A modification of the K1EL WK3 WinKeyer USB-SMT Kit[1] is shown.
Adding an insulated 3.5 mm stereo jack socket[2]
(Multicomp-pro No. MJ-073H, just below the "PADDLE" input stereo jack socket)
allows to get a square-wave side tone audio signal out of the WinKeyer.
The use of an insulated socket preserves K1EL's well thought out system
to avoid ground loops in the WinKeyer.
(Keep in mind however,
that the SP1 "-" PCB-pad is connected to the MJ-073H shield.
An audio coupling transformer may be used to achieve isolation between
the ground of an external circuit (connected
to the MJ-073H socket) and the internal SP1 "-" PCB-pad of the WinKeyer.)
The 10nF capacitors shown in the schematic are ceramic, the 1µF capacitors are of the film/foil type. The 180 Ohm resistor sets the output amplitude of the circuit and may be replaced by a value which fits the needs of the individual application. The parts are soldered to a prototype PCB stripboard[3]. This board is fixed to the bottom of the WinKeyer's case by a Velcro tape close to the battery holder. For my setup the output of this circuit is connected to the Line In input of a consumer sound card[4] (input impedance of approximately 27 kOhm) and a 180 Ohm resistor to set the output amplitude proved to be well suited. Parameters of the WinKeyer 3.1 CW Processor/Keyer IC are found in its data sheet [5].
This is a simple interface between a dual-lever paddle and a RS232 serial port (or a RS232/USB Adapter Cable). Output DTR (4) is set to HIGH Level by a Morse Code program like EhoCW[7]. The positive votage level present at DTR (4) (+9V for the FTDI US232B adapter cable) is fed to the inputs DSR (6) or/and CTS (8) in case that the switch of the DAH- or/and DIT-lever is closed. This leads to the generation of DAHs or/and DITs by the Morse Code program. The adapter cable's USB connector is plugged into one of the notebook's USB jacks (there is no USB-Hub between the adapter cable and the notebook's USB jack).
The parts are soldered directly to a DB9 female connector and to a small sheet of copper foil, which is connected to GND (5). This construction fits into a hinged plastic Flip-Top-Hood[6] for the DB9 connector. The interface may be used with Morse Code programs like EhoCW[7] and Morse Keyer[8] (select option "swap left/right paddles" for Morse Keyer's "Iambic paddles" mode). The FTDI US232B adapter cable is no longer available, but the model FTDI US232R[9] is a replacement part. Drivers are available for download from the FTDI Chip website.
At present I am experimenting with a K3NG Arduino CW Keyer[10], [11] .
My setup is based on an Arduino Mega 2560 (ATmega2560, ATmega16U2) board
and an USB Host Shield 2.0 (MAX3421E) board.
- Paddle input
- Iambic mode B
- Emulation of Iambic mode B CMOS Super Keyer timing with dot and dash memory
- CW Keyboard Interface
- Straight key input
- Sidetone (700 Hz) fed to a high-impedance speaker (45 Ohm) via an RLC series circuit (390 Ohm, 88 mH, 570 nF)
- Rotary Encoder Speed Control[12]
- LCD Display
- One command push switch (integral with rotary encoder) plus six push switches for message memories
- Command mode via command push switch and paddle input
- Twelve message memories
- Command Line Interface