Thanks, Giuseppe. I found them on Amazon for about $10 each and have a couple on the way.
Happy New Year!
73...? ? Mark? ? AA7TA
|
Re: My list of mods and Chronology of Installation
#ubitx
Replacing L5 and L7 is a good idea, but you need to use a special shielded inductor: Garden variety surface mount inductors won't work. ? ? /g/BITX20/message/61225? ? /g/BITX20/message/62948? ?? /g/BITX20/message/61261? Those particular 1210 shielded inductors work well in these positions. But Hans warns that surface mount inductors are generally a bad idea in filters: ? ?? /g/BITX20/message/60687I think the consensus is that the L5, L7 fix is enough to bring the spurs down far enough., Though not as big a deal as L5,L7, might also consider L1-L4, especially L1: ? ?? /g/BITX20/message/60568? ? /g/BITX20/message/60685? ?? An alternative to the L5,L7 fix is Farhan's low pass filter to knock out the 90mhz harmonic: ? ?? /g/BITX20/topic/28049653This is what I glean from the forum. I have not made my own measurements. Jerry
On Mon, Dec 31, 2018 at 07:48 PM, Daniel Conklin wrote:
Finally, I replaced L7 and L5 with SMT inductors as suggested by Raj VU2ZAP to reduce spurs on the higher HF bands. ?/g/BITX20/topic/27154925#60729
|
Thanks ,? Our freight is still ok. FromAndrew
I've used their Nanos before with good results.? If you buy em in bulk (5 or 10) they're always this cheap with minimal shipping costs.
Speaking?of which, since we in the US are no longer going to subsidize Chinese mailing costs (which is why they have been able to ship stuff to the US for such low charges) , look for all Chinese supplier shipping to go up.?
John
|
My list of mods and Chronology of Installation
#ubitx
-
I ordered my uBITwX December 29, 2017 and received it on March 2, 2018. ?It was a version 3 with the WX branded TDA2822 audio chip. By the time I was ready to assemble, Ron, W7HD had posted a fix using a voltage regulator. ?This was my first mod and I have had good working audio since then. /g/BITX20/message/44099
-
The second mod I implemented was installing the KD8CEC firmware which was more intuitive for me and solved some issues such as keying responsiveness. ?
-
The third mod was to add a short USB cable from the Arduino Nano to allow data access outside the case.
-
The forth mod was adding the click-pop suppression kit from Don ND6T, Wayne VA7AT, and kitted by Kees K5BCQ.
-
The fifth mod was the RF output peaking mod suggested by Howard Fidel WB2VXW /g/BITX20/message/46616
-
The sixth mod was the ND6T AGC kit that I got from K5BCQ at the same time as the click-pop kit. ?When I installed that, I used Kees¡¯s installation suggestions for mounting it on the main board, added an RF attenuator/gain control as suggested by ND6T, and also hooked a wire from J1 to the purple analog wire on the Raduino to give me an S meter.
-
While I had the board on the table I also changed R250 to 100K to reduce the sidetone level and replaced the C1 cap with a 1¦ÌF to shape the CW note. /g/BITX20/message/51673
-
Then I changed the relays to Axicoms ?as suggested by Mike W0MNE, to reduce harmonics when using SSB on the lower HF bands. ?/g/BITX20/message/60368
-
Finally, I replaced L7 and L5 with SMT inductors as suggested by Raj VU2ZAP to reduce spurs on the higher HF bands. ?/g/BITX20/topic/27154925#60729
I am very happy with how well my uBITX functions at this point and have the placed it in a small Apache case behind an aluminum faceplate I fabricated. ?The whole thing is pretty rugged and works well with a three cell 18650 battery pack. I finally have the spy radio I have always wanted. 73 and Happy New Year! ?Dan W2DLC
?
|
uBITX "Nuclear" Micro Processor (Fishino Guppy) Hi there, Heres a Micro that might help some. This micro comes with 1 . WiFi ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?2 . Batt backup for Processor - Standby/Sleep? mode ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?3 . SD Memory expansion- Logging of contacts when away from rig with similar uBITX base stations , displaying Contacts Name and time of call (pre-arranged? calling network frequency) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?4 . On Board Power Management using a Buck Converter.( No more power regulator issues or mods)
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?5 . Text message sent to your Cellular Mobile Alert from you base station rig while you mowing the lawns from your HF mate far away. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?6 . Tone Calling on SSB between stations with same equipment registering call recognition and replying with call has been received notification. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Some ideas to bring this HF unit into 2019. Just one problem Im not a code writer, just a humble Inventor and electrician . Know any Arduino friendly coders familiar with the project ? From Andrew.? Kiwi NZ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??
