Physical Disassembly ZbitX
Hi All,
I have had my Zbitx for a month or so now.
Been using it. Had a few QSOs. Noted the problems others have identified. Choo Choo train noises. and heating.
I would like to take apart to add shielding etc.
Have taken the front panel off but can't see how to withdraw the 'sandwich'. Rather not resort to 'brute force and ignorance'. Has anyone posted a YouTube video of how to do this or some pictures.
Also like to know how to upload FT8 QSOs to PSKreporter & QRZ.com does the zBitx work in a similar way to WSJTX?in this respect?
If these are seen as silly questions. Please no snark.
My request for future revisions for the zBitx to display the IP address it has been assigned somewhere on one of its screens.
73 de 2E0IIY  Andrew Wade 6 Elliott Grove BRIXHAM TQ5 8RT 07971 827026
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Re: Any update on ft8 messenger you mentioned before?
Just posted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB9Py2sh2ms
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Any update on ft8 messenger you mentioned before?
Hi Ashhar,
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From another post:
"I am preparing a new messagijg system that works over ft8 protocol that is different from js8call. It is more like a messenger. It needs the radio to be on, 24x7 (and why not!). That will happen ay the FDIM."
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Any updates?
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73
Wei AG6AQ
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Mine followed me home from Dayton. Met Ashhar his wife and son, Vary nice people  
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Re: Got my zbitx about 5 minutes ago
Power is NO substitute for skill !! HI HI
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Re: zBitx speaker noise?
#zbitx
Interesting, may try the Drok - my cheapo buck/boosts may just be super noisy.
I don't think a terminating resistor would do the trick if I'm understanding correctly, since the noise comes from the speaker even with headphones in. Obviously they block some of the sound, but it's actually still audible when powered by the buck/boost.
Sent from my phone
On Wed, May 21, 2025 at 02:36 AM, Grant Brown wrote:
I'm half tempted to just cut or put a switch on the speaker cable, but I'm interested if there are any cleaner solutions.
If you are bothered by the noise from the speaker, a solution could be a 3.5mm stereo Jack plug with a resistor as a termination.
It's like plugging in headphones, but instead of the listener, there is a resistor for loading.
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Gyula HA3HZ
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Re: zBitx speaker noise?
#zbitx
On Wed, May 21, 2025 at 02:36 AM, Grant Brown wrote:
I'm half tempted to just cut or put a switch on the speaker cable, but I'm interested if there are any cleaner solutions.
If you are bothered by the noise from the speaker, a solution could be a 3.5mm stereo Jack plug with a resistor as a termination.
It's like plugging in headphones, but instead of the listener, there is a resistor for loading.
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Gyula HA3HZ
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Re: ZbitX replacement knob?
I'll specify the location of the break: it wasn't the shaft, but the threaded aluminum casting that broke in the neck. I accidentally hit the knob with something.
At the time, I didn't know that it was hard to get a non-click encoder, so I just clipped the connecting legs.
Thinking about the repair in retrospect, it might be possible to repair the break with metal glue. I'll probably try it.
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Gyula HA3HZ
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Re: zBitx speaker noise?
#zbitx
My new zBitX bought at FDIM has no audible noise from the internal speaker but I really like an external powered speaker. I use a Drok voltage/current controller and I hear no noise from that either. Happy camper.?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 20, 2025, at 8:36?PM, Grant Brown via groups.io <grant.brown73@...> wrote:
? I think the speaker power amplifier must be really sensitive - the headphones seem immune to a lot of (if not all) the noise, and the speaker can be pretty noisy even at volume zero. I was messing with some buck-boost converters today to see if I can use this with my regular (read: larger) batteries, but they're WAY noisier than the 18650s... in the speaker. Didn't notice a difference on headphones.
Tried adding some toroids to the cable, which helped a tiny bit, but not a ton and it would add a lot of weight.
I'm half tempted to just cut or put a switch on the speaker cable, but I'm interested if there are any cleaner solutions.
Playing around with it a bit tonight - seems that a bit of shielding between the pi and the board may help, especially with some of the noises. I'm getting screen update noise and a periodic crunchy noise, and the latter was most obviously affected.
?
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I just received mine last night, but your video is the same as what mine is doing. I'll have to play around with some shielding of the pi. Thanks!
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Re: Sbitx v3 HW_settings.ini gone- how fix?
I didn't want to enter this anymore, because we started from the 32-bit hw_settings.ini error.
It takes time for you to process all the new information, but I can still give you something to read? ;-)
For example, there are collections of useful articles in forum-> Wiki or forum -> Files.
