Re: Antenna Impedance Confirmation

#49555

OK, so we won't use the 3 digit display for any indication because of the hassle of shielding it and we don't want extra noise generated if we can help it. We did shield one and the noise drop was substantial.

How about another inexpensive approach for QRP (needs to be tested) using a 10 LED display which reads out in 3dB power steps with a 30dB range, ANY 30dB range......20W (43dBm) to 20mW (13dBm). That way the LEDs mean: 10 is 20W, 9 is 10W, 8 is 5W, 7 is 2.5W, 6 is 1.25W..... 1 is 20mW, you get the idea. Yes, the granularity is not great ....but usable. One AD8307 which is switched between Forward and Reverse or two AD8307s, one for Forward and one for reverse.?

Connect the above to the coax via a Stockton or other bridge coupler with appropriate attenuator.

73 Kees K5BCQ

Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.

Gordon Gibby

#49554

开云体育

" For the lower bands?
160-40 unless huge they are chronically inefficient.? They work as well as a loaded?
8ft mobile whip but are self contained not requiring radials.?"

Allison, thank you for putting that into print.? ?I have the hardest time explaining to people why these antennas are so "quiet" --- and it isn't because they are so efficient!!!

cheers,

gordon

Show quoted text

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of ajparent1/KB1GMX <kb1gmx@...>
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2018 5:59 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] A friendly suggestion for Farhan.

?

Jerry,

The more you stock and hold for sale the more costs. Holding material aka stock is sunk
money and the cost?is sufficient to mount up fast.? Better to build one or a few things and
do it efficiently.

I have the Slopbucket 20 and its both interesting and a very good compact 20M SSB/CW.
ITs not a bitx artecture its moe Epiphyte in origins or like the 6M design I published in
QQ 12 years ago.? My SB20 does about 7Wat 13.8 and more off a 4S2P lipo pack
(nominal 14.8), not bad for one IRF510.? SMT to 0603?doesn't make me flinch the
smaller 0402 is a pain.

FYI the antennas here include:
? 75M dipole at 12ft for NVIS?
? 160M inverted V? (hint the property is 150x150ft so space is an issue)
? LNR EF-quad (40/20/15/10) up 30ft
? PAR EF40/20/10? 90 degrees to that and about 33ft up.
? Inverted L bottom fed with remote match box (relays and such)
? Grasswire? 130ft OCF at about 6 inches, read K3MTs Grasswire Story.
? ? ? ?Its a broad band low angle antenna, I use it for low band DX.
? Tower 1 30ft with VHF/UHF tree (see QRZ).
? Tower 2 35ft is the center of the 160M dipole (low inverted V)

The list of antennas tried and later replaced is way longer.

My last task for the antenna engineering firm was loop antennas for transmitting.? They
are compact and?narrow band so constant tuning is required.? For the lower bands
160-40 unless huge they are chronically inefficient.? They work as well as a loaded
8ft mobile whip but are self contained not requiring radials.? Its a small compromise
antenna that has utility.? The hidden utility is they are directional and that can
really help null out noise sources.? Ferrite loaded loops are very good for
receiving if you don't mind tuning them Amidon sells 1" by 1foot rods for that stuff.

Name an antenna I've likely tried it or have one built for prior use or field day.
I agree ideal is a 120ft tower.... ain't going to happen here.? But I firmly believe
if you don't put something up/out/on the ground your not trying.? Why because
everything works better than nothing.

Allison

Raduino Questions for Bitx40

Thomas Erwin

#49553

Greeting,
If I may I have a few questions about my Bitx40.? My display will only on power up will show "Raduino v1.01 and will stop there.? I have checked the purple wire going to the center wiper and I can vary it from 0-5volts.? I can also hear the 12 mhz on my other radio. However it will not go on to display the frequency on the display.? So I'm wondering does the "Raduino v1.01" really tell me that the software is working correctly in the nano board? I don't really have much experience with this stuff, just downloaded the IDE? and got a few books on the arduino, I'm on? the path to learning about them.? My bitx40 does not have? L4 and C93 on it,? So does the uno and board that attached to it provide all the signals that the bitx40 needs?? I watched Ashhar Farhan's video on troubleshooting and I did not have a signal at Collector at Q7 the 5 mhz on the main board.? Is this normal if the L4 and C93 are not mounted on the main board?? I feel that I need to get the display working before I go on with this.

