R could use some helpe: uBITX v5 CW issue
Hi
I am new to the forum. I could use some help. I just got done building ubitx v5 and just got done checking it out. Seems that voice is working fine but the CW is only working intermittently. I am using a straight key and it appears to be working fine according to my ohm meter. Sometimes I can do dits and dahs but seems to have a delay to it. Then sometimes it just stops working altogether. Has anyone else seen this problem before. Or maybe you can suggest were I should be looking for this intermittent issue.
Thanks? Bob KA3VWT
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The worldwide home Virus lock-down at this point shows what the BITX community and what "Ham" ingenuity is all about.
By the end of this "Crisis" I am sure that we will a fully cleared up and feature rich "Stock" code that negates the addition of outside modifications which may be fantastic if you are adventurous but will preserve the originality of the V6 structure.
Best Regards.
Steve
AB2ET/4
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Attached wireup for v3 and v4. Wireup is the same for v3 or v4. V4 had some
changes in the audio amp and I think the nano was socketed but wireup should
be the same. Hope this helps.
Rick
KN4AIE
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-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto: [email protected]] On Behalf Of Rag LB-Three-RE Stein-Roar Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 3:55 PM To: [email protected]Subject: [BITX20] #v3 unit Hello Where is documentation of v3 i bougth now I plan to assemble now Best Regards, Stein-Roar Brobakken post@... LB3RE K3RAG Skype: lb3re.rag
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It is buried somewhere on the HF Signals site.? I just go to Ubitx.net, as it is easier to find old data there.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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I would need more detail than just the picture of a white screen.? I could be that the tft file was not loaded (assuming as the #nextion suggests).? It could also be that the Nano program does not match the Nextion tft file.
To test the tft file, supply only power to the Nextion, do not connect the yellow or blue wires.? You should get the home screen with zeros in the frequency display.? If not, then reload the tft file.
I do not have an easy way to verify the file that you loaded into the Nano.? If the above tests OK, I would make sure I have the correct Nano file to load that matches the display.? There are Arduino (.ino or Hex) for the "basic" and "enhanced" Nextion displays, and they are different.
The above is my best guess.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: Ubitx V3 Transmit lock
I had some free time and looked up the pin assignment in the original v3 stock code.? In lines 79 and 80 are the two assignments in the ubitx_20.ino file that could be reversed to use the spare analog input for the CW function.
#define ANALOG_KEYER (A6)
#define ANALOG_SPARE (A7) Change the above to:
#define ANALOG_KEYER (A7)
#define ANALOG_SPARE (A6)
And then wire the CW key to the purple A7 wire instead of the blue A6 wire.
The above would be worth a try to see if you can salvage the existing Nano.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Hello
Where is documentation of v3 i bougth now
I plan to assemble now
Best Regards,
Stein-Roar Brobakken
post@...
LB3RE K3RAG
Skype: lb3re.rag
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Can any one explain this?
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great job. there is also that little irritant of the cw shift. fix that too and you have a winner! - f
Hi Folks,
After assembling and using the uBitx for a week, realized that there are few not so smooth areas in the firmware that needed a little tweaking. After almost a month, feel like it has reached a stage where I can do with a little feedback.?
The code has not been forked from , but cloned and put up in my own .
Have made the following additions and tweaks.
?* UI fixes, CALLSIGN addition
?* Button text normalization, VFO A/B UI
?* Added RX
*? Current values to Frequency calibration and BFO calibration
You can add your own callsign which will show up in the bottom. to do that just open up ubitx.h and change the value for?CALLSIGN_VER
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Hi Folks, After assembling and using the uBitx for a week, realized that there are few not so smooth areas in the firmware that needed a little tweaking. After almost a month, feel like it has reached a stage where I can do with a little feedback.? The code has not been forked from , but cloned and put up in my own . Have made the following additions and tweaks.
Code additions by vu3gwn@...
?* UI fixes, CALLSIGN addition
?* Button text normalization, VFO A/B UI
?* Added RX
*? Current values to Frequency calibration and BFO calibration
You can add your own callsign which will show up in the bottom. to do that just open up ubitx.h and change the value for?CALLSIGN_VER
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Does the radio receive work?? If so, then the BFO and the diode IC are OK, as it is used for both transmit and receive.
Since the problem started after making the modification for the AGC, can you undo that mod and see if the radio works?
I suspect that there is an error in the AGC modification that you made, as that is when the problem started.? It would also help members in this group to know which AGC mod you installed.
