MFJ GRANDMASTER II User manual

MFJ GRANDMASTER II
CONTEST MEMORY KEYER
MFJ-486

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE MANUAL BEFORE OPERATING THIS EQUIPMENT!
The MFJ-486 Grandmaster Keyer is a state of the art microprocessor controlled iambic memory
keyer. This keyer has been engineered to combine sophistication ith ease of use and should pro-
vide many years of trouble-free service.
This manual contains the instructions for the operation of the various features in the 486 as ell as
an on-line sample edit session to make learning the advanced memory and edit functions as easy
as possible.
INSTALLATION
1. The MFJ-486 requires 12–15 VDC for operation. A 2.5 mm subminiature plug is needed. Wire
the plug so that the tip is positive and the sleeve is ground. AC adapter (MFJ-1312) is optional.
First plug the adapter into the subminiature jack on the rear panel, marked POWER, and then
plug the adapter into the 110 VAC all socket. It is not necessary to unplug the adapter hen
the keyer is not in use.
2. A squeeze key should be used. This ill allo IAMBIC operation. Use a standard quarter inch
stereo phone plug and a t o conductor shielded cable or t o separately shielded cables. Tie
the shields together and use it for ground. The dot ire should connect to the ring of the plug,
the dash ire to the tip, and the shield to the ground.
3. A reliable solid state keying circuit allo s keying of all grid blocks, cathode, and solid state
transmitters. For grid block keying use the "Grid Block" keying output. For cathode keyed and
solid state transmitters, use the "Direct" keying output. Try both outputs if you are uncertain as
to hich output to use. The keyer outputs are self protected. The "Grid Block" output keys a
maximum negative voltage of 300 volts to ground at 10 ma. The "Direct" output keys a maxi-
mum positive voltage of 300 volts to ground at a maximum current of 100 ma. Use a shielded
cable to connect bet een the memory keyer and the transmitter key input.
4. If private listening is desired the headphone jack may be used. The headphone jack requires a
standard 3.5 mm mono plug ith the sleeve being ground and the tip being positive. The inter-
nal speaker is automatically disabled upon insertion of a plug into the headphone jack.
5. A socket is provided for the connection of an external control. This remote control ill control
the memory location and the edit functions that are also controlled by the smaller red pushbut-
ton s itches on the face of the keyer. This remote control is the MFJ-77 and is available from
MFJ Enterprises Inc.
6. A coin type lithium battery is provided for po er-off memory retention. After a period of time,
this battery may become exhausted. The battery may be removed by removing the top cover
(remove the t o scre s at the top back corners of the unit and slide the top rear ard) and us-
ing a scre driver to remove the battery. The battery should be replaced by a BR-2325 coin
type lithium battery.

