¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Date

Re: LED Power Output Indicator #ubitx

Dennis Yancey
 

Simple circuit. Makes you wonder if you can somehow put a VU meter in there and have a relative power over 8 or 10 LEDs


Re: Elmer in Atlanta GA with working BITx40 RFSignals Kit working

Dennis Yancey
 

Probably a wiring issue on the mic jack. You may need to examine in
f your moc uses tip and sleeve or ring and sleeve for the electret. If you made your own with supplied condenser element,
you need to check your wiring. Make sure you used the correct pin for ground.


Re: LED Power Output Indicator #ubitx

 

Simple as it is, could be I don't fully understand the circuit.
But I don't think you get a voltage doubler unless you add the extra cap in series with the 5.6k resistor
as suggested in the last paragraph of my previous post? (ignore the garbage after my signature).

In my calculations, I'm assuming an LED forward voltage of 3.0 volts.
That's typical of the very bright white light LED's, 2 volts is more typical of a little red LED.
But the extra volt is probably needed to see anything at all anyway, given the 5.6k resistor
and that diode conduction occurs only on RF tips.? ?Even in a very dark room.
But should be reasonably bright with 5 or 10 watts.

Jerry


On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 08:25 pm, R. E. Klaus wrote:
Doesn't the 2 diodes and the cap form a rudimentary voltage doubler similar to those used in old AC/DC radios?

?

?


Re: Hijacked: C vs C++

Jack Purdum
 

Wow, I would never expect a 50:1 difference. True, C++ does drag in more overhead, but it shouldn't be that much. The gcc compiler is behind the Arduino IDE. Try using it to write a C versus C++ program and see if that difference holds. Some compilers bring in the entire I/O library if you use printf(). That shouldn't happen in the Arduino world. Take the code you used to come to those conclusions, but do it with the Arduino IDE. I'd love to hear the results. I'd be happy to run the test if you care to send the source code.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 11:07:59 PM EDT, w7hd.rh <w7hd.rh@...> wrote:


Turbo C and Turbo C++ at first, then gcc and g++ later.? Without a lot of compiler switches added in.
It certainly turned me off C++ coding.? I still program in C and shell scripts whenever possible.?
I've written a LOT of programs over the last 30 years and can crank out a working C program in a few hours.

Ron W7HD

On 07/03/2018 07:05 PM, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io wrote:
Good grief! What compiler was it?

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 6:29:47 PM EDT, w7hd.rh <w7hd.rh@...> wrote:


I can vouch for the size increase with C++.? When I was teaching C and just getting my feet wet with C++, we did a direct comparison.? The results showed a 1.5K executable for C and 80K for C++ with the exact same code, simply renaming it .C++ instead of .C.? It is due to the libraries being pulled in.? Speed is a different issue since it is highly dependent on coding style.

Ron W7HD

On 07/03/2018 01:15 PM, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io wrote:
Hi Jerry:

I've seen statements like this:

????It's always been straight C (K&R or ANSII) if I want to code for speed or size

many times before, but I've never seen any a priori proof of this or articles that discuss it. It seems that it would make sense to be so, but I don't know if that's pushed into the generated code or if it's an increased load on the parser given the semantics of C++ versus C. Some even say that, because C++ uses templates in the libraries, the code generator can perform more optimizations on the code because it "knows" what you are doing ().


I don't have an answer, but I do try to follow the goals of C++ where it makes sense, especially encapsulation. If anyone has a definitive answer, I'd really like to know about it.

Jack, W8TEE



On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 3:16:24 PM EDT, Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io <jgaffke@...> wrote:


> I fail to see the their and there you are pointing out.?
?
What do you mean?
It's right their in this sentence:?

>>? ?"their" is possessional, "there" is positional, required in this context.


My gripes are mostly about a good technical discussions diverging into multiple threads.
If you do start a new thread on an old subject then post links to both showing where the other thread can be found.?

