Re: Laser cut ubitx case SVG
Nice design. Perhaps we can manage spot welding 4 nuts behind the lcd and thus prevent the 4 mounting holes. Kindly think of such possibility.
?best of NEW Year 2018
On Sun, Dec 31, 2017 at 4:10 AM, MAc B <sp9mrn@...> wrote: Nice. I will have it ;-)
Thank You
MAc
|
Re: How to find the missing "Low pass filter at 30 MHz" article by W7ZOI
#ubitx
Jerry and? Andy
the filter implemented by Andy looks performing nice.? Can als o try similar with the design of Eamon Skelton EI9GQ please. ?HE GAVE A GOOD GRAPH OF HIS? ROOFING FILTER.. One of my acquaintances vu3iia tried it with good results. HEREIS THE LINK
?Regards
?sarma
vu3zmv
On Sun, Dec 31, 2017 at 8:13 AM, AndyH <ahecker@...> wrote: I don't know what specific parts W7ZOI used.? There's very little power flowing through this filter, though, so it should be easy duty for the components.
I used these:
And the filter seems to work pretty well.
(ignore the trace prior to about 3.5KHz - that's below the range the Sweeperino can signal)
73
Andy, KG5RKP
On Thu, Dec 28, 2017 at 09:51 am, ohwenzelph wrote:
any one know the characteristics of the surface mount he ended up using? and could you transmit at uBitx powers thru that filter?
are there toroids that could be used instead, perhaps with shielding between sections? the standard values for 9 and 10 turns on the ones he used are not that close to what he was looking for.
jerry aa1of
|
Re: Very low power output (BitX40), everything appears to be working but setup driving me crazy!
Gene,
What frequency did you test on, and did you try other
frequencies?
It turns out my Bitx40 shows different output levels depending on
the frequency across the 40m band, maybe your board has the same
issue.
I emailed out graphs of my board's output under the heading
"Power output decreases as a function of frequency? #bitx40" with
one today.
John
On 12/30/2017 9:21 PM, Gene Nitschke
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Jerry,
Sorry for the delay
(holidays you know).??
I
do have a number of the 100N50 resistors and find that they
work great.
Yes, I saw the notes
from Jack but I am unclear about the?operation.? Software
apparently is in his book and likely available in QST sometime
in 2018.??
Can I just use the
circuit w/o the nano,?I assume the resistor divider is for
sampling by the nano???If?I
connect the rig across the 50 ohm load and measure the
voltage across the capacitor, what is the relationship of
voltage to power (is it simply V^2/R)?
How reasonable do you want to be on the cost thing for
your wattmeter?
Could build a dummy load with wattmeter along the lines of
the one Jack described, reads peak power:
? ?? /g/BITX20/message/36955
In post 37017 Mike describes using these $0.10 resistors:?
???So you need a 50 ohm load resistor of some sort plus a
diode (a 1n4148 or 1n914 would do) plus 2 resistors and a
cap.?
Use your DVM to measure the voltage from the cap.? Total
cost is around $1 from Mouser, plus $10 shipping.
Some really nice 50 ohm RF loads on ebay, need an awful big
heatsink if giving it 250W
I've got some of these on order, should show up in a month
or so.
? ??
|
|
1Pc x Load Resistance RFP 250-50 250W 50 Ohm
250N50 TC RF Resistors. High-frequency
high-frequency dummy load 250w 50 Ohm. 3, Silver
microstrip pin as much as possible with the
input signal parallel. | eBay!
|
Alternately, no dummy load but include an inline SWR meter
for daily use with the rig:
? ?
/g/BITX20/message/36987
|
groups.io
No, it's not meant to be left in line, as it
sucks up all the power and is not a "sampling"
wattmeter. Peter Parker had a really simple
sampling as a tuning indicator ...
|
Cheapest solution:
Stick with the CB wattmeter, but ask local hams to check it
against some better instruments.
It's probably just fine for what you are doing.