OPERATION
NOTE: The Farns orth Spacing feature is only operative in the Random Code Generation mode.
Farns orth does not affect the normal keying or Memory Playback modes.
A & B Typ K ying:
The MFJ-486 features selectable A-type or B-type iambic keying modes. Type "A" does NOT pro-
duce a follo ing alternate element hen a squeeze is released during a dot or dash. Type "B" does
produce a follo ing alternate element after squeeze release. For example, in Type "A", squeeze re-
lease during the "dah" in the letter A ill produce just the A. In Type "B", squeeze release during
the "dah" in the letter A ill produce an R. The MFJ-486 is shipped in the B-type keying mode. To
change keying modes, follo these steps:
A. Place all pushbutton s itches in the "off" or "out" position. The po er should no be off.
B. Squeeze both the dot and dash paddles.
C. While maintaining the squeeze on the dot and dash paddles, turn the po er on. The Delay/Ed-
it LED should turn on.
D. When the Delay/Edit LED turns on, release the dot and dash paddles. The keying modes are
no changed.
This is a toggle function so if you are in the A-type keying mode you ill be changed to the B-type
keying mode. Like ise if you are in the B-type keying mode, you ill be changed to the A-type
keying mode.
SPEED ADJUSTMENT:
The Speed Control Potentiometer is used in conjunction ith the Speed Set S itch to adjust key-
ing speed. The Speed Control Potentiometer ill adjust the keying speed over a 5 to 1 ratio. The
Speed Set S itch ill make the current speed control setting equal to 20 WPM. For example, if the
Speed Control Pot is all the ay clock ise and the Speed Set S itch is pressed, the keyer ill be
set to 20 WPM. The Speed Control Pot ill then adjust the speed from a minimum of 4 WPM to a
maximum of 20 WPM. If the Speed Control Pot is set all the ay counter-clock ise and the Speed
Set S itch is pressed, the keyer ill again be set to 20 WPM and the control pot ill adjust the
speed from a minimum of 20 WPM to a maximum of 100 WPM. When the Speed Control Pot is set
midrange and the Speed Set S itch is pressed, the keying speed ill be set to 20 WPM and the
range of the pot ill be adjusted accordingly. The speed is set in this manner to avoid making the
Speed Control Pot setting too critical.
This technique gives the user the idest range of speeds possible and allo s for simple operation.
SPEED SET SWITCH:
This s itch is used in conjunction ith the Speed Control Pot to adjust keying speeds. Another
function of this s itch is eight reset. When this s itch is pressed the eight ill be reset to a ra-
tio of 1:3:1.
DOT WEIGHT ADJUSTMENT:
The dot eight is adjusted by holding the dot paddle do n for more than eight consecutive dots
and adjusting the eight control. This adjustment should be made slo ly as the eight changes
only after the eighth dot. The dot-dash eight may be reset to 1:3:1 by pressing the speed I V set
s itch.

DASH WEIGHT ADJUSTMENT:
The dash eight is adjusted the same ay as the dot except that you hold the dash paddle do n.
TONE AND VOLUME ADJUSTMENTS:
Potentiometer controls are provided to adjust the sidetone tone and volume.
DELAY ADJUSTMENTS:
This pot is used to set the delay time before a message is repeated hen the MFJ-485 is used in
the normal contest keyer mode. The Delay LED is on during the delay period. When the 486 is
used in the random code generation mode this same Delay pot is used to increase the spacing be-
t een ords and characters.
WORD SPACE SWITCH:
When in the record/edit mode. this s itch selects either manual or automatic ord spacing. When
in the random code generation mode, this s itch selects either a fixed or random group of charac-
ters.
MEMORY SWITCH:
The Memory s itch controls hich memory bank is being used. There are t o memory banks ith
five addresses on each bank. The banks are "A" and "E". The memory locations are numbered
from 1 to 5. Memory locations A1 through A4 and E1 through E4 are for general use. Memory loca-
tions A5 and E5 are reserved for a four digit contest number.
MEMORY CLEAR:
The entire memory may be cleared. In order to do this you must start ith the po er off and all
pushbutton s itches in the out or "off" position. Press the A1 and A2 s itches simultaneously and
turn the po er on. When the POWER and EDIT LEDs turn on, release the A1 and A2 s itches. The
entire RAM memory is cleared.
NOTE: Because the eight settings and the speed settings are stored in RAM, they should be
readjusted after using the MASTER MEMORY CLEAR function.
VERSION NUMBER:
The Firm are (EPROM) in the MFJ-486 may be updated as ne features and innovations become
available. The EPROM in your keyer may be identified by its Version Number. The Version Number
may be obtained in the follo ing manner: Turn the POWER off and set all pushbuttons to the out
or "off" position. Press the BANK SWITCH to the IN or "E" position. Simultaneously press the E1
and E2 s itches and turn the POWER on. When the POWER and EDIT LEDs turn on, release the
E1 and E2 s itches. The Version Number ill I then be sent as a Morse code message.
NOTE: The Version Number is also labeled on the EPROM inside the keyer. You may remove the
t o scre s at the top rear of the 486 cabinet and slide the top back to read the Version
Number. The EPROM is directly behind the REPEAT s itch and the Version Number may be
found on the EPROM label.

