Re: Raspberry Pi in sBITX V2
A few quick notes:
A) the firmware in the RPi 4 has always supported USB booting, the RPi 3 had the ability to modify the firmware to boot off USB directly, otherwise a bootloader on a MicroSD could do the same thing. (Boot off MicroSD, then transfer to USB)
B) the RPi 5 can have an SSD attached via USB adapter OR an NVMe SSD can be added to the new PCIe header on the top (component) side of the RPi 5 with an adapter cable.
The PCIe interface may be the best option *if* a long enough cable is supplied to relocate the NVMe SSD can be located away from the RPi/system board "sandwich". I suspect such a cable will be available once the RPi 5 starts shipping.
Ken, N2VIP
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Oct 26, 2023, at 11:01, Dave, N1AI <n1ai@...> wrote:
Eventually I am going to try to find a solution to having NVMe storage with sbitx.
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Carl
As a post script to my last message, on a personal level I intended no direct offence to you as a person.
As has been seen by the plethora of replies since, there is still a willingness to assist you to have a working
rig (as expected by you). I do wish you every success in your quest to do so.
Dave
G4JBE (UK)
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Back in the day I'm told as it was before my time, if you wanted a radio you had to build it yourself. There are a bunch of us hams that are happy those days are in the past. Today you can lay your cash down and buy tricked out appliance rigs that do things that were once impossible. That is pretty much what most of the new stuff is today, appliances. They have no soul, they are cold electronic wonders of modern technology. If i were to buy a 7300 and someone a thousand miles away bought one they would essentially be identical. It is awesome that we have the technology to do that. However it isn't everyone's cup of tea. Ashhar came up with? the BITX and all of the different versions from the BITX 40 to the sBITX to encourage others to build them. HF Signals came along mostly to put local people to work. These radios were made to be hacked on modified and made to make it your way. We have this awesome community here to help you do just that. The radios that HF Signals sell are not meant to be a McTransceiver where they are the same as everything else out there. These are all open source where they put everything out there including the coding and let you take it from there. Ask Elecraft for the coding for their latest and greatest. Homebrewing is a dying art. People has gotten to the point where they just want to lay down their cash and expect instant gratification. Everyone has to have the radio that just came out last week and it will be their pride and joy until the next model comes out next week. You learn the menu's get on the air and brag about how great of a radio operator you are because you have the newest disposable radio. The same radio that everyone else can buy. You "personalize" it through the menu settings. Your not going to crack the case open and warm up the soldering iron to truly personalize it. No way would you do that, it would be the ultimate no-no because it would void the warranty. You got to keep the resale value as high as possible cause you know that after the new wears off your gonna sell it because your newest pride and joy is about to hit the shelves. Most hams want that safeness. They don't care how their radio works as long as they can yell "Your 599 599, wait say again your lost in the noise and I can't hear you but you are 599 599!" all weekend long. You have turned into appliance operators. BITX has never been touted to be an appliance. They are made to be just bare bones radios to keep the cost down and more importantly encourage you to heat up the soldering iron and turn it into the rig that you want. You want AGC? Add it yourself. Have broadcast interference? There are schematics to help you with that. What is the advertising slogan for the sBITX? "An SDR you can hack" Just think of the power that gives you. That means you pick your options, not some EE in Japan or China who is telling you want you want. YOU decide what you want. You just have to take the time to learn how to do it and then do it yourself.? I have been in this group for a few years now. A lot of people can testify that I have had a lot of problems. I'm constantly in the hospital having one surgery or another. In 2022 I set a personal record of 33 surgeries. In 2023 I have surpassed that. I don't have the finances you go out and buy the latest and greatest. I have to support a family of 4, including a son who is autistic and a daughter (she has her license) who is a senior in HS and deserves all of her SR stuff (prom dress, SR ring, pictures etc.) on my disability check once a month. I would give just about anything to be able to go back to work but that isn't an option. I don't have the option of buying the latest and greatest. When the sBITX came out I fell hard for it. It does everything I want in a radio. It has been out for a few years now, I still do not have one. I'm getting closer to it. Since all of my money goes to taking care of my family, I have to be willing to wait longer for my goals. Last month I got some resistors. Next month I plan on buying diodes if I'm lucky.? I have been trying to learn electronics and programming like mad. Many people in this group and other groups can testify to that from the endless questions that I have. If I set my mind to it, I could buy me a nice used radio and be done with it. That isn't what I want. I want the experience and knowledge that you get when you build or modify a radio. The sBITX was never intended to be the next Kilobuck radio. It is much better than that. It is a basic platform for you to build, modify and experiment with so you can make it better than the next appliance radio fad. The schematics and coding is out there free to the world just waiting for you to improve it.? -- '72
Aaron?
