Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Just my $.02 worth:
I have been a ham for over half a century, so my days go back to
war surplus TVI generators & tubes.? For about half of this
(roughly the middle half) I was inactive, so there is a large gap
in my span of current technology.? I wouldn't want to try and
design a solid state RF power amplifier or a switch-mode power
supply.? My computer skills aren't the best with regard to the
software and languages we use.? Most of my programming has been
done with the RS274 G-code language used in machine tool control
(I made my living with it for about 15 years), although I "have
used" other languages.? "Have used" does not mean "am an expert
with".? Given that my physical abilities are catching up with my
age, I don't do very much building any more.? I do have a fairly
decent knowledge of electronics and a couple of engineering
certificates in medical instrumentation (nuclear and ultrasonic),
although I would not want to (nor would I be able to) clip on a
film badge and put on the lead apron today.? I pretty well stick
to operating.
There are those of us who cannot afford a lab full of test
equipment, would not have any where to put it if they could, and
perhaps not know how to use it if they got their hands on it.? All
three of these apply to me.
Carl, I think that N2VIP has made some good suggestions about
getting help from your local club.
Gerry Sherman
Sent by the Windows 11 Thunderbird
On 2023-10-26 18:29, Ken N2VIP wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Oct 26, 2023, at 08:48, David Lacey
via groups.io <g4jbe@...> wrote:
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are
really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple...
most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics,
this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none!
Even in your critique of Carl you indicate that "most of the
hams (you) know have a basic knowledge of electronics" - I
simply point out that "most" is a group with fewer members than
"every".
There is radio knowledge, electronics knowledge, and small
computer knowledge in play here - it was clear to me that Carl's
issues were with the "small computer knowledge", not radio or
electronics. There are a large number of radio amateurs that
struggle with personal computers, to the point some refuse to
even have a computer in their shack - it is not a requisite
skill for a modern radio amateur, but it is a common one.
I'm not a fan of complaining so publicly about a vendors
support, esp when you still want/expect/need support from the
vendor, but this is how Carl chose to address his issues, so be
it.
Until I get an idea of the time span of this issue (how long
has he gone without a response from HF Signals? A couple days, a
couple weeks or a couple months?) I don't really have an opinion
on these issues, except to say...
Carl, I know I'm a bit put off of the idea of trying to help
you, and I suspect others are just as reluctant to help you -
were a list member to, for example, write the software to a
microSD card and send it to you, the concern is if it didn't
work out, the list member would be added to your (very public)
list of grievances, and who needs that?
I really think the best approach for you is to look towards
your local radio clubs, see if you can find someone that is
either strong with Raspberry Pis or, ideally, maybe someone that
is actually familiar with their very radio you are struggling
with.
As for HF Signals, I would hope they'd take a moment and
review their web documents, with an eye towards perhaps being
clearer about the skills and technologies a buyer should be
familiar with in order to ensure a happy experience with the
product. They may feel the current warnings/information is
adequate, or they may decide to make some changes - I leave that
to their discretion, it's not my place to tell them what they
should or should not do in marketing their products.
And a brief reminder - as clearly stated at the beginning of
the HF Signals adventure, we hams are not (in my personal
opinion) the primary focus for HF Signals, we are merely the
beneficiaries of the product assembled by those industrious
women in India that assemble and test these boards to provide
for themselves and their families. That we find their
products useful means that we will continue to buy them,
continuing the work these women need. I've been very happy with
all my HF Signals purchases, but I've never felt it appropriate
to expect "big three" levels of quality or support from HF
Signals.
Just my thoughts, I mean them to be constructive, if I've
offended anyone, it honestly wasn't my intention.
Ken, N2VIP
|
Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Carl, Dont give up and give these guys a good chance.
As hams, we study and learn our hobby. When i obtained my Extra, i had to exam for the code also. back then the Extra class license was a spring board for a Commerical Radio license for alot of operators. Either a 2nd class or first class commercial license.
