Re: sBITX V3 Display and Enclosure Considerations
Aaron,
I can say from experience that I would not put either a battery or an antenna tuner in the device housing.
The best antenna is a good antenna. I dismantled my existing antennas last spring. (2-element 5-lane Quad 17 m high and 20.8 m Vertical). Then when sBitx_v2 came out in April, I bought one. I was very busy all year, so I only built an antenna in November.
A delta loop antenna that is installed vertically and slightly slanted. It is very well-proven and works well on 3 lanes.
Because it's a loop, it's low noise. The total length of the loop is 43.8 meters. I feed it at the highest point (10m) where there is a 2:1 balun, followed by a 1:1 balun. These are up at the base of the antenna.
Characteristics: 1:1.3 at 7MHz, I can supply 12-15W here.
At 14MHz 1:1.05 here I can supply 20W, while at 21MHz 1:1.2 here I can supply 10W. In ft8 mode, I am constantly watching this.
My power supply has a current limiter, it is set to 6.00A, I use it from 12.5V. Yes, the fetek IRFZ24N, which I managed to destroy using the initial battery, since then I only use it in current limiting mode! A battery current limiter would need to be built.
My sBitx is v2, manufactured last April, on which I had to make some modifications. I wrote about them in the forum. I currently have over 1500 ft8 QSOs and am close to 100 dxcc.
I considered the heat dissipation of the device important when I replaced the mica with an AlN insulator, and I also use an external fan that works continuously. It is wedged between the cooling fins and can be easily removed at any time. This is a so-called silent fan that consumes 40 mA.
So the bottom line is that I would not install a battery or an antenna tuner because of the above.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
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If JS8 is your?main interest, just gaining screen control of the Raspberry Pi via VNC allows you to have the screen of the Raspberry show up on any device, including Windows devices, because there are VNC viewers for the Windows platform.? ?Then you can just run the native application on the sBitx itself, from your PC.? ?If that is what you're looking for, it is the easiest way to get it done! Gordon KX4Z
On Sun, Feb 18, 2024 at 12:43?AM Gordon Gibby via <docvacuumtubes= [email protected]> wrote: I'm guessing your tablet is Windows?? ?I can't help with the cell phone, but have just recently created a (unidirectional) ICOM emulation for the sBitx that will allow limited CAT control from a Windows platform.? ?You will still need audio (speaker/mike) to be handled.? ?This would be awkward for voice operations (much easier?to just use the mic and speaker of the native device) but allows use of Windows-based applications such as FLDGI / Winlink? etc.? ? The native sBitx device does some of those ON ITSELF which is quite unusual?in the realm of thesee type radios, but I'm sure you know that already.
Gordon KX4Z
On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 10:33?PM Aaron K5ATG < Aaron@...> wrote: That is some useful information.?
I got the cable and adapter to hook my uBITX up to my cell phone to operate FT8 but I had to go to the hospital and I forgot all about it and now I'm addicted to my sBITX.?
I have not been able to figure out how to operate the sBITX from my cell or tablet. It is on the to-do list but it is not the most important task that needs to be done right now,?
--
'72
Aaron?
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I'm guessing your tablet is Windows?? ?I can't help with the cell phone, but have just recently created a (unidirectional) ICOM emulation for the sBitx that will allow limited CAT control from a Windows platform.? ?You will still need audio (speaker/mike) to be handled.? ?This would be awkward for voice operations (much easier?to just use the mic and speaker of the native device) but allows use of Windows-based applications such as FLDGI / Winlink? etc.? ? The native sBitx device does some of those ON ITSELF which is quite unusual?in the realm of thesee type radios, but I'm sure you know that already.
Gordon KX4Z
On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 10:33?PM Aaron K5ATG < Aaron@...> wrote: That is some useful information.?
I got the cable and adapter to hook my uBITX up to my cell phone to operate FT8 but I had to go to the hospital and I forgot all about it and now I'm addicted to my sBITX.?
I have not been able to figure out how to operate the sBITX from my cell or tablet. It is on the to-do list but it is not the most important task that needs to be done right now,?
--
'72
Aaron?
