Re: uBitx has a bit too crispy / semi-distorted audio even on low signal levels
#ubitx
#ubitx-help
Hi
After looking in to the schematic on V4 board? - In case of usage of an external output amp (bypassing infernal) ¨C would be possible please to confirm? that I can disconnect R71 and connect external audio amp to points: VOL_H and VOL_M ?
THX
Martin, OK5MCA
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Re: What does zero-beat sound like?
#ubitx
Hello Rogier
In this short video you will hear and understand what is mean with "zero beat " an after that you can apply it to? firmware manual calibration section : "rotate the encoder until you hear the zero beat" :)
Martin,? OK5MCA
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Re: JackAl System Preview
Jack, any chance you could provide some sort of 3d CAD file for the board, with components.? I use Autodesk's Fusion360 to design my case layouts.? It's nice to know how things will fit before I machine a hole!? Not sure what you're designing the PCB in but if it were Kicad, you certainly can export 3d files (like .stp?or .step)  -- John - N0CTL - Fulltime RV in a 40' motorhome
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Re: Reverse Polarity Protection Kit and Document
I used the K.I.S.S. first example of a series rectifier.?? Mine goes from the power jack to my 2 fuses.? The tiny voltage drop is not noticeable. -- Lee - N9LO? "I Void Warranties"
?
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Re: JackAl System Preview
Wow this is a wonderful product Jack!? It reminds a bit of my Pic-a-Star.? It would be great to add a 4x4 matrix keyboard option.? Looks like my uBitx will need a bigger box now ;-)
--
John - N0CTL - Fulltime RV in a 40' motorhome
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I guess Ashhar is too modest to brag about this one...
If you are not reading Bill's blog, you are missing lots of good stuff.
--
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Re: JackAl System Preview
Gilles,
Jack has announced the JackAl board will be distributed by QRP
Guys.
It will be added to their website when he has stock of the kit,
currently expected end of November.
Alan
On 26/09/2018 18:22, F1BFU - Fr - 79
wrote:
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Hi
Kack?& Al
I have two
questions :
1 - Can we buy
only the kit of the card?
(I already have a
TFT 5 "and a Teensy 3.6).
2 - Do you know a
book about Teensy to learn how to use it or have written
one?
73 QRO
Gilles - F1BFU /FR
Hello Al
& Jack
Very good
project.
I'm
interested.
Please add me also to
buyer¡¯s?with TFT 7" option.
Paypal Invoice
to gilles.f1bfu(at)?(please
replace (at) by @)
Very good stuff
73¡¯s Gilles ¨C
F1BFU /FR
--
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Re: Current Draw & Power Output Question
The information I read says it is aligned at the factory and other information from HS Signals says that 'alignment' and 'calibration' are the same things. The expectation is that it works right out of the box which HF Signals also says. Mine worked right out of the box. As advertised. Touching up the 'calibration' or 'alignment' made it work 'more better'. I would guess at the factory they get it as close as they can as quick as they can and we can finish it when we get it.
But..again..mine worked right out of the box just as HF Signals said it would. Golden screwdrivers and diddle sticks universally always go the wrong way on the first try. If we don't know what we're doing and we do it anyway we get in trouble. That has been true since the beginning of radio more than two weeks ago (and maybe longer). On here we can help somebody who got lost to find their way. Most of the messages here try to do that.
73,
Bill KU8H
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On 09/26/2018 09:05 AM, M Garza wrote: Doing a smoke test does not include setting the BFO!
No where on the site does it mention that the kit comes pre-calibrated.
The software is written to get the frequency close to being aligned.
Due to differences, some people have to calibrate.
As for the bias adjustment, if it was not transmitting, I would think it
might need to be reset. It is transmitting. RV1 probably needs to be
adjusted to get a little more drive.
There are alignment procedures for a reason. Don't assume that the kit
can be put together and you get instant use. It has to be aligned.
Even the high $$ equipment has alignment procedures.
Marco - KG5PRT
On Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 6:17 AM Timothy Fidler <engstr@...
<mailto:engstr@...>> wrote:
iz. don't confuse the poor bugg_r There is a procedure for set up .
he needs to follow the procedure to get optimum output in SSB. Now
you bring up a red herring. What I would find annoying is to see
that there appears to have been ZERO set up on the test bench in
India (he mentions it did not Rx as received either). You wonder if
it was even turned on to check for smoke leaks ??
--
bark less - wag more
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Reverse Polarity Protection Kit and Document
?I ran across this in a FB post.? Thought I would share.?? It would work with any of your projects that you need reverse polarity protection.? I've been saving articles, but this looked like a solid implementation.? Of course with the parts and the document you can build one yourself if you so desired.? The person that posted it stated " With a 13.8 volt supply, my power output, according to an MFJ meter, went from 4.1 watts to 5.1 watts. ".
- he also has it in through-hole component but right now he's out.?
