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Strain Relief mod for Power Cable

 

To add some strain relief to the power cable I drilled 2 x 2.5mm holes into the battery holder and secured the power cable with a small zip tie.? A spot of liquid rubber on the exposed contacts top and bottom completes the job.
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Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number

 

Hi Gordon,
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The sBitx and zBitx series use a directional coupler to measure SWR and Power:
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From the code, after reading the value from the ATTiny85 vfwd:
? ? sprintf(buff,"%d", (vfwd * 40)/68);
? ? set_field("#fwdpower", buff);
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40/68 is the scaling of the ADC and the 50-Ohm conversion of voltage to power.
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Your comment on accurate power readings is correct.? It will not report an accurate value in anything other than a 50-Ohm load.
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73
Evan
AC9TU
Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number

 

I don't know about Ashhar's specific circuitry, but many of these "power" measurement systems actually measure VOLTAGE and presume 50 ohms and calculate the power using Ohms Law etc.
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If your actual impedance of your load is 25 ohms (not 50) then you will actually have FAR more output power than these kinds of systems will report.? ?They are only accurate into 50 ohms precisely, zero reactance.
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Again, I haven't looked at exactly how Ashhar does his system.? ?You can check this by comparing YOUR output power into a 50 ohm dummy load, and then with the same settings, into your antenna.? ? If there is a difference in reported power....your antenna isn't 50 ohms and the system is being "fooled."
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I hope this helps.? ?Accurate power measurement is quite an effort, which is why such equipment is often so terribly expensive!? Ashhar MIGHT have actually measured current, voltage and phase and computed, but few people do this.? ?
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Gordon KX4Z
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Any updates in the new batch of zbitx that is open for orders now?

 

Some questions on the new batch:
1.? Will these have a new version number to distinguish them from the original batch?
2.? Are there any HW changes to the boards or circuit components?
3.? Are there any changes to the specifications?
4.? Will there be any SW differences between them?
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I'm thinking the answer is "no" to all of the above, but just checking.
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Hats off to HFSignals for this awesome product!? I'm looking forward to the arrival here of the new toy.
Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number

 

Ok glad to hear. I thought I had maybe let the magic smoke out. I will swap antenna and try on other bands. Do we now wait for the next update and fixes. 73 de 2E0IIY


On Thu, 3 Apr 2025, 06:59 Jens/HB9JOI via , <hb9joi=[email protected]> wrote:
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What`s the reason that I get on all bands only 2...max.3 watts output ?
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73
?
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From: Vu3vwr via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, April 3, 2025 6:23 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Power zero on 10m / Drive number
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Matt,

I have logged the 10M power output bug on .
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This seems to be a software bug. The current workaround is to switch to another band (say 20M) and transmit (do a quick "qrl?" on CW) before going back to 10M. Doing this brings back the power on 10M.?
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I haven't seen the drive problem so far. Are you able to set it on 100 on the other bands? Have you tried to restart the radio and see if you are able to adjust this? Please log this bug on Github so that Farhan can look into it.
?
73,
Ragav
Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number

 

Jens,

The power output is determined by the input voltage and the drive setting. Are you using batteries? If there is a sag in the voltage when your radio goes into transmit, the output power will go down. Although you can crank up the input voltage upto 12V it's not recommended as the heatsink on the radio can get quite hot given that the 5V linear regulator has to drop the input voltage.
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Can you please confirm if you've set the drive to 100??
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73,
Ragav
Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully #zbitx

 

Are the FT8 contacts saved? ?If so, aren’t they written to the file system on micro SD card?
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if the FT8 contacts are written to the card then couldn’t the file system eventually become corrupted by abruptly disconnecting the power? ?

is it possible to add a “button” somewhere on the screen to issue a proper shutdown command to the Pi 2W and Pico?
Re: ZBit newbie

 

Gerry,

You power off the radio by unplugging the power. According to this post from Farhan, there is no data being written to the SD card and the radio can be powered down by unplugging the power. If you are connected to an external HDMI display, you can shutdown the Pi from the logout option on the start menu.
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Although we haven't used an external ethernet hub to connect the zBitx to the internet, this should work as long as the Pi is able to access the internet.?
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Please have a look at for instructions on how to update the zBitx. You will need to connect the zBitx to the internet and plug in an external HDMI display, keyboard, and mouse to the zBitx to update the rig. To update the firmware, you will need to connect the radio to a PC using the supplied microUSB cable.?
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You can use the built in SD card copier tool on the Pi to "clone" your sd card. You can also download the image file for the sd card and burn it onto a new sd card using Balena Etcher or Raspberry Pi Imager software.
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73,
Ragav
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Re: FT8 heat

 

At idle the backplate is getting somewhat hot. So my guess is that the linear regulator 7805 is getting hot. The radio draws about 450mA of the 9VDC supply so the 7805 will be dissipating some heat.?

