Scott,
Thanks for the excellent field report and the great pictures. I like the idea of attaching a second monitor to support third-party applications, and and glad to hear about your successes with WSJT-X in the unit.
My sBitx was bought without an RPi, and is currently running with a 2 Gig RAM model, I wonder if I should upgrade to a 4 Gig RAM model if I want to run third-party apps as you did? It may not be needed, but it might just provide a bit more room for the software to work with...
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On Aug 21, 2022, at 16:41, Scott KE8KYP <scott_massey@...> wrote:
?Hi All,
Once again, I have to praise Ashhar for his design.? Once the LM338 is replaced with a buck regulator, the radio works great.? I've run WSJT in wspr mode on and off for a few days and I have had no problems.
In order to run WSJT is wspr mode, after launching sbitx, close Fldigi and then open WSJT.? Only one can run at a time because the active program cannot "share" audio information.? Anyway, once this is done, set the radio in DIGITAL mode, adjust the power to your liking and let it rip!? Tuning the sbitx will set WSJT after a second or two.? It will not work the other way, FYI,? By the way, I can't imagine doing this without a second monitor.? I suppose you could do it without a second monitor but it might get confusing. For the cost of a micro HDMI to HDMI cable (my monitor has three inputs: DVI, VGA, HDMI) and minor alteration to the right side panel, you get a very capable system.? Mind you, even though there are two (2) micro HDMI jacks, the RPI does not support more than two (2) monitors.? Yes, the DSI port is a monitor port.? Bummer!
Here are a few pics:
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sBitx in wspr transmit
WSJT in wspr mode (2nd RPI monitor)
Spots
As a comparison, I tried to match the output of my Ten Tec Jupiter at approximately the same power setting using the same end fed antenna and the results are just about the same.? I'm going to call it the same because you never know exactly if and when you'll get responses.
Oh, In case you noticed, I added two LEDS to the front panel: power and transmit indications.? PWR LED comes from the 5Vdc feed from the RPI to the display and the transmit LED is fed from the coil of the K9 relay.? I sized the resistors to only draw 4-5mA which I can't see that being a problem for the U4 driver and certainly not the 5Vdc source.? If I were to do this again, I'd probably mount the LEDs above the two encoders.? Neither above the encoders of just below the upper encoder (or above the lower encoder) is ideal but since the real estate between the two encoders is populated with the J1 connector, I chose the location just below the upper encoder.
Now to work on JS8Call.
Cheers, Scott
