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tuning step size for the SI5351 / Radunio version

 

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio?? ?Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 

John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 

Ashhan,

Thanks for the reply. ?Yes, I understand the tuning element is a pot driving an ADC and the limitations of cheap rotary encoders. ?

50 hz is a pretty big tuning step, I just played around with my store ?bought rig and in most cases it was not possible to get reasonably natural and intelligible voices with 50 hz steps. ?Better only 25 khz tuning range and 25 hz resolution. ?I guess I will see how it works out when I get the box.

I'm a retired EE, but my only coding experience was fortran 4 in college in the late 60s, I was more of a hardware and applications guy - - So I'm not going to be able to write new code for it. ?Any chance that for your next software build you can use one of the spare inputs to change the tuning rate?? ? 50 khz for 300 degrees of rotation is pretty fast tuning, I was planning to use a 1k pot wired as a variable resistor in series with the main tuning pot as a 'fine tuning', but that will be difficult with your ?up/down 10 khz scheme. ?25 khz for 300 degrees tuning rate wouldn't be bad.

So... we will see how it works.

tnx / 73 ?John ? N9BTM/YN8BTM




From: "Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20]"
To: "BITX20@..."
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2016 8:44 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] tuning step size for the SI5351 / Radunio version

?
John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?
Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??

Thanks
John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
Jack Purdum
 

I do use a rotary encoder to tune my Forty-9er (see March, 2016, QST) and will likely soon add one to the BITX40 I just bought. The increment is an issue that is often one of personal preference. For CW, I use a 100Hz increment as the default. However, if I want to traverse from one end of the band to the other, it takes a bazillion turns of the encoder shaft to make the move. To overcome this limitation, I wrote a routine that senses how fast you are turning the encoder shaft using one of the Nano timers. If the "detent spacing" is fairly long, that is interpreted as you slowly fine tuning a station. If the spacing is short (and you can define the time differences), the software automatically increases the increment to 50KHz (which you can also set). As you zero in on your target frequency and slow down the shaft turning rate, the software automatically drops down to the default tuning increment (e.g., 100Hz, or whatever).?

My article appears in?¡°Rotary Encoders Revisited¡±, QRP Quarterly, April, 2016.?

Jack, W8TEE


From: "John Jackson jjack718@... [BITX20]"
To: "BITX20@..."
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2016 10:54 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] tuning step size for the SI5351 / Radunio version

?
Ashhan,

Thanks for the reply. ?Yes, I understand the tuning element is a pot driving an ADC and the limitations of cheap rotary encoders. ?

50 hz is a pretty big tuning step, I just played around with my store ?bought rig and in most cases it was not possible to get reasonably natural and intelligible voices with 50 hz steps. ?Better only 25 khz tuning range and 25 hz resolution. ?I guess I will see how it works out when I get the box.

I'm a retired EE, but my only coding experience was fortran 4 in college in the late 60s, I was more of a hardware and applications guy - - So I'm not going to be able to write new code for it. ?Any chance that for your next software build you can use one of the spare inputs to change the tuning rate?? ? 50 khz for 300 degrees of rotation is pretty fast tuning, I was planning to use a 1k pot wired as a variable resistor in series with the main tuning pot as a 'fine tuning', but that will be difficult with your ?up/down 10 khz scheme. ?25 khz for 300 degrees tuning rate wouldn't be bad.

So... we will see how it works.

tnx / 73 ?John ? N9BTM/YN8BTM




From: "Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20]"
To: "BITX20@..." Sent: Monday, December 26, 2016 8:44 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] tuning step size for the SI5351 / Radunio version

?
John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?
Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??

Thanks
John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Farhan,

I breadboarded your Raduino to try it out, and I have to say I rather like it, however sometimes when I turn the pot all the way clockwise it won't go into the mode that counts up at a higher step rate. It will always work when rotating it down or counter clockwise. Do you have a idea why it does this? I have tried 3 different 10K pots with the same results. Is this a function of the 5V supply needing to be exactly 5V.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?

John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 

It should work if you have derived the same power line as the Arduino's 5v line. in the function doTuning(..) there is a line that triggers the step up beyond 1010, you could reduce the 1010 to 950 and try it.

