++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 09:36:32 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: Bob Locher Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] A Wish for my K2 Bob, there are no spare outputs on the K2's micro to provide a drive signal for this. But there might be a spare pin on the KAF2 micro that could be used, etc. I'll look into it. Another possibility would be to do something flashier with the display to remind you that you're in split mode. Any suggestions? It can't be too obnoxious. 73, Wayne Bob Locher wrote: > > A feature I would really like to have on my K2 would be a tiny red > blinking LED to warn me when the radio is in split-VFO mode. Too many > times I have accidentally left it in that mode after using it and then > embarrassed myself. +++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 09:51:36 -0800 From: Vic Rosenthal Organization: Transparent Software To: Bob Locher Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] A Wish for my K2 Bob Locher wrote: > > A feature I would really like to have on my K2 would be a tiny red > blinking LED to warn me when the radio is in split-VFO mode. Too many > times I have accidentally left it in that mode after using it and then > embarrassed myself. I want it to blink if it's NOT in split mode! Like when I carefully set VFO B up a few KHz from the DX station and then call in normal mode. Bigger audience = more embarrassment. Actually, Bob's (more reasonable) suggestion might work for me, as I could train myself to watch for the blink before hitting the key. Which reminds me of another thought I had for a new Elecraft accessory: How about an add-on for home station use of a large LCD display (a la Icom) in a separate enclosure (K2-sized) -- it could show the frequencies of BOTH vfos with the transmitting frequency highlighted, xfil and afil bandwidths, perhaps a bandscope display, etc. It could even have a few more programmable buttons. Totally unnecessary, but totally optional. The user-interface amplifier! I'd buy one in a heartbeat. 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA +++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:03:27 -0800 From: Eric Swartz WA6HHQ - Elecraft Organization: EleCraft To: Vic Rosenthal , elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] A Wish for my K2 Hi Vic, K2 Remote ( http://www.elecraft.com/k2_remote.htm ) can be running and monitoring the K2 while you use your K2 normally. It displays both VFOs with the TX frequency highlighted. It will follow everything you do from the K2's front panel. 73, Eric WA6HHQ +++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:37:25 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: Elecraft Subject: [Elecraft] Re: A Wish for my K2 Here are two other ideas that require only firmware changes. 1. One thing I've resisted trying but that *would* get your attention is to leave on the right-most bar-graph LED segment whenever you're in SPLIT mode (and only during RX). This could be made an option in the menu. How high up on the obnoxious scale would that be? If it's not high enough, I could even blink it slowly. 2. Another full-body-slam approach would be to put the letters "SP" at the far left end of the display, truncate the frequency, and lose the mode letter, i.e.: Normal: 14050.23c Split: SP 050.23 Tapping any button would revert to the normal display for several seconds, so you easily find out which band and mode you were using (should you forget). With either of the above methods, the annunciators would continue to behave in the usual way. Wayne +++++++++++++++++++++ To: Wayne Burdick , Elecraft From: Kevin Cozens Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Re: A Wish for my K2 -- snip -- If you are considering firmware changes, I have a request. Unless I have missed something (I am only just getting to know the operation side of my K2) the VFO's don't track the same information as a frequency memory. I have noticed that unlike my commercial rig, I can't set one mode on VFO A and a different mode on VFO B. I have also noticed that I can't have an frequency for a band in one VFO and a frequency for a different band on the other VFO. A firmware change that allows each VFO to remember its full frequency (ie. including band) and mode would be really nice to have. It comes in very handy during contests allowing a quick switch of VFO to pop over to a different band to work a station and then a switch back to the original VFO to resume operation on ones previous frequency. Cheers! Kevin. (http://www.interlog.com/~kcozens/) Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172 |"What are we going to do today, Borg?" E-mail:kcozens at interlog dot com|"Same thing we always do, Pinkutus: Packet:ve3syb at ve3yra.#con.on.ca.na| Try to assimilate the world!" #include | -Pinkutus & the Borg +++++++++++++++ From: "Rick Shindley" To: Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 14:36:37 -0600 Subject: [Elecraft] K2 split reminder How about toggling the mode indicator from whatever it is to "S" alternately? Rick KC0OV K2 1360 +++++++++++++++++ From: n6kr at elecraft.com To: Jerry Bliss , elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Split Indicator - NO! Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 01:36:25 GMT > I don't like either alternative proposed by Wayne for a Split VFO > Indicator..... Hi Jerry, If we it this at all, it will be strictly optional, configurable in the menu. Some operators will probably find it useful, especially in marginal lighting conditions. Anyone who *really* likes it is encouraged to mark the 10th LED with the letters "SP" using 6-point-type dry transfers (in white). There's a little spot between the bargraph and the LCD that's perfect for this (under the bezel, of course, to protect the letters). 