QRPworks Key Log Go, User Manual

Page 1: ...Key Log Go rev 2 6 Page 1 of 58 QRPworks Key Log Go User Manual ...

Page 2: ...4 Stored Text Messages 15 Callsign Entered 18 Grab Go 19 Contesting 24 Logging 27 Logging Activities using References 31 LCD Backlight Brightness 34 Rig Specific Features 36 Voltage Check 46 Setting the Date and Time 46 Battery Replacement 47 System Reset 48 Help 48 Updating the Firmware 49 Support 49 Troubleshooting Tips 50 Summary of Keyboard Commands 52 Summary of Keyer Commands Prosigns 53 ...

Page 3: ...Key Log Go rev 2 6 Page 3 of 58 Summary of Pushbutton Functions 54 Summary of Keyboard Editor Commands 54 Summary of Logging Commands 54 Firmware versions history 55 ...

Page 4: ... your logged QSOs in an ADIF format It is portable with a sunlight readable display and able to operate up to 50 hours on an internal battery It can operate with or without a keyboard Rig Specific Functions Elecraft KX3 KX2 K3 K3s If you use an Elecraft KX3 KX2 K3 or K3s the KLG will display the scrolling rig decoded PSK31 RTTY or CW text on an 80 character screen It will allow you to send up to 2...

Page 5: ...y for logging creating messages capturing their call can all be done with or without a keyboard The KLG provides many features for the portable operator whether out on the trail in a park on vacation or at home 73 Shel Radin KF0UR Steve Silverman KB3SII Applicability The KLG will send CW to any rig that has a straight key input For the Elecraft KX3 KX2 or K3 and Yaesu FT 8x7 family of rigs it prov...

Page 6: ...Key Log Go rev 2 6 Page 6 of 58 Status LED Log Message Select 80 character screen PS2 Keyboard 8 15 VDC center positive Serial Port to PC On Off Serial Port to Rig ...

Page 7: ...Key Log Go rev 2 6 Page 7 of 58 Run F1 Edit Save Run F2 Edit Tab Run Future Fn Edit Backspace Run Capture Call Edit ESC Speed Pot Key Out to Rig Paddle ...

Page 8: ... from the KLG Radio serial port to the KX3 ACC 1 connector A right angle connector on both ends is highly recommended to reduce the strain on the printed circuit boards Do not connect the radio cable if the PC cable is in use K3 use a DB9 M to 3 5 mm cable available from QRPworks from the K3 RS232 port to the KLG Radio port Do not connect the radio cable if the PC cable is in use K3s plug the RJ45...

Page 9: ...rolling the rig Note USB to PS2 adapters do not work in this application nor do keyboards that are not native PS2 The second 3 5mm jack labeled PC is used for transferring log files from the KLG to the PC and for loading new software into the KLG The Elecraft KXUSB or KXSER cables must be used between this serial port and a PC This port must not be connected to a PC if the Radio serial port is con...

Page 10: ... VFO B select o PSK D for PSK31 o FSK D for RTTY TX Data will be the mode shown on the screen Text DEC ON by holding the Data Text button Refer to the Data Modes section in the KX3 or KX2 manual K3 K3s Settings Menu RS232 set to 38400 baud Mode Data Mode by holding the AFX Data Md button Using VFO B select o PSK D for PSK31 o FSK D for RTTY TX Data will be the mode shown on the screen Text DEC ON ...

Page 11: ...ber of times before giving up Note turn the rig on first before turning the KLG on When the KLG establishes a connection to a rig it will briefly let you know A connection is established after the KLG sends a command to the rig and the rig responds appropriately If the KX3 KX2 K3 or K3s is in the text mode and is displaying characters in the lower right of the screen the KLG will automatically sho...

Page 12: ...y WinKeyer aficionados who know the WinKeyer commands and how to control them To operate the WinKeyer in this mode we refer you to the WinKeyer manual To toggle between Host and Standalone modes hold the Log and Msg Sel buttons simultaneously KLG Keyer Functions When in the Host Mode The KLG offers the following CW features Speed Change use the up down arrows on the keyboard or press Alt S and ent...

