QRPworks SideKar User Manual Download Page 74

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SideKar / SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3.2 Page 74 of 84

Updating the Firmware

The SideKar firmware is able to be upgraded

via the “PC” serial

port connector. Please contact us via the www.QRPworks.com
Contact page if an update is needed.

Technology

The SideKar is not just a larger screen.  Inside is a PIC
microcontroller.  It is a computer on a chip, complete with CPU,
memory, and EEPROM.  Firmware running on the
microcontroller controls the presentation and all functions of the
SideKar.

There’s a lot of stuff going on!

Support

If for any reason you have questions or issues regarding the
SideKar, please contact us via the www.QRPworks.com
Contact page.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge and thank Sierra Radio Systems
for the use and support of their Hamstack C library.

Summary of Contents for SideKar

Page 1: ...SideKar SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 1 of 84 QRPworks SideKar SideKar Plus User Manual...

Page 2: ...Transmitting Text 31 Immediate Mode 32 Buffered Mode 33 Viewing Characters Sent 34 Entering Characters Without a Keyboard 35 Stored Text Messages 37 Creating or Editing a Message 37 Naming Text Messag...

Page 3: ...using References 61 LCD Backlight Brightness 65 Quick QSY 66 Voltage Check 67 Setting the Date and Time 67 Battery Replacement 68 System Reset 70 Help 70 Compatibility with Other Products 71 Updating...

Page 4: ...SideKar SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 4 of 84...

Page 5: ...SOs It is an ADIF export tool allowing you to export your logged QSOs in an ADIF format It is a Summits on the Air SOTA log It is portable with a sunlight readable display It can operate with or witho...

Page 6: ...r Plus as well This section will be updated shortly with more pictures The latest case design of the SideKar is designed to Be mounted on the right side of the KX3 Be mounted on top of the KX2 Sit on...

Page 7: ...emove the black flat head Philips screw in the upper back position closest to the A B button 2 Install the supplied shoulder screw and clear washer already on the screw in place of the screw removed D...

Page 8: ...4 Original SideKar Case with the fixed mounting wing 4 Position the SideKar so the shoulder screw is in the round portion of the keyed slot and flat against the KX3 To start align the Shoulder Screw i...

Page 9: ...ar mounting wing is under the KX3 s thumbscrew head 6 Lightly tighten the KX3 thumbscrew and then swing the KX3 foot out to further tighten the foot The SideKar should now be snug against the side of...

Page 10: ...ing bracket under the thumbscrew as shown Tighten the thumbscrew so the bracket is snug The bracket edge should be even with the side of the SideKar Note the bracket is not symmetrical The longer slot...

Page 11: ...lus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 11 of 84 6 Position the SideKar so the installed shoulder screw on the KX3 is in the round portion of the keyed slot and flat against the KX3 Shorter slot Longer slot Side...

Page 12: ...SideKar down until the notch at the bottom of the SideKar bracket is under the KX3 s thumbscrew head If the SideKar hits the BNC connector the bracket is installed backwards Remove it and put the long...

Page 13: ...ar SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 13 of 84 4 Lightly tighten the KX3 thumbscrew and then swing the KX3 foot out to further tighten the foot The SideKar should now be snug against the side of th...

Page 14: ...of the KX2 as shown 2 If not already installed install 2 supplied thumbscrews in the bottom 2 holes in the SideKar lower right of the On Off switch and lower left of the Rig port Install the 2 KX2 bra...

Page 15: ...r Manual rev 3 2 Page 15 of 84 3 Slide the 2 brackets on the SideKar under the thumbscrews on the back of the KX2 Tighten the thumbscrews Short side against the KX2 Long side against the SideKar Long...

Page 16: ...SideKar SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 16 of 84...

Page 17: ...ame as the KX3 mounting bracket except you will use 2 of them 1 On the back of the SideKar and SideKar Plus install 2 supplied thumbscrews Slide a bracket under each thumbscrew and hand tighten as sho...

Page 18: ...le available from QRPworks from the DE9 adapter to the SideKar Rig port Do not connect the radio cable if the PC cable is in use Connect DC 8 V 15 V power using a 2 1 mm DC connector or use a 9 volt b...

Page 19: ...or K3 K3s CW PADL set at tip dot or tip dash and not Hand Plug your paddle directly into the Key jack on the rig The rig will only decode transmitted text if the menu item CW Key 1 CW PADL is set to t...

