Is it possible to operate the sBITX in a fully remote manner using something like VNC ?.? Also, can the radio be interfaced to a completely different application software such as HDSDR?
JOE
W3JDR
|
Re: uBITX V6 - Need Help Before Purchasing One
The only place to buy the uBitx_v6 is at .? Full information is there also.? Kit or assembled is up to you.
On Fri, Aug 26, 2022 at 8:00 AM Frank < rftech@...> wrote: uBITX V6 - Need Help Before Purchasing One
Ist Need full set of specs for the uBITX v6.
Should I build the kit or buy it already assembled ?
Best trusted place to purchase one ?
Appreciable your help .
Frank
|
uBITX V6 - Need Help Before Purchasing One
uBITX V6 - Need Help Before Purchasing One
Ist Need full set of specs for the uBITX v6.
Should I build the kit or buy it already assembled ?
Best trusted place to purchase one ?
Appreciable your help .
Frank
|
A 6 meter BITX from the Netherlands
Several good ideas here:?
73? Bill? N2CQR
|
Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER
If air/vacuum?is the best, why not use the water dissolvable filament?and print a toroid, wind it, and then dissolve?the material so you don't have the losses of the plastic. As long as you're using a stiff enough wire the inductor should hold the shape it was wound in after dissolving?the toroid.?
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1 GIT d--- s+: a C++++ UBLAV++++ P++ L++++ !E W+++ N+ w--- M++ V PS+ PE+ Y++ PGP++ t+ 5 X++ R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G++ e* h---- r++ z++++ ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ Please Note: Any following text is automatically appended to all my communications by the system, without my permission, consent, or approval. I have no control over its appearance or content.?
_________________________________________________?
Disclaimer
Do not remove this disclaimer under penalty of law.For optimum performance and safety, please read these instructions carefully. Void where prohibited. No representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to the completeness, accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, or utility of these materials or any information or opinion contained herein. Actual mileage may vary. Prices slightly higher west of the Mississippi. All models over 18 years of age. No animals were harmed during the production of this product. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or events, past, present or future, is purely coincidental. This product not to be construed as an endorsement of any product or company, nor as the adoption or promulgation of any guidelines, standards or recommendations. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent. This product is meant for educational purposes only. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Package sold by weight, not volume. Contents may settle during shipment. No user-serviceable parts inside. Use only as directed. Do not eat. Not a toy. Postage will be paid by addressee. If condition persists, consult your physician. Subject to change without notice. Times approximate. One size fits all. Colors may, in time, fade. For office use only. Edited for television. List was current at time of printing. At participating locations only. Keep away from fire or flame. Avoid contact with skin. Sanitised for your protection. Employees and their families are not eligible. Beware of the dog. Limited time offer. No purchase necessary. Not recommended for children under 12. Prerecorded for this time zone. Some of the trademarks mentioned in this product appear for identification purposes only. Freshest if eaten before date on carton. Subject to change without notice. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure to perform. Slippery when wet. Substantial penalty for early withdrawal. For recreational use only. No Canadian coins. List each check separately by bank number. This is not an offer to sell securities. Read at your own risk. Ask your doctor or pharmacist. Parental guidance advised. Always read the label. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Do not stamp. Breaking seal constitutes acceptance of agreement. Contains non-milk fat. Date as postmark. Lost ticket pays maximum rate. Use only in well-ventilated area. Price does not include taxes. Not for resale. Hand wash only. Keep away from sunlight. For a limited time only. No preservatives or additives. Keep away from pets and small children. Safety goggles required during use. If rash, irritation, redness, or swelling develops, discontinue use. Do not fold, spindle or mutilate. Please remain seated until the web page has come to a complete stop. Refrigerate after opening. Flammable. Must be 18 years or older. Seat backs and tray tables must be in the upright position. Repeat as necessary. Do not look directly into light. Avoid extreme temperatures and store in a cool dry place. No salt, MSG, artificial colouring or flavoring added. Reproduction strictly prohibited. Pregnant women, the elderly, and children should avoid prolonged exposure to this product. If ingested, do not induce vomiting. May contain nuts. Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear. Do not use if safety seal is broken. Warranty does not cover normal wear and tear, misuse, accident, lightning, flood, hail storm, tornado, tsunami, volcanic eruption, avalanche, earthquake or tremor, hurricane, solar activity, meteorite strike, nearby supernova and other Acts of God, neglect, damage from improper or unauthorised use, incorrect line voltage, unauthorised use, unauthorised repair, improper installation, typographical errors, broken antenna or marred cabinet, missing or altered serial numbers, electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts, microwave ovens or mobile phones, sonic boom vibrations, ionising radiation, customer adjustments that are not covered in this list, and incidents owing to an airplane crash, ship sinking or taking on water, motor vehicle crashing, dropping the item, falling rocks, leaky roof, broken glass, disk failure, accidental file deletions, mud slides, forest fire, riots or other civil unrest, acts of terrorism or war, whether declared or not, explosive devices or projectiles (which can include, but may not be limited to, arrows, crossbow bolts, air gun pellets, bullets, shot, cannon balls, BBs, shrapnel, lasers, napalm, torpedoes, ICBMs, or emissions of electromagnetic radiation such as radio waves, microwaves, infra-red radiation, visible light, UV, X-rays, alpha, beta and gamma rays, neutrons, neutrinos, positrons, N-rays, knives, stones, bricks, spit-wads, spears, javelins etc.). Other restrictions may apply. Breach of these conditions is likely to cause unquantifiable loss that may not be capable of remedy by the payment of damages. This supersedes all previous disclaimers
On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 8:49 AM Ashhar Farhan < farhanbox@...> wrote: David, Shielding is not the issue. Losses are. Lower Q leads to higher losses. The Q is determined by the material inside the toroid. Air/Vacuum is the best material with least losses for an inductor, whether a solenoid or a toroid.
Toriodal inductors are inherently shielded by their geometry, no
matter what the core material is, air, ferrite or other.
73,
David N1HAC
On 8/15/22 8:24 PM, Ashhar Farhan via
wrote:
David,
The inside of the toroid should be hollow and it
not hollow it should have as little in-fill as possible. This
is the key to high performance 3D printed toroids. PLA or ABS
are lossy and they can lead to lossy filters.
- f
would not a simple tubing do the same?? .. the
"shielding" of a coil wound on a ferrite core comes from
the core material ... so i guess a normal pastic tubing
will work equally well if not better (fewer loss cause
fewer plastic inside the coil)
so ... what is the reason to print plastic toroids??
dg9bfc sigi
Am 15.08.2022 um 23:50 schrieb David R. Hassall WA5DJJ:
Dear group,
I asked a friend of mine to build a master toroid stl
file that we can put in our 3D printer software and come
up with the plastic toroids almost any size we want.??
The Master was built on the basic size of 1 inch in
diameter with a height of 1/2 inch and a thickness of?
0.2 inches.?? I use the CURA program to build my 3D
printer files and it will allow me to scale all three
axes once the basic 25mm toroid.stl file is loaded into
the software.? It also allows you to print almost any
number of a basic design in one printing.?? Here are
some examples that I printed this morning:
![toroid pic]()
I just used the scaling values of 25%, 50%, 75% and
100% to get the different sized plastic toroids pictured
above.? So with the master stl file anyone with a 3D
printer should be able to print almost any size plastic
toroid form that you would need.?? I have attached the
master stl file to this Message and it should enable
anyone with a 3D printer to make the plastic Toroids
that they need for the Daylight Radio Project.
Take care and have fun.
73 Dave WA5DJJ
SUPER QRSS GRABBER
|
Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER
Hi David,
For sure magnetic materials (ferrite or powdered iron mixtures, iron, transformer steel) will all increase the inductance when inserted into a coil.? However each also contributes to losses in the circuit.? You noticed this when the core heated up in the Argonaut.? But each material has its own characteristic loss curse versus frequency i.e. each has an optimum frequency range where their loss is the lowest.? Transformer iron is designed for very low frequency transforms like you see in linear power supplies.? Powdered iron and ferrite mixes are generally made to go from there up to the high HF? or low VHF frequencies.? Generally though, once up in the VHF range and above, coils will be coreless or use a neutral material core, and if adjustment is needed, will use a brass scew.? Such non-magnetic, conductive, material like a brass screw (could also be copper or aluminum etc) can also be use at HF to adjust the inductance of a coil.
A nice reference article can be found here:?
73,? Mark
|
Re: sBitx short to ground?
Let me double check with the shipping people...
The last point by Evan is fair comment, I took from the page of instructions supplied?in box that I needed to set the BIAS before using the sbitx, however it did look suspiciously like this had already been done, when I reset following the instructions both pots ended up in exactly the same position as they started thus confirming the board had already been setup. Another point to confirm that when turning the pot clockwise it is VERY easy to overshoot, very much a case of not much change... not much change .... and then whooooshhh. So worth being extra cautious with this.?
