All:
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who was testing various encoders for a project he's working on. He needed it to track the movement of a stepper motor so placed the encoder shaft in a drill like Mike B did. He burned three of them out before he got one that would work, and it was an optical encoder. I know Mike B has moved a working encoder to the TFT board, so that's not the problem he having and I'm working on that. However, Al's work suggests that mechanical encoders are not going to work too well in a faster-than-hand-speed shaft rotation.
Jack, W8TEE
From: Michael Hagen <motdog@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2017 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] W8TEE vfo encoder fix
I have had problems like that.? My 3D printer
take forever to read the encoder?
The encoder library used to have a spot to
declare that?? You could mess with the steps.
I moved the change code into the interrupt to
read the frequency on one project.? The interrupt sets the
frequency, not a change Flag.
Most just set a Flag and wait for
the Loop Routine to see the Flag and set the Frequency.? May
cause a delay?
Then it reads it as soon as it moves.? Maybe some
de-bounce caps on the encoder.? Make sure pull ups enabled or
use resistors on the encoder.
Mine has them.? I have tried .01 to .1 uF.? I
have 10K pull-ups too.
You might look at that?
A problem I have had too!
Mike, WA6ISP
?
On 10/13/2017 5:36 PM, Mike Bryce
wrote:
Well gang,
it's not elegant, but solved the problem. You can't go too fast,
as the software can't read the encoder at top drill speed.
Seriously, anyone come up with a fix to this? My encoder takes two
clicks to make a digit change. Perhaps my Chinese encoders aren't
aren't sending the necessary pulses to the ardunio.
No matter how fast I turn the encoder, it will only change the
LSD. 7.258.9
the encoder will only change digit after the 8.
Still playing, still having fun
I'm mike wb8vge
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
|
Re: W8TEE vfo encoder fix
I'm pretty sure it's the Adafruit library that's bogging things down. (Adafruit is pretty good in their libraries, but it's almost like they have blocking code in their library. I need to find time to dig into their source code to see what's going on.) Setting a flag (i.e., polling) works, but means that I need to make a complete pass through the loop before I can read the flag for an encoder movement. There are a lot of digitalRead()'s going on, plus some screen updating, that make the passes fairly long. This problem is stewing in the back of my mind...
Think your mind rests when you sleep? Maybe, but I always keep a pad and pen by my bedside as I have often awaken in the middle of the night with an new way to teach a concept, or fix a bug, or test something. It's happened dozens of times over the years. Last night I thought of a way that might help in the encoder sensing issues that seem to be taking place. I hope to try those today...we'll see. (The process doesn't always work...everything from kids to old girlfriends may get in the way...)
Jack, W8TEE
From: Michael Hagen <motdog@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2017 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] W8TEE vfo encoder fix
I have had problems like that.? My 3D printer
take forever to read the encoder?
The encoder library used to have a spot to
declare that?? You could mess with the steps.
I moved the change code into the interrupt to
read the frequency on one project.? The interrupt sets the
frequency, not a change Flag.
Most just set a Flag and wait for
the Loop Routine to see the Flag and set the Frequency.? May
cause a delay?
Then it reads it as soon as it moves.? Maybe some
de-bounce caps on the encoder.? Make sure pull ups enabled or
use resistors on the encoder.
Mine has them.? I have tried .01 to .1 uF.? I
have 10K pull-ups too.
You might look at that?
A problem I have had too!
Mike, WA6ISP
?
On 10/13/2017 5:36 PM, Mike Bryce
wrote:
Well gang,
it's not elegant, but solved the problem. You can't go too fast,
as the software can't read the encoder at top drill speed.
Seriously, anyone come up with a fix to this? My encoder takes two
clicks to make a digit change. Perhaps my Chinese encoders aren't
aren't sending the necessary pulses to the ardunio.
No matter how fast I turn the encoder, it will only change the
LSD. 7.258.9
the encoder will only change digit after the 8.
Still playing, still having fun
I'm mike wb8vge
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
|
Re: W8TEE vfo encoder fix
After vacation Jack.....no hurry....relax
|
Re: W8TEE vfo encoder fix
Perhaps I should add a runtime feature that allows the increment to be changed in lieu of Fast Tune. I knew going in that the Adafruit library was optimized for the Uno, and not the Mega, and this is probably why the Fast Tune is sluggish at faster speeds. It will work, but it is a little "touchy" in that it will jump to Fast Tune when you're trying to fine tune. Slowing down your normal tune rate will work, or just set:
#define FASTINCREMENT???????? 25000UL? // Defaullt when we're in a hurry
to the same rates as DEFAULTINCREMENT. At least that way it wont jump into a higher increment as you tune.
