By the way, that QRP-Labs thread also discusses users adding an RPi-Zero
to extend the QSX with shareable code, which Hans was fully on board with.??
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 03:56 PM, Jerry Gaffke wrote:
Hans does not encourage us to develop our own software for the not-yet-out QSX:
? ??/g/QRPLabs/message/27603
|
Check messages over the past week or so. Ashar provided the simple info to purchase the v6 type display, put a heatsink on raduino regulator, and apply the v6 code. Watch his video carefully to insure you like the display.
Curt
|
Re: Need to Calibrate the V6
#v6
The message is cryptic because of the low memory couldn't make it more explicit. But here goes: 1. Pick a station with known frequency which you can hear clearly. Like the WWV in the USA. 2. Dial the exact frequency on which it should be received. The actual signal will appear to be off the dialed frequency as the calibration is not proper. 3. Now hold down the tuning button until the setup menu pops up, choose calibration. 4. Using the tuning knob, tune up until the signal is zero-beat. 5. Click with the tuning knob again to save the setting. You are done.
On Thu 9 Jan, 2020, 8:25 AM , < k7ome@...> wrote: Searches of this group, Google, and YouTube failed to give me anything I could use for the V6.? ?Now, I'm a noob and I admit it but really, when the Freq calibration on the set up menu says something to the effect of 'turn the knob until you get a strong signal' that isn't very helpful. I hear little or nothing.? Where does the signal come from? The radio is on and connected to an antenna but no amount of adjustment to the Freq or BFO ever seems to definitively zero in on anything I try to listen to.? I tried WWV but I can barely receive it on the v6.? Right now even my TS-2000 isn't getting it very well although I have received it well in the past (I'm in a tall narrow valley and it's winter in here).?
Is there an actual procedure for calibrating this radio?? Maybe something to do with those extra wires that came with it? If so, where is it hidden?
|
Need to Calibrate the V6
#v6
Searches of this group, Google, and YouTube failed to give me anything I could use for the V6.? ?Now, I'm a noob and I admit it but really, when the Freq calibration on the set up menu says something to the effect of 'turn the knob until you get a strong signal' that isn't very helpful. I hear little or nothing.? Where does the signal come from? The radio is on and connected to an antenna but no amount of adjustment to the Freq or BFO ever seems to definitively zero in on anything I try to listen to.? I tried WWV but I can barely receive it on the v6.? Right now even my TS-2000 isn't getting it very well although I have received it well in the past (I'm in a tall narrow valley and it's winter in here).?
Is there an actual procedure for calibrating this radio?? Maybe something to do with those extra wires that came with it? If so, where is it hidden?
|
Bill
I was merely trying to contrast the business models,? not critique them. I aspire to have a QSX in my shack also.
If nothing is hidden in the hardware, one can indeed do their own firmware, if they work enough to understand the hardware. LOL with that, starting from scratch.
Well perhsps fix your rigs starting with the easiest one.
I watched v6 video and agree it looks nice. Ashar has told us how to update an earlier ubitx to this display. I myself am content with one ubitx, my v4. I have the extra 45 MHz xtal filter back in with shielded inductors on the original one. If it behaves still including cw transmit, I am optimistic it shall have decent spurious on ssb.
I did obtain the 50w cw amp from Hans, will build it for 40m. Yes its all keeping me from building with tubes.
Curt
|
Re: New Teensy 4.0 to NANO direct plug in adapter
#ubitx
#v6
Jim,
It's pretty simple to build level converters using 2 resistors and a 2N7000. No problem.
73 Kees K5BCQ
|
Bill, Did you follow my link? Here's what Hans said regarding the QSX, in that post Oct of 2018. Add much of 2019 to the effort, and likely a good chunk of 2020: >? Regarding QSX, I do NOT agree to, or support, people collectively or individually developing their own code for it. >? Primarily for fear of cloning. Not that it would be at all easy to undercut the price. But even clones >? at a non-competitive price are damaging. For me it's the entire 2018's worth of work, and more.
That's pretty clear, even to me.
I doubt anybody is legally bound, but those are his wishes.
Hans may have encouraged coders to mess with other QRP Labs products, but not the QSX.
Writing DSP code for a phasing rig is beyond the abilities of most of us.
