Hercules MIDI with 6300

W4WHL

Yes I could adapt to that one very easy (well easy, not short).  I almost bought this one to be honest.  And I may still,  You could still use 2 VFO's (even 4) as this one has a deck switch that could be used to switch VFO's.

Its a tad more expensive, but I'm sure the Jog wheel is nicer, as its a 4" vs the 2" of the micro. 

**** amazon prime!

William

DH2ID

Not enough sliders, methinks. I like the second wheel for split ops. Changing VFOs with a switch could be a PITA in the DX working heat :-)

W4WHL

**** I ordered ones.  My CMD Micro is for my remote laptop.  I think I will use this one for my main station.  All those dials...pretty

W4WHL

who needs sliders with all those dials   I kinda agree with the second jog wheel, but I managed on a single tune wheel on my 756pro2 just fine. 

I'm not suggesting one is better than the other.  Just another option.  For my operating style, one knob is fine.

Plus its just fun to play with new toys. 

DH2ID

I agree - grudgingly. More knobs, less sliders.The smaller CMD PL1 would be easier to place on my small shack table....
If you adapt your program, I'll order one.

Michael - N5TGL

Haha Willam, well, sorry about that...didn't mean to prod you into buying one, although you didn't need much prodding!    All the knobs I think will make adjustments really easy especially for IF-shift and filter bandwidth settings, both really nice to have quick at hand during a contest.

Of course, now I have to order one, haha!  

W4WHL

CMD PL1 is not smaller, its actually pretty big.  The jog wheel is 4" diameter

Michael - N5TGL

Hm, well, if more buttons/sliders are needed....

DH2ID

OKaaayyy... but a new toy is nice...

About toys: when I bought my boat, Skua, a 37ft 16 ton steel ketch, I always
quoted my favorite quip "the difference between men and boys is the price of
their toys". The second one was: "sailing is tearing up 100 dollar bills under a cold
shower"
Now that I am a full time ham operator, almost all toys are allowed, as
"ham radio is not expensive at all" har har

W4WHL

Micheal good point the CMD series is modular, just keep adding as needed

Ken - NM9P

Michael, if you have looked at the source code, it is simply a matter of changing numbers to determine which button or control activates which function. Once William sorted out how to read and write to the rig, and found the midi tools for the Processing language in order to read the controls on the MIDI devices, it is all "plug & chug" as we used to say in my math & physics classes. Any MIDI device can be used, one you k ow how it is mapped! Awesome! William, the deck button looks like it cycles through four different decks. I would assume that that means the main dial could be programmed for A, B, RIT and XIT. It might even allow you to map custom key assignment codes for each deck, which would simplify the software. I might look at the documentation and see when I get a chance.

Michael - N5TGL

Found a video of the controller at some expo that was being demoed by a Behringer guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8RApEoUobY

Apparently, there is what looks to be like a VU meter to the left of the main sider, and all of those knobs at the top are also pushbuttons, pretty cool.  The video does give a good impression on the size of the unit, it does seem a bit big, but I'm ok with that as you need room around all the knobs, looks like they will be easy to use.

Pretty exciting stuff here!

Ken - NM9P

Ha! Alex, when I start thinking about how much my rig and tower projects are costing, I think of how much some people spend on their fishing boats, and the trucks they need to pull them!

W4WHL

Ken the deck button cycles channel, so pressing switches the output channel.  So you could certainly map different functions for each deck

Ken - NM9P

I just ordered one on Amazon, $79.99 shipped. Not bad. I am returning the Numark ORBIT, which was a dissapointment.

W4WHL

haha, see what Michael did.  We sure he does not work for Behringer LOL

Sergey R5AU

"We sure he does not work for Behringer "   LOL 

Michael - N5TGL

Hahaha!  No I don't but and employee discount would be nice as that PL-1 is £72.54 here in the UK.  Looks like I'm going to have to do a bit of shopping to find a good deal.  I see a few on eBay so I'll try my luck.

W4WHL

I think we need to start a separate thread for all these different controllers


Chris DL5NAM

William, make a Yahoo group. It's help helpful to upload and download file and pictures too. Only a idea.
If you need help i will assist you.

David

Have you considered GitHub, Google Code, or Source Forge since you are sharing coding they might help on revision code control. Keeping the discussion here is good since it is focused to the Flex community.

W4WHL

All good ideas!!

Here is my initial thought for the PL1

W4WHL

Not sure what to do about balance,  I could of course make some of the dials dual function, but don't want to over complicate things. 

Since I'm taking on the task, I want it my way But interested in what others think that may be interested in this device.

Willam

MH_Flexer

William, Curious, was the garbled screen caused by any changes to SSDR? Just wondering about change stability as Flex issues revisions. Duane

Michael - N5TGL

Layout looks pretty good, but not sure how much use PAN-/PAN+ would get in my shack, assuming it's for adding/removing panadapters?  I would ask for one dual-function dial, for the filter.  Normal position is for RX filter, pushed in adjusts TX filter.  Or, you could use one knob each for RX and TX, normal position adjusts low, pushed in adjusts high.  Reason is that from time to time here I run into some folks that are at 4K wide or so, and if the band is clear, I widen out and chat back with them.  Current UI with SSDR, makes this a bit slow, but knobulating (technical term!) it would make it work pretty slick.  I would love to see the ANF in there somewhere, always handy to be able to hit that button in a hurry when someone decides to tune up on frequency with 4Kw.  Being able to switch speech compression levels would be nice too.  I'm not a CW op, so I know where I'd want those, haha.

W4WHL

No it was an issue in my code that changes in the Flex code revealed.  The Flex sends a bit more information than the previous version.  This extra data was messing up my parse routine.  But it was a flaw in my code.

William

W4WHL

Micheal good Idea, the filter high an low could be dual functions with a shift key.

The pan buttons are to zoom the panfall in and out, not to add slices.

Michael - N5TGL

Ah, ok, yep, I would use the pan +- a fair bit then, ok.

From the video I saw, all of the 8 knobs at the top function as pushbuttons, so no shift key needed, just push the knob to change the function.  

Ken - NM9P

Michael, are the 8 knobs pits or rotary encoders?  it might make a difference as I customize my programming.

BTW, I plan to use a separate balance for A & B because I often like to have the DX in both speakers and the "mob" in the right ear.  But when I want to monitor two different frequencies for other purposes, I like to pan each slice to a different speaker, or sometimes an 80/20 split.
Another great thing about this MIDI interface...it is so easy to reconfigure!

Ken - NM9P

Ken - NM9P

William, that is a good looking setup so far.  Are you using an on/off toggle for RIT with a long-press  for clear?  that is why I am going to try to implement, with a count-up loop that if exceeded makes RIT/XIT clear.

If those are 8 little rotary encoders, then it would be simple to make RIT/XIT/AGC-T, slice volume, etc. switch between A/B with a simple press.  Filter hi/lo would also be dual function on the same knob.

You could use the "VFO Select" to select A/B/RTIT/XIT tuning, though that might become oppressive to cycle through four options each time you need it.

Do you know if that knob is "dual speed" like the other one you have?
This could become more potential versatility than even my Herc.  And it looks to be about half the size!

Once I get through this weekend, I plan to get back to programming.  But now I need to make two versions at the same time.  I am planning to perfect a version for the DJControl LE and link that to the PowerSDR-UI board, because there are a number of people hanging around that board who are making the shift from PowerSDR to SmartSDR.

Ken - NM9P