- f


On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Joel Caulkins caulktel@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Farhan,

I breadboarded your Raduino to try it out, and I have to say I rather like it, however sometimes when I turn the pot all the way clockwise it won't go into the mode that counts up at a higher step rate. It will always work when rotating it down or counter clockwise. Do you have a idea why it does this? I have tried 3 different 10K pots with the same results. Is this a function of the 5V supply needing to be exactly 5V.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?

John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 

At times, the noise contributes to this as well. Solder a 0.1uf capacitor across the pot's ground and wiper lugs.

- f

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:05 AM, Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@...> wrote:
It should work if you have derived the same power line as the Arduino's 5v line. in the function doTuning(..) there is a line that triggers the step up beyond 1010, you could reduce the 1010 to 950 and try it.

- f


On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Joel Caulkins caulktel@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Farhan,

I breadboarded your Raduino to try it out, and I have to say I rather like it, however sometimes when I turn the pot all the way clockwise it won't go into the mode that counts up at a higher step rate. It will always work when rotating it down or counter clockwise. Do you have a idea why it does this? I have tried 3 different 10K pots with the same results. Is this a function of the 5V supply needing to be exactly 5V.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?

John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
Jack Purdum
 

This could be what I call a "corner bug"...a bug that hides at the extremes of a variable. I haven't check this yet, but keep in mind that the converter has 10 bit resolution, so the range is 0-1023, not 1024. I wonder if that might be an issue?

Jack, W8TEE


From: "Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20]"
To: "BITX20@..."
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2016 11:35 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] tuning step size for the SI5351 / Radunio version

?
It should work if you have derived the same power line as the Arduino's 5v line. in the function doTuning(..) there is a line that triggers the step up beyond 1010, you could reduce the 1010 to 950 and try it.

- f


On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Joel Caulkins caulktel@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?
Farhan,

I breadboarded your Raduino to try it out, and I have to say I rather like it, however sometimes when I turn the pot all the way clockwise it won't go into the mode that counts up at a higher step rate. It will always work when rotating it down or counter clockwise. Do you have a idea why it does this? I have tried 3 different 10K pots with the same results. Is this a function of the 5V supply needing to be exactly 5V.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?
John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?
Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??

Thanks
John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 

Rotary encoder also contributed noise when touched, like AK47.
Good solution...

Rotary encoder has in built push button that can be used as step size, 1 Hz or 10 Mhz...

Carbon film Pot don't last long if not wire wound, Rotary encoders costs as little as Rs 70/-

'Repair & Reuse or Recycle E-Waste'


On Dec 27, 2016 10:07 AM, "Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20]" <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

At times, the noise contributes to this as well. Solder a 0.1uf capacitor across the pot's ground and wiper lugs.

- f

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:05 AM, Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@...> wrote:
It should work if you have derived the same power line as the Arduino's 5v line. in the function doTuning(..) there is a line that triggers the step up beyond 1010, you could reduce the 1010 to 950 and try it.

- f


On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Joel Caulkins caulktel@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Farhan,

I breadboarded your Raduino to try it out, and I have to say I rather like it, however sometimes when I turn the pot all the way clockwise it won't go into the mode that counts up at a higher step rate. It will always work when rotating it down or counter clockwise. Do you have a idea why it does this? I have tried 3 different 10K pots with the same results. Is this a function of the 5V supply needing to be exactly 5V.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?

John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 


On Dec 27, 2016 10:17 AM, "Sandeep Lohia" <sandeeplohia12@...> wrote:
>
> Rotary step size, 1 Hz or 10 Mhz...

& all digits in between...
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

I'm using the 5V supply from the Nano but they sometimes are lower like 4.7, so I thought that might affect the upper end. I have not measured it yet, I will do that tomorrow. I do have .1mfd cap soldered across ground and the wiper. If all else fails I will change the values in the Sketch. Thanks.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 8:35 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?

It should work if you have derived the same power line as the Arduino's 5v line. in the function doTuning(..) there is a line that triggers the step up beyond 1010, you could reduce the 1010 to 950 and try it.

