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| Reviews Summary for Logikit CMOS-4 Complete Keyer Kit |
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Reviews: 93
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Average rating: 4.9/5
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MSRP: $89.95 plus shipping
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Description: Shares virtually all the features of the K3 keyer, except that it offers four active memories at one time, and a total of twelve messages available when banking is used. Also, the CMOS4 is significantly smaller. A "Heathkit" style kit, with all parts and full documentation.
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More info: http://www.idiompress.com/keyers.html
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TOPPER
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 22, 2009 00:28
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Glad I bought it!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Went together well, way more features than I needed, & some I love, like auto-spacing. Excellent tuetorial. Running on same internal batteries for years. Wish it had a 'practice' mode.
Note: After some years unit developed a fault; cpu chip was replaced by Rob for free. Idiom Press has a friend for life! tnx, N7AG
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AH6ZZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 19, 2009 17:31
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Great keyer, kit a challenge
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Caution: I am not a good CW op; bought this keyer to get my speed up and my words to sound like words instead of word puzzles.
Point One: this is a great keyer; it includes a mini-course in Keyer 101; easy to learn, easy to "program" and a joy for the not-so-talented wannabe cw op (like me). Bottom line: it encourages you to want to work cw.
Point Two: this is not an easy "one or two evening" kit, unless you work about four hours two evenings; it is challenging -- not impossible for the first timer, but he/she better be a talented one; I have spent 40+ years in electronics -- and there lies my problem -- old eyes and shaky hands will be challenged.
Buy the kit. It was good for me to sweat out all those little components and look through the magnifying glass after every solder joint. The joy of hearing it say --- -.- is worth it.
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KD7MTI
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 8, 2009 17:22
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Absolutely Great!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have two hf rigs that I use daily. One has built in keyer the other doesn't. I have an old lil'bugger keyer -- it's an "A" mode keyer, the built in keyer in my rig is a "B" mode keyer.
I found out that I cannot easily switch between these modes.
I needed a keyer that was compatible with the built in keyer in my rig (so if I just carried a paddle and the radio, I would be able to operate) and I wanted a memory keyer because I am lazy and like to multitask.
I ordered the kit -- I am currently overseas -- it arrived quickly less than a week.
Shipping package is high quality!
I assembled the unit in several hours and it worked first time.
I am very pleased with my decision to buy this product. It was fun and easy to build. It is suitable for a first kit.
Features I like:
1) memory
2) the cw interface is great
3) tutorial in user's manual
4) beacon mode (means I can configure it to send "cq cq cq de kd7mti kd7mti kd7mti ar k" every 40 seconds.
5) speaker -- now I can teach my daughter and son morse code.
What's missing:
Wiring harness info. The wiring lengths specified in the build instructions are conservative (i.e., the lengths are quite a bit
longer than they need to be). It would be great if instructions were included that gave dimensions for a real wiring harness.
Overall:
Shipping experience: excellent
Quality of kit: excellent
Build Experience: none required
Quality of enclosure: excellent.
Quality of product: excellent.
Recommendation: Buy it!
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VE7HJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 8, 2009 18:55
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Top Marks !
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I recently bought a used ICOM 735 without the built in keyer. So I started looking around at after market keyer boards to plug into the radio. After doing some research and asking a couple of hams who are true CW buffs, I decided to buy an external keyer. I emailed Bob at Idiom Press and asked for the details about the different models. Not being a contester I decided 4 memories was plenty for me and chose the CMOS K4 kit. I sent in my money and it arrived around 3 days later in the mail. I was very impressed with the packaging and contents. I rushed home to get started. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. Around 6 hours later the unit was together. After correcting to wires that I installed wrong I powered it up with 3 AAA batteries and heard the “OK” in CW sing through the speaker. It has so many great options and features. The character spacing and weighting really helps my code sound better.
I am very impressed that the keyer can be powered from 3 AAA bats for months at a time. I know a few hams who own some expensive rigs and they only use the internal keyer when they absolutely have too. So for $89.95 you can not by a better keyer as a kit.
Of course they also sell assembled versions for a few dollars more. If you’re just getting started in Morse code build and use it for a practice keyer with its built in speaker. Then once ready plug it into your radio and have fun.
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G4HZV
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 20, 2008 10:51
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Excellent
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Built one of these quite a while ago now. Easy to build and works very well, just like the whole range of Logikey keyers.
One of the buttons failed, so email to Bob and two replacement buttons arrived in a few days - that's after sales service!
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N3DF
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 20, 2008 10:08
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Very Nice Item
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I purchased the CMOS-4 preassembled. It is compact, solidly-constructed and attractive. It is very versatile and the provided instructions are clear. I have had no problems with it and cannot think of any additional features that I would like a keyer to have. Highly recommended.
