¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Date

Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

Jack, W8TEE
 

The 4SQRP people have the Beta boards from China and are starting to test them. I don't have a firm date, but it looks like late Sept, early Oct to me, but that's just a guess.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 03:45:17 PM EDT, david todd via groups.io <ac9xh@...> wrote:


Anyway jack,

hows your t-41 going.
Do you know when your transceiver will be available for sell as a whole unit?

73
David
ac9xh

--
Jack, W8TEE


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

Jack, W8TEE
 

David:

I think you read what I was saying incorrectly. I said a practice session is done with the eyes closed. If the student is doing that, they're not using the decoder. However, if they "get lost", the can open their eyes, see what tripped them up, and close their eyes again and soldier on. I think it can lessen the frustration of getting started learning Morse.

I'm not pushing the T41 decoder. Indeed, you can turn it off and not even know it's there. It is not a feature of the T41 that would make anyone buy or not buy it, so I really don't have a stake in the decoder. There's nothing wrong with us disagreeing on this. A student just getting started could try both approaches and see what works best for them. No one solution fits all.

Jack, W8TEE


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

 

Anyway jack,

hows your t-41 going.
Do you know when your transceiver will be available for sell as a whole unit?

73
David
ac9xh


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

 

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 12:28 PM, Jack, W8TEE wrote:
my guess is that less than 10% of those licensed after 2006 know CW.
This is the reason decoders should not be used. but thats my opinion, like i stated earlier, thousands will agree with me but not on this particular forum.

still waiting for you t41 to come out to buy it.

73
David
ac9xh


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

 

Jack,
love your books and projects, but i have to disagree with your philosophy.If you become dependant on decoders, you will have a harder time of speeding up your copy. Ive spent alot of time teaching code. and most who have used decoders,never get past the hurtle that the decoders present. I know you are pushing it since its in you rig, but i definitely disagree.Everyone has a point, an opinion, and i gave mine. I wont change my beliefs because others? say? they disagree,or "make a point". Sorry jack but i dont see eye to eye on this with you or anyone else for that matter. Guess its because i dont have a stake in the game.And there are 1000s that agree with me ,just not on this particular forum.

73
David
ac9xh


Re: sBITX waiting for shipping details

Mark Earnest
 

Partial Kit #77 showed in Pittsburgh in 10 days from shipping notification.?

It was on the air in less than an hour.

This thing is sweet. I haven't replaced the voltage regulator yet but I have a dozen or so of them from Amazon and I'll probably replace the LM338 before trying anything more than 10 watts just to be safe (I want to enjoy this working before I take a soldering iron to it :)


Re: #sbitx: Raspberry Pi Heatsink?

 

I am convinced by now that heatsinks are unnecessary - vcgencmd measure_temp tells me the RPI measures 56.4c after 5 hours being switched on, surrouding is about 26c.

Vy 73 de

Rolf, DL8BAG

Am 15.08.22 um 23:31 schrieb Ken N2VIP:

To add to Shirley's great response:

When first released, the RPi 4 had heat issues, but shortly after the RPi 4 was released, updated firmware was released that corrected the issue.

Firmware updates happen in the background when you run a recent OS image from the Raspberry Pi Organization.

You shouldn't have an issues with heat, the RPi in the sBitx is 'floating' over the digital board with ample air-flow in my opinion.

Ken, N2VIP

On Aug 15, 2022, at 12:29, Shirley Dulcey KE1L <mark@...> wrote:

The Raspberry Pi in the sBitx does not work especially hard. The processor gets warm but is well within specs. Mine has small paste-on heat sinks, but that's because I had already installed them when I was using that Pi for other purposes; I bought the basic kit. (I have switched to an RPi Model 400 for what the one in my sBitx used to do.) If you want to install heat sinks similar to mine they won't do any harm, and might help if you operate your sBitx in very hot conditions (say, on a picnic table in the sun); they are readily available for a couple of dollars. A more substantial heat sink like one of the tall tower ones (with or without fan) should never be necessary, and might cause a problem fitting the Pi into the sBitx case.


Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Yes, understood.? Just thought I would let it be known that it is not the core that shields a toroid.? It is inherent in its shape.? Physics.? :-)

On 8/16/22 9:49 AM, Ashhar Farhan via groups.io wrote:

David,
Shielding is not the issue. Losses are. Lower Q leads to higher losses. The Q is determined by the material inside the toroid. Air/Vacuum is the best material with least losses for an inductor, whether a solenoid or a toroid.

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 6:23 PM David McGaw <david.g.mcgaw@...> wrote:
Toriodal inductors are inherently shielded by their geometry, no matter what the core material is, air, ferrite or other.

