Re: Bitx40 another Raduino(?) problem
I got solid light from the red LED on Raduino, no blinking?
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On Mon, Mar 13, 2017 at 10:56 am, Kent Berglund PhD wrote:
It is a bad output from the Si5351 with only about 1.052.8MhZ coming out at pin 14 on Raduino#895. ?The other Raduino has 4.986MhZ. ?
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Thanks, Randy.
It is a bad output from the Si5351 with only about 1.052.8MhZ coming out at pin 14 on Raduino#895. ?The other Raduino has 4.986MhZ. ?
Thanks for the documentation to help me chase that down.
73, Kent KC9LIF
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Re: Bitx40 another Raduino(?) problem
Is the LED on the Raduino board flashing wish a one second period??
Jck, W8TEE
From: "majcool@..." <majcool@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2017 1:43 PM
Subject: [BITX20] Bitx40 another Raduino(?) problem
Hi to everyone here, my first post, unfortunately concerning RX problem. I'm quite new to electronics (ofc I know how to solder, so following assembly steps was quite easy to me), so maybe someone more experienced can help. One of the problems was easy to fix- the L2 coil was a bit loose and rotated 45deg. (compared to the other two coils) but was turned the right way and checked for continuity.?
Second issue is more serious. According to a friend of mine who checked my bitx40 (he's way more into electronics)- the main board appears to work ok, the Raduino board seems to be the cause of the problems. The display works ok, shows 'some' frequency, backlight is also working fine. ?His test showed that the Raduino module provides very unstable 1MHz instead of 5MHz to the main board. SI5351A is not working, there is no stable 25MHz signal from Y1 oscillator. BTW. My unit has no C103 C107 caps. When powered on (antenna connected) there is only static noise (which changes with frequency), no stations received (even strong signals). On some frequencies the noise gets louder and distorted- doesn't matter if I connect dummy load or antenna. Here's a short video showing the problem?
Like I said before- the unit was assembled according to the manual and worked like this from the start. I wrote an email two weeks ago to hfsignals@... unfortunately no answer so far. I'm very happy that this project appeared at an affordable price and I'd like to solve the problem with your (or project designer's) help- if not I hope HFSignals will handle this situation.
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Re: Flutter fix (raduino v1.0.3)
Thanks! works well. I added some code that increases the tuning step after sitting at the extreme end for a while so you can tune faster. Also set the delay in step to .6 seconds as .2 was too fast for me.
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Re: Flutter fix (raduino v1.0.3)
Thanks Randy,
Good to hear that raduino v1.0.3 is working well!
Yes, you need to install the newer si5351 library v2 to compile it. This
is also mentioned in the README document. The old v1 library doesn't
compile.
73, Allard PE1NWL
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Jerry, thank you very much! I just finished putting together a RF probe for troubleshooting this problem and that post should be very helpful!
Thanks, Roy WA0YMH
On Mar 13, 2017 12:37 PM, "Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io" <jgaffke= [email protected]> wrote: If you have a scope or a simple diode+cap RF probe, this post might also be helpful: ?/g/BITX20/message/22764 Jerry, KE7ER On Mon, Mar 13, 2017 at 10:20 am, Roy Appleton wrote:
Randy, thank you so much for posting those files! I am also having transmitter problems. Nothing to the final transistor but a weak modulated signal can be heard on a nearby receiver. With the path diagram and transistor voltage chart I should be able to get close to where the problem is! Fingers crossed
Roy ?
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Bitx40 another Raduino(?) problem
Hi to everyone here, my first post, unfortunately concerning RX problem. I'm quite new to electronics (ofc I know how to solder, so following assembly steps was quite easy to me), so maybe someone more experienced can help. One of the problems was easy to fix- the L2 coil was a bit loose and rotated 45deg. (compared to the other two coils) but was turned the right way and checked for continuity.?
Second issue is more serious. According to a friend of mine who checked my bitx40 (he's way more into electronics)- the main board appears to work ok, the Raduino board seems to be the cause of the problems. The display works ok, shows 'some' frequency, backlight is also working fine. ?His test showed that the Raduino module provides very unstable 1MHz instead of 5MHz to the main board. SI5351A is not working, there is no stable 25MHz signal from Y1 oscillator. BTW. My unit has no C103 C107 caps. When powered on (antenna connected) there is only static noise (which changes with frequency), no stations received (even strong signals). On some frequencies the noise gets louder and distorted- doesn't matter if I connect dummy load or antenna. Here's a short video showing the problem?