Thanks for all input
Tom WD9GON

Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.

#49552

Jerry,

The more you stock and hold for sale the more costs. Holding material aka stock is sunk
money and the cost?is sufficient to mount up fast.? Better to build one or a few things and
do it efficiently.

I have the Slopbucket 20 and its both interesting and a very good compact 20M SSB/CW.
ITs not a bitx artecture its moe Epiphyte in origins or like the 6M design I published in
QQ 12 years ago.? My SB20 does about 7Wat 13.8 and more off a 4S2P lipo pack
(nominal 14.8), not bad for one IRF510.? SMT to 0603?doesn't make me flinch the
smaller 0402 is a pain.

FYI the antennas here include:
? 75M dipole at 12ft for NVIS?
? 160M inverted V? (hint the property is 150x150ft so space is an issue)
? LNR EF-quad (40/20/15/10) up 30ft
? PAR EF40/20/10? 90 degrees to that and about 33ft up.
? Inverted L bottom fed with remote match box (relays and such)
? Grasswire? 130ft OCF at about 6 inches, read K3MTs Grasswire Story.
? ? ? ?Its a broad band low angle antenna, I use it for low band DX.
? Tower 1 30ft with VHF/UHF tree (see QRZ).
? Tower 2 35ft is the center of the 160M dipole (low inverted V)

The list of antennas tried and later replaced is way longer.

My last task for the antenna engineering firm was loop antennas for transmitting.? They
are compact and?narrow band so constant tuning is required.? For the lower bands
160-40 unless huge they are chronically inefficient.? They work as well as a loaded
8ft mobile whip but are self contained not requiring radials.? Its a small compromise
antenna that has utility.? The hidden utility is they are directional and that can
really help null out noise sources.? Ferrite loaded loops are very good for
receiving if you don't mind tuning them Amidon sells 1" by 1foot rods for that stuff.

Name an antenna I've likely tried it or have one built for prior use or field day.
I agree ideal is a 120ft tower.... ain't going to happen here.? But I firmly believe
if you don't put something up/out/on the ground your not trying.? Why because
everything works better than nothing.

Allison

My first uBITx arrived!

LiviuS

#49551

Hello all, I'm a new member of this group.

My uBITx was ordered early feb., sent early march and arrived early may in YO. Due to the "care" taken by the Romanian post, no information about the arrival was sent to me. Thanks to India Post for backtracking the delivery!!
With a 15-days delay I retired my item, in perfect condition though.

So... the real delivery time to YO is about 90 days.

First contact: roughly packed, kit complete as listed on hfsignals website, the audio amp in an? 8-pin DIL socket (thanks Fahrhan, the through-hole solders are useful for hacking, specially for te digimodes lovers!).

Microscopic exam of PCB: visually perfect, neat solders, clean board.

Mechanical design for casing started last week, with the goal in mind to obtain a portable/mobile HF fieldday/emergency station setup, in a small suitcase (I'm seeking the local shops for a rough plastic one).

This weekend the startup tests are programmed. Next week the CEC 1.61 software will be adapted and tested for a 4x20 display and without wspr.

---

Liviu, radio YO5QCD

Re: share your BITX success stories

#49550

I guess I would be able to obtain the 1000mi/W award as I had contact with Fiji from the Texas/Mexico border at the Gulf Coast.
But as I am fairly new (6 months) still have to learn about those things.
Contact was made on 10m with FT8 in March. Before that I only had seen reception reports drom Japan and Europe.?
So pretty pleased with my uBitx with an end-fed in the attic.

John
KG5WJQ

Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.

#49549

Hfsignals is set up to autostuff the surface mount parts with hundreds of boards at a shot.
Then it's handwork to wind the coils and add the through-hole parts, align and test.
To do an accurate job of throwing all those 1206's and SOT23's into a bag could
cost more than the autostuff.??

Might be interesting for them to offer just the autostuffed board with surface mount parts
as a reduced price option, we dig up our own through-hole parts?
Perhaps include all the matched quartz?
Just bare boards?

But all those different products in the price list would make life more complicated there
increasing overhead.? ?I doubt there would be much volume for any of the above options.

