, you'll most likely will get two different answers. And if you ask them to make a list there will be a significant overlap in both lists and most likely a few differences.

This review will be biased by my wants and needs for an Iambic Paddle. Hopefully it will help you decide in the future just what you want in your next paddle purchase.

Tony Baleno, N3ZN, besides being a radio amateur, is a machinist and makes custom Iambic Paddles. You may see his iambic paddle models on his web page at N3ZN Web Page and you decide which model and price range will fit your needs. I chose, as the first model to order, the ZN-4A with a brass base. (Serial Number 020, so there aren't too many around as of November 2007.)

I own a few paddles. OK, I own more than a few. You can't own just one. All my favorites have several things in common and the following is a list of what they have in common and how the N3ZN fits among my favorite paddles.

Bearings

All my favorite paddles have 4 sealed roller bearings, two per lever. This alone adds significantly to the cost of materials in manufacturing the paddles. The N3ZN, Hensley, Begali, W9WBL, WB9PLU, Kent, Mercury(N2DAN), Bencher Hex-paddle and others all have ball bearing movements. This gives a very smooth arm movement and allows me/you to adjust for the lightest of touches to activate the keyer. The Hensley and W9WBL paddles are no longer being made, so they are collectors items. WB9PLU is working on a new paddle for Dayton in May 2008, so he doesn't have anything on the web at this time. Look for him to be back after Dayton. The Begali Sculpture stainless steel paddle runs over $550 and thus puts it out of reach for the casual operator or any one on a fixed budget. The pricing for the N3ZN paddles run from the upper $100's. The model ZN-4A runs $175 for the steel base and $200 for the brass base, so we are talking about an excellent bargain for a very fine instrument.

There is one other affect for vertical pivot posts held in place with roller bearings for the arms of the paddle. There is absolutely no vertical movement of the finger pieces. Try that with your Bencher BY paddles which runs $145 for the BY-2. Try this with any paddle that you own, and most likely your favorite paddle has no vertical movement for the finger pieces. I like the Bencher BY-2 and use one from time to time, but the pivot mechanism does not compare with that for paddles using bearings.

Adjustments

Thumb knob screws with no slop in the adjustment and no lock-down screw. Paddles that I do or have owned bug the heck out of me if: (1) I adjust the spacing, (2) lock the setting using a lock-down nut, (3) and then find the spacing has changed. This is caused by not having close tolerances on screw threads and tapped holes. I'd name names but that is not the purpose here. You know what I mean. Also, using hex-screws for locking mechanisms isn't a plus as the time involved in trying to locate the lost hex-key. It never is where it is supposed to be or if you are buying a used paddle the key is missing and they want you to remove the one that fits from a complete set that you own and keep it with the paddle. No way.

The N3ZN paddles use thumb-screws and there is no locking mechanism that you have to adjust. Let go of the thumb screw and the setting stays in place. Tony uses a mechanism that uses a spring with a ball against the adjustment screw for the tension. He sets the tension before he sends the paddle out. You can change if you want, but I haven't found any need to change it.

With the tighter tolerances you can come back to the paddle after any period of time and the spacing will be the same.

Tony uses 10-32 screws, which means there are 32 turns per inch, and you get finer adjustment of the spacing with a fraction of a turn of the screw.

I took a dial indicator used in machining measurements and found that, with the N3ZN paddle, I had the movement of the finger piece set for 1/1000 of an inch (1 mil). This is very good for any paddle setting and have it remain fixed with this small a spacing. It also feels like there is no movement when in operation.

I just did the math. With a 10-32 screw, one turn, moves the screw 31.25 mils (1 mil = 1/1000 of an inch). This means that about 11 degrees of a 360 degree revolution gives you an adjustment of 1 mil. So, if you just close the contacts to where the keyer starts up and back off just a fraction of a turn, you will have a very very close spacing. And the paddle has to have close tolerances in order to maintain this spacing even after long periods of use.

Magnetic and Spring Tensioning

The N3ZN paddles use magnets for the tension. I'm not particular about whether a paddle uses a spring or a magnetic for the force. With the smallest possible spacing I can get for a paddle I can't really tell the difference between magnetic or spring forces.

I set the tension for the smallest force required to move the paddle still have it return to the original position. In order for this to work, both the neutral spacing must be fixed and remain fixed while in use and the movement must not bind at all. The N3ZN paddle allowed me to set it up for a very very light touch and not have any problems.

Now, I figure that if the paddle will do all this with the lightest of touches, it will do well with heavier tensioning.

Weight

The ZN-4A with the brass base weighs in at 32 oz. So, for even the heavy handed operator, the weight should do nicely.

