Re: Calling West Coast BITX operators
N7CCX - cn85mm (Portland metro area) Oregon
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Re: Can't upload to Raduino
If hfsigs doesn't have a solution, another ?more expensive option and it would ?add a couple of weeks is to order just the raduino board and display for $25 including shipping?
Pat aa4pg
Sent from my iPhone
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Joe, you and I must have slightly different versions of the Raduino. On mine the Nano sits in a pair of plastic headers. The pins on the underside of the Nano board appear to be plugged into the headers and go through the larger oscillator board, and are
then soldered. There is no way to reach the pins between the two boards, all I see is the plastic header between the boards. It looks like I'll have to use a soldapult and solder wick to try and free up the board, if I have to go that route. Also, looking
at the board, it looks like there would not be sufficient clearance to use a socket. The display board barely clears the Nano board now...Too bad.
I sent email to
teamhfsigs@... explaining the situation, hopefully they have a solution.
Mark
W4MAP
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Re: Can't upload to Raduino
Joe, you and I must have slightly different versions of the Raduino. On mine the Nano sits in a pair of plastic headers. The pins on the underside of the Nano board appear to be plugged into the headers and go through the larger oscillator board, and are then soldered. There is no way to reach the pins between the two boards, all I see is the plastic header between the boards. It looks like I'll have to use a soldapult and solder wick to try and free up the board, if I have to go that route. Also, looking at the board, it looks like there would not be sufficient clearance to use a socket. The display board barely clears the Nano board now...Too bad. I sent email to teamhfsigs@... explaining the situation, hopefully they have a solution. Mark W4MAP
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Re: Dhl customs cost to the usa
Yes, ordering from India and shipping India mail had the package in my hands about 2-3 weeks after I ordered it, no customs fees.
I don't think DHL was an option when I bought mine.
Ken, N2VIP
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On Jun 5, 2017, at 4:08 PM, Jacob Long <jasclo98@...> wrote:
Ok ill just use the indian post i don't mind waiting to possibly save a lot of money
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Calling West Coast BITX operators
Hi All,
Just curious, how many West Coast BITX operators are on this list? Anywhere on the left side of the country. If you don't mind, sound off with your state and town. I'll compile a list from the responses. I have three plus myself that I know personally:
WB0NPM - Escondido CA
KE7RTV - Sparks, NV
W7LTG - Spanish Springs, NV
KK6RPX, Albion CA
Thanks!
Jonathan - KK6RPX
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Re: Can't upload to Raduino
Removing the old nano is not to difficult. Just use a pair of side cutters and slowly clip a few pins at a time.? Once that is done you will have removed the top part of the nano, but most of each pin remains. Now just unsolder each pin, they pull out easily. Then just use solderwick to clean the holes.
If you have some female pins you can make socket.. and nano will never get you again.
Joe
VE1BWV
It's looking increasingly like I have a defective Nano board. I executed the dpinst-amd64.exe driver file since I'm working with it on a Win7 Netbook with an AMD processor. The IDE properly detects the com port but can't perform the upload. The Duemilanove doesn't have any issues. I don't look forward to unsoldering this Nano board. I agree with Joe, I'd pay extra for a socketed Nano board. A bit discouraging!
Mark
W4MAP
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Re: Europe to States BitX QSO
VOACAP propagation tools give only about a 10% chance unless high gain antennas are used. It looks like Spain might be the best shot. 73 Willy
On Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 5:35 PM, William Maclean <w1ly@...> wrote: ---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: William Maclean <w1ly@...>
Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 4:43 PM
Subject: Europe to States BitX QSO
To: [email protected]
I would like to complete a BitX/BitX QSO over the pond.? I have worked 30 DXCC entities SSB since I finished my BitX40 in April. The farthest was ZS6CCY at 12,500km but Most of those stations have BIG GUN antennas and I only have an inverted V at 18 m. I will set up a 40 meter Moxon pointed at Europe if the inverted v is not enough I think that the hour before sunrise at your location would give us the best chance. If you have completed a BitX/BitX EU-USA QSO let me know what worked. If anyone has an interest in this test drop me a line. 73, Willy W1LY
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Re: Dhl customs cost to the usa
I went with the regular shipping option, included in the price and it only took 2 weeks to arrive in
Ontario. I suspect that you can count on similar shipping times to the USA.
Michael VE3WMB
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Cesar,
The X1M uses the MC1350p IF amplifier chip in it's IF section which in standard configuration has it's AGC pin set with a preset pot. The MC1350p has a gain of about 40dB and has AGC (although AGC not used in the standard X1M).
The AGC board produces an audio AGC control signal. You lift the AGC pin on the MC1350p and connect the audio AGC control and you have AGC for the X1M.
Unfortunately the Bitx has no vairable gain IF stage to which an audio AGC signal could be applied so it will not work with the Bitx (without a lot of redesign work and modification).
Regards,
Peter VK1XP
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Here on the West coast propagation was poor and there were only a
few stations. As such, the call CQ and chat method worked fine. With
more stations though it would soon descend into chaos and likely
prevent contacts instead of encouraging them. As more folks here on
the West coast we may have to go to a net control type of thing. And
there are more stations coming up, since I got mine I have talked 4
others into getting one and I assume they in turn are talking it up
to others.
