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The sBITX version 2 sounds like a great rig on paper and I would very much like to buy one, but this forum is such a mish mash of overlapping issues poorly identified that it is very difficult to determine what the actual status is, and as best I can tell there seem to still be several outstanding software and hardware issues (apparently including shipping problems).? So I have a plea for the user base here:
Can anyone (or group of someones) compile of list of yet-to-be resolved problems with the performance and/or reliability of the sBitx V2, and if possible what the status of their resolution might be?? The frame of reference should be the quoted specs and features (stated and implied) on the sBitx V2 website ...
Thanks much,
Dave AB7E
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So nobody else knows the answer either?? That's disconcerting.
Dave?? AB7E
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On 5/25/2023 3:10 PM, stone_ridge_road via groups.io wrote:
The sBITX version 2 sounds like a great rig on paper and I would very much like to buy one, but this forum is such a mish mash of overlapping issues poorly identified that it is very difficult to determine what the actual status is, and as best I can tell there seem to still be several outstanding software and hardware issues (apparently including shipping problems).? So I have a plea for the user base here:
Can anyone (or group of someones) compile of list of yet-to-be resolved problems with the performance and/or reliability of the sBitx V2, and if possible what the status of their resolution might be?? The frame of reference should be the quoted specs and features (stated and implied) on the sBitx V2 website ...
Thanks much,
Dave AB7E
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"Nothing is permanent, only change itself.
- Heraclitus of Ephesus"
I would rather ask about something specific, because where is that which is in continuous development?
I also bought one, which I modified or will modify, I wrote about it here.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
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"Continuous development" usually means feature upgrades and
performance improvements, not fixes to already claimed operation.? I
asked the question because I honestly don't know what problems and
shortcomings remain versus what is claimed on the web site, but
based upon user feedback here and elsewhere there certainly seem to
be some ... although many are poorly defined, such as "my radio was
working fine and now it isn't", or "my radio was supposed to be able
to do this but it doesn't", or"why did my radio catch fire".
All I want to know is what meets the web site claims and what
doesn't, and when is the likelihood the shortcomings will be fixed??
Why is that an unreasonable request?
The website claims are a fixed reference ... there isn't anything
vague or "continuous" about it.
Dave?? AB7E
On 5/27/2023 10:57 AM, HA3HZ wrote:
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"Nothing is permanent, only change itself.
- Heraclitus of Ephesus"
I would rather ask about something specific, because where is that
which is in continuous development?
I also bought one, which I modified or will modify, I wrote about
it here.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
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On Sat, May 27, 2023 at 09:13 PM, stone_ridge_road wrote:
"Continuous development" usually means feature upgrades and performance improvements, not fixes to already claimed operation.? I asked the question because I honestly don't know what problems and shortcomings remain versus what is claimed on the web site, but based upon user feedback here and elsewhere there certainly seem to be some ... although many are poorly defined, such as "my radio was working fine and now it isn't", or "my radio was supposed to be able to do this but it doesn't", or"why did my radio catch fire".
All I want to know is what meets the web site claims and what doesn't, and when is the likelihood the shortcomings will be fixed?? Why is that an unreasonable request?
The website claims are a fixed reference ... there isn't anything vague or "continuous" about it.
Dave?? AB7E
On 5/27/2023 10:57 AM, HA3HZ wrote:
"Nothing is permanent, only change itself.
- Heraclitus of Ephesus"
I would rather ask about something specific, because where is that which is in continuous development?
I also bought one, which I modified or will modify, I wrote about it here.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
Sorry for trying to help without being invited. Please wait for the person in charge to read and respond. But then you shouldn't be dissatisfied after 24 hours because no one is answering YOUR question. ? -- Gyula HA3HZ
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To be honest, I had no idea what your post meant.? I just knew that it was in reply to my post but that it didn't try to answer my question.? I'm truly sorry if I misunderstood what you were trying to do, and I apologize.