Those posting without any history for context generally get ignored.
If it's not worth your while to spend 5 seconds including context,
it's certainly not worth it for?thousands of forum readers to go find it.

If anybody want's to pick apart my use of USAish or my C indentation style (or lack thereof), have at it.
I'm quite capable of skipping over those posts too.

And while I'm at it, I've never seen any reason to get comfortable with C++.
It's always been straight C (K&R or ANSII) if I want to code for speed or size,
and for the last couple decades I've been resorting to Python for easy coding.?
This violates my primary beef above, I do try not to be overly pendantic.

Jerry, KE7ER



On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 09:49 am, Allen Merrell wrote:
On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 08:46 am, Dexter N Muir wrote:
Sorry to be a pedant, but that's me Allen: "their" is possessional, "there" is positional, required in this context.
73
Dex, ZL2DEX
Sorry Dexter, I'm not an english major but I fail to see the their and there you are pointing out.
?
--
Allen ?Merrell

-- 
Ron W7HD - NAQCC#7587 OMISS#9898 KX3#6966 LinuxUser#415320
Editor OVARC newsletter

-- 
Ron W7HD - NAQCC#7587 OMISS#9898 KX3#6966 LinuxUser#415320
Editor OVARC newsletter


Re: LED Power Output Indicator #ubitx

R. E. Klaus
 

Doesn't the 2 diodes and the cap form a rudimentary voltage doubler similar to those used in old AC/DC radios?


Re: LED Power Output Indicator #ubitx

 

I'd recommend placing it before the transmit LPF, not at the antenna port.
The diodes will create a bit of harmonic content that the LPF's can remove for us.

I think you could remove the lower 1n4148 and get the same performance.
Then it's just a diode detector, like found in some AM radios.
The LED should start turning on (in a dark room) at 3.0+0.6 = 3.6v peak.
That's 3.6*0.707 * 3.6*0.707 / 50ohms? = 3.6*3.6/100 = 130mW

I don't think the lower left 1n4148 adds anything except perhaps clipping the low going
tip of the RF more or less the same as the high going tips get clipped by the other diode.
This might reduce some of the harmonic content, but the LPF would do a much better job.?

If the 5.6k series resistor also had a 0.01uF cap in series with it, then you should
get double the DC voltage to the LED making this usable with lower power rigs.?
The LED would start turning on at around 3+0.6+0.6 = 4.2 volts pk-pk,?or 2.1v peak, or 2.1*2.1/100=44mW.
A low going RF tip will cause the lower-left 1n4148 to conduct, charging up that
new series cap.? So the voltage into the second 1n4148 will be an AC waveform
that rides up on top of ground instead of being centered on ground.

Jerry



That lower left 1n4148 doesn't really do anything except maybe clip
the low going peaks in a manner almost symmetrical with the high going peaks?
that get clipped by the other 1n4148.


On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 06:41 pm, Lee wrote:
I ran across this when looking for an transmit indicator for my Small Wonder Lab PSK31.? The original resistor was 2.2K but our radios put out more than double so I changed the resistor to 5.6K.?? Maybe someone with more electronic knowledge than me has better suggestions.?? It lights up bright and solid for CW and you an watch your modulation on SSB.?? I can really see the difference when I switch in my SSM2167 module.


Re: Hijacked: C vs C++

Jack Purdum
 

Who is making these "Arduino design recommendations"? I don't see why a "user" would ever need to know if I was using char * versus char x[]. The difference is syntactic sugar. As to fragmentation, if the programmer knows this is going to happen and is willing to run that risk, that says something. Memory fragmentation never "settles out" and I doubt that you should rely on "if the percentage of holes stabilize". Simply knowing that it does, in fact, create holes is good enough reason not to use the String class.

To say that makes your programming effort go faster seems a bit odd to me, as the time savings between:

?? newString += oldString;

seems little different to me than:

?? strcat(newString, oldString);

It may take a little more effort up front to learn all of the string functions (see especially if you're coming from a Basic background, but it quickly become second nature to use them.

