Re: JackAl display delivery times
#ubitx
Neil:
We have the board in production and we expect the board to be produced this week. It usually takes a week after that to get the boards shipped. I'm not sure how long the testing takes, as we always bought bare boards before. Still, even allowing a week for testing, it should be less than 3 weeks before we get our supply of boards. We will immediately send most of the first run to QRP Guys, holding back just enough to serve the builder's group here.
My experience with cap touch screens is that they seemed less sensitive to the exact X/Y coordinates. Indeed, cap screens start sensing a touch long before you actually touch the screen. We have a lot of buttons on the screen,
and for the 5" display, we need to read coordinates pretty closely. The difference will be evident in the libraries. I would expect users to experiment using different display (and with other features/sensors). There are also about a dozen free I/O pins, too.
Attached is a BOM for the parts that are NOT on the board. It would have cost more to have them assembled at the factory (evidently, they pose problems for pick-n-place) than to push that cost onto the user. Sorry, but we're not going to make much on this anyway and we've eaten enough of the cost already. If we sell 1000 boards (unlikely), Al and I will probably make about $1.25/hour for our hardware/software development time. Don't misunderstand me, we both consider this a labor of love and we've enjoyed doing it. That said, since everything is open source, including the DSP code, it's you smart people out there who will improve it even more.
Anyway, take a look at the offboard parts BOM. You probably have some in your junk box already. If not, buying new will add just under $13 in parts.
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, December 11, 2018, 11:45:40 AM EST, Neil Goldstein <neilgoldstein@...> wrote:
Jack,?
Two quick questions, and I apologize if I missed these previously.?
1: Why resistive screens?? Can we do capacitive or does that change something on the back end?
2: When will the whole sh'bang (the boards at least) be orderable???
Thanks!
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Re: JackAl display delivery times
#ubitx
Jack,?
Two quick questions, and I apologize if I missed these previously.?
1: Why resistive screens?? Can we do capacitive or does that change something on the back end?
2: When will the whole sh'bang (the boards at least) be orderable???
Thanks!
|
Re: UBITX Current Production (spur fix ?)
#ubitx
Yes, the relays now shipped could be better.
Or could be worse, it's pretty much all conjecture.
The Axicom datasheets do talk about RF isolation.
The datasheet for the new relays does not.
Most of these low end relays assume you are switching at DC or audio frequencies,
and don't bother with the extra expense of addressing RF isolation.
Jerry
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On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 08:21 AM, Evan Hand wrote:
It was my understanding that the significant difference was how the relays were constructed internally: the relays specified as the replacement had the contacts and wiring closer to the circuit board.? It was the physical layout that made the difference.? That would not show up in a normal relay specification.? It could even be changed if there was a "process improvement" at the relay manufacturer to change the configuration of the relay.
?
Unless you break open one of the relays, or find a diagram that shows the internal construction, there is not a way other than try them to verify that it helps in the RF feedback problem.
?
Above is my understanding; it could be wrong, so use your own judgement/research to verify.
?
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: UBITX Current Production (spur fix ?)
#ubitx
It was my understanding that the significant difference was how the relays were constructed internally: the relays specified as the replacement had the contacts and wiring closer to the circuit board.? It was the physical layout that made the difference.? That would not show up in a normal relay specification.? It could even be changed if there was a "process improvement" at the relay manufacturer to change the configuration of the relay.
Unless you break open one of the relays, or find a diagram that shows the internal construction, there is not a way other than try them to verify that it helps in the RF feedback problem.
Above is my understanding; it could be wrong, so use your own judgement/research to verify.
Evan AC9TU
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Two yeah-buts:
1.? ? Get replacement Nano's that do not have the header pins soldered in place.
The need to be installed on the "wrong" side of the Nano to work with the Raduino.
2.? ? A look on Mouser and Digikey show that most 25mhz ceramic resonators on offer
have a tolerance of +/- 0.5%.? A $2 Nano clone is likely going for the lowest bidder, as
the processor clock frequency is not very critical, could be off by more that 0.5%.
25mhz*0.5% = 25mhz*0.005 = 125khz.
So that ceramic resonator could be anywhere between 24.875mhz and 25.125mhz, maybe worse.
I sincerely doubt that having the BFO 1.5khz above the crystal filter center instead
of 1.5khz below will be much of a win here.
Though using both BFO placements does double the odds of having problematic audio tones.
So best to use clk1 to switch between LSB and USB modes, as is done in all current code.
If you have audio tones, best bet is to swap out the Nano, or somehow drag that resonator
away from 16mhz.? Moving the BFO to the opposite side of the 12mhz crystal filter is a possibility,
but involves a significant hack to the firmware.?
Adjusting the BFO a few hundred hz via the menu is likely not a good option,
will likely affect audio quality long before it moves any bothersome tones out of the way.?
