I use two types of battery power. I use Power Delivery (or PPS) from a PD charger or battery bank to deliver the voltage and current I need. I've been doing quite well with trigger cables configured for the needed volts and amps. Most of the ones I've been using?are 12V, but now 9V is starting to become popular. (Not unreasonable, it was only a choice because cars in the US are a 12V system. Wiring a mobile rig is easy if it is built to accept the available configuration.)
The other arrangement I use is a battery pack or power supply that supplies the needed voltage and current directly, not by configuring a PD port. I have two LiFePO4 battery boxes with PowerPole connectors for 12V. The only other option is STANDARD USB 5v from a standard USB port. NOT a PD port. I even believe the battery in one of them IS a Bioenno 12Ah battery. There's even enough room in the box for its charger. A fused PowerPole bank is on the outside. The other is a commercial product I picked up at HRO. I think it has a 7Ah LiFePO4 in it, and it has a light, two USB ports, two PowerPole connections, and a lighter socket. I don't have a name or model. They may recognize the description if you ask them.
I do have a high capacity power bank that does everything from USB 1.0 5v to DC 60v, to AC 115V from an inverter. I can use PD trigger cables, USB-C to the appropriate coaxial barrel connector with it, but if I really want to get specific about voltage and amperage, it has an XT30 connector on the side that can be configured for everything from 5v to 60v. I've used it for 9v, and it's accurate and stable. The power bank is the Omnicharge Ultimate, and I'm unsure if it's even in production now.
I picked up a couple of PD USB-C to 5.5 x 2.1 (2.5) trigger cables from Amazon, and they work just fine with the zBitX. The radio shows 8.8V on the touch screen. I also picked up some nicely priced 18650 cells and a good charger for them. A fresh pair of them in the zBitX gives 8.4V.
The 9v trigger cables I got are these:?
They appear to work just fine, so long as the PD device you're plugging into supports 9V. I have a number of PD power banks that supply 9V. It's finding one that gives 12V that got a bit iffy for a while, until they started putting out PPS-spec trigger cables.
I got an Anker camp power bank that has a substantial amount of available juice, but does NOT have an AC inverter in it. Too many of the big camp power banks, the Jackerys and other random strings of letters treated as brand names these days. These are horribly inefficient and I would not bother with one unless I absolutely HAD to have 115VAC for some compelling reason. But these big power systems frequently have SEVERAL AC sockets on them, so many that it's hard to find real estate on the thing to provide a USB-C socket.
Presenting the Anker Solix C300 DC power bank, claiming 90,000mAh available juice.?
I believe it. There's several USB-C PD sockets on it, a couple over 100W. This one is designed for those who DON'T use AC devices when a DC device will do. Between my 12v battery boxes, my various smaller PD power banks, the Omnicharge and the Anker, I'm well supplied with power for my radios, and even some lights. Charging my phone, watch, and headset are a bonus.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P
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Bioenno makes 9v LiFePO4 batteries and chargers:
?
3 amp, 9 volt -
?
6 amp, 9 volt -
?
Just another option,
?
Ken, N2VIP
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I will not be using 18650 cells.? I bought an adjustable buck
converter with a 3 amp output rating.? Cost me $8.00 Canadian.? I
will be using this with a 4 cell 9 amp-hour LiFePO4 battery when
out in the field.? The battery is a bit on the big side when
compared to two 18650 cells, but it will run the radio quite a bit
longer on a charge, and it's safer to charge.
Gerry Sherman
On 2025-03-30 03:00, Leo Aniol, AI5II
via groups.io wrote:
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Show quoted text
Actually my plan would be to use this adapter with
either a 5v phone charging power pack that outputs 5v @ 1.5A or
my bioennno BPS-120 that has a 5v USB-A output port that will do
5v @ 2A and not with a PC USB-A port.
Just trying to get away from using the 18350's.
Leo Aniol, AI5II
Very likely it won't since it's not an actual
USB-C with PD. It's just boosting a regular USB port to 9v
and a regular?USB can only supply 500mahttp://
On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at
9:01?PM Leo Aniol, AI5II via
<leomaniolone= [email protected]>
wrote:
Bought one of these. Hope it? works?
?
Leo Aniol, AI5II
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sbitx v3 no output after upgrading to 64bit
Hi eveyone. I have been trying for the last couple weeks to upgrade to the 64 bit software. On the 32 bit, output is about 17.5 watts but when I swap to the 64 bit I get very little to none as far as output (my watt meter doesn't even register).? I have redownloaded, reimaged multiple times and still can't get any output. I can reimage to the 32 bit image and everthing works correctly on transmit. What am I missing here? The 64 bit works much better in every way except the transmit.