I, too, would regret using the String class...always, if for no other reason than fragmentation. The fact that you're willing to fritter away unused memory resources simply because they exist seems like burning all the firewood around your Alaskan cabin in the middle of summer...not a good reason to be wasteful. It also teaches bad/lazy programming habits.

Just my $0.02 worth...

Jack, W8TEE




On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 10:59:42 PM EDT, Tom, wb6b <wb6b@...> wrote:


The Arduino design recommendations are to hide as much of the nitty gritty details from the users as possible. They even recommend not exposing the user to the horror of "char *" and use "char whatever[]" instead.?

I use the string class when it makes it easier for a user to understand what is going on or simply makes my programming effort go faster. The Arduino is not like a Unix machine at a company. it is usually running the same small set of tasks over and over again, so many of the memory allocations that would lead to memory fragmentation will settle out as the routines will find a home for their memory allotments in the memory blocks they the previously abandoned. So if the percentage of holes stabilize and is not a fantastically large percentage it seems a fair tradeoff.?

If I was short on memory and had to shoehorn yet another feature into the fixed resources of one processor, I'd regret using the String class. And I'd probably move to the chip manufacture's leaner tool chain. But, in a $3.50 Nano with only half the resources being used, the convenience of the String class is worth it. String provides a nice encapsulation of the things people do with strings.?So, depending on the situation I'll use convenience classes at one moment and do direct point manipulation in another.?

Tom, wb6b


Re: LED Power Output Indicator #ubitx

 

Wow, I knew I would get a great explanation.? Thank you. ? I guess I got lucky.? I used a clear red LED and it is nice and bright and fun to watch.
--
Lee - N9LO? "I Void Warranties"

?


Re: Hijacked: C vs C++

w7hd.rh
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Turbo C and Turbo C++ at first, then gcc and g++ later.? Without a lot of compiler switches added in.
It certainly turned me off C++ coding.? I still program in C and shell scripts whenever possible.?
I've written a LOT of programs over the last 30 years and can crank out a working C program in a few hours.

Ron W7HD

On 07/03/2018 07:05 PM, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io wrote:
Good grief! What compiler was it?

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 6:29:47 PM EDT, w7hd.rh <w7hd.rh@...> wrote:


I can vouch for the size increase with C++.? When I was teaching C and just getting my feet wet with C++, we did a direct comparison.? The results showed a 1.5K executable for C and 80K for C++ with the exact same code, simply renaming it .C++ instead of .C.? It is due to the libraries being pulled in.? Speed is a different issue since it is highly dependent on coding style.

Ron W7HD

On 07/03/2018 01:15 PM, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io wrote:
Hi Jerry:

I've seen statements like this:

????It's always been straight C (K&R or ANSII) if I want to code for speed or size

many times before, but I've never seen any a priori proof of this or articles that discuss it. It seems that it would make sense to be so, but I don't know if that's pushed into the generated code or if it's an increased load on the parser given the semantics of C++ versus C. Some even say that, because C++ uses templates in the libraries, the code generator can perform more optimizations on the code because it "knows" what you are doing ().


I don't have an answer, but I do try to follow the goals of C++ where it makes sense, especially encapsulation. If anyone has a definitive answer, I'd really like to know about it.

Jack, W8TEE



On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 3:16:24 PM EDT, Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io <jgaffke@...> wrote:


> I fail to see the their and there you are pointing out.?
?
What do you mean?
It's right their in this sentence:?

>>? ?"their" is possessional, "there" is positional, required in this context.


My gripes are mostly about a good technical discussions diverging into multiple threads.
If you do start a new thread on an old subject then post links to both showing where the other thread can be found.?

Those posting without any history for context generally get ignored.
If it's not worth your while to spend 5 seconds including context,
it's certainly not worth it for?thousands of forum readers to go find it.

