Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
building the upgrade software seems pretty straight forward, From an rpi command prompt do:
cd /home/pi/sbitx
git pull
./build sbitx
--
go into the data subdirectory and rename the .ini file or move it somewhere else so the above technique will work. Later fix replace or update the .ini file
gordon kx4z
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Re: New software version for the upgraded sbitx de (developers edition)
WOW!!!? ?What a RADIO!!!
1.? I managed to load and compile the new software thnks to some lines published here.? ?Finally figured out that I should rename or move the .ini file (I edited it with vi) and then was able to do the git pull and compile.? ?
2.? I finally discovered there is an OPERATING MANUAL....duh!!...? ?That was a real help.? ? ? Was able then to figure out you type the commands INTO THE SBITX PROGRAM? (not on the command line).? That allowed me to set the cw input to KEY, not keyer....and connect up my electronic keyer.
3.? WOW!!? This is a BREAKIN CW RIG!!!? ?I set the delay at 100 mS for a first start and it is FANTASTIC.? ? I haven't had a BREAKIN CW transceiver since my Heathkit HW-16 -- and now I do again.? ?Got on 20 meters and had a nice QSO even with my rusty CW skills at about 18 wpm to a station 1000 miles away.? ? Absolutely amazing.??
I still am just barely grasping this rig, but I guessed the offset was probably equal to the sidetone and dialed in the audio bandpass to about 700 Hz centered around that, a nice compromise and what a fantastic CW rig!!
4? ?I briefly ran the power curves on several bands and it appears the new software limits CW to about 20 W on most bands.? ? Intentional?? ? I used an ancient manual tuner starting with low power to avoid damage to mosfets, tuned the antenna with the rotary inductor etc, and then ran the power up to 20W, answered a CQ.
This is amazing.? ?In 2 or 3 days' work, I have a workable full break-in CW rig.? ?
Great work!? ?
Can the CW power go up a bit or is this where you think it should be?
73
Gordon Gibby MD? ?.? ?
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
make sure the ground for the digital board is a very solid one down to the main board.
--
Allison
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Please use the forum, offline and private will go to bit bucket.
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
Evan
What the voltage on the gate of Q9 and Q10 plus the 2n7000 on the back?
During TX, during RX?
FYI the 2n7002 on the back has the gate on the drain of Q9, source to ground and the drin to pin2(source of Q10).
What is it about not producing a single accurate schematic even before modding?
Allison
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Please use the forum, offline and private will go to bit bucket.
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
Rats!? I think I am having the same problem(s).? I'll tear into mine tomorrow.
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Re: New software version for the upgraded sbitx de (developers edition)
Wow, a move of the UI from a GTK application to an HTML front end would be excellent. Then it could, one presumes, be accessed using any web browser, local or remote. Which also means it could potentially be fully eyes-free accessible, and fairly inexpensively at that. Either with an onboard screen reader outputting to its own sound dongle, or remotely with any computer. Potentially, exciting stuff for blind hams.
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV, WRVB670 - Erie, PA
Email: buddy@...
Mobile: (814) 431-0962
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On Jan 4, 2023, at 12:14 AM, Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@...> wrote:
People!
I have just pushed a new commit to work with upgraded sbitx (developers edition). The key points are:
- The WATTS control has been replaced with DRIVE. The drive goes 1 to 100. At 100 you will get the maximum that can safely work with the circuit. The drive is controlled by scaling down the modulation to work with lower gain on the higher bands and higher gain on the lower bands. It is controlled by a newly added text file in the data sub-directory called hw_settings.ini. This file will also be useful for scratch builders like Aaron who might want to change to a different IF frequency.
- The GUI now scales to fill up the screen when used with a larger display.
Note: Keep the mic gain around 25.
WIth this, I will get back to enhancing software. My to-do list includes:
1. Simplifying the GUI, exploring using HTML through the brower.
2. Mode specific screen layouts (why do I need mic gain and compression on FT8?) and better behaviour.
3. Native support for PSK31, RTTY and CW (wean off fldigi)
4. Add scripting to allow others to automate stuff
5. Look at moving sound system from ALSA to pulseaudio and use RTP multicast to move the audio around including bluetooth support.
