MFJ Enterprises Original MFJ-557 Deluxe Morse Code Practice Oscillator Straight Key w/Volume Control

I miss the days when someone could walk in to any Radio Shack and buy a solid brass key for $6.95, BUT those days are gone :-( and I have to get used to it. This is a nice little straight key on a solid, heavy base, and I like having the oscillator to practice CW in the car (yes, I'm that nuts) when I'm not making actual contacts. About that, it's quite easy to modify this unit to quickly switch between practice and sending, mine has a 1/4" jack in the side for the transmitter, the kind that breaks tip connection when you plug in but if you've read this far you know what to do :-) Sorry MFJ, guess my warranty is void. And about MFJ, they are one of the best known and highest quality manufacturers in the business, well known and loved by many in the amateur radio world. Check out their guarantee.Before I sign off, one important warning: And I ain't pointing fingers, I'm just sayin. If you're planning to buy radio equipment, or ANY equipment for that matter, through Amazon or eBay or craigslist or a classified ad in the newspaper, do yourself a favor and view or download a catalog from the manufacturer (you can download the entire MFJ catalog from their website) or a reliable reseller (GigaParts, Ham City, etc.) to ensure that the price is in the right ballpark and the warranties etc are intact. Cause somebody might, hypothetically, buy this unit for $50 and try to sell it to you for $150. I'm just sayin. Cheers!

It’s a great product. Easy to instal the 9v battery and to make adjustments to the straight key, volume and tone knobs. The sound when keyed is great. The only reason I gave it a 4* is because the packaging was damaged. The MFJ-557 was not damaged. Not sure if it was packaged like this from the store or if it gotten damaged en route. But, I was worried when I took it out of the box and took pictures right away.I haven’t tested the ear jack yet, need to buy a set of headphones. I’ve just started learning CW so i’m not going to post a video. I think many would cringe. Yes, I would recommend this product.

I've seen some of the other reviews for this product, and I frankly wonder if some of the negative reviewers suffer from OCD.This is a training tool, and not designed as a "true" straight key.Yes, it doesn't have adjustments for left-to-right alignment, but if the contacts are making contact, then who cares? If they are reallyfar off you could bend the ears holding the paddle to make them align better. (Whatever happened to HAM's modifying their equipment?)As far as the two adjustments that are critical, gap and pressure, you can tune this key to whatever you like. (Think light and light!!!)My initial irk with the unit was that even under battery power, the frequency would shift, which was kinda annoying to a former audioengineer. Then, listening to the radio and trying to decode CW, I found that what you heard would also shift, so now I count that as abonus, a sort of "this is what you could expect to hear" kinda thing.Once I learn the code, I plan on using this product in real-time until I can find a vintage straight key73's!

This is a solidly-built straight CW keyer. I've "book-learned" morse code, but keying morse is another thing. I practice using this with a morse code app that reads and decodes sound signals. Then I can tell whether I'm keying the letters and numbers correctly, and whether I'm pausing between letters and words correctly at different speeds. It works fine with either a 9V battery or a 12V DC adapter. The sound module is definitely analog, with some variation in pitch ("chirp"), but it's not a problem for practice. If connected to a radio, you must disconnect the key from the sound module hence it will not be used at all, so the chirp from the sound generation module isn't an issue. The tension and throw adjustments are a tried-and-true design that work well for light touch activation and release.

This should be priced under $20 - it's more of a toy than something you would use for serious practice for morse code. It sounds like a wounded duck and won't hold a steady tone, even with a brand new full battery. Thankfully Amazon has an awesome policy for returns.

I bought this to help learn Morse code. Very sturdy build,arrived in perfect shape and works great. Would recommend

So the product works, but I feel for 80 something bucks, it was made very cheap, and was poorly put together. The metal arm was badly bent / warped and had to be fixed. When opening the black box, to place the 9volt battery in, the speaker and electrical stuff was rattling loose inside the box... There is nothing that keeps the battery from rattling around. The speaker is only being held together by tape, and the circuit board is being held by hot glue and the knob control. I ended up doing some soldering and fixing what I can inside. Also replaced the very cheap speaker with something much better, as the speaker. Yes the tool works, and is OK for beginners, but for the price, I think it's a bit too high for the quality you receive.Maybe they'll design something better in the future.

Unit was good but missing one small part. Got a refund.