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I＊m back for a while and working on kits again. I put a very high priority on the new Display Driver board that fixes the T41 display freeze issue and allows a nice long cable to the display. I offer a 3.3V ONLY kit and a 3.3V and 5V kit (until I run out of 3.3V kits＃ then I will only stock the combo 3.3V and 5V kit). I＊m still writing the assembly manual for the display kits but it should be done by this afternoon. I will order the last few parts for them today＃ I should have them by Tuesday and will begin shipping them then. Also new to the list is the 20W Dummy Load/ 40 db attenuator tap for the calibration steps. I＊ve attached the full list so you can look it over if you need something. Those boards and Kits with $0.00 are not in stock. Remember, don＊t send me money, I＊ll invoice you＃ and make SURE you include your address. All prices below are without shipping, taxes, and Paypal fee. I will be at FDIM Thursday night＃ and have a booth at Hamvention (Booth 4111 in Building 4) where we will have a special guest＃ Al Peter to show off the T41 and answer any questions. I will be selling boards and kits both places and you won＊t have to pay shipping on them if you carry them away. Respond via my private email bill@... as to not clog the space here with our transactions. Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@... From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Duane B via groups.io Sent: Monday, April 7, 2025 11:57 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] boards and kits and stuff Hi Bill. I'm new to the group and wanted to know if it is too late to get a set of boards? If not, how much are they? 73, K5CA - Duane
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IDE Version 2.3.5 and updated 66-9 (Menu Error and Frequency Calibration Fixes)
2
Is the Memory Usage in line with the normal compilation? (Data listed below) Does it make a difference choosing 600mhz vs 528mhz? How fast can we run the teensy 4.1 ? Cooling appears to be recommedned at above 912mhz. Tonight I downloaded the updated 66-9 with the updates that fixed the Fixed FT increment on every Menu Exit and the Fine Tune Offset bug in Frequency Calibration. When I opened the updated code, the Arduino Application offered an update to 2.3.5, which I did. Compiled the code with no errors. Optimize - Faster with LTO CPU speed - 600 mhz USB Type - Dual Serial Opening Teensy Loader... Memory Usage on Teensy 4.1: FLASH: code:312356, data:132408, headers:8860 free for files:7672840 RAM1: variables:194688, code:288712, padding:6200 free for local variables:34688 RAM2: variables:483744 free for malloc/new:40544 ..jpw J P Watters KC9KKO Morris, IL USA
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Love this new format! Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton - J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com email: bill@...
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I finally got my 4-axis CNC machine fired up last night and the first thing it made was a box for the back of my radio with a 5§ display based on John Lundberg＊s work. I＊m pretty excited about this even though it turned out to be a disaster (idiot G-coder me)＃ but it was a step forward. I have buckets full of scrap PCB to work from to work with to get this right＃ but my rather crude test measurements confirm Terrance＊s assertion that it is, indeed, worth about 20 db noise floor reduction on the upper bands to placing the entire display into a shielded box. I have a young hot-shot engineer that started working for my engineering consulting company this week＃ and I think I will put him on this project＃ to get him up to speed with our lab. I＊d rather work on the 100W amp getting those kitted and finalize the Auto Tuner. [BTW, anyone want to work along with us to see how that project comes together? I＊ll start a #Tuner thread for it]. Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@...
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I＊m back for a while and working on kits again. I put a very high priority on the new Display Driver board that fixes the T41 display freeze issue and allows a nice long cable to the display. I offer a 3.3V ONLY kit and a 3.3V and 5V kit (until I run out of 3.3V kits＃ then I will only stock the combo 3.3V and 5V kit). I＊m still writing the assembly manual for the display kits but it should be done by this afternoon. I will order the last few parts for them today＃ I should have them by Tuesday and will begin shipping them then. Also new to the list is the 20W Dummy Load/ 40 db attenuator tap for the calibration steps. I＊ve attached the full list so you can look it over if you need something. Those boards and Kits with $0.00 are not in stock. Remember, don＊t send me money, I＊ll invoice you＃ and make SURE you include your address. All prices below are without shipping, taxes, and Paypal fee. I will be at FDIM Thursday night＃ and have a booth at Hamvention (Booth 4111 in Building 4) where we will have a special guest＃ Al Peter to show off the T41 and answer any questions. I will be selling boards and kits both places and you won＊t have to pay shipping on them if you carry them away. Respond via my private email bill@... as to not clog the space here with our transactions. Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@...
