Firmware Version 1.21
2/2/2010
44
Settings File Format
Your MasterKeyer uses relatively complex software to operate. There are also
commands available (such as XA and XM) that will result in saved settings or
messages being lost. As with most things, there exists the possibility that
something will eventually go wrong. Saving your configuration to a FLASH
memory drive will make it much easier to recover if you should ever need to do
a complete reset of your unit.
Editing the settings file by hand can be done, but should be done with care. If
you do decide to make changes, keep a copy of the un-edited file just in case.
The settings file is always named SETTINGS.MK1. This is a simple text file, and can be
edited by hand if reasonable care is taken. For example, if you do not wish to load
certain settings from the file, you can delete or just comment out their respective lines.
When settings are saved to a file, all settings are saved; when settings are loaded, only
those present in the file are set – the rest are left unchanged.
Each setting is on a separate line. The first field is the setting’s code – for example, S for
speed, B for beacon time, etc. These correspond to the setup mode commands. The
second field is the value of that setting. The format of the numbers generated by the ‘XS’
command will always be five digits with leading zeros. If you are creating or modifying
a file, the number does not need the leading zeros; for example, either ‘B 00015’ or ‘B
15’ are acceptable.
For memory slot contents, the first three characters are M, followed by the memory bank
number and message number: M11 for Bank 1, Message 1; M43 for Bank 4, Message 3
and so on. There is one space after the memory slot number, then the memory message
follows. If the message contains characters that are not part of International Morse code,
they will be represented by a three-digit number preceded by a backslash (‘\’) character,
like this: \012.
Each line is terminated with a carriage return and linefeed. Comments may be included,
and lines can be commented out. Any line beginning with a ‘#’ character will be ignored
when the file is read by the keyer using the ‘XL’ command. Also note that the file must
be terminated by a single line containing ‘\EOF’. An example of a partial setting file
follows:
