PicoKeyer-Kit-071106.pdf

NØXAS

Super PicoKeyer

Low Power Iambic Keyer Kit

The PicoKeyer is a single chip, automatic iambic Morse code memory keyer. Its small size, extremely low

power requirements and robust set of features make it perfect for portable or QRP operation or for

integrating into transmitters or transceivers.

Features of the Super PicoKeyer Kit:

· Dual MOSFET keying circuit will key

transmitters up to 60 V, positive or negative

· Simple one-button "menu" interface

· Four 60-character message memories can

be chained together for longer messages

· Works with any dual lever iambic paddle,

single lever keyer paddle or straight key

· Dot and dash memories, automatic timing

and element spacing

· Setup and message entry using your paddle

· Auto straight key detect, all message

memories available with straight key

· Bug mode allows automatic dots with

manually formed dashes

· Speed adjustable from 5 to 60 WPM via

menu OR optional speed potentiometer

· Dual-Set Speed allows quick QRS/QRQ

and return to favorite speed

· Adjustable weight

· Variable pitch audio sidetone

· Curtis A or B or Ultimatic modes

· Variable letter/word spacing (Farnsworth)

· Tune mode with on/off carrier or automatic

string if dits for easy tuneup

· Beacon mode with adjustable 0 99 second

repeat delay and optional power-on auto start

· MCW mode for sending audio Morse over

voice radios

· Memory pause command allows manual

insertion of RST etc. into message

· Auto-incrementing QSO / serial number can be

embedded in memory messages, with or

without leading zeros

· Paddle switching - select left or right handed

operation

· Variable transmitter QSK delay compensation

· Memory and parameter settings retained with

power off

· Low voltage - from as low as 2.5 to 5.5V

· External DC power supply up to 24V can be

with optional on-board voltage regulator

· Low current - typical sleep current .005 µA,

under 1 mA when keying.

· Keyer kit PCB has pads for all connections

(paddles, audio, power & keyline) for easy

integration into other equipment

PicoKeyer

11/6/2007 (Firmware V3.6)

Page 1 of 10

Assembling the PicoKeyer Kit

Your PicoKeyer kit was designed with the beginning kit

builder in mind. With just a little care and practice, even a

first time kit builder can complete the project in a

relatively short time.

Once you have all of your parts, tools and supplies

gathered together, youre ready to get started. Warm up

the iron while you remove the parts from the bag and lay

them out on the work surface. Well start with the

resistors and work our way through each component,

checking them off on the list as we go.

You will need to gather a few tools and supplies together

before beginning to assemble your kit. Heres what you

will need:

To install a component such as a resistor or capacitor,

follow these steps:

· A clean, level, static-free work area with good

lighting. Wooden workbenches are fine. If you

are working on a kitchen table, be sure to spread

out some newspaper or something else to keep

solder splatters and sharp wire ends from

damaging the table top.

· A soldering iron. A small, low-wattage (25-35

Watt) pencil type iron is ideal. Avoid larger,

pistol-grip types. You can find inexpensive irons

at your local Radio Shack. You will need a fine

tip intended for electronics. Be sure to use an

iron rest or holder to keep the iron from damaging

your work surface. If you plan to assemble more

kits, I recommend investing in a good quality,

temperature controlled soldering station such as

the Weller WES or WLC series. Youll be glad

you did! Follow the iron manufacturers

instructions for tinning the tip, and keep a damp

sponge handy to keep the tip clean.

· Fine electronic solder. Use a good quality, small

diameter rosin core solder intended for electronic

assembly. DO NOT use acid core solder!

· Small needle-nose pliers and a pair of small

diagonal wire cutters. The smaller you have, the

better off you will be. Again, you can find hand

tools intended for electronics work at Radio

Shack and other suppliers such as Techni-Tool,

Jensen, Mouser and Sears.

· A clamp or small vise to hold the work is a good

idea. I use a PanaVise, but you can also construct

a board holder out of scrap wood and rubber

bands. If you use a regular bench vise, use gentle

pressure and something to cushion the vise jaws.

· A pencil to check off each step as you finish it.

