Back in the early '90s, I ran into Stan Hails W9WBL at the ARRL Great
Lakes Division Convention in Cincinnati, OH, where he was selling his
unique CW paddles. We stayed in contact and shared a few ideas. When he
decided to try a straight key, I offered to take it to a radio club
meeting for beta testing, and give him the users' comments (which came
to five handwritten pages). The straight key was almost ready for
production that night we spoke on the phone, reminiscing about CW
instruments no one made anymore. "Remember the old Brown Brothers setup,
with the paddles and key on the same base?", I asked.
"Yep -- it's a shame no one makes something like that any more.", he
replied...and the light went on over our heads at the same time.
He said he'd call me when it was ready, and I told him I wanted the
first one.
In October of 1994, it showed up at the door.
Stan offered the combo setup to the public, but for some reason it
wasn't a big seller. To my knowledge, there were only five made, and not
all of those sold -- the rest were scrapped for parts.
But I've got mine -- VSLX3/Sidekey combo S/N #C-1 -- the very first.
(And before you ask, no, it's not for sale...)

Charlie Cotterman KA8OQF
Dayton OH