Re: #sBitx help bad transmit
#sBitx
Good morning,?
The battery voltage applied to the sbitx is: 12.9 volts. A digital multimeter in the 10 amp scale was inserted into the positive lead for measurements. The "power on" current after boot up, connected to wifi is: fluctuating between .48 amps and .52 amps. After logout/shutdown option is selected, current only drops to .365 amps in "off" before physically flipping switch. This implies that something is still running. Red light is still visible through vents at this time.? The "power on, and radio app in receive mode current is: .545 to .580 amps and fluctuating.? Drive is set at 92, mic is set at 24 currently.? Mode is set to USB. The unmodulated transmit current is: 5.6 amps. The current while strongly speaking into mic is: also around 5.6 amps with modulation seen on screen. Same issue if TX button activated instead with mic unplugged from unit. Reference frequency for this test was:? 14.073 mhz as reported on the screen. Used 2 different 50 ohm dummy loads to compare, no difference.? Rf output per sbitx is: currently 15 watts Rf output as seen on external watt meter is: roughly 15 watts with analog scale. The problem IS some kind of hardware failure.?
Steps taken so far: Per guidance from JJ W9JES, a very helpful and knowledgeable participant in your forum, I pulled the SD card, flashed a thumb drive with sbitx software pulled from the internet. Then booted from the thumb drive, updated, now on version 3.02 with the same problem. Placed the original sd card back in place with the same problem.
In short. We have some kind of hardware failure that needs to be addressed under warranty. Good replacement hardware needs to be sent so I can begin using this radio, please. I await your decision with how you plan to proceed.??
Thank you,?
Scott Rehme WD4PYT
According to sbitx screen v3.02.
Is this what you were asking?
On Fri, Feb 9, 2024, 12:50 PM JJ - W9JES < w9jes@...> wrote: Hi Gordon,
I agree with that point too regarding the failure. I haven't extensively explored the hardware aspects of this radio yet other than the failed diode issue.
?
After viewing one of your YouTube presentations on sBitx's hardware design, I believe it's wise to let those more experienced with the hardware aspects contribute their insights. My attention has primarily been on improving the software recently. Frankly, the deeper I delve into the coding, the less appealing I find its haphazard structure. Should the hardware reflect the software's quality, it wouldn't be surprising.
-JJ
?
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Managed to connect to the TELNET of V2 (requires reboot if disconnect) but both with PuTTY and with Windows Telnet client, it appears to be EECCHHOOIINNG and can't use it due to that.....
??
Gordon KX4Z
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Looks?like the sBitx has a telnet socket.? ?I think maybe once in my life I've fiddled with that.? ?I'm running V2, not sure how much is implemented there; maybe I can use putty to check? I might be able to send the commands to sBitx via a socket? I see that W9JES has an upgrade file for remote.c that apparently fixes something in the sBitx related to disconnections. I found a nice description of a bunch of telenet files in a page pointed to by Ashhar:??? but it specifies V3.? ?And I'm working my DE version, which is running V2....? anyone know how much of the telnet was implemented on V2? Thanks! Gordon KX4Z
On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 8:42?AM Gordon Gibby via <docvacuumtubes= [email protected]> wrote: Dean, in my searches in the past hour, I think I found your?excellent work!!!? THANKS!!! You could do this far, far better than I!!!? ?Don't hesitate to jump in and put?this on the sBitx!!! However, I will chug along if only for my the curiosity of my soul.... I have now figured out how to control the TX and RX on/off, and set the Mode. Your code did far far more of cours!!! Again, don't hesitate to rip right into this and get 'er done!
73 Gordon KX4Z
On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 8:32?AM Dean Souleles < dsouleles@...> wrote: Gordon,
Sounds like you're making good progress. Be aware that the ICOM CAT control from hamlib can be tricky to implement.? As you discovered, it is a binary interface, not ASCII text.? It uses binary coded decimal for all numbers and commands. and it requires some very specific protocol to work properly without hanging up either your radio or the calling program.? I wrote an emulator for the IC746 to replace the Yaesu interface on the uBitx.? It fully implements the ICOM CAT interface including setting frequency, mode, split and so on. t should port easily to the Pi.??
I wrote it do that it is easy to add CAT to any homebrew radio.? You just need to write short functions to send the appropriate command to the sBitx software.
73,
Dean
KK4DAS
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Re: Bitx40 issues, version 2
Are you using the OEM BitX40 software or the excellent one by Allard Munters PE1NWL? I certainly recommend Allard's as it fixes a number of issues with the original version and adds lots of features, particularly if some simple and well-described hardware mods are made.
