So, Here are the figures : 1. Raspberry Pi4, with 4.3 inch waveshare screen (800 x 480 pixels, veru readable, like a smartphone), running sbitx = 540 mA. With wsjtx, 650 mA. 2. Rpi 4, with 7 inch display (800x480 px), running only sbitx 700mA, with wsjtx 900mA.
Mornin' Ken:
Yep, and I get that if you're hiking 10 miles up a vertical cliff to a place where you have to carry in your own antenna mast to get the EFHW off the ground. That's their "thing" and that's fine. But for those of us who find that a nice brisk walk to the mailbox satisfies the day's need for hiking, our demands are very different. And therein is the beauty of this hobby: Both are correct!
Enjoy whatever floats your boat!
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 9:59:03 AM EDT, Ken Hansen < ken@...> wrote:
Jack,
You should go spend some time on the FT-817/818 mail list - they obsess down to the smallest detail for saving power, to the point where it is considered "wasteful" to use a particular antenna Jack, because doing so causes an internal relay to be energized all the time, consuming 3ma! How wasteful! Ken, N2VIP ?
I get the "green" emphasis, but part of me wonders "why" when it comes to a transceiver. Yes, I do understand SOTA, POTA, IOTA, and the other OTA's and I indeed hope to be a part of that this summer, but is that why we are so obsessed with current draw? If the idea is an xcvr that you can throw in the trunk for a vacation trip, if it draws 3A on xmit, why isn't that acceptable? The SDT Al and I are working on draws 0.7A on receive, but to me that's acceptable for a receiver with a 5" display. Where's the balance point between the feature set and power consumption? Clearly, whatever that balance point, it's going to be different based on your planned use.
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 8:01:39 AM EDT, Bob Benedict, KD8CGH < rkayakr@...> wrote:
There is an effort to port the code to a Pico Pi which has dual cores and much better capabilities, but is still a controller and much less power hungry than other Pi models. /g/ucx/message/6950-- ? 73 ??? Bob? KD8CGH
-- Jack, W8TEE
--
Jack, W8TEE
|
Mornin' Ken:
Yep, and I get that if you're hiking 10 miles up a vertical cliff to a place where you have to carry in your own antenna mast to get the EFHW off the ground. That's their "thing" and that's fine. But for those of us who find that a nice brisk walk to the mailbox satisfies the day's need for hiking, our demands are very different. And therein is the beauty of this hobby: Both are correct!
Enjoy whatever floats your boat!
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 9:59:03 AM EDT, Ken Hansen <ken@...> wrote:
Jack,
You should go spend some time on the FT-817/818 mail list - they obsess down to the smallest detail for saving power, to the point where it is considered "wasteful" to use a particular antenna Jack, because doing so causes an internal relay to be energized all the time, consuming 3ma! How wasteful!
On Jun 1, 2021, at 09:43, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io <jjpurdum@...> wrote:
?
I get the "green" emphasis, but part of me wonders "why" when it comes to a transceiver. Yes, I do understand SOTA, POTA, IOTA, and the other OTA's and I indeed hope to be a part of that this summer, but is that why we are so obsessed with current draw? If the idea is an xcvr that you can throw in the trunk for a vacation trip, if it draws 3A on xmit, why isn't that acceptable? The SDT Al and I are working on draws 0.7A on receive, but to me that's acceptable for a receiver with a 5" display. Where's the balance point between the feature set and power consumption? Clearly, whatever that balance point, it's going to be different based on your planned use.
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 8:01:39 AM EDT, Bob Benedict, KD8CGH <rkayakr@...> wrote:
There is an effort to port the code to a Pico Pi which has dual cores and much better capabilities, but is still a controller and much less power hungry than other Pi models. /g/ucx/message/6950-- ? 73 ??? Bob? KD8CGH
-- Jack, W8TEE
--
Jack, W8TEE
|
Jack,
You should go spend some time on the FT-817/818 mail list - they obsess down to the smallest detail for saving power, to the point where it is considered "wasteful" to use a particular antenna Jack, because doing so causes an internal relay to be energized all the time, consuming 3ma! How wasteful!
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Jun 1, 2021, at 09:43, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io <jjpurdum@...> wrote:
?
