Re: #zbitx I am intereted in CAT control of the zBitx.
#zbitx
The hamlib netcontrol works. Cat control via the CAT usb port is TBD
My radio does not arrive till Monday! ? I am interested in some modes that are not installed on the radio.? I want to test with DigiPi too. ?(YES, adding another Pi)
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What radio does the CAT port respond to?? For Hamlib as an example.
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73 KE9A
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Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully
#zbitx
Chris,
This is an interesting aside, but the logbook saves all the qsos in an sqlite3 database. It is in a file called sbitx.db3 under ~/sbitx/data
You might want to poke around and see what is in it.
There is an easter egg in that database. Every decode of received ft8 is stored!
- f
On Thu, Apr 3, 2025, 6:21 PM Bob Benedict, KD8CGH via <rkayakr= [email protected]> wrote: JJ's 64 bit code has a button to shut down the Pi and provides a pop up to remind you power off afterward.
--
73
??? Bob? KD8CGH
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#zbitx I am intereted in CAT control of the zBitx.
#zbitx
My radio does not arrive till Monday! ? I am interested in some modes that are not installed on the radio. ?I want to test with DigiPi too. ?(YES, adding another Pi)
?
What radio does the CAT port respond to? ?For Hamlib as an example.
?
?
73 KE9A
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Re: Strain Relief mod for Power Cable
This is a great suggestion and a quick and easy modification. Thank you for sharing.
73
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Re: Zbitx orders might close soon
Darell,
It takes a village to build an SDR. I am truely grateful to all on this forum who contributed to code, advise and bug reports. Also, it goes without saying that the basis of this sdr is the open source work done by people like Phil Karn, KA9Q, Gerry, K5SDR, Bob Larkin, W7PUA and the radio designers like Wes, W7ZOI, Rick Campbell, KK7B, Hans, G0UPL and many others.
Some radio hams are not recognize enough. For instance, Bdale Garbee, KB0G, who was the project lead of Debian operating system that Raspberry Pi runs off. I can boast that he is a regular sbitx user as well!
On Thu, Apr 3, 2025, 3:41 PM Darrell Davis KT4WX via <kt4wx= [email protected]> wrote: Faran:
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It is a testimony to the veracity of the zBITX, when it is in danger of selling out in two to three days.? Hopefully, your alumni will agree to come back and lend you a hand.
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I appreciate all of the hard work you and your team have done to bring another fine product, that we are able to experiment with after we get it.
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73 de Darrell KT4WX?
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Re: Any updates in the new batch of zbitx that is open for orders now?
There will be no hardware changes to the circuitry at all. We are using the same gerber for all the batches.
Some questions on the new batch:
1.? Will these have a new version number to distinguish them from the original batch?
2.? Are there any HW changes to the boards or circuit components?
3.? Are there any changes to the specifications?
4.? Will there be any SW differences between them?
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I'm thinking the answer is "no" to all of the above, but just checking.
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Hats off to HFSignals for this awesome product!? I'm looking forward to the arrival here of the new toy.
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Mike,
Thr cw_poll is not the one the one that is doing the actual keying. See cw_read_key() in? This is the function that is in turn called by cw_tx_get_sample() 96000 times a second.? The cw_poll only checks for changed sending speed, etc., to keep the keyer, decoder, etc. upto date. - f
On Thu, Apr 3, 2025, 6:43 PM Mike Johnshoy via <mike.johnshoy= [email protected]> wrote: Ashar,
I'm an old sbitx DE user, but I have looked at your newest zbitx? code a little.? Your new change using interrupts insures the state of the key/paddle is updated in a global variable in a very timely fashion. So you have made that end of the problem even better than it needs to be.?
You have always noted in the code comments that you don't want CW sending loop reading the gpio pins 96,000 times per second.? But even now when you have accurate/fresh data stored in those variables I think you may not sample them often enough.? I verified this on my sbitx DE (but I see some changes to tick counts in the zbitx so I may be wrong) but it seems that ui_tick() does not call modem_poll() often enough - so modem_poll doesn't get called to go use that nice fresh input!
Good luck with the zbitx - it looks great!
Mike - KB2ML
Ashhar Farhan
Apr 2? ?#116851? ?
Ron, I would like you to review the code:
1.