Individual writings document the work of many people, the reader often skips over the good stuff because he doesn't need it.
Then they realize that they do need it.
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Gyula HA3HZ
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Re: Sbitx v3 HW_settings.ini gone- how fix?
On Tue, May 20, 2025 at 02:22 PM, Robert AG6LK wrote:
This leads me to two more questions. How do you adjust the settings for the most output efficiency in the hw_settings.ini file, after you have the sBitx up and running on the default hw_settins.ini file?
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Now that Bookworm has been implemented with the 64 bit software, will a Rasberry Pi 5 work with the 64 bit software, without any modifications?
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Take Care, 73
Robert
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See ? and ??
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Re: zBitx - TX pitch in FT8 not shown on the displayed spectrum
Don't worry, the red line position will not change in FT8 transmission, no matter where you put TX_PITCH.
This thing has been there since the first release. If you have the ability to do it, you can fix it in the program.
The screen resolution is so small that you can only see on an external monitor that you have set your transmit frequency to a blank position.
But don't worry, because this happens to anyone at any time. With a little practice, you will find the solution how to place TX_PITCH.
I also had to do more than a thousand FT8 QSOs, then because of the /p /prefix I moved on to an external wsjt program, which works on an external monitor and I don't have such a problem. (There was another problem, but now everything is fine)
The program had to be rewritten because of the low resolution of the 7" LCD display, but you can't cram the work of many people into a small space. WSJT-x /JTDX vs. sbitx FT8
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ps.: zbitx has been miniaturized even further, so there may be additional problems there.
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Gyula HA3HZ
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Re: zBitx doesn't start up
Dave,
I think you should follow this guide.
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vy73
de Frank, DD3FH
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Re: zBitx speaker noise?
#zbitx
I think the speaker power amplifier must be really sensitive - the headphones seem immune to a lot of (if not all) the noise, and the speaker can be pretty noisy even at volume zero. I was messing with some buck-boost converters today to see if I can use this with my regular (read: larger) batteries, but they're WAY noisier than the 18650s... in the speaker. Didn't notice a difference on headphones.
Tried adding some toroids to the cable, which helped a tiny bit, but not a ton and it would add a lot of weight.
I'm half tempted to just cut or put a switch on the speaker cable, but I'm interested if there are any cleaner solutions.
Playing around with it a bit tonight - seems that a bit of shielding between the pi and the board may help, especially with some of the noises. I'm getting screen update noise and a periodic crunchy noise, and the latter was most obviously affected.
?
?
I just received mine last night, but your video is the same as what mine is doing. I'll have to play around with some shielding of the pi. Thanks!
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Re: Update On Shipping Delays from HF Signals
Mine just arrived today after a one day hold.??
I have to order new batteries as mine are just a smidge too long.? I need ones without the bump on the positive end.??
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Thank you,
randy.ab9go@...
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I now have my ZbitX and am getting it setup
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Thank you
KE0VVU
Jim
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Re: zBitx doesn't start up
Ragav & Chris: Thanks very much for replying.? Sorry for the delayed response, sometimes life intervenes and we can't play radio as much as we'd like.
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The power source I'm using is a pair of new freshly charged 18650s.
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I connected a monitor and the zBitx boots into a RPi desktop.? A window titled pi@sbitx:~/sbitx comes up.? I'll just type out the window contents here:
????????????????????????????????? USER??????????? PID? ACCESS COMMAND
/dev/snd/controlco:? root ? ? ? ? ? ?? 292 f . . . .???? (root)alsactl
????????????????????????????????? pi????????????????? 631 F . . . .???? (pi)lxpanel
/dev/snd/controlco:? root ? ? ? ? ? ?? 292 f . . . .???? (root)alsactl ?
????????????????????????????????? pi????????????????? 631 F . . . .???? (pi)lxpanel
pi@sbitx:~/sbitx s
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The cursor is after the "s".
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Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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73
Dave, VE3WI
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Re: Error starting sBitx v4.3 64 bits
Thanks Evan. Your config.txt file works perfectly on my zBitx running Raspberry Pi OS 32-bit Bookworm.
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Jim
N7IHQ
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Re: zBitx - TX pitch in FT8 not shown on the displayed spectrum
I have the same issue. In the web version, the red line for TX pitch moves, but there's no way on the unit itself to be able to see where on the spectrum my TX is. Am I missing something here?
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Re: zBITX Crashes - Suspect Memory Leak
#zbitx
perfect!!!
will keep my timing at 500ms and set to iambic.
72 de KP4MI
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Andrew Wade UK
HA3HZ
David Wilcox K8WPE
Randy.AB9GO
ZL1SGS