Just for an update:
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I flashed the drive and the rig worked just fine.
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I messed with the settings last night and FT8 stuff, rig went wonky, thats why its called developmental
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I reflashed my sd card and back on line. I never backed up the settings so I could do it all over again, fun stuff
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Also, I found the Pi was shaky when cables were inserted and I found there were no screws on the card.
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OK, new card in, fire up the rig and get on 17 meters and first contact OZ0JX, gives me a 579 with 4 watts here. I Love CW and QRP
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I am having more fun around here by the minute. Thank you all for the help, team players all the way.
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Re: Z bitx when is the order page to re-open
Ah, thank you. That said, where do we find the .sch .pcb and bom files? I usually find them in the repository, but no luck.
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-------- Original message --------
From: Ken N2VIP <ken@...>
Date: 4/1/25 3:50 PM (GMT-05:00)
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Z bitx when is the order page to re-open
From the About page on hfsignals.com website:
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What kind of support will I get?
The HF Signals kits and radios are supplied as-is without any promise that they will work to any particular specification. That said, thousands of BITX transceivers supplied by HF Signals work across the world. There is an active and very informative forum
for learning and getting help that is entirely driven by the builder community. Join us on?/g/bitx20
Ken, N2VIP
-- Mike - K8MCB?
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Will this brick the Zbitx?
Just curious.
If after running ./update, if I run sudo apt update/upgrade will the zbit be bricked?
I'd be interested in compiling hamlib 4.5.4 and wsjt-z on the zbitx. I do have wsjt-z running on my laptop using a raspian image but need to install all the dependencies to fo the compile on the sbitx.
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Leo, AI5II
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Re: Z bitx when is the order page to re-open
From the About page on hfsignals.com website:
?
What kind of support will I get?
The HF Signals kits and radios are supplied as-is without any promise that they will work to any particular specification. That said, thousands of BITX transceivers supplied by HF Signals work across the world. There is an active and very informative forum for learning and getting help that is entirely driven by the builder community. Join us on?/g/bitx20
Ken, N2VIP
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Thank you for the reply Farhan. Sadly I found using headphones makes no difference the?chugging sound remains at the same audio level. The chugging sound is happening in time to the refresh rate of the cw decode panel update, as each letter is written to the screen as far as I can tell. Are you using exactly the same kit as us,?a latest release rig??
73 Nigel M0NDE
The chugging sound is actually?from the I2C lines to the Pico processor that is on the same board as the speaker. They are absent with the head phones.? If I reduce?the data running on the I2C lines the chugging sound goes away. I hope that in a future update we will be able to compress the data (most of it is the waterfall data). - f
I received mine today as well, very exciting! I upgraded the software to 1.05/3.05, everything seems to work. I noticed the "chugging" as well, along with the decoder portion of the screen flickering. I am wondering if something is getting bogged down with the decoding/display/audio process
On Mon, Mar 31, 2025 at 5:31?PM Nigel Evans M0NDE via <nigel.m0nde= [email protected]> wrote: My Zbitx arrived today. I am new to these radios so expect a learning curve. I have only received so far but here are my observations and questions.
I installed the batteries and followed the set up in the manual including setting the time using an hdmi screen. I linked the wifi to my phone hoping this would pay dividends when in the field. It first the radio seemed deaf, but playing around with the IF I started to hear signals on 20m and 40m. I found CW reception difficult the radio seemed to make a chugging sound as the decoder tried to work. The back of my radio was warm but was not excessively hot on rx. I tried FT8 decode seemed sluggish to start but once running was fine.
When the time needs adjusting must I always connect to an hdmi screen or is connecting to my phone wifi sufficient to update the time? Is the chugging sound in cw mode normal? Will the operating manual be updated further as time progresses. Should I be upgrading software and firmware or are these updates to be considered as beta and optional. How would HF signals prefer feedback to be given as I assume they cannot monitor every post trawling for bugs and questions.