Page 13: ...ly use the paddle connected to the KLG As you paddle you will key the rig and the KLG display will show what characters have been sent 2 Type on the keyboard The KLG and WinKeyer will convert the character you typed into CW and key the rig The KLG display will show what characters have been typed and sent 3 Send a message You can send one of 20 pre defined by you messages by pressing F1 through F1...

Page 14: ...ee what you are entering as if you were using a keyboard You can Key board to Enter data in the log Create messages Create KX3 KX2 K3 K3s macros Enter the call of the station you are working Enter references such as SOTA Summits and select which is currently active To handle some typical keyboard functions which are not found in CW the KLG provides some options that can be used without a keyboard ...

Page 15: ...age Stored Text Messages The KLG has 20 shared memory locations for either text messages or rig macros for the Elecraft KX3 KX2 K3 or K3s Any of the 20 can be used for either If you do not use one of the above listed Elecraft rigs then all 20 would be used for text messages If you do use one then you can use any or all for rig macros to control the rig configuration Each of the 20 text messages or...

Page 16: ...essage has been previously stored it will be displayed Edit or add any additional text See the Editing a Stored Text Message or Macro section in this manual for a list of editing options o New in version 2 3 0 and later When using a KX3 or KX2 and in RTTY or PSK31 the rig will remain in transmit mode for approx 4 seconds after the last character has been sent To have the rig go back to receive imm...

Page 17: ...ollowed by a colon Everything to the left of the colon is the message name and is not sent to the rig Everything to the right of the colon will be sent to the rig as text It s advised to keep the names short as the space for the characters used are shared with the characters used for the message The longer the name the less room you will have for the message Sending a Stored Text Message To send a...

Page 18: ...o capture another station s callsign and have it sent out automatically in messages and automatically populate the log You may be familiar with this feature in most contest loggers and PSK31 or RTTY programs To use it Enter the call by pressing Alt C or by tapping CALL ESC Enter up to 10 characters with the keyboard or paddle Backspace to make changes keyboard or FN BACKSP In any of the 20 KLG mes...

Page 19: ...grab a station s call at the same time you are responding on the air This is instead of typing the other stations call in the Enter Call screen and then sending it subsequently Here s how it works Shown is an example for a contest where someone answers your CQ and you want to respond with the contest exchange stored in message F2 To define any message as a Grab Go message place a as the first char...

Page 20: ... to the rig and will go out on the air o When you are finished typing the call press Enter on the keyboard F2 again or F2 TAB again The rest of the message in F2 will then follow that s the Go part To erase a Grab Go call either backspace until it is gone or Key board prosign SK In summary the Grab Go flow is Press the message F key or F1 SAVE or F2 TAB to be sent Type or Key board the call it get...

Page 21: ... Summary If you don t recall which text message or macro is stored where the KLG can help While in the normal mode Status LED off press Page Down or Page Up on the keyboard and the first 16 characters of messages or macros 1 4 will be shown Press Page Down to see the next page of 4 Press Page Up to go in the opposite direction Press ESC to go back to the normal mode While viewing the Text Message ...

Page 22: ...nd messages without using a keyboard This is useful if you don t want to take a keyboard with you but still want to be able to send some canned messages such as CQ or a contest exchange 599 CO To use this feature start by loading messages into the KLG by using a keyboard or Key board your paddle as specified above see Creating or Editing a Message Tap MSG SEL until the message you want to send is ...

Page 23: ...os are shown Off Message Summary Mode Press an F key The text stored in the F or Alt F key will be sent and then back to normal mode Off Message Summary Mode Press ESC Back to normal mode Off Editing Stored Text Messages Macros The editing features apply to editing text messages and rig macros Here are the commands available Backspace moves the cursor one character to the left and erases the chara...

Page 24: ...aracter is inserted to the left of the cursor The cursor will be a blinking box Replace where a new character replaces the character at the cursor The cursor will be an underline In the Insert mode if there are more characters than allowed for the message or macro the character at the end will be truncated as new characters are added Contesting While the KLG is not a substitute for a full contest ...

