HamGadgets News

Today I posted the documentation for the ID-O-Matic II, built the first unit using a production PCB, and finished the last few tweaks to the firmware.  I’ll be bagging kits this weekend to start shipping Monday.  Pictures of the assembled kit and a link to the documentation in PDF format are now available on the web site.

I managed to fix a couple of firmware issues that had been bugging me, mostly centered around the new PWM audio and code speed.  I now have everything working well, though I did have to lower the upper limit on audio frequency to 2500 Hz.  The original ID-O-Matic would allow audio tones up to 5 kHz, but that was the result of a request for a special application.  I believe the vast majority of users will be perfectly happy with an audio range of 250-2500 Hz.  I also discovered a couple of minor errors on the PCB that will be corrected in the future with Rev. B.  Only one requires cutting a trace and running one wire, and that is only needed for those keying handheld transceivers.  The other is a silkscreen marking error on the board.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been stacking up FAR more backorders than I am comfortable with.  For that, I apologize.  Demand for the MK-1 after the QST product review exceeded even my best-case assumptions, and a PCB redesign to speed up build time and increase reliability complicated matters even further.

On top of that, the design phase fo the ID-O-Matic II dragged on for a few weeks longer than I expected – meaning there was not only no overlap in availability of the two kits, I ran out of the original ID-O-Matic kits entirely. 

The good news is, I should be able to start clearing out the backorders next week (3/1).  ID-O-Matic II baords will be waiting for me when I get home from my current business trip.  The MK-1 cabinets and PCBs should be arriving shortly thereafter, and I’ll ship them as fast as I can get them assembled and thoroughly tested.  I can’t make any guarantees about how soon I will have all the backorders shipped, but rest assured it will be as soon as I can do so without sacrificing quality.  In the mean time, THANKS to all of you for hanging in there with me!

I have made the V1.21 firmware release for the MasterKeyer MK-1 available for general use.  I would encourage all MK-1 owners to upgrade to the new release, which adds or improves several features and has a few bug fixes as well.  You can download the new firmware along with the new manual by visiting the Support page.

FEATURES:

• The current message bank is checked for beacon autostart on power up (/A in first two positions of M1).
• With NumLock off, USB numeric pad 1-6 keys act as F1-F6 for memory.
• Keyboard mode will use USB keyboard if present, otherwise will use the PC host via the USB B port
• If a stuck button or paddle input is detected during power on,LEDs will indicate it.
• Firmware version is stored in SETTINGS.MK1 file

BUGFIXES/ENHANCEMENTS:

• Fixed a couple of missing “OK” confirmations in paddle command mode.
• Text sent from paddles now includes spaces when sent to the host PC.
• With sufficient effort, a user could set the speed pot hi limit lower than the lo limit, resulting in some unexpected behavior.  This has been fixed.
• Slight timing change to Mode A keying.
• Y (MYCALL) was missing from the command menu.
• /Y command from terminal did not work; now it does.
• Fixed undesired interaction between auto space & Farnsworth spacing.
• Corrected sidetone audio frequency, now within .5% from 500 to 1500Hz.

We’ll be out on a much needed vacation and will not be shipping orders from 2/8 through 2/14.  I’ll start shipping orders  beginning Tuesday, 2/16 (Monday, 2/15 is a Federal holiday so no postal service that day).  Of course the web site will be up and taking orders.

The boards are ordered for the ID-O-Matic II, and we’re down to the last few ID-O-Matic kits.  I’m working on the last few changes to the firmware, trying to get it “just right”…  and of course still need to write a good share of the manual.  I think this is going to be a very nice step up from the original kit.  A few hardware changes were needed, and I couldn’t see the benefit to keeping the ID-O-Matic and its companion Connection Kit separate any more.  I’ve managed to incorporate most of the hardware features people have asked for, even a couple I didn’t think I would be able to – like adjustable audio level and de-emphasis for the audio input.

So far I’ve been pretty happy with the result.  The switch to PWM audio has resulted in a smoother sounding tone, not as smooth as the MK-1 but still not bad.  I’m having to sacrifice some speed; it probably won’t go to 60 WPM like the original, but then who needs an IDer to do 60 WPM?  I’m working on solving an issue that slows the ID down some if high audio frequencies are used, and hope to have that fixed before the boards arrive.