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WM3O
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Rating: 5/5
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May 22, 2008 08:53
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Fun kit to build and an easy to use multi-function keyer
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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As a kit, the instructions were very simple to follow and require only a soldering iron, solder, and a screw driver. I was able to build this in about 2 hours and spent another 2 hours playing with it. The board is laid out reasonable well and the small form factor requires the board to be somewhat compressed. Overall, it's easy to build up and some of the wiring re-routed for a clean look.
Operation wise, I never thought CW could be fun until now - this keyer is a dream to use and for new code guys like me, it makes sending code a snap. It feels so much better than the internal keyer of my 756PROII and has so many more functions. Not sure how useful all the functions will prove to be, but one never knows when they need to setup a beacon or be the fox.
The portable nature of the keyer is a huge plus for QRP style rigs. It makes a great practice oscillator during my lunch break at the office.
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K7UA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 14, 2008 14:42
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Great value
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I already own a K5 and a factory assembled CMOS4. I needed another keyer and thought I would save a few bucks and have a little fun building something. I have not done any kits since the Heathkit days. This is a great product and I had no trouble putting it together. It worked right off. Do a parts inventory before you begin. I picked a capacitor of the correct value, but wrong type and soldered it in. I caught my own error and nothing was really lost. Several capacitors have the same value (.01) and you need to pay attention to the differen types. You absolutely need a good low wattage soldering iron with a fine tip. Don't plan on using your Weller "gun" or something like it. You will burn up the small circuit board. The work is not difficult, but it is rather close. My old eyes needed my reading glasses and a magnifying glass to check things out. I don't know if I would do another kit if I needed another one. Unless you work for $2 per hour, the small price difference will not pay for your assembly time. In either factory assembled or kit form this is a great keyer.
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WD9DUI
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 29, 2007 18:29
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Great Keyer!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is a great kit, went together with ease. I did have a problem with the kit but it was resolved, possible cheap low quality Chinese solder may have caused an issue. The solid support on the phone and taking care of any issues on the spot is very helpful. I have had this keyer for a while now, it has been used with my IC-718 and a RockMite.
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KJ5ES
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 10, 2007 12:47
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AMAZING KIT!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Let me start by giving you the bottom line: If you are searching for an amazing keyer that works GREAT, buy this kit!
KIT, PART and INSTRUCTION QUALITY: 10 out of 10
This kit was easy to put together and a great joy to build. Everything in the kit was top-notch. As a final product, it looks PERFECT! It is a perfect size to squeeze into any tight spot in your shack too! I can’t imagine what could be done differently to improve this rating are!
DESIGN and FUNCTION: 10 out of 10
I did a lot of comparison shopping before I decided on this keyer. I looked at just about everything out there from MFJ, as well as other kit makers and vendors. When all the smoke cleared, I chose this as the best balance of value and function. Holy cow did I make the right choice. Let me be honest though, when I first finished the kit I was faced with the daunting task of learning to speak its language. Everything has to be communicated via mores code and key-press combinations. To monitor even the slightest parameter, you have to punch keys and enter Morse functions. At first I didn’t like this too much but hear me on this, once I understood the way it works, I found that this thing is incredible. Every time I thought to myself “gee I wish it did such and such” I would find a way to make it happen!! This keyer is like amazing and mind-bogglingly capable. Every time I use it I am thankful that I bought and built it. Well thought out, well kitted and infinitely capable, this is by far and away the best choice out there for a top quality memory keyer. Period. Buy it, build it and love it!!
CUSTOMER SERVICE: 9.5 out of 10
OK, I am going to nit-pick a little. When I called the company, I expected to hear them say “Idiom Press this is Rob, may I help you?” but what I got was “Hello” and a pause as though I might have reached Idiom or might have reached Jo-Blow and interrupted his nap. Just sort of left me feeling like I wasn’t dealing with a professional outfit. In addition, my shipment was delayed by a week or 10 days due to them having to wait for kit parts to arrive….no problem but I didn’t know this until I called them to see what the hold up was…seems like a preemptive email would have gone a long way to make them look more on-top-of things. In their defense though, I was having email problems during that period and I know for certain that a final-shipment email was rejected by my server. I guess the bottom line was that the sum total of my experience with Idiom customer service just left me feeling a little lost relative to other kit makers I have dealt with.
SUMMARY:
Every time I use it I am thankful that I bought and built it. Well thought out, well kitted and infinitely capable, this is by far and away the best choice out there for a top quality memory keyer. Period. Buy it, build it and love it!!
Steve
KJ5ES
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