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[SoftwareControlledHamRadio] Ver066_9_3_22_25
3
Yeah exactly right＃ everyone is use to having a BPF in transmit to clean up the signal before transmitting＃. But what many SDRs are missing is a preselector＃ a band filter mechanism in receive that only allows the band you are listening through (Hence two BPFs for dual receive＃ because you could be on different bands). And because SDRs (and particularly this SRD that can operate from about 400kc up to almost 150 mhz), receiving a very loud signal pretty much anywhere in its receive range can desensitize the front end/ mixer to the point that you hear nothing! We fixed that with the BPF in the T41 operating in Receive too＃. So when at Field Day operating with friends on different bands＃ you won＊t see any interference in the receiver from them. That＊s the reason we used a 5 pole filter＃the skirts are very sharp so all the trash outside of the TX and RX frequency is greatly attenuated. Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@...
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I just uploaded the results of a T41 BPF redesign, the salient features of which are as follows: 1) All filters were re-simulated in ELSIE using AI6YM kit capacitor values (which differ slightly from K9HZ values as shown in the attached file). 2) ARRL and Toroid.Info toroid material recommended frequency ranges and tolerances were taken into consideration. 3) No Type 0 (phenolic) material toroids were used. At least for me, these produce inductance values all over the place. 4) Air coils were used for all very small values of inductance. 5) All toroids were wound with 28 gauge wire. Heavier gauge (22 or 24) was used for air core inductors. 6) Inductor values were checked with LCR meter and ※pre-tuned§ prior to insertion. In some cases a turn had to be added or removed from the calculated number in order to obtain a better value. 7) The filter as a whole was then tuned until loss was less than at least 3 dBm for entire range. 8) Filter performance was measured with calibrated and normalized DSA832-TG spectrum analyzer, then saved. 9) Filter ELSIE simulated vs. measured performance was displayed using custom Python program. 10) Design details and resulting performance are in the posted file. I expect that even better performance is possible with more fussing. Design files available upon request. 73, John Bennett AE0AM /g/AmateurRadioBuilders/files/AE0AM_T41_BPF_Filter_Design_Notes.pdf
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Yeah another mistake is pulling the wire so tight that is scrapes the enamel off the wire between turns and shorts them together. I am guilty of doing that＃ Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@...
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All: Al and I have just updated the 3rd edition T41 book. We moved the calibration info from Appendix C to its own chapter (20). The expanded instructions and new software make T41 calibration much easier. We have also updated the narrative in numerous places and have concentrated discussions on the V12.6 release where those changes are important. Some of you are asking yourself: Do I need to buy this update. Truthfully, if you already own the 3rd edition, we would say no. Most of the important changes are discussed on the web site and photos and schematics are available there, too. On the other hand, this is the last change we will be making to this book. Al and I have been at this for almost 7 years now and we're getting a little burned out. For that reason, we are turning this site over to Oliver King, KI3P, and Dr. Bill Schmidt, K9HZ. Al and I will continue to be active relative to the T41, but will leave the details to Oliver and Bill. If you do want the final version of the book, its new cover looks like this: The book is actually available now, but the Amazon ad will not reflect the new cover for about 10 more days. (If you order now, it will be the new version.) If you are attending the FDIM conference this May (coincides with Dayton Hamvention and the conference hotel is about 10 miles away), Al and I will be selling autographed copies on Thursday night (May 15th) at the conference hotel starting around 8PM. We have reduced the price of the autographed copies from $12,500 to $40...which is a deal and less than the Amazon price! If you have a previous copy of the book, bring it along and we will be happy to sign it. This has been a fun project and we want to thanks the hundreds of people have contributed to its improvement over time. We hope that continues long after Al and I are gone. 72, Jack Purdum, W8TEE Al Peter, AC8GY -- Jack, W8TEE
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Which T-41 Group
4
Which is the main group for T-41 information, AmateurRadioBuilders or SoftwareControlledHamRadio?