If anybody want's to pick apart my use of USAish or my C indentation style (or lack thereof), have at it.
I'm quite capable of skipping over those posts too.

And while I'm at it, I've never seen any reason to get comfortable with C++.
It's always been straight C (K&R or ANSII) if I want to code for speed or size,
and for the last couple decades I've been resorting to Python for easy coding.?
This violates my primary beef above, I do try not to be overly pendantic.

Jerry, KE7ER



On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 09:49 am, Allen Merrell wrote:
On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 08:46 am, Dexter N Muir wrote:
Sorry to be a pedant, but that's me Allen: "their" is possessional, "there" is positional, required in this context.
73
Dex, ZL2DEX
Sorry Dexter, I'm not an english major but I fail to see the their and there you are pointing out.
?
--
Allen ?Merrell

-- 
Ron W7HD - NAQCC#7587 OMISS#9898 KX3#6966 LinuxUser#415320
Editor OVARC newsletter

-- 
Ron W7HD - NAQCC#7587 OMISS#9898 KX3#6966 LinuxUser#415320
Editor OVARC newsletter


Re: Removing insulation from fine wires

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

I use a small set of dykes (diagonal cutting pliers).? An old pair, new ones are too sharp.? Once you get a feel for it, you can pinch the insulation without cutting into the copper, and then just pull the insulation off.

Dull/used cutters will break the insulation enough to cause it to separate when you pull it off without damaging the wire.


On 7/3/2018 3:47 PM, JOHN CRONHELM wrote:

My wire stripper won't strip these small digital and audio wires. I used a sharp blade around the circumference of insulation but very labour intensive.
Any better ideas?
John VO1jcc.


Re: Hijacked: C vs C++

 

The Arduino design recommendations are to hide as much of the nitty gritty details from the users as possible. They even recommend not exposing the user to the horror of "char *" and use "char whatever[]" instead.?

I use the string class when it makes it easier for a user to understand what is going on or simply makes my programming effort go faster. The Arduino is not like a Unix machine at a company. it is usually running the same small set of tasks over and over again, so many of the memory allocations that would lead to memory fragmentation will settle out as the routines will find a home for their memory allotments in the memory blocks they the previously abandoned. So if the percentage of holes stabilize and is not a fantastically large percentage it seems a fair tradeoff.?

If I was short on memory and had to shoehorn yet another feature into the fixed resources of one processor, I'd regret using the String class. And I'd probably move to the chip manufacture's leaner tool chain. But, in a $3.50 Nano with only half the resources being used, the convenience of the String class is worth it. String provides a nice encapsulation of the things people do with strings.?So, depending on the situation I'll use convenience classes at one moment and do direct point manipulation in another.?

Tom, wb6b


Re: experience with Sunil VU3SUA's enclosures #ubitx

Don Meyerhoff
 

Hi Mike,

I ordered a case as well which took quite a while to arrive. It's definitely longer than a couple of weeks. It is good quality though. I'm not sure if he is having problems filling orders, with suppliers or what. As I said though, good quality.

73

Don Meyerhoff
WA2SWX


On Fri, Jun 22, 2018, 12:17 AM Mike KK7ER <groupio@...> wrote:
My young son got an Elenco FM radio kit for Christmas.? We built it together and now he is hooked.? He is studying for his technician license.
He has a birthday coming up so a few weeks back, I ordered a uBitX and one of Sunil Lakhani's cases.
The uBitX came in about a week.? Despite my credit card being charged immediately, I never received any acknowledgment of the case order.? I have tried to contact Sunil through several different channels but have gotten no response.? There were 12 of the cases in stock at the time of the order.? I am wondering if I should dispute the credit card charge or keep waiting.? What has been the experience of people in this group who have ordered cases from Sunil?? Has he come through?? What was time from order to delivery (in the US)?? Did you have trouble with communication about your order?