Your video suggests some pins are shorted to ground, like the keyer and the calibration lines. Since you replaced the Arduino (not an easy task without having one with a socket...I've tried and failed!) it might be good to check those lines in particular.
=Vic=
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Dean, in my searches in the past hour, I think I found your?excellent work!!!? THANKS!!! You could do this far, far better than I!!!? ?Don't hesitate to jump in and put?this on the sBitx!!! However, I will chug along if only for my the curiosity of my soul.... I have now figured out how to control the TX and RX on/off, and set the Mode. Your code did far far more of cours!!! Again, don't hesitate to rip right into this and get 'er done!
73 Gordon KX4Z
On Mon, Feb 12, 2024 at 8:32?AM Dean Souleles < dsouleles@...> wrote: Gordon,
Sounds like you're making good progress. Be aware that the ICOM CAT control from hamlib can be tricky to implement.? As you discovered, it is a binary interface, not ASCII text.? It uses binary coded decimal for all numbers and commands. and it requires some very specific protocol to work properly without hanging up either your radio or the calling program.? I wrote an emulator for the IC746 to replace the Yaesu interface on the uBitx.? It fully implements the ICOM CAT interface including setting frequency, mode, split and so on. t should port easily to the Pi.??
I wrote it do that it is easy to add CAT to any homebrew radio.? You just need to write short functions to send the appropriate command to the sBitx software.
73,
Dean
KK4DAS
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
I used to use a virtual "nullmodem" UART driver for emulating a real serial port:
- Rafael
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On 2/11/24 21:15, Gordon Gibby wrote: Talking to a 7300 might be easy, but it isn't the goal here.? ?We have to talk to a PC.? ?Apparently they make a cable just for this sort of thing, but I don't have one.? ?Using 2 UARTS that are recognized by each operating system on each end is probably the easiest for me.? ? There is probably a brighter way to direct connect to the UART on the Raspberry PI, but I don't want to take any chances of damaging that precious board!
73
Gordon
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Gordon,
Sounds like you're making good progress. Be aware that the ICOM CAT control from hamlib can be tricky to implement.? As you discovered, it is a binary interface, not ASCII text.? It uses binary coded decimal for all numbers and commands. and it requires some very specific protocol to work properly without hanging up either your radio or the calling program.? I wrote an emulator for the IC746 to replace the Yaesu interface on the uBitx.? It fully implements the ICOM CAT interface including setting frequency, mode, split and so on. t should port easily to the Pi.??
I wrote it do that it is easy to add CAT to any homebrew radio.? You just need to write short functions to send the appropriate command to the sBitx software.
73,
Dean
KK4DAS
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PLEASE (I bought a board with no547)it did not issue at all after setting the location I changed the location for the US now it emits 1w on 80m3w on 20m, 22w on 15m and 17w on 10m, all using the same 50 ohm load and using ft8 help with some information and measuring points!
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Any chance that one of you guys would write me a C code subroutine(s) that is able to connect to their telnet interface ?(or any other interface to the Sbitx) and issue a command to change the frequency? ?I have decoded the frequency into an unsigned long, at the moment. ?
Not python, not C++, not C-sharp, just C!?
It would take me far too long to learn how to write code to connect to the Telnet, but one of you probably knows how to do it in just seconds. ?
If I had that code, then I could leave my code as standalone and by running my code it would add an ICOM interface cleanly to the device. ?
Otherwise, I¡¯m going to shove my code into some of the actual sbitx code somewhere, get it working, and then let much brighter people sort it all out!!! ?I¡¯m so ignorant that GitHub is a problem for me. ? ?
Gordon Kx4z?
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On Feb 12, 2024, at 06:49, Gordon Gibby via groups.io <docvacuumtubes@...> wrote:
?HOORAY!!
For the first time, I have properly decoded a "frequency set" command from WINLINK, issued to a mythical ICOM radio [replaced by the sbitx running my standalone code] and correctly recognized the "set frequency" command, and correctly decoded the frequency.? ?Oh mi gosh, the number of stupid mistakes and misunderstandings of hexadecimal, char, int, etc etc that had to be corrrected before this worked!!!? ?The ICOM commands quite frequently have the hexadecimal "0" in them....and so my foolish early plans to use null termination of their strings was a hindrance.....
Now it is time for BREAKFAST.
