Hi Paul,

May I ask why you would like the source code rather than using the .hex file that is available on Dr. Lee's GitHub?

Another question, have you used the Arduino IDE for other projects?? If not, then you might want to start with the Arduino tutorial on Arduino.cc


There are two points to remember with the source code files provided by Dr. Lee:
1 - You must extract and then move the source code to a folder labeled ubit_20, or the compiler will complain.
2 - The default settings in the ubitx.h folder in the IDE has all functions enabled.? This will not fit into an Arduino Nano.? There is a section with the recommended default settings that fit in.? Look in the source code.

Dr. Lee's GitHub:


Have fun hacking the code!
73
Evan
AC9TU

1aegistc,

The RTC in the Sbitx design is not connected to the system I2C bus.? It is connected through a software program that runs as part of the sbitx program.? That means the Raspberry Pi OS clock is not updated unless the sbitx program runs.? The operation that you describe is normal.

73
Evan
AC9TU

I do not know how to get the source code files into a sketch with the ide.? Can someone guide me?
I want to use the CEC software.?

thanks,? Paul K0ZYV

开云体育

When connected the net the OS time updates itself. When disconnected from the net

then only sBitx keeps it clock updated. That should be OK!

1aegisfc,

UTC is the time you want.

My sbitx pi is not maintaining time when powered off and not connected to the internet but utc is correct.

Please advise?

Hi Bryce,

My first point is that you must be careful when connecting the USB cable to the Nano.? The regulator on the Nano will attempt to power the circuits on the Raduino board and back feed through the Raduino 5volt regulator to power the main board.? Always have the uBITX powered by the onboard supplies before connecting the USB cable to the PC.? When rebooting the Nano after setting changes, disconnect the USB cable and power cycle the uBITX.? Trying to run the mainboard from the USB cable would put a large load on the Nano regulator and possibly damage the Raduino 5volt regulator.? As an alternative, you can remove the Raduino board and display.? Those can be powered from the USB port.

I just worked on another uBITX v6 with similar issues.? For that radio, I ultimately swapped the Raduino board with a spare that I had.? That fixed the problem.? I changed the Raduino because there was a significant amount of jitter on the BFO.? I suspect that the Si5351 was marginal.? Since working with the same Nano, I tried returning to the stock software.? That did not correct the lack of audio decoding by the BFO demodulator.

I would start by measuring the BFO at TP18.? Verify that the frequency is around 11.056000 MHz.? This should indicate that you did not load a bad copy of the KD8CEC software.? You can also verify that the BFO is stable and not constantly shifting.? If the frequency is close and you are seeing it jump significantly, then I would replace the Si5351 using a hot air station or some ChipQuik:


If you plan on doing more kits, then I would suggest a hot air station like this one:


Or this one for both a temperature-controlled iron and fan-controlled hot air:

Alternate:


The above are my picks from Amazon ratings and specifications.? I have not purchased either one.? You may want to search to see if better-rated units are available.? The one that I use is no longer sold.

I would also suggest you search for videos on SMD or SMT reworking to get a better feel for what you will be getting into.



Here is a rather long video that has some good what not to do after you get past the Retro Computer stuff:


Use the above at your own risk.? I always verify as much as I can.
73
Evan
AC9TU

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That's one gorgeous setup.? Wish I had the room, the skill, and the budget.

Gerry Sherman

Sent by the Windows 11 Thunderbird

1. Are you able to hear anything? Noise, even? You might try tuning a local AM station.
2. Assuming you have an oscilloscope, do the clock generator frequencies match the frequencies you expect? In particular, the BFO and master tuning are saved in EEPROM, so those are the most likely to get lost when switching microcontrollers
3. Assuming you have a second receiver (or oscilloscope), if you use CW mode, do you see output on the antenna? Make sure you have the antenna or a 50ohm load when measuring.


Reed

?Did you do your scope work on the main board or radunio? ?Check that the Radunio board is properly fitted to the main board, I.e. not offset by one pin. Not at my computer where I can check schematics to see if this matches your symptoms?

Hello All!

TL;DR: Long story short, I seem to have blown up the original Nano and need to replace it.? ?The destroyed Nano may have taken out other things.

