Vectronics PMT-228 User Manual

Table of Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................1

Battery..................................................................................................................1

Audio....................................................................................................................1

Operation..............................................................................................................1

The Overall Speed Menu...............................................................................2

The Farnsworth Menu...................................................................................2

The Tone Menu.............................................................................................3

The Set Menu................................................................................................3

The Combine Menu.......................................................................................5

The Group Menu...........................................................................................5

The Interactive Menu....................................................................................5

The New Play and Repeat Play Menus .........................................................6

Custom Characters................................................................................................7

Custom Words......................................................................................................7

Setup Mode ..........................................................................................................8

The On-the-fly Speed Option........................................................................8

The Play Format Option................................................................................9

Factory Defaults...................................................................................................9

Self Test .............................................................................................................10

Morse Code Character Set..................................................................................11

Some CW Abbreviations....................................................................................12

Meaning of Q Signals.........................................................................................13

Menus System Chart...........................................................................................14

Troubleshooting .................................................................................................16

Technical Assistance..........................................................................................16

Schematic...........................................................................................................17

PMT-228 Instruction Manual Professor Morse

Introduction

The PMT-228 Professor Morse is a microprocessor controlled device that can help a beginner learn Morse code or an experienced Ham to increase code speed. The Professor Morse contains words, names, and callsigns used in amateur radio, and a random QSO generator to simulate "on the air" contacts.

Battery

The Professor Morse uses a nine-volt battery (not included). Vectronics recommends the use of alkaline (or rechargeable nicad) batteries to reduce the risk of equipment damage from battery leakage. Avoid leaving battery in this unit during periods of extended storage. Battery life will vary depending on usage, so always keep spares on hand. Remove weak battery immediately! When the display flashes or fades, your battery is weak and has only enough power to run a little while. Although the Professor Mo rse will still provide c ode practices, you need to replace the battery as soon as possible.

To install a nine-volt battery:

1. Turn off the power to the Professor Morse.

2. Slide battery cover from back of the unit.

3. Remove old battery (if one), and insert the new battery.

4. Slide battery cover back in place, then turn the unit ON.

Important: Always make sure the power is off b efore removing a nd installing

the battery.

Audio

The Professor Morse has an internal speaker at the back of the unit. A 3.5 mm jack for audio output is located on the control panel. A set of headphones can be used for privacy. This jack accepts both stereo and mono plugs. Use of headphones disables the internal speaker.

Operation

When powered on, by turning the OFF/Volume control toward the buttons, one of the Professor Morse main menus is displayed. Seven menus are always available: Overall Speed, Farnsworth, Tone, Set, Interactive, New Play, and Repeat Play. The latter two are simple commands that start a session using the current settings. Two additional menus, Combine and Group, are only available when particular character set is active. Under each of these main menus, except New Play and Repeat Play, are submenus/settings you can adjust to your preferences. Pressing the Next o r the Previous b utton steps through these main menus. Press the Select button to enter into the displayed menu to change the setting. A blinking block character appears at the right side of the display prompting you to change the setting. Now you can use the Next and the

PMT-228 Instruction Manual Professor Morse

Previous buttons to change the setting. Press the Select button again activates the displayed setting and the blinking block disappears. All mode settings are automatically saved into non-volatile memory, ready to use the next time. The description of these menus is discussed below.

To choose a main menu to set your preference:

• Next button Views next main menu.

• Previous button Views previous main menu.

• Select button Selects main menu to cha nge setting (blinking block

character appears).

Important: In this document, all references to the Select button mean press and

release it within one second, unless otherwise specified.

The Overall Speed Menu

The Overall Speed menu allows you to set the code speed in the range of 3 to 60 WPM. Word-per-minute speed is based on the standard word "PARIS" which is 50 units in length. For standard timing, dot = 1 unit, dash = 3 units, intracharacter space = 1 unit, inter-character space = 3 units, and word space = 7 units. The word "PARIS" is sent 10 times in one minute if the code speed is 10 WPM.

To change the overall speed:

1. Press the Select button (blinking block character appears).

2. Press the Next button to increase speed; press the Previous button to decrease speed.

3. Press the Select button again to change the overall speed to what is displayed and go back to the main menu (blinking block disappears).

Code requirement is 5 WPM for the Novice and the Technician. Both General and Advanced levels have a code requirement of 13 WPM. Extra class has a 20 WPM requirement.