73,

David N1HAC

On 8/15/22 8:24 PM, Ashhar Farhan via wrote:
David,
The inside of the toroid should be hollow and it not hollow it should have as little in-fill as possible. This is the key to high performance 3D printed toroids. PLA or ABS are lossy and they can lead to lossy filters.
- f

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022, 4:16 AM Siegfried Jackstien <siegfried.jackstien@...> wrote:

would not a simple tubing do the same?? .. the "shielding" of a coil wound on a ferrite core comes from the core material ... so i guess a normal pastic tubing will work equally well if not better (fewer loss cause fewer plastic inside the coil)

so ... what is the reason to print plastic toroids??

dg9bfc sigi

Am 15.08.2022 um 23:50 schrieb David R. Hassall WA5DJJ:

Dear group,

I asked a friend of mine to build a master toroid stl file that we can put in our 3D printer software and come up with the plastic toroids almost any size we want.?? The Master was built on the basic size of 1 inch in diameter with a height of 1/2 inch and a thickness of? 0.2 inches.?? I use the CURA program to build my 3D printer files and it will allow me to scale all three axes once the basic 25mm toroid.stl file is loaded into the software.? It also allows you to print almost any number of a basic design in one printing.?? Here are some examples that I printed this morning:

toroid pic

I just used the scaling values of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% to get the different sized plastic toroids pictured above.? So with the master stl file anyone with a 3D printer should be able to print almost any size plastic toroid form that you would need.?? I have attached the master stl file to this Message and it should enable anyone with a 3D printer to make the plastic Toroids that they need for the Daylight Radio Project.

Take care and have fun.

73 Dave WA5DJJ
SUPER QRSS GRABBER





Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

Anthony Good
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Just for clarification, this hardware is not my offering. ?It uses my code, but I don¡¯t directly support the hardware or profit from it. ?They did send me a complimentary unit. ( I ask people selling kits to send me a free unit or a bottle of bourbon¡­hi hi)

The CW decoding feature was always a bit of an experimental novelty, and never really intended for day-to-day use. ?I copy everything in my head. ?Your mileage may vary.

If someone is going to embed my keyer in a rig, I recommend buying an Arduino board, or building a circuit from scratch with an AVR chip.

73
Goody
K3NG

On Aug 16, 2022, at 11:53, david todd via <ac9xh@...> wrote:

Justin ,i went to their website and it looks like a keyer.
K3NG CW Keyer

its something i wouldnt install in my ubitx v6 but to each their own.probably has a decoder for those who like to send way faster than they can copy cw.HI HI.
Im a purist. decoders for cw are an insult to the cw community as a whole if you operate cw.this is from their website:K3NG¡¯s arduino code, such as LCD display, USB keyboard, rotary encoder and CW decoder etc.

looks nice for shortwave listeners who like to tune in those secret signals, but just my opinion,? my decoder is my ears. you always know someone is using a decoder when there is a little bit of adjacent noise and the decoder cant tune it in. even though your signals and theirs are 599.

decoders for those who try to appear to copy way way faster than they are able to.sometimes they use the programmable keyrs to make canned contacts too.Sometimes "SOME" those who use decoders? are the ones who apply for fast code decoding awards from the ARRL w1aw bulletins.

73
David
ac9xh


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

 

I installed the Funtronix board and it works well for FT8. There¡¯s plenty of room in the InKit enclosure for the 5 inch Nextion screen, as well as other mods ( I have a second nano for the Nextion s-meter, also another mod for an analog s-meter, an AGC, a broadcast band filter which is an absolute must in Los Angeles, and other mods).


Re: #sbitx mod #sBitx

 

Try reducing your 1000uF down to 10uF. Of course, the capacitor comes after the choke from your power source (L-C).

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 10:57 AM Scott KE8KYP <scott_massey@...> wrote:
Hi Guys,

I picked up some of the buck regulators from Amazon that Ashhar originally recommended.? After reading this thread, with regard to switching noise concerns, I built an input LC low pass filter to "head off" potential noise issues.? I've not installed it the transceiver (waiting for replacement IFRZ24 transistors to do the work all at once), but I performed some bench tests.??

Out of my junk drawer, I found a blue toroid and wound it with 36 turns of 22ga magnetic wire.? I made a static measurement of 4.98uH of the choke and added it with a 1000uF, 25v electrolytic to make an input low pass filter.? The DigiKey Low Pass Filter Calculator calculated a -3db cutoff frequency of 2255.3059Hz.? On the output, I added a 470uF 16v electrolytic to reduce some of the switching noise.