?Jerry, KE7ER
On Tue, Dec 26, 2017 at 07:53 pm, Gene Nitschke wrote:
Is there a good (reasonable cost) watt meter
that would be better to use in these situations?
|
Re: Very low power output (BitX40), everything appears to be working but setup driving me crazy!
Yes, you can use it without the Nano.
Assume the transmitter is driving the 50 ohm dummy load with a 20 volt peak to peak sine wave.
Since the other end of the 50 ohm dummy load is grounded, the 20 volts peak to peak is centered on ground,
so -10 volts and +10 volts at the peaks of the sine wave.
The meter will measure around 10 volts.
When computing power for a sine wave like this, we use the rms voltage, in this case it is 10 volts * 0.707 = 7.07 volts rms.
Now we can use your formula:? ? power = V^2/R = 7.07vrms^2/50ohms = 50/50 = 1 Watt.
In general, measure the dc voltage across the cap, multiply by 0.707, then use that as the voltage in your V^2/R formula.
You will get slightly more exact results if you add 0.6 volts to the meter reading to account for the drop across the diode.
So in the example above where the meter read 10vdc across the cap,? we would use (10v+0.6v)*0.707 = 7.49vrms
You do want something like Jacks 58k ohms of resistance across the cap, value is not critical.
Higher resistance makes the peak voltage stick around longer for you to read with a meter.
Diode is not critical, a 1n4148 or 1n914 should be fine at moderate power levels.
Maximum reverse voltage for these is 100 volts, so should be good up to a peak-to-peak max of 100 volts,
so a peak to ground of 50 volts (as seen on the meter), or 50*0.707=35.35vrms, or 25 Watts.?
Jerry, KE7ER
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 06:22 pm, Gene Nitschke wrote:
Can I just use the circuit w/o the nano,?I assume the resistor divider is for sampling by the nano???If?I connect the rig across the 50 ohm load and measure the voltage across the capacitor, what is the relationship of voltage to power (is it simply V^2/R)?
|
FYI,
The Ubitx does fit into the Excellway case but it is a bit tight. I managed to get a hole cut into the front panel that just fits the display and leaving room to the left for the vertical screw to fit. I slotted the holes for the standoff mounting screws to allow adjusting the PCB position slightly and the PCB fits with the display sticking out through the front panel opening and the heat sinks snug against the rear panel. I think this is going to make a nice little Radio.
Bill
W6SDI?
|
Re: How to find the missing "Low pass filter at 30 MHz" article by W7ZOI
#ubitx
I don't know what specific parts W7ZOI used.? There's very little power flowing through this filter, though, so it should be easy duty for the components. I used these: And the filter seems to work pretty well.   (ignore the trace prior to about 3.5KHz - that's below the range the Sweeperino can signal) 73 Andy, KG5RKP
On Thu, Dec 28, 2017 at 09:51 am, ohwenzelph wrote:
any one know the characteristics of the surface mount he ended up using? and could you transmit at uBitx powers thru that filter?
are there toroids that could be used instead, perhaps with shielding between sections? the standard values for 9 and 10 turns on the ones he used are not that close to what he was looking for.
jerry aa1of
|
Re: ALE, WINLINK and uBitX
oK, first success on ALE with a uBitx --- KM4ALP is one of their monitoring stations, and bingo, when I transmit (10 W out roughly) on 80 meters,, he picks it up! I show up on their map with a link to this fellow. You can watch it in near real time on their web page at hflink.net, and see connections occurring. At uBitx power levels, I have not gotten anyone else to be able to see me. My perception so far is that their monitoring stations are typically monitoring the digital frequencies (low end of the bands). I was quite happy earlier to see the uBitx easily connect on WINLINK. I got it to receive JT9 earlier today and will likely be able to get that transmit part working now that I know to put the ferrites on the usb cable! Very cool rig. Next move will be to go up to 19 or 24 vdc on the PA. Gordon ________________________________________ From: [email protected] < [email protected]> on behalf of Gordon Gibby <ggibby@...> Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2017 5:13 AM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [BITX20] ALE, WINLINK and uBitX You're completely correct and good point. Learned that the hard way a few times. Sent from my iPhone On Dec 29, 2017, at 23:21, Raj vu2zap <rajendrakumargg@...> wrote:
I always remind hams that plastic coated wire will not have free air velocity factor. So the resonant
length will be shorter than the theoretical length.