Page 20: ...If a PX3 is used and no KXPA100 connect the SideKar Rig port to the PX3 s ACC1 PC port If a KXPA100 amp is used connect the SideKar Rig port to the KXPA100 s RS232 PC port If a K3 K3S and P3 are used...

Page 21: ...wireless USB keyboard Please note that the wireless keyboard must be a 2 4 GHz wireless keyboard and NOT a Bluetooth keyboard The SideKar can use a USA or UK keyboard Pressing Alt K will toggle betwe...

Page 22: ...via its serial port 38400 baud is the required speed Note turn the rig on first before turning the SideKar on update Hold ESC to Abort the connection When the SideKar establishes a connection to a rig...

Page 23: ...tipurpose and can be configured to perform your 2 most favorite functions with a just the press of a button This is useful to access functions more quickly or just to use a function without a keyboard...

Page 24: ...age 2 Same as F2 4 Help Show the help screen Same as F11 or Alt H 5 Log QSO Log a QSO Same as Alt L then L 6 Log Find Finds a QSO logged Same as Alt L then F 7 Manage Refs Enter edit SOTA references S...

Page 25: ...SideKar SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 25 of 84 14 Exit Exits this function list available with version 2 1 1 and later...

Page 26: ...tions listed without a keyboard To do so In the normal mode Hold TAB ENTER until you see a function displayed Then tap TAB ENTER to cycle through the functions until you see the function you want to r...

Page 27: ...time Plus you can freeze and scroll back the text if you need to The SideKar will display the characters decoded and received from the rig Once the 20 character line is filled the next line is used On...

Page 28: ...he real time receiving mode LED is off press Alt F Freeze or tap a button if it is set for the Freeze mode When shipped the SideKar SideKar Plus left button is set to Freeze when tapped Two things wil...

Page 29: ...ll one line at a time Page Up or Down to scroll a page at a time SideKar 2 lines SideKar Plus 4 lines If less than 10 lines have been saved you will see END of DATA at the end of the received text Whe...

Page 30: ...Freeze Scroll Hold button Scroll back 1 line per second On Freeze Scroll Release button Scrolling stops where it is On Freeze Scroll Hold button again Scrolling resumes from where it was stopped On Fr...

Page 31: ...For the SideKar to display transmitted text by paddle or keyboard the KX3 firmware must be at MCU version 2 19 or later And the rig s Text Decode must be turned on Note the Alt E command has no effect...

Page 32: ...ine of the SideKar display and are not sent to the rig unless the Enter key is pressed or the number of buffered characters set by the user is reached via ALT O In this mode you may Backspace to corre...

Page 33: ...1 and a computer the SideKar offers this for RTTY PSK31 and CW without the need of a computer To transmit text type on the keyboard The characters will appear on the bottom line of the SideKar display...

Page 34: ...rig directly you send CW with paddles The rig does the translation from CW to the mode you are in PSK31 PSK63 RTTY CW As such there is no way to differentiate upper and lower case letters All letters...

Page 35: ...ideKar screen and you can see what you are entering as if you were using a keyboard You can Key board to Enter data in the log Create messages Create rig macros Enter the call of the station you are w...

Page 36: ...whether you are in CW RTTY PSK31 or PSK63 When entering data via your paddle the power output on the KX3 is automatically set to 0 watts so the characters are not transmitted It is restored when you...

Page 37: ...bility create and edit messages and rig macros from your PC or Mac has been added by using the QRPworks Message Management Utility program It is available free on the QRPworks com website click on Sup...

Page 38: ...last character has been sent To have the rig go back to receive immediately after the last character has been sent add a vertical bar at the end of the message without the quotes It s especially usef...

Page 39: ...is the message name and is not sent to the rig Everything to the right of the colon will be sent to the rig as text It s recommended to keep the names short as the space for the characters used are s...

Page 40: ...eKar screen as it is being sent by the rig If you press an F key more than once or multiple F keys in sequence the messages will be sent in sequence chained This is useful for instance if you want to...

Page 41: ...mode set the power level turn off RIT and XIT say for PSK31 or RTTY Put the rig into Split mode with VFO B 1 KHz above VFO A For the KX3 the macros can be written in the KX3 Utility and two of the mac...

