Any attendees with additional information for or corrections to this blog post, please send it to k0wly.ham@gmail.com.
Attendees:
K0WLY, Carl
AJ7KY, Kyle
AJ7KY, Kyle
KM7CSR, Mike
NV9N, Andrew Checked in after the net and said he was only able to listen as he was mobile.
On the bench:
- A participant named AJ7KY reports on building a homemade single-lever paddle and resolving an RF return current issue with a homemade USB cable. More information can be found on the UVARC/makernet Slack channel.
- The host, Carl, shares that he printed an antenna reel and finalized files for a "keyer" project, which he uploaded to GitHub as a public project.The final features are:
- Iambic Mode A keyer with adjustable speed (5–40 WPM)
- Straight key mode selectable via hardware switch
- Adjustable sidetone frequency (400–900 Hz) — each unit independent
- Logarithmic volume control via PWM, works for speaker and headphones
- Head copy delay (0–3 seconds) for incoming character display
- Automatic peer-to-peer WiFi pairing via ESP-NOW — no router needed
- Two-way CW communication — transmit and receive simultaneously
- Real-time Morse decoding — letters, numbers, punctuation, and prosigns
- Scrolling TX/RX display on 1.91" AMOLED (536×240)
- Non-volatile settings — survives power cycles
- Single pot with mode cycling for all parameter adjustments
- Frame buffer display — instantaneous screen updates, no glitch
- Radio keying output via PC817 optocoupler — fully isolated, compatible with most transceivers
Open Discussion:
- Carl opens an ideation phase to ask for advice on his next project: choosing between building an antenna switcher or a multi-radio microphone switcher. AJ7KY provides technical feedback, advising him to start simple with a two-radio switcher.
Smoke Award:
- No smoke award this week.
Closed Net: 19:17