I've used their Nanos before with good results.? If you buy em in bulk (5 or 10) they're always this cheap with minimal shipping costs.
Speaking?of which, since we in the US are no longer going to subsidize Chinese mailing costs (which is why they have been able to ship stuff to the US for such low charges) , look for all Chinese supplier shipping to go up.?
John
|
Hello Giuseppe,
Can you please describe the components that couple audio into and out of the STM32?? It sounds like simple RC filters, at least in the case of your STM32F103 implementation - but I couldn't find a schematic or description anywhere (I apologize if I just missed it!).
One thing to possibly consider - I2S ADC and DAC parts are rather inexpensive, and it looks like you can get cheap breakout boards for a handful of normal audio DAC and ADC parts (the PCM1808 ADC, for instance, and the UDA1334A DAC).? The STM32 family (and likely all modern ARM uC parts) supports I2S interfaces, so you could improve your dynamic range and noise figure by using out-board ADC and DAC parts at the additional system cost of <$10USD; I don't believe that the programming should be difficult, but I don't have any direct experience with the I2S ports on the STM32.? Even just replacing the input ADC would improve dynamic range significantly, and have the software provide gain control behavior so that output utilized the 12-bit DAC effectively with 16-bit signal data.
Thank you for all of the information that you have provided thus far - this looks like a very interesting base to build upon!? I've used STM32 parts for years on the bench to do simple control tasks, and they've worked well for me.
Josh, KB8NYP
On Mon, Dec 31, 2018 at 6:49 PM giuseppe callipo < ik8yfw@...> wrote: Yes Mark, the board Is the stm32f407 "black" , Is a core board cheap than the Discovery series.
Here the photo:?
Make a search as: "stm32f407 black" or "stm32f407 core". The project can run in any f4 series.?
Hope this can help you.
G.
|
Yes Mark, the board Is the stm32f407 "black" , Is a core board cheap than the Discovery series.
Here the photo:?
Make a search as: "stm32f407 black" or "stm32f407 core". The project can run in any f4 series.?
Hope this can help you.
G.
|
Re: AGC install done, now T/R transition scratch
?John, Don't mind, I am 2 years behind on building my BITX40's, plus I have a 2 board BITX20 to assemble.
?I have part of the power supply for it built.
?I have a parts kit for an AGC for it, that controls the gain at the first IF, but I want to make it so it also controls the gain of the RF amp also.
?I saw a circuit for that, and now can't find it, but it is simple, it uses a second transistor for the RF amp.
?Plus it can control an S Meter as well.
?Simple, but should work well. It uses a jumper to switch from fast to slow delay. Slow delay is best for CW and SSB.
?Wayne WA2YNE ?
|
Giuseppe, could you post a link to the board you use for this? I see several different boards on eBay but I'm not sure which one would be best for this.
Thanks & 73...? ? ? Mark? ? AA7TA
|
Nanos typically run $3.20 from Amazon with free shipping - which
is usually 2 days. I've been happy with the quality.
Doug - KJ0F
On 12/30/2018 4:26 PM, Doug W wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
you can select free standard shipping from the CN warehouse
--
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This is a very good project with a couple of modifications.? I used a circuit very similar to this at my receiving wires in the field to prevent loss.? This circuit can be modified to send via coax/ RF choke (simple RG-6) 12-24 volts adjustable as the frequency peak control.? Then use a Zener to keep the J310¡¯s at 12 volts (regardless of the 12-24V applied), and rebias the 1SV149 up 12 volts so that it responds to the 12-24volt (as 0-12V) signal from the shack. Perfect. ? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of LKNDAVE via Groups.Io
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2018 9:14 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] RF Amplifier Added #ubitx ? this article drew my interest big time: prreselector preamp. i am gathering parts now. tayda here i come.