For a little background, I'm an EE with a bit of programming experience and digital design, but somewhat limited in my AC and RF design.? I figured a uBitX v6.1 would be a great learning tool.? Well, my radio arrived Saturday of memorial day weekend (from Gigaparts, fast shipping!) and Monday I put it together.? It's my first HF radio, so I had to string up an EFHW antenna as well.? Tuesday night I set it up for FT8 and made a few contacts.? Then Wednesday I tuned the antenna for FT8 frequencies (I don't have an antenna tuner, just a NanoVNA) and used a battery for power (considerably lower noise floor than the wall wart I was using) and was able to make considerably more and farther contacts.? Thursday as even better.? Friday night I made my first SSB contact with England (I'm located in South Florida) albeit with some difficulty on understanding me on his end, likely because my antenna is tuned to the opposite side of the band.

Throughout the week I was planning the Nextion upgrade, but didn't want to use the original Nano.? So I bought these:

I bought the enhanced version of the Nextion screen and was able to "program" the display without and issue.

As for the nanos, I figured I'd clone them in stages.? I'm not new to the Atmel realm.? I used a USBasp to copy the EEPROM contents into two nanos.? One nano was then programmed via the Arduino IDE with?Ashhar's firmware:?
The second as programmed with KD8CEC's pre-built firmware:?UBITXV5_CEC_V1.200_NX.hex

Both versions of the firmware controlled their respective screens properly.? Also, with the KD8CEC nano, I was able to see the calibration data in both settings managers that are floating around (and change the settings for that matter).

Installation:
I installed Ashhar's nano and could control the screen, but didn't have any tuning capability.? Switching through the bands, they pretty much sounded the same with a hiss but no tuning.? I tried to adjust the BFO using his tuning video, but the white noise characteristics never changed.? I replaced the nano with the original nano and the radio worked fine.? Well, I figured I botched it somehow.

I then installed the KD8CEC nano and Nextion screen and had the exact same response from the radio.? Going back to the original nano and screen, everything worked fine.? So I just used the radio with original everything waiting for this weekend.

So today rolls around and I figure I'm going to get a new display working in this radio.? I copied the flash this time, as well as the EEPROM (again).? Then somehow later, I realized the atmega it was getting hot when powered by USB.? That's the sign that it's toast.? I let it cool off and tried a few more times, but it seemed to have developed an internal short.

Now my only option was to get a virgin nano working on this radio.? One notable difference between the original nano and mine is that original has a 328pb whereas all the other nanos I have are 328p.? The memory maps might be different between the two and thus incompatible.? I was using an older version of avrdude at the time and I had to force it to run as 328p, so that might track.? Also, I looked to see if there was some 3v3 version of the nano that I had by accident or some other such nonsense, but no luck.? They appear to be nearly the same other than the IC difference.? (Both are CH340 clone types).

I then programmed a nano with KD8CEC code using the Arduino IDE so I had control over the build (guessing that maybe it was an incompatibility in the hex build that I had).? Again, the screen works fine, but same thing where the BFO doesn't tune.

I THEN got desperate and pulled out the oscilloscope and verified the signals to the filter relays (TX_LPF_A, TX_LPF_B, TX_LPF_C) were acting properly and that the clocks from the Si5351 were behaving as expected.? I was able to see all three clocks doing essentially what they were supposed to.? The clock outputs were a little noisy, but I can't say my setup was very clean electrically.? I was just trying to see if the Si5351 was even being written and it definitely was.? Clk #0 was fixed around 11 MHz, Clk #1 varied based on USB/LSB settings (although it was opposite of the diagram on the v6 website) and Clk #2 varied with the tuning frequency in the approximate standard range.

So now I'm stuck.? I thought that maybe there was a change in my hardware build that used a different reference frequency or other such non-sense, because for the life of me I can't figure out what's different between the code that?should work on v6 boards or the maybe the nano boards that I have.? I started a deep dive into the Si5351 control and got a headache.

I've also scoured the groups for encouraging ideas, but now I've exhausted all of those, too.? For good measure, I also tried out Reed's firmware:?https://github.com/reedbn/ubitxv6

Now I come to the groups hoping for a savior to show me the error of my ways.? As it stands, I don't?think I messed up the Si5351, but I have some boards coming that I will use to replace the Si5351 IC with if it comes to that (not looking forward to that soldering job).

I will provide any details I can, but hopefully there's some small detail I've missed that fixes this.? For now, I'm off the air and a sad little hamlet.

Regards,
Bryce AK4MG

I need an L-shaped desk like that. Right now I have a plastic picnic table for a desk. It is too big but not enough usable space if you know what I mean.?
--
'72

That is awesome
--
'72

This noise is radiated from the I2C bus during the frequency change.
Increasing pullup resistors may help. When I opened up PL-880 and tried to hook up to the I2C bus to sniff, I've found that the pullups there are 47k. But this only works for very short bus.

73, Mike AF7KR

If you like to work with wood, you can draw inspiration from this to make your station

*dt