Re: : [BITX20] uBit Build
Farhan, several of us can no longer find a way to buy the Raduino digital VFO by itself, on the redesigned website
Will this become for sale again? It is an incredibly useful device for many purposes for many of us!!
Sent from my iPhone
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On Dec 19, 2017, at 08:18, Raj vu2zap <rajendrakumargg@...> wrote:
Farhan,
I enjoyed this post! My favorite was QuickC 2.5 with in-line assembly code. Step, watch and break brought some lost memories back. If I remember right I could watch some register values too!
Get well soon.
Cheers
Raj
At 19/12/2017, you wrote:
Arduino suppresses these warnings. It is? pity, I am a professional programmer and I tend to work with all warnings switched on, but i have thrown all that discipline to the wind on Arduino because the IDE is too kludgy. I wish i could jump to a line number, I can't. i wish i could click on an error and get to the source line, i can't. i wish i could find and replace with a regex, it won't allow me. The world's first editor, vi, did that 40 years ago.?
Hans has a healthy disrespect for the arduino IDE, he prefers the bare AVR compiler and editor. I am a vi and gcc guy too. However, when are you are programming to make it hackable for others, I should use an IDE that is easy and universally available, hence the essential pain of Arduino IDE is upon us all. The rumour is that the IDE is derived from Eclipse. I am awed at how much one can dumb down a very well intentioned software into being a total dodo.?
Take a look at the Microchip's IDE, have simulators with step, watch and break! I must go now, take my pills and stop ranting...
- f
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
1. ?The drop in voltage on irf510 ?fits well with the measured current. ? So those measurements now makes sense. ?One confusion squared away.
2. ?Now that you've learned how to measure the total drawn current, read the directions and see if you can set the idle current on the Irf 510 in transmit position. ? >> ?Even with pops, flashes, and burning smells, if you can set that idling current,
the device is still working!!!! ?<<. If the bias (gate voltage) potentiometer ?does NOTadjust the current at all, then yes, something is kaput.
I'm working off a cell phone, and I can't read the schematic well; I think it might be rv1 ?? That sets the the idle current
Rv136 sets rf drive & not important now. It almost always gets right to the middle on most boards I've seen.?
again, huge progress being made, and you are becoming much more familiar with the circuitry. ??
As you square away the final amplifier so it can be set aside, and begin to get portions of the receiver working, this board is going to come alive.
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First, thanks Gordon for the concern over the work truck. It's a company vehicle and it wasn't my fault, so it's not as stressful as if it were my own vehicle. It's just time consuming trying to coordinate a replacement, relaying what happened to yet another
person, etc.
Second....sorry, the dropping to 13.8 was a typo. I did measure again this morning to make doubly sure. I got the same measurements this morning that I did last night. It reads 12.4 on idle and drops to 11.8 when I press PTT.
As far as the IRF510 being blown: when they had me measuring voltage on the legs, there was a pop, flash and burnt smell.
It's true that I did move RV1 and RV136 before. I just checked to see what they were on when I obtained these readings and, as I had thought, they are both turned fully clockwise. I turned them down all the way so I don't mess up and blow the new mosfet inadvertently
when it gets here.
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Re: : [BITX20] uBit Build
Farhan,
I enjoyed this post! My favorite was QuickC 2.5 with in-line assembly code. Step, watch and break brought some lost memories back. If I remember right I could watch some register values too!
Get well soon.
Cheers
Raj
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
At 19/12/2017, you wrote: Arduino suppresses these warnings. It is? pity, I am a professional programmer and I tend to work with all warnings switched on, but i have thrown all that discipline to the wind on Arduino because the IDE is too kludgy. I wish i could jump to a line number, I can't. i wish i could click on an error and get to the source line, i can't. i wish i could find and replace with a regex, it won't allow me. The world's first editor, vi, did that 40 years ago.?
Hans has a healthy disrespect for the arduino IDE, he prefers the bare AVR compiler and editor. I am a vi and gcc guy too. However, when are you are programming to make it hackable for others, I should use an IDE that is easy and universally available, hence the essential pain of Arduino IDE is upon us all. The rumour is that the IDE is derived from Eclipse. I am awed at how much one can dumb down a very well intentioned software into being a total dodo.?
Take a look at the Microchip's IDE, have simulators with step, watch and break! I must go now, take my pills and stop ranting...
