Ok Rob well just wanted you to know that I for one, am behind 
your work in whatever way possible to make the development of a 
talking Power, SWR meter possible.  Wishing you the best for the 
new year, and 73, Jim WA6EKS

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Rob <[log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Date sent: Wed, 1 Jan 2014 21:05:57 -0800
Subject: Re: Development of a talking power/SWR meter

Hi Jim,

   I'm just following up to say I greatly appreciate your support 
and
well wishes! While your suggestion is very thoughtful, I 
certainly do
not want you guys supporting me in this way.  I am the one 
putting myself
in this situation so I'm the one that has to deal with the 
consequences.
But again, thanks for the support!

Rob
K6DQ
my
On 12/31/2013 11:29 AM, Jim Gammon wrote:
 Hi Rob, let me add my voice in thanks to you for taking on such 
a
 project.  I think that if all of us on the list would be willing
 to kick in even just $20.00 toward helping you realize the goal
 of a stand-alone accessible meter that would work on Hf, VHF, 
and
 UHF on any rig, would be a very worthy cause.  This would allow
 you to buy one or more meters upon which to experiment and use 
as
 a platform to develop a prototype meter.  Happy new year and I
 wish you great success in all of your endeavors in 2014.  73, 
Jim
 WA6EKS


   ----- Original Message -----
 From: Rob <[log in to unmask]
 To: [log in to unmask]
 Date sent: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 01:41:59 -0800
 Subject: Talking SWR/Power Meter Question Follow Up

 Thanks all,

     I want to thank you all for taking the time to respond to my
 query
 and I appreciate the support for my efforts!  As was obvious, 
the
 need
 to directly read reflected power is not a necessity and 
depending
 on how
 things progress, I still might be able to provide this but 
wanted
 to
 make sure it was not required.  For the record, I rarely check
 reflected
 power myself.  That aside, let me try to clarify a couple things
 at this
 point given by some of your responses.
     As noted previously, the "HamPod" is basically a generic
 hardware
 platform that I can use to communicate with devices that are
 equipped
 with a serial port and provide access via their protocol and
 messaging
 to various internal data points.  That is how I can use the
 HamPod to
 work with the Elecraft W2 and Power Master 2 meters because they
 both
 are equipped with a serial port and provide sufficient messaging
 to use
 them via their serial ports.  In fact, Array Solutions even
 modified
 their firmware to support our community to make this a better
 product
 for us.  They were also very willing to loan me a meter for
 development
 so they should be commended for that as well.  I should also 
note
 that
 Elecraft loaned me both a K3 and KX3 for development.  I also
 feel
 compelled to mention that the combination of a K3 or KX3 and a
 HamPod
 provides the most accessible solution out there and they are
 pretty
 incredible rigs too!  Sorry for that diversion.
     The meter I'm currently evaluating to provide accessibility
 for does
 not have a serial port so it will require an internal processor
 based
 circuit to access the hardware directly, much like my SteppIR
 antenna
 controller.  So this will be a self contained stand-alone meter
 much like
 the TW-1.  It is still pretty early into development with this
 unit so
 I'm still not sure it will work for us but if it does, I can say
 it will
 cover HF through UHF and legal power and beyond through use of 
up
 to 2
 external coupler selection.  So at this point, I can't predict
 what the
 final cost will be but my goal is of course to keep it as
 inexpensive as
 possible but yet still provide an accurate  and quality piece of
 equipment.  I do not intend on adding the ability to measure
 frequency
 with this meter as this would require additional hardware
 modifications.
     As for future suggestions such as an accessible antenna
 analyzer,
 that is on the list of things I want to build.  Problem is, all
 this
 stuff takes way too much time as it is and funds are limited and
 actually non-existent if you ask the wife! .  So while I agree
 the Array
 Solutions 4170 is an incredible piece of gear, at around $570
 it's
 probably not feasible for the majority of us So it makes more
 sense to
 work with something like an MFJ product.  I'm not even sure if
 the 4170
 is adequately accessible through the serial port, but if you 
want
 to
 donate one, I'll gladly look into it! I also want to add
 accessibility
 for more rigs for the HamPod so the list is open ended plus I've
 already
 added support for some other gear when asked as was the case 
with
 the
 Power Master 2.
     So thanks again for your comments and support and I'll let 
you
 know
 how things progress.

 Thanks,
 Rob  K6DQ