· If you want to use a speed control potentiometer,

you will need a 10K to 50K Ohm, linear taper

pot. Mouser PN 311-1902-50K or 313-1210-50K

are good choices. You can order a 50K linear

taper pot from HamGadgets.com.

· Hold or gently clamp the PCB with the

component side up. The side with the white

printing is called the component side or top; the

side with no white lettering is called the solder

side and is the bottom.

· Bend the component wire leads, if necessary, to

fit the spacing of the holes in the PCB. Insert the

leads through the holes in the PCB. From the

bottom side of the PCB, bend the leads out at a

45-degree angle to hold the part in place.

· From the bottom of the PCB, solder the leads in

place. Remember to place the tip of the iron at

the point where the lead comes through the PCB

hole, so you heat the lead and the hole at the same

time. Wait a couple of seconds for the lead to

heat up, then touch the solder to the resistor lead,

NOT the soldering iron tip. The solder should

flow into the joint. Remove the solder and iron

and dont move the PCB until the solder has

cooled. The joint should be smooth and shiny. If

it looks dull or rough, touch the tip of the iron to

the joint to re-melt the solder. If there is a blob of

solder, use some solder wick or a solder sucker to

clean it up; re-solder the joint if needed.

· Be careful not to leave the iron on the joint too

long, and dont use too much solder. Electronic

components and circuit boards can be damaged

by too much heat for too long. If you have never

soldered electronic components before, it would

be a good idea to find some scrap parts and PCB

and practice on them first. Also, its a great idea

to find someone more experienced to help you

learn this skill!

· Once the part is in place and the solder has

cooled, use a pair of fine pointed cutters to trim

the excess component leads close to the PCB.

PicoKeyer

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Step-By-Step Assembly Instructions

1. Find the printed circuit board (PCB). Orient the PCB with the component side on top and the lettering right-

side up as you look at it.

2. Find resistor R1, a 10K Ohm (Brn-Blk-Orn), 1/4 Watt resistor. Insert the resistor in the location marked R1

but do not solder it yet . The resistor is not polarity sensitive, meaning dont worry you cant install it backwards!

3. Find the .1 F capacitor. This will be small rectangular part with two parallel leads, marked 104. The

capacitors used in your kit are not polarity sensitive. Install the .1 F capacitor in the location marked C1. Save

one of the cut-off leads for later use as a jumper wire if you do not plan to use a speed control potentiometer.

4. Find the two .01 F capacitors. These look similar to C1, but are marked 103. Install the two .01 F

capacitors in the locations marked C2 and C3.

5. Install one of the 2N7000 MOSFET transistors in location Q1. Make sure the flat side of the transistor is

facing the direction indicated by the silkscreen printed outline. Leave about 1/8 between the circuit board and the

bottom of the transistor to avoid putting too much stress on the leads.

6. Install the second 2N7000 MOSFET in location Q2, just like you did the first one.

7. Now find the 8-pin IC socket. Orient the socket so that the notched end is at the end indicated by the

silkscreen markings. Insert the pins into the PCB. You may need to bend the pins at any two diagonally opposite

corners flat against the bottom of the PCB to hold the socket in place while you solder. Solder all eight pins in

place. Be careful not to use too much heat or too much solder.

8. Find pushbutton switch S1. You may need to straighten the leads with a pair of needle-nose pliers before

inserting them into the PCB. Install the switch in the location marked S1.

9. If you are building your PicoKeyer with a voltage regulator for external power, skip to the next step . If you

are building your PicoKeyer with the on-board battery, find and install the battery holder. You may need to use a

piece of adhesive tape to hold it in place while you solder. If you have a black battery holder, you will need to

leave about 1/8 of space between R1 and the board and bend its leads to move R1 out of the way of the battery

holder. Solder the leads for R1 after the battery holder is in place.

10. If you wish to use an external power source , install a 78L05 voltage regulator and 0.33 F capacitor (not

supplied) in the locations marked V-REG and C4. Power should be supplied at JP1-1 and JP1-2 (7 to 20 Volts

DC). Remember to solder the leads for resistor R1 if you have not already done so.

