New Keys from Begali
I think I am becoming a Begali Key Collector; I have a number of these now and always get blown away with the quality and the workmanship of these keys, and any excuse to grab another always makes me smile.
But you get the idea about just how much they care about there products from the get-go, the box arrives with usually more tape than we expect, it is always fun trying to work out where to cut it first to safely get at the contents, and when you finally get the box open you find a great mix of polystyrene slabs cut into very precise lumps along with a great number of those horrible ‘what-sits’ that you will keep finding many days later.
Begali Adventure Mono
I ordered this key some time ago, I was looking to use this with my Elecraft KX-3 but regrettably I gave this away to a friend who I think would get more use of it then I would, I hopefully will replace it sometime as I was very happy with it and kind of regret not having one at present.
A very good friend of mine (Colyn Baillie-Searle, GD4EIP) kind of converted me to the ‘Mono’ keys a while back when I started to play with his ‘Sculpture Mono’, for me especially now thanks to cancer I have an involuntary random shake of the hand when the muscles seem to be tired or my hand has not moved in a while and I have found that because of this I make less mistakes, I am so far from being a power user and I am still only 10-15 Words Per Minute (WPM).
So why the Begali Adventure Mono? It sounded interesting and I hit a brick wall trying to find out anything on the internet, when I did find a few photos, they were pretty poor, but my thinking was that it would make a good mobile key, i.e., it was small, therefore would not take up much space and hopefully it would make an ideal key to use with a Elecraft KX-3.
I was surprised at just how small this key must be, it comes in a really small ‘Tupperware’ type of box which is a very nice touch and another thing that you will not need to find yourself for taking the key mobile.
As Always, the key comes with it’s own cleaning cloth which normally gets well used, even if it is just to get rid of those greasy fingerprints.
Everything needed comes in this small plastic box, Typically for me I had also added the Magnetic Base for the ‘Begali Adventure Mono Morse Key’ which was out of stock and waiting for more to be manufactured by Begali which was why I was waiting for it.
The Elecraft KX-3 Adapter
Even this small component has been well thought out, and there is no lacking in quality right down to the knurled screws, the heads of which are large and easy to grip, and if looked after should not let you down by accidently losing a screw when you take it out of a box on those horribly wet and windy days, all of the screws are assembled so that they will not fall out, these can be removed fairly easily though if required for some reason but really shouldn’t and if looked after this little adapter should not let you down. Hopefully Bruna at Begali can help you out if you do end up losing any of the screws.
The Magnetic Base
This is what slowed down my order getting sent out, was it worth it? Yes, it was – Too right. And there is no loss in quality here as well, it is well thought out right down to the seated O-Ring on the underside which is there to protect your cars paintwork when you sit this down on the bonnet of your car when you are working mobile on those hot and sunny days that we have here in the UK.
The Screw to hold the Key to the base is made that you should not loss it when you are taking off this base to attach it to the KX-3 or whatever radio that you are operating with.
… and Finally the Begali Adventure Mono Morse Key
This brings cuteness to a whole new level, it is so much smaller than I expected it to be, I even thought that this would be an un-workable key, but it works, and it works very well indeed. Quality wise this will really blow anyone away, everywhere that you look you cannot comprehend the designer work that has gone into creating such a small and deadly key.
Every little detail of this key is engineering perfection, you know that when you get a Begali Key you will get something that has not just been designed to be a great Morse Key, but there is always a thought that Begali have made a Morse Key that just looks so beautiful. As I have already said here, I have a large number of Begali Morse Keys and every single one of those you could easily just place behind glass to admire, this key is just like that but the cuteness of this key alone with it’s useability is pretty outstanding, yes it is basically a few lumps of metal screwed together and yes it does work as a key and very well but maybe because it is very small and down right beautiful.
So Why the Mono instead of the Iambic? I thought that if I do ever go Portable then there is less chance of getting any keying wrong, I have the Sculpture Mono as well, and although it is a totally different beast entirely, especially as it is four times the cost, but I found it so sweet to use, set up at just 15g switching pressure it really is a joy to use, up until I owned one of these I had the Original Signature which at the time was the most expensive key that they made, and you can tell why, it was a dream to use, even for me, I did not even think about the Mono keys thinking that it is like going back to one of those early kits that we made, bat they are so much more, so as I was going for a Adventure so to speak, I thought that this time I will go for the Mono, and if I did not like it then at least the Iambic was €10 cheaper.
