Re: ND6T AGC implementation for uBIT-X
Yup, that would work. I'm thinking of something useful for detecting low level RF when trying to figure out why the transmitter is putting out 1 Watt instead of 5Watts. But the scaling resistors in front of your AD8307 could be adjusted as needed. I was also thinking that if the AGC or pop fix boards needed to be redone, you might squeeze in pads for an AD8307. Nik has an AD8307 on his Raduino: ? ? /g/BITX20/message/42237Did anyone try it? Was it quiet enough to be useful? Jerry, KE7ER
On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 05:54 pm, Kees T wrote:
Jerry,??#49555
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Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.
I made a mag loop for 40 and am working on the homemade capacitors remote tuning mechanism. I started with an arduino and servo, and now going KISS with a DC 0.6 RPM motor, momentary rocker switch, PWM driver to slow it down more, and a field strength meter to use instead of a SWR meter. I once said before the uBITX was released I wouldn't mind assembling and winding the toroids myself like other kits are. And I too stock parts. Woodworkers stock wood, machinists stock metal, we all stock things for our hobbies as we chose to enjoy it. It's an investment in our continued enjoyment, as well as a convenience. Who likes to wait 6 weeks to start a project?
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Re: Using the uBitx with FT8
By the way, thanks Doug for taking the time to post your work on doing this. I'll very interested in doing the same thing!
Roy WA0YMH
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Re: rough draft of how to connect BITX to PC for digital modes wiki
I followed a similar approach.? Mounted a 4 port usb hub inside
the case.? One port for the radiuno, one for a 6 buck usb sound
dongle, two free for future use (rtl dongle for panadapter and
maybe a pi0 for for something in the future).
I also used an Easy-Digi board simply because I prefer to have
the radio as electrically isolated from the computer as possible.?
The advantage of the USB sound dongle is that the radio gets it's
own dedicated audio in and out channels. This way I can have
WSJT-X running and not lose my main PC audio. ? Disadvantage?? I
used an unpowered hub that puts a load on a single USB port with
the RTL dongle plugged in.? I'll change that later.
The only thing I had to do to tame the audio is to put a 330 ohm
resistor across the output side of the audio out (dongle mic in)
to make the volume adjustment smoother.
I run the CEC software to control freq changes and transmit from
WSJT-X via CAT control through Onmi-Rig.
On 5/17/2018 8:45 PM, Doug W wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
It seems almost
every day (or hour) someone has a question about connecting their
radio for digital modes.? Following are my cobbled together notes
that if the group deems worthy could be the start of a wiki page
on the topic.? My concern is my use of a TRRS jack might be too
specific, but at least this is a place to start.? Your feedback is
welcome.
----------------
There are many
different ways to pair your radio¡¯s audio and ptt circuits with
a computer to work digital modes.? This is not a discussion of all the different
ways.? This is how I
did it.? Most of the
information is readily available if you search this list and
online.
I'm using an Easy
Digi kit for switching PTT and isolating Rx audio.? I found the loss was too
high on the Tx side so I'm going right from the sound card to
the rig for Tx but I will describe using both sides of the Easy
Digi below.? I set up
my radios with a mono jack for the speaker and TRRS for mic/PTT
and corresponding cables on the Easy Digi so everything is
interchangeable.? I'm
using a USB sound card and an FTDI cable.? I have the sound card and
FTDI cable plugged into a small unpowered USB hub with the Easy
Digi hot glued on top with the cables all hot glued for strain
relief.? It is ugly as
sin but sits out of sight and works.? There are links below to
all the parts I used.
Pop the cover off
the USB sound card and desolder the two audio jacks.? Cut two pieces long
enough to go from the sound card to the Easy Digi off the mono
cable.? It is 6¡¯ long,
you have plenty to spare and it is good shielded cable.? Solder the cables where
the jacks were and route them out the holes in the case where
the jacks were.? Now
solder those cables to the corresponding spots on the Easy Digi.? Mic from the sound card
to Audio to PC on the Easy Digi and speaker on the sound card to
Audio from PC.? Now
solder the audio cable with plugs to the Easy Digi board.? Audio to your radio¡¯s
speaker via the mono cable and Mic to your radio¡¯s mic via the 4
conductor cable if doing it like I did.? The last connections are
from the FTDI to the Easy Digi and the Easy Digi to your ptt.? Cut the RJ45 connector
off the FTDI cable and connect the following cables to the Easy
Digi, Black to DIG GND, Green to DTR and Brown to RTS.? Those are the only wires
you will use in that cable.? Now
connect PTT HI on the Easy Digi to your PTT wire and PTT GND to
your PTT ground.? Both
of these are also part of the 4 conductor cable.? Now plug the FTDI cable
and USB sound card in the USB hub and connect the hub to your
computer.? If you are
using Windows, your machine should set both up without issue.? Connect the mono jack to your
radio's speaker jack and the TRRS plug to your TRRS jack or
however you have your mic and ptt connected.