All conjecture on my part.
Easy enough for us to remove parts.

There are other *Bitx* variants (and the KD1JV Slopbucket) offered as kits, some are multiband.?

Jerry,? KE7ER
?

Show quoted text

On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 09:56 am, K9HZ wrote:

You know, I’d love to see the uBITx as a kit.? In fact, I’d take it as just a bag of parts and a circuit board… skip the assembly and testing.? I’d do that myself.? What that would do is allow those of us that want to take the challenge… to swap out some parts during the build to customize the thing a little more without doing surgery on a completed board.

?

Something to think about.

?

?

?

Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.

#49548

Something to do on cold winter nights, eh?

tim ab0wr

On Wed, 16 May 2018 21:55:25 -0500
"K9HZ" <bill@...> wrote:

You know, I’d love to see the uBITx as a kit.? In fact, I’d take it
as just a bag of parts and a circuit board… skip the assembly and
testing.? I’d do that myself.? What that would do is allow those of
us that want to take the challenge… to swap out some parts during the
build to customize the thing a little more without doing surgery on a
completed board.

?

Something to think about.

?

*?*

*Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ*?

*From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of* Ken
Hansen *Sent:* Wednesday, May 16, 2018 9:36 PM
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* Re: [BITX20] A friendly suggestion for Farhan.

?

To be honest, the ubitx represents approx. $80-100 in parts, with
labor and shipping determining the final cost. A profit-motivated
manufacturer couldn't sell $80-100 worth of parts for $200 - it would
more likely sell for $300 or so, once retailers mark-up, profit,
support, etc are factored in.

Ken, N2VIP

On May 16, 2018, at 12:08 AM, Mvs Sarma < mvssarma@... > wrote:




Perhaps with graphic display and a brand sticker if sold at say at
$200/-




?people would still love it.


  ?

( 
) Virus-free. www.avg.com
( 
)

Re: share your BITX success stories

#49547

My call is fire up on 40 and call CQ!? Someone is likely to answer.? ? If you don't?
you never know if the propagation has happend.? I find a lot of South Americans
on 10M during the day, but people keep telling me 10 is dead.

75ohm coax to a dipole is not a bad thing but you may need a simple tuner to match
it to the radio.?

Allison

Re: A friendly suggestion for Farhan.

david todd

#49546

Have u thought about a magnetic loop?
Or an end fed dipole,? I use one but I'm only up about 10 ft. And with my lot I zip zag the wire. Also use a homemade vertical with tapped loading coil on bottom. The vertical is actually an extendo paint stick that extends up to 16 ft. Bought at home depot for 25 dollars. Had some scrap 12 gauge Romex wire and took the ground wire andvwrapped it around my wife's nesttea jar. About 20 times. I decided to space it about 1/4 inch from each winding. Put it in a wood box, mounted it on the vertical mounting pole. Used alligator clips to change inductance. I made a chart inside box to show which tap works best for which band. I use an mfj versa tuner fed with rg8 I was using rg6u until my son mowed over the cable rg6 u gives 75 ohms and is cheap. And for less than 100 watts it works for me. I also have 20 radials but some of them had to be zigzagged. I also have a modified cb whip on tripod with loading coil that I use from inside the house. 

Hope this helps. All my antennas together less than 50 dollars. I picked up the tripod and cb stick for 5 dollars each at S yard sale. I just added a coil and some fitting I already had on hand. 

Anyway hope this helps. 

73s
David
Ka9koj

Sent from Yahoo Mail. Get the app

--------------------------------------------

Show quoted text

On Wed, 5/16/18, John Smith via Groups.Io <johnlinux77@...> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [BITX20] A friendly suggestion for Farhan.
 To: [email protected]
 Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 9:58 PM

 On Wed, May 16, 2018 at
 08:30 am, ajparent1/KB1GMX wrote:

 My suggestion, likely the less expensive
 route:
 Build a better antenna.? Less
 expensive and you will hear stations better.? Use a full
 size 
 dipole at least a half wave length
 high (or higher) for example 20M for the 40M band.? ?A 
 wire beam for 20M?can be a considerable
 equalizer.? A bit of wood, wire and rope.? I happen 
 to like the VE7CA tribander (20/15/10M).? ?A
 wire beam for 40m is not out of the question, 
 the group I hang with does both of those for
 field day.

