Just to close the loop I ended up buying this:
I never would have thought of Walmart but thanks to google I ended up finding it there for $21.95 with free shipping.
Not BITX related but I built this kit tonight ? my wife heard me say blah blah blah solder blah blah blah arduino so she got it for me.? Now I really need to learn to program arduinos.? Back to the fume filter, it was much better than nothing but not from perfect.? Thanks for the suggestions.
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Re: Testing a new board PA
No VFO - No output!
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At 19/06/2017, you wrote: HI All,
My original BITX never "aligned" correctly. In order to get the 1 amp current draw when hallooo'ing into the mic I had to crank R136 all the way. In that way I could get 5 watts out but only if running higher PA voltages.
I got a second board and was playing with it yesterday. I wanted to see if it behaved differently. So I hooked up the PWR, PA PWR and a mic. I get about 127mA at idle but no increase when I halloo. Does the VFO need to be connected? I'm guessing so but just thought I'd ask. That takes a little more doing and I was just curious.
Thanks!
Jonathan - KK6RPX
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I am listening on 7.277 Matt W1LY Willy
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 9:38 PM, Vince Vielhaber <vev@...> wrote: I've got T-Storms blowing thru so the antenna is disconnected and the radio off.
Vince.
On 06/19/2017 09:21 PM, Matt Patterson wrote:
I've been monitoring and calling CQ a few times.? Not hearing anything.? Just worked W8TAM on 7.275 so I know I'm getting out somewhere.? Lol
Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
On Jun 19, 2017, at 8:13 PM, Simon Thompson <simonthompson67@...> wrote:
I was calling on 7.277 but no response. I am in Terrace, BC, Canada.
On Jun 19, 2017, at 5:56 PM, Matt Patterson <W5llmatt@...> wrote:
Listening with my full wave loop on 7.277 if someone wants to try. New BITX user here.
73 Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
--
? Michigan VHF Corp.? ?? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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Matt, great to hear you got the BitX on the air. What are you using for a mic? I will listen for you on 7.277. Willy
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 9:51 PM, Matt Patterson <W5llmatt@...> wrote: Anyone else here have a 3D printer?? Anyone found some good looking knobs for the front?? I'm printing a couple I found on thingiverse right now but not sure how well they're going to work out.
73 Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
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Ordered June 12, arrived today, June 19 via DHL. SN: 4 / 434. I ordered 3 at the same time; only this one so far.
Jack, W8TEE
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Anyone else here have a 3D printer? Anyone found some good looking knobs for the front? I'm printing a couple I found on thingiverse right now but not sure how well they're going to work out.
73 Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
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I've got T-Storms blowing thru so the antenna is disconnected and the radio off.
Vince.
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On 06/19/2017 09:21 PM, Matt Patterson wrote: I've been monitoring and calling CQ a few times. Not hearing anything. Just worked W8TAM on 7.275 so I know I'm getting out somewhere. Lol
Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
On Jun 19, 2017, at 8:13 PM, Simon Thompson <simonthompson67@...> wrote:
I was calling on 7.277 but no response. I am in Terrace, BC, Canada.
On Jun 19, 2017, at 5:56 PM, Matt Patterson <W5llmatt@...> wrote:
Listening with my full wave loop on 7.277 if someone wants to try. New BITX user here.
73 Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
--
Michigan VHF Corp.
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I've been monitoring and calling CQ a few times. Not hearing anything. Just worked W8TAM on 7.275 so I know I'm getting out somewhere. Lol
Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
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Show quoted text
On Jun 19, 2017, at 8:13 PM, Simon Thompson <simonthompson67@...> wrote:
I was calling on 7.277 but no response. I am in Terrace, BC, Canada.
On Jun 19, 2017, at 5:56 PM, Matt Patterson <W5llmatt@...> wrote:
Listening with my full wave loop on 7.277 if someone wants to try. New BITX user here.
73 Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
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I was calling on 7.277 but no response. I am in Terrace, BC, Canada.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Jun 19, 2017, at 5:56 PM, Matt Patterson <W5llmatt@...> wrote:
Listening with my full wave loop on 7.277 if someone wants to try. New BITX user here.
73 Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
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Listening with my full wave loop on 7.277 if someone wants to try. New BITX user here.
73 Matt
W5LL
Sent from my iPhone 7
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Re: BITX QSO Night, Sunday, June 18, 7pm Local Time, 7277 kHz in North America, 7177 kHz elsewhere
Got a late start this week but made contacts with VE3THR (Tom) and W1LY (Willy). ?Both 57 into Massachusetts.
73s, ?
Bruce KC1FSZ
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That doesn't sound too bad, I wouldn't throw out the board.
Clearly, there is something on the board that is shorting PWR1 to Ground.
With power to the Bitx40 off, use an ohmmeter to measure from PWR1 to Ground, see if it is zero ohms. ?
You may need to repair any burned out trace to see the zero ohms.
Do a very thorough inspection of the board. ?
