[Elecraft] KX1 Morse Feedback -- A Boon for Visually-Disabled Amateurs

[Bruce Prior]

I spent a lot of time yesterday playing with and learning about the Morse 
feedback system in the KX1.  (The manual calls it "CW feedback," but it's 
really not CW until it's transmitted.)  Since I'm only a so-so Morse op, 
I've set the speed at 25 WPM.  I'll be letting my long-time friend, Walter 
Hendrickson, VE7BGJ, have a go at this next week.  Walter was blind at 
birth.  He's a true Morse expert, so I'll predict that he'll run the system 
at 35 or 40 WPM.  This is what I've learned so far:

A significant advance of the KX1 over both the K2 and K1 is its Morse 
feedback system, which can be toggled on and off.  With  Morse feedback 
engaged, the KX1 is completely controllable by a visually disabled operator. 
  The same facility allows a sighted operator to use the radio without 
reference to the LED display.  Just as top pushbuttons can be used to key CW 
on the KX1 in case of a malfunctioning key or keyer paddles, so the Morse 
feedback system is a backup in case of LED system failure.

Here's how it works.  Morse feedback is controlled by these choices on the 
CFb menu:  OFF, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40.  The numbers, which use a 
long dah to denote zero, represent the Morse feedback speed in words per 
minute.  Within the menu mode, as the rotary encoder is rotated, the menu 
label is enunciated except that PLy is abbreviated to Morse P.  Similarly, 
various commonly-used modes, such as RIT, VFO lock and unlock, LSB, USB, and 
the important Frequency Announce mode are abbreviated with efficient 
one-character Morse announcements.

Frequency Announce mode is an enhancement of the Morse feedback system which 
makes it very useful to visually impaired operators.  The Morse feedback 
differs depending on the rotary tuning encoder speed mode.  (In LSB and USB 
receive modes the frequency readout does not adjust for the CW offset, 
although the KX1 allows CW transmission in those modes.  An operator wishing 
to find an LSB net, say, on 7228 kHz could tune to exactly that frequency on 
the LED display or by Morse readout, and then when transmitting on CW, the 
appropriate offset is injected so the transmission can be heard by others on 
that net.)  Whenever the BAND pushbutton is tapped while Morse feedback is 
engaged, the Morse readout gives the MHz digits, then a pause, and then all 
integer kHz digits.  In LSB mode the readout begins with L, and in USB mode 
the readout begins with U.  If RIT is active, R follows the frequency.  The 
following chart was originally a table in MS Word format, which is quite 
messy in e-mail.  It is supposed to show how Morse readout and chimes and 
ticks allow the operator to keep accurate track of frequency via audio 
feedback as the KX1 tuning encoder is rotated.

                                                   KX1 Morse Frequency 
Announce Mode

	Every 100 kHz	Every 10 kHz	Every 1 kHz	Every 100 Hz
LSB/USB  5 kHz/step coarse tuning	3-digit kHz segment Morse	2-note chime
normal  1 kHz/step coarse tuning	3-digit kHz segment Morse	2-note chime
100 Hz/step tuning	00 Morse	last 2 kHz digits Morse	high tick
10 Hz/step tuning	0 Morse	0 Morse	last kHz digit Morse	low tick

I'll look forward to obtaining Walter's evaluation, but at this point I 
think that Wayne Burdick has come up with way to control the KX1 through 
this Morse feedback system that makes the operator completely independent of 
the LED display, yet operating with the system engaged is also very 
efficient.  By the way, there is another way to initiate the system:  by 
holding the MENU pushbutton on power-up, the Morse feedback system becomes 
active at 10 WPM; for 20 WPM, hold BAND at power-up, and for 30 WPM, hold 
RIT.  That power-up system also makes the LED display go to its brightest 
mode, which may be helpful for operators with partial vision.

One more note:  the LED display system on the KX1 (using modern low-current 
technology) is a significant improvement over the unlit LCD display in the 
K1.  The brightness can be programmed between 0 and 6.  Even at 0, the LED 
is still visible in ordinary indoor light, and I find that in the dark that 
setting is plenty bright enough, yet it's not dazzling.  The 6 setting is 
very bright, indeed.  I can only imagine my setting it that bright when 
operating in direct sunlight.  For using the KX1 inside in the daytime, I 
prefer a 3 setting for the LED display.  The three digits plus decimals are 
displayed scroll-fashion, giving the appropriate level of information 
depending on whether the encoder is in super coarse speed (LSB & USB: 5 kHz 
per step), normal coarse speed (1 kHz per step), fine speed in any mode (100 
Hz per step), or very fine speed in any mode (10 Hz per step).

72, Bruce

J. Bruce Prior N7RR
Kairos Research
853 Alder Street
Blaine, WA  98230-8030
360-332-6046

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