¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Date

Re: Farhan's Analog Again The Daylight Radio

 

The plans are clear to me except for T1 and T2. How are the trifiliar transformers wound? How many turns on what size toroid? Are 2 and 6 really unconnected?
--
? 73
??? Bob? KD8CGH


Re: sBitx, customs and management fees

 

Ken,
In Spain, then VAT tax is 21%. 270$ x 0.21 is aprox. 53€.

DHL management cost could avoid it, but I would have to go to Madrid, do the management, lose a few hours, etc. It is the price of comfort.

The online seller should, or could, include VAT in the price (this is how AliExpress does), but that's a minor issue.

Public services must be paid.

¸é²¹³¾¨®²Ô?


audio output switching

 

it is possible that you might want to switch the audio output to a couple of different things..
check this out...


vince N2AIE


Re: sBitx antenna-first warning

 

Most SWR meters (for the HF frequencies) don't measure SWR. They just measure how far off the antenna/coax load is from 50 ohms (reactive and resistive).

The only reason they are fixated on 50 ohms is nearly everyone uses 50 ohm coax, and it is a good idea to try to match the 50 ohm coax for minimum loss in the coax. However, the SWR measurement is usually made at the transmitter end of the cable, so the SWR across the length of the coax cable could be high. You could just be at a lucky multiple of a 1/4 wavelength that could make the impedance of the antenna/coax system (where you stuck the SWR meter) look close to 50 ohms.?

I agree, the reactance part of the load is what kills the finals. There may be, indeed, "reflected" waves. But, the reflected waves don't somehow have electrons managing to fight their way in the opposite direction to attack, pillage and lay waste to the RF finals. The "mismatch" can be reactive (look too much like an inductive or capacitive load) and cause problems with power dissipation or excessive voltage when the finals try to drive that load.?

At HF the only way to measure the actual SWR would be to do what the old timers did. Actually run a measuring device down the length of the cable (if long enough) and records the maximin and minimum readings.?

Tom, wb6b


On Wed, Aug 3, 2022 at 07:11 AM, Jerry Gaffke wrote:
There is room for doubt here.
An SWR meter assumes the transmitter wants to see a 50 ohm resistive load.
A uBitx/sBitx might work a bit better into a load that is somewhat different than assumed.

Jerry,? KE7ER
Hide quoted text

?


On Wed, Aug 3, 2022 at 06:20 AM, David McGaw wrote:
This is not correct.? The output impedance of the PA does not change the SWR and resistance/reactance of the tuner/antenna combination.

What one is really doing is tuning out the reactance of the antenna and setting the load resistance to the design value of the amplifier.? A reactive load increases the dissipation of the PA finals.? Tuning at low power within the voltage and dissipation limits is safe.

David N1HAC

?

?


Re: sBitx, customs and management fees

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Thanks

Ken, N2VIP

On Aug 5, 2022, at 11:36, Ian Reeve <ian.radioworkshop@...> wrote:

?
As I understand it is for the UK calculated at VAT on cost and postage plus and admin fee for the courier company.The admin fee is to cover collection of and passing to hmrc with appropriate paperwork.If the item is described and marked on the customs declaration as a kit, I thought it was VAT exempt although there is still a admin fee for the customs declaration.These charges are levied by the customs at point of entry to your country so there is plenty of scope for miscalculation.


Get

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Peter McCracken <peter.mccracken@...>
Sent: Friday, August 5, 2022 5:27:05 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [BITX20] sBitx, customs and management fees
?
I got my sbitx today, additional 95 euro for Irish customs. Welcome to the EU.

On Fri 5 Aug 2022 at 16:42, Ken N2VIP <ken@...> wrote:
Ouch! As a US Ham I'm curious how the €53 VAT is calculated, since the stated value is, what, about €250-300?

Sadly, the €43 for "customs management" is likely a fixed paperwork fee no matter the value of the shipment.

I wonder if VAT could be pre-paid to avoid the "customs management" fee? The VAT itself is (apparently) owed & should be paid, but maybe the additional fee can be avoided?

Anyway, just curious,

Ken, N2VIP

On Aug 5, 2022, at 05:55, ramonlh@... wrote:

?
Hello,

I just received my sBitx, Basic Kit. It has been accompanied by an additional payment of €53 VAT for the Treasury and €43 for DHL for customs management.
?
So the radio has been a little more expensive than expected but I am sure it will be worth the extra cost and I will enjoy it a lot.
?
Notice for European Union buyers!
?
Ramon EA4GZI


Re: sBitx, customs and management fees

Ian Reeve
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

As I understand it is for the UK calculated at VAT on cost and postage plus and admin fee for the courier company.The admin fee is to cover collection of and passing to hmrc with appropriate paperwork.If the item is described and marked on the customs declaration as a kit, I thought it was VAT exempt although there is still a admin fee for the customs declaration.These charges are levied by the customs at point of entry to your country so there is plenty of scope for miscalculation.


