BYONICS MicroFox-50 User manual

MicroFox-50 Manual
Version 0.2 – Nov 27, 2023
Overview
The Byonics MicroFox-50 (MF-50) is a small, frequency agile
2-meter transmitter designed for short range, on-foot hidden
transmitter hunts, also called T-hunts, foxhunts, and ARDF. It is
very similar to the popular MicroFox-15, but gives a user
adjustable RF power output between 0.05 and 50 mW and
includes a USB chargeable LiPo battery. It also includes the small
Byonics V4 whip antenna, but any VHF antenna with an SMA
connector will work. Using a directional antenna, it can typically be
received from about 1-2 miles away, line of sight. It is user
programmable to any frequency between 144 MHz and 148 MHz
in 5 KHz steps, can be adjusted to many tones, durations, and
duty cycles, and can transmit an amateur radio callsign and
battery voltage in Morse code.
The MF-50 transmissions consist of a looping user defined tone
sequence, followed by a Morse code identification. The
transmitter will then be off the air for a moment, and then the
entire process begins again.
Configuration
An included micro-USB cable is required to configure the settings
of the MF-50. A CH340 driver may be needed if the computer
doesn’t already have one. The settings can be updated in any
serial terminal program (TeraTerm Pro is recommended for
Windows), or using the byonics.com website. Do not use a power
only micro USB cable as these do not pass data to the computer.
To use a serial terminal program, connect the USB cable between the MF-50 and the computer, turn on the
MF-50 power switch, and set the terminal program to use the corresponding COM port, at 115200 baud, N81.
In the terminal program, send 3 asterisks (*) followed by Enter. The MF-50 should respond with the firmware
version, and show the value for the first setting. Enter a new value for the setting, or just press Enter to keep
the existing one. Repeat this process for each setting until the MF-50 responds with “Settings Done”.
To configure with the Byonics MFConfig website, use the Chrome web browser and navigate to
https://byonics.com/mfconfig/. Connect the USB cable between the MF-50 and the computer, turn on the
MF-50 power switch, click the Connect to MF-50 button and select the corresponding COM port. Click the
Update MF-50 Settings button, and you should see all current settings presented. Make any desired changes,
and again press the Update MF-50 Settings button.
The default settings that appear when the configuration program is started are recommended for a basic hunt
with the MF-50 transmitting tones for 15 seconds, and then a Morse code ID. It then will stop transmitting, and
repeats every 30 seconds. The only setting users must change is the Morse Message to be their assigned
amateur radio callsign.

Settings
This section describes each of the MF-50 user settings.
Tone Speed: The time, in ms, for each tone sent in the tone sequence. A smaller number will make the tone
sequence play faster. Default is 50 (ms).
Tone Duration: The time, in seconds, the tone sequence will be repeated.
Loop Time: The time, in seconds, the transmission sequence will be repeated.
Initial Delay: The time, in seconds, before the first tone sequence is sent. The MF-50 will be off the air during
this time. This is usually set to 0, but may be used to sequence multiple transmitters, or to hide a transmitter
long before the first transmission begins..
TX Freq: The RF transmit frequency, in kHz. For example, to transmit on 146.565MHz, enter the value
“146565”.
Morse Message: The morse code text sent after the tone sequence. This is usually the operator’s amateur
radio callsign to keep the transmissions legal.
Morse Speed: The speed of the Morse Message, in words per minute (WPM).
Morse Tone: The audio frequency of the Morse message, in Tone sequence code numbers (2-49). See table
below. A large number is higher pitch. The default is 25 which represents 831Hz.
Tone Sequence: The description of the tone sequence to be repeated during transmissions. This is a string of
characters listed below. For example, the default tone sequence is described by the following string of
characters (shown between square braces, which are not entered):
[ 3 3 *** 3 3 *** 6 6 /// 6 6 /// 9 9 333 9 9 333 ; ; 666 ; ; 666]
This sequence is equivalent to the tone code sequence below as used in the Byonics PicCon3 and BFoxCon:
01, 20, 01, 20, 01, 11, 11, 11, 01, 20, 01, 20, 01, 11, 11, 11, 01, 23, 01, 23,
01, 16, 16, 16, 01, 23, 01, 23, 01, 16, 16, 16, 01, 26, 01, 26, 01, 20, 20, 20,
01, 26, 01, 26, 01, 20, 20, 20, 01, 28, 01, 28, 01, 23, 23, 23, 01, 28, 01, 28,
01, 23, 23, 23
code
note
freq
char
code
note
freq
char
code
note
freq
char
code
note
freq
char
01
silence
space
14
A4
440
-
27
A#
5
932
:
40
B6
1975
G
02
A3
220
!
15
A#
4
466
.
28
B5
987
;
41
C7
2093
H
03
A#
3
233
“
16
B4
494
/
29
C6
1046
<
42
C#
7
2218
I
04
B3
247
#
17
C5
523
0
30
C#
6
1109
=
43
D7
2350
J
05
C4
262
$
18
C#
5
554
1
31
D6
1175
>
44
D#
7
2489
K
06
C#
4
277
%
19
D5
587
2
32
D#
6
1244
?
45
E7
2636
L

