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Two different models of W9WBL paddles are shown. W9WBL was Stan Heils, who became a silent key in early 2009. Stan's designs are considered revolutionary, and set standards for low mass arms and maximized actuation leverage ratios that are followed today by high-performance paddle designers. It is known that the V2L came before the V22, and it is generally thought that the single-lever (more accurately the VSL - vertical single-lever) was the first of Stan's paddles. However, the production period or quantities for the single-lever are not known. It is interesting to note that Stan used sleeve bearings, as he felt ball bearings were not necessary for arms that only rotated fractions of degrees. The WBL designs offered adjustments for lever height, finger piece spacing, contact spacing, and just about everything else. See my link on the Paddle Home Page for some WBL literature. At least one collector reports a single-lever/straight key combination device, with information from Stan indicating only five were made. PA3BWK maintains a WBL owner's list, and shows a V22 high serial number of 147, and a V2L high serial number of 181. All of the WBL paddles I have seen include what appears to be a magnetic strip on the inside; N2DE tells me that's to hold a small hex wrench.
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