Control via Serial: Changeable keys for functions? / Swap dial-dir of menue / 10/11m FM?

[EmEiBee]

Hello everyone...
and thank you for the great work and the firmware!
I received the "Matchbox" today. First, I installed Dave's firmware, then posted a question/idea, and Dave referred me here. So I installed your firmware right away... Almost perfect ;)

Request:
Would it be possible, perhaps as an option in the settings, to reverse the menu navigation? It's somehow intuitively the wrong way around.

Idea:
Would it be possible to somehow include an (external?) assignment tab during the flashing process that indicates which ASCII code or keyboard scan code should do what? It would be nice if, for example, the up/down cursor keys changed the volume, the left/right cursor keys changed the frequency, page up/down changed the bandwidth, etc. That would also save you from having to fiddle with the Shift key.

Question:
Is it possible to select FM as the operating mode on the 10/11m band? I haven't read the datasheet yet, and I'm afraid the chip can't do that at all?

DLzG, 73 De
Micha

[max-arnold]

Would it be possible, perhaps as an option in the settings, to reverse the menu navigation? It's somehow intuitively the wrong way around.

To me the current way seems more intuitive. With that said you can change it yourself in a personal firmware version. Just change doXXX(dir) to doXXX(-dir) where appropriate: https://github.com/esp32-si4732/ats-mini/blob/v2.14/ats-mini/Menu.cpp#L647-L665 (e.g. you'll probably want to add the - to the menu commands and keep the parameter commands like doBrt as is).

Doing simple changes like that is really easy, you just need a web browser and a Github account. See the first 2.5 minutes of the following video that shows how to change a theme color: https://esp32-si4732.github.io/ats-mini/development.html#video-tutorial

For a faster development workflow follow you'll need to install Arduino CLI.

Would it be possible to somehow include an (external?) assignment tab during the flashing process that indicates which ASCII code or keyboard scan code should do what? It would be nice if, for example, the up/down cursor keys changed the volume, the left/right cursor keys changed the frequency, page up/down changed the bandwidth, etc. That would also save you from having to fiddle with the Shift key.

A personal firmware version is the way to go. The keys are located here https://github.com/esp32-si4732/ats-mini/blob/v2.14/ats-mini/Remote.cpp#L247-L351 Just change the keys as you like. I recommend to use the single-character alphanumeric commands though, because handling the cursor keys is not so straightforward since they use multi-character escape sequences. That requires adding more code.

Is it possible to select FM as the operating mode on the 10/11m band? I haven't read the datasheet yet, and I'm afraid the chip can't do that at all?

The NBFM mode is not supported by SI4732 because the corresponding patch (like for SSB) is not publicly available.

[EmEiBee]

Good morning, and thank you for the detailed explanation.

After your comment about the menu rotation direction, I just gave it to my wife and my daughter. Neither of whom has any affinity for technology like this. Both reacted similarly; my wife even literally said, "das ist kaputt" (that's broken) ;)
For me and everyone around me, also out of habit with other devices (especially radios and other receivers), it's actually logical to navigate to the line above the current one by turning a right hand rotary knob to the right.

... you can change it yourself in a personal firmware version ...

Ouch! You've got a lot of faith ;) I'm good with hardware, but I'm a complete idiot when it comes to programming. I don't dare try that. I'm sure the result will be rubbish if I try...
Is it really that complicated to add the optional reversal to the "Settings" menu item? I could almost bet that many, even many silent users, would welcome this option... I'd even be happy to buy a few cups of coffee for it ;)

... because handling the cursor keys is not so straightforward since they use multi-character escape sequences ...

Oh yeah, there was something... I hadn't thought of that. And when programming other keys... See above about the complete idiot ;)

The NBFM mode is not supported by SI4732 because the corresponding patch (like for SSB) is not publicly available.

Ahh, okay. So the chip could theoretically do that, but the manufacturer doesn't release the corresponding options, if I understand correctly? That's a shame...

