This will be my first CW contest that I'll participate in. I only use a straight key, and for sure don't want to send CQ FYBO DE AB9LM for the duration of the contest.
Rather than programming a micro controller with my message, I decided to use an already existing device that can hold any number of messages, has a thermometer, browser, and clock: My Android device.
From the App store, I downloaded Androidomatic Keyer to handle the generation of code. To actually key my radio, I built an LM567 tone decoder circuit "hard coded" for 1khz. I've been sitting on a package of 10 of these things and haven't yet come up with a use for them. This seemed like a great application.
I followed the schematic from http://www.m0tgn.com/2015/07/cw-decoder-electronics.html
to get me in the general ball park. Getting the frequency set was a real pain using a trimmer, so I opted to use a 4.7k resistor instead. Using the formula 1/(4.7k X .22uF) put me pretty close to 1khz.
There is a bit of a sweet spot for setting the frequency and the volume level, but once found, it doesn't miss a beat.
I even plugged the input to the audio out of my TS-830 and it kept up fine with the speed demons on 14.015
The video below is a demonstration of the interface at work.
Using this circuit, I may see if I can make a CW decoder for the pizero.
Hopefully the propagation Gods smile on me tomorrow, or at least hope my CW isn't too rusty.
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