I get the "green" emphasis, but part of me wonders "why" when it comes to a transceiver. Yes, I do understand SOTA, POTA, IOTA, and the other OTA's and I indeed hope to be a part of that this summer, but is that why we are so obsessed with current draw? If the idea is an xcvr that you can throw in the trunk for a vacation trip, if it draws 3A on xmit, why isn't that acceptable? The SDT Al and I are working on draws 0.7A on receive, but to me that's acceptable for a receiver with a 5" display. Where's the balance point between the feature set and power consumption? Clearly, whatever that balance point, it's going to be different based on your planned use.
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 8:01:39 AM EDT, Bob Benedict, KD8CGH <rkayakr@...> wrote:
There is an effort to port the code to a Pico Pi which has dual cores and much better capabilities, but is still a controller and much less power hungry than other Pi models. /g/ucx/message/6950-- ? 73 ??? Bob? KD8CGH
-- Jack, W8TEE
|
I get the "green" emphasis, but part of me wonders "why" when it comes to a transceiver. Yes, I do understand SOTA, POTA, IOTA, and the other OTA's and I indeed hope to be a part of that this summer, but is that why we are so obsessed with current draw? If the idea is an xcvr that you can throw in the trunk for a vacation trip, if it draws 3A on xmit, why isn't that acceptable? The SDT Al and I are working on draws 0.7A on receive, but to me that's acceptable for a receiver with a 5" display. Where's the balance point between the feature set and power consumption? Clearly, whatever that balance point, it's going to be different based on your planned use.
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 8:01:39 AM EDT, Bob Benedict, KD8CGH <rkayakr@...> wrote:
There is an effort to port the code to a Pico Pi which has dual cores and much better capabilities, but is still a controller and much less power hungry than other Pi models. /g/ucx/message/6950-- ? 73 ??? Bob? KD8CGH
-- Jack, W8TEE
|
The capabilities and included functions of an RPi PICO are so drastically reduced compared to an RPi 3 or 4 that there is almost no comparison. That said, for its original design, an RPi at the heart of a transceiver like the uSDX is, to use a phrase "over-kill" but, just imagine what can be done with the Bluetooth, WiFi, and Ethernet connectivity by an enterprising experimenter, not to mention the HDMI display and USB ports that can have mice and keyboards attached. How long before an enterprising amateur adds the missing software bits to build a single-box, all-in-one digital mode transceiver with built-in logging?
The uSDX is intended, it seems to me, more as a starting point design, than a final, optimized design, like, say, a commercial transceiver from any of the major manufacturers. Ken, N2VIP
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On Jun 1, 2021, at 07:58, Bob Benedict, KD8CGH <rkayakr@...> wrote:
?There is an effort to port the code to a Pico Pi which has dual cores and much better capabilities, but is still a controller and much less power hungry than other Pi models. /g/ucx/message/6950-- ? 73 ??? Bob? KD8CGH
|
There is an effort to port the code to a Pico Pi which has dual cores and much better capabilities, but is still a controller and much less power hungry than other Pi models. /g/ucx/message/6950-- ? 73 ??? Bob? KD8CGH
|
Raspberry Pi power consumption figures:
RPi 4 consumes about 600 ma, or about 3 watts at 5 volts
Raspberry Pi Official 7" touch display power consumption:
The display consumes about 550 ma, so again, about 3 watts at 5 volts
On startup power demands are higher, these are the steady-state power consumption figures. The 2-2.5 amp requirements include power for USB accessories, not just the RPi. Ken, N2VIP?
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On Jun 1, 2021, at 04:17, Evan Hand <elhandjr@...> wrote:
The Raspberry Pi is a real power hog, up to 10 watts just to run it, and that does not include the display.?
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Hello Richard,
You are correct in the assumption that it is not needed for the Nextion display implementation, nor anything else on the ?BITX.
I would check that you have not connected the power for the Nextion to the contrast pin (3) instead of the +5volt pin (2) on the Raduino header.? You did say that there was not a connection to pin 3 of the Raduino LCD header, so that should rule out miswiring as the issue.
Removing the potentiometer would verify if it is the Nextion wiring as the issue as the display will not work.? Before doing that I would remove the power/data connection to the Nextion (low voltage can damage it) and measure the voltage to the power pin while varying the contrast control.? If the voltage changes, it is miss wired.