I?m planning to elevate the radio at the back end to have a better user angle. By that the heat can disappear easier then laying flush to the table.?

--
Tilman D. Thulesius

SM0JZT / Sweden
Re: Zbitx orders might close soon

 

Faran:
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It is a testimony to the veracity of the zBITX, when it is in danger of selling out in two to three days. ?Hopefully, your alumni will agree to come back and lend you a hand.
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I appreciate all of the hard work you and your team have done to bring another fine product, that we are able to experiment with after we get it.
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73 de Darrell KT4WX?
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Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully #zbitx

 

Yes - this would be the best way to move forward. I would accept the additional cost for a fully switched off radio not drawing current after turning off.
Best regards?
Peter DL4ZAQ
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Re: Zbitx arrived today

 

开云体育

The station arrived yesterday.?

Everything works, nicely packaged, even the test report is included.?

73 Matjaz?

S56ZVD


Nigel Evans M0NDE via groups.io je 31. 03. 2025 ob 23:31?napisal:

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
Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully #zbitx

 

Still a pain though. If the filesystem is corrupted badly enough you'd have to open up the radio, pull out the Micro SD card, and reflash it. If there were a way to do an orderly shutdown, including a dismount of the file system, that risk would be eliminated, even if you still had to pull the plug afterward.


On Thu, Apr 3, 2025 at 2:16?AM Dick PD0DF via <dick.frijdal=[email protected]> wrote:
I must agree,
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If nothing gets written, chance is that the filesystem corruption is minimal..
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And we do have good backups! Don't we? ??
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73'
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Dick
Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully #zbitx

 

Maybe the standard distribution could simply poll/interrupt a GPIO line to trigger shutdown.
Then a user could decide how to drive it.
(I would use a three position switch, with the middle position activating the line. Wait a few second and then switch off power.)
Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully #zbitx

 

I must agree,
?
If nothing gets written, chance is that the filesystem corruption is minimal..
?
And we do have good backups! Don't we? ??
?
73'
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Dick
Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number

 

开云体育

?
What`s the reason that I get on all bands only 2...max.3 watts output ?
?
73
?
?

From: Vu3vwr via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, April 3, 2025 6:23 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Power zero on 10m / Drive number
?
Matt,

I have logged the 10M power output bug on .
?
This seems to be a software bug. The current workaround is to switch to another band (say 20M) and transmit (do a quick "qrl?" on CW) before going back to 10M. Doing this brings back the power on 10M.?
?
I haven't seen the drive problem so far. Are you able to set it on 100 on the other bands? Have you tried to restart the radio and see if you are able to adjust this? Please log this bug on Github so that Farhan can look into it.
?
73,
Ragav
Re: ZBitx Bluetooth ?

 

The keyboard and pointing device I used was a BT thumb keyboard and trackpad. It works, but typing is slow due to the keys only being about 4mm across.

I'm replacing that little BT keyboard with a 2.4 ghz keyboard and trackball combo. All it requires is a type-A to microSD adapter. But I used a Bluetooth peripheral at first. BT was already active. So all I had to do was scan for available devices and verify the device I had was the one I wanted.


On Wed, Apr 2, 2025, 5:38?PM Ryan Wesolowski via <cosmo1stgen=[email protected]> wrote:
David,
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I have no machine running on mine.? Got the 3B v7 deb package installed.? I use no machine on most of my computers. ?

Ryan
KK6DZB
Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully #zbitx

 

Hmm. You might (probably ) be right here with that no harm can happen to a system where nothing is written.?

Being a old Linux/UNIX-guy, I also simply get nervous doing a hard cut.?
--
Tilman D. Thulesius

SM0JZT / Sweden
Re: ZbitX battery holder wiring

 

I have removed my battery holder. Looks ugly on the side of the radio.

I run my radio from external 9VDC source anyway.?
--
Tilman D. Thulesius

SM0JZT / Sweden
Re: Zbitx RPI SD-card image needed

 

Ashhar
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You are probably right there- I might have done this in desperation.
After having downloaded the image and flashed it to a new 32Gbyte SD-card. Put et into the radio and started the radio and did a reconfig. When all done I did a copy of that SD-card (also using Balena Etcher) to have on hand if things go sideways again.

Learnt something new? ;-)
--
Tilman D. Thulesius

SM0JZT / Sweden
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