73, dave -- ¡_. _._
|
Seems easy to do when you have separate TX and RX and you add it at the RX. In the Ubitx I think you might cut a couple of traces. Where would you do?
Il 31/dic/2018 16:14, "LKNDAVE via Groups.Io" <novatronix= [email protected]> ha scritto: this article drew my interest big time: prreselector preamp. i am gathering parts now. tayda here i come.
73, dave
|
I shared Just now the source code on GitHub:?
In the last release i added 4 filters with several bandwith ( 16kHz, 6kHz, 3kHz and 500Hz ).
Now you can select two display mode: spectrum or Waterfall as show in this short video:?
I Wish you an Happy new year.
Vy 73 de Giuseppe, Ik8yfw.
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That all makes seance but why does the display say calibrate when turned on
On Mon, Dec 31, 2018, 13:24 Michael Hagen < motdog@... wrote:
The back light in the
LCD may be drawing a lot?
There is usually a
resistor on the LCD you can change or open to turn it off or
measure its current.
It is near the end of
the LCD where the Back Light connections are.
Do 2 things.
Measure the current
into Raduino.
Measure the current
without LCD backlight.
See what is drawing
all the current.
The Raduino PC, Nano,
or LCD should not be getting hot?
Mike, WA6ISP
On 12/31/2018 9:33 AM, ae1ct1998 wrote:
What's makes the 5v reg so hot you get burned
while touching it, the nano board gets very hot also. This
doesn't seem right for a bitx40 that's 10 days old.
On Mon, Dec 31, 2018, 12:24 Michael Hagen < motdog@...
wrote:
That is
standard.?? You can leave it if you are careful not to
break it off hanging in the wind.
The regulator can usually
work fine running hot.
Put a 1N4002
Diode and 47 ohm 1W in series to the regulator and add
a bypass electrolytic to ground.
This puts some
of the power into them.
You can mount
the regulator on the other side of the PCB so it does
not hang out.? My improved version of Raduino
(RaduinoX) uses a heat sink with bolt, diode, and
resistor with more capacitors.? I change a lot of
other things too.? The Nano in a socket in nice too!
Mike, WA6ISP
On
12/31/2018 9:06 AM, ae1ct1998 wrote:
On my bitx40 the 5v regulator and the
raduino board gets very hot. Checked the wiring twice
but find nothing wrong, can someone please tell me what
the problem is. Also when it's turned on the display
says calibrate and the tuning goes from neg 250000 to
pos 261500.
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
|
The back light in the
LCD may be drawing a lot?
There is usually a
resistor on the LCD you can change or open to turn it off or
measure its current.
It is near the end of
the LCD where the Back Light connections are.
Do 2 things.
Measure the current
into Raduino.
Measure the current
without LCD backlight.
See what is drawing
all the current.
The Raduino PC, Nano,
or LCD should not be getting hot?
Mike, WA6ISP
On 12/31/2018 9:33 AM, ae1ct1998 wrote:
What's makes the 5v reg so hot you get burned
while touching it, the nano board gets very hot also. This
doesn't seem right for a bitx40 that's 10 days old.
On Mon, Dec 31, 2018, 12:24 Michael Hagen < motdog@...
wrote:
That is
standard.?? You can leave it if you are careful not to
break it off hanging in the wind.
The regulator can usually
work fine running hot.
Put a 1N4002
Diode and 47 ohm 1W in series to the regulator and add
a bypass electrolytic to ground.
This puts some
of the power into them.
You can mount
the regulator on the other side of the PCB so it does
not hang out.? My improved version of Raduino
(RaduinoX) uses a heat sink with bolt, diode, and
resistor with more capacitors.? I change a lot of
other things too.? The Nano in a socket in nice too!
Mike, WA6ISP
On
12/31/2018 9:06 AM, ae1ct1998 wrote:
On my bitx40 the 5v regulator and the
raduino board gets very hot. Checked the wiring twice
but find nothing wrong, can someone please tell me what
the problem is. Also when it's turned on the display
says calibrate and the tuning goes from neg 250000 to
pos 261500.
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
|
Hi,
That regulator is a series pass regulator. It is really an IC that has the pass transistor and other, needed part inside it. Your Arduino runs on five volts. At the back of the radio you plugged in 12 volts. Maybe as much as 14 or 15 volts. If the Arduino and associated parts ever see that they will die instantly!
