HamGadgets News

I am releasing firmware version 1.22 for the MasterKeyer as of Monday, August 2.  All new units will ship with V1.22, and the final release firmware will be available for download shortly.  If you are running V1.21, or especially if you have not upgraded since V1.20 or earlier, you should upgrade to V1.22.  If you use a straight key with your MK-1, I will soon be publishing the details of a hardware modification you will definitely want to look into (documentation to follow in a few days).

Below is a list of new or changed features and bugfixes in 1.22.

FEATURES:

• Prints firmware version as part of help menu
• Command prompt on terminal when not in host KB mode (no need for / in front of commands now)
• Added dot & dash priority key modes (E & T)
• Keyboard sending can be paused using PAUSE key.  PAUSE or ENTER will resume sending.  From the PC host, CTRL-S and CTRL-Q will work as they should.
• CTRL-BACKSPACE will delete the previous word when sending or recording a message from the USB keyboard.
• NUM LOCK state of USB keyboard is preserved.
• CTRL-P (PROSIGN) lets you merge two characters from the keyboard (host or USB mode)
• The same message can now be stacked multiple times
• Added improved straight key support (requires hardware mod), enabled/disabled by XE command.
• Added “helper” dits to indicate word space during message recording (command I)
• Memory recording from USB keyboard can be ended with any F-key

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
• Added indication of EEPROM read during power-up tests to indicate if a bad EEPROM chip is found
• Bank 6 can no longer be selected (since it’s not there)
• Button press will now terminate beacon mode
• Improved paddle setup for 2-parameter settings (D, R, etc)
• Fixed LED colors while recording msg 3 & 6 in keyboard mode
• Support for hardware mod to fix issue with Vibroplex  dual key

Many thanks to all of you who have contributed your time and input – LOTS of input! – to make this release possible.  Special thanks to Bill W2RST, Peter SM5HUA, Chuck  K2VPZ, Dar W9HZC, Joe  K0NEB, Nate N0NB and the rest of you bug hunters and idea men! (and if I missed your name/call, I apologize – so many contributed ideas for this release!)

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.

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.

I have been working on firmware version 1.22 for the MK-1.  Right now it’s in the Alpha test stage, though there is still some development to be done.  This is mostly a bug fix release to address some problems found in V1.21.  Most of the issues involved the USB drive save/restore.  I am also working on debugging problems with a couple of keyboards that people have found not to work.  More news to come as it develops.

I’ve been having a heck of a time nailing down a reliable supply of the pushbutton switches used in the MK-1, and it’s been causing me unimaginable headaches.  Although most distributors supposedly carry the part — manufactured by a huge Japanese company — trying to find anyone who actually has them in stock has been hit or miss.  Mostly miss.  Not a single distributor has had any in well over a month now, or I would have bought every one of them.  I have not had a delivery of switches since January, and those I “lucked” into.  So, for the past week and a half I’ve been sitting here awaiting the delivery of a backordered batch that was supposed to ship from the distributor on the 16th.

I finally have shipping confirmation, and the parts will be here late Friday afternoon.  That means I’ll have my backorders cleared out again by Saturday afternoon, and will have sufficient stock to carry me through Dayton at least.  I have also placed long term purchase orders for enough cabinets and circuit boards that we should be good for the rest of the year without any further backorder situations.  Thanks to those patient folks who have had to wait for their MasterKeyers — the wait is almost over, and hopefully we won’t see that again!

After a 17-hour day on Saturday and another 8 hours on Sunday, I now have all of the ID-O-Matic II backorders filled and shipped.  I also have all orders placed while I was gone last week on their way.  As of this morning I’m current on all shipping, just waiting on the MasterKeyer boards so I can start shipping those.  With any luck I’ll have all of those cleared out by the end of the week as well.

So…  as of now, we’re back to normal.  If you place an order for anything other than a MasterKeyer it will be shipped within a day or so as usual.  MK-1 orders will ship in the order they were received, starting later this week.

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.

I have uploaded a new ZIP file with the latest Version 1.21 Beta firmware. The file includes the new manual in draft form. A couple of minor changes have been made over the past couple of weeks. These include a minor timing change to iambic Mode A (most people won’t notice any difference). I also added stuck button/key detection during the power-on tests, and fixed the /Y command (MYCALL) in PC terminal mode.

Unless any problems are found in this release, I’ll release it for general use on 2/15. It will also be loaded on the next production run of MasterKeyers, which are being built now. As always, please let me know immediately if you find any problems.

I’m also out of stock until the new batch is ready – probably late February.  Cabinets are in manufacturing now, and the internals will be ready before they arrive.

Response to the MK-1 over the past couple of months has been unexpectedly good. I had planned on the stock of MK-1s from the last production run to last for another month or so; this hasn’t turned out to be the case. As of today I have only a few units left, and I anticipate those will be gone in a few days.

Unfortunately, this means it looks like we’ll be out of stock on them for a while. The next batch of cabinets is being built now, and the circuit boards will be done a week or two before they arrive. As soon as the sheet metal is finished we’ll be shipping MasterKeyers again. Given the lead times involved, I expect that will be toward the end of February. I’ll post more reliable dates here as soon as I have them The new boards will have a lot more SMT components, making assembly quicker and easier.

In the mean time, firmware development continues. Today I found out about a bug in using the Y command (MYCALL) from the terminal – in short, don’t use it. I am fixing that in V1.21, and hope to have a new Beta release on the web site later today or possibly tomorrow. By the time the new production run of MasterKeyers begins shipping, they will be loaded with the 1.21 release.