Hi John:

I agree that keeping the DDS and microcontroller off the main PCB is a good idea. Experimenting with different controllers would be easier. The new Teensy 3.6 blows the Arduino family out of the processing water. It has 1GB of flash, 256K of SRAM, and 4K EEPROM and is clocked at 180MHz. It has two ADC's at 13 bit resolution and 2 DAC's at 12 bit resolution. True, it's more expensive (under $30), but is worth it if you need the horsepower. While I haven't tried coding too many things with it yet, so far everything I've tried using the Arduino IDE has worked. How cool would it be to have a waterfall display nad some other SDR features with the BITX40?!

Jack, W8TEE

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From: John VA7JBE via Groups.Io <va7jbe@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2017 1:39 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Idea for future versions of BITX

Changing the processor to something like a Teensy would allow for more digital modes to be added.? As it stands, CW is about all the Arduino is able to decode.? For something like PSK-31 more clock cycles and a better ADC are required.? I haven't checked the pin-out, but I would think that a few jumpers or even a PCB buffer would be enough to swap the Nano for some other development board.? This would also open up more options for digital filters and user interfaces.

Keeping the DDS and micro controller/processor separate from the main board allows for more flexibility in this regard, and I'd be happy to leave it that way.? On-board refinements for the BitX40 that stick with the original design goal of making a board for experimentation and customization might include adding even more places for people to plug into the signal, like in the IF, or refining what's already there (widening the bandwidth of the crystal filter comes to mind.)