But I don't need for the "person in charge" to answer.? ANYBODY who knows what is going on works fine for me.? I was just hoping that somebody here knew what the current performance status of the sBitx V2 was.? Several people have bought the rig and I assumed that at least a few of them have reasonably tested it out, but right now I can't tell if the problems people have been describing here (and elsewhere) are software problems (understandable and presumably fixable), hardware problems (less understandable and less easily addressed), or simply operator errors.
I'm just trying to understand the situation before I spend $500. After 48 hours (not 24) you are the only one to even acknowledge my question, so maybe simply nobody knows.
73,
Dave? AB7E
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On 5/27/2023 1:30 PM, HA3HZ wrote: Sorry for trying to help without being invited.
Please wait for the person in charge to read and respond.
But then you shouldn't be dissatisfied after 24 hours because no one is answering YOUR question.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
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Dave, The best source for this kind of information us the source code itself. The main issues that do remain after the may 4th updates are: 1. The Iambic keyer response is slow at speeds beyond 18 wpm. 2. When operating through? a remote browser, the audio latency increases after about 20 minutes. These are the development issues. This apart, we have faced issues with delivery. Though we have used DHL to deliver, some boxes have arrived with physical damage or screws loosening up during the transport, some of these have lead loss of contact with the heatsink and subsequent loss PA transistors. It is difficult to answer these questions on demand and within the "expected time frame" as answers to much of these questions is out of any particular individuals reach. I have been travelling for the last 48 hours and I suppose it is not possible for me to respond to everyone immediately though I make it a point to do that to the dismay of my family. HF Signals own official line may not be the same as what customers think. For instance, I thought that the Iambic keying was fixed, others disagreed. - f
On Sun, May 28, 2023, 3:02 AM stone_ridge_road < AB7Echo@...> wrote:
To be honest, I had no idea what your post meant.? I just knew that it
was in reply to my post but that it didn't try to answer my question.?
I'm truly sorry if I misunderstood what you were trying to do, and I
apologize.
But I don't need for the "person in charge" to answer.? ANYBODY who
knows what is going on works fine for me.? I was just hoping that
somebody here knew what the current performance status of the sBitx V2
was.? Several people have bought the rig and I assumed that at least a
few of them have reasonably tested it out, but right now I can't tell if
the problems people have been describing here (and elsewhere) are
software problems (understandable and presumably fixable), hardware
problems (less understandable and less easily addressed), or simply
operator errors.
I'm just trying to understand the situation before I spend $500. After
48 hours (not 24) you are the only one to even acknowledge my question,
so maybe simply nobody knows.
73,
Dave? AB7E
On 5/27/2023 1:30 PM, HA3HZ wrote:
> Sorry for trying to help without being invited.
> Please wait for the person in charge to read and respond.
> But then you shouldn't be dissatisfied after 24 hours because no one
> is answering YOUR question.
>
> --
> Gyula HA3HZ
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Ashhar, thank you very much for your reply.? I really didn't expect the answers to have to come from you, though, and I know you are quite busy anyway.? I just thought that the users who have had a unit for a while would be able list their remaining issues.? I guess not.
I'm not really worried about software issues.? I think it is reasonable to expect that they all can be fixed given enough time.
Are you pretty certain that the hardware issues are all related to shipping, though? ? I didn't realize that DHL was that unreliable, but I haven't used them much myself so I'm not a good judge of that.
Thanks again es take care,
Dave?? AB7E
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On 5/27/2023 3:26 PM, Ashhar Farhan wrote: Dave,
The best source for this kind of information us the source code itself.
The main issues that do remain after the may 4th updates are:
1. The Iambic keyer response is slow at speeds beyond 18 wpm.
2. When operating through? a remote browser, the audio latency increases after about 20 minutes.
These are the development issues. This apart, we have faced issues with delivery. Though we have used DHL to deliver, some boxes have arrived with physical damage or screws loosening up during the transport, some of these have lead loss of contact with the heatsink and subsequent loss PA transistors.
