Re: Unreliable WIFI on zBitx?
Steve,
For remote locations I installed Tailscale? on? the zbitz. Super simple Tailscale provides a free VPN access for nearly all devices, Linux, windows, snology nas? Android and iPhone. On your pc you just select your zbitx It automatically assigns an internet ip and a DNS, so you can choose
Enter that on your web browser and remote web from zbit appears from any place in the world... fun stuff.
Joe VE1BWV? No port fwd or opening settings on the router. It just makes it look like your connected on your home network.
I think they allow 100 devices. I run about 10 of my systems.
Thanks Joe.?? Desktop size change here was very obvious from with HDMI
monitor connected to without.??? RealVNC has been up and stable this
morning without the monitor attached for on the order of an hour and a
half now.?? Clearly more experimentation/troubleshooting is required.
That aside, mind sharing what your network setup is at remote locations
that you're doing RealVNC?
Steve KF8KI
On 5/23/2025 9:51 AM, Joe via wrote:
> I have been running the ZBITX for a month or so. My experience is no
> issues with wifi.
> I connect with real vnc both locally and at remote locations.
>
> I almost always have a 14 inch touch?screen ext monitor attached? and
> so far l have not seen any video changes.
>
> Also via web remote? so far it connects fine.
>
> Joe
> VE1BWV
> .
>
|
On Fri, May 23, 2025 at 09:39 AM, W1WCI wrote:
POTA a perspective, many activations with zBitx. ?Usually get five contacts in before taking a break for heat dissipation. ?My fingers are my gauge. Running the radio at 75% drive usually change in a second set of batteries after the first drops to 6 volts. ?Typically one and a half pairs of batteries per outing, the second set is usually still 7+ volts at the end. Did a five park outing on six batteries. ?A lot less gear than using my Sbitx.
Tim - W1WCI
?
Thanks for that input.? I think it helps set expectations quite well.?
?
As a sbitx owner I think I'd find needing a break after five QSOs for the rig to cool down a bit frustrating, yet the sbitx is three times the cost of zbitx, takes up more space and weighs more, etc.
?
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Re: zBITX Crashes - Suspect Memory Leak
#zbitx
Hi John,
?
No, I did not try doing it that way.? ?I had no problem adding debounce to version 3.021, where only the falling edge needed it.? What I ran into while trying to debounce version 3.052 was that the rising edge now also needed to be debounced.? Changes made elsewhere in the CW processing chain now required that.? I was using paddles that are not often used, therefore having dirty contacts.? I was trying for a debounce time delay that would accommodate slow simple straight key use as well as 30 wpm electronic keying.? No timing that I tried seemed to work at both ends. Tiny delays were not effective because I still got bounces,? and longer delays resulted in my missing the rising edge causing the carrier to remain on.? It seems like disabling the IRQ (if the library being used allows it) would add another unpredictable timing element into the mix.? I'm already wondering how accurate the microsecond timer I have been using is with very low time delays.? The RasPi is running the full OS and GUI.? So it is busy. I still have my version that has the IRQs, and will give that a try whenever I have some time.??
?
72,
Jody - K3JZD
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Re: Unreliable WIFI on zBitx?
For those following along at home on my WIFI issue:
- I discovered by using raspi-config and selecting a desktop size, I no longer got the difference in RealVNC in desktop between having an external monitor connected and not.? Both remained at the desktop size I chose.? I ended up digging into this because the original default size caused the sBitx program not to display completely on RealVNC without an external monitor being connected.
- After doing so, my RealVNC connection (and absence of wlan0 failures) reliability improved markedly.? I'm thinking this may be attributed to the fact that initially the resolution of the monitor I was using was much higher than the desktop size I ultimately chose (1024x768).? Intuitively I suspect this decreases the amount of traffic necessary for the RealVNC connection and thus reduces the load on the Pi.? Subsequently, I ran a RealVNC connection continuously for about four hours this morning, including running FT8 before a wlan failure occurred.? That I could see being attributed to a lack of available resources after having the connection open for so long.? Having executed many FT8 transmit cycles over that time, I was unable to attribute the wlan0 failure to anything other than the length of time the connection had been open.
73, Steve KF8KI
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Re: New zBitx - New User - CW operation
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On Fri, May 23, 2025 at 11:39?AM Steve Sutterer AK0M via <73ak0m= [email protected]> wrote: I just installed Karl K5KHK's changes that add a Shutdown command to the Menu, as well as include Jody's K3JZD's CW fix. This makes for a very usable CW rig. I also "discovered" how to operate from a terminal, and the UI works much better and smoother from there; I presume this is essentially the sBitx app.
