HamGadgets News

If you tried to view the site over the past day or so, you probably ran into errors or a page telling you the site was “down for maintenance”.

Yesterday morning, I accidentally deleted the entire content of the web site.  All of it.  It was a simple mistake; much simpler than it should have been, in fact.  I guess I shouldn’t be making updates before I’ve finished my second cup of coffee.  I didn’t panic too badly, knowing that the irreplaceable data — the databases — were intact and backed up at least daily.  I also thought I had all of the web content backed up.  That turned out not to be the case… Continue reading A minor web disaster…

I am entertaining the idea of a new USB Universal Rig Interface, to replace the one I offered until earlier this year.  There were things I didn’t like about the first kit; namely, either I spent a lot of time doing the SMT pre-assembly, or you (the builder) had to struggle with one or two really tough parts.  So…  that being said, pick up to three:

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I have uploaded Beta 3 of the MasterKeyer V1.22 firmware.  Changes in this version:

• LED colors while recording and playing back some messages while in keyboard mode have been fixed.
• You can now stack the same message more than once.  Tapping the same button multiple times will result in that message being sent multiple times.

As always, I’m very interested in hearing your impressions and experiences — good or bad — with this Beta release.  I’d like to finalize this version by the end of the month.

I have posted an updated ZIP file of the beta release of MK-1 V1.22 beta.  The only change at this time is the manual.  It’s still in PDF format, but now the manual has bookmarks to make it far easier to navigate and find what you’re looking for.  I have also added some expanded documentation for using the MK-1 with Linux and Mac OS X.

Download the updated file here…

Some of you have been anxiously awaiting the release, at least in Beta state, of the new V1.22 firmware.  I will readily admit I’ve gotten way behind on it.  I spent several hours last night fixing the last known bug in V1.21, and have uploaded the V1.22 Beta firmware for testing.

New or changed features:

• Prints the firmware version as part of the help menu
• Command prompt on terminal when not in host KB mode
• No need to type ‘/’ before commands in terminal mode
• Added dot & dash priority key modes (E & T).  These work much like Ultimatic; when both paddles are held closed, either dots (Mode E) or dashes (Mode T) will be sent instead of alternating dots and dashes.
• Keyboard sending can be paused using PAUSE key (USB keyboard only).  PAUSE or ENTER will resume sending.
• From either the PC host or the USB keyboard, CTRL-S and CTRL-Q will work as they should to pause and resume sending.
• CTRL-BACKSPACE will delete the previous word when sending or recording a message from the USB keyboard.
• The NUM LOCK state of USB keyboard is preserved after power off or reset.
• CTRL-P (PROSIGN) lets you merge any two Morse characters from the  keyboard in either host or USB mode.

BUGFIXES:

• Loading settings from USB would set some parameters  incorrectly, at least some of the time
• Monitor (M) setting could be corrupted if changed from serial terminal
• Fixed terminal mode D command to set both precomp and prefirst
• Bank 6 can no longer be selected (since it does not exist)
• Any button press will now terminate beacon mode
• When using “stacked” memories (pressing buttons in sequence to send more than one message), there was no word space between the first and second message.  This has been fixed.
• Setting two-parameter settings (like R, D, etc) from the paddles is now easier and more reliable.

If you wish to participate in the BETA test phase, you can download a ZIP file with the firmware, updated manual and installation notes here.  Please email me with any problems, errors or comments.