Copyright Ó 1/2004 by Jerry Haigwood

The paddle is shipped in a single small padded envelope. Remove the parts from the envelope and compare them with the parts list. The base, arms, posts, and stop are all wrapped in tissue. The hardware is sealed in a small coin envelope and the finger pieces (AKA guitar picks) and Teflon tape are sealed in an additional coin envelope. Open up the coin envelope marked "HDW" and dump the parts into a small plastic bowl (a cleaned plastic butter dish works well). You can also remove the Teflon tape and finger pieces but keep them separated from the hardware to prevent scratching.

You will need 4 grades of sandpaper – 100 grit, 150 grit, 220 grit, and 400 grit. These can be found at building supply houses and hardware stores. A single 8.5inch by 11inch sheet of each grit rating will be plenty. Find a flat surface to do the sanding on. A table saw, router table or maybe even a kitchen table (if you can talk your spouse into it) will all work. Use tape around the edges to hold down the sandpaper to the surface. Start with the 100 grit paper. Place the paddle base on the paper with the edges of the base parallel to the paper. Sand the part in a straight line using short back and forth strokes. Continue sanding the part on all 6 sides until the part is clean, smooth and there are no dings or saw marks showing. In a like manner, sand the remaining brass parts. You now need to attach the small wire to the paddle arms. Refer to the section "Attaching the Ground Wire" below. Once the 100 grit sanding is completed and a small wire is attached to each paddle arm, you are ready to move to the 150 grit sandpaper. Attach the paper to the flat surface using tape and sand all parts. Note that the paddle arms can only be sanded on 5 sides since the bottom of each arm has a small wire attached and the bottom of the base does require any additional sanding. Again the parts should be sanded in a straight line. The sand marks in the parts will be smaller with the 150 grit paper and the finish will be smoother than after the initial sanding with the 100 grit paper. In a like manner, sand the parts using the 220 grit paper and finally the 400 grit paper. Upon completing the sanding, the parts will have a nice smooth and satin finish. Many people may want to stop here. However, some type of protection of the finish will be needed or the brass will begin to tarnish again. Clear lacquer can be spayed on the brass to give it a longer finish life. If you choose to lacquer the parts, be sure to mask off the screw holes for the electrical contacts on the arms and posts. You can use old 4-40 screws inserted in the holes to do the masking. At least one of the tapped holes on the bottom of the base will need to be masked off for electrical contact.

If you choose to polish the parts, you need to do it prior to lacquering. I can recommend two polishes I have used successfully. Flitz is a polish used to shine and protect metals. It is available from many gun stores. Another product, MAAS, is also an excellent polish and is available from Home Depot. Both polishes should be used sparingly. If you want a mirror like shine, use your Dremel or similar tool with a polishing bonnet to do the polishing. At 25,000 RPM, it doesn’t take long to get a mirror like shine.

Ground wires need to be attached to each arm to insure good conductivity to ground. You will need a 40-80 watt soldering iron with a clean chisel tip. The wire must be attached directly below the spring recess hole on the bottom of the arm. Prepare the wire by bending one end of each wire approximately 1/16 inch. Attaching these wires will create a left and right paddle arm. The two arms are identical until you decide which one will become a left and which one will become right. When soldering the wire onto the arms, make sure the spring holes will face one another when you are finished. Start the process by getting your soldering iron heated up. Brass is an excellent conductor of heat. It will take a lot of heat to solder the small silver plated wire. Once the iron is up to temperature, apply a small amount of solder to the tip to wet it. Apply the iron to the paddle arm to be soldered and let it heat. Keep testing the arm to see if it will accept solder. After the arm starts accepting solder, attach the bent end of the wire to the brass arm. Remove the iron and allow the solder and arm to cool. Note: the brass ARM will stay HOT for a long time. Unless you want to get rid of your fingerprints, resist the temptation to pick it up! After cooling, the arm and wire can be inspected. The solder around the wire has to be kept to a minimum to allow adequate clearance of the arm with the base. You can use a small amount of solder wick to remove any excess solder. You now have a right and left paddle arm.

