PicoKeyer-Plus
05/25/2014 (Firmware V4.5)
Page 17 of 19
Support Information
Warranty & Support
Your PicoKeyer is guaranteed against defects for one year from date of purchase. This warranty does not cover
damage due to improper modification, improper soldering or wiring, overvoltage, static damage or other misuse or
abuse. If you have problems, please contact me via email to arrange for an exchange or replacement part. If you
accidentally damage your keyer, don’t panic! Replacement parts are not expensive. Send an email and let me
know what you need.
Should you need support, have questions, have feature requests or bug/problem reports, please feel free to contact
me via email at
. I will make every effort to respond as quickly as possible
.
Troubleshooting
Having problems during or after assembly of your kit? Don’t worry… it’s fixable! Here are some common
problems and what to do about them. More hints can be found at http://www.hamgadgets.com.
Q:
Everything is done, but I get no “73” when I install the battery!
A:
Almost all of these so far have turned out to be soldering mistakes. Remove the battery and check the voltage –
it should be just above 3 Volts. Now carefully go over the solder joints with a magnifying glass. Re-melt any that
look suspicious, and use de-soldering braid or a solder sucker to clean up any blobs you have left.
Q:
I broke (or melted) a part! (Or, I got a bad part!)
A:
Don’t panic. Email me, or just mail the bad part back to me with a note. Include your address! If you broke it,
it would be nice to include a couple of bucks to cover the postage and packaging. If it was bad when you got it, just
let me know and I’ll send a replacement at no charge, including postage. I’m pretty easy to get along with.
Q:
The sidetone audio is too low, I can’t hear it!
A:
You can adjust the sidetone audio frequency (menu setting “A”); it will get quite a bit louder near the speaker’s
resonant frequency around 2 kHz. If that doesn’t do enough for you, you may want to use a small audio amplifier
and larger speaker. You might try
covering the small hole in the top of the speaker with a piece of tape; this can
help, depending on the audio tone you are using.
Q:
I’m having problems entering messages into memory.
A:
The keyer will insert a word space if it sees more than about 1 "dit" time between characters. I allowed a little
play, but not a lot. I recommend that when storing the message, don't even try to worry about character spacing.
Let the keyer do it. Enter the characters as you normally would, but when you finish one character just start the
next immediately. You only need an instant after the last dit or dah when you're not touching the paddles. You
can't get the characters too close together even if you try unless you actually run them together, which would
happen if you start the second character before the first is complete.
A lot of people find it helpful to slow the keyer down when entering messages - if you normally work at 12 WPM,
slow it down to 8 or so, but enter the characters with almost no space between them. Let the keyer do the character
spacing. Just pause a second or two between words and let the keyer do the word spacing -- just like you can't get
the character spacing too close, you can't get the word spacing too large.
Q:
I can’t enter a message into memory while using a bug or straight key.
A:
Correct. You must be in iambic mode (A or B), and you need to use a paddle of some sort. Single or dual lever
is OK, but it must have separate dot and dash contacts. You may be able to save messages and use the menu while