This is how tuff the electronics was.Now its even embedded with digital stuff,satellite info and such. Of course thru the years we had the commodore16,64,128, trs-80, and such, and the 286,486, etc and now We all have a computer which has the power that would take several buildings to house all the guts back in the univac days!!!.HI HI. I understand your frustration on the SD card, but, all you need to do is ASK FOR HELP. Sometimes each of us has do do battle with our own demons which prevent us from asking. Download ur software u need on the SD card. go to raspberry pi website and i believe it has a program for flashing an SD card. You can also download balanEtcher and do the same thing. once you get the OS on the SD card, make sure you are seating the card correctly ,and then power the raspberry pi up. you can actually hook up an external monitor to the PI and take care of the software this way . I prefer to remove my raspberry PI out of anything its in and hook up a keyboard,mouse and monitor and do it that way. That way you know the PI is up and running properly.BalanEthcer is pretty much self explanitory. Sorry for the spelling. the olde i get the more lazy i get on my spelling.HI HI
Anyway Carl, good luck on the sbitx, . Ashhar's sbitx is still in working out the quirks phase but its actually a decent radio for the money. My friend has one and after careful installation and such, its been running ever since he bought his when Ashhar allowed open purchasing.I own several ubitx transceivers,of various versions and several bitx40s. they all had a few quirks too, but they are all up and running all modified except 2 of them.I mean an all in one transceiver,digital capable right out the box with 40 watts ,and very compact. hard to beat
Dont give up, take ur time, drink your favorite beverage, ask questions here if need be and SOON Carl , you will be reeling in the DX with ur SBITX.
Also , Dont forget what Evan stated. Its a kit. An open sourced product thats MEANT to be modded,in all sorts of ways. Good luck on the PI.
73 David ac9xh
On Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 07:29:21 PM EDT, Ken N2VIP <ken@...> wrote:
On Oct 26, 2023, at 08:48, David Lacey via groups.io <g4jbe@...> wrote:
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple... most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics, this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none!
Even in your critique of Carl you indicate that "most of the hams (you) know have a basic knowledge of electronics" - I simply point out that "most" is a group with fewer members than "every".
There is radio knowledge, electronics knowledge, and small computer knowledge in play here - it was clear to me that Carl's issues were with the "small computer knowledge", not radio or electronics. There are a large number of radio amateurs that struggle with personal computers, to the point some refuse to even have a computer in their shack - it is not a requisite skill for a modern radio amateur, but it is a common one.
I'm not a fan of complaining so publicly about a vendors support, esp when you still want/expect/need support from the vendor, but this is how Carl chose to address his issues, so be it.
Until I get an idea of the time span of this issue (how long has he gone without a response from HF Signals? A couple days, a couple weeks or a couple months?) I don't really have an opinion on these issues, except to say...
Carl, I know I'm a bit put off of the idea of trying to help you, and I suspect others are just as reluctant to help you - were a list member to, for example, write the software to a microSD card and send it to you, the concern is if it didn't work out, the list member would be added to your (very public) list of grievances, and who needs that?
I really think the best approach for you is to look towards your local radio clubs, see if you can find someone that is either strong with Raspberry Pis or, ideally, maybe someone that is actually familiar with their very radio you are struggling with.
As for HF Signals, I would hope they'd take a moment and review their web documents, with an eye towards perhaps being clearer about the skills and technologies a buyer should be familiar with in order to ensure a happy experience with the product. They may feel the current warnings/information is adequate, or they may decide to make some changes - I leave that to their discretion, it's not my place to tell them what they should or should not do in marketing their products.
And a brief reminder - as clearly stated at the beginning of the HF Signals adventure, we hams are not (in my personal opinion) the primary focus for HF Signals, we are merely the beneficiaries of the product assembled by those industrious women in India that assemble and test these boards to provide for themselves and their families. That we find their products useful means that we will continue to buy them, continuing the work these women need. I've been very happy with all my HF Signals purchases, but I've never felt it appropriate to expect "big three" levels of quality or support from HF Signals.
Just my thoughts, I mean them to be constructive, if I've offended anyone, it honestly wasn't my intention.
Ken, N2VIP
|
Re: Raspberry Pi in sBITX V2
I modded my sBitx to add a couple of fans, one of which was on the Pi. I wanted to add the heat sink/fan kit that comes with the kitted Pi as I am using mine for POTA and it got crazy hot on the first outing I took it on. The point of me sharing this is that there is more than enough room to add taller risers and pin extensions and the VFO board wont make contact. I opened up the holes in my milling machine so I could still reach the ports and this by default also allows more air flow to the Pi. I think you are on to something to be honest, I am not going to pioneer the Pi 5 though as I am having way too much fun using mine right now. LOL. I just bought the riser kit from amazon and it came with the pin extensions and the standoffs. Plug and play on that mod, I did have some fun powering the fans, but that is a different story all together.  
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
On Oct 26, 2023, at 08:48, David Lacey via groups.io <g4jbe@...> wrote:
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple... most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics, this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none!
Even in your critique of Carl you indicate that "most of the hams (you) know have a basic knowledge of electronics" - I simply point out that "most" is a group with fewer members than "every".