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Small latching relays for RF switching
3
Has anyone know of further experiments done along the lines of this, but with smaller relays suitable for portable/QRP applications? https://www.w6pql.com/using_inexpensive_relays.htm I see the IM43 relays being used in the (tr)uSDX Axicom D2n relays have been swapped into the uBitX. Stock uBitX uses VRS2H, which is hard to find. Browsing the digikey catalog there are several other series of small latching relays that I don't see any reference to (in ham related gear, at least). Has anyone played with the alternatives? Anyone have data? 73, Mark AC9VC
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Back in the Saddle
17
Hi All. I'm trying to get back in gear with the T-41 build. I purchased 4 full sets of V12.6 boards with dual RF and dual BPF, Tiny 85V, PE4302 chip, and K9HZ 20W 160-6M PA. I got these from Bill K9HZ almost a year ago. Sadly, I couldn't work on these until now. So, my question is: Have there been any updates to these boards that I need to get and are there updated plans for building them. Best regards and thanks in advance, John Owens K1JO
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Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@... From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of jjpurdum via groups.io Sent: Saturday, April 5, 2025 12:04 PM To: SoftwareControlledHamRadio <[email protected]> Subject: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] Update now available All: Just heard from Amazon and the updated version is now being advertised: Jack, W8TEE -- Jack, W8TEE
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FW: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] boards and kits and stuff
John＃ This is good work. I just ordered the parts for the Display Driver kits after I got good reports from 4 of the 5 kits I sent out for people to try. The parts for the remainder of the Drivers should be here by Tuesday. I＊ll send you one when the parts get here. My goal is to generate a PCB type box to put over the display to keep the RFI down to a minimum. If you can help me design those boxes for the % and 7 inch displays, I＊ll have some made and send you a couple to try out. As you know, his makes a HUGE difference in the usable floor and weak signal reception/ sensitivity of the receiver. Also interested in any help from the readers of this to get this right the first time. Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@... From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of John V Lundberg via groups.io Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2025 1:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] boards and kits and stuff I am interested in getting a 3.3 V board to see if it will further improve the receive noise on 6M by reducing radiation from the cable between the Main and Display boards. I have an AI6YM chassis with V12 Main, RF, and Front Panel boards. I use a 5" display in a shielded enclosure which greatly improved the RX noise floor on 80M through 10M (see the attachment). John W2TX
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I sent out five of those new display driver boards about a week ago and only saw posted that Terrance got his working as was able to use a 3-foot long display cable without display-T41 errors/lockups. Anyone else built it yet? I know i didnt publish an assembly manual before i headed out of the country but the thing is pretty simple and i did send out a note re how to make it work on 5v or 3.3v. Anyone else? I think its a winner but would like to know so i can get parts and boards ordered to send these out before Hamvention Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton - J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com email: bill@...
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I have been setting TX IQ Calibration parameters. Everything aligns well on the lower bands. When I engage PTT on 12m, 10m, and 6m in the TX IQ Cal menu, the amp oscillates around 40MHz and draws >2amps. It I disconnect the input to the amp, it does not oscillate. When I put a 6db pad between the LPF-Control and the amp it does not oscillate. It does oscillate if I drop the 6dB pad to 3dB, but only draws 700ma. Bias current is 250ma per side. Maybe the correct filters are not being switched in and there is some weird reactance on the input of the amp. Any suggestions? dave, n3ds
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[SoftwareControlledHamRadio] boards and kits and stuff
3
Ok. I am currently at my contest station in the Caribbean (J62K) getting ready for WPX with some youngsters early in their contesting careers. Ill ne back home on April 4th and ill get your order out the same day. Contact me directly. For some reason, groups locked me off the platform and started bouncing emails. I hope i got that resolved. Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton - J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com email: bill@...
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Combiner calculation spreadsheet
2
Attached is my spreadsheet for building combiners in your garage. You input the frequency, and that fixes the length of the wave guide. Then select the diameter of the inner conductor and that fixes the diameter of the outer container such that it is the correct impedance for the transform. Note that since square conduit only comes in specific inner dimensional sizes＃ but inner tubes come in 1/64§ increments＃ you must adjust the inner diameter in 1/64§ increments to find an outer diameter tube that is actually dimensionally produced. It won＊t matter if there are a few thousands difference between theoretical and produced dimensions (changes the transform by a few tenths of an ohm). Also watch carefully the difference between the inside and outside diameters (last two columns) to make sure there is enough clearance for the power you want to run (1/4§ needed for 1kW). Larger inner gives larger distance. You then buy the predicted square tube, put the coax connectors exactly 1§ from the ends (and in the exact middle if it＊s a half-wave design), solder in the center conductor, close the ends, and you have your combiner. Easy-peasy. Yeah I know, this is a bit anal, but it＊s so cheap to actually make these things it＊s worth the effort over charged prices. Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Like us on Facebook! Moderator 每 North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@... Virus-free. www.avg.com
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[SoftwareControlledHamRadio] Tx-Rx logic on LPF-Control
First, R8-R11 should NOT BE POPULATED under I2C control. U15 pins GPA0 and GPA1 should ALTERNATE STATE. NOTHING should be plugged into J1 unless it LISTENS ONLY. U3 and U7 appear to be working correctly＃ I think something happened the software and I need to have Oliver look into this because its happening to everyone and just after the last version of the software was released. Sorry just finished a colonoscopy so a little out of it＃ Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch 每 K9ZC Staunton, Illinois Owner 每 Operator Villa Grand Piton 每 J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. email: bill@...
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All: I can't seem to find Rob's transceiver ranking list. Anyone have a URL that works? Jack, W8TEE -- Jack, W8TEE
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