A series pass device must pass exactly the same amount of current as the load that is downstream from it. In this case it is you Arduino board - the entire board. That is how "series" circuits work. Each series part carried exactly the same current.
While the regulator is carrying that current it must dispose of all of the voltage applied so that the output is maintained at 5 volts, regardless of the current. The power is turned into heat according to the amount of power it must burn up. That is directly proportional to the power as determined by Ohm's Law. Power equals the current multiplied by the voltage. If the current drawn by the load (your Arduino baord) is 1 Amp (probably less) and the voltage you applied from your battery is 12 volts then the regulator must burn up 1 Amp times 7 volts or 7 watts. That is a lot. I used the 1 Amp just to make the arithmetic easily obvious. Regulator tend to run from warm to very hot and they survive if we don't exceed the design limits. The Arduino with the five remaining volts at 1 amp is using 5 Watts.
By adding that 4r7 Ohm resistor in series the resistor will burn up some of that power *before* it gets to the regulator. Every element in the series chain still carries 1 amp. So the voltage dropped by the 4r7 Ohm resistor is - voltage equals current times resistance so 1 amp times 4.7 Ohms. That is um... ohhhh.. foot shuffling... maybe around about 4.7 volts. So now the regulator only has to get rid of 12-4.7-5=2.3 volts and that will be 2.3 watts. It will run noticeably cooler.
In practice, the regulator may need a little more margin than 2.3 volts. The arduino system will take less than an Amp. The numbers I used were just for convenience but the how-to is there. The Arduino system as a whole is viewed as a single device in the series circuit we are looking at. The regulator and the added resistor are the other two devices. The recommended capacitor(s) in another post are to prevent the regulator from going into oscillation and to prevent the input from seeing a lower voltage than the output at turnoff.
May I suggest you get some very cheap parts and build a few pass regulators from discrete components so you get a better feel for how it works? There are circuits all over the internet and the parts are almost free. Look for "series voltage regulators".
I hope this helps.
Happy New Year and 73,
Bill KU8H
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 12/31/18 12:33 PM, ae1ct1998 wrote: What's makes the 5v reg so hot you get burned while touching it, the nano board gets very hot also. This doesn't seem right for a bitx40 that's 10 days old.
--
bark less - wag more
|
That 7805 regulator is designed to still work when very hot, hot enough to sizzle spit.
However, mine gets warm, but not uncomfortably hot to touch.
This may be due to everybody buying the Nano clone that is $0.10 cheaper.
The manufacturers are constantly looking for cheaper parts to shave off another penny here and there.
We have had cases where the Nano clone was pulling far more than it should, and thus?
heating up both the regulator and the Nano.?
Is your Nano hot?
If so, replace it with a new Nano for $2.30
Mike said:
>??Put a 1N4002 Diode and 47 ohm 1W in series to the regulator and add a bypass electrolytic to ground.
Good idea, though not terribly specific.
Diode is there to save your Nano when you inevitably wire up your power supply backwards?some dark night
(and the shunt reverse diode protection scheme with no fuse described in the HFSignals notes fails to protect).
So add that into the wire that carries 12v from the main board to the raduino, alternately just
lift pin 1 of the 7805 regulator and put it there.? The cathode bar marking should be on the regulator side of the diode.
The 47 ohm resistor goes in series with that diode, doesn't matter which side of the diode.
Voltage drop across that resistor should be 4 volts or less, since the raduino will be drawing
a current of around:? ? 4v / 47ohms? =? 0.085 Amps.
If that voltage drop is 6v or more, then the LM7805 will go out of regulation and the Raduino
will be powered from less than 5v.
The idea is that the resistor dissipates the power associated with that 4v drop, and the LM7805
only needs to dissipate the additional 3v drop to bring the 12v supply down to 5v.
Another option is to just put a heat sink on the LM7805 tab, and forget the resistor.
All sorts of ideas in the forum about bypass caps for the Raduino.
The LM7805 datasheet recommends a 0,33uF (or somewhat bigger) cap at the 12v input pin to ground,
without that cap it could oscillate if that 12v wire feeding it is too long.?
No cases of this have been reported, though of course few have a scope to see it,
and those that do probably knew to add a bypass cap there.