It is difficult to answer these questions on demand and within the "expected time frame" as answers to much of these questions is out of any particular individuals reach. I have been travelling for the last 48 hours and I suppose it is not possible for me to respond to everyone immediately though I make it a point to do that to the dismay of my family.
HF Signals own official line may not be the same as what customers think. For instance, I thought that the Iambic keying was fixed, others disagreed.
- f
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Dave, We are seeing reports of loose screws turning up, boxes dented, bnc connectors bent. We have taken these up with the DHL.? As for the PAs blowing up, as a part of our testing process, we operate it at 40 watts for a full minute and 15 seconds with open load. The heatsinks is clamped with m3 screws using a torque wrench. As the boards that blew up were return we are finding that the heatsink clamps were invariably loose, this could happen only in transit. Perhaps we need a different and failsafe way to clamp these. - f
On Sun, May 28, 2023, 5:29 AM stone_ridge_road < AB7Echo@...> wrote:
Ashhar, thank you very much for your reply.? I really didn't expect the
answers to have to come from you, though, and I know you are quite busy
anyway.? I just thought that the users who have had a unit for a while
would be able list their remaining issues.? I guess not.
I'm not really worried about software issues.? I think it is reasonable
to expect that they all can be fixed given enough time.
Are you pretty certain that the hardware issues are all related to
shipping, though? ? I didn't realize that DHL was that unreliable, but I
haven't used them much myself so I'm not a good judge of that.
Thanks again es take care,
Dave?? AB7E
On 5/27/2023 3:26 PM, Ashhar Farhan wrote:
> Dave,
> The best source for this kind of information us the source code itself.
> The main issues that do remain after the may 4th updates are:
> 1. The Iambic keyer response is slow at speeds beyond 18 wpm.
> 2. When operating through? a remote browser, the audio latency
> increases after about 20 minutes.
> These are the development issues. This apart, we have faced issues
> with delivery. Though we have used DHL to deliver, some boxes have
> arrived with physical damage or screws loosening up during the
> transport, some of these have lead loss of contact with the heatsink
> and subsequent loss PA transistors.
> It is difficult to answer these questions on demand and within the
> "expected time frame" as answers to much of these questions is out of
> any particular individuals reach. I have been travelling for the last
> 48 hours and I suppose it is not possible for me to respond to
> everyone immediately though I make it a point to do that to the dismay
> of my family.
> HF Signals own official line may not be the same as what customers
> think. For instance, I thought that the Iambic keying was fixed,
> others disagreed.
> - f
>
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Very interesting.? Thanks again!
Take care,
Dave?? AB7E
On 5/27/2023 5:07 PM, Ashhar Farhan
wrote:
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Dave,
We are seeing reports of loose screws turning
up, boxes dented, bnc connectors bent. We have taken these up
with the DHL.?
As for the PAs blowing up, as a part of our
testing process, we operate it at 40 watts for a full minute
and 15 seconds with open load. The heatsinks is clamped with
m3 screws using a torque wrench.
As the boards that blew up were return we are
finding that the heatsink clamps were invariably loose, this
could happen only in transit. Perhaps we need a different and
failsafe way to clamp these.
- f
On Sun, May 28, 2023, 5:29
AM stone_ridge_road < AB7Echo@...>
wrote:
Ashhar, thank you very much for your reply.? I really
didn't expect the
answers to have to come from you, though, and I know you
are quite busy
anyway.? I just thought that the users who have had a unit
for a while
would be able list their remaining issues.? I guess not.
I'm not really worried about software issues.? I think it
is reasonable
to expect that they all can be fixed given enough time.
Are you pretty certain that the hardware issues are all
related to
shipping, though? ? I didn't realize that DHL was that
unreliable, but I
haven't used them much myself so I'm not a good judge of
that.