I would suggest that you find the issue as there could be another problem on the Raduino board if it is not a misconnected Nextion.? If it is a misconnected Nextion, then there is not a need to remove the potentiometer other than to save about 0.5ma or 2.5milliwatts in power (it is a 10k resistor across 5volts).
73
Evan
AC9TU
|
Re: Cheap Chinese Linear LPF
On Mon, May 31, 2021 at 10:12 AM, Arv Evans wrote:
but in years long past there
were a couple of hams who published their work in making their own
vacuum tubes
Arv, Thanks so much for the links. I've been improving my vacuum plumbing and have been able to into the high single digit micron range. May try electrically heating and evaporating titanium wire to see if that will act like a getter. ? I guess something useful is coming out of the folks that like to inhale poisonous smoke. Spools of titanium wire are readily available on Amazon. It makes me cringe, but a generation of people may be learning basic electronics theory and real time programming through their interest in building DIY vape pipes. I stumbled into some sites, and they have theory articles about ohm's law, temperature coefficient of metals for heater wire. Theory and building constant wattage controllers vs. constant voltage controllers. And open source Arduino closed-loop controller software on Github. I hope they give up smoking, but retain their electronics and programming knowledge. ? Tom, wb6b
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On Mon, May 31, 2021, at 09:33 PM, Ashhar Farhan wrote:
When someone finishes the usdx build, I would like them to measure the opposite sideband and the audio distortion. I am curious how well it works.
I too would be interested in actual performance data, most importantly the efficiency data.? Efficient portable SSB operation was the original goal of the ?SDX, gaining the Class E power efficiency for SSB use.? I have not seen this data for any of the kits offered, nor is the ongoing effort to constantly improve on the efficiency while maintaining reasonable signal quality.? Since it is the efficiency of power use as the goal, as long as the signal is intelligible and within legal requirements, then the goal is met if it has better power efficiency than similar SSB transceivers.? That would be total power for operation, not just the finals. I do not mean to criticize the effort.? It is amazing what has been done.? I am just not sure that the original goals are still the focus of the group. At the same time, while interesting, I can say that I will not be building one.? If there were a Teensy or another better-specified microcontroller I might be.? One reason for my interest in the sBITX that Ashhar Farhan is working on now.? Based on data from him so far, portable operation would not be one of the major goals.? The Raspberry Pi is a real power hog, up to 10 watts just to run it, and that does not include the display.? So far the superheterodyne seems to be the most efficient for SSB use.? That is NOT the case for CW as Hans Summers has proven with the QCX Mini.? I could be wrong about this, as it is not based on any real data that I have analyzed.? SDR is the trend as Icom and Elecraft are showing with their QRP portable rigs.? They still have a standard PA and are being driven by features more than power efficiency. The above are my thoughts, others will be different, and that is OK.? I am always open to new data to change my view. 73 Evan AC9TU
|
Hello to list:
I have a uBitx3 running CEC firmware and the Nextion 3.5 display.
I have noted that the contrast potentiometer on the Raduino gets VERY hot.
I see from the schematic that it should be unused except for the + and - connections.
there is no connection to the Nextion through LCD3.
I placed a heatsink on it, but would rather just remove it.
Any ideas why it should be so hot?
best wishes
Richard VA3NDO
|
When someone finishes the usdx build, I would like them to measure the opposite sideband and the audio distortion. I am curious how well it works. - f
Robert,
I have the boards and have completed one and it works nicely!? If you still want one, or two let me know.? I have not hooked up a mic and transmitted yet but the receiver works great.? Maybe I'll try to fry the finals tomorrow! ;-)
It will be fun to play with but I don't think my V6 should worry about being replaced as it just works so good!
If anybody else would like a board I'll have 8 to turn loose.
73,
Justin B.
KI5GKD
|
Robert,
I have the boards and have completed one and it works nicely!? If you still want one, or two let me know.? I have not hooked up a mic and transmitted yet but the receiver works great.? Maybe I'll try to fry the finals tomorrow! ;-)
It will be fun to play with but I don't think my V6 should worry about being replaced as it just works so good!