Assuming you are
using WSJT-X, in settings under the radio tab select RTS for PTT
method and whatever port the FTDI adapter cable shows up on.? With a dummy load
connected to your radio click the Test PTT button several times
to make sure it toggles Tx on and off on your radio.
One last very
important thing.? The
heat sinks on the IRF510¡¯s are sized for casual voice and cw
work not the full blast usage of digital modes.? Make sure you have a plan
to deal with the heat.? There
are many other posts on heat sink ideas.? I have found even a
little air flow from a small fan makes a huge difference.
Following are the parts I used:
?
Easy Digi
mono cable with plug
4 conductor cable with TRRS plug
TRRS jack
USB sound card
FTDI cable (do not buy a cheap TTL adaptor, they do not put out
high enough voltage for the opto coupler on the Easy Digi)
USB hub
I found this breakout jack helpful for confirming the wires on
the 4 conductor cable before soldering up the TRRS jack
--
Doug
AC9RZ
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How can the plugged in paddle work when only the tip (or ring) and ground of course,are connected?? Don't both tip and ring have to be wired?? What am I missing?
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Re: ND6T AGC implementation for uBIT-X
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Re: Using the uBitx with FT8
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rough draft of how to connect BITX to PC for digital modes wiki
It seems almost every day (or hour) someone has a question about connecting their radio for digital modes.? Following are my cobbled together notes that if the group deems worthy could be the start of a wiki page on the topic.? My concern is my use of a TRRS jack might be too specific, but at least this is a place to start.? Your feedback is welcome. ----------------
There are many different ways to pair your radio¡¯s audio and ptt circuits with a computer to work digital modes.? This is not a discussion of all the different ways.? This is how I did it.? Most of the information is readily available if you search this list and online.
I'm using an Easy Digi kit for switching PTT and isolating Rx audio.? I found the loss was too high on the Tx side so I'm going right from the sound card to the rig for Tx but I will describe using both sides of the Easy Digi below.? I set up my radios with a mono jack for the speaker and TRRS for mic/PTT and corresponding cables on the Easy Digi so everything is interchangeable.? I'm using a USB sound card and an FTDI cable.? I have the sound card and FTDI cable plugged into a small unpowered USB hub with the Easy Digi hot glued on top with the cables all hot glued for strain relief.? It is ugly as sin but sits out of sight and works.? There are links below to all the parts I used.
Pop the cover off the USB sound card and desolder the two audio jacks.? Cut two pieces long enough to go from the sound card to the Easy Digi off the mono cable.? It is 6¡¯ long, you have plenty to spare and it is good shielded cable.? Solder the cables where the jacks were and route them out the holes in the case where the jacks were.? Now solder those cables to the corresponding spots on the Easy Digi.? Mic from the sound card to Audio to PC on the Easy Digi and speaker on the sound card to Audio from PC.? Now solder the audio cable with plugs to the Easy Digi board.? Audio to your radio¡¯s speaker via the mono cable and Mic to your radio¡¯s mic via the 4 conductor cable if doing it like I did.? The last connections are from the FTDI to the Easy Digi and the Easy Digi to your ptt.? Cut the RJ45 connector off the FTDI cable and connect the following cables to the Easy Digi, Black to DIG GND, Green to DTR and Brown to RTS.? Those are the only wires you will use in that cable.? Now connect PTT HI on the Easy Digi to your PTT wire and PTT GND to your PTT ground.? Both of these are also part of the 4 conductor cable.? Now plug the FTDI cable and USB sound card in the USB hub and connect the hub to your computer.? If you are using Windows, your machine should set both up without issue.? Connect the mono jack to your radio's speaker jack and the TRRS plug to your TRRS jack or however you have your mic and ptt connected.