Thanks again es take care,
Dave?? AB7E
On 5/27/2023 3:26 PM, Ashhar Farhan wrote:
> Dave,
> The best source for this kind of information us the
source code itself.
> The main issues that do remain after the may 4th
updates are:
> 1. The Iambic keyer response is slow at speeds beyond
18 wpm.
> 2. When operating through? a remote browser, the
audio latency
> increases after about 20 minutes.
> These are the development issues. This apart, we have
faced issues
> with delivery. Though we have used DHL to deliver,
some boxes have
> arrived with physical damage or screws loosening up
during the
> transport, some of these have lead loss of contact
with the heatsink
> and subsequent loss PA transistors.
> It is difficult to answer these questions on demand
and within the
> "expected time frame" as answers to much of these
questions is out of
> any particular individuals reach. I have been
travelling for the last
> 48 hours and I suppose it is not possible for me to
respond to
> everyone immediately though I make it a point to do
that to the dismay
> of my family.
> HF Signals own official line may not be the same as
what customers
> think. For instance, I thought that the Iambic keying
was fixed,
> others disagreed.
> - f
>
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Ashhar
A couple of weeks back I reported one of the heatsink clamp screws on my V2 (serial #12) having arrived from Hyderabad still firmly attached to the tapped spacer but that the spacer itself had pulled out of the blind hole in the heatsink. I suspect that the press fit of the spacer into the heatsink is the weak link in the present design. I pulled out the other screw and spacer and was surprised at just how little force was required. Maybe using the torque wrench is actually contributing to the problem, at least until a method of more securely fastening the spacers to the heatsink is devised?
Following a discussion with Guyla on two other posts I glued both spacers back in using JBWeld, a steel reinforced epoxy, after first? sealing the open bottom of the spacer with a little petroleum jelly to prevent the epoxy entering the thread. This seems to overcome the problem totally. I think there is enough thread engagement with the screws supplied to fasten down the clamp securely, so I did not go as far as Guyla and retap the spacer, extending the thread into the heatsink itself. I will do that if I find the screws becoming loose.
Bill VK7MX
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How about Loctite or threseal or similar Farhan ?
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On 28/05/2023 5:37 AM, Ashhar Farhan wrote:
As the boards that blew up were return we are finding that the heatsink clamps were invariably loose, this could happen only in transit. Perhaps we need a different and failsafe way to clamp these.
- f
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Raj, The loose clamping is a mere hypothesis. We haven't ascertained it yet. We can look at some heat resistant epoxy if it proves to be the case. It is an oddity if open design that you tend to only hear of broken/blown systems rather than the working ones. Of the five hundred odd v2s shipped about 20 to 25 of them blew up their PAs. This would have been almost normal but for the fact thay we have almost never heard of a ubitx blowing up the PA in the recent times. - f
How about Loctite or threseal or similar Farhan ?
On 28/05/2023 5:37 AM, Ashhar Farhan wrote:
>
> As the boards that blew up were return we are finding that the
> heatsink clamps were invariably loose, this could happen only in
> transit. Perhaps we need a different and failsafe way to clamp these.
> - f
>
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I decided against trying Loctite, Raj. Mainly because the classic method of persuading Loctite to loosen its grip is to apply localised heat. I don't know just how hot the heatsink might get but that seemed a risk I prefer to avoid.
Bill VK7MX?
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Red thread lock would be ample and easy to disassemble with just a drop.?
I decided against trying Loctite, Raj. Mainly because the classic method of persuading Loctite to loosen its grip is to apply localised heat. I don't know just how hot the heatsink might get but that seemed a risk I prefer to avoid.
Bill VK7MX?
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It is a bond that cannot be disassembled under the influence of heat.
The thread is a releasable joint, another thing.
And it is precisely the female thread that must be fixed so that it does not release the heatsink when the amplifier stage heats up.
