Open Source AD9850 DDS VFO controller firmware for the ATMEL XME A!

A"#$ Xplaine% e&aluation 'oar%

By Steven Weber, KD1JV
steve.kd1jv@gmail.com htt !""kd1jv.#r radio.com

XMEGA-A3BU BOARD by ATMEL

Cheap AD9850 board from Ch !a

$he %$&'( )&'*%+%,B- eval.ation board makes a convenient lat/orm /or controlling an ine0 ensive %D1234 DDS mod.le. 5e6 /irm6are can be loaded via a sim le -SB connection. $he /actory assembled board is j.st a little larger then a credit card, making a it a reasonable si7e to mo.nt on a small /ront anel. $he board is available /rom %$&'( distrib.tors s.ch as &o.ser and Digi+Key /or abo.t 8,4.44. $he %D1234 mod.le is available direct /rom 9hina via a n.mber o/ sellers on e+bay /or bet6een 83 and 814.44. : 6o.ld ick one 6ith a S&$ clock oscillator mo.nted, rather then the large thro.gh hole can some have. : got one o/ those and the clock oscillator 6as de/ective. $he /irm6are is designed to re lace the e0isting analog V;< o/ a =>? rig or as the V;< in a ne6 receiver, transmitter or transceiver roject. :t co.ld be also be .sed j.st as a signal generator. :t@s ama7ing the n.mber o/ di//erent 6ays Aams 6ant to .se a Digital V;<. : have tried to make the /irm6are /le0ible and rogrammable eno.gh that it sho.ld cover most ossible .ses. $he great thing abo.t this easily re rogrammed controller is that additional /eat.res and o erating modes can be added as time and need dictate. DDS Controller functions:

4 to B4 &A7 o.t .t 6ith 1C3 &A7 re/erence clock, rogrammable 1 A7 to 144 kA7 t.ning ste s >otary t.ned B.ilt in :ambic DBE mode keyer 6ith three message memories. Se arate %.dio &.te and transmitter keying o.t .ts and side tone generation. ?re+ rogrammed A; ham band =>? /re#.encies, 1F4 to 14 meters. B9D band o.t .ts /or selecting /ilters 6hen im lementing m.lti band rig. ?rogrammable o//set /re#.ency to match yo.r :; >e/erence clock calibration

Operation: $he V;< is controlled by /ive s6itches and a rotary encoder. &ost s6itches have di//erent .ses de ending on 6hat men. /.nction is active at the time.

S1 G &'5- /.nction select SC G Keyer message 1 S, G Keyer message C SB G Keyer message , S3 G >:$ on"o// 'ncoder G t.ning /.nctions Switch function descriptions: Tuning: $he rotary encoder is .sed /or t.ning the main o erating /re#.ency and is .sed to select a n.mber o/ the o tions. Tuning Limits: $he o.t .t /re#.ency is limited /rom bet6een 4.444,444 and B4.444,444 &A7 .nder all t.ning conditions. $he o.t .t /re#.ency m.st remain less then 1",d o/ the DDS re/erence clock /or best s ectral .rity. $.ning limits /or ham bands are enabled 6hen a band is loaded /rom memory. $his kee s yo. /rom straying o.tside o/ the band by accident. Ao6ever, the limits can be disabled sho.ld o.t o/ band t.ning be desired. J.st be6are that the transmitter is not disabled 6hile o.t o/ band so care m.st be taken not to transmit 6here yo.r not s. ose to and robably ca.se damage to yo.r transmitter. PUSH BUTTON S !TCH"S:

S# $ %enu ! Set t.ning rate H set keyer code s eed H select band H $.rn limits on"o// H 'nter message memory H ;.nctions are selected by holding the men. s6itch closed .ntil the desired /.nction sho6s . on the (9D in the lo6er le/t corner o/ the dis lay. >elease the s6itch to activate the dis layed /.nction. $hese cycle at a rate o/ abo.t 1 a second. Tuning rate: displa& message ' none

D .sh and releaseE Iless than 1 secondJ o/ the &en. s6itch 6ill activate this /.nction. $he symbol D K D is .sed as a c.rsor to indicate the c.rrent t.ning rate decade. -se the encoder to move the c.rsor to the desired decade. $a the &'5- s6itch to e0it to normal t.ning mode.