- f
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
First, thanks Gordon for the concern over the work truck. It's a company vehicle and it wasn't my fault, so it's not as stressful as if it were my own vehicle. It's just time consuming trying to coordinate a replacement, relaying what happened to yet another person, etc.
Second....sorry, the dropping to 13.8 was a typo. I did measure again this morning to make doubly sure. I got the same measurements this morning that I did last night. It reads 12.4 on idle and drops to 11.8 when I press PTT.
As far as the IRF510 being blown: when they had me measuring voltage on the legs, there was a pop, flash and burnt smell.
It's true that I did move RV1 and RV136 before. I just checked to see what they were on when I obtained these readings and, as I had thought, they are both turned fully clockwise. I turned them down all the way so I don't mess up and blow the new mosfet inadvertently when it gets here.
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Re: uBITX working, question about power, PTT pop, LOUD headphone output
#ubitx
Ashhar
? I also have the PTT pop in my uBitx. It's particularly annoying in CW use.
I mounted my raduino separately. I think I could reduce the side tone volume with a resister in the CW_Tone wire without touching the main board.
BTW - the ubitx_keyer sketch refers to cwTxStart and cwTXStop, which I think were replaced by startTx and stopTx.
???? Bob
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Re: In Line Resistive Terminators for Z Measurement? ?BITX Crystal Filter
Hello Andy and builders !
I'm building my own HF transceiver based on uBitx concept...
As Fahran said : more is the bandwidth, more is the termination impedance.
For SSB filter most of termination impedances are in range from 300 to 450 Ohms, transformers or LC match is necessary.
For CW filter the Z range is low and can match to 50R without transformer, but series resistance of Xtals increase losses !
In attachement you will find my design, sorry for the shape of the SSB filter but it has no impact in audio !
For SSB I prefer? 2.2 kHz rather than 2.7 kHz to limit interferences and use IF shift on my Raduino.
This filter is switchable by the raduino and +5V supply, better use low capacitance PIN diodes !
73 de F5RCT
Jean
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
My first guess is that the transmitter is actually trying to transmit and there's some real RF on the drain when he pushes the push to talk, which is causing the voltmeter to read even higher.
I was concerned that might happen when I had him measure it with the push to talk on, which is why I told him not to talk into the mic. But I had to know if the PA voltage was solid with current flow.
Like Vince, I think the idling current is just turned way too high, (because of the earlier current measuring issues), and this transistor may well be fine.
This project is advancing by leaps and bounds
Sent from my iPhone
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On Dec 19, 2017, at 07:11, Vince Vielhaber <vev@...> wrote:
Something's wrong. If you start at 12.4, you can't drop to 13.8. Wrong
direction. Even if that's backwards, it should drop a whole bunch more
than that.
Vince.
Also, I tried these things:
I measured voltage for the IRF510 at the heatsink (the tab is connected to
it). 12.4 volts on idle, but when I press PTT it seems to drop to 13.8.
The final is blown, so don't know if that accounts for the discrepancy.
I'm assuming it does because there's a short between source and drain now.
Different portions of the case seem to have varying levels of ground....
or at least I think that's what I'm measuring. If I measure 12 volts
touching one portion of the case, I can touch somewhere else on the case
without moving the positive and get 6 volts.... or less...even close to 0
in some parts.
I better stop poking now or I'm going to be here for the next couple of
hours going "Oh hey....that's kinda cool. Didn't expect that" and I need
to sleep. I'll pick up the rest of the stuff tomorrow...but hopefully I
got one step closer with what I did find.
--
Michigan VHF Corp.
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
Something's wrong. If you start at 12.4, you can't drop to 13.8. Wrong
direction. Even if that's backwards, it should drop a whole bunch more
than that.
Vince.
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Also, I tried these things:
I measured voltage for the IRF510 at the heatsink (the tab is connected to
it). 12.4 volts on idle, but when I press PTT it seems to drop to 13.8.
The final is blown, so don't know if that accounts for the discrepancy.
I'm assuming it does because there's a short between source and drain now.
Different portions of the case seem to have varying levels of ground....
or at least I think that's what I'm measuring. If I measure 12 volts
touching one portion of the case, I can touch somewhere else on the case
without moving the positive and get 6 volts.... or less...even close to 0
in some parts.
I better stop poking now or I'm going to be here for the next couple of
hours going "Oh hey....that's kinda cool. Didn't expect that" and I need
to sleep. I'll pick up the rest of the stuff tomorrow...but hopefully I
got one step closer with what I did find.
