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Reviews For: Idiom Press/Ham Supply Logikit CMOS 4 Morse Code Keyer

Category: Keyers & CW Keyboards

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Review Summary For : Idiom Press/Ham Supply Logikit CMOS 4 Morse Code Keyer
Reviews: 94MSRP: 99.95 - 139.95
Description:
The CMOS 4 is the little brother to the world famous K-5 Keyer. Unmatched feature list, with the best operator interface available. Additional features include: greater protection against voltage spikes, lightning etc.; all stainless hardware; internal volume control; updated enclosure design; 3-AAA cells will run Keyer for months, or accepts 9-12 volts DC. See Website for full and complete details.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hamsupply.com/cmos-4-keyer/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00944.9
VK5GX Rating: 2004-02-08
What a great product - Logikit CMOS-4 Keyer Kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This keyer is fantastic. The kit took only one night to complete and works like a dream with my Kenwood TS-820S.
The kit is easy to construct. The contruction notes are simple and easy to follow.
For the builder who has little experience, this kit should not present too many problems.
The keyer functioned correctly at power-up and the instruction manual is well written, as are the tutorials on how to use the keyer.
The programmable memories are fantastic and easy to use. In fact, the unit is child's play to use, but feature packed. What more needs to be said.

This is value for money and a really great product. I thoroughly recommend this kit to anyone who is a serious CW operator.

NQ5T Rating: 2004-02-07
Absolutely Terrific! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Size, features, self-powered option. This is a great keyer.

I cheated and bought it assembled. The selling point for me was that it can be set to do Accu-keyer timing emulation -- since that's what I've been using for years. It works flawlessly.
K9EL Rating: 2004-01-24
Great Keyer! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered the kit via the web site, received an email shortly thereafter confirming my order, and the kit arrived a couple days later. Total assembly time was about 3 hours. Assembly was straightforward and the manual was very clear and I did not find any errors. Everything is included. I would suggest a soldering iron with a very fine tip as the solder pads are very small. The keyer worked the first time I turned it on. The functions and capabilities are awesome! It is very compact and will be my new travel keyer as it runs on 3 AAA batteries with the built-in battery holder. I cannot think of anything I would change!
JACQUES_BELDEROK_EX_WV0Q Rating: 2003-12-01
Awesome!!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a great kit.
Goes together very easily!

This is the only keyer I use with all my rigs.
It truely is a no brainer to build as well as to buy. Lots of great features.
Bought it based on reviews on eHam and am not sorry I did.

Mr. Locher is great to deal with and will go out of his way to see to it that one is happy!

73
Jacq NEØO ex WVØQ
KD1F Rating: 2003-11-09
Modification Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been extremely pleased with the Keyer. There was a mod sent to owners to help save batteries. You had to cut a trace and add a diode.

IMPORTANT.. Pull the ROM chip, the little 8 pin one before doing the mod. Mine blew from from static or the soldering iron and took some time to figure out what went wrong. I suggest to take steps to protect the chip if you do the mod.

Other than that issue, I enjoy my keyer very much.
AE6Y Rating: 2003-10-12
Excellent product! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I thought I would add a few comments on two features I really like about my two CMOS-4s, one at our contest station in Aruba (P40Y-P40L) and one at home (AE6Y).
First off, as mentioned many times, they are easy but satisfying kits to build, with excellent instructions, both for building and operating.
I really appreciate two features (of many):
1) The speed knob on the front operates over a preset range (that you set) linearly. This is really helpful in an SO2R setup, where otherwise you are using internal keyers that work differently on each radio. So, for contesting, I might set the range to, say 24-36 wpm, which allows me instantly to slow down or speed up in a very controlled way, without fussing, e.g., with the tiny, nonlinear speed knob on my 756 PRO. Then this speed will also apply to both radios.
2) There is a very simple tune-up command. By pressing buttons 1 and 3 simultaneously, the keyer enters a "hand" key mode, so that closing the paddle on either side generates a continuous tone for tune ups. Hitting any button then takes you back to normal mode.
73, Andy, AE6Y
EI7BA Rating: 2003-10-12
Nice Keyer..Great Service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently blew up my CMOS III keyer. (my own fault).. As I had been very pleased with it, I went to the Idiom Press web-site and ordered the Logikit CMOS 4 Keyer Kit as a replacement .. Well, I reckoned the CMOS III had well paid for itself, so why not ?? While ordering the new kit, I happened to mention to Bob about the demise of the old one. I had an immediate reply from Bob saying..