Like I said before- the unit was assembled according to the manual and worked like this from the start. I wrote an email two weeks ago to hfsignals@... unfortunately no answer so far. I'm very happy that this project appeared at an affordable price and I'd like to solve the problem with your (or project designer's) help- if not I hope HFSignals will handle this situation.
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Hi Yesterday I try to add a small fan to cooler the irf 510. It is a small PC 40 mm x 40mm size fan, I connect It directly to 12 v input but listen a loud noise ?"bzzzz" from the speaker. Any idea to filter the noise.? I want to avoid to add big heatsink to decrease weigth.? Best 73, Giuseppe. Ik8yfw
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If you have a scope or a simple diode+cap RF probe, this post might also be helpful: ?/g/BITX20/message/22764 Jerry, KE7ER
On Mon, Mar 13, 2017 at 10:20 am, Roy Appleton wrote:
Randy, thank you so much for posting those files! I am also having transmitter problems. Nothing to the final transistor but a weak modulated signal can be heard on a nearby receiver. With the path diagram and transistor voltage chart I should be able to get close to where the problem is! Fingers crossed
Roy ?
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If there's only one cap that came with it, it's probably meant for use on the tuning pot between the middle (wiper) pin and the ground pin. ?However, the cap is added on the Raduino end of those three wires for minimum noise at the Raduino, so you might substitute a 0.1uF cap with wire leads as it has to reach across several pins there. ? Also adding the smd cap at the pot end wouldn't hurt. Jerry, KE7ER
On Mon, Mar 13, 2017 at 09:40 am, <KD2BBW@...> wrote: Just got a new kit and this time it includes a smd cap. Where does this one go now?? ?
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Randy, thank you so much for posting those files! I am also having transmitter problems. Nothing to the final transistor but a weak modulated signal can be heard on a nearby receiver. With the path diagram and transistor voltage chart I should be able to get close to where the problem is! Fingers crossed
Roy WA0YMH
On Mar 13, 2017 12:09 PM, "Randy Hall" < listk7age@...> wrote: Kent
Try swapping the Raduinos between the units.
With one working, compare the voltages between the two.
In my directory, I have marked up the schematic showing the receive and transmit signal path. Also, I have posted a table of transistor voltages.
Good luck with figuring this out.
Randy, K7AGE
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Kent
Try swapping the Raduinos between the units.
With one working, compare the voltages between the two.
In my directory, I have marked up the schematic showing the receive and transmit signal path. Also, I have posted a table of transistor voltages.
Good luck with figuring this out.
Randy, K7AGE
On Mon, Mar 13, 2017 at 9:46 AM, davetelling . <davetelling@...> wrote: Kent, I'd have to say that the Raduino is not generating any HF signal. If the display and controls seem to be working (i.e. the LCD looks normal, and the tuning control seems to change the displayed frequency) then the synthesizer IC might be bad, or something around it is preventing it from getting the RF out to the bitx40. Do you have a 'scope to trace signals?
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Kent, I'd have to say that the Raduino is not generating any HF signal. If the display and controls seem to be working (i.e. the LCD looks normal, and the tuning control seems to change the displayed frequency) then the synthesizer IC might be bad, or something around it is preventing it from getting the RF out to the bitx40. Do you have a 'scope to trace signals?
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Just got a new kit and this time it includes a smd cap. Where does this one go now??
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Also,?I forgot to mention that both boards appear to be deaf when I am using the Raduino#895, where as the Rx with Raduino #209 is exceptional. ?Thanks. ??
FYI...I just noted that Tx current I listed was 895mA, which should have been 800-900mA current. ?(Its early here) ?Thanks.
Kent.
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Hi All, I have two BitX40s boards, one of the old ones (#280) and a newer one (#2-790). ?I also have two Raduinos(#209 and #895, respectively)...(#209 I got after the first board) and the other one with the new board. ?My Rx current is 150mA. ?PTT down current = 332mA for both Raduinos (on both boards). ?With Radiuno #209 (1st one) seems to be working fine, I get Tx current = 895mA and about 5W +out on both boards. ?However, the Radiuno#895 that came with board #2-790 has a Tx of 360ma which is about 20-30ma, with no appreciable power out. Apologies if topic has been covered before..I did search the messages to see if others have had this problem and did not find any (I may have not searched for the right words). ? Any suggestion about further testing and what might be the problem? ?Thanks. 73, Kent KC9LIF
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Re: MAR-3SM+ and new display/VFO board coming
Anyone who wants the original AA documents, including parts list, can download them from:
Jack, W8TEE
From: Roy Appleton <twelveoclockhigh@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2017 9:41 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] MAR-3SM+ and new display/VFO board coming
Jack,
Just a FYI, the QRPGuys document is a cleaned up version of the draft copy I got from a link you posted earlier. But it does not have a BOM included which was a separate document in your other link.?