If there is a net control, IMHO having them QRO seems like a good
idea, it will help them be the link that pulls it together. In the
summer later might be better, the skip was short on the West coast
but lengthened as it often does as the sun goes down. By 9:30PM I
was picking up stations from IL load and clear and made a few
contacts to the East.
Jonathan - KK6RPX
On 6/5/2017 2:00 PM, KC8WBK via
Groups.Io wrote:
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Our group of BITX40
operators have been doing a QSO night for Bitx40 operators and
anyone else interested for several weeks.? We have organized this
as an undirected event at a certain time and frequency where the
participants are encouraged to call CQ. Last night it was 7pm
local at 7277 kHz.? The intent is that it can be a world wide
event, and that an operator can participate at his local time, or
at the local time of adjacent time zones.
The goals of this net are to operate QRP to QRP, to encourage new
users to call CQ and learn to operate, to learn what the BITX40
transceiver is capable of, to enable discussion of technical
aspects of QRP radio (antennas, tuners, radio kit building,
propagation, etc.), and to build camaraderie and friendship.
Last night was very successful, with 18 QSOs from across the
Eastern USA and Canada, ranging from New Brunswick to Georgia to
Iowa.? We were lucky in that one of the operators took the role of
net control, because it would have been somewhat chaotic if there
was no one directing the net.
Considering the fact that we are low power, and we are often
working faint signals, how would you recommend to operate a QRP
net??
We could continue to encourage operators to gather at a certain
time and frequency and call CQ.? However, this tends to get
difficult with more than 5 or so operators.
We could have a QRP operator with a good station act as net
control, so rather than all participants being encouraged to call
CQ, the participants would answer a QRZ from net control.
We could have multiple net control operators, perhaps on nearby
frequencies for different regions.
We could have one operator using more power to coordinate the net
as net control. This kind of takes the fun away but would work
better.
We could start out calling CQ on a certain frequency and then have
contact stations move to adjacent frequencies to work out QSOs and
ragchew.
We could use spotting websites to shift frequencies when QSB
happens.
Do you have any suggestions on how to improve our QSO night
procedures?? How should we improve our procedures?
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Re: Dhl customs cost to the usa
I order stuff all the time from India and Thailand,China etc and have yet to be charged any duty on any package.
Ian K3HQL
From: terryhugheskirkcudbright via Groups.Io <terryhugheskirkcudbright@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, June 5, 2017 2:55 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Dhl customs cost to the usa
hi
i do not know about usa but in uk,? dhl will charge a ridiculous charge for customs clearance.? the advise is to have it sent by india post.
apparently dhl have an agreement with uk customs to charge the recipient and then pay uk customs. as in my case uk customs did nor charge me and as i had it sent by post then i did not have to pay but if i had it sent by dhl then i would have been charged.
there is a topic about this that i raised.
terry gm4dso
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Bitx 40 Transformer windings
Ashar, can you publish the windings for Transformers T1-T7.
I'm trying to model the Bitx 40 in LT Spice.?
Thanks
Andy ?KM4TRT
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Re: Can't upload to Raduino
It's looking increasingly like I have a defective Nano board. I executed the dpinst-amd64.exe driver file since I'm working with it on a Win7 Netbook with an AMD processor. The IDE properly detects the com port but can't perform the upload. The Duemilanove doesn't have any issues. I don't look forward to unsoldering this Nano board. I agree with Joe, I'd pay extra for a socketed Nano board. A bit discouraging!
Mark
W4MAP
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Hi! I have came across this sgc. It is made for Xiegu x1m but i think it may work on our bitx. What do you think? https://www.ebay.es/itm/232249974293?  
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QRO!!! Seriously, I can not hear 5-7 watt radios. I can tell there are extremely faint signals out there, and W1LY is the loudest whisper in the void. While pumping 24 volts into the final I can be heard on both coasts when the conditions are right. I can switch between 12V and 24V as needed. If others would do that too, I think there would be less posts about "I heard them but they couldn't hear me". I suspect there are others just listening because being in the middle of the country I should hear BITX'ers a lot closer and better than I do. I kind of envy those north easterners for there ability TO have a net.
Those are my shiniest two cents. Everything else is coming along great.
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Europe to States BitX QSO
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: William Maclean <w1ly@...>Date: Mon, Jun 5, 2017 at 4:43 PM Subject: Europe to States BitX QSO To: [email protected]I would like to complete a BitX/BitX QSO over the pond.? I have worked 30 DXCC entities SSB since I finished my BitX40 in April. The farthest was ZS6CCY at 12,500km but Most of those stations have BIG GUN antennas and I only have an inverted V at 18 m. I will set up a 40 meter Moxon pointed at Europe if the inverted v is not enough I think that the hour before sunrise at your location would give us the best chance. If you have completed a BitX/BitX EU-USA QSO let me know what worked. If anyone has an interest in this test drop me a line. 73, Willy W1LY
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Re: Can't upload to Raduino
Hi,
Well, your symptoms were pretty much identical to my experiences with one of my? Raduinos.
