Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: PicoKeyer from N0XAS

Category: Keyers & CW Keyboards

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : PicoKeyer from N0XAS
Reviews: 89MSRP: 17.99
Description:
Completely self-contained version of the original PicoKeyer, first introduced in 2003. The PicoKeyer features four memories, all connections and power on board (no external wiring needed), speed control, simple one-button menu based setup, beacon mode, and much more.
Keying modes supported are iambic A and B, Ultimatic, Bug and straight key/cootie. Hands-free tuneup mode lets you tune with either constant key-down or 50% duty cycle dits. Easy, quick assembly make this a great club or group build project!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.hamgadgets.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00894.9
KC8OJU Rating: 2007-10-11
really sweet & sour Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This was the best project I've built in awhile. Had to build my own iambic key to access the memory and functions, can't do it with a j38. I put this pcb in a box.
As I found out later a metal box isn't a good idea as it puts ground to both jacks.
Since I am only using it in a grounding cathode circuit have no issue at this time. When I need that Q2 FET then I'll be in trouble. As grounding both jacks puts the drain to the source of Q2. Would have to use a shoulder washer and mica insulator to isolate the rig jack. I ordered mine with a 3 volt lithium, I decided to change that to a 3 cell NiCd pack. Never had luck with Lithium button cells
AB7JK Rating: 2007-10-09
worked several months Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The keyer worked well for a while but after several months it started going flaky. Mostly the speed does not stay constant - when set at 20 wpm it sometimes slows down to a few words per minute. Changing the battery did not help. Also the push button contact switch has become intermittent.

Bottom line is a need to buy another one but I shouldn't have to replace something once a year.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by AB7JK on 2006-11-22

Keyer works great - trouble is it has alot of features I'll never need in a million years. Once the first memory was recorded I only need it to call CQ for my QRPp radios which it does really well with one push button and auto repeat. No need to put it in a case - probably wouldn't hear the sidetone anyway. Just wish it had a command to bypass all the unneeded commands.
KE6TAW Rating: 2007-06-13
Excellent kit for the first-time builder! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the first PC board kit I've ever built, and it couldn't have been easier. The straightforward, detailed instructions, the layout of the board, and the excellent quality solder mask make it virtually impossible to make a mistake. I built it (going very slowly and carefully) in about 1/2 hour and it came up with "73" as soon as I plugged in the battery.

The straightforward design and low price of the kit made me unafraid to make a simple modification - I inserted a normally closed pushbutton between the battery + and the circuit board. Now I can "reboot" the keyer (so it can re-detect the type of key attached) without any wear and tear on the battery holder.

I highly recommend this kit to any beginner looking for an easy first kit, or in fact for anyone looking for an inexpensive and full featured keyer.
OZ5BD Rating: 2007-06-02
Super Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Easy and fun to bilt..

++++++ here from :)

20 min and done :)
DG8VE Rating: 2007-06-01
Great kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just finished building it and made the first QSOs. It's a real great kit. The building was very simple - firsttimers will love it - it took me only about ten to fiveteen minutes. Very high quality PCB (with solder resist and equipment printing) not home made quality (which wouldn't have been a big problem either). The menue is simple to understand and I guess it's quickly to manage if you're used to it. Will have a try with my Kenwood TS-520SE during next contest (the 60V keying capability was the mean reason for buying). So far - great stuff!
N2HTT Rating: 2007-05-09
Great keyer - great service! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered on Monday, came in the mail Wednesday, in use Wednesday!

Took less than 1/2 hour to build, has more features than I will ever need, and....

Ultimatic keying!!

Buy one - you'll love it
KR9D Rating: 2007-04-23
Does what it's supposed to do Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had bought an MFJ keyer that I forgot to turn off, and it ran its battery down in a day. I didn't like having to adjust speed by guess with a pot, either, especially if returning to my learning speed after using other speeds. I'm more afraid of code than I am a soldering iron, and this kit presented an opportunity to play with my new soldering station.

Dale Botkin's Pico-Keyer fulfilled all requirements perfectly. I didn't realy need a QRP keyer, so I bought it with the optional regulator and trailed a 12-volt power wire out of the enclosure in which I put it. I also scavenged a 2" speaker and built a small audio amp using a LM386 op-amp. I smoothed the square wave audio with a passive low-pass filter using a 1K resister in series with the audio and a .047 uF shunt. I installed a power switch, a box-mounted switch for firmware control, and code speed and sidetone volume pots.

I also bought the optional speed control pot. The beauty of the design is that you can set your default speed using the menu system (which reports in code at the speed you have set), and then vary the speed with the pot. So, I set the speed precisely at 20 wpm, and that's what I get when I turn the pot all the way down. But I can turn the pot up and have a range of 5-65 wpm. I can always revert to my learning speed without having to fiddle.

The key output to the transmitter is done by 2N7000 FETs.

The interfaces are sub-mini phone plugs. Both are stereo plugs, but the keyer circuit only uses the tip and the base ring, so a mono submini-to-RCA adaptor will adapt it to an MFJ keyer wiring harness.

By itself, it's Altoids-sized, and will fit nicely in a transciever or as part of another device.

The kit with the regulator and speed control pot was a couple dozen dollars, and I didn't spend more than $40 for the whole project, which included paying Radio Shack prices for the other bits.

It's a good piece of kit that works on its own and is highly adaptable to other implementations.
VK2IMM Rating: 2007-04-12
great kit and a keyer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
As a kit it is plug and play, takes about 30 min to solder all components in place. To be practically useful it will also need an enclosure. I purchased one P/N 373309 from Jameco.com on line. All works very well although I have used only a few programmable modes. Having four stacked memories to select with one pushbutton makes accessing them less useful in practice so a keyer option with four separate buttons would have made it more flexible. One of the the most significant benefits for me is, the keyer has a small internal battery on board so no external power supply is needed. There is no power switch either. Really a modern type keyer with so many features in one low power IC.
K8ZK Rating: 2007-03-29
Great keyer for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am very impressed with the PicoKeyer kit.

The kit was well documented and easy to build. It took me about an hour to get to a working keyer. It is well documented, and the board is easy to work with.

The little touches (such as including the battery or ordering the menu choices in the order of importance) show that Dale has worked hard to incorporate feedback into the product.

The only tricky part I had was fitting the stereo jacks into the side of an Altoids tin.

For a keyer with so many features, it is a tremendous value. I am impressed at how much functionality Dale has packed into a little PIC chip. Truly impressive.

This kit is a contribution to the art of CW and amateur radio overall.

73 – Dave
NE4U Rating: 2007-03-27
Great product and service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered this product on a late (after working hours) Tuesday night and received it the following Monday afternoon. It's definitely a quick and easy kit to put together. I had a little bit of trouble after completing my solder work and emailed Dale. He was very patient in helping me figure out where I made my mistake, but it ended up that I hadn't paid attention to part of his easy-to-follow instructions so the error was totally mine. Thanks for your quick support anyway, Dale!

I'm excited to finally learn sending CW and know that the more advanced features of the PicoKeyer will come in handy once I get on the air. For those of you who are wondering, it's a great practice oscillator if you have a key in hand. I ordered and installed the optional 50k potentiometer to control character speed and it works like a charm.

Thanks for a wonderful product and fun project.

I posted photos here if anyone is interested in checking out the size, possible enclosure, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadle/sets/72157600031544856/

73,
-john
W4PAH