Also do you happen to have a link to the box/case you used in the original project? Thanks, Roy,
WA0YMH
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Re: MAR-3SM+ and new display/VFO board coming
Jack,
Just a FYI, the QRPGuys document is a cleaned up version of the draft copy I got from a link you posted earlier. But it does not have a BOM included which was a separate document in your other link.?
Also do you happen to have a link to the box/case you used in the original project? Thanks, Roy,
WA0YMH
On Mar 13, 2017 8:14 AM, "Jack Purdum via Groups.Io" <econjack= [email protected]> wrote: Was on vacation with no internet...a promise to XYL.
I used the MAR-3SM+ part for the?antenna analyzer (AA)?project because it's easier to find. Right now, I'm using the same AA board for the display/VFO and it seems to be doing well taking the VFO output via RG174 to Farhan's input pins. That said, Farrukh is redesigning the board to bring almost all of the Arduino Mega 2560 Pro Mini pins out to header pins to make it easier to experiment with the BITX40 (I'm lazy...B40). You can see pictures of the AA board that supports the AD9850/Mega and the TFT display by looking at the assembly manual on QRPGuys.com (look for the Antenna Analyzer menu option). The beta for the new board is being tested and I would guess it will be three weeks before we have the "real" board done. I have the code done so that it will autosize to a 2.4", 2.8", 3.5" and 3.95" TFT displays. That should give some case flexibility.?
Dennis Kidder (W6DQ and my co-author on the Arduino Projects book) is working on a CW and AGC options for the B40. I'm working on the code for a capacitive touch keyer (from the Projects book) which will do away with the need to drag a paddle with you. Setting CW speed and other menu options as well as tuning it done via a rotary encoder. The code provides for three CW messages to be tied to 3 NO switches on the top of the case. Each switch is tied to one of up to 50 canned messages (changeable at runtime). Press one of the switches and that message is sent via CW. The currently-selected message is displayed at the bottom of the display. It also monitors input voltage and has an S meter. (A repost of the display is below.) I don't know what we'll charge for the board, but it is a little bigger than the AA board to accommodate the different display sizes. All I can say at this point is that it will be less than $10.
Jack, W8TEE
Mike, thank you for the clarification. Jack it turns out has been on vacation and not have ever seen this in all the posts. Just a few more parts to get ordered and then sit on my hands for a couple weeks for all the parts to show up!
Thanks, Roy WA0YMH
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Re: MAR-3SM+ and new display/VFO board coming
Was on vacation with no internet...a promise to XYL.
I used the MAR-3SM+ part for the?antenna analyzer (AA)?project because it's easier to find. Right now, I'm using the same AA board for the display/VFO and it seems to be doing well taking the VFO output via RG174 to Farhan's input pins. That said, Farrukh is redesigning the board to bring almost all of the Arduino Mega 2560 Pro Mini pins out to header pins to make it easier to experiment with the BITX40 (I'm lazy...B40). You can see pictures of the AA board that supports the AD9850/Mega and the TFT display by looking at the assembly manual on QRPGuys.com (look for the Antenna Analyzer menu option). The beta for the new board is being tested and I would guess it will be three weeks before we have the "real" board done. I have the code done so that it will autosize to a 2.4", 2.8", 3.5" and 3.95" mcufriend.com TFT displays. That should give some case flexibility.?
Dennis Kidder (W6DQ and my co-author on the Arduino Projects book) is working on a CW and AGC options for the B40. I'm working on the code for a capacitive touch keyer (from the Projects book) which will do away with the need to drag a paddle with you. Setting CW speed and other menu options as well as tuning it done via a rotary encoder. The code provides for three CW messages to be tied to 3 NO switches on the top of the case. Each switch is tied to one of up to 50 canned messages (changeable at runtime). Press one of the switches and that message is sent via CW. The currently-selected message is displayed at the bottom of the display. It also monitors input voltage and has an S meter. (A repost of the display is below.) I don't know what we'll charge for the board, but it is a little bigger than the AA board to accommodate the different display sizes. All I can say at this point is that it will be less than $10.
Jack, W8TEE
From: Roy Appleton <twelveoclockhigh@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2017 4:08 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] New user
Mike, thank you for the clarification. Jack it turns out has been on vacation and not have ever seen this in all the posts. Just a few more parts to get ordered and then sit on my hands for a couple weeks for all the parts to show up!
Thanks, Roy WA0YMH
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Kent B.
Allard PE1NWL