11. Install the two stereo jacks in the locations indicated on the component side of the PCB. Be sure to press

them far enough in to get them fully seated. There are three plastic bumps on the bottom that will fit into holes in

the PCB when they are pushed all the way in. Install the two threaded, knurled collars on the two stereo jacks.

This keeps them from getting lost! You can use them to mount your PicoKeyer in a box or tin.

12. Find the speaker and install it in the location marked SPKR. The speaker may be marked with a + on one

side; dont worry about polarity as it can be installed either way. Make sure the speaker is inserted fully into the

holes before soldering. Dont bend the leads of the speaker; you may want to use a bit of adhesive tape to hold it in

place. Dont spend too much time soldering the speaker or it may be damaged.

PicoKeyer

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13. If you wish to use an analog speed control potentiometer, connect it to points H, L and C on the circuit board

as shown on the schematic. The center pin of the potentiometer connects to point C, the high speed end to point H,

and the low speed end to point L. Important: If you do not wish to use a potentiometer, solder a wire jumper

between points C and L .

14. Were almost there! Find the PicoKeyer chip and remove it from its protective anti-static package (foam or

tube). Locate the Pin 1 end this end will be marked with a molded notch and/or a dot (the dot may be painted). If

you hold the chip so you can read the markings on top, Pin 1 is toward your left. Orientation is important here!

Insert the chip into the socket so that the notch and/or dot on the chip are on the same end as the notch in the socket

and the notch outline on the PCB.

15. If you built your PicoKeyer for battery power, locate the battery and remove it from its protective

packaging. Note that the flat side is marked with a plus sign (+). This side will be up when the battery is inserted

into the battery holder. Insert the battery into the battery holder. If you have done everything right, you should

hear the keyer send 73 in Morse code through the speaker. Congratulations! Your kit is complete.

Troubleshooting

Having problems during or after assembly of your kit? Dont worry its fixable! Here are some common problems and what

to do about them. More hints can be found at http://www.hamgadgets.com/kit-hints.html.

Q: Everything is done, but I get no 73 when I install the battery!

A: Almost all of these so far have turned out to be soldering mistakes. Remove the battery and check the voltage it should be

just above 3 Volts. Now carefully go over the solder joints with a magnifying glass. Re-melt any that look suspicious, and use

de-soldering braid or a solder sucker to clean up any blobs you have left.

Q: I broke (or melted) a part! (Or, I got a bad part!)

A: Dont panic. Email me, or just mail the bad part back to me with a note. Include your address! If you broke it, it would be

nice to include a buck or so to cover the postage. If it was bad when you got it, just say so. Ill send a replacement. Im pretty

easy to get along with.

Q: The sidetone audio is too low, I cant hear it!

A: Try covering the small hole in the top of the speaker with a piece of tape. You can also adjust the sidetone audio frequency

if you have difficulty hearing high or low frequencies. The speaker has a definite peak response around 2 kHz. If that doesnt

do enough for you, you may want to use a small audio amplifier and larger speaker.

Q: Im having problems entering messages into memory.

A: Try setting the speed a few WPM slower than you normally send while you enter the message. More detail is at

http://www.hamgadgets.com/kit-hints.html.

Q: I cant enter a message into memory while using a bug or straight key, or when in bug mode.

A: Correct. You must be in iambic mode (A or B), and you need to use a paddle of some sort. Single or dual lever is OK, but

it must have separate dot and dash contacts.

Q: I removed and replaced the battery, and now the keyer doesnt seem to work right.

A: The bypass capacitors on the board can store enough energy to power the 12F683 chip for several seconds. Remove the

battery, then press the setup button to discharge the filter caps. Now re-install the battery and you should be OK.

Note: Leaving a straight key plugged in will consume roughly 150 to 250 uA additional current, which can drain the on-board

lithium coin cell in a few months. If you use a straight key, unplug the key when not in use. Leaving a straight key plugged

in can reduce battery life .