Finally I like the radio and form factor. Thinking about a 3d printed sloping stand which when reversed protects screen and knob. Thinking 3d printing battery cover or using stand to hold battery holder. Can audio be directed via Bluetooth to an amplified speaker??
Thank you Farhan for this radio?
73 Nigel M0NDE
-- 73 de Nigel Evans
Callsign: M0NDE QTH: Rhyl Locator: IO82
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If straight key would work with an external electronic then one could place a small keyer electronic inside the zBitx with a small pot for speed control. I could live with such a solution. Not the original idea, but better than today.
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73, Gerald - HB9CEY
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Ken, you may be right. I looked at some benchmarks and it looks like the pinfour can be four times or more faster than the 3B plus.?
if that turns out to be the limitation then experienced CW operators might just have to wait for a faster processor or more RAM or something
It’s just surprising because a small change in the software of the SBitx, even tripling. sampling rate would likely work just fine. Johnshoy’s fix multiplied sampling by 20 times!! ? That was probably overkill, but it works great. You would think a similar solution on the slower processor could be arranged to give similar outcomes.
however, perhaps not!
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A new processor comes out every so often so eventually, this will get fixed!!
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gordon kx4z?
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Re: Does sequence of updates matter?
Got it now, took a few iterations of installing 3.051. Iambic-B is no longer emulating a straight key but still impossible to send correct CW in either iambic mode.
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Re: Does sequence of updates matter?
I have connected to a monitor and started the zBitx. Evidently, zBitx got deleted as part of the fw update - it no longer opens when connected to monitor. The only window now open (on monitor) is the pi@sbitx: `/sbitx window. From where can I download and reinstall the zBitx program? ?
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On Mon, Mar 31, 2025 at 02:37 AM, Gordon Gibby KX4Z wrote:
Why only 18?
Current sbitx goes much faster!
That seems like a serious limitation……
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73
Gordon KX4Z
sBitx has an RPi 4, the zBitx has an RPi Zero 2 W, effectively a low-memory RPi 3B+ (the CPU on the Zero 2 is the same as the CPU on the RPi 3B+).
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The processing of the RPi 4 is significantly greater than the RPi Zero 2.
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Ken, N2VIP
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Looks like a copy paste error here for mode B
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? ? ? ? if (cw_mode == CW_IAMBICB){
? ? ? ? ? ? if (cw_next_symbol == CW_IDLE && cw_last_symbol == CW_DOT && (symbol_now & CW_DASH)){
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? cw_next_symbol = CW_DASH;
? ? ? ? ? ? }
? ? ? ? ? ? if (cw_next_symbol == CW_IDLE && cw_last_symbol == CW_DASH && (symbol_now & CW_DOT)){
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? cw_next_symbol = CW_DASH;???? this should be CW_DOT I think
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Re: Zbitx RPI SD-card image needed
Ashhar
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Just for giggles I did try the ./update thingy. Here is the output. Might ring a bell for you that understand far more then myself:
pi@sbitx:~/sbitx $ ./update
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tue ?1 Apr 09:32:27 MST 2025
remote: Enumerating objects: 11, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (11/11), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (1/1), done.
remote: Total 6 (delta 5), reused 6 (delta 5), pack-reused 0 (from 0)
Unpacking objects: 100% (6/6), done.
From https://github.com/afarhan/zbitx
? ?8da6d22..b9cabb4 ?main ? ? ? -> origin/main
Already up to date.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tue ?1 Apr 09:32:29 MST 2025
database is intact
compiling sbitx version v3.021 in /home/pi/sbitx
/usr/bin/ld: cannot open output file sbitx: Permission denied
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
pi@sbitx:~/sbitx $?
--
Tilman D. Thulesius
SM0JZT / Sweden
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Adding 2 x 1nF caps to my bencher paddle did not help
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Re: zBitX ft8 TX signal comes speaker
Well, rats!! ? Sorry!!?
Gordon kx4z.?