RECORDING/EDITING FUNCTION SWITCHES
There are five functions in the record/edit mode:
1. A1/E1 s itch: ADD Word Spaces hile in the Manual Word Space mode. This s itch also is
used to enter and exit the "Add" mode.
2. A2/E2 s itch: BACKUP one ord from the current point.
3. A3/E3 s itch: CONTINUE to play the message from the current point. When it gets to the end,
the message ill repeat after a short delay as set by the DELAY pot.
4. A4/E4 s itch: DELETE the last ord played.
5. A5/E5 s itch: ERASE the entire message address.
The DELAY/EDIT LED is on during the edit session to indicate that the EDIT s itch is on. It ill be
turned off briefly to indicate that the momentary s itch input has been accepted.
Wait for the DELAY/EDIT LED to be turned on before pressing another s itch.
RECORDING MESSAGES
NOTE: If during the process of entering a message you are keying ith the key paddles and you
hear a long lo tone, the 486 does not recognize the character being keyed. You may im-
mediately retry the character ithout pressing any other buttons. The keyer ill automati-
cally delete the invalid character. This is most often caused by operator error such as not
putting a space bet een t o other ise perfectly valid characters. You may test this feature
by keying in seven consecutive dots hile in the "Add" mode of the CW Editor.
1. To record a message, first press the RECORD/EDIT pushbutton. The DELAY/EDIT LED should
light.
2. Set the WORD SPACE s itch out for Manual Word Spacing or in for Automatic Word Spacing. If
you selected Manual ord spacing continue on here. If you selected Automatic ord spacing
skip to step number 10.
3. Select the proper memory bank ith the Memory s itch. The s itch should be out for bank A
and the LEDs should be red. The s itch should be in for bank E and the LEDs should be green.
4. Select the desired address by pressing the appropriate address pushbutton. The appropriate
LED should light hen the button is pressed.
5. If You ish to start from "scratch" press the ERASE button. The DELAY/EDIT LED should turn
off then bank an to indicate that the operation has been performed.
6. To put the keyer in the "Add" mode press the ADD button. Again the DELAY/EDIT LED should
turn off then back on. Al ays ait for the LED to turn back on before pressing any other
s itches.
7. No you may send your first ord from the key paddles. After the first ord is completed
press the ADD button. This ill add a ord space and store the ord to memory. A beep of a
different tone ill signify that this operation is being performed.

8. You are no ready to send year second ord. Again after the ord is complete press the ADD
button. You should repeat step 7 for all the ords in the message.
9. After the last ord is completed and you have pressed the ADD button to insert the ord
space and store the ord, you must press the ADD button once more to exit the "Add" mode.
The DELAY/EDIT LED should blink to indicate this action. No go to step number 15.
10. Set the memory s itch to the desired bank. Bank A ill be selected ith the button out and is
indicated by Red LEDs. Bank E ill be selected ith the button in and is indicated by Green
LEDs.
11. Select the appropriate address by pressing the address pushbutton. The appropriate LED
should turn on hen the button is pushed.
12. If you ish to start from "scratch" press the ERASE button. This ill erase the entire address.
The DELAY/EDIT LED should turn off and back on to indicate that the action has been per-
formed. Al ays ait for the DELAY/EDIT LED to turn back on before pressing another s itch.
13. No press the ADD button. This ill put the keyer in the "Add" mode. This action should also
make the DELAY/EDIT LED blink.
14. No you may send your entire message from the key paddles. When the message is com-
pleted press the ADD button again to exit the "Add" mode. This locks your message into mem-
ory. No you may move on to step 15.
NOTE: When using the keyer in the Automatic Word.Space mode, you must send from the key
paddles ith correct character and ord spacing. Improper spacing ill not be accepted
by the 486.
15. Press the CONTINUE button to check the message. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill blink and the
message ill be played. When the message is completed, it ill be repeated after a delay as
determined by the DELAY control. For this reason it is better to have the DELAY pot set to a
relatively lo (CCW) value during recording or editing. If the message is correct, press the dot
paddle to stop the playback at the end of the current ord. Then press the RECORD/EDIT
s itch to exit the Edit mode. If the message is not correct, or if you ish to change part of the
message, move to step 5 under EDITING A MESSAGE.
EDITING A MESSAGE
1. Turn RECORD/EDIT s itch ON to enter the CW Editor. DELAY/EDIT LED ill light.
2. Set WORD SPACE s itch to either manual (out) or automatic (in) style hichever is desired as
in step 2 under RECORDING MESSAGES.
3. Select the desired memory address as in steps 3_& 4 under RECORDING MESSAGES.
4. Press the CONTINUE button and the keyer ill start playing the message. When it reaches the
end, the keyer ill repeat the message after a delay determined by the setting of the DELAY
pot. For this reason the DELAY pot should be set to a relatively lo (CCW) value during record-
ing or editing.
5. If you ish to Delete a ord, press the dot paddle during the ord to be deleted. This ill
make the keyer stop directly after the ord. Pressing the DELETE button ill then delete the
desired ord.