- f


On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Joel Caulkins caulktel@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Farhan,

I breadboarded your Raduino to try it out, and I have to say I rather like it, however sometimes when I turn the pot all the way clockwise it won't go into the mode that counts up at a higher step rate. It will always work when rotating it down or counter clockwise. Do you have a idea why it does this? I have tried 3 different 10K pots with the same results. Is this a function of the 5V supply needing to be exactly 5V.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?

John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý



Sent from an iPhone, don't ask whose.

On Dec 26, 2016, at 8:58 PM, Joel Caulkins caulktel@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:


When the ADC is set to 5V full scale the reference is the 5V ADC supply line so it is ratiometric, meaning the ADC reading (in this case) is independent of the absolute supply voltage (noise is another matter).?
?

I'm using the 5V supply from the Nano but they sometimes are lower like 4.7, so I thought that might affect the upper end. I have not measured it yet, I will do that tomorrow. I do have .1mfd cap soldered across ground and the wiper. If all else fails I will change the values in the Sketch. Thanks.
_,___
John
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Hello All, I have been watching all the posts over the last few weeks regarding the VFO/DDS question for the Bitx40, Let me say that I got one of the earlier Bitx40's and immediately converted it to run on a N3ZI DDS which I had from a previous project, and may I say here that the Bitx40 is a fantastic little rig, and I have had many happy QSO's using it, the receiver compares very favorably with some of the Yaesu and Kenwood units I have in the shack.

Now back to the DDS question !! Some of you may remember the MINIMA transceiver that Farhan designed, well for that project he designed a separate DDS pcb using an Si570 and ATMEGA328P with Arduino software, it used a 10K pot for tuning.?

A small group was testing out the unit together, and WA0UWH Eldon Brown designed a sketch which eventually resulted in a DDS which had everything, The tuning range can be altered from 1hz -1mhz by simply moving the Curson , for multiband operation the band (IF,s) can also be changed with an Up or Down button, and it was eventually designed to also change the Lowpass filters in the output automatically as the band was changed.

May I respectfully ask Farhan to have another look at his Minima DDS and using Eldon's Sketch would give everything that I have seen asked for on the group;

Eldon Brown WA0UWH blog can be found at

After all why are we trying to re-invent the wheel!!!!

73

Happy New Year to you all

John

mi0dfg





On 27/12/16 04:37, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] wrote:

?
At times, the noise contributes to this as well. Solder a 0.1uf capacitor across the pot's ground and wiper lugs.

- f

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:05 AM, Ashhar Farhan <farhanbox@...> wrote:
It should work if you have derived the same power line as the Arduino's 5v line. in the function doTuning(..) there is a line that triggers the step up beyond 1010, you could reduce the 1010 to 950 and try it.

- f


On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Joel Caulkins caulktel@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?
Farhan,

I breadboarded your Raduino to try it out, and I have to say I rather like it, however sometimes when I turn the pot all the way clockwise it won't go into the mode that counts up at a higher step rate. It will always work when rotating it down or counter clockwise. Do you have a idea why it does this? I have tried 3 different 10K pots with the same results. Is this a function of the 5V supply needing to be exactly 5V.

Joel Caulkins
KB6QVI

On Dec 26, 2016, at 6:44 PM, Ashhar Farhan farhanbox@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:

?
John,

the step size is 50 Hz as shipped. the tuninng is not by a rotary encoder. it is with a potentiometer. here is how it works:

- The tuning pot is connected to the ground and 5v lines. The middle wiper is connected to the analog input of the Arduino.
- The Arduino can read the setting of the pot as 0 to 1024.
- This corresponds to a range of 1024 x 50 Hz, approximately 50 KHz or range.
- When the pot is turned fully to the left, (the analog port reads less than 10), the frequency starts ticking down in steps of 10 Khz at about five times second
- When the pot is turned fully to the right, (the analog port reads more than 1010), the frequency starts ticking up in steps of 10 Khz at a similar rate

Why was this done??
- The pot gives you 1000 distinct 'steps' in its range, a low cost rotary encoder can give you not more than 96 (24 steps x 4 phases).?
- Pots are in everybody's junkbox, it was cool to explore a new way of tuning
- It is surprisingly easy to use. I no longer have to keep spinning the tuning wheel to get from one end of the band to another

There is a Easter egg with a 'function button' in the Raduino code. If you can wire up an additional push button, you can get dual VFOs. If you can wire up an additional transistor, you can get RIT (receiver incremental tuning).?

