IDE 1.8.2 on MacBook Pro doesn't see a port to Raduino
I have a USB cable connected between my MacBook Pro and the Raduino (Bitx40v3 up and running ok) but the IDE (1.8.2) via the Tools->Port doesn't see the Raduino (I set board to Nano) Same cable on a MS Surface sees the Raduino via the IDE just fine.
MacBook Pro sees an Arduino Uno just fine with a different USB cable. i suspect a need a USB driver for the MacBook Pro to match the Raduino. OS X version is El Cap. Any suggestions are welcome. Paul w6png
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Re: Noob in need of some assistance.
What happens when you tune your sig gen thru the IF frequency ? Do you get any response from your Bitx ??
Peter
NB: see earlier post for test set-up.
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
yes just connect a momentary pushbutton switch?between pin?A3 (orange wire)?and ground 73 Allard PE1NWL
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
UPDATE: ?FIXED and working!!! yay!! ?now i just need to get a switch. ?If i understand correctly, it needs to be a momentary push button? Thanks all! -Austin KK6YVM
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Re: A whole bunch of things...
Yes mag loops are less efficient than dipoles. But if you don't have
enough space, or in a noisy urban area, a mag loop may be a good choice.
Efficiency depends on the circumference of the loop, the diameter of the
conductor (and the frequency of course).
Mine has an efficiency of 44% at 7 MHz according to the mag loop
calculator at
Beware that the voltage accros the capacitor can become very high, even at
low power levels. With only 7 Watts it already reaches about 1kV.
73 Allard PE1NWL
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On Mon, April 24, 2017 02:04, Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io wrote: I had assumed a mag loop was rather inefficient. ?? How does it compare to
a dipole?
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
You need to load the current sketch to the Arduino. The blink sketch is what a ¡°virgin¡± Arduino is loaded with and apparently what you have loaded at present. The Raduino is stand alone and you can trouble shoot with no radio board. You can power it with the same USB cable you will program it with. Without the correct sketch you are not sending the BFO frequency to the radio board or the data to the display so neither will work. Good luck ? V/R Fred W4JLE ? ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Austin R the BFO Sent: Monday, April 24, 2017 12:19 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [BITX20] Bitx40-v3 not working yet ? Hello all, So I have done everything I can think of to make the bitx40-v3 work, but no luck. ?I have power to the LCD, but it displays squares. ?In addition, turning the 10k pot does not change frequency. ?It is as if the raduino is not working or not programmed? ?I have a solid red "pwr" light, and a one second delay continuous blinking "L" red light off the arduino nano. ? Things I have tried beyond checking solder points: I have changed out LCD and still does not fix problem.
I have changed out the board from my first bitx40-analog (non-lcd) in place of this board and still same Squares on display with no frequency changing from the 10k pot.
I have followed a Troubleshooting video from (it was for the analog board). ?If I am doing things correctly, I lose signal between the two transformers @ 8:46 in the video. I have moved the windings away from each other but no luck. (I just do not know if this is the problem since I cannot even get a frequency signal or display to work from the
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Re: A whole bunch of things...
While it would work, you could do away with a bunch of the plates. ?As I remember the formula for capacitance is C= EA/d where C is in Farads, E is the permittivity of the plate separating medium, A is the area of overlapping plates in square meters and d the distance between the plates in meters. Mineral oil has a permittivity of about 2.5 (air =1). ?At that point you could almost use that beast as a filter capacitor ;>) ? v/r Fred W4JLE ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jack Purdum via Groups.Io
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2017 10:11 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] A whole bunch of things...? Question: I bought a vacuum variable cap and it was expensive and just a little smaller than a VW. I sold it to a member of my club, but still want to experiment with a mag loop. What would happen if you had a cap like this: which is fairly large but without the voltage rating of a VVC. Now, suppose you took a 4" piece of PVC, attached a seal on one end, filled it with mineral oil, and figured out a way to attach and control a stepper motor at the other end. Would that work, or does it go up in smoke? ? You probably don¡¯t need that kind of capacitor at 10 watts. You will still need to be careful, but it is unlikely a 10 watt loop will produce voltages that high. The best and cheapest solution is to get some wire in the air. Have a look at this; lots of good ideas for qrp antennas:? On Apr 23, 2017, at 1:26 PM, Michael Hagen <motdog@...> wrote: Yes, I have been thinking of that.? I could put it out in the old shed and maybe not get in trouble with landlord. Could put it up on PVC pipe, and down when not used.? Or, just mount on roof peak? I have been looking at Vacuum Variables.? They are about $225!? Ouch.? Need 200-400 pF at 3-7 KV. I used to see articles on "shielded" ones too.? Suppose to have less noise? I would try 1/2" or 3/4" Cu pipe and 45 Degree Els.??? So might try 5 Ft Hexagon? Need to set a motor up to adjust for narrow band width. There are a lot of links when you search on Magnetic Loops. ? you can try a magnetic loop they are small and effective , but bandwidth is only a few KHz before readjust it
? ? ?
