Just a wonderful presentation of what the WinKeyer can do when linked to the N1MM logging program. I built the kit and used it simply as a keyer. Put it aside when I got my K3S with its own built in keyer. Thanks, de Gil K4JST
Hey......You have my ARRL Field Day station ! KX3, WinKeyer and the Begalie Travel paddles. Hi Hi What a great combo. The WinKeyer is super easy to use and interfaces with N1MM with ease. So glad I purchased one. Barry G. Kery, KU3X/QRP
This appears to be just what I have been looking for. My radio does not have a CW key input. Long before that will be my issue, I need the keyer to interact with software for learning Morse. Just to confirm, this will communicate with the various training software programs available. Thanks.
David Caven The built in keyer has a training mode so you can practice CW receiving with just the keyer. As for working with training software, if you have software that allows you to input CW I guess you could connect the WinKeyer to your PC but I think you might have to create a separate, keyed interface, I’m not sure that you could use the USB connection as this is design to send commands and text to the WinKeyer.
Very nice representation of the use of the winkeyer, but i don 't understand onze thing , you use an RCA jack together with a 1/8" stereo jack. How are these wired together ?
Mark H The RCA is a mono connector so I use a two core cable from the RCA to the 3.5mm plug. You could use a mono 3.5mm plug or, if you use a stereo plug simply connect the centre of the RCA to the tip of the 3.5mm plug then the outer of the RCA to the ring *and* body of the 3.5mm stereo plug. The WKUSB is being the keyer so the rig goes in straight key mode and this connection replicates what you would do for a straight key.
When I hook up the winkeyer to the radio I get constant dahs. I'm using a RCA to 3.5mm mono plug; is this right? Or should it be a stereo plug. Something is stuck can't figure out what is going on.
The keyer manages the sending of the dots and dashes so your radio should be in straight key mode. I actually use a stereo plug and connect the WinKeyer to the tip and sleeve for my radio. If this doesn’t help come back and let me know. My email is good on QRZ so feel free to drop me an email for more support.
Very good video Michael. I think I'm sold on the Winkeyer USB, but just one thing. I was hoping you would show using the F keys working in N1MM to send CQ CQ (call), agn, TU etc. Did they on the N1MM app and keyboard for them work OK ?
Chris Bull Yes, the Function Keys work well in N1MM and the text is sent perfectly by the WinKeyer. Sorry I didn’t show more about N1MM (which is excellent) but to keep the overview to a reasonably short length I focused on the key config to work with the WinKeyer. Maybe an N1MM specific primer would make a good follow up :o)
Hi Michael, thanks for the informative video, I have used the winker with a previous laptop but have recently changed to a new laptop running windows 10, try as I may I cant find any com ports showing in hidden devices in device manager. Is this a problem you experienced or does it need the keyer to be connected before the com port shows. pretty sure in vista I was able to see the ports listed. in the first place. Cheers Andy
I think something has to be connected for Windows to create these virtual communication ports. I will check with my Win10 laptop and attach the WInKeyer to it after to see if it appears. I’ll report back later...
Sorry this took a long time to reply...I had loaned the WinKeyer to another Ham and had to get it back! My experience (I'm using Win10) is that when I plug in the WinKeyer to the USB and look at Device manager I see two things appear; Firstly I see a new COM port appear under Ports (COM & LPT)...my device shows up as a 'USB Serial Port' and mine always seems to default to COM4. The second thing I see is a new device added under Universal Serial Bus controllers...my WinKeyer adds a new entry, 'USB Serial Converter'. When I unplug the EinKeyer USB lead both these entries disappear.
@@g0pot Many thanks Michael, I have set the key up with my key & IC706 so next thing to do is to set up on the PC, must admit as I have got older everything seems more difficult & more complex but I did it on the old PC so hoping for the best, thanks for taking the time to come back. Andy
No, there’s no need to use any other interface to make this work. The computer connects to the WinKeyer using a USB lead and the WinKeyer then connects to the radio, either just to the key input on your radio (and use VoX/break-in to trigger transmit) or you can also use the PTT output on the WinKeyer for keying your radio.
@@g0pot Thank you it seems like everyone tries to sell people on these external sound cards because they have RX/TX level controls on the front of them
I think I bought mine from Mouser but I know Digi-key and Rapid Electronics stock them too so hopefully there is someone in your part of the world who can provide them. I think the box in the video is the Hammond 1455C801 but check the measurements…I can dig mine out and check.
Daniel, that is the wonderful Begali Traveler from I2RTF. Pretty much any key from Begali is wonderful but I particularly like the portable nature of this particular model.
@@g0pot Thank you very much for that quick answer. I like your videos very much. You speak very clearly and not too fast, so that me as a non-native speaker of English can follow along very easy. Beside the content and your pleasant way to present it, I do like your shack. It looks like a garden shed, and I am looking into moving my ham stuff also into a separated shack besides my home office. The British garden sheds are definitely something special, and I am getting inspirations from those.