?
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I'd really like to use the bioenno battery because it has the ability to be solar charged and I have the solar panels.
?
Leo Aniol, AI5II
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Actually my plan would be to use this adapter with either a 5v phone charging power pack that outputs 5v @ 1.5A or my bioennno BPS-120 that has a 5v USB-A output port that will do 5v @ 2A and not with a PC USB-A port. Just trying to get away from using the 18350's.
Leo Aniol, AI5II
Very likely it won't since it's not an actual USB-C with PD. It's just boosting a regular USB port to 9v and a regular?USB can only supply 500mahttp://
On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 9:01?PM Leo Aniol, AI5II via <leomaniolone= [email protected]> wrote: Bought one of these. Hope it? works?
?
Leo Aniol, AI5II
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I did that Thursday and no response so I asked for help here. Sorry I won’t bug you guys again
On Mar 29, 2025 at 9:20?PM -0400, Ken N2VIP via groups.io <ken@...>, wrote:
It's the weekend, he's in a different time zone, and it's not his personal responsibility to follow-up on every issue that arises - that's the role of HF Signals.
?
Also, if you want a response from HF Signals, the best option is to reach out directly to HF Signals - this mail reflector is really about the community helping each other, this isn't a direct pipeline to HF Signals.
?
Emails sent to HF Signals are received by the group responsible for the product, emails sent to the group are sent to 4,700 recipients, one of which is HF Signsls who may or may not see particular messages posted to the group.
?
Ken, N2VIP
|
It's the weekend, he's in a different time zone, and it's not his personal responsibility to follow-up on every issue that arises - that's the role of HF Signals.
?
Also, if you want a response from HF Signals, the best option is to reach out directly to HF Signals - this mail reflector is really about the community helping each other, this isn't a direct pipeline to HF Signals.
?
Emails sent to HF Signals are received by the group responsible for the product, emails sent to the group are sent to 4,700 recipients, one of which is HF Signsls who may or may not see particular messages posted to the group.
?
Ken, N2VIP
|
Very likely it won't since it's not an actual USB-C with PD. It's just boosting a regular USB port to 9v and a regular?USB can only supply 500mahttp://
On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 9:01?PM Leo Aniol, AI5II via <leomaniolone= [email protected]> wrote: Bought one of these. Hope it? works?
?
Leo Aniol, AI5II
|
Bought one of these. Hope it? works?
?
Leo Aniol, AI5II
|
Re: ZBitx hangs on startup
Can you past the error or warning you got when you attempted to do the update ?
On Sat, Mar 29, 2025, 7:52?PM Tom Crowley KT4XN 1738 via <crowleytj= [email protected]> wrote:
Ashhar, the ./update did not work.? Wha tis the best way to reinstall zBitx SW on the RPI?
Tnx,
Tom KT4XN
The image didnt come through. Can you mail it to be directly?
On Fri, Mar 28, 2025, 2:12 AM Tom Crowley KT4XN 1738 via
<crowleytj= [email protected]> wrote:
Ashhar, with a monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged in.? The zBitx screen image remains the same (no change during boot-up).? The monitor shows a normal startup with a window showing what may be an issue.? Rebooted the machine and the zBitx window did not change,
however the monitor showed a normal reboot.? Unable to kill the zBitx program using the normal tools.??
|
Re: zBitX radio hanging randomly.
When these come up for order again, I’m sorely tempted to get one and see what happens with an external keyboard (wireless? Wired?) and Orca…or with a connection through a web browser.?
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV, WRVB670?-?Erie, PA
Email: buddy@...
Mobile: (814) 431-0962
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Mar 29, 2025, at 7:53?PM, Gwen Patton via groups.io <ardrhi@...> wrote:
Thanks, Ashhar, you're the best. This is a totally magnificent radio, with awesome sauce! I'm having a blast getting it all?together and working!?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 6:22?PM Ashhar Farhan via <farhanbox= [email protected]> wrote: I am on it
I did what you suggested, Ashhar, and thanks for pointing that out to me. Unfortunately, it has not fixed the issue of the radio process locking up if I select a decode the way you did in the "Working FT8" video. I touch the frame with the FT8 decodes in it, then turn the encoder to select a decode with the bright white border around it, but when I click the encoder button, it freezes and requires a reboot.
But if I have the HDMI running to my monitor, and click a pointing device on the virtual radio on the screen, THAT works fine. It selects a decode and initiates an attempt to contact. I even got a QSO using that method, but I don't know if it registered in the log; I didn't check.