I had a spare so was able to isolate the problem.
It was a bad Nano. The Ide would see the com port but would not load the raduino firmware, i tried several versions.
I ended up cutting and removing the nano pins. I then installed a socket( pins), reprogrammed the nano and it has worked perfectly since.
It was a bit of a pain to put the socket pins but now if there is a future issue, it is easy to plug a new nano if needed.
I would pay a dollar or 2 just to have a socketed Nano....as part of the kit.
Joe
VE1BWV
On Mon, Jun 5, 2017, 12:48 PM Jack Purdum via Groups.Io <econjack= [email protected]> wrote: In the IDE directory there is a subdirectory named drivers and inside that directory are two EXE files. You need to run one of those, depending on your system. Even though it may not be necessary, I always do a system reboot after installing new drivers. See if that fixes the problem.
Jack, W8TEE
I received a Bitx40 a few weeks ago and have been slowly getting it built in a temporary enclosure in preparation for the final move to a permanent enclosure. All went well, it really is a simple wire-up. Once I'd checked all the connections three different times, I applied power and was excited to see the display light up and show the initial blocks. That only lasted a few seconds after which the display went blank. I had a soft noise from the speaker which increased as I increased the volume pot, but nothing on the display. I pulled the power and rechecked all the connections. Applied power again, with the same result.
Next I removed the two plugs, removed the Raduino from the enclosure, unplugged the display pcb, and connected the Nano it to a laptop. The red power light came on, good so far, and then the other LED started blinking. Oh joy, I have one of the units that shipped with no Bitx40 sketch loaded, and I think I know why in this case. I have not been able to upload anything to this Nano. Not a modified blink sketch, or any other sketch. I get the verification mismatch error that others have reported. I pulled out another Window 7 laptop and downloaded a fresh copy of the IDE from arduino.cc and configured it for an Arduino Duemilanove that I have and it immediately found the device and I was able to upload a modified blink sketch to verify everything was working ok. Next I disconnected the Duemilanove and connected the Nano to a different USB port, and the IDE picked up the new COM# port so it knew something was plugged in. The Nano started running its blink sketch. I tried uploading a modified blink (changed 1000 to 5000 on the interval) and again got the verification mismatch error (see attached). I tried a second USB cable to lessen the chance the cable is at fault.
So, I know the IDE works, I'm pretty sure it's not a cable problem, and I know the Nano works. Any ideas what is preventing the upload?
Thanks,
Mark
W4MAP
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Re: Dhl customs cost to the usa
Ok ill just use the indian post i don't mind waiting to possibly save a lot of money
|
Our group of BITX40 operators have been doing a QSO night for Bitx40 operators and anyone else interested for several weeks.? We have organized this as an undirected event at a certain time and frequency where the participants are encouraged to call CQ. Last night it was 7pm local at 7277 kHz.? The intent is that it can be a world wide event, and that an operator can participate at his local time, or at the local time of adjacent time zones.
The goals of this net are to operate QRP to QRP, to encourage new users to call CQ and learn to operate, to learn what the BITX40 transceiver is capable of, to enable discussion of technical aspects of QRP radio (antennas, tuners, radio kit building, propagation, etc.), and to build camaraderie and friendship.
Last night was very successful, with 18 QSOs from across the Eastern USA and Canada, ranging from New Brunswick to Georgia to Iowa.? We were lucky in that one of the operators took the role of net control, because it would have been somewhat chaotic if there was no one directing the net.
Considering the fact that we are low power, and we are often working faint signals, how would you recommend to operate a QRP net??
We could continue to encourage operators to gather at a certain time and frequency and call CQ.? However, this tends to get difficult with more than 5 or so operators.
We could have a QRP operator with a good station act as net control, so rather than all participants being encouraged to call CQ, the participants would answer a QRZ from net control.
We could have multiple net control operators, perhaps on nearby frequencies for different regions.
We could have one operator using more power to coordinate the net as net control. This kind of takes the fun away but would work better.
We could start out calling CQ on a certain frequency and then have contact stations move to adjacent frequencies to work out QSOs and ragchew.
We could use spotting websites to shift frequencies when QSB happens.
Do you have any suggestions on how to improve our QSO night procedures?? How should we improve our procedures?
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Re: Dhl customs cost to the usa
Avoid DHL.? They play God with customs,? iirc.? Surface mail probably almost as fast
On 5 Jun 2017 21:52, "Dr Fred Hambrecht" < AAR4MI@...> wrote: I wouldn¡¯t even use the DHL option. I got my most recent order in 11 days. ? v/r Fred W4JLE ? ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of jasclo98@...
Sent: Monday, June 5, 2017 15:13
To: [email protected]
Subject: [BITX20] Dhl customs cost to the usa ? Im getting a bitx40 and was woundering if the dhl shipping add an insane cost for customs sorry if this has been asked already i looked an couldn't find anything thanks.
Km4gkd
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Willy