- The one lower down that says "MOSFET with low Vgss" is the circuit it uses.? The device he uses is the IRF4905.
?So you can support him or build your own.? Just thought I would share.?
73, KM4OLT
Michael
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Re: JackAl System Preview
Hi Kack?& Al
I have two questions :
1 - Can we buy only the kit of the card? (I already have a TFT 5 "and a Teensy 3.6).
2 - Do you know a book about Teensy to learn how to use it or have written one?
73 QRO Gilles - F1BFU /FR
Hello Al & Jack
Very good project. I'm interested. Please add me also to buyer¡¯s?with TFT 7" option.
Paypal Invoice to gilles.f1bfu(at)?(please replace (at) by @) Very good stuff 73¡¯s Gilles ¨C F1BFU /FR
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I mainly use 20 and 40. I always go to 20, and then 40 if there is no activity. 80 has lots of activity at night, but I hardly ever hear anything other than rag chews and nets down there.
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I have been following this thread on Bitx40 vs. ubitx.? I understood the question to be a comparison between the Bitx40 and the ubitx 40m.? Anyway that would be my question....so are there any different between the performance of Bitx 40 and the ubitx 40m. Taking in the consideration? of ? being in spec for the FCC rules too. john kg9dk.
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Thanks for the suggestions Iz, Ill be checking out the RTTY contest for sure and I do have a need for some 1:1 transformers, Ill order some and give it a go. One thing I did last night seems to make even more improvement to the Spurs. I used a piece of short coax RG179 for the antenna input from board to connector. Looks like it reduced the spurs a little. ? ? This pic is from the other day. ? 
? ? This is with coax on Antenna connection ? 
? I can also see the little dip in the center which I get on my FT-840 from tapping IF there too. I was told that this is a product of the filter, or mixer, it matched the width of 15khz which one could assume is from the 45mhz filter. ? ? ? Joe ? ? Sent from for Windows 10 ?
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From: iz oosSent: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 3:19 AM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [BITX20] IF OUT ? I would like to point out two tricks to reduce noise that worked for me using cheap sdr IF converters. First if you use a laptop, either use the battery (which will be eaten fast) or a power supply that has the ground wire as well. Also in some cases adding a 1:1 RF isolating transformer at the IF output made a huge difference and removed ground loops. ? Il 26/set/2018 08:50, ha scritto: Ok, interesting that a resistor may suffice. If you hear overload in the uBitx then you need the BCI filter or adding some preselection. If you see the overload in the RTL and you hear a clean signal in uBitx that is due to the extremely poor dynamic range of the dongle. This weekend there is the most important RTTY contest. It is a good test to see the difference between a good and a mediocre receiver. ? Il 25/set/2018 22:43, "Joe Puma" <kd2nfc@...> ha scritto: I do have a buffer board but its in the FT-840. I added a 220 ohm resistor in series and I am no longer effecting the radio receive with the SDR connected, not hearing a difference plugged/unplugged. The waterfall is a little cleaner. The spikes or spurs are a bigger issue right? I usually see that on my other rigs if I do use gain in the SDR or a LNA, but gain is 0 on the SDR, is there some gain coming from where I tapped? ? I also get bad IMD, I hear radio stations in the background no matter where I tune and it gets worse from 40 and below. Ill be exploring that soon, the BCI filter should make for more improvement when I install it. I also removed the ? Joe ? 
? ? ? Sent from for Windows 10 ? ? I think Joe uses a buffer board which should be the best way to tap it. And alternative is using another 3904 (emitter-follower) . The gain in the RTL I have can be reduced by 42db via the software. ? Il 25/set/2018 21:32, "Joe Puma" <kd2nfc@...> ha scritto: Thank you Allison. That sounds like a good experiment, I¡¯ll give it a go.? ?
On Sep 25, 2018, at 12:58 PM, ajparent1/KB1GMX <kb1gmx@...> wrote:
Joe,
Keep in mind a RTL-SDR is not an insensitive receiver.? Its good enough on its own.
so putting the gain and mixers of the ubitx ahead of that means the noise floor is
increased by the effective gain or about 10-14db or so.? None of which helps hear
signals better as the IF amp it self has a noise figure of maybe 4-6DB.
So yes, much cruft.
To use it effectively as a panadaptor the SDR gain has to be turned down so the noise is
the baseline at or near the bottom of the spectrum display or a light background on the
waterfall.? Otherwise all you see is the noise and the signals will not stand out.
You likely need a buffer (or reduce loading) as well as tapping at that point is like putting
two load (resistors) in parallel and the receiver has less signal or effective gain.? The buffer
could be as simple as a series resistor from that point to the coax for the SDR.? Since the
SDR already sees too much cruft so lowering the signal (series resistor) will improve the
view and also lower the load on the IF to regain signal.? Values likely are in the range
of 50 to 500 ohms and try by substitution?may be easiest way.? Its a useful experiment
and so try a 470 ohm for a starting point (may be too high).