EDIT say:
I have tried that. Only changing doMenu(dir) to doMenu(-dir) have no effect. Then I have changed the most dir to -dir and then it goes I like. But you see, I haven't understood what I do here; just trial & error.
Some question also:

uint8_t rdsModeIdx = 0;
static const RDSMode rdsMode[] =
{
  { RDS_PS, "PS"},
  { RDS_PS | RDS_CT, "PS+CT" },
  { RDS_PS | RDS_PI, "PS+PI" },
  { RDS_PS | RDS_PI | RDS_CT, "PS+PI+CT" },
  { RDS_PS | RDS_PI | RDS_RT | RDS_PT, "PS+PI+RT" },
  { RDS_PS | RDS_PI | RDS_RT | RDS_PT | RDS_CT, "ALL (EU)" },
  { RDS_PS | RDS_PI | RDS_RT | RDS_PT | RDS_CT | RDS_RBDS, "ALL (US)" },
};

Is rdsModeIdx = 0 the item that is used as default? If so, can I change that to 5 to set EU as default?

PS:

[max-arnold]

Yes, 5 will give you EU as the default option after the settings reset.

[EmEiBee]

Ahhh cool. I just tried that, and it works ;) I'm not very good with the GIT interface, though. Of course, I only understand a small fraction of it... But whatever... With the knowledge I've just acquired here, I can at least change rudimentary things that bother me.

Thanks for your support.

[max-arnold]

By the way, I was thinking why I find the current menu scroll direction intuitive... A good analogy is browsing a tall web page on a smartphone. You do not move the cursor, you scroll the whole screen up and down to see the necessary part of the page. The same with the menu here.

[EmEiBee]

Hahaha... Yeah, okay, that's an analogy from the smartphone/TikTok/... generation ;)
But for me, the comparison is pretty flawed. There is a difference whether I actively move a page, like on a smartphone, or indirectly via a rotary knob. It's more analogous to a cable-driven pointer above a scale like at analog receivers. Regardless of whether the scale is horizontal or vertical: the pivot point is the position of the rotary knob relative to the scale and the pointer above it. It doesn't matter whether I move the pointer or the scale when turning. If I turn to the right, a pointer or the scale should also move accordingly in relation to the position of the rotary knob. So, a knob below the scale = pointer to the right or scale to the left. A knob above the scale = pointer to the left or scale to the right. A knob to the left of it = pointer down or scale up. A knob to the right of it = pointer up scale down. Just think about a fixed scale and a knob with a arrow on it, running over the left hand menu while you turn it...
This is the case with all receivers and other devices with scales (and I have quite a lot of old, historical stuff of them...)

Ultimately, it's everyone's habit to determine what they consider "right." Therefore, there's ultimately no right or wrong here. It's more of a subjective feeling.

[luarvique]

So, why "ALL (EU)" should be the default option?

[EmEiBee]

Hu? This shouldn't be a default option for everyone, but only for those who are affected. It's pretty annoying when you always have to set everything again to your need after a reset. Therefore, this default only makes sense for users living in the Orwellian EU...

[luarvique]

So, how do you expect developers to give the default firmware option to you personally ?

[EmEiBee]

...who said that? Not me...

[max-arnold]

So, I used a FW build with the suggested scroll direction for about a day, and my brain now thinks it is intuitive too. I also ran a community poll and it is 50/50.

As a result, version 2.15 will have the scroll direction option :)

[EmEiBee]

I also ran a community poll and it is 50/50.

Funny ;) Let me guess: The smartphone generation was for the previous version, old fogies like me for the "analog" version... right?

[guero-cmd]

Thank you for this! I'm with the old fogey analog camp for the encoder scrolling. But FWIW your logic is sound also--I reverse the scroll direction on my web browser because it makes sense to "push" the page up or down :)

[SMP110776]

Hello, I have a question about the possibility of the 11m CB band supporting FM modulation, thank you for your answer

[luarvique]

No. Not supported by the hardware.