I need to think about what I want to do here...
Jack, W8TEE
From: Mike Bryce <prosolar@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2017 1:03 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] W8TEE vfo encoder fix
On Fri, Oct 13, 2017 at 08:01 pm, Jack Purdum wrote:
Jack, and the group
changed line 1461 & 1462 to falling. Encoder would not adjust freq
tried RISING and encoder was iffy, changed with four-five clicks. Change back to CHANGE
Line 63 set at 150UL. that way I could get the tuning into fast mode. Very touchy. Just a bit too fast, and it goes into high speed.Anything under 140 and it won't work
Mike, WB8VGE
|
Re: W8TEE vfo encoder fix
I'm playing with lines 61, 62 and 63...having trouble getting it to shift to fast tuning too
don
|
Re: W8tee SW 107 erros in compilation
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: Henning Weddig via Groups.Io <hweddig@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2017 7:37 AM
Subject: [BITX20] W8tee SW 107 erros in compilation
Firsat of all:
Firmware 0100 did compile correctly ,? I get a "good" screen,
also Version 0103 works for me
in Version 105 the encoder does not work
in Version 109 I have trouble with the fast encoder
Saying "I have trouble" is like saying "I can't drive to the store". Is it because: 1) you don't have a car, 2) you don't have a driver's license, 3) the car is locked and you can't find the key, 4) you have a key, but it won't start, 5) the car is out of gas... Getting good answers assumes a well-formed question. "I have trouble" is not very helpful in debugging the encoder. Evidently the encoder is working, but the Fast Tune feature is not. I need an operational definition of "trouble" before I can start working on it. It works for me here, so clearly I need more information. Looking at lines 61-63 you see:
#define DEFAULTINCREMENT????? 100UL??? // Make it a long since it works with frequency
#define FASTINCREMENT???????? 25000UL? // Defaullt when we're in a hurry
#define DEFAULTTRIGGER??????? 100UL??? // Milliseconds to sense speed change for old people. You need to experiment *
Someone said they couldn't change the last two digits of the frequency. Well, if the DEFAULTINCREMENT is set to 100, why would you expect to change the last two digits? Even if you don't know how to program, there are enough comments in the code that it is instructional to read the code. Each user will likely have a default frequency increment that makes them happy. If you like 1Hz, then change the #define for it. Same for the others. I even used a set of asterisks to call attention to the Fast Tune timing because it will be different for each user. 100 milliseconds works for me, but may be totally wrong for someone else. Experiment with different values until you find one that makes you happy.
So trying to compile the latest version Re1007-10? i get the following
erros,
You should only compile this code if you have uncommented line line 37 which says:
//#define KEYERPRESENT????????? // UNCOMMENT to use keyer
All of the TONEPIN errors are because you uncommented the keyer, but did not define a TONEPIN. I have not defined that pin because I have not implemented the CW feature yet, but figured some people may want to try it, but I have no clue what pin they want to use for the CW sidetone, which is what TONEPIN is used for. If you have implemented a CW feature, then somewhere near the top of the source file you should add:
#define TONEPIN??????? 10
This would say that you are using digital pin 10 for feeding the output pin. You will also need to add:
???? pinMode(TONEPIN, OUTPUT);
in setup(). This implies that you have a speaker or some other device connected to pin 10 that is capable of producing a tone. Even a buzzer will work but will likely not sound as good as a speaker. I have not done either yet since I don't have the code for CW implemented yet. I do think that you could use code similar to what Allard has for his CW implementation. My PCB brings out most of the pins that are not already dedicated (e.g., for the TFT display) for you to experiment with.