This is based on my sample of one uBitx.
Farhan has seen hundreds, he may well have better advice here.
Jerry
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On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 11:26 PM, Ashhar Farhan wrote:
1. the raduino is shipped with a socketed nano. you can swap it for another (nano or anything else).
2. the tones are created by the variations in the 16 mhz oscillator crystal of the atmega. at times they drift downwards such that their harmonic beats with the 12 MHz BFO harmonics to create an audible tone. the way around this is to always keep the BFO further down from 12 MHz at appox 11.995 MHz so that the beat moves out of audible range.
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Unplug the raduino and connect to your pc, if you still cant read the display there is an adjustable pot on the raduino give that a tweak to get the data on screen.?
Refit the raduino and ensure you have suppy to the motherboard.
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Re: UBITX Current Production (spur fix ?)
#ubitx
I see no evidence in the HFD27 datasheet that these relays are better suited with regard to RF isolation. This post? ? /g/BITX20/message/62307?suggests that HFSignals is not shipping the uBitx with improved relays. There are a number of different manufacturers of similar low end relays. HFSignals has likely qualified several of them as a source of relays. Jerry, KE7ER
On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 04:13 AM, Sascha Bohnet | DL5SMB wrote:
My V3 board was equipped with the HFD27 relays.
I already took them out to switch to Axicom-
might have been smarter to check first how bad the problems is.
Good to know at least that the? HFD27 are probably an improvement.?
?
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Re: JackAl display delivery times
#ubitx
This has been posted before:
BuyDisplay.com URL for 5"
https://www.buydisplay.com/default/5-inch-tft-lcd-module-800x480-display-controller-i2c-serial-spi
?? ?Options:
?? ??? ?FFC Connection-4-Wire SPI+US$0.36
?? ??? ?Power supply: 3.3V
?? ??? ?Touch Panel: 5" Resistive
?? ??? ?Micro SD Card Interface -- not used
?? ??? ?Font Chip: ER3304-1 +US$1.30
?? ??? ?
7" display:
https://www.buydisplay.com/default/7-inch-lcd-module-capacitive-touch-screen-panel-i2c-spi-serial
?? ?Options:
?? ??? ?FFC Connection-4-Wire SPI+US$0.86
?? ??? ?Power supply: 3.3V
?? ??? ?Touch Panel: 5" Resistive
?? ??? ?Micro SD Card Interface -- not used
?? ??? ?Font Chip: ER3304-1 +US$1.30
You should also note the actual display sizes, as they are measured on the diagonal. This means that the "5 inch" display is actually only about 3" tall and less than 5" wide. This impacts your case decision.
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, December 11, 2018, 10:03:05 AM EST, Chuck WB6GPO <chobin@...> wrote:
Lee,
Would you mind sharing the link for ordering the display?
Thanks, Chuck WB6GPO
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Re: JackAl display delivery times
#ubitx
Lee,
Would you mind sharing the link for ordering the display?
Thanks, Chuck WB6GPO
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Have you tried adjusting the contrast trimmer on the Raduino yet?
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On Dec 11, 2018, at 08:50, Christopher M. Hobbs < cmhobbs@...> wrote: Greetings, All!
I assembled my bitx40 and operated with it several times without any problems.? I then unhooked all the wires (just the ones with plugs) and set it aside so I could build an enclosure for it.? After finally getting it into a case, when I turned it on, the display was nothing but black boxes (two rows) and no sound came out of the radio.? I noticed the USB connector on the side of the arduino in the radio and tried to get it to connect to my computer.? It wouldn't communicate at all even though the red LED on it was illuminated.
I bought a new arduino nano, loaded up the raduino sketch, removed the old arduino, and soldered the new one in its place (if I were smart, I would've put in pin headers).? When I power up the radio now, I still get two rows of black bars but if I view the screen from an angle, the display reads Raduino v1.27.7 and I do hear some "noise" coming out of the speaker but it doesn't sound like radio noise.? It's a sort of noisy hum.? The radio never displays a frequency at this point, it just stays on that version display.
Does anyone have an idea of what might have gone wrong here?
Thanks for your time!
73 DE KD5RYO
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Greetings, All!
I assembled my bitx40 and operated with it several times without any problems.? I then unhooked all the wires (just the ones with plugs) and set it aside so I could build an enclosure for it.? After finally getting it into a case, when I turned it on, the display was nothing but black boxes (two rows) and no sound came out of the radio.? I noticed the USB connector on the side of the arduino in the radio and tried to get it to connect to my computer.? It wouldn't communicate at all even though the red LED on it was illuminated.
I bought a new arduino nano, loaded up the raduino sketch, removed the old arduino, and soldered the new one in its place (if I were smart, I would've put in pin headers).? When I power up the radio now, I still get two rows of black bars but if I view the screen from an angle, the display reads Raduino v1.27.7 and I do hear some "noise" coming out of the speaker but it doesn't sound like radio noise.? It's a sort of noisy hum.? The radio never displays a frequency at this point, it just stays on that version display.