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
When googling for sbitx info, I ran into the sbitx group on facebook ( ) and it seems Carl has been able to get his sbitx to boot with some help from other sbitx users.
The key post seems to have been:
Daniel Wendt-Fr?hlich
It worked for me with the raspi-imager and "other/own image".
Maybe the image is not working? Maybe you want to try my shrinked image for SBITXv2: https://drive.google.com/.../1fzAxP5e3n19EEBIejtB.../view...
Just download and unrar it and use it with the raspi-imager.
This image will expand to the card size at first boot. Just plug it in, start the raspi in the SBITX and let its work done. After reboot it will be the standard-SBITXv2-Image.
BUT (and this is really important):
As all calibration data is lost you won't have any PA-Output-Power.
You have to do both, Power Meter calibration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJLXfQv_C6U) and Trasmit Power calibration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tCVoCxx_R8)
After that you want to check the Drive-Setting/BIAS on your Board. You don't want to exceed 30 to 35W at 40m on a dummy load. Believe me, you don't want that ?
Check this for setting the right bias: https://www.sbitx.net/index.php/category/repairs/
It appears that notes on some of these procedures can also be found at ( not ).
I believe you can avoid the calibration steps if you were able to save the files in the /home/pi/sbitx/data folder from the sdcard the radio came with. At least that's how I interpret the response to a question I asked earlier on this group.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
I am learning a lot from this discussion despite the rancor.
If it would be beneficial, I could start a page on this site's wiki on how to build a new sdcard from scratch, since I'm about to give this a try myself. I think doing so is much more work than one might think. The details are in one of the text files in the sbitx folder on the Pi. I could try to make the instructions more user-friendly but IMO they are still more than we'd want a newbie to try to do. Ideally we'd just have a Pi image under the Releases area of Ashhar's github site that contains the source code. That's how many open software projects do things.
At the risk of being repetitive, I think and states the business policies of HF Signals:
GETTING HELP
If you are interested or building any of the HF Signals’ kits, you can join the BITX20 group by visiting /g/bitx20. That’s the only support we provide. The level of collective wisdom and experience on the Forum is enough to sort out almost any technical problem or question you may have. You will also meet some really great builders on the Forum. If you need information specific to your shipping, billing and other commercial matters, you can drop us a mail to hfsignals’ inbox at gmail. The mailbox is in the name of hfsignals followed by the regular gmail.com.
What kind of support will I get?
The HF Signals kits and radios are supplied as-is without any promise that they will work to any particular specification. That said, thousands of BITX transceivers supplied by HF Signals work across the world. There is an active and very informative forum for learning and getting help that is entirely driven by the builder community. Join us on /g/bitx20 For queries about your specific order, shipping, etc., you can write to at sales @ hfsignals.com . We can only respond to specific questions about your order, so remember to include your order ID from paypal.
I would interpret "as-is" to mean "no refunds". Personally I bought the sbitx before reading these statements, but I assumed this would be the case. I had already bought Hermes Lite 2 SDRs twice from China and knew when I sent the payment there was a chance I would get nothing back at all, or would not get a working product, but also knew there was an active forum with the lead developer personally involved. I did enough research on sbitx to know that this would also be the case. I was interested enough in the product to buy it knowing it may not work well or may not work at all, but knowing there were people interested in getting it to work and willing to help make that happen.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Re: Brainstorming: sbitx with new Raspberry Pi 5?
#sBitx
On Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 04:02 AM, Rafael Diniz wrote:
And there is a PCIe lane, which can be used for NVMe without using the USB3 if
I remember correctly.
Yes, and they are developing an official NVMe "HAT".
It is nice that there is extra room inside the sbitx, hopefully that would allow for Pi5 with both NVMe and a fan to fit inside the sbitx enclosure.
