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zBitx group,
??? I ordered my unit on Thursday
last week based on what I read on the internet and the videos I
watched.? However since joining this group I have some
concerns.? My understanding was this is an "out of the box"
ready to go radio.? The comments I'm seeing here about setting
up WSJT-X and recompiling code has me worried.?
Bottom line, is this unit a "READY
TO ROCK" out of the box unit or not?? I dont mind having to
config WSJT-X but this groups is making look like you lucky if
it even works on the radio you get.
--
"POWER, WE DON'T NEED NO STICKIN' POWER" - EVERY KX2 OWNER
Always respect the airwaves,
73 de KI7PBR, Gary
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Gary right out of the box it will do CW, SSB, FT-8, AM, etc.
You may want to upgrade the F/W but I got mine and was immediately on FT-8 in about 60 seconds.
WSJT-X is not what it was released for although many folks are tinkering with it to do so. The first upgrade was for Iambic-B and a few more things but there you have it.
Here is the URL you purchased off of.
Oh, if you dont want it, there are hundreds of folks that will buy it from you. Oh dont plug it into 12VDC is is a?6V to 9V radio.
? ? ?Frank Krozel ? ? ? ? ? ?KG9H Life Member, ARRL ? ? (630) 924-1600 kg9hfrank@...
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On Apr 9, 2025, at 12:57?PM, Gary-KI7PBR via groups.io <ki7pbr@...> wrote:
zBitx group, ??? I ordered my unit on Thursday
last week based on what I read on the internet and the videos I
watched.? However since joining this group I have some
concerns.? My understanding was this is an "out of the box"
ready to go radio.? The comments I'm seeing here about setting
up WSJT-X and recompiling code has me worried.?
Bottom line, is this unit a "READY
TO ROCK" out of the box unit or not?? I dont mind having to
config WSJT-X but this groups is making look like you lucky if
it even works on the radio you get.
--
"POWER, WE DON'T NEED NO STICKIN' POWER" - EVERY KX2 OWNER
Always respect the airwaves,
73 de KI7PBR, Gary
-- ?
?
?
de KG9H
Life member, ARRL
|
Frank,
?? Thank you.? I feel much better.?
We have several of us from our BE-HIP (Hams In Parks) group here
in Chandler that are buying this radio.? It's the perfect radio
for what we do.? I do 95% CW but loved the idea of FT8 already
installed.? I haven't used it much in the last 5 years but our
group had a 60m Challenge last month and 99% of the QSOs were
FT8.? lol...
??? Thanks for the 12v warning,
good thing to remind all new buyers of.? I do already have the
18650 batteries and I am buying a Buck Boost module to attach to
the Bioenno 1203A 12v to step it down to <9v.?
"POWER, WE DON'T NEED NO STICKIN' POWER" - EVERY KX2 OWNER
Always respect the airwaves,
73 de KI7PBR, Gary
|
Gary hi again,
The zbitz group keeps adding things to the radio. The on-board keyboard is now available for CW as well. Iambic-B made it better.
Oh, to upgrade, you simply plug in an HDMI monitor, plug in keyboard and mouse and connect to your WIFI at home. The radio upgrades itself! ? - Yes itself.
You do have to do a little Windows stuff to upgrade the front panel but that is painless. ?email me to chat about the radio. ?I love it and it keeps getting better. ?? BUT if you have an antenna to deploy and 2 charged batteries, I can expect you to be on the air in your yard on FT-8 in 5 minutes after you enter your credentials into it.
Oh, it has a built-in log and comes with the stylus to key in things if your fingers are like mine.
? ? ?Frank Krozel ? ? ? ? ? ?KG9H Life Member, ARRL ? ? (630) 924-1600 kg9hfrank@...
-- ?
?
?
de KG9H
Life member, ARRL
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On Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 12:06 PM, Frank KG9H wrote:
right out of the box it will do CW
I disagree.?
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Interesting, mind did and worked well for that. I used a straight key as I only know Iambic-B Maybe yours is broken.
? ? ?Frank Krozel ? ? ? ? ? ?KG9H Life Member, ARRL ? ? (630) 924-1600 kg9hfrank@...
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On Apr 9, 2025, at 1:31?PM, John AE5X via groups.io <ae5x@...> wrote:
On Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 12:06 PM, Frank KG9H wrote:
right out of the box it will do CW
I disagree.?
-- ?
?
?
de KG9H
Life member, ARRL
|
My experience was; I opened the box, added batteries, applied both updates (easy), rebooted and made contacts on ssb and ft8. Highly suggest you watch Farhans videos on the Z on YouTube. Short, helpful and explains everything. Others may be trying to extend capabilities whereas I just want to do radio. For the price of one nice meal out, I've had days of fun in the outdoors with my Z YMMV 73
zBitx group,
??? I ordered my unit on Thursday
last week based on what I read on the internet and the videos I
watched.? However since joining this group I have some
concerns.? My understanding was this is an "out of the box"
ready to go radio.? The comments I'm seeing here about setting
up WSJT-X and recompiling code has me worried.?
Bottom line, is this unit a "READY
TO ROCK" out of the box unit or not?? I dont mind having to
config WSJT-X but this groups is making look like you lucky if
it even works on the radio you get.
--
"POWER, WE DON'T NEED NO STICKIN' POWER" - EVERY KX2 OWNER
Always respect the airwaves,
73 de KI7PBR, Gary
|
?
I disagree too...
CW works ONLY correct if You use it with keyboard , but not with paddles or
straight-key and/or external keyer in this case.
Also the last , newest update solved the big CW problems not.
Lots of people are disapointed...
At least please tell the truth here: the device does not (yet?) deliver
what the advertising promises...