There is radio knowledge, electronics knowledge, and small computer knowledge in play here - it was clear to me that Carl's issues were with the "small computer knowledge", not radio or electronics. There are a large number of radio amateurs that struggle with personal computers, to the point some refuse to even have a computer in their shack - it is not a requisite skill for a modern radio amateur, but it is a common one.
I'm not a fan of complaining so publicly about a vendors support, esp when you still want/expect/need support from the vendor, but this is how Carl chose to address his issues, so be it.
Until I get an idea of the time span of this issue (how long has he gone without a response from HF Signals? A couple days, a couple weeks or a couple months?) I don't really have an opinion on these issues, except to say...
Carl, I know I'm a bit put off of the idea of trying to help you, and I suspect others are just as reluctant to help you - were a list member to, for example, write the software to a microSD card and send it to you, the concern is if it didn't work out, the list member would be added to your (very public) list of grievances, and who needs that?
I really think the best approach for you is to look towards your local radio clubs, see if you can find someone that is either strong with Raspberry Pis or, ideally, maybe someone that is actually familiar with their very radio you are struggling with.
As for HF Signals, I would hope they'd take a moment and review their web documents, with an eye towards perhaps being clearer about the skills and technologies a buyer should be familiar with in order to ensure a happy experience with the product. They may feel the current warnings/information is adequate, or they may decide to make some changes - I leave that to their discretion, it's not my place to tell them what they should or should not do in marketing their products.
And a brief reminder - as clearly stated at the beginning of the HF Signals adventure, we hams are not (in my personal opinion) the primary focus for HF Signals, we are merely the beneficiaries of the product assembled by those industrious women in India that assemble and test these boards to provide for themselves and their families. That we find their products useful means that we will continue to buy them, continuing the work these women need. I've been very happy with all my HF Signals purchases, but I've never felt it appropriate to expect "big three" levels of quality or support from HF Signals.
Just my thoughts, I mean them to be constructive, if I've offended anyone, it honestly wasn't my intention.
Ken, N2VIP
|
Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
All,
The sbitx is sold as a "kit" even if assembled and tested.? This gets around the need for FCC certification in the USA.? It keeps the cost down.? It also means that you, as the owner, are responsible for the radio's proper operation and signal purity.? Being open-source means anyone could change the radio, making it inoperable.
In the HELP tab of the web page, it is clear that HFSignals does not provide technical support.? All support is through this group.? I will grant that this should be part of the purchase process.? If I were selling the sbitx, I would require that a customer acknowledge that they are responsible for support and that no warranty is expressed or implied.
If you want FCC certification and manufacturer support, buy a commercial rig at 2 to 10 times the cost.? You will also give up the ability to modify software as most are proprietary, and the source is not made available.
If any of the above is incorrect, I would appreciate being corrected by HFSignals or others familiar with HFSignal's business operation.
73
Evan
AC9TU
|
I like the idea of keeping the GTK TUI mode going as long as possible. I understand its limitations, but IMO I see too much lag when I try to use the GUI.
So, a question: How do I add the Escape function to the Macro-mode keyboard?
Here's the use case: I am in FT8 mode and I use F5 to send CQ. It automatically resends. If no one answers I need to stop. With the physical keyboard I can stop this with the Esc key. Without the physical keyboard there is no way to send Esc. At least I can't find it.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
|
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 04:02 AM, HA3HZ wrote:
as far as I know, the /home/pi/sbitx/data folder contains the files that
contain the setting data. The log file is also stored here.
This seems right. As far as I know there is no storage for calibration data on the radio board itself, therefore it makes sense that all such data is in the file system of the raspberry pi. As was suggested above, I have made a copy of the sdcard with the system in a working state so I have a copy of this information.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Re: How do I exit radio displays to Raspberry Pi menus on sBitX V2?
#sbitx_v2
#sBitx
I ran into this issue and I am thankful for the workaround.
I am trying to keep using the text-based UI (TUI) since I find the GUI one lags too much.
I am also seeing that the operating manual (link below) still describes the TUI not the GUI.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
The radio and its software continue to improve. Give it a few more months, maybe half a year or so and a lot of this will be taken care of. ?
there are still quite a few issues to be dealt with ;I think we all realize that. ? But lots of people are working on different parts. It does require a bit more understanding and knowledge accrual than commercial gear normally does
Gordon Kx4z?
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Sorry for the shared frustration.?
Part of me we says you get what you pay for, other side says if assembled as per others instruction (none really with radio) then I should not be fined by FCC for spurious emissions.?
God bless us all and hope we learn to by real stuff.?