 I totally agree with the ideal antenna
 installation. But at this time where I live, 19 foot apex of
 an Inverted vee with the ends suspended at 8 feet is the
 best I can do. And with the BITX 40, I have made SSB
 contacts at the four corners of the United States from
 Oklahoma City when everything else happens to be in my favor
 at that time. I still have to polish my digital interface
 and try some simple digital modes. I found that too much
 audio volume into the radio overloads the mic circuit and
 produces weird chirp like issues. a volume knob on the
 interface would help better adjust the volume for optimum
 output without distortion. I have been distracted with other
 projects and haven't played with the BITX 40 in several
 months, but I still read what's happening in a few
 places. A good AMP project has always been of interest, but
 inexpensive kits also require the use of filters, and that
 requires some equipment more expensive than a BITX of some
 kind, a amp, and filtering combined. The fun factor
 doesn't twist my arm that much to do it anyway. I feel
 stuck between discovery, and buying commercial sometime.

Re: Using IRF530 outputs and 2N3553 drivers in ubitx

#49545

You can across the bands but you need a deign impedance of a about 3-5 ohms and enough loading?
to keep it down there which means a heavier driver and a different driver output transformer
(something the 4:1 turns area).? From a system design standpoint its very doable as I make?
6M amps using MRF150? (400pf input C) and there are more than a few commercial amps
using them in push pull parallel for 2-30mhz.

Its just not an easy drop in.? But over 5W at 30mhz also says its far from horrific as is.
I'd suspect a 2:1 transformer using BN43-6802 with a tube and strap for the low
impedance side might be the winner. The driving transformer needs to have a lower?
leakage inductance and impedance on the MOSFET side.

All in all, if the higher bands are of less interest, then call success and move on
as the results at he low end are pretty decent.

Allison

Re: uBitx diagnostic document from Facebook group #ubitx

#49544

I believe there are some images missing from the document?

Re: Using IRF530 outputs and 2N3553 drivers in ubitx

#49543

Wow 940pf. ?You can design for it to work at 30 MHz but thats not gonna work at 3.5 or 7.0 MHz without switching parts in and out. ?

?

Dr.?William J. Schmidt - K9HZ

Show quoted text

On May 16, 2018, at 7:48 PM, ajparent1/KB1GMX <kb1gmx@...> wrote:

That is consistent with my testing.

The 2n3904s are marginal for power and FT. So it shows a higher FT device that can run at
more power helps, 2N3553 will do both.? Other choices would be 2n3866 and 2n5109
and along list of others.

The IRF530 is an odd choice as below 10 mhz its been used by many but over 10 its input
capacitance (940PF vs 135 for the IRF510) makes it a more difficult part to feed.

Did you change the predriver as well?

How is the power out at 28mhz?

Allison

Re: Why I bought a uBITX

#49542

I haven't seen a lot of flames here regarding imprecise measurements.
If you have the Harbor Freight digital voltmeter (often free with any purchase), you are about as well armed
as most folks here in the forum.? If you have trouble troubleshooting, somebody may urge you to build a diode RF probe,
that's about it.

Some do have good lab gear and and decades of experience, can measure filter passbands or
intermodulation distortion or harmonic content, and they then report back telling us what they saw.?
But that sort of thing is definitely not required.
If anybody suggests you should spend more on test gear than you did on the radio,
that's your opportunity to go ahead and flame them good.

Jerry, KE7ER

Show quoted text

On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 10:07 am, kq2q2000 wrote:

I’ve been Flamed in the past for not being Precise and well Documented. Opinionated Flamers are ready and armed?24/7.?
It is easier to remain Silent, Learn and Elmer the appreciative Experimenters Locally.?

Re: Using IRF530 outputs and 2N3553 drivers in ubitx

#49541

Allison,

I tested at 10 meters and output was a dismal 5.47w.? I also changed the pre-driver to a 2N2219 and paralleled resistor R 88? 22 ohm with a 10 ohm.? There was no difference in performance so I didn't mention it originally.?

Regards,
Bob

BITX QSO Afternoon/Evening, Sunday, May 20, 3PM & 7PM Local Time, 7277 kHz in North America, 7177 kHz elsewhere.