Now that I think about it a day later, the main hope is that all the hardware is compatible.
I too await winter when I will have more time to work on this device.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Re: Raspberry Pi in sBITX V2
Nice job, @WK4DS ! I'm a software guy, I get intimidated by milling machines, so I am envious!
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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On Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 07:46 AM, Evan Hand wrote:
Have you tried the RX key on the screen?? I do not have my sbitx DE set up
now, so I can not verify it for you.? I am going from memory when I was
playing with my DE.
Mine is also packed up, the weather is nice the next two days so I'm going to go do some POTA!
The other alternative would be to create a macro and link it to an open key on
the macro keyboard.
I will explore this approach. I have open keys. I looked at the macro language ( based on N1MM's ) and don't really see an effective way to do this. I'll have to read the sbitx source code to see what it does.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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On Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 04:26 AM, ramonlh@... wrote:
I have some family matters that prevent me from dedicating enough time,
perhaps I can dedicate more time to this matter starting in December.
Please do not feel obliged to spend any time on this, I am just asking questions about what is already known.
It will also depend on the evolution of the new version that Ashhar is preparing, we should not invent the wheel twice...
I think it is OK to do both, work on the current code and await what may come in the future.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
|
Dave,
Have you tried the RX key on the screen?? I do not have my sbitx DE set up now, so I can not verify it for you.? I am going from memory when I was playing with my DE.
The other alternative would be to create a macro and link it to an open key on the macro keyboard.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Any news as to when the new cession will be coming out
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Re: sBitx V2 SN #141 Spurious/Harmonic Measurements
I’m still a few days away from being back home but I dug up some information about the types of inductors that appear to be used for the 47 micro Henry in the low pass filter diode switching network decoupling system. ?The images of data sheets are attached and clearly show that you can expect series resonances ?well within the RF spectrum of our harmonics. ? This helps explain the bleed around (as great as -25 DB) that I unexpectedly discovered when measuring the RF filter performance, when no particular filter was selected.
that bleed around may be a major part of why we aren’t getting the harmonic suppression that we would want.?
it’s likely that the solution will be adding (or replacing )a small series inductor without a damaging series resonance. ? I think a few microhenries could easily be wound on a small ferrite or iron powder core and would do what we need. ?
Gordon Kx4z?
?
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
My $.02 worth here too,
The same issues can be said about the uBitx V6. ?Yes, it worked half assedly out of the box but was not a truly useable ham radio in my book. ?I did tinker with it and get it adjusted OK for SSB but still struggle with downloading a new firmware so it is better on CW. ?Finally our club president bought one to try and get new technicians on 10 meters SSB with it (so far no takers even at $209 USD.) but he is willing to assist me in updating the firmware. ?My take on the V6 and the sBitx is that it is not a real useable radio out of the box but needs an Elmer who has been there to prevent disaster and releasing the smoke. Once it is set up correctly then and only then can it be modified to do whatever the purchaser wants it to do. ?A steep learning curve but that is what some hams love to do. I am not one of those even after 63 years as a ham. ?I have seen and touched the sBitx at Xenia and thought WOW! What a rig!!! ?But I am not ready yet. ?Maintaining a wife, a home, grandkids, etc., keeps getting in the way and taking up my available time and energy at age 78. ?
Am I knocking the sBitx or even the V6? Not at all. ?It is just above my skill set but when another ham close by digs into one I will be there to learn a new skill and add another rig to my station. ?I am still in the kit building mode in my ham life and need very explicit instructions but most of my kit builds work right off. The programming and downloading of firmware is a rub though. I needed a lot of help getting a DMR handheld to work with a hotspot. ?But I was and still am willing to learn. ?
The sBitx isn’t a buy it and plug it in and use it rig yet, if it will ever be. I praise Farhan and those involved in producing it but no one should just buy it and expect perfection out of the box. ?Follow on this site and learn. There are those here to assist. Use them. Don’t complain. ?This is ham radio and this is not for the faint of heart. If a prospective purchaser is faint of heart don’t buy unless you have a local Elmer to help you. ?It’s a lot of money to see the smoke and yes, it happens. ?