I'd put a roughly 0.33uF cap? from LM7805 pin 1 to ground (the 12v input pin),
and then put a 47uF cap in parallel with that first cap.
To be thorough, add more such caps where 12v goes into the Bitx40 main board.
In addition to making the LM7805 behave, those caps could reduce any tuning clicks you hear in the Bitx40.
Jerry
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Mon, Dec 31, 2018 at 09:24 AM, Michael Hagen wrote:
That is standard.?? You can leave it if you are careful not to break it off hanging in the wind.
The regulator can usually work fine running hot.
Put a 1N4002 Diode and 47 ohm 1W in series to the regulator and add a bypass electrolytic to ground.
This puts some of the power into them.
You can mount the regulator on the other side of the PCB so it does not hang out.? My improved version of Raduino (RaduinoX) uses a heat sink with bolt, diode, and resistor with more capacitors.? I change a lot of other things too.? The Nano in a socket in nice too!
Mike, WA6ISP
?
On 12/31/2018 9:06 AM, ae1ct1998 wrote:
On my bitx40 the 5v regulator and the raduino board gets very hot. Checked the wiring twice but find nothing wrong, can someone please tell me what the problem is. Also when it's turned on the display says calibrate and the tuning goes from neg 250000 to pos 261500.
|
The problem is it is dropping at least 7v at whatever current the Arduino draws. It really does need heatsinking.
?
Ian
?
Sent from for Windows 10
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On my bitx40 the 5v regulator and the raduino board gets very hot. Checked the wiring twice but find nothing wrong, can someone please tell me what the problem is. Also when it's turned on the display says calibrate and the tuning goes from
neg 250000 to pos 261500.
|
I do not have the Bitx40, however the current version of the BITX40 uses the same Raduino as on the uBitx v4.
The Raduino 7805 regulator also gets hot because it is dropping the 12v in down to 5 volts.? The 7805 used in the Raduino can do this, however the power dissipation is close to the limit for the device without a heat sink.?
I did two things to solve it for the uBitx that I have:
1 Added a heat sink
2 Added a voltage dropping resistor.?
It is really easy to add the heat sink, and should be done in my opinion.
If you go to step 2, the wattage and resistance depends on what is connected to the 5v source; for the uBitx with Nextion display and other components I added a 4 ohm 5 watt resistor in series with the input to the 7805.? This gives me up to 1 amp of 5v for multiple displays and nanos for increased functionality.? For the standard Raduino with nano, and assuming 12v input to the rig, the value can go from 4 to 47 ohms.? The ubitx draws less than 120 ma on the 5 volt regulator with the standard display.? If you have no plans to add on other 5v devices, I would use a 47 ohm resistor rated at 2 watts.
Again, I do not have a BITX40, so a number of assumptions were made on the above from the information on line. It also means I do not know the calibration process for the BITX40, someone else will need to help you there.
Happy New Year and 73
Evan
AC9TU
|
What's makes the 5v reg so hot you get burned while touching it, the nano board gets very hot also. This doesn't seem right for a bitx40 that's 10 days old.
On Mon, Dec 31, 2018, 12:24 Michael Hagen < motdog@... wrote:
That is standard.??
You can leave it if you are careful not to break it off
hanging in the wind.
The regulator can usually work fine
running hot.
Put a 1N4002 Diode and
47 ohm 1W in series to the regulator and add a bypass
electrolytic to ground.
This puts some of the
power into them.
You can mount the
regulator on the other side of the PCB so it does not hang
out.? My improved version of Raduino (RaduinoX) uses a heat
sink with bolt, diode, and resistor with more capacitors.? I
change a lot of other things too.? The Nano in a socket in
nice too!
Mike, WA6ISP
On 12/31/2018 9:06 AM, ae1ct1998 wrote:
On my bitx40 the 5v regulator and the raduino
board gets very hot. Checked the wiring twice but find nothing
wrong, can someone please tell me what the problem is. Also when
it's turned on the display says calibrate and the tuning goes
from neg 250000 to pos 261500.
--
Mike Hagen, WA6ISP
10917 Bryant Street
Yucaipa, Ca. 92399
(909) 918-0058
PayPal ID "MotDog@..."
Mike@...
|
MadRadioModder