(e&er code speed: displa& ) CS** + 6here 00 is the c.rrent keyer s eed

?.sh and Aold the &'5- s6itch closed /or at least 1 second, b.t less then C. -se the encoder to change the s eed . or do6n in 1 6 m increments, 3 to B4 6 m. $.ning 6ill sto at . er and lo6er selections. $a the &'5- s6itch to e0it.

Select ,and: displa& message )B-ND+

?.sh and Aold the &'5- s6itch closed /or at least C second, b.t less then , -se the encoder to select the band, 1F4 to 14 meters. $.ning 6ill sto at the . lo6er selection limits. $a the &'5- s6itch to e0it

er and

$his /.nction can be hidden /or single band rigs.

Turn tuning limits on or off: displa& message )TLON+ or )TLO.+

$.rn the encoder co.nter clock 6ise to t.rn o// L$(<5M ++N L$(<;M $he stat.s ('D above the dis lay 6ill t.rn /rom green to red 6hen the limits are o//. $.rn the encoder clock 6ise to t.rn on L$(<;M ++N L$(<5M $a &'5- to e0it

:/ yo. t.rn the t.ning limits back on 6hile o.t o/ band, yo. 6ill be able to only t.ne . or only able to t.ne do6n, de ending on 6hich side o/ the limits yo. are at the time. %nd remember not to transmit o.t o/ band. (e&er %emor&: displa& message )(%"%+ $his mode allo6s entering &orse messages via the addle. $here are three message locations o/ . to F, characters in length I6ord s aces are charactersJ. (etters, n.mbers and most available &orse .nct.ation and s ecial ascii characters are decoded and dis layed on the to line o/ the dis lay. $his hel s ens.re ro er entry o/ the messages. % back s ace /.nction is available to erase mistakes.

Aold the &'5- s6itch closed /or at least , seconds. $he dis lay 6ill change 6hen this mode is activated $he /re#.ency reading is cleared D'5$'> &S*E a ears on the Cd line. SC, S, and SB have ne6 /.nctions in this mode. $he /.nctions are labeled on the bottom line o/ the dis lay as s.ch! L K&'& ) >& BS ++ M ) O SC O esca e mode at any time >& O S, O >evie6 message BS O SB O Back S ace ++ O no /.nction. When yo. start to enter a message, the &orse characters are decoded and dis layed on the to line. When the line /ills . the characters 6ill start to scra6l. % 6ord s ace is sho6n a D!E to let yo. kno6 6hen and 6here the s ace has been inserted. D)E s6itch G e0it IS1, &en.J '0it this mode at any time rior to storing a message. DBSE s6itch IS,J G Back S ace. %llo6s yo. to delete an entry or 6ord s ace. D>&E s6itch ISCJ G revie6 message. :/ yo. try to e0ceed F, characters, L&'& ;-((M 6ill a ear on the dis lay. :/ this ha ens, yo. have three o tions. 1. Store the message as is. C. Back s ace to remove some letters or 6ords. 5ote, the mem /.ll message 6ill not be erased, even tho.gh the memory is no longer /.ll. ,. '0it the memory entry mode and start again.

When yo.@ve /inished keying in yo.r message, .sh the D>&E s6itch. $he message 6ill lay so yo. can decide i/ yo. like the 6ay it so.nds or not be/ore act.ally storing it. :/ yo. 6ant to start over, .sh the &'5- b.tton L)M <ther 6ise, .sh one the the s6itches no6 labeled &1, &C or &, to store the message in one o/ those locations.