--
Michigan VHF Corp.
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
You sure that final's blown, or did you replace it already? When I blew
the final in mine it took a 4A fuse with it. 1.5A would be just that idle
control turned too far.
Vince.
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Ok guys. I couldn't do too much tonight. Blowing the work truck engine has
thrown today off for me entirely. But, I did do these things:
I measured the amps the right way...with the switch off. .14 on idle and
1.50 on PTT. I also did it without the speaker attached so I could hear
all the relays click...which they did. So, now I'm positive that relays
are clicking.
I also taped up all those wire ends.
--
Michigan VHF Corp.
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
Huge progress here.? ?Sorry again about the truck (I had a tractor throw a rod a few months ago.....) and I note a new sense of confidence in this builder!
If there were a short between source and drain of the IRF510 it would be drawing huge current
even in receive as the PA supply?voltage is constant.? So I'm not quite so sure about the diagnosis of a destroyed IRF510 here.? ?I would turn the bias potentiometer so as to decrease the idling?Drain Current (others here will tell you WHICH
DIRECTION, clockwise or counter clockwise to accomplish that) --- so as to protect the transmitter while you turn your attention more to the receiver to get working.? It is possible that at this moment you simlpy have the gate voltage way too high and are
drawing way too much idling drain current, an EASILY correctable problem.? ? ? If you can't deal with adjusting the idling current right now, then just pull the PA-PWR connector to take power away from the IRF510 while you gain further skills and work on the
receiver.? ?
What happens when youpush the PTT switch is that the BIAS TO THE IRF510 GETS TURNED ON ---that is why it suddenly begins to draw idling current.? ?It always had Drain voltage.? ? Take a peek at the schematic when you have time to study that section a bit.?
?
Now that you definitely have the relays clicking and have reasonable current measurements in receive,? (huge progress!!!) can turn attention whenever?you?next have time to work on this (other priorities in life may intervene......)? would hunt with?a?communications
receiver for the BFO oscillator at about 12 MHz, using the fixed frequency sketch that I sent you for 7075 kHz.? Also verify that you can hear the Raduino output at the frequency I said it should be found....and then begin the prodding tests of the youtube?video
earlier mentioned.
You now have a known good power connections, and are about to start checking (by the above) the functions of the various oscillators and mixers of the system, in RECEIVE.? ?That IRF510 may not be destroyed, but even if it is, it can be carefully clipped
off near the case of the IRF510 (farthest away from the board) and a new one carefully soldered to the left over pins.? ?It is only a $1 device.? ? Then the bias can be carefully adjusted (starting from the LOW CURRENT position of the bias pot, with the gate
voltage near 0!!!---correct idling?power is somwhere around 3-4 volts I believe off the top of my head? (others will provide a more correct value)??and is TOUCHY!!!! --- others will provide the actual correct voltages) ---but adjust the bias current to the
correct idling value carefully so as not to damage the NEW transistor.? ?With the receive oscillators and mixers working, there's a good chance the transmitter will also spring to life!? ?Be sure a proper load is provided to the transmitter!
Again, huge progress here.? ?In a $59 kit, with a $25 Raduino, the main board is only effectively $35 --- so no huge loss just to replace it for the time being with a new board (or as you have arranged, an?entire new BITX40!!!!) --- but
this debugging project is clearly making a LOT of progress.? ?
It sometimes takes me a few weeks to finally figure out all the issues of a transceiver as I have to slowly work through and LEARN the systems, getting information from others or internet as I go along.? ?Experts who are very familiar with a given design
of course are much quicker, but we ordinary ham radio operators have to gain that experience in the slow school of hard knocks.? ?Someone mentioned the "buzz" of success as portion by portion, a rig comes back to life.? True!
Cheers and enjoy your Chanukah!
Gordon
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Also, I tried these things:
I measured voltage for the IRF510 at the heatsink (the tab is connected to it). 12.4 volts on idle, but when I press PTT it seems to drop to 13.8. The final is blown, so don't know if that accounts for the discrepancy. I'm assuming it does because there's a
short between source and drain now.
Different portions of the case seem to have varying levels of ground.... or at least I think that's what I'm measuring. If I measure 12 volts touching one portion of the case, I can touch somewhere else on the case without moving the positive and get 6 volts....
or less...even close to 0 in some parts.
