MicroFox-50 Manual
Version 0.2 – Nov 27, 2023
Overview
The Byonics MicroFox-50 (MF-50) is a small, frequency agile
2-meter transmitter designed for short range, on-foot hidden
transmitter hunts, also called T-hunts, foxhunts, and ARDF. It is
very similar to the popular MicroFox-15, but gives a user
adjustable RF power output between 0.05 and 50 mW and
includes a USB chargeable LiPo battery. It also includes the small
Byonics V4 whip antenna, but any VHF antenna with an SMA
connector will work. Using a directional antenna, it can typically be
received from about 1-2 miles away, line of sight. It is user
programmable to any frequency between 144 MHz and 148 MHz
in 5 KHz steps, can be adjusted to many tones, durations, and
duty cycles, and can transmit an amateur radio callsign and
battery voltage in Morse code.
The MF-50 transmissions consist of a looping user defined tone
sequence, followed by a Morse code identification. The
transmitter will then be off the air for a moment, and then the
entire process begins again.
Configuration
An included micro-USB cable is required to configure the settings
of the MF-50. A CH340 driver may be needed if the computer
doesn’t already have one. The settings can be updated in any
serial terminal program (TeraTerm Pro is recommended for
Windows), or using the byonics.com website. Do not use a power
only micro USB cable as these do not pass data to the computer.
To use a serial terminal program, connect the USB cable between the MF-50 and the computer, turn on the
MF-50 power switch, and set the terminal program to use the corresponding COM port, at 115200 baud, N81.
In the terminal program, send 3 asterisks (*) followed by Enter. The MF-50 should respond with the firmware
version, and show the value for the first setting. Enter a new value for the setting, or just press Enter to keep
the existing one. Repeat this process for each setting until the MF-50 responds with “Settings Done”.
To configure with the Byonics MFConfig website, use the Chrome web browser and navigate to
https://byonics.com/mfconfig/. Connect the USB cable between the MF-50 and the computer, turn on the
MF-50 power switch, click the Connect to MF-50 button and select the corresponding COM port. Click the
Update MF-50 Settings button, and you should see all current settings presented. Make any desired changes,
and again press the Update MF-50 Settings button.
The default settings that appear when the configuration program is started are recommended for a basic hunt
with the MF-50 transmitting tones for 15 seconds, and then a Morse code ID. It then will stop transmitting, and
repeats every 30 seconds. The only setting users must change is the Morse Message to be their assigned
amateur radio callsign.
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