K-40 CW Keyer

 

 

I have have been looking for a keyer for sometime. I wanted one with lots of memories, some contest features and could be keyed with a PC keyboard. I found the K-20 by K1El but it was sold out and he promised an updated keyer dubbed the K-40. I ordered the kit the day it was announced on his web site. The kit went together without any problems. Here is a picture from the above web site.

 

My pictures aren't as nice as K1el's but they show what my version looks like. This is the first project that I've used a LCD display. I wasn't at all sure how to interface the display but after searching the Internet, I found the information needed to make it work.

 

I was looking for a case to put the keyer in and found this one in my "junk box". I picked this up many years ago to put a touch tone pad into, for 2 meter auto patch use. It is really too big for this project but I have room to put a CW decoder inside if I find the right one. I haven't tested the keyer on the air yet but it seems to be working as designed. There is an updated software version available, I just didn't want to send my PICs back until I had the keyer built and working. This has been a fun project, it only took about an hour to finish up the electronics but several hours to complete the case. The hole for the LCD was the most challenging. I started out trying to use my Dremel tool to cut/grind the cutout but gave up on that idea right away. I didn't have enough control to ensure nice straight cuts. I ended up drilling a few holes in the corners and then using a hacksaw to cut the rough opening. I used a file to finish up and to make some small adjustments I think the fit is very good. The black bezel of the LCD is inside the cutout so the cutout had to be exact.