Page 25: ...ent with a single keystroke If the contest exchange contains a QSO serial number the KLG has a feature to help To use the serial number feature Use the without the quotes in a text message where you want to send the serial number For the following examples assume the next serial number is 234 o Example KF0UR 599 will send KF0UR 599 234 234 To set the serial number press Alt N number or Key board p...

Page 26: ...e press Alt N or Keyboard prosign DU to change it to the desired number This might happen if you thought you worked someone but really didn t busted QSO In addition to the for the serial number you may also enter the other station s call and have it sent out automatically as part of a message See Callsign Entered or Grab Go in an earlier section for details The other station s call will be erased ...

Page 27: ...the following logging functions screen L to log a new QSO There is room for 1000 QSOs Tapping LOG will also get you directly to this screen without seeing the log menu screen first F to find an existing QSO in the log Enter all or part of a call The most recent QSO with the text string entered will be displayed Press Alt Arrow Down to find the next earlier QSO A wildcard character can be used as w...

Page 28: ...to a PC but only include QSOs tagged with the currently active Reference SOTA IOTA Lighthouse etc If you select this option then you will be asked to select what type of reference it is on this following screen The purpose of this selection screen is to output the data with the proper ADIF field name For example SOTA Refs need to use the ADIF tag MY_SOTA_REF IOTA needs to use the ADIF tag MY_IOTA ...

Page 29: ...ft right arrows home or end or backspace Press Insert to toggle between the insert flashing cursor or overtype modes same as editing messages and macros When Key boarding backspace by tapping FN BACKSP Press Enter tap F1 SAVE or Key board prosign KN to save the QSO Call Enter the call worked Maximum 10 characters Enter either upper or lower case The KLG will convert it to upper case This is a requ...

Page 30: ...e characters after the is the SENT If no character is found the Exchange is RST_RCVD As shown in the table of examples the Exchange does not have to be a traditional 599 signal report Examples Exchange data in the log ADIF RST_RCVD ADIF RST_SENT 579 579 blank 579 59 579 459 589 blank 589 001 NY 022 CO 001 NY 022 CO Also new in ADIF Export Utility v1 9 are 2 new ADIF fields Call Sign if entered in ...

Page 31: ...ir SOTA Islands on the Air IOTA Lighthouses Grids And any other activity that uses any kind of reference or you simply want to designate as a separate activity By reference we mean a published identifier used within the activity to report activations collect points etc Example SOTA uses Summit References i e W0 FR 001 IOTA uses island reference numbers i e AF 041 plus there are Grids Lighthouses a...

Page 32: ...tional short note for each reference Use a colon to separate the reference from your note This can be used as a handy reminder when looking at a list of references and trying to recall what they are Example for Pikes Peak W0 FR 004 PIKES Where W0 FR 004 is the official SOTA reference and will be stored in the log and Pikes after the colon is just a reminder for you and will not be stored in the lo...

Page 33: ...t an ADIF file with only the QSOs of the reference activated Go to the Logging Screen Alt L Press R for Reference Note that the difference between pressing R reference vs A ADIF File is that A will export all QSOs while R will export only those QSOs for the active reference If a QSO was logged with the wrong reference selected the correction is easy Just selected the proper reference Alt P then M ...

Page 34: ...TA needs to use the ADIF tag MY_IOTA Selecting the reference type selects the proper ADIF tag for output LCD Backlight Brightness The LCD backlight brightness is adjustable in 5 levels When operating using a battery it is wise to minimize the current usage but you already knew that and this feature helps you do so The display is transflective so backlighting is probably not needed at all when outd...

Page 35: ...n the keyboard press Alt B Each press of Alt B will go to the next level of brightness from off to bright The brightness selected is remembered in EEPROM so the next time you turn on the KLG it will start at the last brightness selected ...

Page 36: ...t you for the frequency and the format required is also displayed Optionally you can change modes as well by adding a single letter on the end of the frequency The modes available are as follows Mode KX3 KX2 K3 Letter to add FT 8xx Letter to add CW C C USB U U LSB L L PSK31 P P RTTY R D AM A A FM F F CW REV W W Data Rev V Examples 14070 sets freq to 14 070 Mhz Mode does not change 14070P sets freq...