Chris Bull The Key is a Begali Traveller (www.i2rtf.com/traveler.html) with metal finger pieces fitted. Begali Keys are superb...go and check them all out.
Hi Michael, can the USB Winkeyer connect with my TX YAESU FTdx101MP? if yes what cables do i need to buy? The configuration between the WinKeyerUSB on the Yaesu FTdx101MP TX radio is simple. I await your response. If everything is possible, can it be purchased from Switzerland? How long does it take to arrive and what does it cost? Good evening 73 de HB9TSU Mark.
Marco, at it's simplest you can just use the switched key outputs from the WinKeyer to connect to the key input on your FTdx101MP (nice radio!). You'll need a two core lead with an RCA cable at one end and what ever is needed to plug in a straight key at the other end...looks like a stereo 1/4" jack is needed for the 101 (you just connect the tip and the barrel according to the radio manual). Simple to make or you may find something you can repurpose.
Michael, that is a very interesting summary. Are you able to utilize the kx3 key rather than an outboard key? I also see you dont have the PX3 panadapter hooked into the set up. Why?
gilbert chapnick Yes, you can configure and use both the KX3 paddle and the WinKeyer at the same time as the WinKeyer just plugs into the 2nd (3.5mm) key socket. The KX3 is particularly well adapted to quickly changing key speed but on radios where it is a menu option plugging the key into the WinKeyer is very handy. The CAT control for the KX3 required me to plug the PC into ACC1 on the radio and the PX3 also uses this connection. I must investigate to see if there is a work around for this to allow both CAT control and PX3 to be used together.
Love the video......I find using the WK turns off my Yaesu ft950 monitor. the WK monitor volume is very low, I need the FT950 monitor, DOES ANYONE HAVE A FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM?
Just a wonderful presentation of what the WinKeyer can do when linked to the N1MM logging program. I built the kit and used it simply as a keyer. Put it aside when I got my K3S with its own built in keyer. Thanks, de Gil K4JST
Michael, Great tutorial thanks so much!
Excellent video and very informative product review, as always. Thanks, Michael!
Great video, well done. Thank you K5NR
Hey......You have my ARRL Field Day station ! KX3, WinKeyer and the Begalie Travel paddles. Hi Hi What a great combo.
The WinKeyer is super easy to use and interfaces with N1MM with ease. So glad I purchased one. Barry G. Kery, KU3X/QRP
Barry Kery We have great taste...it’s a cracking set up :o)
Nicely done video! Thank you.
This appears to be just what I have been looking for. My radio does not have a CW key input. Long before that will be my issue, I need the keyer to interact with software for learning Morse. Just to confirm, this will communicate with the various training software programs available. Thanks.
David Caven The built in keyer has a training mode so you can practice CW receiving with just the keyer. As for working with training software, if you have software that allows you to input CW I guess you could connect the WinKeyer to your PC but I think you might have to create a separate, keyed interface, I’m not sure that you could use the USB connection as this is design to send commands and text to the WinKeyer.
Very nice representation of the use of the winkeyer, but i don 't understand onze thing , you use an RCA jack together with a 1/8" stereo jack. How are these wired together ?
Mark H The RCA is a mono connector so I use a two core cable from the RCA to the 3.5mm plug. You could use a mono 3.5mm plug or, if you use a stereo plug simply connect the centre of the RCA to the tip of the 3.5mm plug then the outer of the RCA to the ring *and* body of the 3.5mm stereo plug.
The WKUSB is being the keyer so the rig goes in straight key mode and this connection replicates what you would do for a straight key.
Does it store messages in the box and can they be pre charged in a push button setup?
When I hook up the winkeyer to the radio I get constant dahs. I'm using a RCA to 3.5mm mono plug; is this right? Or should it be a stereo plug. Something is stuck can't figure out what is going on.
The keyer manages the sending of the dots and dashes so your radio should be in straight key mode. I actually use a stereo plug and connect the WinKeyer to the tip and sleeve for my radio.
If this doesn’t help come back and let me know. My email is good on QRZ so feel free to drop me an email for more support.
Very good video Michael. I think I'm sold on the Winkeyer USB, but just one thing. I was hoping you would show using the F keys working in N1MM to send CQ CQ (call), agn, TU etc. Did they on the N1MM app and keyboard for them work OK ?
Chris Bull Yes, the Function Keys work well in N1MM and the text is sent perfectly by the WinKeyer. Sorry I didn’t show more about N1MM (which is excellent) but to keep the overview to a reasonably short length I focused on the key config to work with the WinKeyer. Maybe an N1MM specific primer would make a good follow up :o)
Hi Michael, thanks for the informative video, I have used the winker with a previous laptop but have recently changed to a new laptop running windows 10, try as I may I cant find any com ports showing in hidden devices in device manager. Is this a problem you experienced or does it need the keyer to be connected before the com port shows. pretty sure in vista I was able to see the ports listed. in the first place. Cheers Andy
I think something has to be connected for Windows to create these virtual communication ports. I will check with my Win10 laptop and attach the WInKeyer to it after to see if it appears. I’ll report back later...
