Re: No output power on
#v3
oh, and I removed the diodes.
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 10:58 AM Kit Peters < popefelix@...> wrote: I'll check all that, thanks.
As for test equipment, I have both a DMM and an old oscilloscope.
Kit,
I would expect a transmission of 15W a short distance away to create a very strong signal in an unshielded uBitx.
Perhaps you also have a problem in receive, but for now I will assume that is not the case.
The fact that you receive any signal at all with the uBitx tuned to display the same frequency as your transmitter
suggests the receiver is mostly working.? You may have trouble where the diodes were added if that was done incorrectly.
I would suggest not doing mods until everything the stock rig is working properly.
When debugging the transmitter, I would start with CW mode as Even suggested in post 83195:
>? Verify the transmit power using CW, not SSB.
There is a lot less to go wrong when transmitting in CW mode.
Put a good dummy load on the antenna terminal, put the uBitx in CW mode,?
and press the CW key to transmit.? The DC voltage on both ends of R84 should be 12 volts
when transmitting, and PA-PWR into L9 should also be 12 volts DC.
Put your finger on the IRF510 heatsinks and the dummy load occasionally,
let up on the key for a few minutes if they get too warm.
Put a 6" piece of wire on the base of Q90 as an antenna, see if you can hear the transmit
signal on a nearby receiver when you hold the key down.
If the above steps check out, take DC voltage readings for the stages from Q90
on out through the IRF510's, compare to those on pages 13, 14, and 15 of this document:
? ?
That is a fairly complete debug guide for the v3 uBitx.
Let us know how far you get.? If you need further help, let us know what
instruments you have available.? I assume you have a DVM.
Do you have access to a diode RF probe, or better yet an oscilloscope?
Good luck, this may prove to be educational.
If you can get help from a ham at a nearby club who has a bench full of instruments
and experience with troublshooting, that would help this process considerably.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 07:20 AM, Kit Peters wrote:
I haven't dug into this in depth, but I did test receive last night. Pumping 15 W into my loop with a borrowed Kenwood TS-2000 I was able to (faintly) hear my transmission in a dummy load. I suppose I could have stuck a piece of wire into a UHF connector and made a quickie vertical as well, but that was what occurred to me at the time. :)
--
Kit Peters, W0KEH GPG public key fingerpint:? D4FF AA62 AFEA 83D6 CC98 ACE5 6FAE 7E74 7F56 ED1DHello to any and all NSA, DEA, or other government or non-government agents reading this email.? Tell me about your life; I'll tell you about mine.
-- Kit Peters, W0KEH GPG public key fingerpint:? D4FF AA62 AFEA 83D6 CC98 ACE5 6FAE 7E74 7F56 ED1DHello to any and all NSA, DEA, or other government or non-government agents reading this email.? Tell me about your life; I'll tell you about mine.
|
Re: No output power on
#v3
I'll check all that, thanks.
As for test equipment, I have both a DMM and an old oscilloscope.
Kit,
I would expect a transmission of 15W a short distance away to create a very strong signal in an unshielded uBitx.
Perhaps you also have a problem in receive, but for now I will assume that is not the case.
The fact that you receive any signal at all with the uBitx tuned to display the same frequency as your transmitter
suggests the receiver is mostly working.? You may have trouble where the diodes were added if that was done incorrectly.
I would suggest not doing mods until everything the stock rig is working properly.
When debugging the transmitter, I would start with CW mode as Even suggested in post 83195:
>? Verify the transmit power using CW, not SSB.
There is a lot less to go wrong when transmitting in CW mode.
Put a good dummy load on the antenna terminal, put the uBitx in CW mode,?
and press the CW key to transmit.? The DC voltage on both ends of R84 should be 12 volts
when transmitting, and PA-PWR into L9 should also be 12 volts DC.
Put your finger on the IRF510 heatsinks and the dummy load occasionally,
let up on the key for a few minutes if they get too warm.
Put a 6" piece of wire on the base of Q90 as an antenna, see if you can hear the transmit
signal on a nearby receiver when you hold the key down.
If the above steps check out, take DC voltage readings for the stages from Q90
on out through the IRF510's, compare to those on pages 13, 14, and 15 of this document:
? ?
That is a fairly complete debug guide for the v3 uBitx.
Let us know how far you get.? If you need further help, let us know what
instruments you have available.? I assume you have a DVM.
Do you have access to a diode RF probe, or better yet an oscilloscope?
Good luck, this may prove to be educational.