That's far more involved than writing Arduino code to show an S-meter on your uBitx display.
For the curious, here's what passes as an easy and accessible intro to DSP techniques:
? ??
If your google-foo is strong, you may be able to patch together existing code?
to accomplish what you want.? But you still need a grasp of much of that material.
There's good reason the QSX has not yet been released to the world.
If you want to learn about radio and wish to whack at something relatively?
cheap and easy to understand, the uBitx is a very good bet.
The Bitx40 might be even better (cheaper and simpler) if you can find one used.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 04:56 PM, Bill Cromwell wrote:
He did say we could do our own. As long as QRP Labs is around to support it I won't even consider it. If I did and it went wrong I would not be double foolish and expect him to fix it. It also would not be a "clone" if I did it. It would be something else. If I want something else I will buy (or make) that instead. In fact, I already have several something elses:)
73,
Bill KU8H
Hide quoted text
?
On 1/8/20 6:56 PM, Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io wrote:
Hans does not encourage us to develop our own software for the not-yet-out QSX:
/g/QRPLabs/message/27603
In part because he has had trouble with clones in the past.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 01:25 PM, Bill Cromwell wrote:
In some of the discussions about Hans' proprietary (not open source)
system the man himself pointed out that any of us can develop our
own software to drive the hardware. He says there is enough info
about how the hardware works to do that. perhaps not as well as his
proprietary software. That depends on what you want the radio to do.
It will be an SDR with no need for a computer. I am NOT there.
--
bark less - wag more
|
Re: Setup uBITX for mobile and portable operations - final amps / heatsink?
Maybe try the 9 foot whip with a Silver Bullet coil? I used a tapped antenna today (I forget the brand), but it has taps for 80 thru 2 meters, and I heard a net on 40 like gangbusters. Yes, I have used the antenna before to make DX calls on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Tomorrow I may try to transmit with my new little V5!
Hey, Rob.
I've currently got a V5 board set up as a mobile rig, separated out by the board & other daughter boards, a display head with Nextion 2.5" screen, and Vol/Channel/Function/Mic control head.?
The Board is mounted inside a former computer external drive case, large enough for a DVD/R device and its own power supply.? This allows room for the main board, a step-up buck converter for the finals, a fan already mounted inside (but run at half speed), and an additional audio amp.? I run the finals at 22V for around 30 watts out from 80 to 20 meters; the board also has 2N5109's in the pre-driver and driver positions (1 each for 2 former 3904's apiece).? There is an mounted underneath the board (as the main board's on standoffs) preceeded by a filter and followed by an . I elected to install a second Nano processor for full TFT screen utilities with the CEC software. There was significant audio interference from the TFT screen refresh, which
was reduced to a satisfactory level with small torroids around the screen's output signal path between the two Nano processors. For heat-sinking:? I took two sheets of copper and ended up with an affair that sits between the finals and the outside case, and dropping below the circuit board in the case until the two sheets can fold sideways about 5mm apart as if fins under the board by a bit.? A 5V laptop cooling fan (flat profile rather than muffin-fan profile) blows across these fins while transmitting. This fan cools the heat sink and the enclosure's own fan sucks this heat out.? There are vent inlet holes on the opposite end from the case fan.? I was able to run FT8 and JS8CALL on the bench at full power & the finals (and the side of the case) would get plenty hot but would cool down rather quickly after the rig went back to RX.? Running about half output ("only" 15 watts or so), the radio could transmit digital modes for as long as I wanted into a dummy load.?
I placed the Nextion screen inside a plastic project box and trimmed around my hack-job with cork gasket material, then mounted all of that onto a device originally intended for holding a cell phone from a dash-mounted CD player. This puts the display and touch-controllability within easy view with minimal distraction from driving.? The rest of the functions, vis a vis the manual controls were placed on a mounting on the side of the car's center console at the base of the gearshift.? This panel has the mike socket, an aux socket for digital mode in/out, volume, a function button (separate from the tuning knob), and, the tuning knob.? I added a manual push-button that emulates a CW key that I call "tuning", though I suppose it could be used for CW once the zombie apocalypse begins.? There's a mic preamp/compressor in the head for voice audio and a lesser grade audio AGC for the data, since the audio drive seemed weak in the latter and I just wanted more "punch" in my voice with the former.