@@g0pot Thanks Michael, that would be most helpful, would be interested to know.
Sorry this took a long time to reply...I had loaned the WinKeyer to another Ham and had to get it back! My experience (I'm using Win10) is that when I plug in the WinKeyer to the USB and look at Device manager I see two things appear; Firstly I see a new COM port appear under Ports (COM & LPT)...my device shows up as a 'USB Serial Port' and mine always seems to default to COM4. The second thing I see is a new device added under Universal Serial Bus controllers...my WinKeyer adds a new entry, 'USB Serial Converter'. When I unplug the EinKeyer USB lead both these entries disappear.
@@g0pot Many thanks Michael, I have set the key up with my key & IC706 so next thing to do is to set up on the PC, must admit as I have got older everything seems more difficult & more complex but I did it on the old PC so hoping for the best, thanks for taking the time to come back. Andy
What is the CW key that you are using With folding stand?
Nitin Varma Manthena The key is a Begali Traveller...really nicely made as are all of the Begali range. Check out www.i2rtf.com/traveler.html
@@g0pot Thank you for the reply
Are you using something like a Signalink? That's all I'm missing from this excellent review
Thank you
No, there’s no need to use any other interface to make this work. The computer connects to the WinKeyer using a USB lead and the WinKeyer then connects to the radio, either just to the key input on your radio (and use VoX/break-in to trigger transmit) or you can also use the PTT output on the WinKeyer for keying your radio.
@@g0pot Thank you it seems like everyone tries to sell people on these external sound cards because they have RX/TX level controls on the front of them
@@GardenStateHockey A CW keyer just provides a contact closure to key the radio on CW mode. A Signalink is for other digital modes.
Where can one buy that Hammond case you showed for it in the beginning of the video please?
I think I bought mine from Mouser but I know Digi-key and Rapid Electronics stock them too so hopefully there is someone in your part of the world who can provide them. I think the box in the video is the Hammond 1455C801 but check the measurements…I can dig mine out and check.
Hi Michael!
Thanks for the review. Which paddle are you using? I looks great.
Best, Daniel
Daniel, that is the wonderful Begali Traveler from I2RTF. Pretty much any key from Begali is wonderful but I particularly like the portable nature of this particular model.
@@g0pot Thank you very much for that quick answer. I like your videos very much. You speak very clearly and not too fast, so that me as a non-native speaker of English can follow along very easy. Beside the content and your pleasant way to present it, I do like your shack. It looks like a garden shed, and I am looking into moving my ham stuff also into a separated shack besides my home office. The British garden sheds are definitely something special, and I am getting inspirations from those.
I also meant to ask you what is the fold up paddle key you are using? Very nice indeed. Thanks again.
Chris Bull The Key is a Begali Traveller (www.i2rtf.com/traveler.html) with metal finger pieces fitted. Begali Keys are superb...go and check them all out.
Hi Michael, can the USB Winkeyer connect with my TX YAESU FTdx101MP? if yes what cables do i need to buy? The configuration between the WinKeyerUSB on the Yaesu FTdx101MP TX radio is simple. I await your response. If everything is possible, can it be purchased from Switzerland? How long does it take to arrive and what does it cost? Good evening 73 de HB9TSU Mark.
Marco, at it's simplest you can just use the switched key outputs from the WinKeyer to connect to the key input on your FTdx101MP (nice radio!). You'll need a two core lead with an RCA cable at one end and what ever is needed to plug in a straight key at the other end...looks like a stereo 1/4" jack is needed for the 101 (you just connect the tip and the barrel according to the radio manual). Simple to make or you may find something you can repurpose.
Michael, that is a very interesting summary. Are you able to utilize the kx3 key rather than an outboard key? I also see you dont have the PX3 panadapter hooked into the set up. Why?
gilbert chapnick Yes, you can configure and use both the KX3 paddle and the WinKeyer at the same time as the WinKeyer just plugs into the 2nd (3.5mm) key socket. The KX3 is particularly well adapted to quickly changing key speed but on radios where it is a menu option plugging the key into the WinKeyer is very handy.
The CAT control for the KX3 required me to plug the PC into ACC1 on the radio and the PX3 also uses this connection. I must investigate to see if there is a work around for this to allow both CAT control and PX3 to be used together.
It is possible. See the diagram on page 4 of this document: www.elecraft.com/manual/PX3_installation_FAQ_v-0-8.pdf
Love the video......I find using the WK turns off my Yaesu ft950 monitor. the WK monitor volume is very low, I need the FT950 monitor, DOES ANYONE HAVE A FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM?
Not really 'plug and play', is it?
Who ever implied that setting up a ham station with logging/contesting software and hardware would be??