I better stop poking now or I'm going to be here for the next couple of hours going "Oh hey....that's kinda cool. Didn't expect that" and I need to sleep. I'll pick up the rest of the stuff tomorrow...but hopefully I got one step closer with what I did find.
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Re: : [BITX20] uBit Build
Arduino suppresses these warnings. It is? pity, I am a professional programmer and I tend to work with all warnings switched on, but i have thrown all that discipline to the wind on Arduino because the IDE is too kludgy. I wish i could jump to a line number, I can't. i wish i could click on an error and get to the source line, i can't. i wish i could find and replace with a regex, it won't allow me. The world's first editor, vi, did that 40 years ago.?
Hans has a healthy disrespect for the arduino IDE, he prefers the bare AVR compiler and editor. I am a vi and gcc guy too. However, when are you are programming to make it hackable for others, I should use an IDE that is easy and universally available, hence the essential pain of Arduino IDE is upon us all. The rumour is that the IDE is derived from Eclipse. I am awed at how much one can dumb down a very well intentioned software into being a total dodo.?
Take a look at the Microchip's IDE, have simulators with step, watch and break! I must go now, take my pills and stop ranting...
- f
On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 3:15 AM, Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io <jgaffke@...> wrote: Magic.
Arduino stuff is all C++ (most Arduino code is just the C subset of C++, which suits me fine)?
that has dumbed down some of the stuff that might give a rank beginner pause.
For example, you write a "sketch", since we all know we can't write a program.
And they have crt0 call "setup()" and "loop()" at startup since a beginner couldn't possibly
fathom a complicated top level function like
? ? main() {
? ? ? ? setup();
? ? ? ? while(1)? loop();
? ? }
The IDE has some code somewhere that looks in your source directory
for any and all files that look like source code and ships those names off as args to the compiler.
I do have a problem with some of that.?
Stuff that takes 5 minutes to figure out perhaps should have been left in industry standard form.
What they did right was create some libraries so users don't have to read through processor hardware docs
to use IO pins and timers and ADC's.? Pretty cool to be able to just run low level code that twiddles bits
on IO ports with little or no change across various hardware platforms.
As an example of doing this wrong, check out the TI MSP430 programming examples.
Jerry
On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 01:02 pm, Michael Hagen wrote:
It is magic,
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Re: uBITX working, question about power, PTT pop, LOUD headphone output
#ubitx
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Re: In Line Resistive Terminators for Z Measurement? ?BITX Crystal Filter
Thanks again, sir.? These filters are curious beasties.? I'm having too much fun playing with them. DISHAL predicted a 100¦¸ impedance for my second build (100pF caps).? I ran the numbers for an LC match and checked it.? The first image is with the 4:1 balun, the 2nd is with no match (50¦¸ cables in and out) and the third with the LC match.? Still a bit wide at about 3.4KHz but still...  ^ with 4:1 balun (assuming 200¦¸)  ^ same filter with no match - 50¦¸ in and out  ^ same filter with DISHAL-predicted/calculated 100¦¸ LC network in and out. I found a nugget in the RSGB 11th Handbook.? It recommends placing the higher frequency crystals in the center of the filter and those more on-frequency at the ends.? I'll build filter number three tomorrow.? The Sweeperino.? Good heavens, man - I'm sweeping just about everything I can get my hands on.? If I could get something to stick to her tail I'd probably have scanned the cat by now.? LOL Thanks for the radios and tools - too much fun! Andy, KG5RKP
On Sat, Dec 16, 2017 at 08:12 pm, Ashhar Farhan wrote:
andy,?
this a terribly confusing topic. let me attempt it as best as i can from the phone.
a filter can be driven and terminated with any impedance without the rf police turning up at your doorstep.
the question, really, is what do you expect the filter to do. at every termination, it will show a different ripple and passband. here is a quick summary :
higher the value if caps, smaller the bandwidth. lower the impedance, lower the ripple. low ripple also means, worse skirt.
search out w7zoi paper on ladder filters.
- f
?
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Re: BitX40 Builders Fest opportunity (edit to:) Modders who have wares, boards, add ons, cases, what have you, BitX family
Dr. Jack,?
I have 2 (ea) of those boards that ordered from you sitting on my shelf above the bench in plastic bins already kitted out to build. ?I was thinking already to use one of the boards, if not partially kitted out (small parts) as a door prize or maybe as part of the (Image only entrants Best in Show prize) possibly making the Image only entrant prize a B40 board and an Antenna Analyzer Board (as I have a couple of those too). I digress. Not decided yet. Going to roll out the whole Builders Fest entrant rules later today.