If you can get help from a ham at a nearby club who has a bench full of instruments
and experience with troublshooting, that would help this process considerably.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 07:20 AM, Kit Peters wrote:
I haven't dug into this in depth, but I did test receive last night. Pumping 15 W into my loop with a borrowed Kenwood TS-2000 I was able to (faintly) hear my transmission in a dummy load. I suppose I could have stuck a piece of wire into a UHF connector and made a quickie vertical as well, but that was what occurred to me at the time. :)
-- Kit Peters, W0KEH GPG public key fingerpint:? D4FF AA62 AFEA 83D6 CC98 ACE5 6FAE 7E74 7F56 ED1DHello to any and all NSA, DEA, or other government or non-government agents reading this email.? Tell me about your life; I'll tell you about mine.
|
Re: No output power on
#v3
Kit,
I would expect a transmission of 15W a short distance away to create a very strong signal in an unshielded uBitx.
Perhaps you also have a problem in receive, but for now I will assume that is not the case.
The fact that you receive any signal at all with the uBitx tuned to display the same frequency as your transmitter
suggests the receiver is mostly working.? You may have trouble where the diodes were added if that was done incorrectly.
I would suggest not doing mods until everything the stock rig is working properly.
When debugging the transmitter, I would start with CW mode as Even suggested in post 83195:
>? Verify the transmit power using CW, not SSB.
There is a lot less to go wrong when transmitting in CW mode.
Put a good dummy load on the antenna terminal, put the uBitx in CW mode,?
and press the CW key to transmit.? The DC voltage on both ends of R84 should be 12 volts
when transmitting, and PA-PWR into L9 should also be 12 volts DC.
Put your finger on the IRF510 heatsinks and the dummy load occasionally,
let up on the key for a few minutes if they get too warm.
Put a 6" piece of wire on the base of Q90 as an antenna, see if you can hear the transmit
signal on a nearby receiver when you hold the key down.
If the above steps check out, take DC voltage readings for the stages from Q90
on out through the IRF510's, compare to those on pages 13, 14, and 15 of this document:
? ?
That is a fairly complete debug guide for the v3 uBitx.
Let us know how far you get.? If you need further help, let us know what
instruments you have available.? I assume you have a DVM.
Do you have access to a diode RF probe, or better yet an oscilloscope?
Good luck, this may prove to be educational.
If you can get help from a ham at a nearby club who has a bench full of instruments
and experience with troublshooting, that would help this process considerably.
Jerry, KE7ER
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 07:20 AM, Kit Peters wrote:
I haven't dug into this in depth, but I did test receive last night. Pumping 15 W into my loop with a borrowed Kenwood TS-2000 I was able to (faintly) hear my transmission in a dummy load. I suppose I could have stuck a piece of wire into a UHF connector and made a quickie vertical as well, but that was what occurred to me at the time. :)
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Re: Screen model. Explaim me
Evan,
Yes, I understood, but from what I read KD8CEC did not write a soft for the V6.
What I mean by that is that there are no version with like V6 menus.
We stay on the current graphics on the screen like a V5 KD8CEC.
I also read that he no longer gave any news.
Yes, I¡¯ve seen that there are other possibilities.
I saw the Jackai demonstration and his other menus.
For the moment, I limit myself to my house construction.
My basic question was more technical about screens and connections, knowing that Nextions are expensive.
Good day, you¡¯ll probably be very busy tomorrow.
cdt
cdt
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Re: Screen model. Explaim me
Check out this link:
73, KC8CKZ?
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Re: Screen model. Explaim me
If you go with the? TeensyTSW approach it uses the delivered display that comes with the V6.
Ron
On Monday, November 2, 2020, 10:48:59 AM EST, Evan Hand <elhandjr@...> wrote:
Gerard,
You can put a Nextion display with the KD8CEC software on the v6.? If you purchase the kit with the case, then the 2.8" Nextion can replace the 2.8" stock display and will fit with a little coaxing.
You can go to a larger display, as long as you either mill out the case window for the display to fit the larger size or put the entire kit in a different box.? The correct KD8CEC software will work with any model of uBITX.
As to using a larger ILI 9341 display, the larger screen takes more pixels and hence larger memory usage.? It is very possible if you go to a different micro controller like the Teensy.? There are adapter boards and software for that availble from the TSW web page:?
With either choice, you are removing and not using the stock display and substituting another one.? My choice is the Nextion, as there are a number of options currently available.? IF you are into coding, then the Teensy would be the way to go.? You could also check to see if the JackAl boards are available, as those have the Teensy and larger display options.
Just suggestions, you will need to research and moke your own choice.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
The resonators used on the Nano clones are less accurate?and much easier to move in frequency than the?quartz crystals used on the original Arduino Nano.
The datasheet for a Murata CSTNE16M0V530000R0 ceramic resonator says it has an accuracy of +/-0.50%, and can drift over its temperature range of -40C to +85C by up to another +/-0.30%
The Murata?XRCGB16M000FXN00R0 16mhz quartz crystal has an accuracy of +/-40ppm, including variations due to temperature.? So?100*40/1e6 = 0.004%, 125 times more accurate.