line 1464 is poppig up (red overlined)
1464 pinMode(TONEPIN, OUTPUT);
The error message is as follows:
:\BITX_40\W8TEE\B40SoftwareRe010710\B40SoftwareRel0107-10\B40SoftwareRel0107-10.ino:
In function 'void setup()':
B40SoftwareRel0107-10:1464: error: 'TONEPIN' was not declared in this scope
?? pinMode(TONEPIN, OUTPUT);
The other error message was mentioned by me yesterday, but unfortunately
I did not remember the correct line number which should be 1839:
????? ^
D:\BITX_40\W8TEE\B40SoftwareRe010710\B40SoftwareRel0107-10\B40SoftwareRel0107-10.ino:
In function 'void loop()': B40SoftwareRel0107-10:1839: error: 'MYVOLTAGEPIN' was not declared in
this scope
???? newVal = analogRead(MYVOLTAGEPIN);
???????????????????????? ^
exit status 1
'TONEPIN' was not declared in this scope
Your source file is scewed up since line 80 in my code says:
#define MYVOLTAGEPIN????????? A14????? // The pin where the voltage is sampled for the display. See manual
This
means its not possible to have it undefined in the file. Pin A14 is the
pin I chose to use for a takeoff point from a voltage divider. You
might want to choose some other analog pin, especially if you are moving Allard's code to this environment. Since the Arduino pins
cannot handle more than 5V but the power for the BITX40 is normally 12V,
I used a 56K¦¸ and 2K¦¸ resistors to form a voltage divider, the junction
of which provides a voltage that won't exceed 5V. I then use the map()
function to map the value returned from an analogRead()
to a value that I display as the current voltage. However, since people
are using voltages between 12V and 20V, you need to do the voltage
divider and mapping code to values that make sense in your environment.
Some people may prefer to use that display field for something else and
not mess with the supply voltage.
Ung¨¹ltige Bibliothek
C:\Users\Henning\Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoHttpClient in
C:\Users\Henning\Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoHttpClient gefunden
So how can I rectify thes erroes?
Henning
|
W8tee SW 107 erros in compilation
Firsat of all:
Firmware 0100 did compile correctly ,? I get a "good" screen,
also Version 0103 works for me
in Version 105 the encoder does not work
in Version 109 I have trouble with the fast encoder
So trying to compile the latest version Re1007-10? i get the following erros,
line 1464 is poppig up (red overlined)
1464 pinMode(TONEPIN, OUTPUT);
The error message is as follows:
:\BITX_40\W8TEE\B40SoftwareRe010710\B40SoftwareRel0107-10\B40SoftwareRel0107-10.ino: In function 'void setup()':
B40SoftwareRel0107-10:1464: error: 'TONEPIN' was not declared in this scope
?? pinMode(TONEPIN, OUTPUT);
The other error message was mentioned by me yesterday, but unfortunately I did not remember the correct line number which should be 1839:
????? ^
D:\BITX_40\W8TEE\B40SoftwareRe010710\B40SoftwareRel0107-10\B40SoftwareRel0107-10.ino: In function 'void loop()':
B40SoftwareRel0107-10:1839: error: 'MYVOLTAGEPIN' was not declared in this scope
???? newVal = analogRead(MYVOLTAGEPIN);
???????????????????????? ^
exit status 1
'TONEPIN' was not declared in this scope
Ung¨¹ltige Bibliothek C:\Users\Henning\Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoHttpClient in C:\Users\Henning\Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoHttpClient gefunden
So how can I rectify thes erroes?
Henning
|
?If you have a tune-able? HF RX?, hookup a piece of wire to it and try to "listen" to the BITX's VFO.? It may be out of range and/drifting.? MIKE?
Ryan,
With all the inputs, he also says Tx is fine which means problem is not the filter but has to be in the Q1 amp stage.
Raj
At 14-10-2017, you wrote:
>Follow the schematic and check continuity on all the BPF inductors. You might have a broken wire. No biggy, just unsolder, unwind one winding, and solder it back making sure to burn off the enamel by holding the heat until you see it boil off when you solder it in. It's also easy to check continuity all the way from the antenna to the BPF and past the BPF to the first mixer stage.
>
>--
>Ryan Flowers W7RLF
|
Ryan,
With all the inputs, he also says Tx is fine which means problem is not the filter but has to be in the Q1 amp stage.
Raj
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
At 14-10-2017, you wrote: Follow the schematic and check continuity on all the BPF inductors. You might have a broken wire. No biggy, just unsolder, unwind one winding, and solder it back making sure to burn off the enamel by holding the heat until you see it boil off when you solder it in. It's also easy to check continuity all the way from the antenna to the BPF and past the BPF to the first mixer stage.