Anthony, let's scrum off the group about this.
- f
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
Allison,
Yes, I did change out the resistors per the upgrade instructions.
I think that the issue may be the Q9/Q10 circuit.? When I start the software, Q9 Drain is close to zero, as it should be.? When keying the mic, the voltage goes to 12, as it should.? When I release the PTT, the voltage stays at 12 volts.? That is when Q13 gets very warm.? I need to figure out why Q9 will not turn off once it is turned on.
Thank you for your suggestions.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
Any version lib dependencies?
Last time someone told me it was "easy" it took two weeks because?
they left out all of the must haves.? I'll try it on the Rpi400 as that has
the latest.
Allison
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Please use the forum, offline and private will go to bit bucket.
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Hi guys, thanks for your responses. I used K4LXY blog posts as reference, so it's nice to see your responses. I'm not an expert on shielding or avoiding noise/RFI, your suggestions are very valuable. This is a diagram of the connections to the board, there is only one connection to GND in the board and I used shielded cable, but only for the signal entering/leaving the CW filter (green cables)  There could be problems with the LDR wiring to the volume control. I could try shielded wire for the LDR connection to VOL-M and use the shield as ground for the LDR. Another suggestion from Ron is to shield the LDR from external light, maybe even the front panel display. I don't discard the instability problem in the LM386, maybe a series resistor could help, however I don't recall experiencing these noises when using low volume in the potentiometer. Gary suggested tying the GND of the board also to the main chassis, could this reduce interference? I thought you should avoid having different GND connections. What kind of filtering you suggest for the 12V supply to the board? Here in the picture you can see the 12V connections in yellow, there is a 10uF capacitor and then the bus goes to the CW filter, the 7805 regulator and the AVC circuit (transistor VCC and LED anode).  Thanks, I really appreciate your help Regards LU2HES - Agustin
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
building the upgrade software seems pretty straight forward, From an rpi command prompt do:
cd /home/pi/sbitx
git pull
./build sbitx
--
Mike - kb2ml
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
When I see mine I'll sketch it out as seems no one is doing it.
The upgrade manual should have that but no it only shows a connector
that is not there.
Compiling the upgrade software to try it is going to be a cluster as well.
Not my idea of fun.
--
Allison
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Please use the forum, offline and private will go to bit bucket.
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
Evan, The biasing on that thing is wacked.? THe base to ground resistors need to be changed. From the upgrade sheets.
2.3 Change the two resistors : R15, R16 from the original 470 ohms (marked as 471) to 220
ohms (marked as 221)
Did you do that? -- Allison ------------------ Please use the forum, offline and private will go to bit bucket.
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Re: v6 and adding fuse protection
#ubitx
Gerry,
That makes sense. The recommendations for the earlier models suggested one 0.5 A and a second one of 2.0 or 3.0 A. But if I'm just having one then is 2.0 enough or should I use 3.0?
Acts of goodness and kindness will bring Moshiach...
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Best placement for that fuse is an inline holder between the power source and the V6's power jack.
Gerry Sherman
Sent by the Linux Thunderbird
On 2023-01-04 11:13, welcomemoshiach wrote:
Hello everyone. I bought an uBITX, v6 but haven't used it yet. I see that for previous versions people recommend adding a fuse/fuses for reverse polarity protection. Is this also true for a v6? And if so, where can I find instructions?
Because looking at the board, to add fuses I would need to bypass the power in jack and it looks challenging. Also, where is the best place to find other mods for the v6? Thanks in advance.
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Re: New software version for the upgraded sbitx de (developers edition)
Am I supposed to delete a file before the get pull command, because I'm getting a error about user settings.
Joel
N6ALT
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Re: New software version for the upgraded sbitx de (developers edition)
Farhan,
Thanks for the software update. If I could recommend a fix it would be the tuning acceleration, when I tune down in frequency it make huge jumps in frequency but when I tune up in frequency everything is normal. I prefer 100hz tuning rate. If this is a feature can we have a way to toggle it off. I have noticed that this was the case on my uBitx's also until a firmware change removed it. Thanks for the sBitx, I'm really enjoying it.