- f

As there is a full Arduino Nano on-board, you can reprogram it to anything you like

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 7:57 AM, jjack718@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Can anyone tell me what the tuning step size is for the SI5351 / Radunio version of the radio??? Any info on the DDS noise pedestal - - does the audio sound as clean as the analog VFO version or does it get that 'grainy digital' sound??


Thanks

John ?N9BTM / YN8BTM



 

Anybody having trouble with noisy pots on their Bitx?

I'm happy with the volume controls on the consumer gear I have, I assume they are all carbon. ?Though after years of use, they can get scratchy, that would happen much faster in a marine environment. ?Using a pot for frequency control would be a severe test for "scratchyness". ?A wirewound pot can cost almost as much as the whole kit currently does, not an option. ?A good encoder could be more robust, though you will spend a lot of time spinning that little knob. ?

Here's another possibility: ?A three position momentary paddle switch, center off, left to go down in freq at a rate of about two ticks per second, and right to go up. ?A second momentary paddle switch for the other hand allows you to cycle up and down through a list of ?1,10,100,1000,10000,100000 Hz per tick, and possibly BandSelect. ?If you already have the first switch closed and then also close the second switch, that two tick per second rate is adjusted to be faster or slower. ?A scheme like this seems far less likely of giving me carpal tunnel syndrome than an encoder.

That's what's nice about this rig. ?Getting around something like noisy pot issues will be a matter of hacking up a Raduino sketch and some junkbox parts.

Jerry, KE7ER
?
?
---In BITX20@..., <sandeeplohia12@...> wrote :?

Carbon film Pot don't last long if not wire wound, Rotary encoders costs as little as Rs 70/-?
 

On Dec 27, 2016 4:27 AM, "John jstoole@... [BITX20]" wrote:

>> . . . why are we trying to re-invent the wheel!!!!<<

Because the fun is in the inventing, not just owning, the wheel. ;-).

73,

Todd K7TFC

 

Jerry

I had switched my vfo to a DDS, so I have no experience with the pot as an encoder.

I did find my volume very scratchy and switched to a new audio taper pot.

73

Ken VA3ABN

On Tue, Dec 27, 2016 at 11:14 AM, jgaffke@... [BITX20] <BITX20@...> wrote:
?

Anybody having trouble with noisy pots on their Bitx?

I'm happy with the volume controls on the consumer gear I have, I assume they are all carbon. ?Though after years of use, they can get scratchy, that would happen much faster in a marine environment.? Using a pot for frequency control would be a severe test for "scratchyness". ?A wirewound pot can cost almost as much as the whole kit currently does, not an option. ?A good encoder could be more robust, though you will spend a lot of time spinning that little knob. ?

Here's another possibility: ?A three position momentary paddle switch, center off, left to go down in freq at a rate of about two ticks per second, and right to go up.? A second momentary paddle switch for the other hand allows you to cycle up and down through a list of ?1,10,100,1000,10000,100000 Hz per tick, and possibly BandSelect.? If you already have the first switch closed and then also close the second switch, that two tick per second rate is adjusted to be faster or slower.? A scheme like this seems far less likely of giving me carpal tunnel syndrome than an encoder.

That's what's nice about this rig.? Getting around something like noisy pot issues will be a matter of hacking up a Raduino sketch and some junkbox parts.

Jerry, KE7ER
?
?
---In BITX20@..., wrote :?

Carbon film Pot don't last long if not wire wound, Rotary encoders costs as little as Rs 70/-?
Jack Purdum
 

Jerry:

See my earlier post (19785Re: [BITX20] tuning step size) on the 26th about using the spin rate of the encoder?
shaft to automatically change the increment step.