I do not understand how the MAX9814 electret microphone amp is being used.? That would normally not be wired to the VOL signals for the receive volume control.? Are you using the electret amp as a preamp for the receive audio?? The information that you are giving me is confusing.? Is it possible to post pictures of the modifications that you made, or better yet sketches of the circuit schematic on how the modifications were installed?? This for any and all modifications that you have made in the audio sections of the radio.?
I would start with just the receiver, and get it working again before going on to the transmitter.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: Ubitx V3 Transmit lock
I was not aware that the v3 uBiTx had the Nano soldered in place.? The v4 and v5 that I have are socketed.? I would speculate that the soldering was to reduce the height and maybe cost.? That could also explain the upside-down mounting on the other side of the Raduino board when they went to a socketed Nano.? The header pins with socket would have been too high to fit between the Raduino board and the display.? If you do replace the Nano, I would suggest adding the sockets and moving the Nano to the other side of the Raduino board.? Be sure the Nano you purchase has the header pins separate, as you will need to solder them in so that they are on the side of the Nano with the Reset button (Upside down from normal).? This is to allow for mounting on the other side of the Raduino.? You will also need the female headers to solder on the Raduino.? I have found that pre-assembly before soldering, tacking the 4 corner pins onto both the Nano and the Raduino in place, then removing the Nano to finish soldering all of the pins works to ensure that the headers line up.
I have found this tool:??to be very effective at desoldering.? I used it to upgrade the relays on my two v4 boards to bring the harmonics suppression into compliance (verified with an RSP2 spectrum analyzer).? There are no instructions on how to use it, so I searched the internet and found this YouTube video:??Note that the tool demonstrated is not the same tool as the one from Amazon, however the use is the same. It worked well for me, leaving the holes open and the removed relays intact.? The tool was also less expensive than the one mentioned in the video.
There may be an alternative to replacing the Nano, one that will require you to modify the program.? I believe there is a spare analog pin on the Nano (at least there is on the v4 board) that you could use in place of the key input.? It has been used for S meter measurement inputs.? You could use the spare control wire from the Raduino as the key input and change the pin definition in the Nano program.? I would not suggest going this route, as there are other benefits by making the Nano replaceable, and the damage to the Nano may have taken out more of the ADC circuit than just that one input.? If up to the program change, it would not hurt to try.
Above are suggestions, as I do not have a v3 and there could be issues that I am not aware of in the mods.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Hi
Thank you Sarma vu3zmv for the answer.
I do not have such a diode on hand, but I soldered the current one and the measurement indicates that it is probably working.
I didn't mention it before but I have an additional built-in amplifier on MAX 9814 between VOL-H and VOL-M. When I remove it, I can't hear anything.
I'll order the LEDs and keep looking.
?
Best regards
Karol SQ6POH
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Karol,pkeease tryvto check and replace if faulty? bat54s at demod level. This is an smd with 2 diodes in series. All the best? Sarma vu3zmv
On Tue, 14 Apr 2020, 5:44 pm , < sq6poh@...> wrote: Hello everyone
I am new here, I have been using my uBitx for about 2 years. In general, everything was fine until you try to build AGC.
Radi has lost a lot of tenderness. I have the impression that the audio track does not work. The transmitter switches on but no signal comes out. The transmitter is rather efficient because in CW the power is correct.
I checked and even replaced Q6, Q70-Q74.
He has no further ideas.
?
greetings
Karol SQ6POH
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Hello everyone
I am new here, I have been using my uBitx for about 2 years. In general, everything was fine until you try to build AGC.
Radi has lost a lot of tenderness. I have the impression that the audio track does not work. The transmitter switches on but no signal comes out. The transmitter is rather efficient because in CW the power is correct.
I checked and even replaced Q6, Q70-Q74.
He has no further ideas.
?
greetings
Karol SQ6POH
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Hi Christian,
I would like to have a copy of that. My email should be able to handle it if yours can.
wrcromwell@...
73,
Bill KU8H
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On 4/14/20 6:57 AM, Christiaan PA3FUN wrote: Hi All.
I'm using my ubitx v3 for a couple of months now. I'm primarily using it for CW using the official 4.3 code-base (n¨®t Ian's CEC code) and found quite some "room for improvement".
First of all I added setup-code so the output of the first mixer can exactly be mixed onto that first IF's center frequency. Just in case that first IF is n¨®t exactly centered around 45MHz. In the same way I added setup-code so the output of the 2nd mixer ends-up exactly at the right place regarding the 12MHz xtal-filter. Using both functions it's easy now, just using your ears, to optimize the radio's performance.
I've also added some code so as to calibrate the SI5351A's frequency so that when you tune to f.i. 3.560KHz you're exactly there. For this you do need however a frequency-counter or another (properly calibrated) HF-radio.