The output waveform looks good.? The stability is good but there is about a 30-60mV ripple @ ~208KHz.? My anticipation is this will work fine but before I install, I would appreciate your comments.

Thanks, Scott

IMG_2597.jpg
IMG_2600.jpg

??



--

Jerry, AC9NM
ÊÖÖеÄÄñÔÚ¹àľ´ÔÖÐÖµÁ½¸ö


Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER

 

Here's some info on loss tangent from David W. Knight, G3YNH, site
He mentions the microwave heating test is invalid because the properties of a material at microwave frequencies may be very different than at HF. Here's a clip of the info he provides on loss tangent by material type. Since I have some blue PEX tubing, which is cross-linked polyethylene and PE is listed as excellent,? I thought of making a trial toroid from 1/2 inch PEX. It's 22mm x 10mm x 10 mm (7/8" x 3/8" x 3/8") in size. Low res photo attached. It may be easier to stuff a 1/2" piece inside a 3/4" or 1" piece of PEX to increase the wall thickness.


E. Material selection by loss tangent.

Lossy
Tan¦Ä ¡Ý 0.01
( ¦Ä ¡Ý 0.57¡ã )

Good
0.01 > Tan¦Ä ¡Ý 0.001
( 0.57¡ã > ¦Ä ¡Ý 0.057¡ã )

Excellent
Tan¦Ä < 0.001
( ¦Ä < 0.057¡ã )
Fibreglass (GRP)
Nylon
PVC
Phenolic (SRBF, SRBP)
Rubber
Neoprene
Wood
ABS*
Acrylics (Perspex, Plexiglass)*
Glass, Porcelain
PET (Mylar, polyester)
Polycarbonate (Lexan)
Silicone rubber
ETFE (Tefzel)
Vacuum
Air
Mica
Polyethylene (PE)
Polypropylene (PP)
Polystyrene (PS)
PTFE (Teflon)
* Borderline performance. Tail-end of low-frequency dispersion occurs in HF range.


--

Jerry, AC9NM
ÊÖÖеÄÄñÔÚ¹àľ´ÔÖÐÖµÁ½¸ö


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

Jack, W8TEE
 

David:

...decoders for cw are an insult to the cw community...

I disagree. I was licensed in 1954, so had to learn CW and, while that's not the case today, I think it's a shame that all hams don't know CW. Regardless, my guess is that less than 10% of those licensed after 2006 know CW.

Al (AC8GY) and I have spent a lot of time on the T41-EP SDT and one of its features is the ALP CW Decoder. I spent almost 5 months with Al tweaking the decoder to make it as robust as I possibly could. We presented a paper last May at FDIM on its algorithm. It works pretty well on a good signal.

And here's my point: If you are trying to learn CW, a decoder can be a useful learning tool. I encourage students to close their eyes and copy the code in their head. Perhaps starting out with W1AW practice session at whatever speed you can currently copy. If your "head copy" on the back of your eyelids messes up, you can open them up and see what you missed displayed on the T41 display. That might give you clues as to nettlesome patterns that are tripping you up. In such practice sessions, a decoder can be very helpful. Even if you're experienced with CW, it can be useful (e.g., a cell phone ring and you lose concentration for a few characters).

Indeed, I would hope the CW community sees the ALP and other decoders as a potential tool that can expand the CW base.

Jack, W8TEE



On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 11:54:01 AM EDT, david todd via groups.io <ac9xh@...> wrote:


Justin ,i went to their website and it looks like a keyer.
K3NG CW Keyer

its something i wouldnt install in my ubitx v6 but to each their own.probably has a decoder for those who like to send way faster than they can copy cw.HI HI.
Im a purist. decoders for cw are an insult to the cw community as a whole if you operate cw.this is from their website:K3NG¡¯s arduino code, such as LCD display, USB keyboard, rotary encoder and CW decoder etc.

looks nice for shortwave listeners who like to tune in those secret signals, but just my opinion,? my decoder is my ears. you always know someone is using a decoder when there is a little bit of adjacent noise and the decoder cant tune it in. even though your signals and theirs are 599.

decoders for those who try to appear to copy way way faster than they are able to.sometimes they use the programmable keyrs to make canned contacts too.Sometimes "SOME" those who use decoders? are the ones who apply for fast code decoding awards from the ARRL w1aw bulletins.

73
David
ac9xh

--
Jack, W8TEE


Re: #sbitx mod #sBitx

 

Hi Guys,

I picked up some of the buck regulators from Amazon that Ashhar originally recommended.? After reading this thread, with regard to switching noise concerns, I built an input LC low pass filter to "head off" potential noise issues.? I've not installed it the transceiver (waiting for replacement IFRZ24 transistors to do the work all at once), but I performed some bench tests.??

