Evan, When you reach either end of the tuning pot you go into “shuttle mode” and will tune in larger increments. To stop it, simply reverse the direction of the pot. In your example had you turned the pot clockwise, you can tune up the band from the 6.99 MHz and you will get to your desired 7.088. With the shuttle tune you can cover the entire band. The limits are set in the sketch. Once you master the shuttle tune you can go anywhere within the limits. Personally I did not care for it and have programmed mine with a push button that selects step size of 1, 10, 100, 1000, or 10000 ?HZ . v/r Fred W4JLE
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Evan Seligmann
Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2017 03:45
To: [email protected]
Subject: [BITX20] Help with Bitx-40? Recently bought the BitX40, it says BitX40v3 on board. I have assembled it but have some issues. 1.) It seems the freq range is ?7.100 - 7.150 is that correct, and if so, how do I get it to 7.066. 2.) Am I supposed to hear clicking when changing freq? Also if I tune out of this freq, it just Drops down to 6.99Mhz and then I need to switch the power off and on, to get an accurate view where the freq is? | |
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Re: BITX40 - wiring power via volume control
You could spend more than $59 on just a potentiometer. ?Compared to that, I suppose everything on the Bitx40 is low quality. ?That's why I got one. ?Haven't seen any complaints here about the pot wearing out. ? But I have run into lots of old radios with scratchy volume controls.
On Sun, May 14, 2017 at 09:31 am, W9ZIM wrote:
Is "unnecessary wear on the potentiometer" really a concern if that what's it's designed for?? Or does the kit come with low-quality components?
?
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Re: BITX40 - wiring power via volume control
Is "unnecessary wear on the potentiometer" really a concern if that what's it's designed for?? Or does the kit come with low-quality components?
At any rate, my bitx40 order is on its way, and I'm planning to use the volume pot for power just because I find it a more elegant solution than adding another switch to the box, although I'll always have the option of cycling power at the power supply which is repurposed from an old PC tower.
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Re: BITX40 - wiring power via volume control
Thanks for the support I have the very same question. -- Thanks de Hugh 2E0EHA
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Hi Sorry for the delay in updating results. So couldn't find the 24v Ps I thought I had so I'm using 19v 4amp supply. I don't have a way of testing watts but I'm assuming with this voltage I'd be putting out 16 or 17 watts. I haven't even felt the irf510 get warm. That being said I have the board mounted in a metal case with the irf510 heatsink pressed against the side, separated by a dielectric sheet with compound applied to both sides.? I've got a half wave inverted v dipole for 40 meter up in a tree around 35ft. So far my farthest dx contact is 902km. ?That's Hamilton Ontario to Roanoke Virginia. . Got a 59 from that station and 57s from a few other stations at similar distances.? Checked in to a qrp net in west Virginia and they said they weren't sure if I qualified as qrp at 16watts. Funny.? So all in all pretty good results with the bitx40 at 19v to the PA circuit. ?Having too much fun is keeping me from trying other mods but they're on my list for when propagation drops off.? Enjoy your radios Jamie VA3RLF?
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Re: BUYING A SPARE SI5351A BOARD
The schematic on hfsigs.com ?for the Raduino shows that the Si5351 has 3.3v pullups on the two I2C lines into pins A4 (SDA, and Nano pin 8) and A5 (SCL, and Nano pin 9). ?You won't find those pins called out in Allard's sketch, that happens down in the etherkit Si5351 library. ?The dedicated I2C peripheral interface in the Nano can only use the A4, A5 pins. ? All the other pins are called out in the main sketch, mostly in the setup() routine. ? Configuring a pin to be a digital input with a pullup is done something like this: ? pinMode(FBUTTON, INPUT) ??digitalWrite(FBUTTON, HIGH);
On Sun, May 14, 2017 at 07:31 am, Robert Ogburn wrote:
This looked like a good entry point for this question in reference to how raduimo configures the ArduinoMicro
Where do I find how the port pins are used and configured?? Of particular interest are the pull ups...