--
Ryan Flowers W7RLF
|
Follow the schematic and check continuity on all the BPF inductors. You might have a broken wire. No biggy, just unsolder, unwind one winding, and solder it back making sure to burn off the enamel by holding the heat until you see it boil off when you solder it in. It's also easy to check continuity all the way from the antenna to the BPF and past the BPF to the first mixer stage.? -- Ryan Flowers W7RLF
?
?<-- Learn how to go digital on the BITX40
|
Tim,
Now I conclude that there is no problem with audio stages.
Hearing birdies means everything after the first mixer is fine!
Concentrate on Q1 and Q4 amp and filters. I suspect that there is an SMD that is not soldered well
in the first bidi amp. When you heated the coil you got that lose connection going again.
Gently pressing with a finger on the first amp may show you what is not soldered properly. Sometime
SMD cap ends break off and become intermittent.
Raj
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
At 14-10-2017, you wrote: Hi Larry,
There's plenty of audio, plenty of birdies - including one that drifts around. Just no actual signals. The frustrating thing is that after taking out the board and resoldering a BPF coil it was working for a couple of hours. And then it stopped again :(.
--
Tim
4X5TS
|
Re: W8TEE vfo encoder fix
On Fri, Oct 13, 2017 at 08:01 pm, Jack Purdum wrote:
Jack, and the group
changed line 1461 & 1462 to falling. Encoder would not adjust freq
tried RISING and encoder was iffy, changed with four-five clicks. Change back to CHANGE
Line 63 set at 150UL. that way I could get the tuning into fast mode. Very touchy. Just a bit too fast, and it goes into high speed.Anything under 140 and it won't work
Mike, WB8VGE
|
http://bitxhacks.blogspot.com/2017/01/nd6ts-suppression-of-pesky-2nd-harmonic.html
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Show quoted text
On Fri, Oct 13, 2017 at 09:03 pm, Ted Doell wrote:
Hi I know its not a new topic but I am trying to find the reference to adding a capacitor to the 40m LPF to clean it up a bit.
Ted ZL1BQA
?
?
|
Strange, When you mentioned "Works again" do you mean receiving actual stations? (then it stops?)
I have had problems with the connectors provided on this and other PCB's over the years. ? I would look at the DDS connector on the main board.? also the coils.? You may have 'through hole" problem (known as VIA) where the PCB holes are not continuous plated connection from PCB Top to PCB bottom.? (VIA meaning viaduct). ?? Try soldering the top of the coil connections and the bottom of the same connection on each coil (and be gentle)
For grins take a magnifying glass and inspect the solder connections on the coils and components.? it seem like a pain but it's not that time consuming. Check for solder bridges while your at it.
I gather these PCB's are not robotic made but human made/assembled.? if I stuffed these PCB's i'd suspect myself as well ;) Hi Hope this helps 73 WA9DOH PS do you have access to a signal generator in the 7mHZ range?
I think if you generate a strong signal on-air signal (transciver) and you have a separate? wire antenna hook to the BITX you can blow the BITX front end.
On Fri, Oct 13, 2017 at 10:19 PM, Tim Scrimshaw <tscrimshaw@...> wrote: Hi Larry,
There's plenty of audio, plenty of birdies - including one that drifts around. Just no actual signals. The frustrating thing is that after taking out the board and resoldering a BPF coil it was working for a couple of hours. And then it stopped again :(.?
--
Tim
4X5TS
|
Ordered 8/19, shipped 8/23. I would have made?inquiries sooner but it was the first time I'd ordered anything with IndiaPost and I wasn't sure what to expect. It looks like they did their part but USPS didn't manage to deliver it once they had it.?
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Hi Paul et al,
>?I went to the Post Office on 10/2
> ...?claimed it had been there since 9/2 and they sent back on 10/4, two after I had asked for it.?
I'm left wondering if someone in the benighted system doesn't know which month it is. When was it ordered?
:(
Dex, ZL2DEX
|
Hi I know its not a new topic but I am trying to find the reference to adding a capacitor to the 40m LPF to clean it up a bit.
Ted ZL1BQA
|
Hi Larry,
There's plenty of audio, plenty of birdies - including one that drifts around. Just no actual signals. The frustrating thing is that after taking out the board and resoldering a BPF coil it was working for a couple of hours. And then it stopped again :(.?
--
Tim
4X5TS
|
Re: Help debugging transmit short?