6. Also, you may stop the keyer on the ord follo ing the ord to be deleted. Then press the
BACKUP button to make the editor move back ards one ord. The DELETE button ill then
delete the desired ord. You may just as effectively stop the keyer five ords after the desired
ord to be deleted and backup five ords. Ho ever, the more ords you have to back up, the
more confusing it may become.
7. You may also insert ords into the message. First stop the keyer and use the BACKUP function
to locate the desired position in the message. Then use the ADD button to enter the "Add"
mode and enter the desired ords as in RECORDING MESSAGES above. After exiting the "Add"
mode recheck your message ith the CONTINUE button. You may then exit the edit mode by
pressing the RECORD/EDIT s itch to the out position.
The follo ing is a sample Edit session:
1. Turn the MFJ-486 POWER on ith all other s itches in the out position. The POWER LED
should turn on in the Red color to signify that the A bank is active.
2. Press the RECORD/EDIT s itch. The DELAY/EDIT LED should turn on.
3. Press the A3 address s itch. The A3 LED should turn on to signify that this address has been
selected.
4. Press the ERASE s itch. The DELAY/EDIT LED should blink to signify that the operation is
being performed.
5. Press the ADD s itch. The DELAY/EDIT LED should blink. This puts the Editor in the "Add"
mode.
6. Send WORD1 from the key paddles. Press the ADD button to add a Word Space. The 486 ill
emit a lo er tone to ackno ledge the ord space input.
7. Send WORD2 from the key paddles. Press the ADD button to add a Word Space. Another lo er
tone ill be emitted.
8. Send WORD3 from the key paddles. Press the ADD button to add a Word Space. Again the
tone ill be emitted.
9. Send WORD4 from the key paddles. Press the ADD button to enter the Word Space. Another
tone ill be heard.
10. Press the ADD button again to exit the "ADD" mode. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill blink to ac-
kno ledge the operation.
11. Press the CONTINUE button to check the message. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill blink and the
message ill be played. When the message reaches the end there ill be a delay as set by the
DELAY control and then it ill be repeated. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill turn off during the Delay
period.
12. After hearing and checking the message, press the dot paddle during the playing of WORD3.
This ill stop the editor after the completion of WORD3. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill blink hen
the keyer stops.