" sit tight and wait for the kit. When you get it - you can plug the CPU into your model 3 keyer and test it. But instead of using it as a 6
button keyer only use the first four buttons, and see if it works. That will test the CPU. You can also try the new EEPROM in the old keyer - they are identical. We have never had a resonator fail - but you could again try the new one "..

Clever or what?? Anyway, the kit arrived, I built it in a very pleasurable three hours, and then did as Bob had suggested. I informed Bob that it was the CMOS III EEPROM which was u/s.. A couple of days later, the EEPROM arrived...NO charge for the EEPROM, only a couple of dollars for the airmail postage...Now I guess I'll have two great keyers to play with. {:o)

Actually, the CMOS 4 is smaller than my CMOS 3, and is ideal for portable, Field Day etc, so they'll both get plenty of use.
WD4MKQ Rating: 2003-10-03
Insanely Great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been QRT for awhile, and I thought building this kit would be a good way to get my homebrewing skills back! I was more than impressed by the packaging and the manual; all the parts were present and the instructions were straightforward and easy to follow. The keyer came together in 3 nights of light assembly work (I wasn't in a hurry) and it could probably have been done in one night if it had been a keyer-deficit-emergency!

I powered it up and heard "OK" in morse code, telling me the thing had run a self-diagnostic and all was well. Now for the fun part!

You communicate with this keyer via morse code...for example, to enter the "load" mode for memory keying, you press the 1 and 2 buttons simultaneously and you hear "F" in morse code. You then key in the letter "L" to tell it "Enter Load Mode" and the keyer responds with "R" to tell you it received and understood your command. This is COOL.

You can query the keyer in morse code to find out what your settings are, and all kinds of parameters.

A very neat thing is programming embedded links in your memorized code. By loading "CQ" in memory 1, "DE" in memory 2, and "K4TLS" in memory 3, you could key into memory 4:

/1 /1 /1 /2 /3 /3 /3 k

and the keyer would then play:

CQ CQ CQ DE K4TLS K4TLS K4TLS K when button 4 is pressed.

You can program the thing to insert a serial number and increment it each time it's played, etc. I'm telling you, this is a cool, cool machine.

anyway, it was a fun kit to build, it works, and the CPU is brilliant and the system is easy to learn. You can't go wrong with this keyer!


--steve
VE3GNU Rating: 2003-08-24
Brilliant Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I took a fairly long time to assemble the kit, not only to avoid errors, but essentially to prolong the enjoyment---enjoyment which was enhanced principally due to---
1---all the parts were present and accounted for-
2---the precise directions and 'goof-proof' instructions in the manual-
3---the first-rate quality of the enclosure-
4---communication with Idiom Press and its owner, Bob Locher, was fast, supportive, and friendly-
5---the unit 'worked' instantly, and has been 'without a hitch'-
6---the excellent tutorial that defines/explains the many features of this keyer.

To this point I have established a comfort-level with about half of its many features/functions.
It's unique in that one can communicate with it in c.w.---something that would be considered 'cool' by the 'now' generation.
It's superlatively flexible in that its range of functions can satisfy the beginner to the most ardent and advanced operator.
The precise character-shaping and spacing is evident from the 'first go'.
In conclusion, let me stress that I'm in the process of upgrading my c.w. skills (lying dormant far too long, for too many years!) and along with my newly-acquired interest in QRP---this BRILLIANT keyer is a definite keeper---quality fun, and uncommon value to boot!
Get one! You'll never regret it.
Usual disclaimers apply.
Ernie (VE3GNU)
K5BGB Rating: 2003-06-16
First-Class Keyer! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought my CMOS-4 used from a W2 who built it from a kit. Very simply, this is one fantastic little keyer. In my many years of experience with keyers, which goes back to the W9TO vacuum tube/mercury relay days in the 60s, hands down, the CMOS-4 is the smoothest keyer I've ever had the pleasure of using.