?.sh the L&1M SC, L&CM S, or L&,M SB s6itch to store the message in location 1, C or ,. $he dis lay and control 6ill ret.rn to normal o eration.

Sending messages:

?.sh SC /or memory location 1 ?.sh S, /or memory location C ?.sh SB /or memory location , <nce a message has started sending, it can be terminated by closing the D<$ addle. :/ a character is being sent, the message 6ill terminate 6hen that character has com leted sending.

S/ $ 0!T: ?.shing S3 6ill toggle >:$ on and o//. $his control can be combined 6ith the t.ning encoder by .sing an encoder 6ith a b.ilt in .sh b.tton s6itch. >:$ is dis layed as the delta /re#.ency /rom the c.rrent receive /re#.ency, dis layed .nder the corres onding digits o/ the /re#.ency dis lay L +4.444M and the >:$ label 6ritten belo6 D&A7E. $he t.ning ste is set to the 14 A7 decade /or /ine t.ning. $he original t.ning ste 6ill be restored 6hen >:$ is e0ited. $he t.ning ste can be changed i/ desired. $he encoder 6ill no6 t.ne the receiver /re#.ency and leave the transmit /re#.ency set 6here it 6as 6hen >:$ 6as enabled. %ltho.gh the dis lay only indicates a delta o/ . to P"+ 1.111 kA7, there is act.ally no limit to ho6 /ar yo. can t.ne, b.t it is recommended yo. stay belo6 14 kA7. $here really sho.ldn@t be any need to go any /arther. Che"# !$ %he ba&e fre'(e!"y for a"% ) %y *he! R+T & e!ab,ed?ressing the &'5- IS1J s6itch /or 1 second 6ill restore the base /re#.ency to the receiver as long as the s6itch is held closed. $he message LS?<$M 6ill a ear on the dis lay 6hile this is active. $his rovides a means o/ checking /or activity on yo.r transmit /re#.ency. 0*1T* toggle pin input: :t may be desirable to s6itch bet6een the DDS /re#.ency bet6een receive and transmit inde endently o/ the b.ilt in keyer. $his in is e//ectively the Dstraight keyE in .t. :n addition to s6itching bet6een >0 and $0, it o erates the %.dio &.te, Side tone and transmitter keying o.t .ts as the keyer 6o.ld. See the in chart /or the location o/ this in .t. Voltage on this in m.st not e0ceed ,.,V, so .se isolation to drive it, like a C5Q444 mos/et. Set up: De/a.lt set . val.es can be changed in this mode. $he de/a.lt val.es are!

1C3.444,444 &A7 DDS re/erence /re#.ency G .sed to calc.late the DDS o.t .t /re#.ency B4.444,444 &A7 . er /re#.ency limit. 4.444,444 A7 o//set /re#.ency &.lti+band selection enabled Direct transmit /re#.ency enabled C4 6 m code s eed 144 A7 t.ning decade 1F4 meter band loaded on o6er .

Be/ore entering the set . mode, set the band, code s eed and t.ning ste to the val.es yo.

6o.ld like to have on o6er . . $hese settings 6ill be saved 6hen the set . mode is e0ited. "ntering S"T UP mode:

?ress and hold the s6itch labeled DSW1E on the eval.ation board /or 3 seconds. $his ens.res yo. really 6ant to enter this mode. When the set . mode is activated, L9%(>M 6ill a ear in the message s ace at the bottom le/t. >elease the s6itch and then the c.rrent re/erence oscillator /re#.ency 6ill be 6ritten on the /re#.ency dis lay line.