On Thu, 25 Aug 2022 at 16:54, Evan Hand < elhandjr@...> wrote: Ashhar Farhan, I believe there is a typo on the webpage instructions for setting the initial positions of the bias and drive variable resistors.  The picture above "Set RV1 to center" shows RV2.? Per the schematic, RV1 is the DRV_BIAS potentiameter.? I believe that it should read "Set RV2 to center." If, as Josh has stated, the board comes in with both bias resistors set fully counterclockwise (all the way to zero), then I do not see how the board could have passed testing as that would ground the gates of all 4 MOSFETs in the driver and pa sections.? The assembly instructions tell you to set both bias pots to zero before mounting the board.? If the board is preset, then you may want to update the instructions. 73 Evan AC9TU
|
Re: sBitx short to ground?
The last point by Evan is fair comment, I took from the page of instructions supplied?in box that I needed to set the BIAS before using the sbitx, however it did look suspiciously like this had already been done, when I reset following the instructions both pots ended up in exactly the same position as they started thus confirming the board had already been setup. Another point to confirm that when turning the pot clockwise it is VERY easy to overshoot, very much a case of not much change... not much change .... and then whooooshhh. So worth being extra cautious with this.?
On Thu, 25 Aug 2022 at 16:54, Evan Hand < elhandjr@...> wrote: Ashhar Farhan, I believe there is a typo on the webpage instructions for setting the initial positions of the bias and drive variable resistors.  The picture above "Set RV1 to center" shows RV2.? Per the schematic, RV1 is the DRV_BIAS potentiameter.? I believe that it should read "Set RV2 to center." If, as Josh has stated, the board comes in with both bias resistors set fully counterclockwise (all the way to zero), then I do not see how the board could have passed testing as that would ground the gates of all 4 MOSFETs in the driver and pa sections.? The assembly instructions tell you to set both bias pots to zero before mounting the board.? If the board is preset, then you may want to update the instructions. 73 Evan AC9TU
|
There is no age to be ham radio operaor. Funny story
Hello,
Can be with a Ubitx. LOL
cdt
|
Re: sBitx short to ground?
Ashhar Farhan, I believe there is a typo on the webpage instructions for setting the initial positions of the bias and drive variable resistors.  The picture above "Set RV1 to center" shows RV2.? Per the schematic, RV1 is the DRV_BIAS potentiameter.? I believe that it should read "Set RV2 to center." If, as Josh has stated, the board comes in with both bias resistors set fully counterclockwise (all the way to zero), then I do not see how the board could have passed testing as that would ground the gates of all 4 MOSFETs in the driver and pa sections.? The assembly instructions tell you to set both bias pots to zero before mounting the board.? If the board is preset, then you may want to update the instructions. 73 Evan AC9TU
|
Re: sBitx short to ground?
Thanks for explaining Ashhar, I bought the kit which I assumed I needed to follow to assembly instructions to some degree. Both pots were fully counter clockwise on arrival so I assumed that I still needed to tune.?
Josh
|
Re: sBitx short to ground?
The boards, even in the basic kit come all aligned for the bias. There should be no need to set the bias again. So, if it is shorting to the ground on power up, your IRFZ24Ns have certainly given up the ghost. We do almost an hour long test on each kit before shipping it which includes a burn-in on each band to smoke out the bad LPF capacitors. Our big problem as we seen now was that the TO-220 package of the LM338 was thicker than the those of the PA transistors. The single clamp used to push the transistors and the LM338 to the heatsink needed three screws and they got loose in the transport leading to the disaster. The extra PA transistors and a replacment switching regulator will reach the USA in the next 24 to 48 hours and then take a slow UPS boat to individual owners of all the sbitx users. Once the switching regulator is installed, clamping up just two transistors will be easy. This solves the heat problem and also reduces the sbitx power consumption down to 500mA in rx.
On Thu, Aug 25, 2022, 2:59 PM Evan Hand < elhandjr@...> wrote: Hoshnasi,
Having worked on many uBitx that needed bias adjustment, I believe that you exceeded the bias setting for one of the MOSFET finals.? That is easy to do.? As you get close to the correct bias setpoint, there is a rapid change in current.? It is easy to overshoot and cause the MOSFET to fail on the high current.