Again, thank you for this group and Farhan. ?This is real ham radio. Some of us should just stay with commercial rigs and enjoy the camaraderie of the hobby. It’s a learning hobby but each ham has a comfort spot and some of us should just be content with that. But as soon as a local ham gets an sBitx and is happy with it I will be right behind him. I just need hand holding to get started.
Dave K8WPE since 1960 and still learning, stumbling along at times, but still learning.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Oct 26, 2023, at 10:03 PM, Gerald Sherman <ve4gks@...> wrote:
?
Just my $.02 worth:
I have been a ham for over half a century, so my days go back to
war surplus TVI generators & tubes.? For about half of this
(roughly the middle half) I was inactive, so there is a large gap
in my span of current technology.? I wouldn't want to try and
design a solid state RF power amplifier or a switch-mode power
supply.? My computer skills aren't the best with regard to the
software and languages we use.? Most of my programming has been
done with the RS274 G-code language used in machine tool control
(I made my living with it for about 15 years), although I "have
used" other languages.? "Have used" does not mean "am an expert
with".? Given that my physical abilities are catching up with my
age, I don't do very much building any more.? I do have a fairly
decent knowledge of electronics and a couple of engineering
certificates in medical instrumentation (nuclear and ultrasonic),
although I would not want to (nor would I be able to) clip on a
film badge and put on the lead apron today.? I pretty well stick
to operating.
There are those of us who cannot afford a lab full of test
equipment, would not have any where to put it if they could, and
perhaps not know how to use it if they got their hands on it.? All
three of these apply to me.
Carl, I think that N2VIP has made some good suggestions about
getting help from your local club.
Gerry Sherman
Sent by the Windows 11 Thunderbird
On 2023-10-26 18:29, Ken N2VIP wrote:
On Oct 26, 2023, at 08:48, David Lacey
via groups.io <g4jbe@...> wrote:
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are
really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple...
most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics,
this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none!
Even in your critique of Carl you indicate that "most of the
hams (you) know have a basic knowledge of electronics" - I
simply point out that "most" is a group with fewer members than
"every".
There is radio knowledge, electronics knowledge, and small
computer knowledge in play here - it was clear to me that Carl's
issues were with the "small computer knowledge", not radio or
electronics. There are a large number of radio amateurs that
struggle with personal computers, to the point some refuse to
even have a computer in their shack - it is not a requisite
skill for a modern radio amateur, but it is a common one.
I'm not a fan of complaining so publicly about a vendors
support, esp when you still want/expect/need support from the
vendor, but this is how Carl chose to address his issues, so be
it.
Until I get an idea of the time span of this issue (how long
has he gone without a response from HF Signals? A couple days, a
couple weeks or a couple months?) I don't really have an opinion
on these issues, except to say...
Carl, I know I'm a bit put off of the idea of trying to help
you, and I suspect others are just as reluctant to help you -
were a list member to, for example, write the software to a
microSD card and send it to you, the concern is if it didn't
work out, the list member would be added to your (very public)
list of grievances, and who needs that?
I really think the best approach for you is to look towards
your local radio clubs, see if you can find someone that is
either strong with Raspberry Pis or, ideally, maybe someone that
is actually familiar with their very radio you are struggling
with.
As for HF Signals, I would hope they'd take a moment and
review their web documents, with an eye towards perhaps being
clearer about the skills and technologies a buyer should be
familiar with in order to ensure a happy experience with the
product. They may feel the current warnings/information is
adequate, or they may decide to make some changes - I leave that
to their discretion, it's not my place to tell them what they
should or should not do in marketing their products.
And a brief reminder - as clearly stated at the beginning of
the HF Signals adventure, we hams are not (in my personal
opinion) the primary focus for HF Signals, we are merely the
beneficiaries of the product assembled by those industrious
women in India that assemble and test these boards to provide
for themselves and their families. That we find their
products useful means that we will continue to buy them,
continuing the work these women need. I've been very happy with
all my HF Signals purchases, but I've never felt it appropriate
to expect "big three" levels of quality or support from HF
Signals.
Just my thoughts, I mean them to be constructive, if I've
offended anyone, it honestly wasn't my intention.
Ken, N2VIP
|
Hi Dave,
I have some family matters that prevent me from dedicating enough time, perhaps I can dedicate more time to this matter starting in December.