If pulling does not work, might replace the resonator with a quartz crystal near but not on 16.000mhz,? perhaps 15mhz or 16.384mhz.
Or drive the processor clock pin from a quartz crystal oscillator.
A different clock frequency would change timing determined in Arduino firmware, such as CW keying speed.
I would not know what all this might affect on current firmware, but doubt it's catastrophic.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 06:26 AM, Jerry Gaffke wrote:
The Raduino comes with a $2 Nano clone using the CH340 chip for the USB-to-UART interface.
Not the $20 original Arduino design.? Here's a description and a schematic:
Note that there are pads for caps on each side of the resonator, but they are not used.
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Re: Screen model. Explaim me
Gerard,
You can put a Nextion display with the KD8CEC software on the v6.? If you purchase the kit with the case, then the 2.8" Nextion can replace the 2.8" stock display and will fit with a little coaxing.
You can go to a larger display, as long as you either mill out the case window for the display to fit the larger size or put the entire kit in a different box.? The correct KD8CEC software will work with any model of uBITX.
As to using a larger ILI 9341 display, the larger screen takes more pixels and hence larger memory usage.? It is very possible if you go to a different micro controller like the Teensy.? There are adapter boards and software for that availble from the TSW web page:?
With either choice, you are removing and not using the stock display and substituting another one.? My choice is the Nextion, as there are a number of options currently available.? IF you are into coding, then the Teensy would be the way to go.? You could also check to see if the JackAl boards are available, as those have the Teensy and larger display options.
Just suggestions, you will need to research and moke your own choice.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: No output power on
#v3
I haven't dug into this in depth, but I did test receive last night. Pumping 15 W into my loop with a borrowed Kenwood TS-2000 I was able to (faintly) hear my transmission in a dummy load. I suppose I could have stuck a piece of wire into a UHF connector and made a quickie vertical as well, but that was what occurred to me at the time. :)
|
Hello
On the v3,v4,v5 we can put a Nextion and it works very well with the software of KD8CEC.On version 6, ai this time is not possible. It says you must have ILI9341.
See my if i am right When I look at the sales sites, they are only small screens. (2 or 3 inches) for ILI9341. Why?
Another curiosity I don¡¯t understand. If I zoom in on a screen called ili9341, I see an XPT4026 circuit. If I zoom, on screen (QVT-320_ILI 9341) that looks like the one. I have in home? (QVT-320), it is also the same circuit XPT 4026. An? only difference seems to be the connection. So, another question, is ILI9341 a connecting standard or something else?If we have the same circuit (XPT4026 on all models),Could we interface instead of a Nextion? I saw that we need to put a divider on several pins.
Here a beginning of talk about that:
/g/BITX20/topic/73277797?p=,,,20,0,0,0::recentpostdate,,,20,2,0,0&allview=1
I copy an excel file where i got some information
Well, it may be a lot of energy to put a screen a little bigger (it¡¯s square and not rectangular!)
But, this can be an interesting topic
cdt
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
Gerard,
No need to recalibrate.
The frequency at which the radio operates is determined by the 25mhz quartz crystal on the Raduino's Si5351.
Let us know if this works.
Jerry, KE7ER
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On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 06:36 AM, Gerard wrote:
Hello,
it's a good idea.
Confirm to me that there is no recalibration to do? and after that it remains to check that the 16 KHZ has disappeared on the sound .
Thank you
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
Hello,
it's a good idea.
Confirm to me that there is no recalibration to do? and after that it remains to check that the 16 KHZ has disappeared on the sound .
Thank you
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Show quoted text
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 03:26 PM, Jerry Gaffke wrote:
It might be possible to push the ceramic resonator enough by slipping a metal sheet?
of copper or aluminum
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
I think Evan has it right.
I hope Gerard has a Nano that is socketed to the Raduino, not soldered down like the early uBitx.
As I recall from a few years ago, putting a finger on the resonator pulled it away considerably.
It might be possible to push the ceramic resonator enough by slipping a metal sheet?
of copper or aluminum foil over the top of the resonantor with an insulating layer
of thin tape between the metal sheet and the board.? Grounding the metal sheet might
push it further.? Kapton tape would be idea, cellophane tape (Scotch tape) should work well enough.
I haven't tried any of this.
The Raduino comes with a $2 Nano clone using the CH340 chip for the USB-to-UART interface.
Not the $20 original Arduino design.? Here's a description and a schematic:
Note that there are pads for caps on each side of the resonator, but they are not used.
Those resonators are incredibly tiny, as are the pads for the caps.?
Might be easiest to simply swap out the Nano.
Jerry, KE7ER
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 03:30 AM, Evan Hand wrote:
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 03:38 AM, Gerard wrote:
You wrote: "push the 16mhz resonator over a few khz."