Another thing that bothered me was the fact the radio generates a short burst of "spurious" every time again upon it's first (CW-)key-down. I did some research and found out / can confirm this is caused by too slow discharge of two electrolytic caps (C52 & C64) causing both the TX- and RX-circuits between the 1st and 2nd filter to be concurrently active causing an oscillation that's fed to the then active TX-amplifier-stages. Short-term solution: remove these two caps from the PCB.
Besides the above points I identified a number of bugs.
I'm not (yet) familiar with how Github works; should anyone be interested in this code (and using uBitX v3 hardware) just let me know.
73's Christiaan PA3FUN
--
bark less - wag more
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Re: ubitx V6 SSB Transmit Audio Distortion (voice only)
My vote goes to Vic,
73,
Bill KU8H
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On 4/14/20 6:42 AM, Vic WA4THR via groups.io wrote: The Baofeng mics are notorious for sounding bad all on their own. Google them and there are a number of fixes people have made from enlarging the hole in the case to replacing the element and padding the interior. If you have set the BFO per Ashar Farhan's video, and the receive sounds good, you are probably just dealing with that microphone.
=Vic=
--
bark less - wag more
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Re: ubitx V6 SSB Transmit Audio Distortion (voice only)
Hi,
The BFO does in fact affect your transmit audio and is exactly the same in transmit as in receive. That is how *all* SSB transceivers work. I have read some reports from others and had my hands on one of those Baofeng mics. I am not impressed with the Baofeng mic at all. Just my opinion. It used to be that the mic amp was a separate adjustment but isn't in this radio. For my own purposes I don't care about that but it may not be possible to make the radio work right on both SSB and CW except by pure dumb luck getting the right mic. I have never connected a mic to my own V3. I may feed soundcard audio into it but that has a separate control of the mic input level. It should do that okay.
Two takeaways. The BFO is in play for receive and transmit in the SSB mode (but not CW transmit). The Baofeng mic is a problem - may or may not work with the microBitX. Depends on the individual mic.
Good luck with your radio and...
73,
Bill KU8H
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On 4/13/20 10:27 PM, Glen Dingley wrote: After building this rig and doing all the alignments, the receive audio sounds great. Also the CW transmits great and right on frequency. The issue I am having is SSB transmit audio is distorted.
Everyone is telling me it is hard to understand me when I talk into the stock Baofeng mic. Some say it sounds off frequency but when they tune up and down, my audio does not improve.
Does anyone know what I need to adjust or change? I really don't want to mess with BFO again as it took me forever to get that all correct. And I don't think BFO affects transmit audio quality, does it?
Glen W5GMD.
--
bark less - wag more
|
Hi All.
I'm using my ubitx v3 for a couple of months now. I'm primarily using it for CW using the official 4.3 code-base (n¨®t Ian's CEC code) and found quite some "room for improvement".
First of all I added setup-code so the output of the first mixer can exactly be mixed onto that first IF's center frequency. Just in case that first IF is n¨®t exactly centered around 45MHz. In the same way I added setup-code so the output of the 2nd mixer ends-up exactly at the right place regarding the 12MHz xtal-filter. Using both functions it's easy now, just using your ears, to optimize the radio's performance.
I've also added some code so as to calibrate the SI5351A's frequency so that when you tune to f.i. 3.560KHz you're exactly there. For this you do need however a frequency-counter or another (properly calibrated) HF-radio.
Another thing that bothered me was the fact the radio generates a short burst of "spurious" every time again upon it's first (CW-)key-down. I did some research and found out / can confirm this is caused by too slow discharge of two electrolytic caps (C52 & C64) causing both the TX- and RX-circuits between the 1st and 2nd filter to be concurrently active causing an oscillation that's fed to the then active TX-amplifier-stages. Short-term solution: remove these two caps from the PCB.
Besides the above points I identified a number of bugs.
I'm not (yet) familiar with how Github works; should anyone be interested in this code (and using uBitX v3 hardware) just let me know.
73's Christiaan PA3FUN
?
?
|
Re: ubitx V6 SSB Transmit Audio Distortion (voice only)
The Baofeng mics are notorious for sounding bad all on their own. Google them and there are a number of fixes people have made from enlarging the hole in the case to replacing the element and padding the interior. If you have set the BFO per Ashar Farhan's video, and the receive sounds good, you are probably just dealing with that microphone.
=Vic=
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LB3RE/LC0X "Rag" Stein-Roar
Guruprasad Belthur
Christiaan PA3FUN
Vic WA4THR