It will also depend on the evolution of the new version that Ashhar is preparing, we should not invent the wheel twice...
Saludos,
Ramón EA4GZI
|
Re: Brainstorming: sbitx with new Raspberry Pi 5?
#sBitx
And there is a PCIe lane, which can be used for NVMe without using the USB3 if I remember correctly.
- Rafael
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 10/26/23 19:22, Dave, N1AI wrote:
Another thought: why would external USB connections be important? Keyboard and mouse can be Bluetooth. Network (when needed) can be WiFi, and you can even use an external hotspot via WiFi when somewhere with mobile networks.
-- Regards, Dave, N1AI
|
Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Just my $.02 worth:
I have been a ham for over half a century, so my days go back to
war surplus TVI generators & tubes.? For about half of this
(roughly the middle half) I was inactive, so there is a large gap
in my span of current technology.? I wouldn't want to try and
design a solid state RF power amplifier or a switch-mode power
supply.? My computer skills aren't the best with regard to the
software and languages we use.? Most of my programming has been
done with the RS274 G-code language used in machine tool control
(I made my living with it for about 15 years), although I "have
used" other languages.? "Have used" does not mean "am an expert
with".? Given that my physical abilities are catching up with my
age, I don't do very much building any more.? I do have a fairly
decent knowledge of electronics and a couple of engineering
certificates in medical instrumentation (nuclear and ultrasonic),
although I would not want to (nor would I be able to) clip on a
film badge and put on the lead apron today.? I pretty well stick
to operating.
There are those of us who cannot afford a lab full of test
equipment, would not have any where to put it if they could, and
perhaps not know how to use it if they got their hands on it.? All
three of these apply to me.
Carl, I think that N2VIP has made some good suggestions about
getting help from your local club.
Gerry Sherman
Sent by the Windows 11 Thunderbird
On 2023-10-26 18:29, Ken N2VIP wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Oct 26, 2023, at 08:48, David Lacey
via groups.io <g4jbe@...> wrote:
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are
really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple...
most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics,
this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none!
Even in your critique of Carl you indicate that "most of the
hams (you) know have a basic knowledge of electronics" - I
simply point out that "most" is a group with fewer members than
"every".
There is radio knowledge, electronics knowledge, and small
computer knowledge in play here - it was clear to me that Carl's
issues were with the "small computer knowledge", not radio or
electronics. There are a large number of radio amateurs that
struggle with personal computers, to the point some refuse to
even have a computer in their shack - it is not a requisite
skill for a modern radio amateur, but it is a common one.
I'm not a fan of complaining so publicly about a vendors
support, esp when you still want/expect/need support from the
vendor, but this is how Carl chose to address his issues, so be
it.
Until I get an idea of the time span of this issue (how long
has he gone without a response from HF Signals? A couple days, a
couple weeks or a couple months?) I don't really have an opinion
on these issues, except to say...
Carl, I know I'm a bit put off of the idea of trying to help
you, and I suspect others are just as reluctant to help you -
were a list member to, for example, write the software to a
microSD card and send it to you, the concern is if it didn't
work out, the list member would be added to your (very public)
list of grievances, and who needs that?
I really think the best approach for you is to look towards
your local radio clubs, see if you can find someone that is
either strong with Raspberry Pis or, ideally, maybe someone that
is actually familiar with their very radio you are struggling
with.
As for HF Signals, I would hope they'd take a moment and
review their web documents, with an eye towards perhaps being
clearer about the skills and technologies a buyer should be
familiar with in order to ensure a happy experience with the
product. They may feel the current warnings/information is
adequate, or they may decide to make some changes - I leave that
to their discretion, it's not my place to tell them what they
should or should not do in marketing their products.
And a brief reminder - as clearly stated at the beginning of
the HF Signals adventure, we hams are not (in my personal
opinion) the primary focus for HF Signals, we are merely the
beneficiaries of the product assembled by those industrious
women in India that assemble and test these boards to provide
for themselves and their families. That we find their
products useful means that we will continue to buy them,
continuing the work these women need. I've been very happy with
all my HF Signals purchases, but I've never felt it appropriate
to expect "big three" levels of quality or support from HF
Signals.
