The HST Single Lever key was inspired by a design that several of the top competitors at the High Speed Telegraphy Competition in Pordenone (HST 2008) were using. Their keys were home made from simple materials, but they were capable of very high speeds in the right hands. So, we couldn’t resist trying to take that basic design and improve on it – and the result was the original HST key. Meanwhile it has further evolved into the HST Mark III that you see here. It uses a heavy cast iron base which makes sure that it will not move. The single lever is made from aluminum alloy and held by two precision racing bearings at the back. The finger piece is perforated to prevent your fingers from slipping. The contact spacing and the tension can be adjusted using gold plated screws with a fine pitch. The return force is created by magnets and an ingenious cam mechanism, which ensures consistency over a wide range of forces and a clearly defined center position.
The switch at the back of the base lets you choose between single lever mode or sideswiper (Cootie) mode…
The end result is an elegant key with a low profile and state of the art materials that you can push to championship speeds or, if you’re not quite up there, just proudly display it on your desk and use it at the speeds of us mere mortals.