My 40M dipole made intentionally with UV resistant plastic coated wire is just 28 ft long on each side.
Raj
At 29-12-2017, you wrote:
Arvo -- very cool!
I've actuall made antennas AND transmission line out of zip cord wire. Measurements suggested the Zo of the line is around 70 ohms and the losses are fairly comparable to RG58 (not great, but workable).
In a ham radio licensing class we did recently I used an antenna anlyzer and two people pulling on each end of zip cord---and magically within a minute they had created a 2 meter dipole. (use string to tie to the ends to avoid capacitive effects from the user's hands)
Antennas are SO much fun to play with!
gordon
|
Re: Very low power output (BitX40), everything appears to be working but setup driving me crazy!
Hi Jerry,
Sorry for the delay (holidays you know).??
I do have a number of the
100N50 resistors and find that they work great.
Yes, I saw the notes from Jack but I am unclear about the?operation.? Software apparently is in his book and likely available in QST sometime in 2018.??
Can I just use the circuit w/o the nano,?I assume the resistor divider is for sampling by the nano???If?I connect the rig across the 50 ohm load and measure the voltage across the capacitor,
what is the relationship of voltage to power (is it simply V^2/R)?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io <jgaffke@...>
Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2017 11:39 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Very low power output (BitX40), everything appears to be working but setup driving me crazy!
?
How reasonable do you want to be on the cost thing for your wattmeter?
Could build a dummy load with wattmeter along the lines of the one Jack described, reads peak power:
? ?? /g/BITX20/message/36955
In post 37017 Mike describes using these $0.10 resistors:? ???So you need a 50 ohm load resistor of some sort plus a diode (a 1n4148 or 1n914 would do) plus 2 resistors and a cap.?
Use your DVM to measure the voltage from the cap.? Total cost is around $1 from Mouser, plus $10 shipping.
Some really nice 50 ohm RF loads on ebay, need an awful big heatsink if giving it 250W
I've got some of these on order, should show up in a month or so.
? ??
|
|
www.ebay.com
1Pc x Load Resistance RFP 250-50 250W 50 Ohm 250N50 TC RF Resistors. High-frequency high-frequency dummy load 250w 50 Ohm. 3, Silver microstrip pin as much as possible with the input signal parallel. | eBay!
|
Alternately, no dummy load but include an inline SWR meter for daily use with the rig:
? ?
/g/BITX20/message/36987
|
groups.io
No, it's not meant to be left in line, as it sucks up all the power and is not a "sampling" wattmeter. Peter Parker had a really simple sampling as a tuning indicator ...
|
Cheapest solution:
Stick with the CB wattmeter, but ask local hams to check it against some better instruments.
It's probably just fine for what you are doing.
?Jerry, KE7ER
On Tue, Dec 26, 2017 at 07:53 pm, Gene Nitschke wrote:
Is there a good (reasonable cost) watt meter that would be better to use in these situations?
|
Re: what else should I order from there?
#parts
All Electronics has
RG-174, about $0.30 A foot.? I always throw in 10' and shink
sleeve when I order there!
Shipping always seem
to be $5 - 8 (on big box).? Free if $75.
They also have BNC to
whatever and interesting connector adaptors.
Mike, WA6ISP
On 12/30/2017 3:21 PM, James Lynes
wrote:
Adafruit has RG-174 in 3m lengths. I'll be ordering some
soon.
Also, browse through their assorted cables.
