Field Day is always the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and running through 2059 UTC Sunday. Field Day 2021 is June 26-27.
Local Start (British Columbia, PST)
Don't get me wrong, the FlexControl from FlexRadio Systems is a fantastic VFO knob for your Flex SDR. But the price tag might scare some away, and people like me prefer to keep my FlexControl at home in the shack with my primary Flex SDR transceiver, away from the grit and grime of outdoor use.
But with my other Flex, I was looking for a smaller, lighter, cheaper USB VFO knob solution for outdoors & Field Day. Something that I wouldn't be as worried about losing or damaging. So, that's why I went down the rabbit hole of USB Volume knobs. Many of these are inexpensive but also hardwired to control volume and mute functions only on computers and tablets. I needed something programmable to mimic the mouse wheel or keyboard clicks that would adjust my VFO up and down and other functions like locking the VFO.
Thanks to RemoteTX.Net (https://remotetx.net/usb-vfo-knob-setup/), I found a solution for certain USB Volume knobs with a hidden programming feature. If it worked for their remote station solutions, maybe it would work for PowerSDR and my QRP Flex 1500?
When the knob arrived I attempted the hidden programming mode and was thrilled when it loaded as described. I won't try and replicate the fantastic instructions on the RemoteTX website, but I will go into detail about how the Flex PowerSDR configuration is different. Use the link above to get the really detailed step-by-step instructions from RemoteTX.net, then once you understand the process, you can read my notes on how I customized it for PowerSDR.
| Key Sequence | Function |
|---|---|
| space bar | TX/RX Toggle after MOX is on until you click on any other button of the GUI |
| - | AF gain decrease |
| + | AF gain increase |
| * | Mute Toggle |
| [ | XIT Up |
| ] | |
| , (comma) | |
| . (period) | |
| ; (semi colon) | |
| \ (back slash) | |
| A | Freq. Down 1 MHz* |
| B | Filter Up* |
| C | |
| D | Freq. Down 10 KHz* |
| E | Freq. Up 10 KHz* |
| F | Freq Down 1 KHz* |
| G | Freq Down 100 Hz* |
| H | Freq Down 10 Hz* |
| I | RIT Down* |
| J | Freq Down 1 Hz* |
| K | IF Shift Left |
| L | IF Shift Right |
| M | Band Change Up* |
| N | Band Change Down* |
| O | RIT Up* |
| P | XIT Down* |
| Q | Freq Up 1 MHz* |
| R | Freq Up 1 KHz* |
| S | Freq Down 100 KHz* |
| T | Freq Up 100 Hz* |
| U | Freq Up 1 Hz* |
| V | Filter Down* |
| W | Freq Up 100 KHz* |
| X | Mode Change Up* |
| Y | Freq Up 10 Hz* |
| Z | Mode Down* |
| ALT+A | |
| ALT+B | Toggle NB On/Off |
| ALT+C | CW Form |
| ALT+D | |
| ALT+E | |
| ALT+F | Filter Wider |
| ALT+G | Copy VFO A to VFO B |
| ALT+H | Copy VFO B to VFO A |
| ALT+I | IF Shift Reset (centered) |
| ALT+J | |
| ALT+K | |
| ALT+L | |
| ALT+M | Memory Form |
| ALT+N | Toggle NB2 On/Off |
| ALT+O | |
| ALT+P | |
| ALT+Q | CW Speed Up |
| ALT+R | RIT Zero |
| ALT+S | Setup Form |
| ALT+T | Toggle TUNE on/off |
| ALT+U | |
| ALT+V | Swap VFOs A/B |
| ALT+W | Wave From |
| ALT+X | XVTR Form |
| ALT+Y | XIT Zero Beat |
| ALT+Z | Zero Beat |
| F1 | CW Memory 1 |
| F2 | CW Memory 2 |
| F3 | CW Memory 3 |
| F4 | CW Memory 4 |
| F5 | CW Memory 5 |
| F6 | |
| F7 | |
| F8 | |
| F9 | |
| F10 | |
| F11 | |
| F12 | |
| CTRL+ "up arrow" | VFO A Increase freq. by tune step |
| CTRL+ "down arrow" | VFO A decrease freq. by tune step |
| CTRL+"-" | AGC-T Gain Down |
| CTRL+"+" | AGC-T Gain Up |
| CTRL+A | Toggle AGC on/off |
| CTRL+B | Toggle NR on/off |
| CTRL+C | Quick Save |
| CTRL+D | |
| CTRL+E | |
| CTRL+F | Filter Narrower |
| CTRL+G | |
| CTRL+H | |
| CTRL+I | |
| CTRL+J | |
| CTRL+K | |
| CTRL+L | Toggle VFO lock/unlock |
| CTRL+M | Toggle MOX on/off |
| CTRL+N | Toggle ANF on/off |
| CTRL+O | |
| CTRL+P | Preamp |
| CTRL+Q | |
| CTRL+R | |
| CTRL+S | Toggle Split on/off |
| CTRL+T | |
| CTRL+U | |
| CTRL+V | Quick recall |
| CTRL+W | CW Speed Down |
| CTRL+X | |
| CTRL+Y | |
| CTRL+Z | |
| CTRL+ALT+U | UCB configuration form |