Thanks and 73,
Mike KK7ER


Re: Removing insulation from fine wires

R. E. Klaus
 

About 16 years ago I worked on security systems and one of the things we did was replace the standard screen in windows with screen that has a wire spaced a few inches apart to set off the alarm if the screen is cut. I bought a Craftsman 73574 wire stripper that went down to 32 gage for those jobs. I don't know if Sears still has them but you might find them on ebay, etc.


Re: LED Power Output Indicator #ubitx

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý


Seems like you should have left the 2.2 K resistor. Here is the analysis:
10 watts into 50 ohms requires 22.3 Vrms. You have to diode drops in series, so we could say that you have roughly 20V rms across the resistor. 20/2.2K is 9 ma, which is a nice diode current. The actual current will be less, we need to calculate the droop on the capacitor for the 1/2 cycle that current is not flowing, which is small for this load and capacitance, dV=.009? 275 x 10**-9/.01 x 10**-6 = .25 Vm which we can ignore. Most LEDs can go up to 15 ma at least, so depending on your LED, you may want a smaller resistor.

Howard


On 7/3/2018 9:41 PM, Lee wrote:

I ran across this when looking for an transmit indicator for my Small Wonder Lab PSK31.? The original resistor was 2.2K but our radios put out more than double so I changed the resistor to 5.6K.?? Maybe someone with more electronic knowledge than me has better suggestions.?? It lights up bright and solid for CW and you an watch your modulation on SSB.?? I can really see the difference when I switch in my SSM2167 module.
--
Lee - N9LO? "I Void Warranties"


?



Re: Removing insulation from fine wires

 

I see them in Harbor Freight and Home Depot stores. I think they might be 5 or 6 bucks at H .D. Once you get them set they are great. The one in the other picture post can be found on ebay and are smaller than HF strippers but actually work better with a metal bottom lip to grip the insulation. Those a about 2 bucks too.? ?Alright back quiet again.


Re: Hijacked: C vs C++

Jack Purdum
 

Good grief! What compiler was it?

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 6:29:47 PM EDT, w7hd.rh <w7hd.rh@...> wrote:


I can vouch for the size increase with C++.? When I was teaching C and just getting my feet wet with C++, we did a direct comparison.? The results showed a 1.5K executable for C and 80K for C++ with the exact same code, simply renaming it .C++ instead of .C.? It is due to the libraries being pulled in.? Speed is a different issue since it is highly dependent on coding style.

Ron W7HD

On 07/03/2018 01:15 PM, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io wrote:
Hi Jerry:

I've seen statements like this:

????It's always been straight C (K&R or ANSII) if I want to code for speed or size

many times before, but I've never seen any a priori proof of this or articles that discuss it. It seems that it would make sense to be so, but I don't know if that's pushed into the generated code or if it's an increased load on the parser given the semantics of C++ versus C. Some even say that, because C++ uses templates in the libraries, the code generator can perform more optimizations on the code because it "knows" what you are doing ().


I don't have an answer, but I do try to follow the goals of C++ where it makes sense, especially encapsulation. If anyone has a definitive answer, I'd really like to know about it.

Jack, W8TEE



On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 3:16:24 PM EDT, Jerry Gaffke via Groups.Io <jgaffke@...> wrote:


> I fail to see the their and there you are pointing out.?
?
What do you mean?
It's right their in this sentence:?

>>? ?"their" is possessional, "there" is positional, required in this context.


My gripes are mostly about a good technical discussions diverging into multiple threads.
If you do start a new thread on an old subject then post links to both showing where the other thread can be found.?

Those posting without any history for context generally get ignored.
If it's not worth your while to spend 5 seconds including context,
it's certainly not worth it for?thousands of forum readers to go find it.

If anybody want's to pick apart my use of USAish or my C indentation style (or lack thereof), have at it.
I'm quite capable of skipping over those posts too.