Does anyone have an idea of what might have gone wrong here?
Thanks for your time!
73 DE KD5RYO
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Re: UBITX Current Production (spur fix ?)
#ubitx
My V3 board was equipped with the HFD27 relays.
I already took them out to switch to Axicom-
might have been smarter to check first how bad the problems is.
Good to know at least that the? HFD27 are probably an improvement.?
|
1. the raduino is shipped with a socketed nano. you can swap it for another (nano or anything else). 2. the tones are created by the variations in the 16 mhz oscillator crystal of the atmega. at times they drift downwards such that their harmonic beats with the 12 MHz BFO harmonics to create an audible tone. the way around this is to always keep the BFO further down from 12 MHz at appox 11.995 MHz so that the beat moves out of audible range.
- f
On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 8:21 AM Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io <jgaffke= [email protected]> wrote: Most of us don't have tones from the 16mhz Nano processor clock since that ceramic
resonanator is so inaccurate..
For those that do, just spend $3 on a different $3 Nano clone.
A bit tough on a v3 uBitx, as the Nano was not socketed until v4.
As of v4, the uBitx (and any Raduino) comes with the Nano socketed on the Raduino.
Note that the header pins must be on the "wrong" side of the Nano,
so order your Nano with header pins not yet soldered in place.
Shipping without the Nano clone would probably cost more in trouble than the clone does.
Give any spare clone away to some teenager bored with video games.
I have not exhaustively evaluated all the various possible sources of birdies
only addressed the ones I've heard to be problematic.
Anything that creates 12 or 45mhz will be problematic, as that can sneak into the
unshielded IF and create hetrodynes that always occur, no matter where you tune.
The 4'th harmonic of 12mhz beating with the 3'rd harmonic of 16mhz (if your
16mhz resonator on the Nano just happens to be 16.000mhz) is especially weird,
but if both 48mhz signals are present at the demodulator you will get audio tones.
Lots and lots of birdies that you can tune through.
You will likely hear a carrier at 25mhz, for example, from the si5351 reference oscillator.
But only when receiving at 25mhz.? ? Also the 16mhz Nano processor clock.?
But those (and many others) will only occur at specific spots on the dial.
Unplug the antenna and tune around your favorite band, see what birdies you find.
Jerry
On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 08:04 AM, <freefuel@...> wrote:
A) Hi Clark, yes I recall there was an issue with the full swing vs low power with the ATmega644p/ATmega1284p the oscillator was interfering with the serial port in full power mode, it made for interesting times trying to use a serial bootloader.
that said changing the fuse bits in the NANO is very easy with the ATMEL ISP programer, step 1) make a backup copy of the firmware, eeprom, and fuse settings. 2) update the fuse settings from their current state to place the device in low power clock mode. 3) verify firmware, eeprom, and new fuse settings.?
B) Jerry, did you run the numbers for other common catalog crystal frequencies? for example, would running the AVR at 11.052MHz and leaving the IF at 12MHz be a viable option???
-Justin N2TOH
P.S. Ashhar?as an option could a person order the Randino with the NANO uninstalled? some people including myself need the real FTDI USB chip, the other types cause unresolvable usability problems.? the drivers for the chip provided in my kit rendered my Macintosh unusable, I had to use a 3rd party keyboard and mouse to recover the settings.??
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Re: UBITX Current Production (spur fix ?)
#ubitx
I understand that you're accurately reporting the latest comment from Farhan.? My V3 board was equipped with Virtual? VRS2H-S-DC12V-C relays.? It looks like the HFD27 relays in the current board were an upgrade and/or replacement but aren't a result of improving crosstalk.? Mea culpa. 
On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 08:58 PM, Jerry Gaffke wrote:
I looked at the relay datasheet for the parts seen in post??/g/BITX20/message/62415
They don't appear to be anything special with regard to RF isolation, definitely not Axicom relays.
My guess is these are still about the same as what has always shipped with the uBitx.
And Farhan's message that you cite (62415) states:
"The boards continued to ship with the same relays as some have also reported no difference with the new relay."
I take that to mean that new uBitx boards continue to ship with no harmonic fix of any sort.
Or any spur fix.
Jerry
On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 10:34 AM, AndyH wrote:
Another member just received a new ?BITX board and it has new relays.? Farhan reported that to be the case but we hadn't yet seen a board with the new relays 'in the wild'.? There's been no assessment yet on other mods that might mitigate spurs, and since there doesn't yet seem to be an assessment on the 'best' way to solve that problem, there likely aren't any spur fixes on production boards yet.