It is something for software/firmware tinkerers and those who can't do
that... well, I think I don't need to elaborate... -
Sorry... about the really truth .
?
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From: John AE5X via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 7:31 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] xBitX Product Question
?
On Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 12:06 PM, Frank KG9H wrote:
right out of the box it will do CW
I disagree.
|
“ ?Thank you.? I feel much better.? We have several of us from our BE-HIP (Hams In Parks) group here in Chandler that are buying this radio.? It's the perfect radio for what we do.? I do 95% CW but loved the idea of FT8 already installed.? I haven't used it much in the last 5 years but our group had a 60m Challenge last mon”
Frank, how fast do you send CW normally? That makes a big difference. If you are in the 10 to 15 words per minute range, I think you’re going to be very happy with this, as delivered
If you’re in the 35 word per minute range, I think the small improvements that have been suggested by several of us and already successfully tested by Eric May make you far happier!
Gordon kx4z?
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On Apr 9, 2025, at 14:36, Jens/HB9JOI via groups.io <hb9joi@...> wrote:
?
?
I disagree too...
CW works ONLY correct if You use it with keyboard , but not with paddles or
straight-key and/or external keyer in this case.
Also the last , newest update solved the big CW problems not.
Lots of people are disapointed...
At least please tell the truth here: the device does not (yet?) deliver
what the advertising promises...
It is something for software/firmware tinkerers and those who can't do
that... well, I think I don't need to elaborate... -
Sorry... about the really truth .
?
?
From: John AE5X via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 7:31 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] xBitX Product Question
?
On Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 12:06 PM, Frank KG9H wrote:
right out of the box it will do CW
I disagree.
|
Gordon, thanks for responding. My normal (with a crappy portable paddle) is about 15-25. At my base, 25-40 or so. ?I have a nice brass racer there.
Yes I do believe the others may be doing higher in speed, that might be a challenge but for me and on a crappy paddle 15 is fine. I would assume it is scale-able so if the guys at 30 are happy, I guess I would be happier, LOL
Still is it not a 705 or KX3 and the price shows it.
I look for many changes in the future, this is a great radio.
? ? ?Frank Krozel ? ? ? ? ? ?KG9H Life Member, ARRL ? ? (630) 924-1600 kg9hfrank@...
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On Apr 9, 2025, at 3:27?PM, Gordon Gibby KX4Z via groups.io <docvacuumtubes@...> wrote:
“ ?Thank you.? I feel much better.? We have several of us from our BE-HIP (Hams In Parks) group here in Chandler that are buying this radio.? It's the perfect radio for what we do.? I do 95% CW but loved the idea of FT8 already installed.? I haven't used it much in the last 5 years but our group had a 60m Challenge last mon”
Frank, how fast do you send CW normally? That makes a big difference. If you are in the 10 to 15 words per minute range, I think you’re going to be very happy with this, as delivered
If you’re in the 35 word per minute range, I think the small improvements that have been suggested by several of us and already successfully tested by Eric May make you far happier!
Gordon kx4z?
-- ?
?
?
de KG9H
Life member, ARRL
|
I don’t have the radio, so I can’t really tell you exactly what it’s doing
I can tell you that with my sBitx I couldn’t send it all at the beginning. At least not with a paddle or an external keyer or a straight key. ? ?Then Mike Johnshoy pointed out a fix, and now I can go as fast as I can, 25 words per minute or so, without any issue at all. ?Much more fun than my 7300!! ??So you may need to be a tiny bit patient, but this will get fixed perfectly in the long run if my experience with the other radio is any guide.
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On Apr 9, 2025, at 15:36, Frank KG9H via groups.io <kg9hfrank@...> wrote:
? Gordon, thanks for responding. My normal (with a crappy portable paddle) is about 15-25. At my base, 25-40 or so. ?I have a nice brass racer there.
Yes I do believe the others may be doing higher in speed, that might be a challenge but for me and on a crappy paddle 15 is fine. I would assume it is scale-able so if the guys at 30 are happy, I guess I would be happier, LOL
Still is it not a 705 or KX3 and the price shows it.
I look for many changes in the future, this is a great radio.
? ? ?Frank Krozel ? ? ? ? ? ?KG9H Life Member, ARRL ? ? (630) 924-1600 kg9hfrank@...
On Apr 9, 2025, at 3:27?PM, Gordon Gibby KX4Z via groups.io <docvacuumtubes@...> wrote:
“ ?Thank you.? I feel much better.? We have several of us from our BE-HIP (Hams In Parks) group here in Chandler that are buying this radio.? It's the perfect radio for what we do.? I do 95% CW but loved the idea of FT8 already installed.? I haven't used it much in the last 5 years but our group had a 60m Challenge last mon”
Frank, how fast do you send CW normally? That makes a big difference. If you are in the 10 to 15 words per minute range, I think you’re going to be very happy with this, as delivered
If you’re in the 35 word per minute range, I think the small improvements that have been suggested by several of us and already successfully tested by Eric May make you far happier!
Gordon kx4z?
-- ?
?
?
de KG9H
Life member, ARRL
|
Gordon, I hear you. ?I remember the v3 and v4 and still have lots of parts from that area. ?
I actually ran a uBitx net in the Midwest on 40 SSB for about a year or so, had lots of fun. Had a v6 for just a few months before hopping on the 6100/6200 bandwagon.
Really liking the zBitz on FT8 and have had many QSOs on 20 with it. ?Just the radio and a tiny mag loop. Can’t wait for the next updates.
? ? ?Frank Krozel ? ? ? ? ? ?KG9H Life Member, ARRL ? ? (630) 924-1600 kg9hfrank@...
-- ?
?
?
de KG9H
Life member, ARRL
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Gary-KI7PBR
Jens/HB9JOI