For cabling, I used a disused keyboard cord for the display as only 4 (shielded) wires were needed. For the "real" control head I used a DVI cable with its four each, 2-wire with shield bundles and 3 extra wires within. That's eleven separate lines, with 4 pair of them being independently shielded.? It works pretty well, actually.??
I could elaborate some more but that's the gyst of the rig itself.? I've been trying a 10-ft whip fed with a 9:1 UnUn aftrer an automatic tuner, with minimal results on TX or RX.? That part's been a disappointment.? Just today, though, I tried a shunt-fed, NMO-mounted base load mono-band 20 meter antenna I made years ago and made an easy contact with a guy at a portable campground setup over 400 miles away. ? Considering 30 watts while driving around underneath deciduous trees and power lines in greater suburbia quite satisfactory.? I made that antenna for use with an MFJ-9420 and it never disappointed. The lesson there is, be sure to use an antenna in which you've already got plenty of faith rather than experiment with something less than optimal, only to wonder if its the radio or the antenna that stinks....?? If only I could make a 40M mobile antenna that does as well.
?If I can answer any other questions or elaborate, ask.
73,
Ted
K3RTA
--
Alex Netherton, W5ALX
Buncombe County NC, EM85ro
|
Hi Jerry,
He did say we could do our own. As long as QRP Labs is around to support it I won't even consider it. If I did and it went wrong I would not be double foolish and expect him to fix it. It also would not be a "clone" if I did it. It would be something else. If I want something else I will buy (or make) that instead. In fact, I already have several something elses:)
73,
Bill KU8H
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 1/8/20 6:56 PM, Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io wrote: Hans does not encourage us to develop our own software for the not-yet-out QSX:
/g/QRPLabs/message/27603
In part because he has had trouble with clones in the past.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 01:25 PM, Bill Cromwell wrote:
In some of the discussions about Hans' proprietary (not open source)
system the man himself pointed out that any of us can develop our
own software to drive the hardware. He says there is enough info
about how the hardware works to do that. perhaps not as well as his
proprietary software. That depends on what you want the radio to do.
It will be an SDR with no need for a computer. I am NOT there.
--
bark less - wag more
|
Re: Help with troubleshooting Bitx40 - no transmit.
#bitx40help
Farhan produced these radios for experimenters. We learn a lot trying to get them where we want. I have one that won¡¯t word, one working for which I need a good case, and a v6 that I can¡¯t get the sketch to compile or upload. But all in all I am learning quite a bit, in between the bouts of frustration.?
--
Bob
NZ2Z
|
Re: Help with troubleshooting Bitx40 - no transmit.
#bitx40help
No!? No!? Start by playing with a few simple SMT circuits to improve your parts
placement and soldering skill.? It is something that has to be learned from experience.?
With a few hours of SMD soldering you will become familiar with this technology and
will be on the road to becoming an expert.? For many of us Ham Radio is all about
learning and application of recently learned skills.? This is not rocket science.? You can
even do "ugly construction" or "Manhattan builds with SMT parts.? Parts to play with
can be removed from dead TVs or toys.? Measure Resistors and Capacitors if the
value is not legible.? Look up datasheets for multi-legged components.?
Arv? K7HKL _._
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 5:29 PM < Hetzal@...> wrote: Thanks to everyone in the group that tried to help me. I replaced the Q13 transistor and the resistor.? But have made my perfectly good receiver into an expensive bookend. I should have known better than mess with SMC when I'm a beginner.? Thos has been quite a humbling experience. I may now just sick with woodworking and leave the electronics to people that know what they are doing...
|
Re: [BITxV6] Rcvr audio quality & diagnostic processes
When you refer to setting the BFO do you mean you tuned the
receiver to 7.185 and then entered the power on reset setup
utility and adjust the beat freq final adjustment for best audio
quality in speaker or headset at that time? or are you using
another program residing on the associated laptop and remotely
adjusting via the USB comm port to effect changes. I don't have a
separate BFO adjustment when it is operating normally. I can
adjust the CW Sidetone freq but that is all.
On 2020-01-08 6:15 p.m., Alex Netherton
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Oddly, I was able to tune my BFO by tuning into a
net on 40 meters (I think it was at 7.185 or so) and getting Net
Control very loud. It was like a miracle when all of a sudden I
could hear a human voice on my radio! After that, CW sounded
good too.