Guess I will need to use my stupid K3S that is never a problem.?
Stay well all
K9ZZU
I happen to be an amateur extra so I do know the fundamentals of electronics but it’s pretty damn hard when you’ve got both hardware and software issues and something you’ve never seen. I spent over 30 years riding business software and I doubt anybody else here can say that ?I’m very well-versed in troubleshooting as well ?the problem is is when somebody gives you half-baked incomplete directions or guidance you stumble. And I still don’t think that it’s up to the user community to provide a level of support should’ve come from the factory
I take great offense at your message but I choose not to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
I happen to be an amateur extra so I do know the fundamentals of electronics but it’s pretty damn hard when you’ve got both hardware and software issues and something you’ve never seen. I spent over 30 years riding business software and I doubt anybody else here can say that ?I’m very well-versed in troubleshooting as well ?the problem is is when somebody gives you half-baked incomplete directions or guidance you stumble. And I still don’t think that it’s up to the user community to provide a level of support should’ve come from the factory
I take great offense at your message but I choose not to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent
|
While you probably CAN get PAT to work on the Raspberry Pi, I generally prefer to use my own external Windows-based laptop.? ?At the moment, we have to connect using an external soundcard & interface into the sBitx.? ? I would expect there is some way to have the soundcard capabilities of the Raspberry pi become?available via USB cable to an external computer.? ? I'm not bright enough to know how to do that, but I think it would be useful for other programs, which include the newer ION2G ALE software.? ?I don't think you are going to be able to force everyone to create software to run on your favorite Raspberry pi; some software is always going to require a windows base.? ? It would be useful to provide the equivalent of a soundcard interface......like other radios often do these days..
73, Gordon KX4Z
On Thu, Oct 26, 2023 at 2:15?PM Dave, N1AI < n1ai@...> wrote: I am a novice with regard to winlink.
My understanding is that the standard 'winlink' program suite is for Windows only, so not applicable to sbitx.
My other understanding is that the 'pat' winlink program is popular on Linux.
I looked at it once and I would say getting this to work on sbitx's Raspberry Pi is not simple.
My go-to source for this is watching the relevant videos on the KM4ACK channel on YouTube.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Re: Brainstorming: sbitx with new Raspberry Pi 5?
#sBitx
Another thought: why would external USB connections be important? Keyboard and mouse can be Bluetooth. Network (when needed) can be WiFi, and you can even use an external hotspot via WiFi when somewhere with mobile networks.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
|
I am a novice with regard to winlink.
My understanding is that the standard 'winlink' program suite is for Windows only, so not applicable to sbitx.
My other understanding is that the 'pat' winlink program is popular on Linux.
I looked at it once and I would say getting this to work on sbitx's Raspberry Pi is not simple.
My go-to source for this is watching the relevant videos on the KM4ACK channel on YouTube.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
|
Brainstorming: sbitx with new Raspberry Pi 5?
#sBitx
Since today is the first time I opened up my sbitx box, all kinds of possibilities popped into my head.
For instance I have a Pi 5 on order and I just got the shipping notice. You can buy GPIO extenders and suitable standoffs to mount it and its fan upside-down with some room for airflow. So IMO there probably is a way to fit a Pi 5 into the box mechanically, and with the fan running and perhaps more aggressive CPU throttling and/or fan speeds it probably would be okay in terms of heat. The end plate would need to be modified or replaced because the external USB and Ethernet would now be in a different place. Same could be said for the hatch on the top of the case, it would be in the wrong place. May or may not be an issue depending on what you want to connect to the radio.
As for power, in the worst case the Pi 5 wants 25 watts so 5 amps at 5 volts. It also needs a compatible USB-C implementation that will convince it that it is getting that 5A. If not it falls back to 15 watt / 3A mode to be backwards compatible with older Pis. In the fall back mode it still works, but it does not supply much power to the external USB devices. You can run things like keyboards and mice, but not SSDs/NVMe/etc, they draw too much power. However you can still use them with a powered hub if that use case is important to you.
So, if all of the above is correct, a Pi 5 could work inside the sbitx case. It is said to deliver 2x or more improvement on performance.
Feel free to poke holes into this theory!
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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BitX40 Project Radio For Sale
Greetings to all. I have a BitX40 project radio for sale. It includes a custom build Raduino controller utilizing an Arduino Mega 2560 board. The 5V regulator and volume control are mounted on the assembly. The Si5351 is underneath the the LCD button board. The frequency is controlled using the buttons but the code also supports a rotary encoder. Both tuning features are available without any code changes. The code currently supports frequency changing and an S-meter function only...Other features can be added. I will include the code. You are free to use it as long as you include credits to the authors. You can always load different firmware if you choose. This is an incomplete project. I have a bag of additional parts, connectors and wiring I will include. Again, this radio still needs work to become a functional radio. Parkinson's prevents me from finishing it. I'd like to get $75 shipped for the lot. Check or postal money order please. No electronic payments. Thanks for reading. Jim WB2LHP in Traverse City, MI. 