/g/BITX20/message/62415
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Re: Homebrew from scratch
#ubitx
Peter,
?Thanks for the new pcb artwork.
?For reasons, I have not been able to open your gerber files using a software "gerber Logix" or under sprint layout that has facility for inputting gerber files.
May I request you gerber files to 274X format please.
regards
sarma
vu3zmv
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Re: UBITX Current Production (spur fix ?)
#ubitx
I looked at the relay datasheet for the parts seen in post?? /g/BITX20/message/62415They don't appear to be anything special with regard to RF isolation, definitely not Axicom relays. My guess is these are still about the same as what has always shipped with the uBitx. And Farhan's message that you cite (62415) states: "The boards continued to ship with the same relays as some have also reported no difference with the new relay." I take that to mean that new uBitx boards continue to ship with no harmonic fix of any sort. Or any spur fix. Jerry
On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 10:34 AM, AndyH wrote:
Another member just received a new ?BITX board and it has new relays.? Farhan reported that to be the case but we hadn't yet seen a board with the new relays 'in the wild'.? There's been no assessment yet on other mods that might mitigate spurs, and since there doesn't yet seem to be an assessment on the 'best' way to solve that problem, there likely aren't any spur fixes on production boards yet.
/g/BITX20/message/62415
|
Most of us don't have tones from the 16mhz Nano processor clock since that ceramic
resonanator is so inaccurate..
For those that do, just spend $3 on a different $3 Nano clone.
A bit tough on a v3 uBitx, as the Nano was not socketed until v4.
As of v4, the uBitx (and any Raduino) comes with the Nano socketed on the Raduino.
Note that the header pins must be on the "wrong" side of the Nano,
so order your Nano with header pins not yet soldered in place.
Shipping without the Nano clone would probably cost more in trouble than the clone does.
Give any spare clone away to some teenager bored with video games.
I have not exhaustively evaluated all the various possible sources of birdies
only addressed the ones I've heard to be problematic.
Anything that creates 12 or 45mhz will be problematic, as that can sneak into the
unshielded IF and create hetrodynes that always occur, no matter where you tune.
The 4'th harmonic of 12mhz beating with the 3'rd harmonic of 16mhz (if your
16mhz resonator on the Nano just happens to be 16.000mhz) is especially weird,
but if both 48mhz signals are present at the demodulator you will get audio tones.
Lots and lots of birdies that you can tune through.
You will likely hear a carrier at 25mhz, for example, from the si5351 reference oscillator.
But only when receiving at 25mhz.? ? Also the 16mhz Nano processor clock.?
But those (and many others) will only occur at specific spots on the dial.
Unplug the antenna and tune around your favorite band, see what birdies you find.
Jerry
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 08:04 AM, <freefuel@...> wrote:
A) Hi Clark, yes I recall there was an issue with the full swing vs low power with the ATmega644p/ATmega1284p the oscillator was interfering with the serial port in full power mode, it made for interesting times trying to use a serial bootloader.
that said changing the fuse bits in the NANO is very easy with the ATMEL ISP programer, step 1) make a backup copy of the firmware, eeprom, and fuse settings. 2) update the fuse settings from their current state to place the device in low power clock mode. 3) verify firmware, eeprom, and new fuse settings.?
B) Jerry, did you run the numbers for other common catalog crystal frequencies? for example, would running the AVR at 11.052MHz and leaving the IF at 12MHz be a viable option???
-Justin N2TOH
P.S. Ashhar?as an option could a person order the Randino with the NANO uninstalled? some people including myself need the real FTDI USB chip, the other types cause unresolvable usability problems.? the drivers for the chip provided in my kit rendered my Macintosh unusable, I had to use a 3rd party keyboard and mouse to recover the settings.??
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JackAl display delivery times
#ubitx
I ordered my 7" display using Jack's link on Nov 16 and it got here today.?? It took 24 days so if you play on building one you may want to order soon. -- Lee - N9LO? "I Void Warranties"
?
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2.0 wasn't official until today.
Vince - K8ZW.
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On 12/10/2018 06:08 PM, Kelly Jack wrote: The way this upgrade has been released noting the incompatability beteen
1.9 and 2.0 versions is problematic.
Plenty of FT8 signals on the scope - one decode the last two nights
using 2.0. Switched back to 1.9 and everything is decoded. I want to
make contacts, thats wasn't happening for me on 2.0, so why change.
Seems 2.0 is vulnerable the network effect.
73
Simon
--
K8ZW
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The way this upgrade has been released noting the incompatability beteen 1.9 and 2.0 versions is problematic.
Plenty of FT8 signals on the scope - one decode the last two nights using 2.0. Switched back to 1.9 and everything is decoded. I want to make contacts, thats wasn't happening for me on 2.0, so why change. Seems 2.0 is vulnerable the network effect.
73
Simon
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Neil Goldstein
Skip Davis
Lee