Get


From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Peter McCracken <peter.mccracken@...>
Sent: Friday, August 5, 2022 5:27:05 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [BITX20] sBitx, customs and management fees
?
I got my sbitx today, additional 95 euro for Irish customs. Welcome to the EU.

On Fri 5 Aug 2022 at 16:42, Ken N2VIP <ken@...> wrote:
Ouch! As a US Ham I'm curious how the €53 VAT is calculated, since the stated value is, what, about €250-300?

Sadly, the €43 for "customs management" is likely a fixed paperwork fee no matter the value of the shipment.

I wonder if VAT could be pre-paid to avoid the "customs management" fee? The VAT itself is (apparently) owed & should be paid, but maybe the additional fee can be avoided?

Anyway, just curious,

Ken, N2VIP

On Aug 5, 2022, at 05:55, ramonlh@... wrote:

?
Hello,

I just received my sBitx, Basic Kit. It has been accompanied by an additional payment of €53 VAT for the Treasury and €43 for DHL for customs management.
?
So the radio has been a little more expensive than expected but I am sure it will be worth the extra cost and I will enjoy it a lot.
?
Notice for European Union buyers!
?
Ramon EA4GZI


Re: sBitx, customs and management fees

 

I got my sbitx today, additional 95 euro for Irish customs. Welcome to the EU.

On Fri 5 Aug 2022 at 16:42, Ken N2VIP <ken@...> wrote:
Ouch! As a US Ham I'm curious how the €53 VAT is calculated, since the stated value is, what, about €250-300?

Sadly, the €43 for "customs management" is likely a fixed paperwork fee no matter the value of the shipment.

I wonder if VAT could be pre-paid to avoid the "customs management" fee? The VAT itself is (apparently) owed & should be paid, but maybe the additional fee can be avoided?

Anyway, just curious,

Ken, N2VIP

On Aug 5, 2022, at 05:55, ramonlh@... wrote:

?
Hello,

I just received my sBitx, Basic Kit. It has been accompanied by an additional payment of €53 VAT for the Treasury and €43 for DHL for customs management.
?
So the radio has been a little more expensive than expected but I am sure it will be worth the extra cost and I will enjoy it a lot.
?
Notice for European Union buyers!
?
Ramon EA4GZI


Re: Farhan's Analog Again The Daylight Radio

 

I have been getting 3D prints from my local library.? They have a much better 3D printer than I have and charge by the ounce.? ?

Ben


Re: sBitx, customs and management fees

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Ouch! As a US Ham I'm curious how the €53 VAT is calculated, since the stated value is, what, about €250-300?

Sadly, the €43 for "customs management" is likely a fixed paperwork fee no matter the value of the shipment.

I wonder if VAT could be pre-paid to avoid the "customs management" fee? The VAT itself is (apparently) owed & should be paid, but maybe the additional fee can be avoided?

Anyway, just curious,

Ken, N2VIP

On Aug 5, 2022, at 05:55, ramonlh@... wrote:

?
Hello,

I just received my sBitx, Basic Kit. It has been accompanied by an additional payment of €53 VAT for the Treasury and €43 for DHL for customs management.
?
So the radio has been a little more expensive than expected but I am sure it will be worth the extra cost and I will enjoy it a lot.
?
Notice for European Union buyers!
?
Ramon EA4GZI


Re: Turn off WiFi on your sBitx

 

I am beginning to think that the wifi signal is injected into another place than the lm380.

I have built an external board with a lm380 and the noise was there.
I have tried placing a grounded screen between the pi and the digital board. Noise.
I have moved the pi to "official mounting" on the backside of the display. Noise.

73 de oz9ny, niels


Re: Sbitx group

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

A large groups.io group can get expensive (in ham radio terms), ranging from free (up to 100 users), to $20/month (up to 500 users), to $200/month (up to 1,000 users):


There is an interesting option called "subgroups" that may be worth exploring (if available in our group bitx20, I believe this group is a in a (free) service tier that is no longer offered, so what is and is not included is unclear to me.)

And note, the group started out to support the bitx20, then embraced the bitx40, then the uBitx, and now the sBitx. Once the initial flurry of activity dies down, I think the sBitx topics will moderate just like the bitx20, bitx40, and uBitx traffic did previously.

Ken, N2VIP

On Aug 5, 2022, at 09:07, Lou KI5FTY <lscalpati@...> wrote:

?
I agree - add a new group
73
Lou KI5FTY



On Fri, Aug 5, 2022 at 9:05 AM Jim K5KKB Steeb <jimsteeb@...> wrote:
Love this idea!!!
Flip side is alot?of us will still be checking in on both Forums anyhow

On Fri, Aug 5, 2022 at 9:02 AM Gerard <kabupos@...> wrote:
Good morning,
I was absent from the forum during my vacation.
The number of topics on the Sbitx is impressive.
For an easier reading for those who are still at the Ubitx, wouldn¡¯t it be better to have a Sbitx group?
The moderator could create it and move all the Sbitx messages on it.
Have a great day.
Cdt


Re: The sBitx Release on www.vu2ese.com

 

Yep, when I try to execute using ./sbitx, I can see it's there but is crashing without the chips. Thanks!
--
Stephen, KO4CVU


SolderSmoke Podcast #239

 

I thought you all would be interested.? Lots of discussion of Farhan's SDR and HDR rigs.? ?Hammarlunds.? Pete's Wireless Set.? My DX-100.? 40 meter AM.??

