Use of the number keys to access menus etc
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:51 pm
There has been some discussion in another thread about how to provide quick access to menus.
One way that I could implement this, is to re-use the existing Number Key Assign part of the CPS and codeplug
And use Function + number to access whichever menus had been assigned in the CPS for that specific number
This would be a relatively simple change for me to make in the CPS but modifying the code that displays the list of Contacts on the drop-down menus, with a list of menus from the OpenGD77 firmware.
However, this would remove the possibility of using the Number Key Assign screen and codeplug data for its original purpose.
I don't know how common it is for Ham Radio operators to use the number key assignment feature, and I think this has to a large extent been superseded by the ability to do direct TG number entry and also the use of the Rx group to hold a list of Tx TG's
Having a completely new feature added to the CPS to handle the Function + Number key is not easy, mainly because there is no unused space in the existing codeplug data structure. So adding a completely new screen would also require a separate storage system to be developed which didnt conflict with the codeplug storage in the radio.
I already did some tests and the bottom 128 of the Flash memory does not appear to be used by the official firmware, because I erased it and then reloaded the official firmware and it seemed to work OK.
But developing a whole new data storage structure, as well as building new screens in the CPS and writing the code to upload and download from the new storage area would take a long time to write, and consequentially is not likely to happen in the short to medium term, because I have higher priority bug fixes to deal with in the firmware.
Hence if we can find a simple way to re-use the existing screen and existing storage, for this alternative use, I think it will be practical to implement. But anything more complicated would probably not be available for a long time.
One way that I could implement this, is to re-use the existing Number Key Assign part of the CPS and codeplug
And use Function + number to access whichever menus had been assigned in the CPS for that specific number
This would be a relatively simple change for me to make in the CPS but modifying the code that displays the list of Contacts on the drop-down menus, with a list of menus from the OpenGD77 firmware.
However, this would remove the possibility of using the Number Key Assign screen and codeplug data for its original purpose.
I don't know how common it is for Ham Radio operators to use the number key assignment feature, and I think this has to a large extent been superseded by the ability to do direct TG number entry and also the use of the Rx group to hold a list of Tx TG's
Having a completely new feature added to the CPS to handle the Function + Number key is not easy, mainly because there is no unused space in the existing codeplug data structure. So adding a completely new screen would also require a separate storage system to be developed which didnt conflict with the codeplug storage in the radio.
I already did some tests and the bottom 128 of the Flash memory does not appear to be used by the official firmware, because I erased it and then reloaded the official firmware and it seemed to work OK.
But developing a whole new data storage structure, as well as building new screens in the CPS and writing the code to upload and download from the new storage area would take a long time to write, and consequentially is not likely to happen in the short to medium term, because I have higher priority bug fixes to deal with in the firmware.
Hence if we can find a simple way to re-use the existing screen and existing storage, for this alternative use, I think it will be practical to implement. But anything more complicated would probably not be available for a long time.