Here, we setup the ISR (interrupt service routine) to call a function called key_isr whenever the state of the paddle chages (press, release).
2. The key_isr () reads the status of the the two paddles (DASH and PTT) and stores them in global variables ptt_state and dash_state.
3. the cw sending loop has to generate 96,000 samples a second. And it cannot spend time reading the gpio pins to see if the any new symbol (dot/dash/space) has been generated by the user. Instead, it just reads these two variables. This is done by the routine key_poll().
.4 Read key_poll (). You will note that it executes very quickly. To know what type of key we are using, it doesn't even to a string compare of the CW_INPUT settings, instead it just samples the 6th letter with is different for all the three cases (Straight, Iambic and Iambic-B).
Let me know what you think of the implementation and if it can be improved.
- f
--
Mike KB2ML
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Ashar,
I'm an old sbitx DE user, but I have looked at your newest zbitx code a little. Your new change using interrupts insures the state of the key/paddle is updated in a global variable in a very timely fashion. So you have made that end of the problem even better than it needs to be.
You have always noted in the code comments that you don't want CW sending loop reading the gpio pins 96,000 times per second. But even now when you have accurate/fresh data stored in those variables I think you may not sample them often enough. I verified this on my sbitx DE (but I see some changes to tick counts in the zbitx so I may be wrong) but it seems that ui_tick() does not call modem_poll() often enough - so modem_poll doesn't get called to go use that nice fresh input!
Good luck with the zbitx - it looks great!
Mike - KB2ML
Ashhar Farhan
Apr 2 #116851
Ron, I would like you to review the code:
1.
Here, we setup the ISR (interrupt service routine) to call a function called key_isr whenever the state of the paddle chages (press, release).
2. The key_isr () reads the status of the the two paddles (DASH and PTT) and stores them in global variables ptt_state and dash_state.
3. the cw sending loop has to generate 96,000 samples a second. And it cannot spend time reading the gpio pins to see if the any new symbol (dot/dash/space) has been generated by the user. Instead, it just reads these two variables. This is done by the routine key_poll().
.4 Read key_poll (). You will note that it executes very quickly. To know what type of key we are using, it doesn't even to a string compare of the CW_INPUT settings, instead it just samples the 6th letter with is different for all the three cases (Straight, Iambic and Iambic-B).
Let me know what you think of the implementation and if it can be improved.
- f
--
Mike KB2ML
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After so many reports about problems with failed updates
I nevertheless decided to update the zBitx this morning - contrary to my intention.
With surprisingly positive, unexpected update results:
Lambic-A and -B and Straight-Key now work fine and usable up to speed 28 !
I usually use around 24, so I'm happy with it so far.
Output is in line with specified values . SSB doesn't sound too bad either.
I already had concerns and was very skeptical that nothing would work after the update as many report .
But: I dared to do the update after all ...
Well, maybe I was “lucky” with the device.?
I will be happy to use it and keep it, contrary to my previous criticism.
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73 ! Jens / HB9JOI
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Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully
#zbitx
JJ's 64 bit code has a button to shut down the Pi and provides a pop up to remind you power off afterward.
--
73
??? Bob? KD8CGH
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Strain Relief mod for Power Cable
To add some strain relief to the power cable I drilled 2 x 2.5mm holes into the battery holder and secured the power cable with a small zip tie.? A spot of liquid rubber on the exposed contacts top and bottom completes the job.
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Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number
Hi Gordon,
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The sBitx and zBitx series use a directional coupler to measure SWR and Power:
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From the code, after reading the value from the ATTiny85 vfwd:
? ? sprintf(buff,"%d", (vfwd * 40)/68);
? ? set_field("#fwdpower", buff);
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40/68 is the scaling of the ADC and the 50-Ohm conversion of voltage to power.
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Your comment on accurate power readings is correct.? It will not report an accurate value in anything other than a 50-Ohm load.
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73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number
I don't know about Ashhar's specific circuitry, but many of these "power" measurement systems actually measure VOLTAGE and presume 50 ohms and calculate the power using Ohms Law etc.
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If your actual impedance of your load is 25 ohms (not 50) then you will actually have FAR more output power than these kinds of systems will report.? ?They are only accurate into 50 ohms precisely, zero reactance.