And while I'm at it, I've never seen any reason to get comfortable with C++.
It's always been straight C (K&R or ANSII) if I want to code for speed or size,
and for the last couple decades I've been resorting to Python for easy coding.?
This violates my primary beef above, I do try not to be overly pendantic.

Jerry, KE7ER



On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 09:49 am, Allen Merrell wrote:
On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 08:46 am, Dexter N Muir wrote:
Sorry to be a pedant, but that's me Allen: "their" is possessional, "there" is positional, required in this context.
73
Dex, ZL2DEX
Sorry Dexter, I'm not an english major but I fail to see the their and there you are pointing out.
?
--
Allen ?Merrell

-- 
Ron W7HD - NAQCC#7587 OMISS#9898 KX3#6966 LinuxUser#415320
Editor OVARC newsletter


Re: Hijacked: C vs C++

Jack Purdum
 

The String class for an Arduino environment is a crutch and there's no reason to use it. It also can lead to memory fragmentation. The sprintf() function is extremely powerful, but usually is an H-bomb to kill an ant. Rarely is there an Arduino program that uses more than a very small portion of its power. My experience is that using the standard str*() and mem*() functions instead will typically save 1.5K of memory.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 8:01:06 PM EDT, Tom, wb6b <wb6b@...> wrote:


Virtually everything done with the Arduino is C++. Every installable Arduino library is built as a C++ class.?

Many of the C++ standard libraries are not included or have been replaced by trimmed down versions. There is no official STL implementation for the Arduino. So, Arduino users are using C++ without issue.

Interestingly the String object library increases the size of a program very little. Pull in the standard C stdio library so one can use sprintf and the compiled code instantly bloats by several K bytes.

Compared to the 8748 processors I used to use in the type of application the Nano is now used in, it is like having a super computer. I did everything in assembly code back then, because even with processors that could be programmed in C, the overhead of C was just too much.?

Tom, wb6b


Re: #ubitx safely putting on tight tuning knob #ubitx

Jack Purdum
 

The first release will not have the CAT, but we'd guess it will take someone about an afternoon to move the existing CATs code over. There is plenty of free memory and pins to do it. We're just making sure all of the other features work first. Trust me, we want to release it as badly as you do, but we had a noise issue and it took us a while to figure it out. It will be worth the wait.

Jack, W8TEE


On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 8:28:16 PM EDT, Rick Price <rickprice48@...> wrote:


Hi Jack,
Patiently waiting for the JACKAL board to be released, have the space, display, teensy, and audio board,? but just wondering if you have included CAT in your new software.? Seems I've gotten hooked a bit on FT8 and the use of CAT for switching between bands and initiating transmit at the proper time.? I did not see it or missed it in the list of features you released.? MSG#53233? JackAL V01 Features.doc

Rick
KN4AIE


Re: Removing insulation from fine wires

Jack Purdum
 

I checked eBay and they were about $8 + $5 shipping. Then I checked Harbor Freight and it's $2.50. You have to look hard, but it also has the adjustment mechanism.

Jack, W8TEE

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, 8:47:31 PM EDT, John Smith via Groups.Io <johnlinux77@...> wrote:



I use these for CAT5 wires for the breadboard, and 30 AWG wire wrapping wire. There is a sliding screw nut that the opposing side hits against to set the depth of cut for repeated stripping of the same size wire. And I use a velcro strap to kinda hold the handles partly together, otherwise they spring out far apart. Or you could look for strippers that also strips 30 AWG. They have about 6 small wire sizes on those, and they are almost never in a store, you have to order them.


LED Power Output Indicator #ubitx

 

I ran across this when looking for an transmit indicator for my Small Wonder Lab PSK31.? The original resistor was 2.2K but our radios put out more than double so I changed the resistor to 5.6K.?? Maybe someone with more electronic knowledge than me has better suggestions.?? It lights up bright and solid for CW and you an watch your modulation on SSB.?? I can really see the difference when I switch in my SSM2167 module.
--
Lee - N9LO? "I Void Warranties"


?