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Re: sBITX V3 Display and Enclosure Considerations
Ok another bag of worms to be opened.? Something I'm looking at while I build the enclosure, I am thinking about making the enclosure just a little bit large in case I want to add an onboard battery or internal ATU.? I want to use it portable for a while to see how long my current batteries last with it. The current draw may be a little too high to be feasible for a small battery that I can afford. Yeah I know that there are some amazing batteries that will handle the sBITX for a few hours (my portable ops never last more than 3 hours tops, anything longer than I look at different power options) Has anyone else installed onboard batteries for their sBITX?? How hard was it to set everything up? I'm not completely sold on installing an ATU.? The only time I use a tuner is for portable ops. I do not use one in the shack. If you know my health then you know that I don't get out much for portable ops. I think that adding a ATU for not that often use may be more hassle than its worth. I would love to hear the experiences that others have had.? I'm also thinking about installing a small 1" OLED display to display the status on the Raspberry Pi 4. Especially since there isn't a cooling fan on the RPI. Below is a little pic of what I'm talking about.?  -- '72
Aaron?
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Heat will affect the power output especially on a 50 percent duty cycle mode like FT8. What hardware are you using? DE, V1, V2, V3? You may need to replace the finals and re-bias them if they were damaged by poor heat mitigation. I learned that these units need a cooling fan to run digital modes or the power will drop as it gets hotter.
-JJ
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I have an sBitx running v3.02. I have noticed that the output power on FT8 has dropped around 50% since I first got the unit. Output power on CW remains the same. I have only measured FT8 and CW so I cannot say what is happening in the other modes.
Max output power was 17W with FT8, now 9W.
Max output with CW remains the same at 21W.
All readings at 90% drive into a 50 ohm dummy load.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Jonathan
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Re: sBitx no receive unless I restart the application
I too have 3.02 and it¡¯s not too much of an issue to wait 10 seconds or so after the OS screen appears. I am more concerned if this is NOT expected as it suggest something else wrong with my sBitx. I would be interested to know if anyone else experiences it.
I still have the issue where I have low power output as well as intermittently not switching back to receive correctly during FT8 exchanges?
Regards?
Dave - G4UFS
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Re: Bitx40 issues, version 2
February 17, 2024 4:51 AM, "Matt KA2TVX via groups.io" < Penrod72@...> wrote: And link to newest video: _._,_._,_
Well it definitely looks as if you're now getting somewhere Matt. At least you got the software working now, the remaining issues seem to be more hardware related. But I'm, sure you'll be able to fix these as well. Happy BitX-ing! 73, Allard - PE1NWL
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Perfect, that was the issue!? After the chown, everything is working the way it should! I even completed one of the ideas I sent early.? I've added a button that will export the entire SQL database as an adif file (based on Bobs log2adi script).? Now it's just one click to update grid tracker!?
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Andy, There is a lots more scope with the Raspberry Pico to do this stuff. There is a nice port of the KD8CEC to Pico that could be a good starting point. - f
I hear ya, Ian.? So far, everything I've monitored has been USB.?
? ?Looking at the range of certified radios, it seems that unlike VHF, HF SSB 'channels' are just a random suggestion. They vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and from generation to generation from the same company.?
? ?I use the TSW Teensy 4.1 Raduino and would like more than the 10 memory locations in the current software if possible.? As a retired SIGINTer, I'd rather see the frequency than something like '77' or '41A' anyway.
? This might be fun!
? ?73, Andy
??
On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 03:12 AM, Ian McCrum MI5AFL wrote:
Yes just change the low pass filters AND you need USB even on the low bands 2 & 4 MHz. It would be worth adding "channels" to the software
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Re: Bitx40 issues, version 2
And link to newest video:?https://youtu.be/nwgTJBSK5tY
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Re: Bitx40 issues, version 2
Okay - got correct sketch loaded, deleted the old one - all new to me, so I feel accomplished. Even added my call sign to the display!?
Need to mess with something to reduce the "hum" (shriek?) on the speaker, but I am tuning, and receiving okay now.?