John P

#49540

BITX QSO Afternoon/Evening, Sunday, May 20, 3PM & 7PM Local Time, 7277 kHz in North America, 7177 kHz elsewhere.

Join us as we make contacts from BITX40 to BITX40 on 7.277 MHz in 40 meters!

This is a worldwide event for BITX40 stations starting at 7pm in each time zone. To participate, call CQ BITX on Sunday, starting at?3PM and/or 7PM?your local time. The BITX QSO Night continues through the evening and conditions usually improve after sunset, so it is worthwhile to participate later in the evening.

Suggested Best Operating Practices:

Work at QRP power levels unless conditions require more power.
Call and listen for CQ BITX on the hour and every quarter hour.
It is helpful if you call CQ BITX with your callsign, name and location.?
Repeat your callsign a number of times during your CQ BITX and during QSO's.
Start a QSO by confirming the callsign, location, name and signal report of the other operator.
Say the callsign, name and location of the other operator so others can hear.
If the frequency is busy, avoid long conversations.
After your initial QSO is complete, ask if there are any other stations who would like to contact.

Report your QSO's, discuss propagation, noise, signal reports, audio reports, antenna type, etc. in this thread.

This is an undirected, scheduled event.? The BITX QSO Night relies on you to call CQ BITX to initiate contacts with other stations, so warm up that final and transmit a few calls on Sunday evening.? Talk to you then!
--
John - WA2FZW

Re: Why I bought a uBITX

#49539

Roxie,

You forgot us who also like to play with the radio hardware.... ;-)

The idea of a split is usually bad as the hardware/software do not see the user issues
and maybe the user gets to see what improvements people are thinking of.

That said your wish list is not unreasonable.? However CAT is not required for most data modes
though its handy.? Can CAT be done yes.

As an owner/user you also have the option to do (make, copy, even suggest) these things.? Its
a builder/makers radio.? However as a group we are self directed and there may not be a
universal single answer.? We do have a lot of feedback as well for things that do or clearly
don't work.? Its up to you to read and sort through it.

Then again its exactly why I like it.? So many things to try and incorporate.? After all what is
my idea of perfect is likely to give others the shakes or be out of contention on price.? But
that for me is the fun of experimenting and building.??

Allison

Re: Raduino CAD Files

#49538

Here is a link to a Raduino replacement at easyeda.com 
You can down load the Gerber files and possibly import to your CAD program.  Or at least use a gerber viewer to print something you can get the dimensions off of.  I have one I did up using a nano and a TFT display if you want.  Only dimension that I worried about was the height from the bottom of the board to the right angle 16 pin header that plugs into the uBITX board. I made it a little longer to give mounting holes for the TFT board I used.

-- 
DuWayne? KV4QB

Re: share your BITX success stories

#49537

I got the bitx40 as an interm radio while by ubitx was still over in India.?
Between the two I have made contacts with SSB in 40 US states as well as Ontario. A couple of weeks ago I put in the firmware for ft8 and have made numerous contacts in Eastern europe over 5000 miles distant.?

When on the air I get good audio reports including some 5-9+10 over 1000 miles away. God has to be with us on the atmospherics of course. These radios are my first HF rigs and I am told just wait till propagation gets decent again. ?My antennas are dipoles made from steel electric fence wire with weed eater nylon line tied to the ends for insulators. The lead in is RG6 75 ohm used cable TV coax that I have scrounged over the years. I am sure ?I've made many mistakes but it does work and has not cost me much.?

Re: Newbie instructions for loading software in Raduino #firmware

#49536

Rogier,

I just went though that with a box of Arduino Pro Minis I just got. It drove me nuts
until I tried programming it using the Demilove, finally the IDE recognized it and
the trivial blink the on board led program would work.? Then I had to sort out
examples as many canned ones out there were for the Uno?so the code was
wrong for the pins...? And this stuff is not new to me.? Once sorted it worked
and I moved on to doing what I'd intended.

If the various inputs are not working It suggests something like a missing ground
or that 4.7K resistor.? Reason I say that as all of them are very unlikely to be blown.
That is a suggestion to review your work.? Its easy to forget a wire,? put one end
or the other in the wrong place or forget a critical part.

Allison