Thanks to all for your suggestions -
I tested by dialing down RV1 and R136, no change. Replaced the IRF510 with another from the same batch that tested as a working FET (that is, it "turns on" and "off" like it should) with no change, rechecked capacitors on drive circuit, no faults found. Pretty sure that it's just a junk FET that goes into voltage breakdown as soon as it's asked to do anything.?
I bit the bullet and ordered 10x Vishay IRF510 from Mouser along with some other parts to make the $7 shipping worthwhile, and with any luck I'll be back on 7.277 by next Sunday!
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Mike,
The cost for shipping at Mouser is as low as $4.99 using USPS.? I use that shipping method all the time with no problems.? Lowers the cost a little more.
73,
Dale? K9NN
?
?
Good Advice,
10 at Mouser for $6+, but dreaded shipping of $7.? I ordered them with some other parts.
Tape then across the back of BitX like Bandoliers of Bullets.? Put a big "X" on the dead ones!
Since there performance depends on gate capacitance and other specs, probably should buy from a distributor?
Mike, WA6ISP
On 10/11/2017 7:03 AM, Joe wrote:
?
Are you sure the new IRF510 is good?
It is well known that the ones from China, in many cases are not good.
Most of us order from a US source, like Digikey and various others.
I had the Chinese IRF510 experience... Ordered new ones from Digikey and problem was solved...
?
On Wed, Oct 11, 2017 at 1:00 AM, Keith VE7GDH <ve7gdh@...> wrote:
Mike KN4EAR wrote...
> Trouble is, now (running at 12V) as soon as I
> push the PTT, it instantly blows my fuse
What if you disconnect power from the PA? You
could isolate it between the PA or something else
blowing the fuse.
Do you have the IRF510 insulated from the heat sink?
If not, is there any chance the heat sink has somehow
become grounded?
--
73 Keith VE7GDH
?
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID? "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
|
Re: W8TEE vfo encoder fix
Line 61 sets the default increment in the frequency when you're tuning. If you start spinning the knob quickly enough, it will jump the increment to the value set on line 62. Line 63 is a millisecond delay between regular and fast tuning. You'll have to set that to a number that works for you. If you really do think it's edge detection on the encoder pulse chain, change the word CHANGE to RISING or FALLING on lines 1461 and 1462 and see if it makes a difference.
Jack, W8TEE
From: Larry Smith <815cpu@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2017 10:39 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] W8TEE vfo encoder fix
looks like changing: ? line 61 1UL ? ?7.000.000
line 61 10UL ? ? 7.000.000
line 61 100 ? ? ?7.000.000
line 61 1000 ? ? ? 7.000.000
I entered this changing line 61 and then up-loading and so forth then rotating the encoder for effect.
not sure but we need too rotary push button from 1UL to 100UL to 1000UL and back to 1UL Still has 2 click position change.? Seems like a edge detection counter thing?
I need to understand the encoder guts. i assumed this encoder i have did Grey-code output. Seems it's detecting every other edge change + or - Don't know enough info yet. This? detection may have already been considered. Every assumption isn't wasted if you don't learn something.
"How can you be in two places at once when your nowhere at all" Hi
73 WA9DOH
|
Re: W8TEE vfo encoder fix
looks like changing: ? line 61 1UL ? ?7.000.000
line 61 10UL ? ? 7.000.000
line 61 100 ? ? ?7.000.000
line 61 1000 ? ? ? 7.000.000
I entered this changing line 61 and then up-loading and so forth then rotating the encoder for effect.
not sure but we need too rotary push button from 1UL to 100UL to 1000UL and back to 1UL Still has 2 click position change.? Seems like a edge detection counter thing?
I need to understand the encoder guts. i assumed this encoder i have did Grey-code output. Seems it's detecting every other edge change + or - Don't know enough info yet. This? detection may have already been considered. Every assumption isn't wasted if you don't learn something.
"How can you be in two places at once when your nowhere at all" Hi
73 WA9DOH
On Fri, Oct 13, 2017 at 8:47 PM, Mike Bryce <prosolar@...> wrote: Jack,
I thought, probably wrong, that the faster you turn the encoder, it would jump to the next digit. I guess I'm wrong. Won't be the first time.
I'll change that line in the code? and see what happens.
right now, for every two clicks, the digit goes up (or down)
7.245.8
two clicks
7.245.9
Takes for ever to go from CW to SSB.
BTW... Very stable output to the bitx40. Sounds good
mike, wb8vge
|
Raj vu2zap