James
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
|
Re: Reminder - Maker¡¯s Net on Echolink
A new net devoted to Makers (DIYers, homebuilders) has started up on Echolink conference node 9229 (*TECHLINK*).? All those interested in building their own ¡°stuff¡± are invited.? The net is on Sunday and starts at 20:00 UTC (4:00 P.M. EDT, 1:00 P.M. PDT).? The net was established by Michael Beaveridge, VE7KI.? See website at .? All aspects of building and programming related to ham radio are open for discussion.? Please drop in.
Mike
K5ESS
|
Well 160 will easily be covered but 630M is a much larger task.? The efficiency of a wire that is less than 0.2 wave lengths (close to 400 feet!) on that frequency with a tuner is extremely low (most of the power is radiated by the tuner and feedline).? The best thing to do is put up the longest wire you can (500 feet min) then the tuner might have a chance. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: Like us on Facebook! ? ? email:? bill@... ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lawrence Galea
Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2017 9:35 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Tuner? Well Sure! ? You can count me in. A 160M addition would encourage more operators to try this band which is also my favourite. While at it, would it be possible to include 630M?? Although I am not sure that the ¦Ìbitx could be persuaded to tx down there with an additional LPF/BPF it would make more operators try the band. Couple of quotes from emails. "I actually changed the lowest frequency to 100000L. I want to see if 2200M will work, also. My antenna will never tune to these frequencies, but I want to see if I can hear anything....?KG5PRT" "Group,?With a filter front end and a small preamp I was able to hear a NDB beacon at 209.00KHz with my Ubitx. the readout read something like 2.09.059...this was a stock UBitx...Hope this helps! Mike WA3O "
|
Got around to assembling my uBitx today. The case was laser cut on my Glowforge out of 1/8" MDF.
I based the design on what Martin Held, AE7EU did. The case with my radio has larger holes for the
thick panel jacks (they are just BARELY long enough) and the 1/4" shaft volume control.
The other case is based Martin's original design.
I will upload the files (.svg format) a little later. I want to try doing an engrave around the jacks that SHOULD create a recess
for the retaining net.
Put the radio on the air and my first contact was from my QTH in California to Colorado (5 and 6, both ways)!
|
Definitely interested.? Count me in as well.
73,
Carl? K0MWC
|
Re: Connection test between uBITX and digital communication program via cat communication
#ubitx
I did a final test yesterday for compatibility with other software and devices.
uBITX communication to Raspberry pi with small LCD
I will release Beta firmware for uBITX next week. Of course, I will upload firmware and how to restore it to the original firmware again. Do not worry. If you do not like my firmware, you can always restore it to the original firmware.
Thanks
Ahh. New sw thats the resolution to my problem!!! Did manage te do something via cat with the original sw but got strange errors on uBitx. Cant wait
-- Best 73 KD8CEC / Ph.D ian lee kd8cec@...
(my blog)
|
Re: OOPS!! Re-factory alignment....
Yup....either that or I did something stupid. (quite likely)?
Either way, in a series of small steps? (I loaded the ubitx code into Puma's Raduino as one step) I finally gained the courage to program the Raduino in the uBitx for the first time.
I found that its 25 MHz oscillator was 3.83 kHz high --- in line with the measurements of the multiple bitx40 Raduino's also measured.? ?Inserted the corrected frequency into the sketch for the uBitx, loaded THAT and then did the factory alignment (leaving
the 10 MHz at "0") and setting the USB carrier to the previously determined value that ends in 96.7
Quite happy to report that I was immediately able to contact a WINLINK station up in Georgia (300+ miles north) on 80 meters with a HUGE signal from him, and he found my frequency only 12 hz off his transceiver.? ?
So it worked!!
Now I can put in the corrections Jerry or someone else found for the keyer and begin fiddling with this code.??