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
If you are suggesting he adjust the contrast of the LCD using the pot on the Raduino, I doubt that's his problem. ?The photograph shows the default squares clearly displayed.
Also, regarding this advice: "Directions and needed files are all on this board." ?? Good luck finding anything in particular, there's over a decade worth of files lying about without any organization. ?And the search utility for messages that groups.io provides is badly broken. ?I think Allard's thread is a good start: ??/g/BITX20/topic/4961354? ? ?Also the Wiki: ?/g/BITX20/wiki/Raduino-Topics
On Sun, Apr 23, 2017 at 11:23 pm, Mvs Sarma wrote: Austin, ?There is? a preset pot on the raduiono pcb Remove? the diaply, adjust that preset to get around 0.8V on the pin2 location of LCD display. ? Put back the LCD and check all the best ? sarma ?vu3zmv
?
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
Austin, ?There is? a preset pot on the raduiono pcb Remove? the diaply, adjust that preset to get around 0.8V on the pin2 location of LCD display. ? Put back the LCD and check all the best ? sarma ?vu3zmv
On Monday, 24 April 2017 11:22 AM, Thomas Noel <tnoel@...> wrote:
Austin,
This has been covered many times on this board. Your Arduino is running the ¡°Blink¡± program instead of the Raduino 1.01 it should be running.? You will need to install the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and download the ¡°Sketch¡± Raduino.ino and the proper SI5351 Library 2.01. Put them all in the proper directories and then use the IDE to compile the software and upload it to the Arduino Nano on your board. Directions and needed files are all on this board.
On Apr 23, 2017, at 9:19 PM, Austin R < krahsh@...> wrote:
Hello all, So I have done everything I can think of to make the bitx40-v3 work, but no luck. ?I have power to the LCD, but it displays squares. ?In addition, turning the 10k pot does not change frequency. ?It is as if the raduino is not working or not programmed? ?I have a solid red "pwr" light, and a one second delay continuous blinking "L" red light off the arduino nano. ? Things I have tried beyond checking solder points: I have changed out LCD and still does not fix problem.
I have changed out the board from my first bitx40-analog (non-lcd) in place of this board and still same Squares on display with no frequency changing from the 10k pot.
I have followed a Troubleshooting video from (it was for the analog board). ?If I am doing things correctly, I lose signal between the two transformers @ 8:46 in the video. I have moved the windings away from each other but no luck. (I just do not know if this is the problem since I cannot even get a frequency signal or display to work from the arduino.) <IMG_0433.JPG><IMG_0404.JPG><IMG_0403.JPG> <IMG_0435.JPG><IMG_0434.JPG>
Sorry for the messy wires. ?It was clean before I had to start diagnosing problem. ? Thank you in advance
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
Austin,
This has been covered many times on this board. Your Arduino is running the ¡°Blink¡± program instead of the Raduino 1.01 it should be running.? You will need to install the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and download the ¡°Sketch¡± Raduino.ino and the proper SI5351 Library 2.01. Put them all in the proper directories and then use the IDE to compile the software and upload it to the Arduino Nano on your board. Directions and needed files are all on this board.
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On Apr 23, 2017, at 9:19 PM, Austin R < krahsh@...> wrote:
Hello all, So I have done everything I can think of to make the bitx40-v3 work, but no luck. ?I have power to the LCD, but it displays squares. ?In addition, turning the 10k pot does not change frequency. ?It is as if the raduino is not working or not programmed? ?I have a solid red "pwr" light, and a one second delay continuous blinking "L" red light off the arduino nano. ? Things I have tried beyond checking solder points: I have changed out LCD and still does not fix problem.
I have changed out the board from my first bitx40-analog (non-lcd) in place of this board and still same Squares on display with no frequency changing from the 10k pot.
I have followed a Troubleshooting video from (it was for the analog board). ?If I am doing things correctly, I lose signal between the two transformers @ 8:46 in the video. I have moved the windings away from each other but no luck. (I just do not know if this is the problem since I cannot even get a frequency signal or display to work from the arduino.) <IMG_0433.JPG><IMG_0404.JPG><IMG_0403.JPG> <IMG_0435.JPG><IMG_0434.JPG>
Sorry for the messy wires. ?It was clean before I had to start diagnosing problem. ? Thank you in advance
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
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On Sun, Apr 23, 2017 at 09:19 pm, Austin R wrote:
?I have power to the LCD, but it displays squares. ?In addition, turning the 10k pot does not change frequency. ?It is as if the raduino is not working or not programmed? ?I have a solid red "pwr" light, and a one second delay continuous blinking "L" red light off the arduino nano. ? ?
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Re: Bitx40-v3 not working yet
Have you tried to power the raduino only with it's power from the USB, with everything else disconnected ? If you do not get the Raduino started with only usb power, i would reload the sketch and see what happens.