The Farnsworth Menu

The Farnsworth menu allows you to disable or enable Farnsworth mode and set the Farnsworth speed (character speed) in the range of 10 to 60 WPM. When Farnsworth mode is enabled, characters (dots, dashes, and intra-character spaces) are sent at the Farnsworth speed, but the spacing between characters and words is increased to produce a slower overall speed. This technique is useful for helping the novice learn the sounds of the code characters and avoid the tendency of counting individual dots and dashes. The Farnsworth speed is always greater than the overall speed. As a result, Farnsworth mode (if enabled) is automatically disabled when the overall speed is changed to one that is greater

PMT-228 Instruction Manual Professor Morse

than or equal to the current Farnsworth speed. Also, Farnsworth mode cannot be enabled when the overall speed is at its maximum of 60 WPM.

To change the Farnsworth speed:

1. Press the Select button (blinking block character appears).

2. Press the Next button to increase speed; press the Previous button to decrease speed.

3. Press the Select button again to change the Farnsworth speed to what is displayed and go back to the main menu (blinking block disappears).

The Tone Menu

The Tone menu allows you to set the sidetone pitch in the range of 305 to 1006 Hz. The side tone is designe d without harsh key clicks. It's a sine wave, i nstead of a harsh square wave. Every dot and dash has a rise and decay time of approximately 5 ms for smooth transition. This lets you concentrate on learning code without the distraction of harsh key clicks.

To change the sidetone pitch frequency:

1. Press the Select button (blinking block character appears).

2. Press the Next button to increase pitch frequency; press the Previous button to decrease pitch frequency.

3. Press the Select button again to change the sidetone frequency to what is displayed and go back to the main menu (blinking block disappears).

The Set Menu

The Set menu allows the selection of characters, callsigns, words, QSOs, and custom sets. These sets are classified as Beginner, Advanced, and Custom sets.

To select the active set:

1. Press the Select button (blinking block character appears).

2. Press the Next button to view next set; press the Previous button to view previous set.

3. Press the Select button again to change the set to what is displayed and go back to the main menu (blinking block disappears).

The Beginner sets are designed for those who don't know code and need to learn the sounds of the characters. When combine mode (discussed later) is disabled, each Beginner character set is first sent three times as listed, with a word space after each character, then it goes into random practice. This allows the beginner to learn the sound of each character before sending random code. Beginner Sets:

•

EISHTMO AWJNDB

letter1

letter2

PMT-228 Instruction Manual Professor Morse

UVGZKRPX

•

FCLQY

•

12345

•

67890

•

. , ? / + * =

•

; : ' " - _ $

•

( ) & ! % @ # ^

†

or simplicity, punctuation characters are referred to in this manual as prosign characters. Refer

to "Morse Code Character Set" section on page 11 for their meanings.

letter3

letter4 number1 number2

prosign1

prosign2

prosign3

† † †

The Advanced sets are meant for those who want to increase code speed and are already familiar with all the characters. The FCC Char set generates the required characters for the FCC code exam--the 26 letters, the 10 numerals, and prosign1 character sets. The Callsigns set generates random callsigns allocated to the United States of America. The Words set generates random words commonly used in amateur radio from its internal database of 500 different words. The QSOs set sends entire random QSOs (conversations between radio operators) which is the best way to study for a license test because it is the same format as the test!

Advanced Sets:

•

LETTERS NUMBERS

•

PROSIGNS

•

LETTERS+NUMBERS

•

LETTERS+PROSIGNS

•

NUMBERS+PROSIGNS

•

FCC CHAR ALL CHAR

•

CALLSIGNS

•

WORDS

•

QSOs

•

‡

FCC testing requirement consists the 26 letters, the 10 numerals, and prosign1 set..

all letters

all numbers

all prosigns

all letters & all numbers

all letters & all prosigns

all numbers & all prosigns

FCC code test requirement ‡

all characters (letters, numbers & prosigns)

random USA callsigns

random words (500 words database)

random QSOs

The Custom sets allow you extra practice on certain characters and words that you have trouble with. Using custom words, you can practice recognizing the entire word as a sound instead of individual letters. The procedures on how to build and save these custom sets will be discussed later. Custom Sets:

• [

CST CHAR] CST WORD]

• [

custom characters (1 to 16 characters)

custom words (10 words, 1 to 16 char. per word)

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