Just my thoughts, I mean them to be constructive, if I've
offended anyone, it honestly wasn't my intention.
Ken, N2VIP
|
Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Carl, Dont give up and give these guys a good chance.
As hams, we study and learn our hobby. When i obtained my Extra, i had to exam for the code also. back then the Extra class license was a spring board for a Commerical Radio license for alot of operators. Either a 2nd class or first class commercial license.
This is how tuff the electronics was.Now its even embedded with digital stuff,satellite info and such. Of course thru the years we had the commodore16,64,128, trs-80, and such, and the 286,486, etc and now We all have a computer which has the power that would take several buildings to house all the guts back in the univac days!!!.HI HI. I understand your frustration on the SD card, but, all you need to do is ASK FOR HELP. Sometimes each of us has do do battle with our own demons which prevent us from asking. Download ur software u need on the SD card. go to raspberry pi website and i believe it has a program for flashing an SD card. You can also download balanEtcher and do the same thing. once you get the OS on the SD card, make sure you are seating the card correctly ,and then power the raspberry pi up. you can actually hook up an external monitor to the PI and take care of the software this way . I prefer to remove my raspberry PI out of anything its in and hook up a keyboard,mouse and monitor and do it that way. That way you know the PI is up and running properly.BalanEthcer is pretty much self explanitory. Sorry for the spelling. the olde i get the more lazy i get on my spelling.HI HI
Anyway Carl, good luck on the sbitx, . Ashhar's sbitx is still in working out the quirks phase but its actually a decent radio for the money. My friend has one and after careful installation and such, its been running ever since he bought his when Ashhar allowed open purchasing.I own several ubitx transceivers,of various versions and several bitx40s. they all had a few quirks too, but they are all up and running all modified except 2 of them.I mean an all in one transceiver,digital capable right out the box with 40 watts ,and very compact. hard to beat
Dont give up, take ur time, drink your favorite beverage, ask questions here if need be and SOON Carl , you will be reeling in the DX with ur SBITX.
Also , Dont forget what Evan stated. Its a kit. An open sourced product thats MEANT to be modded,in all sorts of ways. Good luck on the PI.
73 David ac9xh
On Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 07:29:21 PM EDT, Ken N2VIP <ken@...> wrote:
On Oct 26, 2023, at 08:48, David Lacey via groups.io <g4jbe@...> wrote:
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple... most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics, this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none!
Even in your critique of Carl you indicate that "most of the hams (you) know have a basic knowledge of electronics" - I simply point out that "most" is a group with fewer members than "every".
There is radio knowledge, electronics knowledge, and small computer knowledge in play here - it was clear to me that Carl's issues were with the "small computer knowledge", not radio or electronics. There are a large number of radio amateurs that struggle with personal computers, to the point some refuse to even have a computer in their shack - it is not a requisite skill for a modern radio amateur, but it is a common one.
I'm not a fan of complaining so publicly about a vendors support, esp when you still want/expect/need support from the vendor, but this is how Carl chose to address his issues, so be it.
Until I get an idea of the time span of this issue (how long has he gone without a response from HF Signals? A couple days, a couple weeks or a couple months?) I don't really have an opinion on these issues, except to say...
Carl, I know I'm a bit put off of the idea of trying to help you, and I suspect others are just as reluctant to help you - were a list member to, for example, write the software to a microSD card and send it to you, the concern is if it didn't work out, the list member would be added to your (very public) list of grievances, and who needs that?
I really think the best approach for you is to look towards your local radio clubs, see if you can find someone that is either strong with Raspberry Pis or, ideally, maybe someone that is actually familiar with their very radio you are struggling with.
As for HF Signals, I would hope they'd take a moment and review their web documents, with an eye towards perhaps being clearer about the skills and technologies a buyer should be familiar with in order to ensure a happy experience with the product. They may feel the current warnings/information is adequate, or they may decide to make some changes - I leave that to their discretion, it's not my place to tell them what they should or should not do in marketing their products.
And a brief reminder - as clearly stated at the beginning of the HF Signals adventure, we hams are not (in my personal opinion) the primary focus for HF Signals, we are merely the beneficiaries of the product assembled by those industrious women in India that assemble and test these boards to provide for themselves and their families. That we find their products useful means that we will continue to buy them, continuing the work these women need. I've been very happy with all my HF Signals purchases, but I've never felt it appropriate to expect "big three" levels of quality or support from HF Signals.