Page 37: ...scrolling 8 character display at the bottom right of the rig s screen The data could be PSK RTTY or CW It doesn t matter The KLG captures these characters as they are decoded and displays them on an 80 character screen for easier reading By displaying 80 characters at a time you can read words and sentences and not worry about missing characters if you take your eyes off of the rig s screen for a ...

Page 38: ...een Transmitting Text For Rigs Elecraft KX3 KX2 K3 K3s You can send text to the rig by either plugging a PS2 keyboard into the KLG and simply by typing on the keyboard or Key boarding the characters using the KLG keyer The rig will transmit the text in whatever mode it is set to In other words if the rig is set to PSK D it will send PSK31 if it is set to FSK D it will send RTTY If it is set to CW ...

Page 39: ...In summary if the number of characters set by Ctrl C is greater than 1 then o The Xmit Buffer feature is on o Characters are sent when the number set is reached o The rig s keyer is used o The rig s keyer controls the speed If the number of characters set by Ctrl C is set to 1 then o The Xmit Buffer feature is off o Each character is sent to the rig as it is typed or Key boarded o The WinKeyer in ...

Page 40: ... board The characters will appear on the bottom line of the KLG display and be sent to the rig when 1 The number of characters typed reaches the number set using CTRL C or 2 The Enter key is pressed or 3 Prosign KN is paddled If you see something on the bottom line to change just Backspace or tap FN BACKSP to correct it When characters are buffered and not yet sent to the rig the orange Status LED...

Page 41: ...k into the receive mode right away This is useful if you send by mistake or just want to go back to receive faster than the built in 4 second wait in the rig Especially useful when contesting Note When sending text from the rig directly you send CW with paddles The rig does the translation from CW to the mode you are in PSK31 RTTY CW As such there is no way to differentiate upper and lower case le...

Page 42: ...IT and XIT say for PSK31 or RTTY Put the rig into Split mode with VFO B 1 Khz above VFO A For the K3 K3s the macros can be written in the K3 Utility then sent to the rig and then assigned to a front panel button For the KX3 KX2 the macros can be written in their respective KXn Utility and two of the macros can be assigned to the PF1 or PF2 buttons The KLG expands that by allowing you to create and...

Page 43: ...ditional text See the Editing a Stored Text Message or Macro section in this manual for a list of editing options Macros must start with a dollar sign as the very first character This tells the KLG is a rig macro and not a text message Example 20M FA00014012000 Where indicates it is a macro 20M is the name of this macro The colon separates the name from the macro FA00014012000 is a rig command go ...

Page 44: ...g Rig Macros The commands used in rig macros are cryptic and when you look at a list of commands in a rig macro it may not be obvious what the macro does To help you remember KLG allows you to name each macro The name will then be shown in the message summary screen including the so you can differentiate messages from macros To name a macro simply enter the name as the first characters followed by...

Page 45: ...dollar sign name and the colon are not sent to the rig PSK FA00014070000 MD6 DT3 SWH17 PC005 RTTY FA00014080000 MD6 DT2 SWH17 PC005 Sending a Rig Macro To send a stored rig macro just press the Fx or Alt Fx key of the macro to be sent where x is from 1 10 i e Alt F5 The sequence of commands will then be sent to the rig Stored Rig Macro Summary Similar to stored text messages if you don t recall wh...

Page 46: ...l display for a few seconds and the KLG will automatically return to the real time receiving mode The KLG will automatically check the voltage periodically and if at or below the low voltage threshold 6 5 volts will display a low voltage warning screen Note remember that if an external power source is plugged in the internal battery is disconnected Setting the Date and Time With the KLG on in the ...

Page 47: ... bezel and metal end panel Slide out the bottom panel of the enclosure exposing the battery in its holder and have a look at the guts of your KLG too Carefully replace the 9V battery paying attention to the polarity Replace the bottom panel by sliding it back on Replace the bezel and end plate Replace the 4 thumbscrews 9V Battery Compartment Lithium Batteries are a tight fit but they do fit ...

Page 48: ...eason for doing a reset is to re initiate the communications to the rig in case it is not connected Help For help in remembering KLG commands press F11 A summary of the features and commands will be shown Press Page Up or Page Down to scroll through the list A summary of commands can be found at the end of this manual But since help is built in you may not need to take any paper with you Page Down...