73, Wayne +++++++++++++++++++ From: n6kr at elecraft.com To: "Rod N0RC" , , "Jerry Bliss" , Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 17:11:57 GMT Subject: [Elecraft] SPLIT indicator will use the 10th LED Rod wrote: > This human interface design stuff can be very tricky. An interesting > book on the topic is, "The Design of Everyday Things"; Norman, Donald A. Funny you should mention Don Norman, who was my senior advisor at UCSD (Univ. of California, San Diego). I took his Cognitive Engineering class (COG SCI 135) during the year that he wrote that book, and I and other students were among reviewers of the first draft. I graduated from UCSD with a degree in Cognitive Science, and later Don and I worked for the same company (Interval Research). I have all of Don's books, so I can probably reflect his position on most areas of HCI (human-compter interaction) and ergonomics in general with some accuracy. I agree with you that using the 10th LED represents a mixing of visual design metaphors, and that it's a non-optimal solution. But in view of the importance of the problem--some users not noticing that they're in SPLIT mode and/or that they have RIT or XIT turned on--it's necessary to find some overt means of indicating the system state. The LCD should be used for this, ideally, but so far I haven't come up with a way to use it that doesn't compromise other information. I've had a lot of private feedback on the SPLIT indication method, and it's running about 10:1 in favor of using the LED. This is with the understanding that it is strictly optional: you don't have to turn it on if you're happy with the flashing chevron. Even *that* method of indicating SPLIT mode evolved over time-- we tried many other conventions. The fact is that there's limited panel space on the K2 and no extra outputs, at present, to drive additional LEDs that might be positioned more appropriately for this function. Yes, this user interface stuff is tricky! I'd like to thank everyone for their input. 73, Wayne N6KR +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 15:35:43 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: lhlousek Cc: Rod N0RC , elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [[Elecraft] SPLIT indicator will use the 10th LED] > <> > > I'd hadn't picked up on the flashing part. I'd rather it didn't flash. Actually, you'll have at least three options for this extra SPLIT indicator: OFF, ON, and FLASH. It may also be optionally applicable to RIT/XIT--equally problematic if you forget they're on! All of this stuff will be turned off by default, so it will not affect existing users. Wayne +++++++++++++++ Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 19:21:32 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: Elecraft Subject: [Elecraft] A better way to add a SPLIT/RIT/XIT LED Using the 10th LED on the bar graph as an optional, highly visible SPLIT/RIT/XIT status indication is a compromise, as I mentioned in a previous posting. Some of you really disliked the idea, which encouraged us to try to come up with a different solution. Here it is--let me know what you think. A few K2 owners (including Bob Locher and Jerry Bliss) had suggested adding their own small, round "SPLIT/RIT/XIT" LED to the front panel. The problem with this idea was that we lacked an available drive line for the LED. But it turns out there *is* an available drive line--some trickery is all that's required. On the K2's Front Panel schematic, you'll notice a logic line called "SRDOUT". This line is used to set up data for the two 8-bit shift registers (FP-U3 and FP-U4). It is normally set to 0 volts between shift register updates, but I just modified the firmware to set it to 0 or 5 volts between updates depending on the SPLIT, RIT, and XIT status. By adding a resistor and capacitor, this becomes a direct drive line for a high-efficiency LED. In my case, I used a high-brightness miniature ("T1") size LED, a 1.8-k resistor, and a 100-uF capacitor. The resistor does double duty: it sets the current for the LED, and forms a low-pass filter with the capacitor. Further, it should be possible to control the brightness of this LED the same way as the bargraph: by using the "DAY/NIGHT" drive line as the return for the LED. And it can be turned off by setting GRPH to OFF. I know that noone wants to drill a hole in thier K2 front panel, but this would allow you to put the LED where you want it. I'm planning to mount mine to the left of the RIT button and above the RATE button. This is the only unused space on the panel, and it makes sense to put the LED here since it's not far from the A/B/RIT/XIT annunciators. Another possibility might be to put a red LED near the bottom edge of the LCD, but with no hole: if it's bright enough, it will cast a nice red glow near the A/B annunciators. I haven't tried this yet. There are details to work out, such as providing blinking or non-blinking or OFF selections, an option to apply it to RIT and XIT as well as SPLIT, etc. But this will definitely be a new feature of the next K2 firmware revision (the rev that ships with the KPA100 option). I have already tested the new indicator LED, and it's a keeper! I'd like to thank the critics of the original idea ;) 73, Wayne ++++++++++++++++++++ Reply-To: From: "Sverre Holm - LA3ZA" To: "'Elecraft'" Cc: "Wayne Burdick" Subject: RE: [Elecraft] A better way to add a SPLIT/RIT/XIT LED Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 