07
D4
294
&
20
D#
5
622
3
33
E6
1318
@
46
F7
2793
M
08
D#
4
311
‘
21
E5
659
4
34
F6
1397
A
47
F#
7
2960
N
09
E4
330
(
22
F5
698
5
35
F#
6
1480
B
48
G7
3136
O
10
F4
349
)
23
F#
5
740
6
36
G6
1568
C
49
G#
7
3323
P
11
F#
4
370
*
24
G5
784
7
37
G#
6
1661
D
12
G4
392
+
25
G#
5
831
8
38
A6
1760
E
13
G#
4
415
,
26
A5
880
9
39
A#
6
1864
F
Power: The transmitted RF output power level in the range 0 to 50. See the table below for what each level
produces in approximate RF output and current draw. A lower power level may be easier for hunters without
receiver attenuators. Higher power will result in less total battery runtime. At the highest power (50) and full
duty cycle, the 650mAh battery should last over 8 hours.
level
RF output
current
level
RF output
current
0
0 mW
7 mA
1
0.05 mW
20 mA
15
9.5 mW
40 mA
2
0.19 mW
21 mA
20
16.2 mW
47 mA
4
0.72 mW
24 mA
30
33.1 mW
60 mA
7
2.2 mW
29 mA
40
46.8 mW
70 mA
10
4.4 mW
33 mA
50
53.7 mW
76 mA
Send Battery: When set to 1, the MF-50 will send the battery voltage in morse code before the Morse
Message. Set to 0 to disable.
LED
The blue LED shows the stage of the transmitter. When first powered up, it will flash quickly for 2 seconds
while checking for bootloader entry. Then it will flash 3 times as it starts the MF-50 firmware. It will be on solid
then transmitting, and off when off the air.
Battery
The internal 650mAh LiPo battery will power the MF-50 for 8 - 50 hours, depending on duty cycle and power
output. It is charged by connecting the micro USB cable to a 5V supply. The red LED near the USB jack will
be lit when charging, and the green LED lit when fully charged. The MF-50 will also operate from a USB power
source when connected via the Micro-USB cable.
Bootloader
The MF-50 includes a bootloader to facilitate updating the firmware as new features are developed. To update
the firmware via a terminal program, connect as adjusting settings above, cycle power on the MF-50 and when
the ? appears, press the b key. If the MF-50 returns “M328P BL v1.0” or similar, it is in the bootloader mode.
Press the s key, wait for it to respond with “|”, then upload or paste the text of the new MF-50 firmware file from
the byonics.com website. It will respond with a series of periods(.) then an asterisk (*) if successful. Cycle
power to run the new code. If it responds with an exclamation point (!), there was a problem, so try the full
process again.