I stick with the longer screw that attaches to the heatsink.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
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I would say that yes, you should strongly consider a different mechanism for securing the PA transistors to the heat sink.? You mentioned elsewhere that you have had 20-25 failures out of 500 shipped units.? That is far from being a trivial failure rate. Given that lots of users here have stated they are keeping the output power well below the rated 40 watts because of the publicized problems, I could imagine that the overall failure rate might be higher if they were not doing that.
I think it's reasonable to expect that the software issues will get fixed ... but a hardware problem like this sounds like a design issue that should not go unresolved.
73 es take care,
Dave?? AB7E
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On 5/27/2023 5:07 PM, Ashhar Farhan wrote: Dave,
We are seeing reports of loose screws turning up, boxes dented, bnc connectors bent. We have taken these up with the DHL.
As for the PAs blowing up, as a part of our testing process, we operate it at 40 watts for a full minute and 15 seconds with open load. The heatsinks is clamped with m3 screws using a torque wrench.
As the boards that blew up were return we are finding that the heatsink clamps were invariably loose, this could happen only in transit. Perhaps we need a different and failsafe way to clamp these.
- f
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Dave, I’ve probably had more experience changing finals and working with their heat sinks both for the DE and theV2 than most out here. I don’t think that most blown finals are because of heat sink issues. I use heat conductive paste anyway but I have no evidence that it’s necessary. The heat sink warms nicely and that’s a god sign. In my view the only way heat transfer could improve would be with direct metal contact without mica and of course that’s not practical.
In my experience finals are blown by inadvertent over driving and the V2 has some protection now against that. Follow the calibration instructions and take the time to tweak the hw_settings.ini file. It’s important. After that my V2 works nicely.?
If you take into account the cost of a Raspberry Pi 4 and a 7 inch DSI touch screen the radio is really very reasonably priced, IMHO.
See my message #102663.
Have fun!
Jack
N6LN
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Jack, thanks much for your comments!
Well, as anyone should be able to tell I would really like to buy
the V2 and I agree that it is reasonably priced based upon the
hardware and features.? I think it would make a terrific portable
rig, and I've been expecting somebody to come out with a high
performance self-contained FT8 rig for a long time.
The ease with which people say the heat sink inserts can be pulled
out, and Ashhar's comment about the majority of returned units
having detached heatsinks, still concerns me though.? I think I will
wait until that issue gets resolved one way or the other ... either
fixed or proven to be a non-issue.
Thanks again es take care,
Dave?? AB7E
On 5/29/2023 10:57 AM, John Terrell,
N6LN wrote:
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Dave, I’ve probably had more experience changing finals and
working with their heat sinks both for the DE and theV2 than
most out here. I don’t think that most blown finals are because
of heat sink issues. I use heat conductive paste anyway but I
have no evidence that it’s necessary. The heat sink warms nicely
and that’s a god sign. In my view the only way heat transfer
could improve would be with direct metal contact without mica
and of course that’s not practical.
In my experience finals are blown by inadvertent over driving
and the V2 has some protection now against that. Follow the
calibration instructions and take the time to tweak the
hw_settings.ini file. It’s important. After that my V2 works
nicely.?
If you take into account the cost of a Raspberry Pi 4 and a 7
inch DSI touch screen the radio is really very reasonably
priced, IMHO.
See my message #102663.
Have fun!
Jack
N6LN
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Dave,
After receiving the Sbitx_v2, I read a few posts about loose screws. I have verified these issues on my own.
I fixed what I experienced without it causing me any problems. ? I wrote about it here: /g/BITX20/message/101717
The May 4th message is for those who received the device before that date. They had to do things as instructed.
As far as I know, for deliveries after this date, this is done by the manufacturer, which is confirmed by paper.
So, if someone is bothered by the possibility of a mechanical error in shipping, you can fix it with a little manual work.
In the same way, the firmware is not final, so it is necessary to ensure that the device is up-to-date.
RPi driven trx is a promising development option.
--
Gyula HA3HZ
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HA3HZ
Raj vu2zap
John Terrell, N6LN