)C-L0+ $ ad2ust DDS reference fre3uenc&4

$he /re#.ency dis lay line no6 sho6s the c.rrent DDS re/erence /re#.ency, 6hich initially 6ill be 1C3.444,444 &A7 $he DDS /re#.ency o.t .t is set to 14.444,444 &A7 so that it can be meas.red or com ared to an acc.rate 14 &A7 re/erence. %dj.st the re/erence /re#.ency as needed to set the DDS o.t .t to e0actly 14.444,444 &A7. $he t.ning rate is set to 14 A7 /or /ine t.ning, b.t can be changed to /aster rates i/ desired by ressing the &'5- b.tton to activate the t.ning rate selection mode. :/ a re/erence /re#.ency other than 1C3 &A7 is needed, adj.st as re#.ired to set the dis lay to the desired /re#.ency. 5ote that d.e to leading 7ero s. ression, 144 &A7 6ill dis lay as 1 4.444,444 &A7, missing the 14 &A7 7ero. ?.sh SW1 on the board to advance to the Aigh /re#.ency limit mode.

)HL%T+ High fre3uenc& Limit: $he highest /re#.ency the DDS sho.ld be allo6ed to rod.ce is abo.t 1",d the re/erence clock. :/ the clock /re#.ency is changed to a signi/icantly di//erent val.e /rom 1C3 &A7, the high /re#.ency limit sho.ld be changed accordingly. <ne might also 6ant to e0tend the /re#.ency range a bit to cover F meters, b.t one needs to be care/.l abo.t a s .r 6hich 6ill occ.r at abo.t Q3 &A7 and may not be very 6ell /iltered o.t.

$he /re#.ency line 6ill dis lay the c.rrent high /re#.ency t.ning limit, initially the de/a.lt val.e o/ B4.444,444 &A7. -se the t.ning encoder to set the desired limit /re#.ency. ?ress SW1 to advance to setting the o//set /re#.ency.

)OS"T+ Setting the Offset: $he o//set /re#.ency is added or s.btracted to the dis layed /re#.ency to generate the re#.ired (< Ilocal oscillatorJ /re#.ency 6hen .sed as the V;< in a s. er heterodyne receiver or transceiver. $his 6ill ty ically be the :; /re#.ency o/ the rig. $he o//set 6ill rod.ce lo6 side injection .nless the res.lt is negative, then high side injection 6ill be rod.ced. $his ens.res the o.t .t /re#.ency is al6ays 6ithin the range 6hich can be rod.ced by the DDS chi . %s the dis layed /re#.ency a roaches the o//set /re#.ency, the (< rod.ced 6ill a roach and then become 7ero 6hen the /re#.encies are e#.al. While in this mode, the o//set /re#.ency 6ill be o.t .tted via the DDS chi . :/ the DDS is installed into a rig, this allo6s yo. to hear the signal and eak it in the ass band o/ the receivers crystal /ilter and adj.st the B;< /or the ro er receiver beat note.

$he c.rrent o//set /re#.ency is dis layed on the /re#.ency line.

-se the encoder to t.ne to the desired o//set /re#.ency. $.ning rate can be set as needed. ?.sh SW1 to advance to ne0t setting 6hen done.

)%BON+ or )%BO.+ %ulti',and on or off4 :/ the V;< is .sed in a single band rig, there is no need to be able to select other bands 6hich 6o.ld j.st ca.se tro.ble i/ done.

Dis lay message ! L&B<5M or L&B<;M toggle bet6een on and o// .sing the &'5- IS1J s6itch. ?.sh SW1 on board to advance to ne0t setting

