Farhan

Why 5.4V ???? Official Raspberry Pi 4 says 5.1V supply voltage.

My sBitx RPI4 died yesterday!! No boot and constant green light

I measured the voltage from LM338, it was 5.42V,

de oz9ny, niels

Ashhar - I will not use the touch screen feature.? I have the official keyboard/mouse combo for my Pi, and that is what I will use.? i may use the mouse as a pointer to the on-screen keyboard for commands, but I will use the keyboard in its "normal" fashion for actually entering values, or text for transmission.? It isn't very likely that I will use an actual key or paddles for CW, although I do have one.? The keyboard is just more convenient and easier, and my "CW ear" is a bit rusty.

Regarding my sBit shipment:? The latest info from DHL is that it is in Bangalore.? I got the billing from DHL for the Canadian sales tax & it has been paid online.? DHL says delivery on Monday Aug 8, but I suspect they may do better.

Regarding the Meanwell LRS-150-12 power supply:? I emailed Meanwell to see if it is necessary to derate the output current if the output voltage is turned up beyond 12.5 volts.? Derating is necessary.

I have had my Pi working with a secondary display.? Will document this and submit it when all is done.

Gerry Sherman

Sent by the Thunderbird

On 2022-08-09 04:08, Ashhar Farhan wrote:

1. Increasingly, a vertical spectrum and waterfall display makes sense to me. We can stream the text being? decoded against each frequency. Much like the CW skimmer et al.

2. The on-display keyboard. The current keyboard is too small for actual touch typing. Should we keep it such that on a button, it overlays the bottom area and then vanishes when done? That way we will get more real-estate to put other things in.

3. I seem to mostly use the bandswitches, mode and audio control. Should others also be hidden to be on-demand?

These will clear up the screen for more interesting things like a signal browser, etc.

Let's slug it out.

- f??

I must add a warning to the assembly manual. It was created when we were shipping just the boards.

The assembly video for the basic kit is here:

It is unfortunately in portrait mode. I will try flipping it around today at then add the link to the sbitx page.

- f

On Tue, Aug 9, 2022, 7:36 AM Shirley Dulcey KE1L <mark@...> wrote:

The assembly instructions on the HFSignals site are for a disassembled sBitx. But what they are shipping now is the basic kit -- a mostly assembled radio that lacks the display and the Raspberry Pi. The instructions on the site don't apply perfectly; there are things you don't need to do at all, and things you will do differently because parts are already installed. Here is what I found when I put mine together.

0. Opening the case

You're getting a mostly assembled sBitx so you have to detach some things to get at the inside. Unfasten the front panel by removing four M3 screws; two at the top of the front of the radio and two at the bottom of the front. Pull off the front panel. Unfasten the top panel (the one with the speaker) by removing four M3 screws from the top of the radio. Pull off the top panel. Unplug the speaker cable from the digital board.

1. Preparing the digital card

Do the first three steps as written. Those attach the DSI cable to the Pi and install the SD card. The DSI cable comes with the display, not the sBitx. The two ends of the cable are identical; it doesn't matter which way you put it in. (My cable didn't match the one in the pictures; the cable was built the other way around, with the writing on the blue side instead of the silver side. Follow the instructions about the blue and silver sides and ignore the writing.) This cable installs VERTICALLY, sticking up from the Pi. The standoffs are already attached?to the digital board inside the radio, so skip step 4.

2. Installing the main board into enclosure

Everything in this section has already been done. You can skip it.

3. Preparing the front panel

Skip step 1 (install the display back plate); it's already there. Do steps 2 and 3; note that the display goes into the radio with the five pin connector at the top and the ribbon cable at the bottom, as shown in the picture. Skip the rest of this section; it's already done.

4. Installing the front panel

Skip this section for now. You will put on the front panel later.

5. Installing the digital board

The digital card is already plugged into the radio main board and attached to its mounting bracket. So instead of doing what this section says, you're going to plug the Raspberry Pi into the digital card where it is already mounted, rather than taking it out. The order of assembly is changed.

First, plug the Raspberry Pi (which already has the DSI cable attached; you did that earlier) into the digital card. Be careful to get it aligned correctly, with all the pins and sockets meeting each other. When you have it in place, secure the Pi with four M2.5 screws. If the screws don't line up easily you probably don't have the Pi aligned correctly; check again!