I'm not sure how many goofs I can make while either integrating this into the sbitx code.....or learning how to issue a "telnet" command to the interface others have built...but that is next step.? ?
Since I'm quite simple, probably just try to integrate into sbitx code somewhere for the moment.? ??
Having finally decoded the set frequency command (it is their hex 5 command)? adding additional commands is merely a matter of writing addtiional "case" statements.....
Big advance for a 3rd rate programmer like me!
Gordon KX4Z
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
HOORAY!!
For the first time, I have properly decoded a "frequency set" command from WINLINK, issued to a mythical ICOM radio [replaced by the sbitx running my standalone code] and correctly recognized the "set frequency" command, and correctly decoded the frequency.? ?Oh mi gosh, the number of stupid mistakes and misunderstandings of hexadecimal, char, int, etc etc that had to be corrrected before this worked!!!? ?The ICOM commands quite frequently have the hexadecimal "0" in them....and so my foolish early plans to use null termination of their strings was a hindrance.....
Now it is time for BREAKFAST.
I'm not sure how many goofs I can make while either integrating this into the sbitx code.....or learning how to issue a "telnet" command to the interface others have built...but that is next step.? ?
Since I'm quite simple, probably just try to integrate into sbitx code somewhere for the moment.? ??
Having finally decoded the set frequency command (it is their hex 5 command)? adding additional commands is merely a matter of writing addtiional "case" statements.....
Big advance for a 3rd rate programmer like me!
Gordon KX4Z
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Hi Jonas,
I changed it from the OS GUI, under ¡°Raspberry Pi Configuration - Localisation¡±.. I think it is only one locale, ISO8859-1. Anyway tonight I¡¯ll check!
Lorenzo
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Ashhar, I understand that it is easier to use Wi-Fi and TCP/IP. I agree that It is easy to set up an access point as you point out.
As I see it, the problem is that these numerous and very important legacy software¡®s do not have that capability to use the Hamlib net rigctl . ?So in order to be able to use them, we have to work on their terms. ?And in general, their terms are that they know how to talk to an ICOM or a Yaesu ?by way of COM ports implemented on USB. ??
Sometimes they are written by volunteer design teams who are working without pay and have created massive systems, the largest systems, In terms of committed volunteers & Full-time radio assets, in all of ham radio, so it is unlikely that we are going to be telling them what they need to be doing! ? Certainly we can suggest to them easier ways to interface and they might eventually adopt them but that could be years from now.?
Being willing to work on their terms means that their massive contributions to ham radio can still be utilized with our newer radio without forcing them to do extra work. ?
I do believe that in some of these cases if you ship them a radio (so they have a test bed) ?they will actually write the interface for you and might even do it the way you suggest, but their plates are pretty full and you might have to wait a bit. ??
I hope that makes some sense! ?
?I thought through some of the very simple C coding last night and hope to get more of it done today. ? Once something works, ?much brighter people than me can make it work a lot better ¡ I only do programming when actually forced to; I have to look up every single command and reread about it since that¡¯s not what I do for a living?
Gordon Kx4z?
?
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On Feb 11, 2024, at 21:50, Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@...> wrote:
? Gordon, First, to talk to the PC, an easier way is to use wifi and tcp/ip with hamlib's net rig ctrl. This involves no wires at all. Just that sbitx and the pc have to be on the same network. If you don't have a wirless access point (in the field, it is a simple process to make sbitx behave as a wirless access point, search up how). However, if you do insist on a serial connection, the way to achieve it is to use a cable called USB OTG. Your mileage may vary but it is known to work with raspberry pi zero () Once the data is flowint from the pc to the sbitx, it is best to just write a separate program that will take this data and turn it into sbitx commands (like JJ's software). In principle, to communicate between different computers across the desk or the galaxy, sbitx opts for tcp/ip.? - f Thanks, that¡¯s great information. ? On Feb 11, 2024, at 18:43, Steve Beckman <n3sb@...> wrote:
?Hi Gordon - Very FB. I don't think the baud rate will affect SDR processing. Your code shouldn't block - it should just accumulate characters in an array of char until a carriage return (or whatever end-of-command character is used) is received, then it should go process the command. Until that time the GUI loop would just continue executing every millisecond.
The SDR code is in separate tasks, interrupt driven, and has buffers so that a real-time processing kernel is not required.
73; Steve, N3SB
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Thanks Lorenzo.? Did You enable all three en_US locales or only one???  And which one did You set as default?