) D!0 + or ) H"T + Heterod&ne or direct transmit fre3uenc& output: &ost transceivers mi0 the V;< /re#.ency 6ith the :; B;< oscillator to rod.ce the act.al transmit /re#.ency. $here/ore, 6hen s6itching bet6een transmit and receive, the V;< /re#.ency does not change .nless >:$ is enabled. :n this case, the A'$ or heterodyne mode is re#.ired. Ao6ever, d.e to the /re#.ency agility o/ the DDS V;<, it is ossible to eliminate the transmit V;<"B;< mi0er and rod.ce the transmit /re#.ency directly. $his sim li/ies the design o/ a transmitter as the mi0er and band ass /ilter can be eliminated. $his also generally res.lts in a cleaner signal as mi0er rod.cts don@t have to be /iltered o.t. When b.ilding a m.lti+band rig, having direct transmit /re#.ency o.t .t greatly sim li/ies the design, as not only does it eliminate the transmit mi0er, b.t m.lti le crystal oscillators, band ass /ilters and all the re#.ired s6itching. -n/ort.nately, this mode is only s.itable /or 9W transmitters. $ransmitters 6hich re#.ire mod.lation is done at the :; /re#.ency and m.st be heterodyned to the transmit /re#.ency.

Dis lay message ! L D:> M or L A'$ M Direct is the D/actoryE de/a.lt. $oggle 6ith &'5- s6itch ?.sh SW1 on board to advance to ne0t setting

) ST-" + or )ST"O+ Side tone mode: Side tone is re#.ired inde endent o/ the transmitter 6hen entering in keyer messages. :t may not be desired i/ the transmitter also rod.ces side tone. $here/ore, it can be rogrammed to o erate only /or en.nciation 6hen entering messages or enabled 6hen keying the transmitter. D%l6ays enabledE is .se/.l /or AB rigs 6ith direct transmit /re#.ency o.t .t or Direct conversion rigs as in this case, the receiver does not DhearE the transmitter in order to generate internal side tone.

Dis lay message LS$%'M Ial6ays enabledJ or LS$'<M en.nciation only. %l6ays enabled is the D/actoryE de/a.lt. $oggle 6ith &'5- s6itch ?.sh SW1 on board to advance to ne0t setting.

Side tone output signal: $he side tone is set to F44 A7 and is some 6hat /iltered at the header in. :t can be heard 6ith j.st a small 2 ohm s eaker connected to the in, b.t barely. $o be .se/.l, it sho.ld be additionally /iltered and the am lit.de red.ced to a s.itable level to in .t into the receivers a.dio am li/ier. :t 6ill need to be ca acitively co. led to an a.dio am li/iers in .t. :n many =>? transceivers 6hich .se a (&,2F a.dio am , one o/ the t6o in .ts are not .sed and the side tone can be injected into the .n.sed in /or vol.me control inde endent level. )56O.+ or )56ON+ 56 output fre3uenc& for SD0:

$.rning )B on 6ill m.lti ly the o.t .t /re#.ency by a /actor o/ B. &ost SD> designs re#.ire this ty e o/ /re#.ency scaling /or the :"= o.t .t mi0ers. When enabled, the dis lay /re#.ency 6ill be limited to a ma0im.m o/ 14.344 &A7 so that the o.t .t remains belo6 the B4 &A7 . er limit.

-se the &en. s6itch to toggle bet6een )B o// G normal o eration, L)B<;M and L)B<5M )B o.t .t enabled. ?.sh SW1 to save and e0it the settings mode.

Programming the ,oard with the controller firmware: Ro. 6ill need to do6n load and install a rogrammed called D;(:?E /rom the %tmel 6eb site. Att !""666.atmel.com Search /or @;(:?E in the search bo0 to locate the do6n load age. Be s.re to do6n load the instr.ctions tooS 5e0t yo. 6ill need the .he0 /ile 6ith the controller /irm6are. Do6n load the 7i /ile 6hich also contains the so.rce code here ! htt !""kd1jv.#r radio.com")&'*%"%D1234controller.7i Be s.re to check back once in a 6hile to see i/ there are any . dates to the /irm6are, either to /i0 b.gs I6hich : ho e there are none, b.t it@s hard to think o/ every ossible combination o/ events to testJ or additions to the rogram. -n7i the /older to a /older in a location yo. can /ind s.ch as D&y Doc.mentsE. %/ter yo. install the ;(:? rogram, yo. can l.g the eval board into yo.r ?9 6ith an -SB cable. $he S 7 s6itch on the board m.st be closed 6hile yo. l.g in the cable to invoke the Boot loader rogram in the )&'*% rocessor. % ne6 hard6are /o.nd dialog 6ill o en and yo. 6ill need to /ind the driver to install. $his needs to be done man.ally, /ollo6ing the directions /rom %tmel. <nce the -SB driver is installed yo. can o en the ;(:? rogram. Some set . is re#.ired.