I am really happy with this little thing; I never managed
to build a Heathkit (Griefkit), as they were out of business
when I came along (their products were expensive, even in kit
form - you were better off buying a Swan), so this has been en
experience! I am hoping I can get a Baofeng mic to work on
this thing, so I can see if transmit works. Also, going to
wire up an old straight key to see if I can send CW - hope
this thing does not have a built in keyer...
Propagation
here at my qth is and has been very poor for a long time.
In the documentation it states startup setup menu on power up
and adjust
for 10MHz base ref freq exactly then set the BFO freq.
I am unable to get a base ref freq of 10 MHz to start with;
mine will
only adjust to 10500. I have set BFO to 11.055.
I am unable to hear strong HF white noise and/or any of the
CHU Canada
or WWV time broadcasts but I can obtain a couple of AM
broadcast
stations; however the demodulated audio not being in AM mode
is Donald
Ducky sounding but partially intelligent albeit rather weak
both on
built in speaker and/or on ext powered amplified USB speaker
connected
via the SPKR jack.
I am unable to tune through either side of the signal to get
to get rid
of the donald duck sounding?? quality audio signal to listen
to.
Seems as though audio passband is so narrow or restricted that
listening
to a full sideband { 300-3000 Hz} is not possible. Is there a
calibration or software adjustment I can make on an immediate
or test
basis using the Arduino immediate editor to adjust this. I am
not very
happy with the receive so far.
I have the Arduino IDE installed per online instructions but
not experienced
in using it regularly yet. (haven't got enough practical
time/experience to sort
out the 17M unselectable fix yet even.
??Also I noticed when I set the freq to anything below 1 MHz
like 920KHz,
990Khz or 680 KHz and save it the VFO indicator adds an extra
zero in
the display so 990AM KHz would appear as 9.9MHz on the display
but the
audio signal is the 990 AM audio. If I select 1290 KHz?? AM
the VFO
display reads correctly and audio is what I expect to hear
(except for
the water barrel or Donald Ducky audio quality).
I have a kiwiSDR registered on
under my callsign name and it can
produce reasonable sigs for WWV and CHU yet the BITXv6 doesn't
when I
compare it.
Any suggestions? all help/tips gratefully accepted.
73 de ve4per / Andy
--
Alex Netherton, W5ALX
Buncombe County NC, EM85ro
|
Re: Help with troubleshooting Bitx40 - no transmit.
#bitx40help
Thanks to everyone in the group that tried to help me. I replaced the Q13 transistor and the resistor.? But have made my perfectly good receiver into an expensive bookend. I should have known better than mess with SMC when I'm a beginner.? Thos has been quite a humbling experience. I may now just sick with woodworking and leave the electronics to people that know what they are doing...
|
How hard is it to add on a display like you would find in a V6 to a v5? Or, since I am not very familiar with Arduino or Raspberry Pi, should I just wait til I have the $$ for a V6? (I plan to get one anyway - just too much fun!)
--
Alex Netherton, W5ALX
Buncombe County NC, EM85ro
|
Re: [BITxV6] Rcvr audio quality & diagnostic processes
Oddly, I was able to tune my BFO by tuning into a net on 40 meters (I think it was at 7.185 or so) and getting Net Control very loud. It was like a miracle when all of a sudden I could hear a human voice on my radio! After that, CW sounded good too.
I am really happy with this little thing; I never managed to build a Heathkit (Griefkit), as they were out of business when I came along (their products were expensive, even in kit form - you were better off buying a Swan), so this has been en experience! I am hoping I can get a Baofeng mic to work on this thing, so I can see if transmit works. Also, going to wire up an old straight key to see if I can send CW - hope this thing does not have a built in keyer...
Propagation here at my qth is and has been very poor for a long time.
In the documentation it states startup setup menu on power up and adjust
for 10MHz base ref freq exactly then set the BFO freq.
I am unable to get a base ref freq of 10 MHz to start with; mine will
only adjust to 10500. I have set BFO to 11.055.
I am unable to hear strong HF white noise and/or any of the CHU Canada
or WWV time broadcasts but I can obtain a couple of AM broadcast
stations; however the demodulated audio not being in AM mode is Donald
Ducky sounding but partially intelligent albeit rather weak both on
built in speaker and/or on ext powered amplified USB speaker connected
via the SPKR jack.