Assuming you are using WSJT-X, in settings under the radio tab select RTS for PTT method and whatever port the FTDI adapter cable shows up on.? With a dummy load connected to your radio click the Test PTT button several times to make sure it toggles Tx on and off on your radio.
One last very important thing.? The heat sinks on the IRF510¡¯s are sized for casual voice and cw work not the full blast usage of digital modes.? Make sure you have a plan to deal with the heat.? There are many other posts on heat sink ideas.? I have found even a little air flow from a small fan makes a huge difference.
Following are the parts I used:
?
Easy Digi
mono cable with plug
4 conductor cable with TRRS plug
TRRS jack
https://www.jameco.com/z/PJ31640-3-5mm-4-Conductor-TRRS-Panel-Mount-Phone-Jack_2201607.html
USB sound card
FTDI cable (do not buy a cheap TTL adaptor, they do not put out high enough voltage for the opto coupler on the Easy Digi)
USB hub
I found this breakout jack helpful for confirming the wires on the 4 conductor cable before soldering up the TRRS jack
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J4G00MI
-- Doug AC9RZ
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Re: ND6T AGC implementation for uBIT-X
The diode detector could be dead-bugged.
Better might be pads for an AD8307 on one of those boards someday.
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On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 04:07 pm, Jerry Gaffke wrote:
? A schottky diode plus C's and R's to build a diode RF detector, cost another dime, display to a DVM or perhaps the Nano's A7
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Would someone point me to where I can learn how to use the radio with FT8.?
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Re: ND6T AGC implementation for uBIT-X
Kees,
A couple more things that might fit into that shipping envelope:
? ? Four of Mouser's? ?283-200-RC? for a dummy load? (these are 3W 200 ohms, under a dime each)
? ? A schottky diode plus C's and R's to build a diode RF detector, cost another dime, display to a DVM or perhaps the Nano's A7
Both of those would be very useful when working on a uBitx.
Jerry
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Tue, May 15, 2018 at 05:02 pm, Kees T wrote:
Engineers being Engineers and not wanting to leave well enough alone....
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Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.
Gordon,
Small Loops.
That is not entirely true.? There are a number of loop characteristics that contribute to the low noise
as they very often have a higher signal to noise.? The biggest factor is they are closed systems and
very low impedances. This makes them less susceptible to electrostatic fields at near field distances.?
That and being directional.
They are also electrically small so signals are smaller.
My biggest pain when I read about them is hyping them like its a replacement for three elements at 60ft.
It is not.? ? However that said its useful and can be a great asset for some situations.
And yes you can work DX on them too.? But keep this in mind I used a cheap MFJ 8ft whip on my?
Tacoma running a KNQ7A (about 7W out) from central MA to a foundation station in VK3 Land. I
figured my EIRP was about .5Watt allowing for antenna efficiency and all.? Propagation is a wonderful
thing.? So for that contact it was better than anything as driving down RT at 60mph what else would
work(or be attached)!? ?But if you don't try you can't claim even trying.
For DX try a DL5 using 100W on 40 with a wire that was literally on the ground (grasswire).? He said I
was weak but he did hear me.? Hence my belief, try something, and cheaper is better (in case its terrible).? ;)
Allison
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Don't know if this will help but when I assembled my unit I accidently staggered the display pins. I only found this out when I assembled a case for it and my mounting holes were off. Another area is the pins on the board. They can be staggered accidently. Have you tried connecting the USB port to ur computer and see if it will fire up?
Hope this helps
73s
David
Ka9koj
Sent from Yahoo Mail. Get the app
--------------------------------------------
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On Wed, 5/16/18, kj6etl <pa1zz@...> wrote: Subject: [BITX20] Raduino not working 0 Volts on Pin 6 (red wire) #ubitx-help #ubitx To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 7:32 PM Hi, I am strugling with a uBitx. The Raduino isn't responging to any input. There is 0 volt on pin 6 (red wire for the funktion button) to ground on the yellow wire (pin 4) or common ground on the chassis. I guess that without power we can't switch anyting. I tested with and without the encoder connected etc etc. Do I have a faulty arduino board or can this be fixed with software? Looking forward to your replies. Rogier
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Re: Antenna Impedance Confirmation
OK, so we won't use the 3 digit display for any indication because of the hassle of shielding it and we don't want extra noise generated if we can help it. We did shield one and the noise drop was substantial.
