SuperKey - the greatest CW keyer the world has ever seen. (Someday, hopefully).
SuperKey is a fully featured, open source CW / Morse code keyer for amateur radio operators. The goal of SuperKey is to provide all keyer functionality required by the modern ham radio enthusiast, as simply and cheaply as possible. SuperKey is 100% open source, and always will be - you are free to build, modify, and tinker with your own SuperKey.
SuperKey provides many useful features for hams:
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Supports all types of CW keys — straight key, paddles, bugs, sideswipers, etc.
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Supports all common paddle modes — iambic, ultimatic, etc.
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Supports all types of radios — if it has a keyer input, you can connect a SuperKey to it.
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Connects multiple keys to a single radio — no need to choose between straight key and paddles!
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Connects multiple radios to a single key — if that's something you need to do (🤨), SuperKey can do it for you.
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Allows keyboard text entry and automatic Morse code generation with autokeyer support.
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Supports speeds from 1 WPM to 100 WPM, with exact timing control of all Morse code elements.
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Keyer output is millisecond accurate, verified by oscilloscope.
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Hardware LED and buzzer output — practice when you're away from your radio, even silently!
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Supports a robust serial interface, allowing tight integration with third-party software.
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All functionality is programmable via a Python library, allowing advanced use cases.
SuperKey is under active development as of August 2025. The prototype hardware is continuing to evolve, and new features are being added continuously. Once a basic design has been finalized, I will upload a bill of materials and CAD files for the PCB. The current plan is for SuperKey to be equipped with at least the following hardware:
- Microchip ATmega1284P microcontroller
- FTDI FT232 USB-to-TTL adapter
- Four 1/8" TRS sockets, for a total of eight fully configurable I/O pins.
- USB-Mini connector providing power and a serial connection to the PC.
- Auxiliary UART for debugging.
- Two LEDs (unit status and keyer output).
- One piezo buzzer with configurable audio frequency.
Power is provided via the USB connector. I also plan to add a hardware user interface of some sort, to allow performing basic functions without requiring a PC connection. The details for this are TBD.
All documentation for SuperKey is located in the project's GitHub wiki.
- User Guide - NEW USERS START HERE! User-focused instruction manual for the SuperKey.
- Developer Guide - Documentation for developers who want to modify the SuperKey software.
- Hardware Guide - Description of SuperKey hardware and how to build it.
The linked GitHub workflows may be used as a reference example of setting up a SuperKey development environment.
SuperKey is designed and maintained by Chris Vig (N0VIG).
SuperKey is licensed under the GPLv3 license. See the LICENSE file for details.
Copyright (C) 2025 Chris Vig (chris@invictus.so).
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.