Jack, W8TEE


From: "jgaffke@... [BITX20]"
To: BITX20@...
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2016 11:14 AM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] tuning step size for the SI5351 / Radunio version

?
Anybody having trouble with noisy pots on their Bitx?

I'm happy with the volume controls on the consumer gear I have, I assume they are all carbon. ?Though after years of use, they can get scratchy, that would happen much faster in a marine environment. ?Using a pot for frequency control would be a severe test for "scratchyness". ?A wirewound pot can cost almost as much as the whole kit currently does, not an option. ?A good encoder could be more robust, though you will spend a lot of time spinning that little knob. ?

Here's another possibility: ?A three position momentary paddle switch, center off, left to go down in freq at a rate of about two ticks per second, and right to go up. ?A second momentary paddle switch for the other hand allows you to cycle up and down through a list of ?1,10,100,1000,10000,100000 Hz per tick, and possibly BandSelect. ?If you already have the first switch closed and then also close the second switch, that two tick per second rate is adjusted to be faster or slower. ?A scheme like this seems far less likely of giving me carpal tunnel syndrome than an encoder.

That's what's nice about this rig. ?Getting around something like noisy pot issues will be a matter of hacking up a Raduino sketch and some junkbox parts.

Jerry, KE7ER
?
?
---In BITX20@..., wrote :?
Carbon film Pot don't last long if not wire wound, Rotary encoders costs as little as Rs 70/-?
 


The encoder with variable increment step could be made to work well.
On the other hand, I have a Tecsun consumer radio that does that and it annoys me no end
how it more or less arbitrarily flips between fast and slow tuning rates.
Might be a matter of whacking at the algorithm that flips between fast and slow.
And might be a matter of personal preference. ?
Unfortunately, the Tecsun does not have a USB port into an Arduino.

Me, I think I'll go for minimum hand motions to get the desired result.
And I think the two switch scheme is getting close.
Moving my hands side-to-side at the wrist seems more natural than up-down,
and quite a bit better than having to turn something.
Will be fun to try various schemes.

Jerry, KE7ER


---In BITX20@..., <econjack@...> wrote :
?(19785Re: [BITX20] tuning step size) on the 26th about using the spin rate of the encoder?
shaft to automatically change the increment step.
??
 

Ha haa, that's true Todd :D
Pardon, bit off topic ;)

Jerry, I used kind of this :?

For this :?

( can be used for BITX 40, firmware is already for 12 MHz IF, & AD9833 from Analogue Device ;)

but unfortunately did not find spring loaded ( so called paddel ) in my city, which will come to off position automatically...

'Repair & Reuse or Recycle E-Waste'
Jack Purdum
 

It could definitely be annoying if the tuning rate isn't set to your preferences. I used symbolic constants (e.g., #define INCREMENT) to set the increment and the time delay in the code before the fast tune kicked in. Using symbolic constants makes it easy to experiment until you find a combo that works for you. I messed around with these two constants until I found a rate that seemed "natural" to me. Now I wish my other rigs had it!

Peter Parker (VK3YE) has a YouTube video where he used an approach similar to yours to add capacitance into the circuit to alter the range that the VXO covered.

Jcak, W8TEE


From: "jgaffke@... [BITX20]"
To: BITX20@...
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2016 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] tuning step size for the SI5351 / Radunio version

?

The encoder with variable increment step could be made to work well.
On the other hand, I have a Tecsun consumer radio that does that and it annoys me no end
how it more or less arbitrarily flips between fast and slow tuning rates.
Might be a matter of whacking at the algorithm that flips between fast and slow.
And might be a matter of personal preference. ?
Unfortunately, the Tecsun does not have a USB port into an Arduino.

Me, I think I'll go for minimum hand motions to get the desired result.
And I think the two switch scheme is getting close.
Moving my hands side-to-side at the wrist seems more natural than up-down,
and quite a bit better than having to turn something.
Will be fun to try various schemes.

Jerry, KE7ER


---In BITX20@..., wrote :
?(19785Re: [BITX20] tuning step size) on the 26th about using the spin rate of the encoder?
shaft to automatically change the increment step.
??

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