Now here is where you and I may differ in our needs. Because I use a very very light touch, (it really bugs the hell out of a lot of people that touch my paddles) I don't need a lot of mass in a paddle. I can put any of my paddles on a slick surface and still operate them without having them shift all over the place. The ZN-4A weighs in at 32 oz because of the 7cm x 7cm base with a thickness of 1.5cm made of brass. I'll come back to a note about the ZN-6A at the end of this review. If you have problems with paddle movement, just take a few hours and force yourself to learn to use a light touch. Put the bug in a glass case and leave it. I know. It irrates the hell out of you for me to suggest it, but do consider it. Move on and you'll find it is a lot easier to use an Iambic Paddle and keyer. You won't be as tired and you can operate longer.

Arms

The two moving pieces in operation are the arms of the paddles. The finger pieces for the N3ZN paddles are made of a composite material that has a red coating. They are very stiff, which is a requirement of mine. You do not want flimsy materials used for the finger pieces.

The arms themselves are made of aircraft aluminum. Here again, you may disagree with me on this part. That's OK. Aluminum makes the arms have low mass. This means easier and faster movement than that of a heavy arm. It has to do with simple physics. I can and will do a 4 page paper on why this is so, if you want it written up. I'm not proud. 8 by 10 photographs with a paragraph on the back also, if needed. :-)

Gold Plated Contacts

Gold plated contacts, so please please do not use anything rough to clean the contacts. With gold they should never need it.

Finger Piece Height above Table

Here is my favorite pet peeve on some paddles. Lay your arm down on the operating desk. What is the position of your thumb and first finger? For me, they are both touching the surface, which means a low profile. I use a paddle with the remaining three fingers (middle, ring, and pinkie) tucked under and resting on the desk. This leaves the thumb and first finger about 1 cm from the surface of the desk. It requires effort to lift them higher. Give me any paddle that will slip in between the two fingers and I can start operating. The ZN-4A is that way along with the Begali Sculpture and other paddles that I consider to be correctly thought out.

The ZN-4A has the finger pieces low and you can use them without much effort on your part.

Paddle Finish

The brass has a thin protective coating on the surfaces, done in three passes by Tony. This means the surface of the brass will not tarnish over the years. I am not a fan of exposed brass surfaces allowed to gain an oxidized/corroded layer.

Summary

As you can see from the above writing I am a fan of Tony's paddles and my only hope is that such a review will not put him in overload. He, from his web page, suggests that you email him ahead of schedule and check on availability, etc. All the past popular paddles made my guys named Dan, Stan, Rich, Don, etc. have disappeared due to several factors. The most important is that the manufacture and machining of fine instruments takes time and it takes a love for the craft. It can not be rushed. The price of materials is not getting cheaper. I am hoping that Tony can continue to manufacture this quality of a paddle for a long long time. He does good work. But do not rush him. Let him decide when and where he will deliver a paddle to the next person. There are 6.6B people and only one Tony, N3ZN.

I liked the ZN-4A so much, I immediately went back to the web page and ordered the ZN-6A (Serial Number 009) with a shorter base. This gives it a smaller footprint on the desk. It has the same mechanism mounted to the base as the ZN-4A. The base is 5 by 7 cm and has a thickness of 1.8 cm. The increased thickness is to make the total weight 27 oz. Tony did this for the large number of people that want a heavy paddle. I'm not one of those individuals. This slightly increased the height of the finger pieces above the desk. I may make a thinner circular base to lower the height.

One more note about paddles in general. They are instruments. To be used and to be take care of. I look in the plastic container for food storage section of Wal*Mart and find plastic covers for paddles. It doesn't have to be fancy, just functional. I live in the high desert of AZ, so dust is plentiful at all times of the year. Just a cover is all I need to keep it off the paddles when not in use.

I cry at hamfests walking through the flea-market. I see paddles and keys that have been left out in the rain in McArthur Park. Just why any one would do that to things is beyond my comprehension. There should be a law. Take care of your paddle and it'll take care of you.

Thanks Tony and thank you the reader for your time. This review first appeared online in the W9YA newsletter and you should Google and make sure you sign up for future issues. It is sent email in PDF format and only to subscribers that have signed up. There are no back issues preserved online. FYI.

dit dit

Chuck K7QO

N3ZN Photo 1 The shipping box as it arrives from the Post Office.

N3ZN Picture 2 You can see that Tony double boxes and bubble wraps to protect the innards.

N3ZN Picture 3 Here is the box within a box view.

N3ZN Picture 4 Opening the inside box you can see the paddle is also in bubble wrap and a zip-lock baggie.

N3ZN Picture 5 ZN-4A on the desk next to an Iambic Keyer.

N3ZN Picture 6 ZN-4A with a closer view.