Next is the trickiest part of the assembly; attaching the DSI cable to the display. Hold the front panel near the rest of the radio but don't attach it. Release the plastic clamp on the DSI socket. Plug the loose end of the DSI cable into the display board with the silver side facing up. (This cable goes in HORIZONTALLY, flat to the board, unlike how it plugs into the Pi.) IMPORTANT: there will be a half twist in the DSI cable if you have both ends plugged in correctly; this is normal.

Plug the 10 pin encoder cable into the digital card. It will only go in one way. Attach the front panel to the radio, using the four M3 screws you removed earlier.

There is one more cable to connect, the brown and black power cable. The power cable has no connectors at the?other end, only at the end that connect to the digital card. The assembly instructions show the power cable wires simply twisted around the pins on the display, an arrangement I didn't care for at all. Instead, I used two wires that came with the display that have Dupont connectors on each end, the red and black ones, cut them in half, and spliced the ends of one half of those wires to the brown and black cable: black to black, brown to red. Solder each pair of wires together and seal the splices with heat shrink tubing. Connect the two pin connector to the digital card. Connect the loose ends to the display; the red wire goes on the end near the DSI connector (labeled 5V) and the black one goes at the other end (labeled GND). You do not need to connect anything to the other three pins.

6. Closing the enclosure

The side plate is already attached, so you can skip the first step. Plug the speaker back into the digital card. Put the top panel back on the radio and secure it with the four M3 screws you removed earlier.

You're done. Enjoy your new sBitx!

I need to compare experiences with anyone else trying PSK31 on their sBITX.
Today, I received my new sBITX kit, S/N #52. After connecting everything and running an update, I can see psk31 signals on the waterfall and hear them through the speaker. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get the radio to decode the signals yet. I must be doing something wrong, so I thought I'd ask to see if anyone can give me some tips. Thank you!
--
Stephen, KO4CVU

The assembly instructions on the HFSignals site are for a disassembled sBitx. But what they are shipping now is the basic kit -- a mostly assembled radio that lacks the display and the Raspberry Pi. The instructions on the site don't apply perfectly; there are things you don't need to do at all, and things you will do differently because parts are already installed. Here is what I found when I put mine together.

0. Opening the case

You're getting a mostly assembled sBitx so you have to detach some things to get at the inside. Unfasten the front panel by removing four M3 screws; two at the top of the front of the radio and two at the bottom of the front. Pull off the front panel. Unfasten the top panel (the one with the speaker) by removing four M3 screws from the top of the radio. Pull off the top panel. Unplug the speaker cable from the digital board.

1. Preparing the digital card

Do the first three steps as written. Those attach the DSI cable to the Pi and install the SD card. The DSI cable comes with the display, not the sBitx. The two ends of the cable are identical; it doesn't matter which way you put it in. (My cable didn't match the one in the pictures; the cable was built the other way around, with the writing on the blue side instead of the silver side. Follow the instructions about the blue and silver sides and ignore the writing.) This cable installs VERTICALLY, sticking up from the Pi. The standoffs are already attached?to the digital board inside the radio, so skip step 4.

2. Installing the main board into enclosure

Everything in this section has already been done. You can skip it.

3. Preparing the front panel

Skip step 1 (install the display back plate); it's already there. Do steps 2 and 3; note that the display goes into the radio with the five pin connector at the top and the ribbon cable at the bottom, as shown in the picture. Skip the rest of this section; it's already done.

4. Installing the front panel

Skip this section for now. You will put on the front panel later.

5. Installing the digital board

The digital card is already plugged into the radio main board and attached to its mounting bracket. So instead of doing what this section says, you're going to plug the Raspberry Pi into the digital card where it is already mounted, rather than taking it out. The order of assembly is changed.

First, plug the Raspberry Pi (which already has the DSI cable attached; you did that earlier) into the digital card. Be careful to get it aligned correctly, with all the pins and sockets meeting each other. When you have it in place, secure the Pi with four M2.5 screws. If the screws don't line up easily you probably don't have the Pi aligned correctly; check again!

Next is the trickiest part of the assembly; attaching the DSI cable to the display. Hold the front panel near the rest of the radio but don't attach it. Release the plastic clamp on the DSI socket. Plug the loose end of the DSI cable into the display board with the silver side facing up. (This cable goes in HORIZONTALLY, flat to the board, unlike how it plugs into the Pi.) IMPORTANT: there will be a half twist in the DSI cable if you have both ends plugged in correctly; this is normal.

Plug the 10 pin encoder cable into the digital card. It will only go in one way. Attach the front panel to the radio, using the four M3 screws you removed earlier.