I have TWO 100-watt computer controlled automatic transmitters (WINLINK)? unpredictably?going all the time in this house so I'm?trying hard to avoid clobbering the uBitx -- turn them off for testing as don't trust even my diode repair---all the antennas
basically make a "triangle" around my house so there is fabulous? coupling between one station and another.? ?
Now that I've solved the signal purity problem with some ferrites on the usb cable, I may give ALE another try when I get back from supper.??
Cheers!??
Gordon
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Ground loops are a major pain in the *^{%. Connecting to computers only adds more parallel paths to make loops. I¡¯m running into problems measuring current draw from my DC supply because Power is finding alternate paths back to my supply than through the
negative Power lead; apparently my meter measures on the negative lead, not the positive lead. This is most pronounced in my car.?
-Mark
On Dec 30, 2017, at 12:01 PM, Gordon Gibby < ggibby@...> wrote:
This is not extraordinarily accurate information here.? ?
By some unknown manner, while fiddling with the uBitx today and trying various digital modes.....I accidentally entered "factory alignment" and since I hadn't even read anything about it, I suspect I fouled it up royally.? ?Transmitted signals were no longer
"right on frequency".? ?
Approximate settings that might help someone with even less test equipment than *I* have were the following:
1st setting:? 10.000 MHz adjustment was on target at? "15"
2nd setting:? my best guess at when the 7.150 MHz LSB signal (generated by a vacuum tube radio driven by another raduino) was when the last digits were 96.7
At that point I was able to hit other WINLINK servers on 40 meters with less than 10 Hz apparent error.? ?(you only have to be within 200 Hz).? ?
However, it took 3 tries to get to there, as the first go-round was more like 50 Hz off on 40 and twice that on 20m.
I was a bit "agitated" and in a hurry so I haven't studied Ashhar's routines and don't fully understand the purpose of each of his tests.? ?(A "manual" for factory alignment would be wonderful....)? ? Others may do a far better job explaining all this.?
?I haven't yet gotten the bravery to upload a sketch to this wonderful machine yet, as I have for the bitx40.? ?A brief listen to the 25 MHz oscillator (without driving the output freq to that, which would have made the signal a LOT stronger) --- it does seem
to be about 4kHz high as we noted on bitx40 raduinos.? ?
Hope this helps any other hapless people.....
AND IF YOU ARE GOING TO DRIVE THE USB PORT OF THE RADUINO, PUT FERRITES ON THE INTERCONNECTING CABLE TO YOUR COMPUTER!!!!? ? That made a HUGE improvement in the quality of the signal my little uBitx was creating.
Cheers,
gordon
??
|
Re: ubitx example of enclosure
Hi:
Be certain that you are buying a knob and not only the inlay. Ask the seller.
73
WP4ZI
On Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 15:23, Thomas Sharka via Groups.Io <sharkatw@...> wrote: Thanks Shawn, the project still needs a few touches here and there and I think I'm going to cut up some double-sided PC board for the front and back. I found an eBay seller that has a Collins style knob for the tuner.
The extended edges are a feature of the project box that I got from Aliexpress and the uBITX just shoehorns into it.
It's a work in progress, but I think it'll pull together nicely.
73
?
On Saturday, December 30, 2017 1:03 PM, Shawn Reed via Groups.Io <sreedq1014@...> wrote:
Hi Thomas.
I really like your use of material for the inside corners, on the front. And the extended front edges -? look good! Thank you for sharing that photo.
73, Shawnr. kf7yff.
--------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: [BITX20] ubitx example of enclosure
Date: Saturday, December 30, 2017, 9:41 AM
?I
know that feeling. It usually takes me one or two tries to
get things where I want them...
Sent
from Yahoo Mail. Get the
app
? ? On Saturday, December
30, 2017 12:13 PM, Shawn Reed via Groups.Io
?