?
Macros: I have yet to figure out how to add or change the selected macro, either from the standalone rig or even from within the terminal app. Probably just need to do some digging on this, but I don't see a "macro" dropdown option anywhere.
?
TUNE: I note that there is a TUNE feature on the external display. It would be awesome to have this somewhere on the zBitx display for use with antenna tuners. 2TONE could be used but is several button presses involved for what could be a relatively frequently used feature, especially when running with a mag loop which requires nearly constant retuning.
?
I also added a slightly larger knob to the rig. Will eventually get one printed like I've seen somewhere, similar to a shorter G90 knob.
?
Am going to be looking for heatsink ideas that are relatively compact and that work.
?
I've added a number of feature requests to the GitHub repo.
?
One of the main reasons I bought this rig was to learn. It's already been fun to explore some of the code and have to learn how to use GitHub/git.
?
Steve AK0M
|
Re: New zBitx - New User - CW operation
As another new user, would you mind sharing where you found the
shutdown changes and CW fix please??? Besides this group and
GitHub is there another place I should be monitoring for such
developments?? I haven't been on the list long enough to have seen
discussion about either of them and didn't know what I didn't know
so as to be searching.
I'd like to discover how to operate from a terminal as well.
Thanks!
Steve, KF8KI
On 5/23/2025 11:39 AM, Steve Sutterer
AK0M via groups.io wrote:
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Show quoted text
I just installed Karl K5KHK's changes that add a Shutdown
command to the Menu, as well as include Jody's K3JZD's CW fix.
This makes for a very usable CW rig. I also "discovered" how to
operate from a terminal, and the UI works much better and
smoother from there; I presume this is essentially the sBitx
app.
?
Macros: I have yet to figure out how to add or change the
selected macro, either from the standalone rig or even from
within the terminal app. Probably just need to do some digging
on this, but I don't see a "macro" dropdown option anywhere.
?
TUNE: I note that there is a TUNE feature on the external
display. It would be awesome to have this somewhere on the zBitx
display for use with antenna tuners. 2TONE could be used but is
several button presses involved for what could be a relatively
frequently used feature, especially when running with a mag loop
which requires nearly constant retuning.
?
I also added a slightly larger knob to the rig. Will
eventually get one printed like I've seen somewhere, similar to
a shorter G90 knob.
?
Am going to be looking for heatsink ideas that are relatively
compact and that work.
?
I've added a number of feature requests to the GitHub repo.
?
One of the main reasons I bought this rig was to learn. It's
already been fun to explore some of the code and have to learn
how to use GitHub/git.
?
Steve AK0M
|
Re: ZbitX replacement knob?
Thanks for the tip Andy
--
Gyula HA3HZ
|
I can't find how to select different macros on the zBitx, or for that matter in the terminal app display. I want to add some macros, and be able to select them for default at power up of the rig when standalone. Is this possible?
Steve AK0M
|
Re: New zBitx - New User - CW operation
I just installed Karl K5KHK's changes that add a Shutdown command to the Menu, as well as include Jody's K3JZD's CW fix. This makes for a very usable CW rig. I also "discovered" how to operate from a terminal, and the UI works much better and smoother from there; I presume this is essentially the sBitx app.
?
Macros: I have yet to figure out how to add or change the selected macro, either from the standalone rig or even from within the terminal app. Probably just need to do some digging on this, but I don't see a "macro" dropdown option anywhere.
?
TUNE: I note that there is a TUNE feature on the external display. It would be awesome to have this somewhere on the zBitx display for use with antenna tuners. 2TONE could be used but is several button presses involved for what could be a relatively frequently used feature, especially when running with a mag loop which requires nearly constant retuning.
?
I also added a slightly larger knob to the rig. Will eventually get one printed like I've seen somewhere, similar to a shorter G90 knob.
?
Am going to be looking for heatsink ideas that are relatively compact and that work.
?
I've added a number of feature requests to the GitHub repo.
?
One of the main reasons I bought this rig was to learn. It's already been fun to explore some of the code and have to learn how to use GitHub/git.
?
Steve AK0M
|
Re: zBitX offset waterfall passband
|
Re: ZbitX replacement knob?
To fix encoders with detents is straightforward. Unclip the cover, remove it and the shaft, push down on the detent spring, and reassemble.
?
?
73, Andy
|
A USB GPS would work, you could set it up as you would on an RPi on its own, I imagine.