If anybody else would like a board I'll have 8 to turn loose.
73,
Justin B.
KI5GKD
|
On 2021-05-31 13:48, Jim Sheldon wrote: Jerry, nice idea, but won¡¯t work. Companies like >Mouser, Actually, it looks like Mouser beat me to it. They now have a system where you can upload a spreadsheet... - Jerry
|
WWV audio tones are at known audio frequencies. Multiple applications can very accurately measure the audio frequencies, such as freely available FLDGI
Tune in WWV and adjust the dial until the audio frequency?in a single sideband mode is exactly where it should be, as an audio tone. The dial displayed frequency now displays how far off from perfect your calibration is.? ? Do some math and reset the software's understanding of the crystal frequency so as to correct for the error. When you get it right, you should find that the single sideband tone is precisely at the right audio frequency?when your dial is precisely at the WWV frequency. Gordon
On 2021-05-31 13:30, Curt via wrote:
> Jerry
>
> Why not tune in the same cw signal with your ubitx and ts590. It will
> be as good as your ears, so it will be just fine.
*** I was thinking something like that.? Or how about this:
The 590 has an AM receive mode.? I make up some sort of resistive
combiner/dummy-load so I can receive WWV and listen
to my ubitx transmit at the same time.
? ?In the meantime, I ordered one of those cheap GPS-disciplined
oscillators on Ebay.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jerry KF6VB
>
> Curt
>
>
> Links:
> ------
> [1] /g/BITX20/message/88906
> [2] /mt/83210429/243852
> [3] /g/BITX20/post
> [4] /g/BITX20/editsub/243852
> [5] /g/BITX20/leave/10189903/243852/952924773/xyzzy
|
One catch is that the economies of scale of buying SMD parts can be huge. It's sometimes cheaper to buy 10 parts than to buy 2, and sometimes cheaper to buy 100 parts than to buy 20. The unit price literally goes down by a factor of ten when you compare buying 100 rather than one.
On the other hand, kitting something with a significant number of SMD parts is a real pain. You have to tag a lot of the tapes, especially the chip capacitors, because the parts have NO identifying marks; there is no way to identify them visually. On Mon, May 31, 2021 at 5:17 PM Gerald Sherman < ve4gks@...> wrote: Also, there are those of us (and I am one) who lack the ability to
handle surface mount.? I can only see with one eye, so I have no depth
perception.
Gerry
Sent by the Thunderbird
On 2021-05-31 3:48 p.m., Jim Sheldon wrote:
> Jerry, nice idea, but won¡¯t work.? Companies like Mouser, Digi-Key and others¡¯ warehouse personnel are only trained to pick parts by their part number, not work from a BOM and there would be far too many pick errors if they would even accept your order in the first place.? They want EXACT manufacturers part numbers at a bare minimum but to get the order right, they really need their own part numbers.? Speaking from many years dealing with them, especially Mouser, Digi-Key and Tayda.
>
> Jim, W0EB
>> On May 31, 2021, at 3:35 PM, jerry@... wrote:
>>
>> ?I was just thinking - kitting up a project like this is a lot of work.? What if it was possible to send a Bill of Materials as a disk file - and we then submit that BOM to one of the major parts vendors - say Digikey or Mouser?? As one operation?
>>
>>? ?Because pointing and clicking at Mouser for each & every part is a lot of work too...
>>
>>? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- Jerry KF6VB
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> On 2021-05-31 13:14, ghhann wrote:
>>> So would I
>>> Best
>>> Glenn
>>> Sent via the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, an AT&T 5G smartphone
>>> -------- Original message --------
>>> From: Evan Hand <elhandjr@...>
>>> Date: 5/31/21 3:18 PM (GMT-05:00)
>>> To: [email protected]
>>> Subject: Re: [BITX20] sBITX
>>> Ashhar Farhan,
>>> I too would be interested in a board set for the sBITX.
>>> 73
>>> Evan
>>> AC9TU
>>> Links:
>>> ------
>>> [1] /g/BITX20/message/88905
>>> [2] /mt/83191173/243852
>>> [3] /g/BITX20/post
>>> [4] /g/BITX20/editsub/243852
>>> [5] /g/BITX20/leave/10189903/243852/952924773/xyzzy
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
|
Also, there are those of us (and I am one) who lack the ability to handle surface mount.? I can only see with one eye, so I have no depth perception.