PicoKeyer

11/6/2007 (Firmware V3.6)

Page 4 of 10

Operating the PicoKeyer:

When power is applied, the keyer sends "73" via the

sidetone signal. This lets you know the keyer is awake and

operating normally, and all settings have been loaded from

nonvolatile memory. At this point the keyer will operate

as a normal iambic keyer, sending dots and dashes with

automatic spacing and timing according to paddle inputs

and stored settings. If you have a speed control

potentiometer attached, you can vary the speed from 5 to

60 WPM by simply turning the pot.

turning the pot to its minimum setting. This feature can be

very useful; for example, you can keep your speed set at a

constant, favorite speed, but have the option of rapid

QRS/QRQ to answer faster or slower stations. You can

omit the speed pot and only use the stored speed, changing

speed via the paddles and menu. Finally, you can simply

ignore the stored speed and always use the pot for speed

control its up to you.

Master Reset:

One momentary pushbutton switch input is used for

memory messages and setup. Pressing and immediately

releasing the button once (a tap of the button) will send

the message stored in Memory 1 (M1), if there is one

stored.

You can return your PicoKeyer to its default settings by

holding both paddles while turning power on. The keyer

will send 73; immediately release the paddles. At this

point the keyer will send a question mark (?); tap either

paddle to perform a complete reset. Note that you may

need to try this a few times, depending on how quickly you

let go of the paddles while the keyer wakes up.

Pressing and holding in the pushbutton more than about

half a second will allow you to send one of the other three

memory messages. If you wish to send the contents of

message memory 2 (M2), release the button when you hear

two dits, sent via the sidetone only. Similarly, to send

message 3 or 4 (M3 or M4), release the button when you

hear three or four dits. To enter setup mode, continue to

hold the button down after you hear the four dits for M4.

Straight Key Mode:

The PicoKeyer can automatically detect and use a properly

wired straight key if one is plugged in when power is

applied. During its power-on program, the PicoKeyer

checks to see if either paddle input is grounded. If one is,

the other input is assumed to be a straight key. This way

you can plug in a straight key wired to a mono plug and

use it without any changes or adjustments. Be aware that

while the menu will still function, many parameters will

not be adjustable (and would not apply to a straight key

anyway). You will not be able to record messages while

using a straight key.

This is the method used to access all features other than

M1. In general, the way to access message memories M2

through M4 or any setup menu item is the same. Simply

hold the setup button down until you hear the keyer send

the character corresponding to the item you want, then

immediately release the button.

In setup mode the keyer will use the sidetone only and not

key the transmitter. As you hold in the button the keyer

will cycle through the available menu choices, described

later in this document. You can simply release the button

when you hear the item you want to check or change.

Once you finish with that menu item, tap the button and

listen for SK to exit the menu, or hold the button down

to advance to the next item.

Powering the PicoKeyer:

Power can be supplied by the on-board CR2032 lithium

battery or an external DC power source. Any voltage from

2.0 to 5.5 V should work fine without needing to install the

regulator V-REG. If you are keying your rig with a

MOSFET such as the 2N7000 supplied with the kit, keep

the supply voltage at 3 V or higher to get enough gate

voltage to turn the MOSFET on. For normal use as a

standalone keyer, a single CR2032 lithium coin cell will

last a long time. If you plan to build your PicoKeyer into a

rig, don't worry about battery backup - all memory and

parameter settings are retained in non-volatile EEPROM

memory and will be automatically recalled when power is

applied.

Dual-Set Speed:

Two Morse code speed settings are available for your use.

The current speed is the speed at which the keyer is

operating, regardless of whether that speed is derived from

the speed pot or the menu. The stored speed is saved in

non-volatile memory, and is used when the speed pot is

turned to its minimum position, OR if the speed

potentiometer is not installed. At any time you may use

the speed setting pot (if installed) to set any speed from 5

to 63 WPM. Setting the speed with the pot does not affect

the stored speed, which will always be available by simply

If you wish to use an external power source the PicoKeyer

kit may be built without the battery holder, instead

installing a 78L05 voltage regulator and .33 uF ceramic

capacitor in the locations marked V-REG and C4.

PicoKeyer

11/6/2007 (Firmware V3.6)

Page 5 of 10

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