How about another inexpensive approach for QRP (needs to be tested) using a 10 LED display which reads out in 3dB power steps with a 30dB range, ANY 30dB range......20W (43dBm) to 20mW (13dBm). That way the LEDs mean: 10 is 20W, 9 is 10W, 8 is 5W, 7 is 2.5W, 6 is 1.25W..... 1 is 20mW, you get the idea. Yes, the granularity is not great ....but usable. One AD8307 which is switched between Forward and Reverse or two AD8307s, one for Forward and one for reverse.?
Connect the above to the coax via a Stockton or other bridge coupler with appropriate attenuator.
73 Kees K5BCQ
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Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.
" For the lower bands?
160-40 unless huge they are chronically inefficient.? They work as well as a loaded?
8ft mobile whip but are self contained not requiring radials.?"
Allison, thank you for putting that into print.? ?I have the hardest time explaining to people why these antennas are so "quiet" --- and it isn't because they are so efficient!!!
cheers,
gordon
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Jerry,
The more you stock and hold for sale the more costs. Holding material aka stock is sunk
money and the cost?is sufficient to mount up fast.? Better to build one or a few things and
do it efficiently.
I have the Slopbucket 20 and its both interesting and a very good compact 20M SSB/CW.
ITs not a bitx artecture its moe Epiphyte in origins or like the 6M design I published in
QQ 12 years ago.? My SB20 does about 7Wat 13.8 and more off a 4S2P lipo pack
(nominal 14.8), not bad for one IRF510.? SMT to 0603?doesn't make me flinch the
smaller 0402 is a pain.
FYI the antennas here include:
? 75M dipole at 12ft for NVIS?
? 160M inverted V? (hint the property is 150x150ft so space is an issue)
? LNR EF-quad (40/20/15/10) up 30ft
? PAR EF40/20/10? 90 degrees to that and about 33ft up.
? Inverted L bottom fed with remote match box (relays and such)
? Grasswire? 130ft OCF at about 6 inches, read K3MTs Grasswire Story.
? ? ? ?Its a broad band low angle antenna, I use it for low band DX.
? Tower 1 30ft with VHF/UHF tree (see QRZ).
? Tower 2 35ft is the center of the 160M dipole (low inverted V)
The list of antennas tried and later replaced is way longer.
My last task for the antenna engineering firm was loop antennas for transmitting.? They
are compact and?narrow band so constant tuning is required.? For the lower bands
160-40 unless huge they are chronically inefficient.? They work as well as a loaded
8ft mobile whip but are self contained not requiring radials.? Its a small compromise
antenna that has utility.? The hidden utility is they are directional and that can
really help null out noise sources.? Ferrite loaded loops are very good for
receiving if you don't mind tuning them Amidon sells 1" by 1foot rods for that stuff.
Name an antenna I've likely tried it or have one built for prior use or field day.
I agree ideal is a 120ft tower.... ain't going to happen here.? But I firmly believe
if you don't put something up/out/on the ground your not trying.? Why because
everything works better than nothing.
Allison
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Raduino Questions for Bitx40
Greeting,
If I may I have a few questions about my Bitx40.? My display will only on power up will show "Raduino v1.01 and will stop there.? I have checked the purple wire going to the center wiper and I can vary it from 0-5volts.? I can also hear the 12 mhz on my other radio. However it will not go on to display the frequency on the display.? So I'm wondering does the "Raduino v1.01" really tell me that the software is working correctly in the nano board? I don't really have much experience with this stuff, just downloaded the IDE? and got a few books on the arduino, I'm on? the path to learning about them.? My bitx40 does not have? L4 and C93 on it,? So does the uno and board that attached to it provide all the signals that the bitx40 needs?? I watched Ashhar Farhan's video on troubleshooting and I did not have a signal at Collector at Q7 the 5 mhz on the main board.? Is this normal if the L4 and C93 are not mounted on the main board?? I feel that I need to get the display working before I go on with this.
Thanks for all input
Tom WD9GON
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Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.
Jerry,
The more you stock and hold for sale the more costs. Holding material aka stock is sunk
money and the cost?is sufficient to mount up fast.? Better to build one or a few things and
do it efficiently.
I have the Slopbucket 20 and its both interesting and a very good compact 20M SSB/CW.