1. Fit the pivot screws to the arms. Insert a #4 x 0.250 shoulder washer into the top of the pivot hole on each arm. In a similar manner, insert a #4 x 0.125 shoulder washer into the bottom (wire side) of the pivot hole on each arm. Note that the fit of these washers may be tight. Wrap a ½ inch long by ½ inch wide piece of Teflon tape around each 1-inch brass screw against the screw head. Slide the screw through the shoulder washers in the arm and check the fit. The screw should be tight but still allow the arm to spin freely. If the fit is still loose, add another ¼ -½ inch of Teflon tape. It typically takes a total 1 to 1¼ inches of Teflon tape to tighten the screw. Each screw has to be fitted individually and remain with the arm it was fitted to.
2. Finish preparing the arms. Install a 4-40 silver plated screw into the 4-40 tapped hole on the end opposite the spring hole and on the opposite side. Mount the finger piece (AKA guitar pick) on the on the same side as but opposite end of the arm from the silver plated screw. You decide if you want the ScQRPion logo to be on the inside or outside of the paddle piece. Use a 4-40 x ¼ inch long screw to secure the finger pieces. Set the arms aside.
3. Install the paddle stop. Use a ½ inch long 4-40 brass screw and a lock washer. Slide the lock washer over the screw, insert it through the bottom of the paddle stop hole of the base, and screw it into the stop mounting hole on the base. Do not tighten the hardware yet.
4. Install the Paddle arms. Using the prepared 1-inch screws, install the arms on the base. The wire attached to the arm goes through the clearance hole. Screw the 4-40 x 1 inch screw into the mounting hole until the arms are snug and then back the screw out until the arms can move freely. Make sure the 3/16 diameter spring holes are facing one another.
5. Center the Paddle arms. Pinch the paddle arms tight against the stop and measure the distance from the arm to the outer edge of the base. Note that stop has some free play and which will allow the centering of the arms. Center the arms on the base and tighten the stop mounting screw.
6. Adjusting the paddle arms. Tighten the 4-40 x 1-inch pivot screws holding the arm but do not over tighten them. Add a 4-40 washer and nut to the bottom of one of the 1 inch pivot screws. Tighten nut finger tight. Back out the pivot screw a small amount (usually 1/8 turn of so) until the arm can move freely. Using a screwdriver to hold the head of the pivot screw, tighten the nut on the bottom of the screw. After the nut is tightened, insure the arm can still move freely. Repeat this process if necessary. Under the opposite pivot screw, add a ground lug and nut. Locate the ground as shown on the figure page. Tighten the nut and repeat the adjustments to this arm. When completed, both arms should move freely without excessive rocking and the nuts should be tight preventing the screws from moving.
7. Attach the ground wires. Center each ground wire in the clearance hole. Allow a small amount of excess wire under the paddle base. Attach the wire to the ground lug and solder.
8. Prepare the contact posts. Insert a silver plated 4-40 x ½ inch long screw through the side of each post. Place a lock washer and brass nut on the end of the silver screw.
9. Install the posts. Place a #4 x 0.093-inch long shoulder washer into the top and bottom of the left and right post holes on the base. Slide a solder lug over a brass 4-40 x ½ inch long screw. Insert the screw through the left post hole of the base and screw into the bottom of the post. In a similar manner, install the right post. Align the silver contacts with the head of the silver plated screw point away from the paddle arm. Tighten the post mounting screws.
10. Install the cable (not supplied). The best cable for use with this paddle (that I have found) is the cable off of a discarded set of small stereo headphones. This type of cable is small, flexible, light and very durable. The cable usually comes as two separate 2-conductor wires molded together. Strip off 1½ inch of the plastic covering. I have found the individual wires do not strip well with a stripper tool so I just burn off the insulation with a little solder on my soldering iron. Make a strain relief as shown on the figure page. Attach the strain relief to the screw holding the stop. Twist the two ground wires together and solder to the ground lug mounted under one of the pivot screw jam nuts. Solder the other wires to the lugs under the post mounting screws. Typically the dit input of your keyer is connected to the tip of the 1/8-inch stereo plug and the dah is connected to the ring. However, you may want to check your keyer to see if it conforms to the standard.
11. Attach the plastic feet. Peel off the feet from the paper backing and stick them down in the positions shown on the figure page.
12. Installing the spring. The small ½ inch long spring (assuming you have not lost it!) can now be installed. Using a pair of small needle nose pliers, insert the spring into the two 3/16 inch diameter spring holes in the paddle arms.
13. Final paddle adjustments. After the final assembly, you may want to revisit the adjustment of the paddle arms as stated in section 6 above. The arms should move freely but not have excessive forward/backward rock. Adjust the silver contacts on the posts to the spacing you prefer. Some operators like the contact spacing so small that they cannot feel any contact. I prefer a small gap, which I feel as a "click." This tactile feedback allows me to send better code. Once the contact spacing has been set, lock the spacing by tightening the nuts on the silver plated screw contact. Spring tension can be adjusted by simply replacing the spring. The supplied spring has a compression rating of 0.72 lb./inch. For a lighter feel, use a lighter spring. However, it is not recommended you try anything less than 0.3 lb./inch as a lighter spring may not reliably return the arm to the resting position. For a heavier feel use a longer 0.72 lb./inch spring. These springs are available from the AZ ScQRPions or can be found in some hardware stores (Century Spring C-516).

Turn on your radio, plug in the paddle, HAVE FUN!

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