?
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Re: Raduino v1.10 with CW functionality released
Thanks for reminding Dragan!
I have updated the instructions at and included the following note:
? Extra Note: If the max. drive level of 8mA is still insufficient for USB mode, removal of C91 and C92 may help.
? These caps cause too much attenuation of the VFO signal at higher frequencies. They're only needed for the analog VFO
? and can safely be removed if you use the Raduino instead of the analog VFO. 73 Allard PE1NWL
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Re: Shielded /Coax connectors for wiring in BitX40smd
Not a bad idea, it could well help. ?Also shields around various parts of the main Bitx PC board, ?I don't think anybody here has yet tried it and reported the results. ?Most of us have adequate performance by just keeping the wires short, maybe twisting the critical ones. ?
On Sun, May 14, 2017 at 06:18 am, Michael Babineau wrote: I recently joined the group and I just ordered a BITX40/Raduino so I am trying to come up to speed. ?I am wondering if it is necessary/desirable to? put the Raduino VFO into it's own shielded box or at least make some attempt to shield it from the main board to avoid any unwanted interactions (birdies etc) ?
?
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Re: Shielded /Coax connectors for wiring in BitX40smd
This business of not connecting the ground braid on one end of a piece of coax came up in regard to tuning clicks from the Raduino. ?Some here felt that since multiple grounds from Bitx40 to Raduino created "ground loops", this could be a reason for the clicks. ?But the consensus here seems to be that the clicks are adequately suppressed by using the correct Si5351 library and with proper power supply filtering on the Raduino. ?I don't recall anybody reporting that they solved their tuning clicks by disconnecting the signal ground associated with the DDS signal. ?But you are welcome to try it, unlike motorcycle oil you don't need to wait 100000 miles to test this particular hypothesis. ? From post 25386: ?There are two causes for the clicks: ?power supply to the raduino, and new firmware. ?The firmware as shipped should be fine with regard to clicks, on mine I have to disconnect the antenna in order to hear the clicks. ?If that's not true for you, I'd suggest a big electrolytic cap (47uF or bigger) across the 12v supply into the Raduino. ? ?Better yet, add a 50 ohm 1/2 Watt resistor between your +12v supply and the 12v input into the Raduino, then add that 47uF cap (or bigger) from the Raduino 12v to Raduino ground. From post 25393: ?I think some have been having success taming the tuning clicks with large caps, but here's a post that says a parallel combination of 0.1uf plus 0.001uf work fine: ??/g/BITX20/message/25081? Seems right, likely injecting RF noise, not audio.
With the braid disconnected on one end, the coax still functions as an electrostatic shield of the signal. ?The braid must be connected on both ends if you expect the coax to be a 50 ohm transmission line at RF, you definitely want a transmission line for the antenna connection and perhaps for the DDS cable. ?(The Si5351 is actually a PLL based part, not a DDS. ?But the Bitx40 schematic says DDS so I'll go with that.)
There are cases where having a single grounding point or bus bar in the system reduces noise issues, all ground wires go to that one point. ?That way the voltage drop due to heavy currents in some wire (perhaps into the IRF510), doesn't inject noise into other parts of the design (such as the Raduino). ?Also, loops of wire can act as loop antennas and pick up stray RF that might be floating about due to lack of shielding and lack of coax somewhere else (like that antenna port). ?The Bitx40 circuit board has a solid copper ground plane, that's the best defense against either of these cases. ?The wires to a separate assembly like the Raduino are to be looked at closely, but power supply filtering seems to solve that particular case. ?Keeping the wires short helps on ohmic voltage drops, twisting them together or using coax keeps them from picking up stray RF fields.