I noted that you were keying and unkeying the mic.? That is not the way to set the bias.? You turn both bias adjusting pots fully counterclockwise.? Key the mic and note the current with no audio (careful not to introduce noise into the mic).? This is the starting point for the bias adjustment.? Your target is 200ma higher.? SLOWLY turn one of the bias pots keeping the transmitter on until you get to 200+the initial current reading.? Nothing happens for the first part of the adjustment.? Quite quickly, the current suddenly goes up.? If you are not careful, you can overshoot and cause the MOSFET to fail.
With the first MOSFET bias set, note the current again, and now do the same for the second MOSFET.? Key the mic, note the current, slowly increase until you have 200+the noted current (400ma+the starting value before adjusting the first MOSFET bias).
At this point, I would pull the MOSFETs and check with a transistor checker to see if they are shorted.? Replace and try again.
73
Evan
AC9TU
|
Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER
Iron too lossy at radio frequencies. Q of the coil would suffer. Inductance depends upon the relative magnetic permeability with reference to vacuum (or air). Increasing the core permeability by replacing air with (say) ferrite would increase inductance.? Inserting a brass core would decrease inductance.? Hence a variable inductance is possible by increasing the amount of insertion into the core. A brass screw with threads can do this pretty nicely and can be calibrated on a dial.
|
Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER
Thank you Mark. ?I think I get it but will have to sleep on it for a while. ?All I could remember was the cores in IF transformers and now that you mention it the TenTec radios. ?I know it testing with CW too long the core (adjusting the antenna tuner) heated up and ruined the waxy coil in the preselector on my first TT Argonaut… had to replace that coil. ?
Dave K8WPE David J. Wilcox’s iPad
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Aug 24, 2022, at 11:42 AM, Mark - N7EKU <n7eku@...> wrote:
?Hi David,
Any magnetic material could have been used to change the inductance of the air wound coil.? However, unless the material is specific for the frequency being used, it will cause an increase in loss in the coil (the oscillator output would be much lower).? Iron is not an appropriate material at HF (although it's great for 60Hz transformers) so even though it would adjust the coil inductance, it would cause a lot of loss.
An appropriate powdered iron or ferrite core (as used in Ten-Tec PTO's to adjust their air wound oscillator inductor) but would be mechanically more complicated.? All of these ferromagnetic materials increase the inductance of the air coil.
Brass, or another conductive but non-magnetic material like aluminum, can also be used to instead, lower the inductance of the coil.? As you know, brass is easily found in a nice screw form for this application and is also durable for such use.? In the QRP world, it's been used similary in the QRPBuilder PTO kit, and the Norcal 2030 and MMR-40 transciver kits.
It also has been used extensively in the past like in the mechanical tuner turrets in old TV's (where each of the 13 channels had its own air wound coil that needed to be tuned to each channel).? They could have just adjusted the spacing of the coils of each air inductor however this is a lot more laborious and the other components of the day that were also in the tank cirucit were not stable enough with aging and so the tank required frequent adjustments.? Modern VHF circuits using air wound coils often stable enough components that air wound coils are adjusted during manufacturing and then fixed with wax.
Cheers,? Mark
|
Re: sBitx short to ground?
Hoshnasi,
Having worked on many uBitx that needed bias adjustment, I believe that you exceeded the bias setting for one of the MOSFET finals.? That is easy to do.? As you get close to the correct bias setpoint, there is a rapid change in current.? It is easy to overshoot and cause the MOSFET to fail on the high current.
I noted that you were keying and unkeying the mic.? That is not the way to set the bias.? You turn both bias adjusting pots fully counterclockwise.? Key the mic and note the current with no audio (careful not to introduce noise into the mic).? This is the starting point for the bias adjustment.? Your target is 200ma higher.? SLOWLY turn one of the bias pots keeping the transmitter on until you get to 200+the initial current reading.? Nothing happens for the first part of the adjustment.? Quite quickly, the current suddenly goes up.? If you are not careful, you can overshoot and cause the MOSFET to fail.
With the first MOSFET bias set, note the current again, and now do the same for the second MOSFET.? Key the mic, note the current, slowly increase until you have 200+the noted current (400ma+the starting value before adjusting the first MOSFET bias).
At this point, I would pull the MOSFETs and check with a transistor checker to see if they are shorted.? Replace and try again.
