One of those palm paddles went on ebay in the UK for £155 recently!! They weren't bought to sit on a shelf and be admired for their looks - they were functional keys which also had built in housing for carrying.
That's a lot. However, I was watching one on eBay this past summer and near the end of the auction the price was already over $150, and in a few seconds the auction ended with the final price at $450! Unbelievable...
I managed to get my hands on one before they went over-the-top expensive. I will say that it is better than "fine." It feels great and is protected when going portable. I even considered using it instead of my Vibroplex but opted to save it for my SOTA and portable stuff.
Wow, impressive! So my key might have been better investment than my stocks! But I'm keeping my key... At those prises, maybe someone like MFJ or Kent could license the rights and start producing them again?
It would be great, especially if they produced an identical version. This key looks like a pretty neat substitute, however. It doesn't slide into its own case, but it does look solid. I'm planning on getting one down the road to try it out.
I love my Palm iambic paddle, but if I could get $450 for it, I'd sell it in a heartbeat. There are other alternatives that would work just fine. . .
That's too bad. I wasn't aware they went under. I always use my Palm Paddle for portable operations. I can't imagine having to deal with a real key when I'm operating portable without a table. When I'm in a park or operating outside it seems I never have a table to place a key. I just hold the case of the paddle while operating.