‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM JUNE 2015  QST  PAGE 67 ‰

FOR A ROLL THAT IS 200 FEET IN LENGTH AND IS AVAILABLE IN A VARIETY OF
BRIGHT COLORS.  YOU CAN GET IT AT HOME IMPROVEMENT AND HARDWARE STORES.  IT
IS GREAT FOR MARKING, LOCATING, AND IDENTIFYING, AND CAN BE USED AS YOU
MIGHT USE LIGHT STRING OR SMALL ZIP TIES.  COIL UP THAT 50 FOOT LENGTH OF
RG 8 AND TIE IT WITH THE SURVEYORS TAPE.  USE A DIFFERENT COLOR FOR
DIFFERENT TYPES OR LENGTHS OF COAX.  COIL UP THE 16 FOOT COAX FROM YOUR 1/4
WAVE ANTENNA TO EASILY STORE IN YOUR GO 

TO SERVE AS AN INDEX FOR THE WHOLE KEYPAD.  I MADE THE OTHER THREE THE SAME
COLOR.  START THE HOLES WITH A SMALL DRILL BIT AND SLOWLY INCREASE THE SIZE
AS REQUIRED.  MOUNT THE SWITCHES AND SOLDER THE FOUR RESISTORS IN PLACE SEE
FIGURE 2.  CONNECT A CABLE WITH A 3R5 MILLIMETER PLUG ON THE END.  ANY OLD
AUDIO CABLE WITH THE PLUG ATTACHED CUT TO LENGTH WILL DO.  I SECURED THE
CABLE IN PLACE WITH SOME HOT MELT GLUE AND MATED THE UPPER AND LOWER SHELL
HALVES TOGETHER AGAIN.  A LITTLE INSTANT BOND GLUE WILL HOLD THEM IN PLACE
IF THE TABS DONT ALIGN AS THEY SHOULD.  THE FINISHED KEYPAD IS SHOWN IN
FIGURE 3.  THE NEXT THING YOU MUST DO IS CONNECT TWO SMALL LEADS FROM
INSIDE YOUR MICROPHONE PLUG TO A FEMALE 3R5 MILLIMETER LINE MOUNT SOCKET TO
CONNECT THE KEYPAD TO THE RADIO.  PIN 3 IS THE RESISTOR NETWORK AND PIN 7
IS THE GROUND FOR MY ICOM RADIO, BUT CHECK YOUR MANUAL TO VERIFY THE
CONNECTIONS FOR YOUR RADIO.  FINALLY, GO INTO YOUR ICOM RADIOS MENU SYSTEM
AGAIN, CHECK YOUR MANUAL FOR A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MENU OPTIONS AND
ACTIVATE THE KEYPAD FEATURE.  A SECOND MENU ITEM MUST ALSO BE SET TO ALLOW
THE KEYPAD TO OPERATE THE FOUR MEMORIES ON BOTH CW AND SSB MODES.  THE

HINTS KINKS  EASY MEMORY PICKER, FLOWERPOT REEL, AND A GROUND ROD
UNGROUNDED ICOM MEMORY PLAYBACK KEYPAD  MANY ICOM RADIOS HAVE A FOUR MEMORY
DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER BUILT IN.  THE MEMORIES ARE ACCESSED BY USING THE
FRONT PANEL F KEYS TO TRIGGER THE INDIVIDUAL MEMORIES.  UNFORTUNATELY, THE
PROCEDURE OF REACHING ACROSS YOUR KEYBOARD, PADDLE, AND OPERATING DESK A
FEW HUNDRED TIMES DURING A CONTEST TO PRESS THE KEYS BECOMES TEDIOUS AND
RATHER UNCOMFORTABLE.  IN LOOKING THROUGH MY ICOM MANUAL, I DISCOVERED A
SCHEMATIC SEE FIGURE 1 FOR AN EXTERNAL KEYPAD.  THE CIRCUIT CONSISTS OF
FOUR RESISTORS, FOUR SINGLE POLE SINGLE THROW SPST PUSHBUTTON SWITCHES, AND
A SHORT TWO WIRE CONNECTION INTO YOUR MICROPHONE PLUG.  THIS SIMPLE CIRCUIT
BECAME THE ANSWER TO MY FATIGUE PROBLEM.  I NEEDED TO FIND A SUITABLE BOX
FOR THE SWITCHES.  LOOKING AROUND MY SHACK, I NOTICED AN OLD APPLE MOUSE ON
THE SHELF.  I REALIZED THAT ITS SMOOTH ERGONOMIC DESIGN WOULD BE
COMFORTABLE TO HOLD THROUGH A LONG CONTEST.  ANY SMALL CASE WILL WORK, OF
COURSE, JUST MAKE SURE IT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL FEEL COMFORTABLE IN YOUR
HAND.  USE A SMALL SCREWDRIVER TO LEVER OPEN THE MOUSE.  I DISCARDED THE
CIRCUIT BOARD AND USB CABLE, LEAVING ONLY THE SHELL AND BASE.  I BOUGHT
FOUR EASY TO PUSH SPST PUSHBUTTONS.  THE ELECTRONICS PARTS SUPPLIERS HAVE
MANY TYPES TO CHOOSE FROM.  I BOUGHT A RED BUTTON TO BE MEMORY NUMBER 1 AND
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