[HBQRP] FS meters = a few links I googled..

[Dale Botkin]

Arnie Grubbs wrote:
> I wonder if there would be an easy way to add something to it so that it would be able to reply back or record?  
It would be pretty trivial and cheap to add a PIC with enough memory to 
store a useful amount of data...  say, 5-6 minutes of 1 sample per 
second.  With a different PIC or one more $.50 chip you could have a lot 
more storage...  a LOT more.  Some inexpensive candidate PICs have A/D 
converters, EEPROM and serial.  Even a PWM output so you can drive an 
LED at varying intensity, or a meter, for a visual indication.  Which 
makes me wonder...  since the meter needle is just a relative indicator, 
why not a glowing LED instead, a la Tayloe's SWR indicator?   It sure 
would be cheaper than a meter of any sort, and would make the unit far 
more portable.
> If you want more than just a couple of buttons, then you maybe add on a cheap DTMF RX chip and attach your HT in the field and you could have it record the value after the digit goes away while you sit in your shack, or even reply in Morse over the HT if you get creative.    
>   
Now, that part is easier said than done.  Go ahead, find me a source of 
cheap *and reliably available* DTMF decoder chips.  There's a reason the 
ID-O-Matic doesn't sprout DTMF control and become a more complete 
repeater controller.  And you don't want to try to decode Morse 
over-the-air with a PIC.  But, it could wait for the RF to break a 
threshold and start recording.

All of this would, of course, complicate the project FAR beyond what I 
think the idea is.  All of the features are really cool stuff, and the 
actual assembly process wouldn't be much more involved...  half a dozen 
more parts, maybe.  But you'd risk taking 30 minutes to build and 4 
hours playing with how to use it.  Great idea for a product, don't get 
me wrong, but maybe not an Ozarkcon build project.  Or maybe it would be 
perfect, I dunno.  I think the key would be to make sure it's it useful 
and easy to use without a computer.

What would be cool, though, would be to lay out a *basic* FSM with a 
little header plug so it could plug onto another itty bitty board to 
make it a recording, remote, coffee-making and lawn-mowing FSM.

73,
Dale - N0XAS