The TTL GPS *could* work if the zBitx hardware isn't using the TTL Serial pins on the RPi Zero 2W, I don't know if the zBitx uses those pins or not.
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On May 22, 2025, at 18:34, Ed K. via groups.io <edmk5000@...> wrote:
? I haven't received my zbitx and haven't had my hands on it yet, so maybe my question is moot.?
?
With inexpensive and reliable GPS Modules such as the GT-U7, is there a way to implement it into the zbtix for time sync or maybe even location??
?
The GT-U7 can ouput NEMA data via serial USB or TTL. I have used this module (with Arduino) and it has been sensitive enough to use inside my house.
?
My first thought is to use an Arduino as an NTP server for the zbitz to sync to. However, I am curious if a more direct way could be possible so it can be used without networking.
?
Ed
?
?
|
I just found this on AliExpress:?
¡ê2.70 | 12V24V to 9V5A power step-down module 12V to 9V DC transformer 24V to 9V car converter
?
I've just had this delivered from AliExpress, haven't had a chance to use it yet but looks okay, I've fitted a jack plug ready to insert into the power socket. Great price?
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Re: Unreliable WIFI on zBitx?
Thanks Joe.?? Desktop size change here was very obvious from with HDMI monitor connected to without.??? RealVNC has been up and stable this morning without the monitor attached for on the order of an hour and a half now.?? Clearly more experimentation/troubleshooting is required.
That aside, mind sharing what your network setup is at remote locations that you're doing RealVNC?
Steve KF8KI
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Show quoted text
On 5/23/2025 9:51 AM, Joe via groups.io wrote: I have been running the ZBITX for a month or so. My experience is no issues with wifi.
I connect with real vnc both locally and at remote locations.
I almost always have a 14 inch touch?screen ext monitor attached? and so far l have not seen any video changes.
Also via web remote? so far it connects fine.
Joe
VE1BWV
.
|
Ed,
New user here.? Got mine at Hamvention.
The cool thing about the zBitx (among many) is that it's running on a fully functional (as far as I know) Raspberry Pi, thus, you can pretty much do anything with it you could do on any other Raspberry Pi within the limits of the particular model in use. The RPi in the zBitx is a Pi Zero 2W.?? Working around the single USB port can be a slight challenge, but as long as you overcome that (I use a small multi port USB hub) you should be golden.
I like your idea, so a couple quick searches yielded these two discussions/posts.?? I have a APRS tracker I built based on an RPi using a GPS similar to what you're getting.? I think I'm going to try to set up the same thing.
73, Steve KF8KI
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On 5/22/2025 7:34 PM, Ed K. via groups.io wrote: I haven't received my zbitx and haven't had my hands on it yet, so maybe my question is moot.
With inexpensive and reliable GPS Modules such as the GT-U7, is there a way to implement it into the zbtix for time sync or maybe even location?
The GT-U7 can ouput NEMA data via serial USB or TTL. I have used this module (with Arduino) and it has been sensitive enough to use inside my house.
My first thought is to use an Arduino as an NTP server for the zbitz to sync to. However, I am curious if a more direct way could be possible so it can be used without networking.
Ed
|
Re: Unreliable WIFI on zBitx?
I have been running the ZBITX for a month or so. My experience is no issues with wifi. I connect with real vnc both locally and at remote locations.
I almost always have a 14 inch touch?screen ext monitor attached? and so far l have not seen any video changes.
Also via web remote? so far it connects fine.
Joe VE1BWV? .
Hey Jody,
When you were running RealVNC in your configuration, did you also
have an external display hooked up?? Or were you just connected to
the device with RealVNC?
When I was running yesterday I had both RealVNC AND a monitor,
keyboard and mouse.?? I disconnected everything last night to sit
on the porch and run some FT8 and JUST connected to it with
RealVNC this morning to export the FT8 logs.?? I immediately
noticed that the resolution on the display is different.? With an
HDMI monitor hooked up, the desktop was the size of the monitor.?
This morning, the desktop appears to be just about the size of the
built in display.?? I'm having some display issues showing all of
sBitx, but that's a different issue.
What's notable is that in this configuration, RealVNC seems much
more stable than it was with the monitor connected and thus much
higher display resolution.
Thanks!
Steve KF8KI
On 5/22/2025 1:31 PM, Jody - K3JZD via
wrote:
I have run SSH and RealVNC for hours at a time while trying
out things.? But I am either 5 feet away from my WiFi Router or
about 30 feet away.? ?I have not experienced any unexpected
disconnects with either connection.? But I have only been using
CW into a dummy load.? So, maybe my results are not typical.