73
Evan
AC9TU
|
Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER
But isn’t the magnetic effect what is needed to change the inductance? Or is iron too magnetic? ?What other types of screws could be used? David J. Wilcox’s iPad
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Aug 24, 2022, at 6:26 AM, Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@...> wrote:
? Brass is a low loss magnetic core. Unlike other ferrites and iron cores, it reduces the inductance instead of increasing it. - f On Wed, Aug 24, 2022, 3:38 PM David Wilcox K8WPE via <Djwilcox01= [email protected]> wrote: Can someone tell me why a brass screw is used vs an iron or steel screw? I am sure this was explained years ago when these were first used but I don’t have that information.? I would think you would need iron to interact with the coil, but no science to back my thinking up.
Thanks in advance.
Dave K8WPE
David J. Wilcox’s iPad
> On Aug 23, 2022, at 8:16 AM, Craig Wadsworth <w9ctw@...> wrote:
>
> ?Getting closer.? Maybe need longer brass screw.? Thinner walls for toroid.? Outer toroid proportions look off, somehow.? Still, this is progress.?
>
>
>
>
>
|
Re: sBitx: Maybe my expectations are too high
#sBitx
Oooops.. ?Sorry, I was thinking ?of Jack and Als radio I saw at FDIM. ?It was a plastic case with copper foil lining. ?The steel case of the sBitx should work, but still maybe chokes are necessary. ?
Dave K8WPE? David J. Wilcox’s iPad
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Aug 24, 2022, at 7:21 AM, Niels Jalling <niels@...> wrote:
?After a short vacation I am back in the shack.
I changed the IRFZ24's with a new set, adjusted bias and was ready to test.
CW first with a dummy load. Output looked good on the scope. Output 25W on 20m with 2tone signal. Began flattopping with more power. Maybe my powersupply is too small.
Then I tried sending some letters from the keyboard. The very first dot or dash was never sent. So A became T, K became A, etc.
The K3NG mod seems to fix the keyboard cw-problem.
Then I connected a paddle. There is a timing problem too with a paddle. A short press on the can result in a very short dit or dash. Again the polling frequency is the problem. (There is something called interrupts)
Then I switched to FT8.
First issue: there is no way to turn the volume down. The T41-SDT book placed over the speaker solved this :-)
In the FT8-demo video Ashar showed how easy a qso can be. But the current software does not work that way. I tried several times and when someone answered my CQ the next steps for a QSO didn't happen.
Then for calling CQ you have to press the CQ-button (F5) for every period instead of calling CQ several times and waiting for an answer.
de oz9ny, niels
PS The only positive: The IRFZ24 survived
|
Re: sBitx: Maybe my expectations are too high
#sBitx
It sounds to me like too much RF in the shack. ?The version shown at FDIM had copper foil grounding the inside of the case. ?Maybe CM chokes are needed?
Dave K8WPE David J. Wilcox’s iPad
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Aug 24, 2022, at 7:21 AM, Niels Jalling <niels@...> wrote:
?After a short vacation I am back in the shack.
I changed the IRFZ24's with a new set, adjusted bias and was ready to test.
CW first with a dummy load. Output looked good on the scope. Output 25W on 20m with 2tone signal. Began flattopping with more power. Maybe my powersupply is too small.
Then I tried sending some letters from the keyboard. The very first dot or dash was never sent. So A became T, K became A, etc.
The K3NG mod seems to fix the keyboard cw-problem.
Then I connected a paddle. There is a timing problem too with a paddle. A short press on the can result in a very short dit or dash. Again the polling frequency is the problem. (There is something called interrupts)
Then I switched to FT8.
First issue: there is no way to turn the volume down. The T41-SDT book placed over the speaker solved this :-)
In the FT8-demo video Ashar showed how easy a qso can be. But the current software does not work that way. I tried several times and when someone answered my CQ the next steps for a QSO didn't happen.
Then for calling CQ you have to press the CQ-button (F5) for every period instead of calling CQ several times and waiting for an answer.
de oz9ny, niels
PS The only positive: The IRFZ24 survived
|
Re: sBitx short to ground?
You can see the moment I had the issue here.??https://youtu.be/vRB2mq6X_ag?t=4629
|
I was working through the last step on the initial tune up, adjusting? PA_BIAS POT and the radio shut off and now I cannot start it up again, it will blow the power lead inline fuse.? Any idea where the first spot is to troubleshoot the short?
Thanks!
|
Gerard
Hoshnasi
David Wilcox K8WPE