In general, I figure the more grounds the better, ?a grid of short ground wires performs almost as well as a solid copper ground plane. ? But what works best in any particular situation is not always obvious, it can come down to just trying stuff. ?Where I really get worried about grounds is when I have two pieces of equipment plugged into two different circuits from the main household fuse box, a refrigerator kicking on somewhere can cause a spike of several volts between those two chassis grounds if the house safety ground wires are absent or are carrying current for some reason.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Sat, May 13, 2017 at 10:22 pm, Thomas Noel wrote:
You recommended grounding the shield at both ends of each coax link. I’ve seen others recommend only grounding one end. Is this one of those “which brand of oil is the best for my motorcycle” questions, or is there good science behind one answer or the other?
?
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Re: BUYING A SPARE SI5351A BOARD
This looked like a good entry point for this question in reference to how raduimo configures the ArduinoMicro
Where do I find how the port pins are used and configured?? Of particular interest are the pull ups...
TNX? 73 de N5LXK? sk?? sk?? sk? k
"Old time neophyte assembly language programmer for MC6800"
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Re: Shielded /Coax connectors for wiring in BitX40smd
I recently joined the group and I just ordered a BITX40/Raduino so I am trying to come up to speed. ?I am wondering if it is necessary/desirable to? put the Raduino VFO into it's own shielded box or at least make some attempt to shield it from the main board to avoid any unwanted interactions (birdies etc) ? Cheers Michael VE3WMB?
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Re: Simple audio muting circuit
Here is my build of your idea. The MMBT3906 is on the K1 power lead. The Base 12K goes to PTT and Collector 11K goes to ground and will be connected to the 2N7002 SMD I propose to use. The resistor values are chosen because I don't use many from my sample book! I tried Allisons mute idea of a 56K resistor from emitter of 3906 to input pin of 386 and that reduces the POP significantly!
See files section RTAUD1.jpg in Allisons folder.
There are 1A diodes across the power, TX and RX lines. The ceramics are additional click filtering for the relay.
Raj, VU2ZAP
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Since the introduction of RIT in v1.09, there's no need anymore to set the
base frequency. You only need to set the tuning range.
When the pot is max or min position, fast tuning will occur and the whole
tuning range will shift up or down.
The latest base frequency will be memorized in EEPROM.
Just try it out and you will understand how it works.
73 Allard PE1NWL
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On Sun, May 14, 2017 09:20, terryhugheskirkcudbright via Groups.Io wrote: i have ordered a bitx40 but not yet here. i have also ordered a 10 turn
pot.
in the settings menu it appears that you can set up the range to 200 but
how do you set up the base freq = 7.00
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you can download IDE here :
73 de Joseph f1pfc.
Le 14/05/2017 à 10:01,
terryhugheskirkcudbright via Groups.Io a écrit?:
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i have two computers both windows 7 and ubuntu linux ver 12
i have successfully installed the ide on windows but i cannot
se how to do it on linux
i would prefer to use linux cos my windows computer is not
normally connected to the internet - i do not like virus
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Re: BUYING A SPARE SI5351A BOARD
Like Jerry said, hfsigs.com sells the Si5351a board + arduino + display for $25. If you're using it for experimentation with the BitX40 then it's probably the best bet.? On the other hand, it's fairly simple to keep a copy of the original code on your computer and just revert to it if you run into trouble.
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Re: Step by step raduino software install instructions <Updated 5/13/17>
Great bit of info, will keep this one as a hard copy. Solved my issues.
Thanks
Phil - G7BZD
On Sat, May 13, 2017 at 5:08 PM, pat griffin <patgriffin@...> wrote:
Maybe this will be helpful for guys like me that can only get to Bitx on the weekends and forget it all by the next weekend.
Raduino software instructions for geezers.
Updated 5/13/17
Install the Arduino IDE:? For Windows, go to??and
follow the instruction; or, Google Arduino IDE.
Get the latest version of the software:
Go to?
??????????????? Click clone or download
??????????????????????????????? Click download zip
??????????????????????????????????????????????? Once the download is complete, double click it
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Double click raduino-v1.09 (or whatever version displays)
? ? An Arduino IDE session will open and you will see a message “The file raduino… needs to be inside a sketch…”? Click OK.
?