Out of my junk drawer, I found a blue toroid and wound it with 36 turns of 22ga magnetic wire.? I made a static measurement of 4.98uH of the choke and added it with a 1000uF, 25v electrolytic to make an input low pass filter.? The DigiKey Low Pass Filter Calculator calculated a -3db cutoff frequency of 2255.3059Hz.? On the output, I added a 470uF 16v electrolytic to reduce some of the switching noise.

The output waveform looks good.? The stability is good but there is about a 30-60mV ripple @ ~208KHz.? My anticipation is this will work fine but before I install, I would appreciate your comments.

Thanks, Scott

IMG_2597.jpg
IMG_2600.jpg

??


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

 

Justin ,i went to their website and it looks like a keyer.
K3NG CW Keyer

its something i wouldnt install in my ubitx v6 but to each their own.probably has a decoder for those who like to send way faster than they can copy cw.HI HI.
Im a purist. decoders for cw are an insult to the cw community as a whole if you operate cw.this is from their website:K3NG¡¯s arduino code, such as LCD display, USB keyboard, rotary encoder and CW decoder etc.

looks nice for shortwave listeners who like to tune in those secret signals, but just my opinion,? my decoder is my ears. you always know someone is using a decoder when there is a little bit of adjacent noise and the decoder cant tune it in. even though your signals and theirs are 599.

decoders for those who try to appear to copy way way faster than they are able to.sometimes they use the programmable keyrs to make canned contacts too.Sometimes "SOME" those who use decoders? are the ones who apply for fast code decoding awards from the ARRL w1aw bulletins.

73
David
ac9xh


Re: why uBitx uses "inverted" pinout of arduino nano

 

Right... that was my fear.

Thanks,
Rafael

On 8/16/22 17:04, Gerard wrote:
Hello,

In theory, it is advisable to weld the arduino on the side opposite the components. This to avoid capturing too much interference on components.
I¡¯ve read about how much.......
So that may explain an inverted pinout.? I also believe that it is automatically inverted in Kicad models.

cdt


Re: why uBitx uses "inverted" pinout of arduino nano

 

Cool to know about such history Jerry, Thanks!

On 8/16/22 16:54, Jerry Gaffke via groups.io wrote:
A quick lesson on ancient history.

The Bitx40 originally had an analog VFO, as did the first Bitx20 of two decades ago.
The VFO tended to wander quite a bit, especially after things got warm
from transmitting.? Various schemes were used to cure this:
/g/BITX20/message/40

In December of 2016, Farhan started shipping the Bitx40 with the Raduino,
which has a Nano clone and an Si5351:
/g/BITX20/message/19177

But the Nano was soldered down to the Raduino, and occasionally somebody would
let a lead from the Nano touch the 12v supply and blow the Nano away.
It was a pain to replace.
So we eventually figured out how to socket the Nano on the Raduino.
/g/BITX20/message/49986

Jerry, KE7ER

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 05:34 AM, Rafael Diniz wrote:

One question: is there any reason why the uBitx uses "inverted"
pinout of arduino nano?


Re: why uBitx uses "inverted" pinout of arduino nano

 

Hello,

In theory, it is advisable to weld the arduino on the side opposite the components. This to avoid capturing too much interference on components.
I¡¯ve read about how much.......
So that may explain an inverted pinout.? I also believe that it is automatically inverted in Kicad models.

cdt


Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6

 

I guess I'm late to the party and have no idea what the Funtronics board is for.? I have been running digital on my V6 since last fall with no hardware mods just the 'CEC firmware and using the Yaesu? FT-817 selection for CAT control.

What else does this board do?? I'm not inclined to watch a youtube video and chew up what remains of my hot-spot data since I am off-grid right now...

73,

Justin B.


Re: why uBitx uses "inverted" pinout of arduino nano

 

A quick lesson on ancient history.

The Bitx40 originally had an analog VFO, as did the first Bitx20 of two decades ago.
The VFO tended to wander quite a bit, especially after things got warm
from transmitting.? Various schemes were used to cure this:
/g/BITX20/message/40

In December of 2016, Farhan started shipping the Bitx40 with the Raduino,
which has a Nano clone and an Si5351:
/g/BITX20/message/19177

But the Nano was soldered down to the Raduino, and occasionally somebody would?
let a lead from the Nano touch the 12v supply and blow the Nano away.
It was a pain to replace.
So we eventually figured out how to socket the Nano on the Raduino.
/g/BITX20/message/49986

Jerry, KE7ER


On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 05:34 AM, Rafael Diniz wrote:
One question: is there any reason why the uBitx uses "inverted" pinout of arduino nano?