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Re: Raspberry Pi in sBITX V2
The problem with the device in your picture is:
a) It's much bigger than the standard Pi footprint
b) Its GPIO pins need to be on the right hand edge to fit into the sbitx box (see attachment)
c) It needs that external USB3 bridge connector and that won't work mechanically without modifying the case
If you could find a SSD daughter card that fits within the standard Pi footprint and mounts below the Pi I think it would work. Also you might need to modify the case if you need to run the signal from the standard USB connectors to the daughter card.
I found a picture of an opened sbitx by googling, it is at and attached it to this post.
The Pi mounts upside-down to the 40 bin connector in the upper right hand corner. You can see the standoffs it gets screwed into. I took mine apart for the first time just to check and in my opinion there is plenty of room for a SSD daughter card. There is a decent sized gap between the Pi and the bottom of the display above it. By eyeballing I'd say the gap is at least as much as the height of the Pi itself.
I'm not understanding the concerns about the amount of RF the Pi is subject to. The Pi is already inside the enclosure with the electronics that generate high power HF radio energy, as is its SD Card media, and I'm not seeing how adding a SSD would change things significantly. I also don't think adding a SSD is changing the power or heat budget enough to be a concern.
Eventually I am going to try to find a solution to having NVMe storage with sbitx. I think I will end up just using an external USB3 NVMe adapter while I have the sbitx at home. I believe the Pi bootloader has settings so that you can favor booting USB and fall back to the SDCARD when a USB device is not present. Therefore I could do software development with the fast NVMe storage attached and when I build an image I like I can just copy it to the SDCARD so it is present when I want to take the sbitx away from my home station.
My approach to mounting such a NVMe would be something that might make people here gag, but it'd be industrial strength velcro. It's definitely strong enough to hold a USB3 NVMe adapter. It's also very important to not allow the connection to wiggle mechanically. Linux more or less expects the disk IO to work without failures. It gets very unhappy with anything but rare disk IO errors. I learned this the hard way.
--
Regards,
Dave, N1AI
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Hi Friends?
If you are a new ham or an old timer and have not tried building an SSB Transceiver then there is good news for you .
We at inkits are still making kits for Bitx .
The kits are available as mono banders but now we are about to launch 2 bands and 5 band Bitx kits .
Here is a video of easy Bitx 20 putting out 4 watts on 20mt with 12 volts . This was build for a club in Delhi India .
Have fun
De VU3SUA Sunil?
https://amateurradiokits.in?
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Before I start I will apologise to 90% of the users on this group because it might offend....THIS IS NOT MY INTENTION.
To Carl Schlueter..... I have to ask if you are really a licensed Ham ? The reason for asking is simple... most of the
Hams I know have at least a basic knowledge of electronics, this being the basis of the hobby.
It would appear that you have little or none! Clearly you have done NO homework on the item you have purchased
(from a reputable supplier) No doubt you have blindly plugged it in and blown it up before reading the instructions.
People on this forum (who many are VERY knowledgeable) have tried to assist you all to no avail.
You don`t listen, you don`t learn and above all you don`t try to help yourself.......its someone else`s fault !
Man up, grow up, and own it.
Ask for help, it will be given to you.......what you do with it is your choice, stop blaming others for your errors.
Hundreds of these units have been sold and are in daily use.......doesn`t that tell you something??
Dave
G4JBE (UK)
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Re: Open letter to Afarhan et all
Anyone who cannot copy the Sbitx_V2 image to the SD card should not want to operate a radio with Raspberry Pi4.
First you need to learn how to use the Raspberry Pi.
Before I bought a Sbitx_v2, half a year ago I started to get to know a Rapsberry Pi-400, on which I tried to learn the basic things.
I've also posted a few things here that I've modified on the device.
This year was particularly strong for me. At the age of 72, I did a lot of physical work renovating the house and its surroundings.
I do all this for my grandchildren. But next to him, I took the time to connect with radio.
What frustrates me is that the person I'm trying to help ignores the help.
Today's youth...I could say.
It doesn't bother me if you stop and sell your device. It is your life.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
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WK4DS
Dave, N1AI
Sunil Lakhani
HA3HZ