I am unable to tune through either side of the signal to get to get rid
of the donald duck sounding?? quality audio signal to listen to.
Seems as though audio passband is so narrow or restricted that listening
to a full sideband { 300-3000 Hz} is not possible. Is there a
calibration or software adjustment I can make on an immediate or test
basis using the Arduino immediate editor to adjust this. I am not very
happy with the receive so far.
I have the Arduino IDE installed per online instructions but not experienced
in using it regularly yet. (haven't got enough practical time/experience to sort
out the 17M unselectable fix yet even.
??Also I noticed when I set the freq to anything below 1 MHz like 920KHz,
990Khz or 680 KHz and save it the VFO indicator adds an extra zero in
the display so 990AM KHz would appear as 9.9MHz on the display but the
audio signal is the 990 AM audio. If I select 1290 KHz?? AM the VFO
display reads correctly and audio is what I expect to hear (except for
the water barrel or Donald Ducky audio quality).
I have a kiwiSDR registered on under my callsign name and it can
produce reasonable sigs for WWV and CHU yet the BITXv6 doesn't when I
compare it.
Any suggestions? all help/tips gratefully accepted.
73 de ve4per / Andy
--
Alex Netherton, W5ALX
Buncombe County NC, EM85ro
|
Hans does not encourage us to develop our own software for the not-yet-out QSX: ? ?? /g/QRPLabs/message/27603In part because he has had trouble with clones in the past. Jerry, KE7ER
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 01:25 PM, Bill Cromwell wrote:
In some of the discussions about Hans' proprietary (not open source) system the man himself pointed out that any of us can develop our own software to drive the hardware. He says there is enough info about how the hardware works to do that. perhaps not as well as his proprietary software. That depends on what you want the radio to do. It will be an SDR with no need for a computer. I am NOT there.
|
Re: CW Audio High Pitched and Thin
#cw
Dean,
Do you have a link or pdf tutorial/instruction sheet outlining
steps to do the procedure? Is it an external program running on a
host PC/laptop and making the adjustments via the USB com port
while the primary transceiver code is running?
On 2020-01-08 3:25 p.m., Dean Souleles
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
All? -
Setting the CW BFO calibration did the trick.? The CW BFO
calibration had been set to 0? - when the CEC firmware starts up
it sets to a default value that was about 40 KHz off of where my
SSB VFO was. I made them the same - then adjusted to the CW BFO
until I got a clean 700 Hz tone while keying another rig
transmitting to a dummy load nearby.? I don't have a scope so I
measured the CW tone with an audio analyzer app on my phone.
All fine business now.
Thanks all and 73.
Dean
KK4DAS
|
Re: New uBITX Ver. 6 Assembled Today
I¡¯ve been testing my new v6 it seems to receive well I¡¯ve heard several stations. Unfortunately I don¡¯t have an HF SWR meter to test with. I now suspect I¡¯m not transmitting. I tried listening (using a WebSDR site) to my own transmission ?but I hear nothing. Anyone have any suggestions?
73
Mick VA3EPM
|
Re: CW Audio High Pitched and Thin
#cw
How do you connect "Memory Manager" to the bitx v5? I see no connections in the radio where I can connect to a computer or anything.
On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 4:26 PM Dean Souleles < dsouleles@...> wrote: All? -
Setting the CW BFO calibration did the trick.? The CW BFO calibration had been set to 0? - when the CEC firmware starts up it sets to a default value that was about 40 KHz off of where my SSB VFO was. I made them the same - then adjusted to the CW BFO until I got a clean 700 Hz tone while keying another rig transmitting to a dummy load nearby.? I don't have a scope so I measured the CW tone with an audio analyzer app on my phone.
All fine business now.
Thanks all and 73.
Dean
KK4DAS
--
Alex Netherton, W5ALX
Buncombe County NC, EM85ro
|
Hi Farham.
I have replaced the volume pot. i have tried to make good of the damaged case. everything is now working.
But damaged paintwork could only be done by reopening the packing. As for the damaged case they must of played football with it.
So pictures would be of use now.
Philip G7JUR?
|
Alex Netherton
Bob Bennett
Mick