09:41:17 +0100 Nice idea and work, Wayne! Some time ago KR5L presented a zero-beat indicator and described a way of putting an indicator LED inside the Rate button, (see http://www.qsl.net/la3za/K2/mod.html for a link). Now, this is one place the split/rit/xit led could be put also. But, I wonder if this idea could be expanded upon. Is it possible to put a LED inside the smaller RIT or Split buttons? or can they be replaced with buttons that already have a built-in LED? This would make the modification reversible as opposed to drilling a hole. If this were possible one would suddenly have a possibility of lots of places to put LEDs! Sverre Sverre Holm, LA3ZA Asker, Norway (59.8N, 10.4E) --------------------------------- www.qsl.net/la3za +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 12:26:54 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: "Al, N4ZZK at mindspring.com" Cc: "Elecraft Reflector.MAILM" Subject: [Elecraft] Re: Tap for last recalled freq Al, There's no way to do this at present, but I'm working on the next firmware revision, so I'll give it some thought. 73, Wayne N6KR "Al, N4ZZK at mindspring.com" wrote: > > Question on the K2 Band RCL function. > > I use the BAND recall function a lot and its a 2 key option. (i.e. > Hold Band RCL button and then tap the 1 key etc to select the band to > recall). Is there a way to program one of the PF keys to jump to the > last recalled frequency with only a single tap? ++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 12:35:42 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: Juerg Tschirren Cc: "Elecraft (E-mail)" Subject: [Elecraft] Re: Make PIC code open source Hi Juerg (and others): I appreciate your sentiments regarding open source code. It's possible that portions of it could be published in the future. Needless to say, a huge amount of time went into the development of the firmware. Like other companies, we consider it an important part of our intellectual property. Many of the algorithms we developed are novel and very efficient, and are directly responsible for the success of the product line. (The K2's main microcontroller uses only 16 k of ROM, runs at 4 MHz, draws only a few mA, and requires no shielding. Controllers in competing products generally use many times the ROM, run at much higher clock speeds, draw a lot more current, and must be extensively shielded. Our design choices in this area lead to the K2's viability as an easy-to-build kit and as a portable transceiver.) There's another reason, too: we don't have time to monitor and support third-party product development efforts. In particular, the auxBus (used to control the K2's internal options) is not designed to accommodate a large number of additional external devices. We could end up in a situation where we have to fix a problem we didn't create. We just don't have the engineering or customer-support resources to handle this. In lieu of making the source code available, we're working on an accessory box that will decode certain auxBus commands and provide a number of general-purpose buffered outputs. There will be a discrete output for each band, a set of binary encoded band-select outputs, three transverter band outputs, and three user-defined lines controlled by the secondary menu's ACC entry. 73, Wayne N6KR Juerg Tschirren wrote: > > Making the PIC code open source would be a very good idea in my opinion. I > hope the KPA100 / FCC issue mentioned by Dan is not a real problem, and if > it is then it may be possible to just keep the KPA100 - related parts > closed-source, and open everything else. > > It would be great to hear an official Elecraft statement about the > open-sourcing idea. +++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 09:31:05 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: Dave White - Home Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Dave White - Home wrote: > Wayne makes mention of the "Accessory Box" that will decode AUXBUS signals for increased > functionality to "power" external accessories. There was mention of this product some > time ago, and I was wondering if the idea had been abandoned -- apparently not. > > Great news! Wayne, can you give us an approximate time frame (ie: weeks, months, > years ...) ;-) > > I'm ready to order. Another project for an EC-2 enclosure ... We may have an initial product along these lines by February. Details later. It will come with its own box. 73, Wayne ++++++++++++++++++ From: "hhooker Hooker" To: "Wayne Burdick" , "Dave White - Home" Cc: Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Re: Accessory Box Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 13:30:26 -0500 Hello Wayne, An "Accessory Box" will be great! It would be neat if it had provisions for easy use of the "Basic Stamp" chips. The Elecraft Accessory Box, a Key Pad, and a Basic Stamp could control about anything in the ham shack. Just an idea, Harry W8YMO K2#1202 K1#298 +++++++++++++++ Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 20:49:19 -0800 From: Wayne Burdick Organization: Elecraft To: Eric Manning Cc: "Elecraft (E-mail)" Subject: [Elecraft] Re: ACCESSORY BOX Hi, Eric. An "accessory box" *is* presently in the works. It will be small, easy to use, and very flexible, allowing you to switch antennas, transverters, etc. under K2 control. Sorry I can't give you any more details at present. 73, Wayne Eric Manning wrote: > > Wayne > I want the Accessory Box! Just the thing to switch bands > automatically on my Sigma 5 vertical, switch antennas, etc etc. > > 73 > > eric > -- > Eric Manning VA7DZ VE3DPV ++++++++++++++++++