There is one more cable to connect, the brown and black power cable. The power cable has no connectors at the?other end, only at the end that connect to the digital card. The assembly instructions show the power cable wires simply twisted around the pins on the display, an arrangement I didn't care for at all. Instead, I used two wires that came with the display that have Dupont connectors on each end, the red and black ones, cut them in half, and spliced the ends of one half of those wires to the brown and black cable: black to black, brown to red. Solder each pair of wires together and seal the splices with heat shrink tubing. Connect the two pin connector to the digital card. Connect the loose ends to the display; the red wire goes on the end near the DSI connector (labeled 5V) and the black one goes at the other end (labeled GND). You do not need to connect anything to the other three pins.

6. Closing the enclosure

The side plate is already attached, so you can skip the first step. Plug the speaker back into the digital card. Put the top panel back on the radio and secure it with the four M3 screws you removed earlier.

You're done. Enjoy your new sBitx!

I’ve been pouring through the code and I’ve done something which appears to have improved manual CW sending.? It also seems to make the upper encoder more responsive and less prone to “slacking” when rotating quickly.

In sbitx_gtk.c change:

int?e = g_timeout_add(10, ui_tick,?NULL);

to:

int?e = g_timeout_add(1, ui_tick,?NULL);

This changes ui_tick from being called every 10 mS to every 1 mS.

In ui_tick(), change:

if (ticks == 10){

To:

if (ticks == 100){

And break these two lines out of the (ticks == 100){}:

? ?modem_poll(mode_id(get_field("r1:mode")->value));
? ?update_field(get_field("#text_in"));?//modem might have extracted some text

I don’t know if this actually had an effect on the CW TX/RX cycling problem I’m also experiencing, but that problem went away with this change.? Keyboard CW sending seems more fluid as well.

?

Code is here:

I’m not sure if this is a prudent code change, or what it may break, I’m just playing around and learning right now….

73

Goody

K3NG

On Aug 8, 2022, at 20:26, Anthony Good via <anthony.good@...> wrote:

I would attempt to use my Arduino keyer, however when I switch over to straight key mode I still notice the delay, so an outboard keyer won’t help.

I reniced the sbitx process several times, and went all the way down to -20 (maximum priority), with no change in the responsiveness.

I’m also experiencing the issue with attempts at keyboard-sent CW putting sbitx into a cycling loop between TX and RX loop with no RF coming out. ?

73

Goody

K3NG

On Aug 8, 2022, at 20:17, Gerald Sherman <ve4gks@...> wrote:

Might want to look at the WinKeyer by K1EL

Gerry Sherman

Sent by the? Thunderbird

On 2022-08-09 00:12, Anthony Good wrote:

Agreed on the relay coil.? There are also several TX voltage points, like on R5, R39, R42 that one could tap into.

I’ve had the same questions regarding Linux and timing.? I noticed initial keying from the CW paddle seems delayed.? I’m going to play around with nice to see if there’s any difference.? It may make sense in the future to move timing-critical items out to separate executables.

73

Goody

K3NG

On Aug 8, 2022, at 19:58, Max via??<kg4pid@...> wrote:

If it was me, I'd tie into the transmit relay coil, you only need a few milliamps of current for an led. What happens if the radio gets RF into it and locks up the PI? It might not indicate that the radio is in transmit when it really is. That and a time-out timer on the transmitter should be done in hardware, not software.

I wonder how many here know that the version of Linux that is being used is NOT a real time operating system and will do little housekeeping jobs whenever it needs to. I hope this doesn't cause operational problems for the sBit.

Max KG4PID

On Monday, August 8, 2022, 06:10:15 PM CDT, Scott KE8KYP <scott_massey@...> wrote:?

Hi All,

I am adding a simple PWR LED to indicate when the PWR switch is turned on.? I am also looking for a way to drive a single LED that activates when the sBitx is in transmit mode.? The reason I think it would be helpful is once the screen saver activates, there is no way to determine if the radio has a stuck PTT or something you might want to know about.? I know Ashhar is extremely busy but in a previous post, he suggested using one of the two unused pins of the encoder.? I don't think he means one of the two rotary but I am confused what he meant.? So I am asking the question to the group: if you were going to drive an LED to indicate transmit, how would you do it?

I am thinking once the tie-in location is identified, writing/adding a define and digitalWrite to turn on the LED is the task.? Of course I am hoping for a single location for the addition, perhaps in in the tx_process but that a guess.? Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks in advance, Scott??