13. After the keyer stops, press the BACKUP button. The Backup function ill make the editor
move back ards one ord. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill blink to ackno ledge the operation.
Pressing this button ill make the editor move from the end of WORD3 to the end of WORD2.
14. Press the DELETE button. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill blink. You have just deleted WORD2.
15. Press the ADD button to enter the "Add“ mode. The DELAY/EDIT LED ill blink.
16. Send WORD5 from the key paddles. Press the ADD button to add a Word Space. The lo tone
should be heard.
17. Press the ADD button to exit the “Add" mode. The DELAY/EDIT LED should blink.
18. Press the RECORD/EDIT s itch to exit the CW Editor. The DELAY/EDIT LED should turn off.
19. Press the A3 address button to play the message.
You have just created a message: WORD1 WORD2 WORD3 WORD4 and changed it to: WORD1
WORD5 WORD3 WORD4.
PLAYBACK OF MESSAGE
1. Set the Record/Edit s itch out (Play).
2. If you ant the message to repeat, the Repeat s itch should be pushed in. The delay potenti-
ometer sets the delay time. For minimum delay before the message is repeated. set the delay
knob all the ay CCW. For the maximum delay set the DELAY control all the ay CW. This
should result in a maximum delay of approximately 3 minutes. This allo s you to use the keyer
as a beacon. If repeating is not desired, the REPEAT button should be out.
3. Press MEMORY s itch in for memory bank E, out for memory bank A. The Po er LED ill be
green for bank E and red for bank A.
4. To start a message press one of the five address s itches marked A1/E1. A2/E2, A3/E3, A4/E4,
or A5/E5.
5. To stop a playing message, press the appropriate address s itch. The 486 ill stop the mes-
sage after completing the ord being sent. The message ill then be reset back to the begin-
ning.
6. At any time hile the message is playing, you may interrupt the message by sending from the
key paddles. The message ill automatically pause. The address indicator LED ill remain lit to
signify that the message has not finished playing. When the address s itch is again pressed,
the message ill finish playing from the point it as paused.
NOTE: A5/E5 message locations are reserved for a number (up to 4 digits). Programming either A5
or E5 ill also program the other. The difference in these locations is that location E5 incre-
ments before the number is sent out. So if you program the number five, for instance,
pressing E5 ill send the number six.

RECORDING MESSAGES WITHIN MESSAGES
A special feature of the MFJ-486 is that you may record any of the messages ithin any other
message. To accomplish this you key in the message number of the message to be inserted at the
point hich you ant to call it in step 4 above. For example, if you anted to insert message A3
inside message A2 you ould key in didahdidididahdah at the point in message A2 you anted A3
to play. If you anted message E2 to play in A2 you ould instead key in didididahdahdah at the
point here you anted E2 to play. Note that hen calling a memory location, there is no space in
the address.
AUTOMATIC CONTEST NUMBER
Messages A5 and E5 are reserved for a four digit contest number. Sending message A5 ill send
the number stored in this location. Sending message E5 ill increment the number and then send
it. Recording a number in either location ill store the number in both locations. If you attempt to
store any morse code except numbers in these messages, the computer ill change the code to 0.
RANDOM CODE GENERATOR
The MFJ-486 is equipped ith a Random Code Generator hich can be used to learn code and in-
crease code speed. It has t o basic modes of operation- character sets and English messages. In
order to operate the character set generator:
1. Put RANDOM CODE s itch on ith the REPEAT s itch off.
2. If you ant all the Morse characters including punctuation put the RECORD/EDIT s itch out. If
you do not ish to use punctuation, put the RECORD/EDIT s itch in.
3. The AUTOMATIC WORD space s itch on ill result in groups of five characters. AUTOMATIC
WORD space s itch off gives random group length from 1 to 8 characters.
4. Press a message s itch and the random code ill begin. It can be stopped at any time ith
the DOT paddle and restarted ith the DASH paddle.
5. The DELAY pot can be used to increase the spacing hile using the RANDOM CODE GENERA-
TOR. This allo s you to send practice code in the Farns orth Method.
6. Messages E1 through E5 are al ays constant. Messages A1 through A5 ill repeat until the
po er is turned off and then back on. When the po er is turned off and then on, messages A1
through A5 ill be changed.
In order to operate the RANDOM CODE GENERATOR in the English message mode:
1. Put the RANDOM CODE s itch on and the REPEAT s itch on.
2. Put the RECORD s itch on.
3. Press one of the momentary message s itches and a random English message ill begin. It
can be stopped at any point ith the DOT paddle and ill resume ith the DASH paddle.
4. Items 5 & 6 above applies equally to the English messages.