?
72,
Jody - K3JZD.??
|
POTA a perspective, many activations with zBitx. ?Usually get five contacts in before taking a break for heat dissipation. ?My fingers are my gauge. Running the radio at 75% drive usually change in a second set of batteries after the first drops to 6 volts. ?Typically one and a half pairs of batteries per outing, the second set is usually still 7+ volts at the end. Did a five park outing on six batteries. ?A lot less gear than using my Sbitx. Tim - W1WCI Sent from me and my iPad
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On May 23, 2025, at 9:20?AM, Dave, N1AI via groups.io <n1ai@...> wrote:
? On Thu, May 22, 2025 at 10:55 PM, Jay Bremner wrote:
So if we are talking about the HRCC video and how his radio was resetting, he posted a follow up video and admitted that he used a 1A power supply. When he connected a 3.5A power supply, problem solved.
?
I wasn't talking about that situation, but you might be inadvertently pointing out why it is not the perfect POTA/SOTA solution: should you have to supply 3.5A at 7.2V = 25W to a POTA radio to make 5W output? ?How many watt-hours of batteries are you going to have to bring to that park/summit to have a decent outing?? And if you do so, isn't a lot of that power that isn't going out the antenna producing a lot of heat inside a small package?? ?At some point, isn't it a better idea to address the root cause of the problem instead of applying work-arounds?
I agree just having a solid aluminum baseplate as a heatsink with no mechanical ventilation could be an issue, I ordered a thermoelectric cooling fan that will attach to the back of the radio and that does add about 2 ounces. Despite these issues, I don¡¯t mind tinkering with radios and think it will be a fun experiment.?
?
? I can always take my G90 out if it doesn¡¯t work out. ?
?
The person who started this thread said that price was important to them which is part of why I chose to respond.??
?
Like I said, the review I posted is really balanced.? It points out the good and the bad and everything in between.? ?I admire Farhan's motivations and innovations.? ?I just think people should spend some time understanding what they are buying, especially if $200 is a meaningful part of their hobby budget.??
?
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
|
Re: Homebrew satellite control system that can run on sBitx
Would love to see some close-ups of your elevation setup with the linear actuator! What material did you use for the elements on your yagis? I¡¯m on the same journey right now.? 73 de W0ZF? On Fri, May 23, 2025 at 5:10?AM Gordon Gibby KX4Z via <docvacuumtubes= [email protected]> wrote:
I have now gotten an elevation system working very well using a linear actuator (12V) from Amazon.? ?Also created crossed yagi's to allow for circular polarization.? ? Using "J" half-folded dipole driven elements has turned out very well.? ? The impedances of these driven elements wasn't as large as I had expected (they are dragged downward in impedance by the influence of the nearby reflector and director).? ?However a very fortunate outcome was that the impedance of putting each crossed yagi in parallel with the other resulted in nice combined impedance.? ?I chose to use short feedlines that (corrected for velocity factor) were 1/2 wavelength, for the purpose of allowing me to use a nanoVNA to try and estimate the actual feed point impedance.? ?It worked!
?
Putting the yagis in parallel using a BNC T-connector resulted in an almost perfect SWR on my 70cm set and tolerable on the 2meter set.? ??
?
Here is a photo of the final antenna, with the booms and yagi's now implemented in standard 3/4 inch Schedule 40 PVC from Home Depot:
?
?
I'm still very very new at all of this, but I have now been able send and receive AX.25 (packet) to the ISS very easily on 2 meters.? ?This is an APRS digipeater, so acts a little differently than normal digipeaters I'm familiar with.? ? ?I'm still working on figuring out the best software with which to approach it -- there are LOTS of users so it is a big crowded!
?
Working my way back up to attempting the LINEAR satellites.? ?In the meantime, I have now worked out how to control the rotators remotely over WIFI using a raspberry pi to run the rotctld.? ?That will be for another post here.
?
So far the Yagi's seem to be working amazingly well for the homebrew way that i built them!? (the box on the base is just for stability weighting)
?
Gordon KX4Z
?
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Re: Up and Running Fully Portable
Having fun with mine as well.?? I did not bother to try the OTG
adapter at all, but I've been doing stuff with various RPis for a
while so I had several of the necessary USB and mini HDMI adapters
around.