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On Apr 1, 2025, at 12:16, Benjamin Kelley - KC0BLK via groups.io <benjamin.kelley@...> wrote:
? Thanks for the tip. ?Unfortunately it does look like split is off.
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--ben
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Re: zBitX ft8 TX signal comes speaker
Thanks for the tip. ?Unfortunately it does look like split is off.
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--ben
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Re: Z bitx when is the order page to re-open
Is there a warranty? I don't see anything on the website.?
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-------- Original message --------
From: "Ashhar Farhan via groups.io" <farhanbox@...>
Date: 4/1/25 11:12 AM (GMT-05:00)
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Z bitx when is the order page to re-open
We had to bump up the price to be able to buy key components faster (ex-stock). We have also been hit by some strange duty getting the PCBs from China. We had to bump the price up by 20 dollars.?
Our vision was really to do a $100 dollar SDR, it just got escalated?to 169 USD
- f
On Tue, Apr 1, 2025 at 7:49?PM Darrell Davis KT4WX via
<kt4wx= [email protected]> wrote:
Good Day Everyone:
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I got my email notifying me that orders were being accepted at 0202 EDT, while I slept.? I ordered mine at 0635 EDT, right after getting up and getting ready for work.? My order number is #3634.? Like someone else said, "who hoo!"? It has been a long wait
but well worth it.? The product is a better product for the wait.? The support on this list is wonderful.? Now I need to go and read the manual :-)
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When you buy a loaf of bread at WalMart, it says on the package, "Baked with Love."? In this case HF Signals could say, "Soldered and assembled with Love".? :-)
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73 de Darrell KT4WX
-- Mike - K8MCB?
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I cleared out /var/log and I updated the software this morning. The CW keying in Iambic B is still rough... at 22 WPM keying K gets me a Q maybe 20% of the time. I tested this with two paddles
Ashhar, was the zBitx tested on CW in both iambic modes before being released for sale?
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Re: Zbitx RPI SD-card image needed
Ashhar
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Thank you so very much for your attempts. I have tried it , but no luck :-(
Here the output:
pi@sbitx:~ $ cd sbitx
pi@sbitx:~/sbitx $ git checkout master
error: pathspec 'master' did not match any file(s) known to git
pi@sbitx:~/sbitx $ ls -l master*
ls: cannot access 'master*': No such file or directory
Bottom line is I guess that I still need to build a new SD-card with a fresh image. Thank you in advance.
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--
Tilman D. Thulesius
SM0JZT / Sweden
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Ashhar, was the zBitx tested on CW in both iambic modes before being released for sale?
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This just the kernel latency.
Btw, I had some dramatic increase in responsiveness of the radio when I deleted everything in /var/log
Could this be as simple as debouncing the keying circuit? I have a 0.1 uf disc ceramic across the output of my J-36 paddles to prevent this. Lee KX4TT On Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 11:00:00 AM EDT, Gerald via <hb9cey= [email protected]> wrote: The new firmware v1.05 / v3.051 is slightly better than before, but since CW still doesn't work properly for me even with the new firmware, I compared it with the QCX-Mini. Both transceivers were keyed and monitored in parallel, at the same speed, using a paddle. I also tried unsuccessfully with another paddle. ? While the QCX-Mini didn't lose any characters, the zBITX repeatedly produced errors, dots and dashes were lost or appended. This happened at slow and also faster speeds. This reminds me of my simple diy touch paddle where I always had to wet my fingers otherwise exactly such errors occurred. ? It seems strange to me that everything works fine for other users. ? If I use a macro from the zBITX to transmit, the zBITX keys everything flawlessly up to 50 wpm. No lost dots or dashes. How can this be, and where is the difference between keying by macro and the paddle input? I'm neither an IT nor an electronics engineer, but I would first look for the problem with the key input. Perhaps someone can explain this to me. ? 73, Gerald
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Nigel Evans M0NDE
Tilman, SM0JZT