Gerard,
Some more explanation may be required.? The ceramic resonator is the "crystal" equivalent that is used for the Nano clock.? There is not an adjustment to change that in the firmware.? The change would be done on the Nano board by adding capacitors to the resonator leads.? Here is the link to the Nano schematic:
It would be adding capacitors to pins 7 and 8 on the ATMega328.? It would be a lower-cost risk than the filter replacement, but harder to do in the tight board space and pin spacing of the Nano.
Jerry,
Did I get it correct?? Also, have you tried adjusting the Nano frequency, and do you have any tips on how to do so?
For what its worth (FWIW)
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
Evan,
Thanks for the answer.
It¡¯s simple in fact, but handle the soldering iron well
cdt
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
On Mon, Nov 2, 2020 at 03:38 AM, Gerard wrote:
You wrote: "push the 16mhz resonator over a few khz."
Gerard, Some more explanation may be required.? The ceramic resonator is the "crystal" equivalent that is used for the Nano clock.? There is not an adjustment to change that in the firmware.? The change would be done on the Nano board by adding capacitors to the resonator leads.? Here is the link to the Nano schematic: It would be adding capacitors to pins 7 and 8 on the ATMega328.? It would be a lower-cost risk than the filter replacement, but harder to do in the tight board space and pin spacing of the Nano. Jerry, Did I get it correct?? Also, have you tried adjusting the Nano frequency, and do you have any tips on how to do so? For what its worth (FWIW) 73 Evan AC9TU
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
Gerard,
Here is an article on pulling crystal frequencies.??
The short answer is to use 1 or two capacitors to change the tuned circuit that is the crystal equivalent.? For the extreme case, you can use an LC circuit for larger shifts in frequency.? I have not done this, so it is all theory for me.
Sorry that it is in English, however, I do not speak French.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Many thanks to all of you for your very interesting posts; it took me some time to reply since there is a lot of QRL for me.
I wll study each of the proposed solutions and I will perform some tests on my uBitx v5 rig.
In the meanwhile, i have one question to Jack and Al: Referring to your AGC circuit, I notice that Q205 - the npn part of the variable-gain amplifier - has no signal at its base since C203 is most probably a "do not install" part, marked as 0.00 uF. J309 is the voltage-controlled resistance, however the control signal is directly fed from uBitx IF (uBitx_IF_In), i.e. not coming from any peak detector. Please explain to me the functionality of that block; your design seems very interesting and simple and it deserves a good explanation.
73, George, SV1DEQ
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Re: Better choice quartz for 11.059 filter
Jerry,
You wrote: "push the 16mhz resonator over a few khz."
Before change quartz, or other and for my personal information.
I have tried several calibration, the 16 khz is always present.
How you do it to push the 16mhz resonator over few khz?
Is it on nano? if you can explain
thank's
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Re: Dummy Load Resistors & Motor Oil
hello,
on the other post, i have put that:
Here, dunny load in a?converse box with linseed oil
cdt
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Re: Dummy Load Resistors & Motor Oil
Most linseed oil is "boiled", which these days means it has chemical additives to make it polymerize faster.
Those drying agents create some nasty noxious fumes, as well as causing the spontaneous combustion of oil soaked rags.
The oil gives off heat when it polymerizes, a chemical reaction where it hardens into a kind of plastic.
Linseed oil is often used as a finish for wood.
We used maybe 20 gallons of "raw" linseed oil when creating our earthern floors.
The "raw" stuff does not have the drying agents, we "boiled" it in the traditional way by heating it to 110C (230F)?
and then immediately took it off the heat to cool.? Cooked the oil outside, watching the temps carefully.
According to this:??
the flash point is 222C (so vapors can burn but won't self ignite), auto ignition is 343C, boils at 349C.
I'd feel quite safe using raw linseed oil in a dummy load, but would avoid the "boiled" stuff.
If the oil does spill, the room will smell quite pleasant for years.
Just touch the can occasionally with a wet finger, cut power if it sizzles.
One of those microwave 50 ohm dummy loads bolted to 5 kilos of aluminum would probably work about as well.
As would WB9SBD's water and baking soda trick.
Jerry, KE7ER
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On Sun, Nov 1, 2020 at 06:49 PM, Dr. Flywheel wrote:
I caution against use of linseed oil. Once oxidized it can sponteously combust. With heat added this becomes even more dangerous. At one time I coated my cedar deck with linseed oil on a hot day. Later in the day I was surprised to find my deck smoking and one corner actually spontaneously began flaming in front of my eyes. Mineral oil is the only type of oil that is used in electric radiator type of heater and for a good reason...
?
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Aurelia Fenderson-Peters
Gerard
George Metaxas (SV1DEQ)