For my keyboard and mouse I used a small multi port USB hub and
that's working fine.??? I do like the idea of a bluetooth keyboard
though, and one with a trackball would be awesome.? That would
keep from putting too much regular stress on that mini USB
connector.? Mind sharing which keyboard/trackball you're using?
As for batteries, I got a four pack of the 18650s and a charger,
but you can kill a set of those pretty quickly on an FT8 operating
session, so I have a 12.5-7V dc to dc converter on the way.? As
long as noise isn't an issue, I'll probably use that and run it
off my battery box.? I'm also an RC guy, so I thought I might make
an adapter for a Lipo 2S pack as well.? I have several of those
available.
73, Steve KF8KI
On 5/23/2025 12:11 AM, Gwen Patton via
groups.io wrote:
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Show quoted text
Yeah, I ran
into the same issue with that OTG adapter. I think it's not
so much an OTG adapter as a crisp, tasty waffle. I had one
around, and, like you, got my keyboard and mouse working.
Then I paired a handheld keyboard with a trackpad built in,
and I'll likely use that. I think I'm going to make a
technical bag to go along with the radio's go-bag, one with
an HDMI cable, a 14-inch portable screen, and a better
bluetooth keyboard I have that's got a built in trackball.
Each of those things is bigger than the repurposed
photographer's bag I'm using for the radio and its immediate
gear. I need to get the radio out and update the firmware
and UI anyway, so I'll do the pairing for the new keyboard
while I have it out.
I got an
8-pack of 18650 batteries and a USB-C powered 4-place
charger that has been a real workhorse. I like that it
doesn't need a mains plug. I'm about halfway through
assembly of a 5-band link dipole. Once I get the basic build
put together, I'll run it up a telescoping mast and tune it
up. Then I'll crimp on bullet lugs to make connecting the
links easy, and it'll be in service. I've got a 3-band link
dipole already, but I need to replace the connectors in the
links, and it doesn't have my favorite bands in it. Besides,
I made the new one out of Kev-Flex. Durable.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73,
Gwen, NG3P
BitXers,
??? Been playing with and
learning my new zBitx and I am having a blast.? I have
made a couple CW contacts almost immediately after
receiving my unit.? I had a couple unexpected hiccups in
that I wasn't prepared for the "Mini-HDMI".? The other
was the USB-OTG adapter that came with it was bad.?
Fortunately I had another stuffed in a drawer and
decided to try it.? Keyboard came right up and I was
able to get the unit up in Host mode.? I paired up my
bluetooth keyboard so I no longer have to deal with the
USB port for that.
I am running a portable
16inch (USB powered) monitor along with the wireless
keyboard and can run the rig on either 18650 batteries
or my Bioenno 1212Ah based battery box.? Got the clock
sync'd up and started up FT8 on 20m and made my first
contact within in a minute....
Great start so far.? It's
not a KX2 but this little unit is a lot of fun
especially with all the build in apps which I still need
to play with.
Attached is a couple of
photos.
--
"POWER, WE DON'T NEED NO STICKIN' POWER" - EVERY KX2 OWNER
Always respect the airwaves,
73 de KI7PBR, Gary
|
On Thu, May 22, 2025 at 10:55 PM, Jay Bremner wrote:
So if we are talking about the HRCC video and how his radio was resetting, he posted a follow up video and admitted that he used a 1A power supply. When he connected a 3.5A power supply, problem solved.
?
I wasn't talking about that situation, but you might be inadvertently pointing out why it is not the perfect POTA/SOTA solution: should you have to supply 3.5A at 7.2V = 25W to a POTA radio to make 5W output? ?How many watt-hours of batteries are you going to have to bring to that park/summit to have a decent outing?? And if you do so, isn't a lot of that power that isn't going out the antenna producing a lot of heat inside a small package?? ?At some point, isn't it a better idea to address the root cause of the problem instead of applying work-arounds?
I agree just having a solid aluminum baseplate as a heatsink with no mechanical ventilation could be an issue, I ordered a thermoelectric cooling fan that will attach to the back of the radio and that does add about 2 ounces. Despite these issues, I don¡¯t mind tinkering with radios and think it will be a fun experiment.?
?
? I can always take my G90 out if it doesn¡¯t work out. ?
?
The person who started this thread said that price was important to them which is part of why I chose to respond.??
?
Like I said, the review I posted is really balanced.? It points out the good and the bad and everything in between.? ?I admire Farhan's motivations and innovations.? ?I just think people should spend some time understanding what they are buying, especially if $200 is a meaningful part of their hobby budget.??
?
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
|
Dave, N1AI
HA3HZ