? Hello Ken. I checked out your web
page. Saw the case makings of yours? for the Tut Hill on
one of your project pages. Nice. I have two of these radios
collected. One with the factory case - 80M. The other I aim
to build it's case custom. Even as far as the symbols,
too generic. Looking at your fabricated ubitx enclosure,
could you tell me how to avoid such a gap - snag - in your
upper right corner of the lid? I, myself would have trouble
living with that. Case building is but one aspect of amature
radio, and not always the objective, pursuant of. Neither,
is it necessarily,? a "case" of agony to display.
Sometime, though, all I am interested in is the enclosure,
and the accommodations needed to consider, in?design,?for
the circuitry inside.
?This paragraph of yours was in the
page presentation.....??
"Making your projects look presentable, is not
an absolute necessity. Some even prefer the rustic look of
their projects and see it as a ¡°red badge of courage¡±,
showing the agony of their efforts. After all, scotch tape
and a penciled label can? identify just about anything, or
merely writing on the chassis. Having said that, there is a
very small group of hams that like to see their projects
look like they were done on purpose. I will try to address
that group".
?
Thank you for the tips. I cut with a most
ancient tool, but sharpest edge available. Be that obsidian.
Great joy in crafting something with one's own
imagination, every now and then - a must.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
73, Shawnr. kf7yff
?
?
|
Re: ubitx example of enclosure
I purchased an assortment of Christmas tin gift boxes in a variety of sizes at Dollar Tree, Walgreen's, and Hobby Lobby. Most for $1 and all for under $3. Check out your local after Christmas sales. My uBitx and Bitx40 will be festive all year long.
James
|
Re: what else should I order from there?
#parts
Adafruit has RG-174 in 3m lengths. I'll be ordering some soon.
Also, browse through their assorted cables.
James
|
Re: Laser cut ubitx case SVG
Nice. I will have it ;-)
Thank You
MAc
|
Re: OOPS!! Re-factory alignment....
Ground loops are a major pain in the *^{%. Connecting to computers only adds more parallel paths to make loops. I¡¯m running into problems measuring current draw from my DC supply because Power is finding alternate paths back to my supply than through the negative Power lead; apparently my meter measures on the negative lead, not the positive lead. This is most pronounced in my car.?
-Mark
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Dec 30, 2017, at 12:01 PM, Gordon Gibby < ggibby@...> wrote:
This is not extraordinarily accurate information here.? ?
By some unknown manner, while fiddling with the uBitx today and trying various digital modes.....I accidentally entered "factory alignment" and since I hadn't even read anything about it, I suspect I fouled it up royally.? ?Transmitted signals were no longer
"right on frequency".? ?
Approximate settings that might help someone with even less test equipment than *I* have were the following:
1st setting:? 10.000 MHz adjustment was on target at? "15"
2nd setting:? my best guess at when the 7.150 MHz LSB signal (generated by a vacuum tube radio driven by another raduino) was when the last digits were 96.7
At that point I was able to hit other WINLINK servers on 40 meters with less than 10 Hz apparent error.? ?(you only have to be within 200 Hz).? ?
However, it took 3 tries to get to there, as the first go-round was more like 50 Hz off on 40 and twice that on 20m.
I was a bit "agitated" and in a hurry so I haven't studied Ashhar's routines and don't fully understand the purpose of each of his tests.? ?(A "manual" for factory alignment would be wonderful....)? ? Others may do a far better job explaining all this.?
?I haven't yet gotten the bravery to upload a sketch to this wonderful machine yet, as I have for the bitx40.? ?A brief listen to the 25 MHz oscillator (without driving the output freq to that, which would have made the signal a LOT stronger) --- it does seem
to be about 4kHz high as we noted on bitx40 raduinos.? ?
Hope this helps any other hapless people.....
AND IF YOU ARE GOING TO DRIVE THE USB PORT OF THE RADUINO, PUT FERRITES ON THE INTERCONNECTING CABLE TO YOUR COMPUTER!!!!? ? That made a HUGE improvement in the quality of the signal my little uBitx was creating.
Cheers,
gordon
??
|
K9HZ
Smitty, N6MTS