Any solder bridges? ?
When the relay coils are in the off state (when you are not pressing PTT) then PWR1 enters K1
at pin 5 and goes out K1 pin 3 as the RX 12v rail to power all the receiver circuits.
I'd cut the trace from K1 pin 3, then check for zero ohms to ground on both sides of the cut.
If it's the RX 12v rail that is still zero ohms to ground after you make that cut, then follow that?
rail around the board and see if you can make another cut to roughly divide the problem in two,
then measure again with the ohmmeter. ?Do that till you find the short. ?
You get the idea.
When you first power up the board after fixing the short, go with a really wimpy supply.
Perhaps add a 50 ohm resistor in series with your 12v supply, limiting supply current to 12v/50 = 240 ma.
With power on, monitor current, should be 150ma or less.
Perhaps others have some bright ideas for how to do this without cutting a bunch of traces. ?For example,
if your ohmmeter is a good one and you press the probes hard, you can sometimes figure out when you are getting close to the short
by looking at small differences in resistance. ?Perhaps it is 0.05 ohms here and 0.10 ohms over there.
I don't have my Bitx40 with me, so can''t look the board over to see if it is a reasonable thing to cut the RX 12v traces.
Jerry, KE7ER
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On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 02:39 pm, <mattcarus@...> wrote:
The burned out track is from PWR1 to K1, and the spark was between the battery positive terminal and the power lead when I attached it - presumable there was a short somewhere.
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I was on at 7:15PM PDT for about thirty minutes. I could neither hear anyone nor, apparently, be heard. Noise levels of S8 to S9 at my Portland QTH. 73 de bill K7WXW
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Thanks for the update. I also ordered them but they're not here yet.
Vince.
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On 06/19/2017 05:57 PM, Ben Bangerter, K0IKR via Groups.Io wrote: I ordered the female crimp pins, pin housings, and board-mounted male
pin assembly from Tayda. The pins (A-837) are attached to the strip at
the end, making for easy removal and insertion in the housing. I
ordered 2 pin thru 8 pin housings (A-826 thru A-832), and 2 pin thru 8
pin male pin parts (A-804 thru A-810.) These are just what are used on
the BITX40, and are quite inexpensive, just a few cents each. --Just
tying the ribbons on this topic.--
--
Michigan VHF Corp.
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I ordered the female crimp pins, pin housings, and board-mounted male pin assembly from Tayda. ?The pins (A-837) are attached to the strip at the end, making for easy removal and insertion in the housing. ?I ordered 2 pin thru 8 pin housings (A-826 thru A-832), and 2 pin thru 8 pin male pin parts (A-804 thru A-810.) ? These are just what are used on the BITX40, and are quite inexpensive, just a few cents each. ?--Just tying the ribbons on this topic.--
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The burned out track is from PWR1 to K1, and the spark was between the battery positive terminal and the power lead when I attached it - presumable there was a short somewhere.
Matt 2E1HNK
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Jonathan KK6RPX wrote... curious how many West coasters we had on last night... I'm still waiting for my BITX40 to arrive, hopefully this week. The case will take a bit longer. I was listening on 7277 kHz last evening. From CN88, I heard about as many BITX40 users last evening as the week before (perhaps a dozen), but most were weaker than the previous week. Guess that was just propagation. I didn't jot them down, but three stations were strong enough to make out the call signs. I could tell the others were calling "CQ BITX" but I couldn't make out their call signs. A few repeats and more use of phonetics would help. -- 73 Keith VE7GDH
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Band was weak at first, Worked W7RDB/p then a little later W1LY with 5 watts.
I'm suggesting that midwest go to the 8:00 pm time instead of 7:00 pm. The band
just wasn't ready at 7.
Ed W0OIC
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Willy you would certainly be in the lead if this was any kind of contest.? I seem to remember you posting in the past your antenna is an inverted V at 50'.? Anything else you can share about your setup such as feed line, tuner, where you bought the magic beans and if there are any left :) ?
thanks
Doug
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Worked W7RDB/p on Mt. Raney in UT QRP 2 QRP at 01:53z while he was still in daylight but he was the only west coast station heard in Rhode Island. Most difficult conditions of Sunday night BitXnet so far. SW QRM strong QRN, Strong QSB.?
Next weekend is Field Day so watch for W1LY FD 73 Willy
On Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 11:57 AM, Jonathan Peakall <jpeakall@...> wrote: HI All,
Just curious how many West coasters we had on last night. Once again I only contacted WB6NPM (until recently WB0NPM). I know that KE7RTV and W7LTG were also in there but couldn't work them. I heard another 7 call but they couldn't hear me.
So, who all was there? I'm wondering if there were more than I could hear on frequency and the band sucked or if it is just slim pickings. Seems like a little later in the evening would be better for propagation as we get a little grey line action.
Jonathan - KK6RPX
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Raj vu2zap
Willy
bill
Matt Carus
ekelley