I know that these are all manufactured using high quality CNC Mills, but you still have to program them, but even knowing this looking at the underside where you see the nice fanned out lines that have been milled on the underside to make it easy to just get that right position when it is mounted is still a nice design touch, and even forgetting this the underside is still very pretty, a lot of manufacturers kind of ignore this part of the key.
Well there is definitely a size difference when mounted next to my go to Schurr Proffi Key, it looks like a very nice Toy Key, but far from it.
Please ignore my sweaty fingers prints on the end of the key, could not be helped but I thought that someone out there might appreciate what it looks like against the adapter for the KX-3, this certainly brings a nice touch to mobile keying, so much so that I just might have to replace the KX-3, After all I do miss it. But being practical, is it worth getting, Hell Yes, I would possibly go for the Iambic Though as if you have not ever used a Mono Key before then this would not be a good representation of just how good they can be, is it a compromise, No I do not think so, it is beautiful to use and it works and works well, is it worth the money, yes, do not be stingy, it is a good key by a great manufacturer who actually cares about the users of these keys – BUY ONE NOW! You will not regret it.
The Begali Simplex Palladium Morse Key
I hat be chatting with Bruna for a while about this key, all I knew was that I wanted a Simplex, but I was not sure which one, I originally wanted the Simplex Pro but somewhere along the line I kept getting confused, I would then confuse Bruna and in the end I felt as though it was a lucky dip to what the finish would be. I did not really need to worry though as Bruna had it right at her end all the time. I did want the gold contacts but that is with the ‘Pro’ and I cannot get the ‘Palladium’ finish I think, anyway as with anything from Begali, you get a great key anyway.
I was told about this key by Godfrey (GD4EIP) and he is normally spot on when it comes to choosing a good key, The Simplex’ is ‘Simple’, it looks very much like most other keys out there but this time with a little more quality, I have already been well and truly hooked by Begali as a Morse Key Manufacturer, I think with this key I can honestly say that owning 20 different Morse Keys, both Iambic or Straight is about enough now, well maybe for this year.
What you get with the Simplex Morse Key? You get the Key, and Plastic Cover to help keep the dust away, and a Cable to connect it to your Transceiver, and a Cleaning Cloth. The Plastic Covers themselves are a nice touch, a lot of keys do not come with any covers or cleaning cloths, so it is a very nice touch, and we would miss it, it would be very nice if there was a sturdier type of Dust Cover but as it sits on your desk and rarely gets moved these covers are more than adequate really. The cable is not overly cheap, it does have a nice feel to it, I just wish that as most Transceivers out there use a 6.35mm or better known as a ¼” Jack Socket, I really wish that they would include an adapter for those users that require one, this will be my ONLY gripe with this Key.
This is a bit strange; this is as basic as Begali gets but it screams at you about the quality of the build, I am getting to like this, and this is before I have plugged it in and set it up.
I am a little confused here, I purchased this key as it was recommended it by a friend, now I am so far from a power user, I can send and receive on a good day, but since cancer I get a little nervous and then I make mistakes, and then because of this I make more mistakes, I can when left alone copy at up to say 15 wpm, but I am happier around 12wpm, I do love a new key and I do like Begali very much, so when I am presented with a ‘Simplex’ key, i.e. Simple, Basic, and although I hate to use the word ‘Cheap’, I suppose that this key is in this category but this is where things go strange, The key is not basic, the key is as beautiful as all of the other Begali Keys, Yes there are no magnets, no gold contacts, and yet you get the choice of different finishes, but this is not cheap in any way, hopefully the next few photos will help you see how good this key is.
Where ever you look, turning this key over in your hand and trying to find where the quality was skipped, you will not find it, and for its price it is well worth the money, at this point I have not really had a lot of time to play, I have tried it and I have sent a few basic QSO’s out using the key as delivered, and it is beautiful, I can see why Godfrey recommended it, I still love my Sculpture Mono but it is early days at the moment.
After I told Godfrey that I was getting a Simplex Morse Key as he had recommended it he kindly made me a set of lovely finger pieces, and he does do a great job, they look great on the key – Thanks Mate for these.
It is early days but I kind of feel that I am going to like this key, it has a good feel about it, and I have a load of other keys to play with but I kind of feel that it will only get better when Godfrey has set it up for me, I got use to Godfreys settings and especially the very light 15g touch which I am hoping that this can be setup for. I will hopefully add a small bit later with my views on this key but for now I would say I think it is well worth buying – So why have you not got one hi hi….
Last Updated : 23rd April 2024