Going to mess with speaker, adding a mic and PTT, and maybe even make a QSO this weekend!
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That is some useful information.? I got the cable and adapter to hook my uBITX up to my cell phone to operate FT8 but I had to go to the hospital and I forgot all about it and now I'm addicted to my sBITX.? I have not been able to figure out how to operate the sBITX from my cell or tablet. It is on the to-do list but it is not the most important task that needs to be done right now,? -- '72
Aaron?
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Re: sBITX V3 Display and Enclosure Considerations
If you have a fusion 360 license a Fusion archive is part of the download.?
tinkered.com is great tool. Great suggestion!
73
Mark
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AJ6CU/7
KD8CEC 2.0, Nextion Screens,? and open source uBITX Raduino boards for Arduino IOT, BLE, RP2040, Teensy 4.0, and Raspberry Pi Pico
https://github.com/aj6cu
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For those of us who like the QSO mode JS8, there is an android app called "js8remote" by?Goran Skular - 9A1GS, in the "Google Play Store".
It's for sending and receiving messages to/from the JS8Call program on your sBitx.? It is easy to use and it works via WiFi, so no cables needed.? The set up details are in the app's help menu.
If you want to use JS8Call away from the shack, just set up your phone or tablet in "hotspot" mode, and have the sBitx connect to it.
Why use it?
No need to take a keyboard and mouse with you when away from the shack, your phone becomes the keyboard. Most of the time you will have your phone in your pocket anyway.??
-----
Pete VK3PYE
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On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 06:28 PM, Jeff Duce wrote:
Okay so I tried the above.? It wouldn't let me create the json file without using sudo.? Worked fine with sudo.? But after I created the file, the toolbox stopped working all together and wouldn't run.
So I ran the uninstall tool and reinstalled (version 1.7).? There seems to be a permissions issue as I can't follow the install steps in the pdf guide without adding sudo to most of the commands.? Once 1.7 was installed, no json files.
The toolbox runs, so I added a few items, then tried to close it, but it wouldn't let me close at all.? I have to reboot to get the window to go away.? Again, when I add the json file, it won't run anymore.
Thank you for providing the extra details. After reviewing them, it's clear that the problem you're encountering is linked to the permissions associated with the user or group that can access the directories and files. The screenshot you sent earlier revealed that the ownership of the directories and files was set to root:root
?
I'm uncertain about the user context under which you are executing or initiating commands (perhaps root?), but for this situation, it would be necessary for you to execute all the .py files as the root user every time.
?
By default, the sBITX OS is set up to be used by the 'pi' user and belongs to the 'pi' group. You might want to try changing the ownership of the sBITX-toolbox directory and its files to 'pi' using the following terminal command:
sudo chown -R pi:pi /home/pi/sBITX-toolbox
After that, attempt to run the toolbox once more to see if it works as expected.
?
If you encounter a message indicating an invalid user, please go to the sbitx directory using the terminal:
cd sbitx
ls -l
?
And then share the screenshot here.
-JJ
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Okay so I tried the above.? It wouldn't let me create the json file without using sudo.? Worked fine with sudo.? But after I created the file, the toolbox stopped working all together and wouldn't run.
So I ran the uninstall tool and reinstalled (version 1.7).? There seems to be a permissions issue as I can't follow the install steps in the pdf guide without adding sudo to most of the commands.? Once 1.7 was installed, no json files.
The toolbox runs, so I added a few items, then tried to close it, but it wouldn't let me close at all.? I have to reboot to get the window to go away.? Again, when I add the json file, it won't run anymore.
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Re: sBITX V3 Display and Enclosure Considerations
Is there a program that i can use to open the STL files? -- '72
Aaron?
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Re: sBITX V3 Display and Enclosure Considerations
Well said Mark. I'n my case, I think that I will try to load up your STL files and try to get the dimensions, adjust for the thickness of the material and make it with the 7" RPI display and out of wood. It will not be as rugged as 3D print or metal but it should work until something better comes along.? -- '72
Aaron?
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HA3HZ
Aaron K5ATG
Allard PE1NWL
Matt KA2TVX
Peter VK3PYE