Joel
N6ALT
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Re: v6 and adding fuse protection
#ubitx
Hello,
I recommend a fuse on the 12V main power supply. We can also put some on the 12V power transistors. We need to find out what¡¯s going on.
As a rule, when they jump, the damage is done,? but may avoid having a burnt track. An exemple on the net. Lol  ?
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Re: v6 and adding fuse protection
#ubitx
Best placement for that fuse is an inline holder between the
power source and the V6's power jack.
Gerry Sherman
Sent by the Linux Thunderbird
On 2023-01-04 11:13, welcomemoshiach
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello everyone. I bought an uBITX, v6 but haven't used it yet. I
see that for previous versions people recommend adding a
fuse/fuses for reverse polarity protection. Is this also true for
a v6? And if so, where can I find instructions? Because looking at
the board, to add fuses I would need to bypass the power in jack
and it looks challenging. Also, where is the best place to find
other mods for the v6? Thanks in advance.
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Re: New software version for the upgraded sbitx de (developers edition)
Thank you my friend.? I appreciate your help.
I've been reading through "How GUI is organized.txt" file and I get a lot of it but I am not sure what file(s) are available to edit.? Is that the task?? Editing a config file?
I personally like the original touchpad display.? I use it to control the machine and if/when I use it in a portable configuration, the original display is very good.? A future enhancement would be the ability to move various elements of the touchpad display to an HDMI monitor (such as the waterfall).? My guess is that is a mountain of code or a specific list of manual edits to choose a desired display configuration.? I am willing to learn but ion the meantime, it would be great to get the original display back or at least the knowledge to change it myself.
As always, thanks for the great product.? I am looking forward to the next evolution.
Cheers, Scott??
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Re: New software version for the upgraded sbitx de (developers edition)
Oh got it. I will have that fixed soon. I will wait for others to pip in with more bugs. - f
Ok, well... I figured out some of it.? If you have a second monitor, when you launch the program, it assumes that you want to use that monitor for primary GUI and the touch screen is used for text.? The trick is if you launch the program from the touchpad, the program somehow "sees" the touchpad as the primary GUI but the larger screen sets the resolution.? In essence, you get the upper quadrant displayed on the touchpad which makes the system almost unusable.
My guess is these settings can be changed in the various settings files.? I just need to know which and what the possible settings are.
Thanks, Scott? ?
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Re: sBitx-DE Schematics with most recent mod 2 kit
#sBitx
I am still struggling with my sBitx.? I removed the T/R board and tried the transmitter.? I found a problem with the board around Q9.? The drain pad had disconnected on the underside, and the through-hole plating (if there was any) was gone.? I replaced the MOSFET and soldered the lead on the top side of the board.? The test for feedback oscillation on the PTT release did not show the same feedback-like issues.? Note: I did add two snap-on ferrites to the lines feeding the real-time clock in case the feedback was coming from them.
The current transmitter issue is that the 4 2n2219a drivers get too hot to touch.? I double-checked all resistor replacements and measured with a DVM for correct values and shorts.? All checked out good.
I ran tests on the T/R board to verify that the voltage doubler worked.? The max signal that I can generate with the generator is 20 Vpp.? I Used it as input to the board removed from the rig.? I measured 16 VDC on the two 1n4007 diode junctions.? That would indicate that the voltage doubler for turning off the diodes while transmitting should work.
I also pulled and tested the 1n50c MOSFET with a transistor tester.? It checked out as good.
Since the receiver was working with the board in place, I will assume that the Zener diode regulator is turning on the diodes when in receive mode.?
It would be nice to have the correct schematic with the parts listed.
I am hesitant to put the rig back together until I can work out why the 4 2n2219a are getting so hot.? Any suggestions?
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Agustin - LU2HES
welcomemoshiach
Joel Caulkins/N6ALT
Gerard