Just my thoughts, I mean them to be constructive, if I've offended anyone, it honestly wasn't my intention.
Ken, N2VIP
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Re: Raspberry Pi in sBITX V2
I modded my sBitx to add a couple of fans, one of which was on the Pi. I wanted to add the heat sink/fan kit that comes with the kitted Pi as I am using mine for POTA and it got crazy hot on the first outing I took it on. The point of me sharing this is that there is more than enough room to add taller risers and pin extensions and the VFO board wont make contact. I opened up the holes in my milling machine so I could still reach the ports and this by default also allows more air flow to the Pi. I think you are on to something to be honest, I am not going to pioneer the Pi 5 though as I am having way too much fun using mine right now. LOL. I just bought the riser kit from amazon and it came with the pin extensions and the standoffs. Plug and play on that mod, I did have some fun powering the fans, but that is a different story all together.  
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
On Oct 26, 2023, at 08:48, David Lacey via groups.io <g4jbe@...> wrote:
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple... most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics, this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none!
Even in your critique of Carl you indicate that "most of the hams (you) know have a basic knowledge of electronics" - I simply point out that "most" is a group with fewer members than "every".
There is radio knowledge, electronics knowledge, and small computer knowledge in play here - it was clear to me that Carl's issues were with the "small computer knowledge", not radio or electronics. There are a large number of radio amateurs that struggle with personal computers, to the point some refuse to even have a computer in their shack - it is not a requisite skill for a modern radio amateur, but it is a common one.
I'm not a fan of complaining so publicly about a vendors support, esp when you still want/expect/need support from the vendor, but this is how Carl chose to address his issues, so be it.
Until I get an idea of the time span of this issue (how long has he gone without a response from HF Signals? A couple days, a couple weeks or a couple months?) I don't really have an opinion on these issues, except to say...
Carl, I know I'm a bit put off of the idea of trying to help you, and I suspect others are just as reluctant to help you - were a list member to, for example, write the software to a microSD card and send it to you, the concern is if it didn't work out, the list member would be added to your (very public) list of grievances, and who needs that?
I really think the best approach for you is to look towards your local radio clubs, see if you can find someone that is either strong with Raspberry Pis or, ideally, maybe someone that is actually familiar with their very radio you are struggling with.
As for HF Signals, I would hope they'd take a moment and review their web documents, with an eye towards perhaps being clearer about the skills and technologies a buyer should be familiar with in order to ensure a happy experience with the product. They may feel the current warnings/information is adequate, or they may decide to make some changes - I leave that to their discretion, it's not my place to tell them what they should or should not do in marketing their products.
And a brief reminder - as clearly stated at the beginning of the HF Signals adventure, we hams are not (in my personal opinion) the primary focus for HF Signals, we are merely the beneficiaries of the product assembled by those industrious women in India that assemble and test these boards to provide for themselves and their families. That we find their products useful means that we will continue to buy them, continuing the work these women need. I've been very happy with all my HF Signals purchases, but I've never felt it appropriate to expect "big three" levels of quality or support from HF Signals.
Just my thoughts, I mean them to be constructive, if I've offended anyone, it honestly wasn't my intention.
Ken, N2VIP
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
All,
The sbitx is sold as a "kit" even if assembled and tested.? This gets around the need for FCC certification in the USA.? It keeps the cost down.? It also means that you, as the owner, are responsible for the radio's proper operation and signal purity.? Being open-source means anyone could change the radio, making it inoperable.
In the HELP tab of the web page, it is clear that HFSignals does not provide technical support.? All support is through this group.? I will grant that this should be part of the purchase process.? If I were selling the sbitx, I would require that a customer acknowledge that they are responsible for support and that no warranty is expressed or implied.
If you want FCC certification and manufacturer support, buy a commercial rig at 2 to 10 times the cost.? You will also give up the ability to modify software as most are proprietary, and the source is not made available.
If any of the above is incorrect, I would appreciate being corrected by HFSignals or others familiar with HFSignal's business operation.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Aaron K5ATG
Dave, N1AI
WK4DS