ITs not a bitx artecture its moe Epiphyte in origins or like the 6M design I published in
QQ 12 years ago.? My SB20 does about 7Wat 13.8 and more off a 4S2P lipo pack
(nominal 14.8), not bad for one IRF510.? SMT to 0603?doesn't make me flinch the
smaller 0402 is a pain.
FYI the antennas here include:
? 75M dipole at 12ft for NVIS?
? 160M inverted V? (hint the property is 150x150ft so space is an issue)
? LNR EF-quad (40/20/15/10) up 30ft
? PAR EF40/20/10? 90 degrees to that and about 33ft up.
? Inverted L bottom fed with remote match box (relays and such)
? Grasswire? 130ft OCF at about 6 inches, read K3MTs Grasswire Story.
? ? ? ?Its a broad band low angle antenna, I use it for low band DX.
? Tower 1 30ft with VHF/UHF tree (see QRZ).
? Tower 2 35ft is the center of the 160M dipole (low inverted V)
The list of antennas tried and later replaced is way longer.
My last task for the antenna engineering firm was loop antennas for transmitting.? They
are compact and?narrow band so constant tuning is required.? For the lower bands
160-40 unless huge they are chronically inefficient.? They work as well as a loaded
8ft mobile whip but are self contained not requiring radials.? Its a small compromise
antenna that has utility.? The hidden utility is they are directional and that can
really help null out noise sources.? Ferrite loaded loops are very good for
receiving if you don't mind tuning them Amidon sells 1" by 1foot rods for that stuff.
Name an antenna I've likely tried it or have one built for prior use or field day.
I agree ideal is a 120ft tower.... ain't going to happen here.? But I firmly believe
if you don't put something up/out/on the ground your not trying.? Why because
everything works better than nothing.
Allison
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Hello all, I'm a new member of this group. My uBITx was ordered early feb., sent early march and arrived early may in YO. Due to the "care" taken by the Romanian post, no information about the arrival was sent to me. Thanks to India Post for backtracking the delivery!!
With a 15-days delay I retired my item, in perfect condition though.
So... the real delivery time to YO is about 90 days.
First contact: roughly packed, kit complete as listed on hfsignals website, the audio amp in an? 8-pin DIL socket (thanks Fahrhan, the through-hole solders are useful for hacking, specially for te digimodes lovers!).
Microscopic exam of PCB: visually perfect, neat solders, clean board.
Mechanical design for casing started last week, with the goal in mind to obtain a portable/mobile HF fieldday/emergency station setup, in a small suitcase (I'm seeking the local shops for a rough plastic one). This weekend the startup tests are programmed. Next week the CEC 1.61 software will be adapted and tested for a 4x20 display and without wspr.
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Re: share your BITX success stories
I guess I would be able to obtain the 1000mi/W award as I had contact with Fiji from the Texas/Mexico border at the Gulf Coast.
But as I am fairly new (6 months) still have to learn about those things.
Contact was made on 10m with FT8 in March. Before that I only had seen reception reports drom Japan and Europe.?
So pretty pleased with my uBitx with an end-fed in the attic.
John
KG5WJQ
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Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.
Hfsignals is set up to autostuff the surface mount parts with hundreds of boards at a shot.
Then it's handwork to wind the coils and add the through-hole parts, align and test.
To do an accurate job of throwing all those 1206's and SOT23's into a bag could
cost more than the autostuff.??
Might be interesting for them to offer just the autostuffed board with surface mount parts
as a reduced price option, we dig up our own through-hole parts?
Perhaps include all the matched quartz?
Just bare boards?
But all those different products in the price list would make life more complicated there
increasing overhead.? ?I doubt there would be much volume for any of the above options.
All conjecture on my part.
Easy enough for us to remove parts.
There are other *Bitx* variants (and the KD1JV Slopbucket) offered as kits, some are multiband.?
Jerry,? KE7ER
?
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Show quoted text
On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 09:56 am, K9HZ wrote:
You know, I¡¯d love to see the uBITx as a kit.? In fact, I¡¯d take it as just a bag of parts and a circuit board¡ skip the assembly and testing.? I¡¯d do that myself.? What that would do is allow those of us that want to take the challenge¡ to swap out some parts during the build to customize the thing a little more without doing surgery on a completed board.
?
Something to think about.
?
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atouk