73 on2aav
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Re: Noob in need of some assistance.
I tried that earlier. ?The static just gets louder at that freq. ?Shouldn't I hear static disappear?
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Re: A whole bunch of things...
Here's a link regarding mineral oil for a high voltage mag loop cap. ? ? It would make a good high voltage cap at DC, but at RF there's energy lost into the dielectric material resulting in a low Q capacitor. ?I suspect those molecules want to spin 180 degrees like compass needles with each half RF cycle. ?One post in that thread mentions low Q and another mentions loss tangent and gives a figure for mineral oil, nobody else picks up on the issue. ?Here's a bit of background: ?? I was thinking about building a mag loop a couple years ago. ?Take some formica countertop material, cut it into a 2" wide strip. ?Stick on a strip of adhesive copper tape. ?Not quite sure how to do the variable cap, ? I don't think a mag loop is a good beginner project. Jerry, KE7ER ?
On Sun, Apr 23, 2017 at 08:22 pm, Jack Purdum wrote:
The dielectric would be the mineral oil to help prevent arcing at higher power ratings. ?
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Re: Noob in need of some assistance.
Hi,
You can hear static. OK
You got the sig gen ??
Hang a piece of wire off the output of your sig gen, then drape it near to your Bitx. Then set the sig gen to (say) 7.10MHz and tune around with your Bitx and see if you can hear the sig gen.
If nothing heard then tune around with the sig gen (leave your Bitx set on mid band) and see where your Bitx is listening.
Good luck,
Peter VK1XP
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On 24-04-2017 13:49, stronggeek30s@... wrote: So I am in need of a little assistance. I'm near Portland Oregon. I
got my bitx40 v3 (c) kit. And assembled it. I don't seem to receive
anything. I have an antenna and a semi clean psu. It seems to tune and
volume seems to work. Nothing seems to come through. :-( just alot of
static
Anybody in the area that might be willing to hop of a specific freq at
a specific time and ramble a bit so I can know if I'm just doing
something silly? Lol listening to static all day is no fun :-(
Don't have my licence yet so I wasn't going to hook up the mic, PA or
ptt. A quick look at the schematic didn't seem to show any of those
three required to receive.
I'm feeding it 12.1vdc and limiting the psu to 0.250 amps (current
draw is about 0.172 amps) do those figures sound correct? Or Atleast
in an acceptable range?
Is it normal behaviour for the tuner to have to catch up towards the
limits of the tuning pot? Tried replacing said pot with a bourns 10
turn 100k pot and a 10 turn 10k pot. Same issue small tuning change
then I hit the limit of the pot then it tunes rapidly without touching
it till it hits Max freq.
Test gear on hand is a korad psu, fluke 289 dmm, mhs5200a sig gen, and
a siglent sds1102 oscope
Links:
------
[1] /g/BITX20/message/25479
[2] /mt/4963903?uid=236039
[3] /g/BITX20/post
[4] /g/BITX20/editsub?uid=236039
[5] /g/BITX20
[6] /static/tos
[7] /g/BITX20/leave/defanged
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Re: Noob in need of some assistance.
Still no luck. Just static. I suppose I am going to have to dig in and probe around. Thank you for your time and assistance. It is much appreciated. ?
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Bitx40-v3 not working yet
Hello all, So I have done everything I can think of to make the bitx40-v3 work, but no luck. ?I have power to the LCD, but it displays squares. ?In addition, turning the 10k pot does not change frequency. ?It is as if the raduino is not working or not programmed? ?I have a solid red "pwr" light, and a one second delay continuous blinking "L" red light off the arduino nano. ? Things I have tried beyond checking solder points: I have changed out LCD and still does not fix problem.
I have changed out the board from my first bitx40-analog (non-lcd) in place of this board and still same Squares on display with no frequency changing from the 10k pot.
I have followed a Troubleshooting video from (it was for the analog board). ?If I am doing things correctly, I lose signal between the two transformers @ 8:46 in the video. I have moved the windings away from each other but no luck. (I just do not know if this is the problem since I cannot even get a frequency signal or display to work from the arduino.)   
 
Sorry for the messy wires. ?It was clean before I had to start diagnosing problem. ? Thank you in advance
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Re: Noob in need of some assistance.
College Professor Simon Thompson
Can you tune up to see if you can receive a BC station? There is a God-botherer station at 7.385 that is very strong right now.
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Well, keep listening. I will give another call on 7.142.
Can't really call though :-( only listen until I pass that persnikity test and the doc says I can lol
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Re: Noob in need of some assistance.
College Professor Simon Thompson
Well, keep listening. I will give another call on 7.142.
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Can't really call though :-( only listen until I pass that persnikity test and the doc says I can lol
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Re: Noob in need of some assistance.
Can't really call though :-( only listen until I pass that persnikity test and the doc says I can lol
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Paul Gacek (W6PNG/M0SNA)
Allard PE1NWL
ON2AAV