You will now be in an Arduino IDE session and you can compile and upload the compiled code to the raduino.? Don’t do that yet!!? Instead, do the following first if you haven’t already.
Install the Si5351 library:
??????????????? Click Sketch -> Include library -> Manage libraries
Enter “Etherkit Si5351” in the search box, click the SI5351 entry from the search results. Click the More Info option and a Select vers?box will appear.? As of 5/13/17, select Version 2.0.1. Later releases may causes clicks as you tune which you may find annoying.
?Then, click the Install button.
Configure the IDE for the nano board:
??????????????? Tools -> Board
??????????????????????????????? Select the nano board
Configure the IDE to use the port to which the nano is attached:
??????????????? The Bitx should be powered OFF.? Plug the raduino into a USB port on the computer.
??????????????? Tools -> Port
??????????????????????????????? Select the port which displays raduino or Arduino
?
Now, you are ready to compile the sketch and upload it to the raduino.
To compile:
??????????????? Click the check symbol or Sketch -> Verify/Compile or CTRL-R
The results of the compile will display in the lower portion of the screen.? If the compile is successful, the message will be “Done compiling” along with memory usage data.
?
To upload to the raduino:
??????????????? The raduino should be attached to the usb port configured earlier and the Bitx powered OFF.???
? ? Click the upload symbol (Right arrow next to the check symbol) or Sketch -> Upload or CTRL-U
Unplug the raduino from the PC and power the Bitx ON.? You should be ready to go.
73,
Pat AA4PG
From: pat griffin <patgriffin@...>
Sent: Saturday, May 13, 2017 6:55 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Step by step raduino software install instructions
?
Bob
Good point re Allard's post this morning
Thanks
Pat AA4PG
Sent from my iPhone
On May 13, 2017, at 7:46 AM, Bob < wb4son@...> wrote:
Great guide,
One small suggestion: ?make sure that version 2.0.1 of the si5351 library is used, not newer versions.
73, Bob, WB4SON
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Re: Raduino using V1.09 tuning clicks
Right!!! ?? New day and a fresh view of whats going on, found the culprit, had v2.02 lurking, thought I had deleted it, but no.? Have followed the guide posted on the forum, both Raduino's are now v1.10, and no clicks.
My computer history stems from the mid 70's, playing with Basic and then the ZX81, used DOS and other bits, then lost interest, I could always ask my son, also an amateur but he lives in San Francisco, he is a web developer so code is breakfast, dinner and tea to him.
Great "how to" guide suited to part timers like myself.
Now to get it calibrated and back up to whats next.
Thanks all.
Phil - G7BZD
On Sat, May 13, 2017 at 7:30 PM, Willy <W1LY@...> wrote: In the case of my radio, if there is no antenna connected you can hear tuning clicks. Make soru to connect an antenna before you evaluate for tuning clicks. ?Willy
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You should be able to go to the Ubuntu repository and it will do
the installation. Use synaptic or apt-get.
On 05/14/2017 08:01 PM,
terryhugheskirkcudbright via Groups.Io wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
i have two computers both windows 7 and ubuntu linux ver 12
i have successfully installed the ide on windows but i cannot
se how to do it on linux
i would prefer to use linux cos my windows computer is not
normally connected to the internet - i do not like virus
|
i have two computers both windows 7 and ubuntu linux ver 12 i have successfully installed the ide on windows but i cannot se how to do it on linux
i would prefer to use linux cos my windows computer is not normally connected to the internet - i do not like virus
|
Hi
?
Recently bought the BitX40, it says BitX40v3 on board.
?
I have assembled it but have some issues.
?
1.) It seems the freq range is ?7.100 - 7.150 is that correct, and if so, how do I get it to 7.066.
?
2.) Am I supposed to hear clicking when changing freq? Also if I tune out of this freq, it just Drops down to 6.99Mhz and then I need to switch the power off and on, to get an accurate view where the freq is?
?
Thanks for assistance,
?
73
Evan
ZS6ELI
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W9ZIM
Allard PE1NWL
Raj vu2zap