Select the device to be rogrammed, )&'*%C3F%,B(ocate the he0 /ile to be loaded, %D1234controller.he0 9lick on the do6nload icon in the tool bar. 9lick the release b.tton to reset the board and start the a

lication.

$hat@s all there is to itS $he so.rce code is 6ritten directly in assembly beca.se : can@t make heads or tails o/ a 9"9PP listing. ?l.s it /orces me to learn all the nitty gritty details o/ making the art 6ork. $he so.rce code can be o ened 6ith any 6ord rocessor. :/ yo. 6ant to tinker 6ith the code, yo. 6ill need to do6n load and install DSt.dio FE /rom %tmel. :t is a /ree do6n load, b.t yo. do need to register and it@s a very big /ile. With C3FK o/ rogram memory available and only a /raction o/ the /irst bank o/ FBK is being c.rrently .sed, so many more /eat.res co.ld be added to the /irm6are. Possi,le firmware additions are: 1, S meter dis lay .sing one o/ the %"D in .t channels C, Battery voltage monitoring ,, $ransmitter o6er o.t .t dis lay B, >eal time clock 6ith battery back . . 3, Keyboard keyer F, -SB control Q, ?SK beacon generator 2, =>SS beacon transmitter 1, %dditional message memories 14, -ser /re#.ency memories. 11, Short 6ave broadcast bands.

Off ,oard connections: % n.mber o/ o// board connections are re#.ired 6hich are available on the vario.s S:? header ins located along the edge o/ the eval board. -n/ort.nately, these ins stick . /rom the to o/ the board. 'ven i/ nothing is l.gged into them, the board has to be s aced /rom a /ront anel /ar eno.gh that the dis lay is set back a signi/icant distance, making even harder to read then it already is 6ith the little characters it dis lays. $he sit.ation is .nacce table i/ .sing a l.g to connect to the ins, as this 6o.ld re#.ire s acing the board even /arther /rom the /ront anel. $he sim lest sol.tion is to cli the ins short, leaving j.st eno.gh to solder a 6ire to. :/ yo. have good de+soldering tools and abilities, removing the S:? ins and relocating them so they stick o.t the back side 6o.ld be the neatest o tion. $his is generally best done by removing the lastic base and then removing the ins one at a time. $he base can be slid o// the to o/ the ins by .sing a small scre6 driver to 6ork it . /rom the board. $hen re lace 6ith ne6 ins a/ter cleaning o.t the ad holes o/ solder. Doing it this 6ay red.ces the risk o/ damaging the lated thro.gh hole. <// board connections are th.s!

DDS o6er, enable, data and clock ?addle Dot and Dash in .ts Keyer o.t .t + transmitter key, a.dio &.te and side tone. 'ncoder ?.sh b.ttons
J1 DDS 9S I;=T. dateJ DDS 9lock '0ternal >0"$0 keying in .t DDS Data ?addle in, D<$ ?addle in D%SA Keyer &-$' o.t Iactive highJ Keyer K'R o.t *ro.nd P ,.,V Iactive highJ JC Band B9D 1 Band B9D C Band B9D B Band B9D 2 SW1 + &'5SWC G &em 1 SW, G &em C SWB G &em , *ro.nd *ro.nd '0t P 3 volts in *ro.nd Vcc I3VJ to DDS SW3 + >:$ Side tone o.t J, JB 'ncoder 9A % 'ncoder 9A B

?in n.mber 1 C , B 3 F Q 2 1 14

Aeader locations are sho6n in ict.re to the le/t. $he battery back . is c.rrently not .sed, so the battery and"or shorting j.m er can be removed. $he board SW1 s6itch is above the dis lay to the right and the SWC s6itch is belo6 the dis lay.