Gerry
Sent by the Thunderbird
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 2021-05-31 3:48 p.m., Jim Sheldon wrote: Jerry, nice idea, but won¡¯t work. Companies like Mouser, Digi-Key and others¡¯ warehouse personnel are only trained to pick parts by their part number, not work from a BOM and there would be far too many pick errors if they would even accept your order in the first place. They want EXACT manufacturers part numbers at a bare minimum but to get the order right, they really need their own part numbers. Speaking from many years dealing with them, especially Mouser, Digi-Key and Tayda.
Jim, W0EB
On May 31, 2021, at 3:35 PM, jerry@... wrote:
?I was just thinking - kitting up a project like this is a lot of work. What if it was possible to send a Bill of Materials as a disk file - and we then submit that BOM to one of the major parts vendors - say Digikey or Mouser? As one operation?
Because pointing and clicking at Mouser for each & every part is a lot of work too...
- Jerry KF6VB
On 2021-05-31 13:14, ghhann wrote:
So would I
Best
Glenn
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, an AT&T 5G smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Evan Hand <elhandjr@...>
Date: 5/31/21 3:18 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] sBITX
Ashhar Farhan,
I too would be interested in a board set for the sBITX.
73
Evan
AC9TU
Links:
------
[1] /g/BITX20/message/88905
[2] /mt/83191173/243852
[3] /g/BITX20/post
[4] /g/BITX20/editsub/243852
[5] /g/BITX20/leave/10189903/243852/952924773/xyzzy
|
On 2021-05-31 13:30, Curt via groups.io wrote: Jerry
Why not tune in the same cw signal with your ubitx and ts590. It will
be as good as your ears, so it will be just fine. *** I was thinking something like that. Or how about this: The 590 has an AM receive mode. I make up some sort of resistive combiner/dummy-load so I can receive WWV and listen to my ubitx transmit at the same time. In the meantime, I ordered one of those cheap GPS-disciplined oscillators on Ebay. - Jerry KF6VB Curt
Links:
------
[1] /g/BITX20/message/88906
[2] /mt/83210429/243852
[3] /g/BITX20/post
[4] /g/BITX20/editsub/243852
[5] /g/BITX20/leave/10189903/243852/952924773/xyzzy
|
Jerry, nice idea, but won¡¯t work. Companies like Mouser, Digi-Key and others¡¯ warehouse personnel are only trained to pick parts by their part number, not work from a BOM and there would be far too many pick errors if they would even accept your order in the first place. They want EXACT manufacturers part numbers at a bare minimum but to get the order right, they really need their own part numbers. Speaking from many years dealing with them, especially Mouser, Digi-Key and Tayda.
Jim, W0EB
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On May 31, 2021, at 3:35 PM, jerry@... wrote:
?I was just thinking - kitting up a project like this is a lot of work. What if it was possible to send a Bill of Materials as a disk file - and we then submit that BOM to one of the major parts vendors - say Digikey or Mouser? As one operation?
Because pointing and clicking at Mouser for each & every part is a lot of work too...
- Jerry KF6VB
On 2021-05-31 13:14, ghhann wrote:
So would I
Best
Glenn
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, an AT&T 5G smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Evan Hand <elhandjr@...>
Date: 5/31/21 3:18 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [BITX20] sBITX
Ashhar Farhan,
I too would be interested in a board set for the sBITX.
73
Evan
AC9TU
Links:
------
[1] /g/BITX20/message/88905
[2] /mt/83191173/243852
[3] /g/BITX20/post
[4] /g/BITX20/editsub/243852
[5] /g/BITX20/leave/10189903/243852/952924773/xyzzy
|
I was just thinking - kitting up a project like this is a lot of work. What if it was possible to send a Bill of Materials as a disk file - and we then submit that BOM to one of the major parts vendors - say Digikey or Mouser? As one operation?
Because pointing and clicking at Mouser for each & every part is a lot of work too...
- Jerry KF6VB
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
|
Bob Benedict, KD8CGH
Shirley Dulcey KE1L
Jim Sheldon