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Re: IRF510
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThey are obsolete. Just had them lying
around like you do.
Howard On 6/24/2018 10:12 PM, ajparent1/KB1GMX wrote: Early Dmos parts.? They are good, I still have some in the collection along with
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Re: #ubitx-help advice needed-display issue
#ubitx-help
We've had some really long threads here about switches and fuses and diodes and such.
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Here's a few of them: ? ??/g/BITX20/topic/7489182 ? ??/g/BITX20/topic/19250730 ? ??/g/BITX20/topic/21608328 It's one of those things were everybody has an opinion. Most of them would work enough. If you don't have a 3 Amp fuse in line with the power supply, the shunt diode scheme shown on the? wireup page of hfsignals.com won't necessarily work. You are describing a variation of this, with a fuse in the black wire between the shunt diode and the power jack,? this would mostly work except that antenna ground is often somehow connected to power supply ground which can give a path around a blown negative side fuse. I'd say you want to fuse the positive side first. Allison has suggested also fusing the negative side, but that is not often seen. This is what I have implemented: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? +------0.5Afuse----Diode----------RedToMainUbitx12v
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?jack? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?|? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? bar
PowerSupply=====O-------Switch----|
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? |? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?+------3.0Afuse--------------------BrownToIrf510s?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? |
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? +----------------------------------------------------BlackToGround
I am using polyswitches instead of fast-blow fuses, no need to replace them when a short occurs. ? ?? Just power down to let the polyswitch cool and reset itself, fix the fault, then power back up. Having a separate 0.5A fuse for most of the uBitx means less damage will occur on a fault than the damage we would have if it was a 3.0A fuse to everything. The power switch could be the one on the volume control provided. Instead I put in a toggle switch right next to the power jack on the back of the chassis to avoid long wires. I prefer a series diode as shown (not shunt) for polarity protection of the main uBitx board, we lose? some fraction of a volt across that diode but it does not affect radio performance. The provided Schottky diode could be used, or use anything from the 1n400x series such as the 1n4007. The PA-PWR to the IRF510's is only protected by the 3.0Amp fuse, if polarity is reversed then the IRF510's will conduct and blow the fuse, so this is a shunt protection scheme that avoids any diode voltage drop A small drop in voltage here will reduce available power out when transmitting.
?Jerry, KE7ER On Sun, Jun 24, 2018 at 06:33 pm, <entilleser@...> wrote: So, then, regarding the wire-up of the jack/switch/fuse/et cetera:? Positive pole of jack to one pole of fuse: other pole of fuse to one pole of switch: other pole of switch to red and brown wires of radio power connector.? That it???? Also, negative pole of jack to one pole of second fuse: other pole of second fuse to black wire of radio power connector, and to black end of diode: ring end of diode to positive pole of power jack.? Yes??? |
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uBTIX Nextion Display and microSD card woes
#ubitx
I just want to pass on some discoveries I made today while upgrading my uBTIX to run KD8CEC V1.094 with a 2.8' Nextion Display.
If you follow Ian's instructions at ?(? you need to download .TFT files and install the correct one, based on display size, onto a microSD card and?plug that into the Nextion Display before powering it up. This is required to load?the KB8CEC GUI code into the display.? I ran into some problems doing this so I want share what I have?discovered so that you don't make the same mistakes that I did.? 1) The Display wants the microSD card to be formatted as FAT32. What this means to you is that you can't use a microSD card larger than 32GB as the default in? Windows is to format cards > 32 GB as exFAT, which the Nextion does not like. In fact Windows 10 wouldn't even let me reformat a card this big as FAT32. (I am sure if you dig deep enough there might be a way to do this. I am not a Windows GURU). ? Currently you only need a 2 GB card so if you need to buy?one for this purpose try an 8GB card. It is also worth it to buy a brand name card (like Sandisk). One of the no-name cards that I have is slower than cold?molasses to read from and write to. I ended up running out to the?local drugstore for an 8GB? Sandisk at 4pm as I realized all of the cards I had were either too big or duds.? 2) If you have a problematic microSD card, when you power up the rig you might not see anything on the display, not even a backlight ! ? I spent considerable time?trying to solve what I thought was a wiring/power problem to the display when it was a bad SD card. When the I removed the card and power-cycled the rig the? Nextion display came up fine with a demo program that was already loaded. ?So my recommendation is for the initial power up of the display don't insert the SD card. That way you can be sure that you have it wired up ok?before you start messing with SD cards.? 3) Beware, ground and +5V connections on the Raduino going to the Nextion Display are adjacent to each other.? I recommend that you check and recheck your wiring several times?before applying power. It is very easy to accidentally swap these and you won't be happy if you do. ?As they say, "An?ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". One group member has already found this out the hard way. Cheers Michael VE3WMB? |
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Vince Vielhaber
I have an 862D but to remove the nano I'd cut the old one out with snips if I didn't have a desoldering iron, which I do.