Here it is:?




Comments welcome.? (Please put them in the box underneath the blog post).?


73? ?Bill N2CQR
http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com




Re: Sbitx group

 

I agree - add a new group
73
Lou KI5FTY



On Fri, Aug 5, 2022 at 9:05 AM Jim K5KKB Steeb <jimsteeb@...> wrote:
Love this idea!!!
Flip side is alot?of us will still be checking in on both Forums anyhow

On Fri, Aug 5, 2022 at 9:02 AM Gerard <kabupos@...> wrote:
Good morning,
I was absent from the forum during my vacation.
The number of topics on the Sbitx is impressive.
For an easier reading for those who are still at the Ubitx, wouldn¡¯t it be better to have a Sbitx group?
The moderator could create it and move all the Sbitx messages on it.
Have a great day.
Cdt


Re: Sbitx group

 

Love this idea!!!
Flip side is alot?of us will still be checking in on both Forums anyhow

On Fri, Aug 5, 2022 at 9:02 AM Gerard <kabupos@...> wrote:
Good morning,
I was absent from the forum during my vacation.
The number of topics on the Sbitx is impressive.
For an easier reading for those who are still at the Ubitx, wouldn¡¯t it be better to have a Sbitx group?
The moderator could create it and move all the Sbitx messages on it.
Have a great day.
Cdt


Sbitx group

 

Good morning,
I was absent from the forum during my vacation.
The number of topics on the Sbitx is impressive.
For an easier reading for those who are still at the Ubitx, wouldn¡¯t it be better to have a Sbitx group?
The moderator could create it and move all the Sbitx messages on it.
Have a great day.
Cdt


Re: sBitx antenna-first warning

 

Bob,
That's the plan for the weekend. A stockton bridge that is continously read by sbitx. If the swr is too high, it will reduce the power protecting the PA.

On Fri, Aug 5, 2022, 5:31 PM Bob Benedict, KD8CGH <rkayakr@...> wrote:
Gordon's comments brings me full circle here. For tuning, reducing drive to limit power should be useful.
A "tune" button that lowers power temporarily for tuning, like that in every commercial rig I have ever owned,? could make that easy.
A bridge that feeds forward/reverse power info to the Pi would be a great addition and allow for the software to report SWR and protect the RF amp. Pi Picos are readily available for ~$5 which have 12 bit ADC and can do some local processing, then communicate to the Pi 4 by I2C. The Pico could even yank a Pi 4 GPIO? pin down to let an ISR immediately cut RF power if needed.
The Pico would be loafing along with this task and could easily do other low level tasks for the radio. Run the coffee maker?
--
? 73
??? Bob? KD8CGH


Re: sBitx antenna-first warning

 

Gordon's comments brings me full circle here. For tuning, reducing drive to limit power should be useful.
A "tune" button that lowers power temporarily for tuning, like that in every commercial rig I have ever owned,? could make that easy.
A bridge that feeds forward/reverse power info to the Pi would be a great addition and allow for the software to report SWR and protect the RF amp. Pi Picos are readily available for ~$5 which have 12 bit ADC and can do some local processing, then communicate to the Pi 4 by I2C. The Pico could even yank a Pi 4 GPIO? pin down to let an ISR immediately cut RF power if needed.
The Pico would be loafing along with this task and could easily do other low level tasks for the radio. Run the coffee maker?
--
? 73
??? Bob? KD8CGH


Re: Turn off WiFi on your sBitx

 

Have we made any progress on this noise?? I received my sBitx yesterday, and with the wifi enabled, its unusable due to the transient noises.? As mentioned earlier, adjusting the volume doesn't affect it, nor does having connected or disconnected to the antenna, or whether it's connected to a battery or a power supply.


Re: sBitx antenna-first warning

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Oh! ?I made a judgement with insufficient information. ?My wife says I do that often with her¡­.. but she¡¯s been saying the same things for 50 years and I pretty much know where she is going. Someone famous once said ¡°Two ears. One tongue. ?Used best in that order.¡±

Dave K8WPE

David J. Wilcox¡¯s iPad

On Aug 5, 2022, at 6:28 AM, Scott KE8KYP <scott_massey@...> wrote:

?Hi David,

Thanks for the notes. ?I own and have used a 50 ohm dummy load for years. ?I was referring to Ashhar¡¯s comment that the three parallel 470¡¯s are to be connected to a SWR bridge. ?I too thought he was talking about a dummy load but he was talking about a SWR bridge circuit that uses three resistors. ?Sizing the resistors large enough help protect the PA finals during tuning operations.

There is always something to learn.

Cheers, Scott