[NLRS] CW beacon ID'er

[Doug Reed]

I must say the price is right. It is just the keyer chip but the support 
circuit is simple enough that it isn't a major problem to build. Since 
it can have timed delays buried in the CW string, you could arrange it 
so an entire 10 minute beacon string was one message then leave the chip 
permanently triggered and running. But you could be limited by having to 
order it pre-programmed with the exact CW text you want for each message 
in the chip.

The N0XAS version is a different philosophy since it has the support 
circuit on the PCB and allows you to program and change the message any 
time you want. And it has numerous modes of operation of which beacon 
keyer is just one. It is trying to be the Swiss Army knife of beacon/CW 
keyers....

I can think of situations where one or the other are the best choice. 
Neither one  is going to break the bank.

The one I haven't gone looking for would be a beacon keyer that includes 
multiple power levels for signal strength testing, and has an audio 
recorder along with RX/TX audio for a simplex audio repeater. I think 
that a beacon combining multiple signal levels like the HF propagation 
beacons would be cute. And the most fun would be to include a couple 
audio chips so after it does the CW part, it can playback a standard 
voice message, then record audio from a NBFM receiver for 10-20 seconds, 
then play back the audio when the incoming carrier drops. You talk to 
the beacon, it repeats it back so you know what you sound like. Of 
course I'm thinking of a NBFM audio beacon, not a simple CW beacon....

Lots of possible toys.

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.

Scott wrote:
> Here's my vote.  You can have 7 discrete message pre-programmed in.  
> I've ordered several.  I basically put the following in each message:
>
> (10 seconds carrier), DE N0EDV/B EN45 (Pause 5 seconds)  The carrier 
> and the pause is programmed in, so you have to specify the length you 
> want of each.  The message will repeat forever.
>
> The neat part is that I have him put the same message into each 
> "buffer" except that I change the grid in each message to grids 
> surrounding me.  So, I can put a beacon in any of the 7 grids around 
> me by selecting the correct message with dip switches or hard wiring.
>
> 6 bucks.  Can't hardly beat that and the circuitry is so simple!
>
> See http://k1el.tripod.com/KID.html for details.
>
> Scott
> N0EDV
>
> Doug Reed wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> One of the evening discussions during MUD was about cheap and easy CW 
>> IDers for beacon use or whatever.
>> My candidate was this CW ID'er gadget from N0XAS, a $20 kit with LOTS 
>> of capability.
>> Operating parameters are set with software and a serial connection 
>> from a PC.
>>     <http://www.hamgadgets.com/product_info.php?products_id=64>
>>
>> 73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NLRS mailing list
>> NLRS at mailman.qth.net
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/nlrs
>>
>>
>