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Again, I haven't looked at exactly how Ashhar does his system.? ?You can check this by comparing YOUR output power into a 50 ohm dummy load, and then with the same settings, into your antenna.? ? If there is a difference in reported power....your antenna isn't 50 ohms and the system is being "fooled."
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I hope this helps.? ?Accurate power measurement is quite an effort, which is why such equipment is often so terribly expensive!? Ashhar MIGHT have actually measured current, voltage and phase and computed, but few people do this.? ?
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Gordon KX4Z
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Any updates in the new batch of zbitx that is open for orders now?
Some questions on the new batch:
1.? Will these have a new version number to distinguish them from the original batch?
2.? Are there any HW changes to the boards or circuit components?
3.? Are there any changes to the specifications?
4.? Will there be any SW differences between them?
?
I'm thinking the answer is "no" to all of the above, but just checking.
?
Hats off to HFSignals for this awesome product!? I'm looking forward to the arrival here of the new toy.
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Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number
Ok glad to hear. I thought I had maybe let the magic smoke out. I will swap antenna and try on other bands. Do we now wait for the next update and fixes. 73 de 2E0IIY
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What`s the reason that I get on all bands only 2...max.3 watts output
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73
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From: Vu3vwr via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, April 3, 2025 6:23 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] Power zero on 10m / Drive
number
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Matt,
I have logged the 10M power output bug on .
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This seems to be a software bug. The current workaround is to switch to
another band (say 20M) and transmit (do a quick "qrl?" on CW) before going back
to 10M. Doing this brings back the power on 10M.?
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I haven't seen the drive problem so far. Are you able to set it on 100 on
the other bands? Have you tried to restart the radio and see if you are able to
adjust this? Please log this bug on Github so that Farhan can look into it.
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73,
Ragav
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Re: Power zero on 10m / Drive number
Jens,
The power output is determined by the input voltage and the drive setting. Are you using batteries? If there is a sag in the voltage when your radio goes into transmit, the output power will go down. Although you can crank up the input voltage upto 12V it's not recommended as the heatsink on the radio can get quite hot given that the 5V linear regulator has to drop the input voltage.
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Can you please confirm if you've set the drive to 100??
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73,
Ragav
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Re: #zbitx I would really like a formal way to shut down the software gracefully
#zbitx
Are the FT8 contacts saved? ?If so, aren’t they written to the file system on micro SD card?
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if the FT8 contacts are written to the card then couldn’t the file system eventually become corrupted by abruptly disconnecting the power? ?
is it possible to add a “button” somewhere on the screen to issue a proper shutdown command to the Pi 2W and Pico?
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Gerry, You power off the radio by unplugging the power. According to this post from Farhan, there is no data being written to the SD card and the radio can be powered down by unplugging the power. If you are connected to an external HDMI display, you can shutdown the Pi from the logout option on the start menu. ?
Although we haven't used an external ethernet hub to connect the zBitx to the internet, this should work as long as the Pi is able to access the internet.?
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Please have a look at for instructions on how to update the zBitx. You will need to connect the zBitx to the internet and plug in an external HDMI display, keyboard, and mouse to the zBitx to update the rig. To update the firmware, you will need to connect the radio to a PC using the supplied microUSB cable.?
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You can use the built in SD card copier tool on the Pi to "clone" your sd card. You can also download the image file for the sd card and burn it onto a new sd card using Balena Etcher or Raspberry Pi Imager software.
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73,
Ragav
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At idle the backplate is getting somewhat hot. So my guess is that the linear regulator 7805 is getting hot. The radio draws about 450mA of the 9VDC supply so the 7805 will be dissipating some heat.?
I?m planning to elevate the radio at the back end to have a better user angle. By that the heat can disappear easier then laying flush to the table.?
--
Tilman D. Thulesius
SM0JZT / Sweden
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Re: Zbitx orders might close soon
Faran:
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It is a testimony to the veracity of the zBITX, when it is in danger of selling out in two to three days. ?Hopefully, your alumni will agree to come back and lend you a hand.
?
I appreciate all of the hard work you and your team have done to bring another fine product, that we are able to experiment with after we get it.
?
73 de Darrell KT4WX?
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Robert Fairbairn
Jens/HB9JOI
Bob Benedict, KD8CGH
Andrew Wade UK
Tilman, SM0JZT
Darrell Davis KT4WX