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Farhan had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that he would provide a detailed procedure for calibrating the power output on DE radios running V2 software without the SWR board installed, has this happened and I missed it? My DE works great on the V2 software but the power levels are way off, a couple of watts out on 40 meters and 40 watts out on 20 meters with 10% drive, I'm afraid of blowing the finals,

Joel
N6ALT

Hi Joel,

I have found that you adjust the power levels by editing the hw_settings.ini in the /home/pi/sbitx/data folder.

1 - I would first verify that each band can operate safely below a max of 50 watts.? I did this by setting up for straight key CW, measuring power with my SWR/PWR meter, and increasing the drive until it reads 100%.?

2 - Note the power on the watt meter for the band and enter it in the spreadsheet as the current power.

3 - After you have measured all the bands and recorded the power levels, use the file program on the sbitx to edit the hw_settings.ini file.

4 - For each band, enter the scale= value from the file into the "Current Setting" column of the spreadsheet.

5 - The formula will calculate a new setting for the multiplier

6 - Replace the scale= value with the current value from the spreadsheet.

7 - Save the file, and shut down the sbitx with the shutdown option from the main menu to minimize the risk of corrupting the microSD card.

8 - Power cycle the sbitx.

9 - Copy the New settings VALUES (not formulas) to the "Current Setting" and rerun the test sequence.

The process is not linear, and it took me several runs through the process to get it where I wanted it.? Note that I never could get higher bands above 20 watts.? I would suggest using the Desired Power levels in the spreadsheet unless someone has better information on what is a good value for each band.


If the drive can not be increased to 100 and stay under a safe power (for short times, it can go over 40 watts), then note the band and drive level.? You will need to adjust this band lower by at least 20%.? Do this for all bands.

Here are the contents of the original V2 hw_settings.ini file:
==========================================
==========================================

Use the above at your own risk.? Always start with lower values and short transmissions to protect the finals.
73
Evan
AC9TU

Hi Evan,

There has got to be a easier way to do this. The whole spread sheet thing doesn't make sense to me at all, the lower percentage number is how I lowered it with the V1.? software so I get that. I had run txcal on this right after upgrading to V2 software and I guess it changed all those numbers so I changed them all to the values you included in your last post and then started decreasing the lower bands to start with. What i am noticing is the power level is not consistent, I set the drive level say 40 and it puts out 50 watts, as I unkey and key back up again it all the sudden jumps up to 80 watts, then it will show 80 watts every time i key up until I lower the drive level again, isn't there a way to use the TXcal command and adjust it with the MFK per band like on the V2?
Another idea, can you post your final settings? Maybe I can use them as a starting point to get close. Meanwhile this thing is making way too much power to even try to use it for TXing. Thanks for your help.

Joel
N6ALT

Joel,

I thought that txcal required the SWR bridge to be installed. ?How else would the software know when the power out was correct?

Are you running txcal each time? ?If so, that will reset the values to whatever limit that is in the program, not the nominal 40watts.

I suggest that you copy the hw_settings.ini file over the file in your current data folder. ?Those are safe values from Asher Farhan as a starting point. ?Then try one band measuring and adjusting the output to see if the value holds.?

The spreadsheet was a way to capture all of the bands and keep track of adjustments as you must reboot each time you make a change. ?You do not need to use it. ?To understand the process, try getting just one band to be correct with 40 watts out at a drive setting of 100. ?The formula is new scale value = old scale value * desired power / measured power.?

73
Evan
AC9TU

Evan,

No, I only ran txcal once after upgrading to V2 software before thinking about it. I do remember Farhan saying he was going to make some instructions for us DE users who upgraded to V2 to calibrate power, I assumed they would be different from the original instructions he gave on the DE, maybe not.

Joel
N6ALT

Joel,

I also remember reading the post saying there would be a process to calibrate the DE with V2 software.? I assume he referred to a DE with the SWR/PWR sensor.? He did post that.??

As far as I know, there is no way to set the TX level on the original DE running V2 software other than to set each band scaling value.

73
Evan
AC9TU

On Sat, Jun 10, 2023 at 12:28 PM, Joel Caulkins/N6ALT wrote:

i am noticing is the power level is not consistent,

I am no longer having this problem on my DE after Farhan's latest update, 6/14/23, now power output seems very stable. I would still prefer a easier way to calibrate the power output for the DE similar to TXcal. Ultimately I would like both my V2 and my DE to have the same power outputs at selected drive levels. I realize I am at the mercy of those who can code, (I cannot), so thanks to all that contribute their skills, it keeps getting better.

Joel
N6ALT

Hi Farhan,

Okay I'll bite the bullet and give it a try. Thanks again.

Joel
N6ALT

Okay, I did it! It turned out great, about 30 watts at 100% drive for most bands except 12 and 10 meters are about 20 but that’s perfect for me. Thanks for these cool radios.

Joel
N6ALT