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Vince. On 06/24/2018 08:06 PM, f1mqj wrote:
Thanks Jerry, Vince, Ralph and others --
Michigan VHF Corp. |
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Re: Programming Issues and Questions
Jack Purdum
I don't think Farhan meant to return anything from the function. As a test, change the function's signature from: ?? int menuBand(int btn){ to ?? void menuBand(int btn){ and see what happens. I didn't see any statements in any of the files where a return value from menuBand() is used in an assignment statement, so it should be OK using void. Jack, W8TEE
On Sunday, June 24, 2018, 5:45:04 PM EDT, Howard Fidel <sonic1@...> wrote:
I am integrating my uBitx into an old HA 350 receiver? chassis. It has a band switch on it, so I want to program A7 to read the switch. I downloaded several different versions of code to find a good starting point. When I use any of Farhan's versions, I get a compile error:?
return-statement with no value, in function returning 'int' [-fpermissive]
?
It is a return in ubitx_menu in the if(!btn) statement that causes this.
I tried Ron, W2CTX's ubitx_V2_00R and i see what looks like coding errors, although it compiles. The error is that A7 is not declared, and digital dash is declared as A3. A3 is PTT KD8CEC's uBitx_20 compiles.? Any input on which code is best would be appreciated. I would also like to know how to fix the compiling error so I can reinstall the factory code if I need to. Thanks, Howard
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Re: KD8CEC - Nextion Display - IAN questions
Ian :?
I am very impressed with KB8CEC v1.094, this plus the Nextion Display is a real game changer for the uBITX !? It feels like I am now using a new radio ;-)? Can I make a suggestion for some future enhancements ? 1) Make the Tuning Step an on-screen button so that tapping on it will allow the selection of the tuning step. ? ? ?This is something that anyone using both CW and SSB will want to change all the time and it is difficult to get at currently. 2) Provide an on-screen button to access the CW settings. ? ?Things like offset and break-in delay don't get changed very often but ?CW operators who are using Iambic keying ? ?need to be able to quickly change code speed?. Also many of us use both?paddles and straight keys so it would also be nice to ? ?able to quickly access selection that from the display. This also makes adjusting an antenna tuner simpler if you can switch ? from Iambic to Straight Key and push the DIT paddle to generate a carrier.? One thought is that you might be able to make it context sensitive so that buttons specific to CW operation only appear when the mode is CWU or CWL ?? Just a thought.? Thanks for all of the great work on this ! Cheers Michael VE3WMB? |
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Re: ubitx code version 4.3 for review, testing
Jack Purdum
Any files that appear in the sketch directory are assumed to be part of the sketch and are included by the IDE. Each file will have its own tab in the Source Code Window. Jack, W8TEE
On Sunday, June 24, 2018, 7:14:09 PM EDT, Craig Wadsworth <cwadsworth@...> wrote:
Neophyte question: The code is in several files.? May different files be merged into the Arduino IDE as desired? |
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IRF510
I accidentally blew the IRF510 out. I didn't have any, but I found some VN88AFD parts. They produce the same power out on all bands as the IRF510 did. They have much less gate capacitance, so should be easier to drive. Not saying they are better, but they seem to be equivalent in the uBitx. Pin order is different.?
Howard |
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Re: Nextion Display vs 1602 LCD - Current Consumption
#ubitx
Whoops ... the 250 mA is for the whole rig.?
The Raduino + Nextion Display should account for 41 mA + 108 mA ?~= ?149 mA. So the current through the L7805 on the Raduino Board should be about 150 mA which should be fine.? I still suggest using a heatsink. Cheers Michael VE3WMB? |
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Re: Nextion Display vs 1602 LCD - Current Consumption
#ubitx
Michael Perfect !!! I considered using a $ 2 price regulator for RPI on ebay, but decided to cancel. I will disassemble another transceiver to find the heat sink Ian 2018-06-25 10:37 GMT+09:00 Michael Babineau <mbabineau.ve3wmb@...>: Today I upgraded my uBITX (v3) to use KD8CEC v1.094 and a Nextion 2.8" display, so I am now able to answer my |
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Re: Nextion Display vs 1602 LCD - Current Consumption
#ubitx
Today I upgraded my uBITX (v3) to use KD8CEC v1.094 and a Nextion 2.8" display, so I am now able to answer my
previous question about current draw of the display and whether the L7805 regulator on the Raduino board is up to the task of powering this display.? Prior to doing the upgrade I measured my RX current draw as 162.5 mA, running off of a 12.5 v SLA battery.? A previous posting to this group established that the 16x2 LCD Display draws about 21 mA so the rig + Raduino (without LCD) should be around 142 mA With my Nextion 2.8" Display and backlight set to 100 % I am now seeing a total current draw for the uBITX of? 250 mA. That indicates that my 2.8" Nextion Display is drawing about 108 mA.? ? The L7805 regulator on the Raduino board is rated for at least 1A so it should be fine with a 250 mA total current draw. I did go ahead and put a heatsink on it and I even used some silicon-based heatsink compound.? For fun I took a meat thermometer and held it against the Heatsink and I got a reading of 56.5 C ! The rig had been powered up for over an hour.? This part is rated for up to 150 C.? My recommendation is that if you are going to add the Nextion Display you should? put a TO-220 compatible heatsink on the L7805 5V regulator on the Raduino board. Cheers Michael VE3WMB? |
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Re: #ubitx-help advice needed-display issue
#ubitx-help
So, then, regarding the wire-up of the jack/switch/fuse/et cetera:? Positive pole of jack to one pole of fuse: other pole of fuse to one pole of switch: other pole of switch to red and brown wires of radio power connector.? That it???? Also, negative pole of jack to one pole of second fuse: other pole of second fuse to black wire of radio power connector, and to black end of diode: ring end of diode to positive pole of power jack.? Yes???