Yes Sir. We would love to have you bring your boards and if you have a few boxes of something else, bring that, too. ?As we have a table set up for you already, we are hoping to see some of your projects there also. ?
I will put the Boards on the list of things to see there and buy there.
Come on I know there are more, I have bought some of your adapter boards, agc boards, and inquired about some of your add ons....(I too have a priority queue)....get with us about either displaying your stuff, selling it, or we need door prizes.
So, Dr. Jack, bring your B40 boards for use with a Bitx40. We have a place for them at the Builders Fest on Jan 6 at the Morristown Hamfest.
Craig
KM4YEC
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
1.5A on PTT is not OK. Now see if there is any change when you turn the bias pot clockwise.
if you get 0.14 on rx then set the bias to 0.24 on tx without modulation.
Raj
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At 19/12/2017, you wrote: Ok guys. I couldn't do too much tonight. Blowing the work truck engine has thrown today off for me entirely. But, I did do these things:
I measured the amps the right way...with the switch off. .14 on idle and 1.50 on PTT. I also did it without the speaker attached so I could hear all the relays click...which they did. So, now I'm positive that relays are clicking.
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Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
Can you check those
voltage readings at the tab again. 12.4 volts at idle but
rising (rather? than "dropping" ) to 13.8 volts when you push
PTT? What is your battery voltage again?
Something also
sounds wacky on those case ground readings. Almost as if the
metal lunch box is manufactured with less than fully
conductive joints.
Bill, VK7MX
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Also, I tried these things:
I measured voltage for the IRF510 at the heatsink (the tab is
connected to it). 12.4 volts on idle, but when I press PTT it
seems to drop to 13.8. The final is blown, so don't know if that
accounts for the discrepancy. I'm assuming it does because
there's a short between source and drain now.
Different portions of the case seem to have varying levels of
ground.... or at least I think that's what I'm measuring. If I
measure 12 volts touching one portion of the case, I can touch
somewhere else on the case without moving the positive and get 6
volts.... or less...even close to 0 in some parts.
I better stop poking now or I'm going to be here for the next
couple of hours going "Oh hey....that's kinda cool. Didn't
expect that" and I need to sleep. I'll pick up the rest of the
stuff tomorrow...but hopefully I got one step closer with what I
did find.
|
Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
ok, 140 mA on
receive, 1.5 Amp on transmit. Much better. Relays sounding
good too.
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Ok guys. I couldn't do too much tonight. Blowing the work truck
engine has thrown today off for me entirely. But, I did do these
things:
I measured the amps the right way...with the switch off. .14 on
idle and 1.50 on PTT. I also did it without the speaker attached
so I could hear all the relays click...which they did. So, now I'm
positive that relays are clicking.
I also taped up all those wire ends.
|
Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
Also, I tried these things:
I measured voltage for the IRF510 at the heatsink (the tab is connected to it). 12.4 volts on idle, but when I press PTT it seems to drop to 13.8. The final is blown, so don't know if that accounts for the discrepancy. I'm assuming it does because there's a short between source and drain now.
Different portions of the case seem to have varying levels of ground.... or at least I think that's what I'm measuring. If I measure 12 volts touching one portion of the case, I can touch somewhere else on the case without moving the positive and get 6 volts.... or less...even close to 0 in some parts.
I better stop poking now or I'm going to be here for the next couple of hours going "Oh hey....that's kinda cool. Didn't expect that" and I need to sleep. I'll pick up the rest of the stuff tomorrow...but hopefully I got one step closer with what I did find.
|
Re: Help! I think I may have just ruined my 9 year old's Chanukah
Ok guys. I couldn't do too much tonight. Blowing the work truck engine has thrown today off for me entirely. But, I did do these things:
I measured the amps the right way...with the switch off. .14 on idle and 1.50 on PTT. I also did it without the speaker attached so I could hear all the relays click...which they did. So, now I'm positive that relays are clicking.
I also taped up all those wire ends.
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ubitx hacks are on the way
pete just posted big boots for ubitx. they are on the blog. get it here?
- f
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Raj vu2zap
Bob Benedict, KD8CGH
Jean-Matthieu F5RCT
Craig Thibodeaux