Regards, Jonas Den l?r 10 feb. 2024 kl 00:32 skrev Lorenzo IU5RDU via <assali_fucina_0h= [email protected]>:
Hi Jonas,
I had the same problem after changing the locale.
Everything started to work with locale set on US (United States).
Hope this helps!
Best
Lorenzo IU5RDU
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That's a great blog, Dean - lots of useful insights. And I am impressed that Farhan has taken time out to offer you assistance. What an impressive forum this is!?
73?
Tony
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The podcast was fun and it prompted me to update my blog -?
Take a look at my latest blog post:
73,
Dean?
KK4DAS
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Gordon, First, to talk to the PC, an easier way is to use wifi and tcp/ip with hamlib's net rig ctrl. This involves no wires at all. Just that sbitx and the pc have to be on the same network. If you don't have a wirless access point (in the field, it is a simple process to make sbitx behave as a wirless access point, search up how). However, if you do insist on a serial connection, the way to achieve it is to use a cable called USB OTG. Your mileage may vary but it is known to work with raspberry pi zero () Once the data is flowint from the pc to the sbitx, it is best to just write a separate program that will take this data and turn it into sbitx commands (like JJ's software). In principle, to communicate between different computers across the desk or the galaxy, sbitx opts for tcp/ip.? - f
Thanks, that¡¯s great information. ? On Feb 11, 2024, at 18:43, Steve Beckman <n3sb@...> wrote:
?Hi Gordon - Very FB. I don't think the baud rate will affect SDR processing. Your code shouldn't block - it should just accumulate characters in an array of char until a carriage return (or whatever end-of-command character is used) is received, then it should go process the command. Until that time the GUI loop would just continue executing every millisecond.
The SDR code is in separate tasks, interrupt driven, and has buffers so that a real-time processing kernel is not required.
73; Steve, N3SB
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sBITX Toolbox version 1.7 is now available. You can easily upgrade to the new version by pressing the Update button  And as always... The release notes are? at?? -JJ
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Thanks, that¡¯s great information. ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Feb 11, 2024, at 18:43, Steve Beckman <n3sb@...> wrote:
?Hi Gordon - Very FB. I don't think the baud rate will affect SDR processing. Your code shouldn't block - it should just accumulate characters in an array of char until a carriage return (or whatever end-of-command character is used) is received, then it should go process the command. Until that time the GUI loop would just continue executing every millisecond.
The SDR code is in separate tasks, interrupt driven, and has buffers so that a real-time processing kernel is not required.
73; Steve, N3SB
|
Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
Hi Gordon - Very FB. I don't think the baud rate will affect SDR processing. Your code shouldn't block - it should just accumulate characters in an array of char until a carriage return (or whatever end-of-command character is used) is received, then it should go process the command. Until that time the GUI loop would just continue executing every millisecond.
The SDR code is in separate tasks, interrupt driven, and has buffers so that a real-time processing kernel is not required.
73; Steve, N3SB
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Re: Writing the ICOM EMULATOR for the sBitx
THANKS, STeve!!
The characters were actually going the right place -- where the code had sent them.
I found my old code for driving a HEATHKIT SB102 from Winlink....and it interprets FT-897 commands.....oops!
I almost got THAT kludged in...but I have to go back because I am not handling the received characters properly.? ?The previous code was written for a completely different purpose, so a good bit of re-thinking and rewriting is now in order....however, I am ON THE WAY!
I put another hour into it to see characters getting stored and attempted to be interpreted.? ? That was big improvement, but all needs careful rewriting.
Another few hours and I might be intepreting my first command properly.
I have the baud rate set at 115200 on the theory that I dare not SLOW UP the SDR functions inordinately.
Timing will be something I have to figure out eventually.
But at least I am now processing characters from WINLINK itself, even if poorly.? ?It serves as a proxy for all other WINDOWS software that will likely work quite similiarly.??
I should order a couple of UARTs or at least some Baofeng programming cables, whichever is cheaper.? ?
Found this:? ??
It is TWO uarts identical, with connection pins (which will need to be longer, but I think I have some or can make them.? ? $9
That should fill the bill and make my llfe easier.
UPCOMING TALK:
I am giving a? 50-minute TALK about all the improvements that have been made to the sBitx in the past year, at the West Central Florida TECHCON 2024 talk at the end of February.? ?It would really be nice if I had this WORKING by then....it would mean that almost anything could be done with the radio, some all by itself, and others, such as WINLINK RMS 24/7/365 gateway stations, or ION2G, by using this trick.? ??
Gordon KX4Z
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Scotty R
Vic WA4THR