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Re: RFI from uBitx TX after AGC and other mods installed
Thanks Don, I'll try some RG-174 then.? I might not have time until Wednesday, flying out tomorrow for a two day trip, but will report back when I try it.
I assume one coax with shield to ground at both ends - unlike the RF gain control coax, which is two coax cables, grounded at the pot end but shields not connected at the AGC board.? Let me know if that's not right. 73, Rowland K4XD |
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Schematic . . . What Schematic . . mine?
As I worked on my uBitx I made changes . . .duh . . doesn't everybody?
As I progressed I found I forgot what I had hooked to what. I used cardboard for my front panel to help make a template for control placement. Easy to cut new holes or move the placement. Forgot to document what I had wired to what and where. Now I am wanting to install a push button to be able to read both board voltage and PA voltage. Also adding a analog watt meter to the mix. First picture shows work so far and has room to add the above controls. All fine and well. . . except . . . I didn't make a schematic of what I had already wired. 2nd pic shows the other side with wiring. As this was a proto-type I left most wires too long as to make easy mods. That's fine. BUT I didn't document what I had already wired. Now I have to retrace wiring to find out where to hook up new contriols. Moral of story . . . Make notes and a schematic. Sure will help id something becomes . . . disconnected. |
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Re: KD8CEC - Nextion Display - IAN questions
Kevin, Yes, that's right, I will only support 2.4 "and 2.8" for the time being.?However, on my distribution list, you will find the GUI files for 3.2 "and 3.5". They were converted to 3.5 "using the 2.8" GUI. It will work normally, but it will probably look a little awkward.? In the Nextion Editor, you can convert to a different resolution with a click of the mouse. But I keep getting emails saying that I have successfully converted to 3.2, 3.5 "or even 7" LCD. They work nicely by modifying the entire GUI to fit the LCD.? You can ask them to get a 3.5 "file.?But please wait for the beta version to finish. There are a few additional features to add. Ian KD8CEC 2018-06-25 8:49 GMT+09:00 Kevin Timm <kevindtimm@...>:
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Try sending email to? ??hfsignals?at?gmail?dot com
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Replace the "at" and "dot" with something more appropriate. If they do send you a replacement it might take a month to arrive, and have import duty issues. I know many electronics hobbyists use heat guns meant for embossing, or melting a colored powder into paper Something like this: ? ??? Likely the cheapest way to go. But you could buy a full solder rework station, others in the forum may have recommendations of which. Maybe cover the display connector and blue pot of the Raduino with cloth to protect them from heat, cover the Raduino entirely with metal foil to further protect it from heat, clamp the Raduino in a vice, cut an opening in the foil to expose the Nano. Blast?away with the heat gun while tugging at the Nano, lifting the nano free of the pins it was soldered down to.? Then remove the pins one by one from the Raduino using a soldering iron. That will probably work better then cutting the pins, I had trouble when I did it that way. Jerry? On Sun, Jun 24, 2018 at 05:06 pm, f1mqj wrote:
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Re: KD8CEC - Nextion Display - IAN questions
Lowell, Thnk you for your work. LCDs usually consume much current in the backlight. Decreasing the backlight brightness will certainly reduce current consumption. Adjusting the brightness of the backlight generates noise.? I think this is probably a problem with LCDs that use most inverter type backlights. I think that the way to reduce the brightness in hardware is coming soon. Perhaps users who use uBITX as Portable will also be able to use Nextion LCD. Ian KD8CEC 2018-06-22 8:05 GMT+09:00 Lowell <lowell.haney@...>: Just got in a 2.4 and a 3.2 Nextion display.? I'd seen some comments on the current draw and the possible need for a heat sink on the existing 5V regulator or maybe even a separate supply. So I just measured both on the bench. |
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