-D89/7 module pin out

?in o.t o/ the common 9hinese 1234 mod.le. $here are several versions available. <nes 6ith a S&$ clock instead o/ the thro.gh hole metal can might be better. $he mod.le : got had a de/ective clock oscillator, 6hich 6as the metal can ty e. :/ a di//erent style mod.le is obtained, yo. 6ill have to determine the in o.t i/ not s. lied. D4 and D1 m.st be .lled high and DC connected to gro.nd in order to enable serial loading. Data comes in on the DQ in. D4 and D1 may have .ll . resistors installed on the board, 6hich is the case 6ith the mod.le sho6n, b.t DC m.st be 6ired to gro.nd. $hese mod.les might also need a better o.t .t /ilter to clean . the o.t .t signal. $he one s. lied on the mod.le might have too high a roll o// /re#.ency.

Power suppl&: $he )&'*% board is set . to get it@s o6er /rom the -SB cable. ;or stand alone .se in a rig, a 3 volt s. ly m.st be connected to the board. %n e0ternal P3 volts so.rce can be connected to ?in 14 o/ J, or in 14 o/ JB. J, is re/erred as it is closer to the ,.,V board reg.lator. $he e0ternal 3V so.rce 6ill need at least a C44 ma ca acity to have some head room. &ost o/ this c.rrent goes to o6ering the 1C3 &A7 clock oscillator. %ltho.gh the 3 volts to o6er the DDS board can be taken o// one o/ the ins on the )&'*% board, it sho.ld be 6ired directly to the 3 volt so.rce, ty ically a Q243 or Q2&43 reg.lator 6ith s.itable heat sink. $he %D1234 can r.n on the ,., volt s. ly, the only #.estion is 6ill the clock oscillator s. lied on the boardU :t 6o.ld be 6orth a try as o6ering the %D1234 6ith the lo6er voltage 6ill red.ce it@s c.rrent cons.m tion. Worst case, the re/erence oscillator co.ld be re laced 6ith a ,.,V version. $hey are not all that e0 ensive. $he ,.,V reg.lator on the )&'*% board can handle in .t voltages . to 1BV and o.t .t . to 1444 ma, b.t since it is not heat sinked very 6ell, the o6er dissi ation sho.ld be ke t lo6 by o6ering it 6ith a 3V so.rce. (e&er output ,uffering: $he transmitter keying and a.dio &.te o.t .ts /rom the board m.st be b.//ered be/ore connecting to e0ternal circ.its. Kee in mind that the orts on the )&'*% chi r.n at ,.,V so some kind o/ level shi/ter is needed to connect to e0ternal circ.its. $he o.t .ts are active high 6hich allo6 directly driving the gate o/ a &<S;'$ like a C5Q444 to rod.ce the active lo6 o.t .t most transmitter keying and m.te circ.its re#.ire. %n 5?5 transistor co.ld be .sed instead, b.t a base resistor m.st be .sed. % val.e bet6een C.C K and 14 K 6ill likely 6ork in most cases, de ending on ho6 m.ch c.rrent it has to sink. Selecting encoder and Push ,utton switches to use: ?retty m.ch any mechanical encoder can be .sed. <ne 6ith a b.ilt is s6itch is handy to .se as the >:$ on"o// s6itch. (ook /or one 6ith abo.t C4 co.nts er rev and a metal b.shing on the sha/t /or long li/e. $%9$ .sh b.tton s6itches are re/erred as they have minimal contact bo.nce. $hey are also ine0 ensive and come 6ith a verity o/ act.ator lengths. <ne disadvantage is they need to mo.nted to some kind o/ board, as they are designed to be cb mo.nted.