Page 49: ...PIC microcontroller It is a computer on a chip complete with CPU memory and EEPROM Firmware running on the microcontroller controls the presentation and all functions of the KLG There s a lot of stuff going on Support If for any reason you have questions or issues regarding the KLG please contact us via the www QRPworks com Contact page Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge and thank Sierr...

Page 50: ...but no text is appearing Ensure that the rig s Text Decoding feature is turned on and you see characters scrolling on the rig s display in the lower right hand corner See the rig s Owner s Manual for more details on setting up the rigs In a nutshell For the KX3 KX2 the setup is as follows o For PSK31 Mode TX Data tap Data Text button Data MD PSK D select with VFO B Text Decode ON hold Data Text bu...

Page 51: ... D Text Decode ON Threshold at your discretion o For CW Mode CW Data MD not applicable Text Decode ON Threshold Auto CW 5 40 3 I m using a USB keyboard with a PS2 adapter but it does not work USB keyboards with PS2 adapters will not work You must use a native PS2 keyboard Some keyboards appear to be PS2 but in reality they are USB with an adapter built in If you have intermittent results using a k...

Page 52: ...Go to Log functions Alt N Display Set the contest serial Number Alt P References ex SOTA Peaks Alt Q Quick QSY Alt R Power off on Reset the KLG Alt V Display Voltage Ctrl C Configure Text Buffering for Elecraft rigs F12 then F1 F10 Tap MSG SEL 2 then hold LOG Edit text messages macros F1 F10 Tap MSG SEL then tap MSG SEL or F1 SAVE F2 TAB Send text messages macros F11 Help F12 Prosign KN in Edit mo...

Page 53: ... pot Change Keyer Speed Alt T Tune Key the rig Alt W Swap Paddle Prosign KN Enter Prosign AC Insert character Prosign AA Insert character Prosign WG Insert character Prosign WI Insert character Prosign SK Erase call Prosign DU Set contest serial number same as Alt N Prosign KK Manage Peaks same as Alt P then M Prosign AF Make selected reference active same as Ctrl S ...

Page 54: ...C Quit Summary of Keyboard Editor Commands Home Go to first character End Go to last character Up Arrow Go up one row Down Arrow Go down one row Left Arrow Go left one character Right Arrow Go right one character Insert Toggle mode insert or replace Summary of Logging Commands TAB or up down arrows Move from field to field Enter Save the QSO Alt Arrow Down Find Next QSO after first is found Alt X ...

Page 55: ...elated to max number of QSOs in the log 2 3 0 added the ability to end PSK and RTTY immediately by adding a at the end of a message enter sends CR LF when not text buffering 2 2 0 added Field Day logging 2 1 6 various bug fixes 2 1 5 fix for the WinKeyer speed 2 1 4 various fixes for rig init and the log fix for intermittent lost cw chars when connected to a KX3 K3 2 1 3 added the transmit buffer ...

Page 56: ...acro 43 editing a text message 16 editing mode 24 editor 23 F firmware updates 49 firmware version 11 firmware version history h 55 FT 817 857 897 connecting to 11 connections 8 Quick QSY 36 settings 10 G Grab Go 19 H help 48 I immediate mode 39 K K3 connections 8 K3 K3s connecting to 11 displaying text 37 38 42 50 Quick QSY 36 sending rig macros 42 settings 10 transmitting text 38 K3s connections...

Page 57: ...overview 4 Q QSY 36 Quick QSY 36 R references 31 reserved characters 22 reset 48 rig macros 23 24 42 44 S save message 16 43 sending a rig macro 45 sending a stored message 17 sending CW 13 serial number 24 serial port 8 11 set date and time 46 setup 8 starting up 11 status LED 38 stop transmitting 41 stored rig macro summary 45 stored text message summary 22 stored text message macro summary 21 s...

Page 58: ...Key Log Go rev 2 6 Page 58 of 58 transmitting text immediate mode 38 troubleshooting tips 50 U updating the firmware 49 V voltage check 46 ...