I put that in an issue (#6) on the git repository.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P
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Re: zBitX radio hanging randomly.
Thanks, Ashhar, you're the best. This is a totally magnificent radio, with awesome sauce! I'm having a blast getting it all?together and working!?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P
On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 6:22?PM Ashhar Farhan via <farhanbox= [email protected]> wrote: I am on it
I did what you suggested, Ashhar, and thanks for pointing that out to me. Unfortunately, it has not fixed the issue of the radio process locking up if I select a decode the way you did in the "Working FT8" video. I touch the frame with the FT8 decodes in it, then turn the encoder to select a decode with the bright white border around it, but when I click the encoder button, it freezes and requires a reboot.
But if I have the HDMI running to my monitor, and click a pointing device on the virtual radio on the screen, THAT works fine. It selects a decode and initiates an attempt to contact. I even got a QSO using that method, but I don't know if it registered in the log; I didn't check.
I put that in an issue (#6) on the git repository.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P
|
Re: ZBitx hangs on startup
Ashhar, the ./update did not work.? Wha tis the best way to reinstall zBitx SW on the RPI?
Tnx,
Tom KT4XN
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
The image didnt come through. Can you mail it to be directly?
On Fri, Mar 28, 2025, 2:12 AM Tom Crowley KT4XN 1738 via
<crowleytj= [email protected]> wrote:
Ashhar, with a monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged in.? The zBitx screen image remains the same (no change during boot-up).? The monitor shows a normal startup with a window showing what may be an issue.? Rebooted the machine and the zBitx window did not change,
however the monitor showed a normal reboot.? Unable to kill the zBitx program using the normal tools.??
|
My zBitx power cord is finicky. I have to turn it slightly and squeeze it (top to bottom on top of the connector) to get it to stay on, you might want to try that. It's also shut off by itself a couple times when moved. I'm going to order a couple new plugs and and hopefully it's the plug and not the jack.?
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I only design and write the software, I hope the sales guys answer the quality issues. I have raised it with them.
On Sun, Mar 30, 2025, 4:48 AM Astro-Nights with Mike Christiansen via <starmke1998= [email protected]> wrote:
I just wish Ashhar would chime in
On Mar 29, 2025 at 1:31?PM -0400, Ken N2VIP via <ken= [email protected]>, wrote:
The zBitx has two computers, an RPi zero 2 W and a pico. The pico drives the display. By applying power to the CAT port (which is the pico power/USB port) the display operates (I assume meaning it turns on, not that it controls the unpowered radio).
?
Ken, N2VIP
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I just wish Ashhar would chime in
On Mar 29, 2025 at 1:31?PM -0400, Ken N2VIP via groups.io <ken@...>, wrote:
The zBitx has two computers, an RPi zero 2 W and a pico. The pico drives the display. By applying power to the CAT port (which is the pico power/USB port) the display operates (I assume meaning it turns on, not that it controls the unpowered radio).
?
Ken, N2VIP
|
Re: zBitX radio hanging randomly.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I did what you suggested, Ashhar, and thanks for pointing that out to me. Unfortunately, it has not fixed the issue of the radio process locking up if I select a decode the way you did in the "Working FT8" video. I touch the frame with the FT8 decodes in it, then turn the encoder to select a decode with the bright white border around it, but when I click the encoder button, it freezes and requires a reboot.
But if I have the HDMI running to my monitor, and click a pointing device on the virtual radio on the screen, THAT works fine. It selects a decode and initiates an attempt to contact. I even got a QSO using that method, but I don't know if it registered in the log; I didn't check.
I put that in an issue (#6) on the git repository.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P
|
Re: zBitX radio hanging randomly.
I did what you suggested, Ashhar, and thanks for pointing that out to me. Unfortunately, it has not fixed the issue of the radio process locking up if I select a decode the way you did in the "Working FT8" video. I touch the frame with the FT8 decodes in it, then turn the encoder to select a decode with the bright white border around it, but when I click the encoder button, it freezes and requires a reboot.
But if I have the HDMI running to my monitor, and click a pointing device on the virtual radio on the screen, THAT works fine. It selects a decode and initiates an attempt to contact. I even got a QSO using that method, but I don't know if it registered in the log; I didn't check.
I put that in an issue (#6) on the git repository.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 73, Gwen, NG3P
|
The zBitx has two computers, an RPi zero 2 W and a pico. The pico drives the display. By applying power to the CAT port (which is the pico power/USB port) the display operates (I assume meaning it turns on, not that it controls the unpowered radio).
?
Ken, N2VIP
|
Gwen Patton
Charlie, W4CLV