Page 42: ...lternatively you can use the SideKar keyboard as follows In the normal mode Status LED is off press F12 or ALT Z added version 2 6 5 The LED will now be flashing slowly indicating you are in the Edit...

Page 43: ...with a period FA00014012000 Note The semi colon at the end of the Elecraft command is part of the command All Elecraft macros commands end with a semi colon When finished press the F12 or ALT Z added...

Page 44: ...f the colon is the rig macro name and is not sent to the rig Everything to the right of the colon will be sent to the rig as commands This is the same as naming Text Messages It s advised to keep the...

Page 45: ...the first character Or a space in front of any command for that matter Correct RTTY FA00014080000 MD6 DT2 SWH17 PC005 Incorrect RTTY FA00014080000 MD6 DT2 SWH17 PC005 Sending a Rig Macro To send a st...

Page 46: ...ter the call by pressing Alt C Enter up to 10 characters with the keyboard or paddle Backspace to make changes In any of the 20 SideKar messages use the exclamation point where you want the other stat...

Page 47: ...t exchange stored in message F2 To define any message as a Grab Go message place a as the first character of the message Example TU 599 CO If you name you message put the after the colon as the first...

Page 48: ...ormal Off Normal Press F12 or ALT Z added version 2 6 5 Enter Edit Message Mode Flashing Slowly Edit Message Mode Press F1 thru F10 or Alt F1 thru Alt F10 Enter new or Edit existing message Flashing S...

Page 49: ...Up and Page Down functions here respectively This is to accommodate small keyboards without Page Up Down keys Reserved Message Macro Characters The following characters are reserved for special purpo...

Page 50: ...16 characters of the next 2 messages macros are shown Off Message Summary Mode Press Page Up or Arrow up v2 6 7 First 16 characters of the previous 2 messages macros are shown Off Message Summary Mode...

Page 51: ...sed to toggle between these two modes Insert where a new character is inserted to the left of the cursor The cursor will be a blinking box Replace where a new character replaces the character at the c...

Page 52: ...ecific features The target contests are those that are typically used with the KX3 and KX2 in the field starting with the ARRL Field Day There are many aspects to contest logging The new features focu...

Page 53: ...fferent contest may allow you to work a call only once per band regardless of the mode SideKar knows the rules per contest Note It s a good idea to clear the log before starting a contest as all entri...

Page 54: ...k to you hit the second F key to send the exchange Go to the log again enter the exchange received and hit ENTER to log the QSO Here are the original contest features Use the exclamation point in a me...

Page 55: ...ber For the following examples assume the next serial number is 234 o Example KF0UR 599 will send KF0UR 599 234 234 To set the serial number press Alt N number You can then see the next serial number...

Page 56: ...CQ and having stations answer you it is sometimes desirable to keep things moving along quickly and maximize the QSO rate SideKar version 2 6 0 and later offers the DXpediton mode of operating which...

Page 57: ...s To access the SideKar log press Alt L You will then see the following logging functions screen l L to log a new QSO There is room for 1000 QSOs F to find an existing QSO in the log Enter all or part...

Page 58: ...ADIF file for export to a PC but only include QSOs tagged with the currently active Reference SOTA IOTA Lighthouse etc If you select this option then you will be asked to select what type of reference...

Page 59: ...own functions here respectively This is to accommodate small keyboards without Page Up Down keys Logging a New QSO To log a new QSO enter the SideKar Log by pressing Alt L and then L to Log a QSO The...

Page 60: ...previous the Exchange field is always interpreted as RST_RCVD in the ADIF file With ADIF Utility v1 9 you have the opportunity to populate the RST RCVD and RST SENT fields In version 1 9 of the Utilit...

Page 61: ...with the frequency at the time you accessed this screen MD enter the mode This could be 2 characters for CW or up to 4 characters for RTTY This will be automatically filled in with the mode selected...

Page 62: ...active reference only To use the Reference feature press Alt P On the next screen press M to Manage Refs The next screen displayed will show references 1 2 Page Up and Down or Arrow Up and Down to na...

Page 63: ...enshot example 2 SOTA Summit Refs are entered both with a short note Number 02 Pikes Peak is selected as the active reference Note the asterisk indicating so Now when you log a contact the reference a...