Allison
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Re: 2.8" Color TFT display with mouse control
#ubitx
Several have asked the question if a Teensy 3.5 will work with our BITeensio board for this application.? The answer is NO because, as far as we have been able to determine, USB "Host" mode only works on the Teensy 3.6.?
When they had the Teensy 3.5 manufactured, PJRC seems to have left some components off it so USB host mode couldn't be implemented though the traces appear to be on the board.? I don't know if those components could be added (you'd have to be pretty good with a very fine soldering iron and know what the components were) or if that would even make it work.? There might be some internal programming for the ARM processor as well that would have to be updated and I can't answer those questions.
When we designed the BITeensio to replace the Raduino and our own RadI2Cino cards we settled on the Teensy 3.6 as it was a good bit superior in speed and capability to the Teensy 3.5.? The only minor disadvantage is the 3.6 is NOT 5 volt compliant on any of its I/O like some of the I/O pins on the Teensy 3.5.? We didn't see this as a disadvantage though as most of the later crop of useful items run on 3.3V anyway and our color displays require 3.3V only.? This, plus the smaller footprint of the Teensy series made the Teensy 3.6? a much better choice as the BITeensio's MPU.?
The Teensy 3.6's on board 3.3V regulator has sufficient current handling capability to run the smaller 2.8" Color screen/back light, the 3.3V I2C bus, the Si5351a and the TSX0102 level shifter for the BITeensio's 5V I2C bus and still have some reserve.? Also, the Teensy 3.5 was not enough cheaper than the 3.6 to warrant using it so again, the answer is NO, the Teensy 3.5 will not work with the BITeensio card in any of our applications.
Jim Sheldon, W0EB
TSW Project Coordinator
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Re: Current Draw & Power Output Question
Indeed Russ, it may have been just by fluke but mine arrived perfectly aligned (actually almost perfectly, 100-150hz off the actual frequency) so I assumed that in most cases it was delivered calibrated.
Il 26/set/2018 16:10, "Russ Hines" < russ@...> ha scritto: And right off the bat... I wonder why this is mentioned on the HF Signals website?
"The ?BITX comes pre-aligned. You should do this only if you really think it is out of alignment."
73,
Russ
WB8ZCC
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Re: Current Draw & Power Output Question
And right off the bat... I wonder why this is mentioned on the HF Signals website?
"The ?BITX comes pre-aligned. You should do this only if you really think it is out of alignment."
73,
Russ
WB8ZCC
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Hi, can someone tell me a simple way to add a ptt switching circuit for my amp please? Can I just use pins from the transmit relay??
Thanks.
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Re: Current Draw & Power Output Question
Doing a smoke test does not include setting the BFO! No where on the site does it mention that the kit comes pre-calibrated.? The software is written to get the frequency close to being aligned.? Due to differences, some people have to calibrate. As for the bias adjustment, if it was not transmitting, I would think it might need to be reset.? It is transmitting.? RV1 probably needs to be adjusted to get a little more drive. There are alignment procedures for a reason.? Don't assume that the kit can be put together and you get instant use.? It has to be aligned.? Even the high $$ equipment has alignment procedures.
Marco - KG5PRT?
On Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 6:17 AM Timothy Fidler < engstr@...> wrote: iz. don't confuse the poor bugg_r There is a procedure for set up .? he needs to follow the procedure to get optimum output in SSB.? Now you bring up a red herring.? What I would find annoying is to see that there appears to have been ZERO set up on the test bench in India (he mentions it did not Rx as received either). You wonder if it was even turned on? to check for smoke leaks ??
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Re: Current Draw & Power Output Question
iz. don't confuse the poor bugg_r There is a procedure for set up .? he needs to follow the procedure to get optimum output in SSB.? Now you bring up a red herring.? What I would find annoying is to see that there appears to have been ZERO set up on the test bench in India (he mentions it did not Rx as received either). You wonder if it was even turned on? to check for smoke leaks ??
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Re: Current Draw & Power Output Question
Why don't you measure the power and current draw in CW key down?
Il 26/set/2018 12:02, "Curt M." < Kc3hjp@...> ha scritto: Thanks guys, I had sort of considered that the Bird 43 was probably not showing peak power being that it¡¯s not capable of without the add on kit being done to the meter so that confirms my thoughts. Thanks?
I¡¯m using a relatively new, Fluke meter that of course could have an issue but it jives with another meter that I have so I suspect it¡¯s probably close enough.?
I may re-bias being that the uBitx was supposed to be in alignment when I received it and it was nowhere near being able to tune a signal when I first powered it up. I had to do the calibration and BFO adjustment before I could tune anything in. I suspect that it may have been skipped over when it came to factory setup.?
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John Scherer
Lee
Alan de G1FXB
Michael Monteith
John KG9DK
Jim Sheldon