Page 64: ...o re save it The currently active reference will now be saved with that QSO As mentioned in the Logging section if you select this option then you will be asked to select what type of reference it is...

Page 65: ...ideKar Plus the first 4 levels are a group that are lower brightness levels and more appropriate for running on a battery Tthe remaining 3 higher levels are more suitable when not running on a battery...

Page 66: ...you can change modes as well by adding a single letter on the end of the frequency The modes available are as follows Mode Letter to add CW C USB U LSB L PSK31 P RTTY R AM A FM F CW REV W Data Rev V E...

Page 67: ...KSP ESC button to quit and return to the real time receiving mode The SideKar will automatically check the voltage periodically and if at or below the low voltage threshold 7 volts will display a low...

Page 68: ...HOLDER BY LIFTING OR PRYING THE BATTERY UP THIS CAN PULL THE BATTERY HOLDER UP FROM THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD ALWAYS SUPPORT THE BATTERY HOLDER BY HOLDING IT DOWN AND PRYING THE BATTERY UP BY USING A...

Page 69: ...driver between the bottom of the battery and the battery holder as shown Twist the screwdriver between the battery and the holder to pop the battery out Do NOT lift or pull the battery up It might pul...

Page 70: ...nnected Help For help in remembering SideKar commands press F11 or ALT H A summary of the features and commands will be shown Press Page Up or Page Down to scroll through the list Note in version 2 6...

Page 71: ...3 the text decode function on the PX3 must be turned off SideKX End Panels SideKar is compatible with SideKX end panels There is no need to remove them KXPA100 The KXPA100 works a little differently t...

Page 72: ...plifier start with the KX2 connected to the amplifier as described in the Elecraft manual using the additional KX2ACBL adapter connected to the same KX3 to KXPA100 adapter cable setup used as describe...

Page 73: ...d let it connect Turn on the KXPA100 amplifier by manually using the On Off switch on the front of the KXPA100 You will no longer be controlling the amplifier using the PA mode On Off from the KX2 men...

Page 74: ...side is a PIC microcontroller It is a computer on a chip complete with CPU memory and EEPROM Firmware running on the microcontroller controls the presentation and all functions of the SideKar There s...

Page 75: ...is connected but no received text is appearing Ensure that the rig s Text Decoding feature is turned on and you see characters scrolling on the rig s display in the lower right hand corner See the ri...

Page 76: ...SB wireless keyboard but it does not work Make sure it is a 2 4 GHz wireless keyboard and not a Bluetooth keyboard 4 When I send using a keyboard or a paddle the rig is sending the characters but I do...

Page 77: ...ontest serial number Alt K Toggle between US and UK Keyboards Alt L Go to Log functions Alt M Enable Disable data enter via the paddle Alt N Display Set the contest serial Number Alt O Set transmit bu...

Page 78: ...then Alt F1 to AltF10 Edit text messages macros 11 20 F1 to F10 Send text messages macros 1 10 Alt F1 to Alt F10 Send text messages macros 11 20 F11 or Alt H Help F12 or Alt Z Enter Edit Mode While i...

Page 79: ...Commands Home Go to first character End Go to last character Up Arrow Go up one row Down Arrow Go down one row Left Arrow Go left one character Right Arrow Go right one character Insert Toggle mode in...

Page 80: ...2 6 2 Minor screen fix for the Log Find function 2 6 1 ADIF Export improved 2 6 0 added Alt T to toggle receiving text from rig connect to rig at 38400 only added Log mode DXPedition pre populate log...

Page 81: ...SideKar SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 81 of 84 don t read rig data when exporting ADIF 2 1 1 add sending message 1 2 via the pushbuttons...

Page 82: ...essage 37 D DC power 18 Desktop installation 17 Dxpedition mode 56 E editing a rig macro 34 42 editing a text message 37 editing mode 51 editor 50 F firmware revision history 80 firmware updates 74 fi...

Page 83: ...tion 20 Q Quick QSY 66 R references 61 reserved characters 49 reset 70 rig macros 41 44 50 51 S save message 38 42 sending a rig macro 45 sending a stored message 40 serial number 52 serial port 18 22...

Page 84: ...SideKar SideKar Plus User Manual rev 3 2 Page 84 of 84 troubleshooting tips 75 U updating the firmware 74 V voltage check 67...

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