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Hi folks,
Helping a local ham club (W1BST) troubleshoot their weather station (Peet Brothers Ultimeter 100) hooked to the Byonics MTT4BT. We noticed erratic operation, but programmability is fine. Upon further inspection we found a burned diode. It's labeled D6 on the silk screen, and according to the schematic in the manual (very hard to read/low resolution), I think it feeds the 12 V regulator U6, which I can't find, unless it's under the microassembly near U5, which is labeled. The PCB diagram in the manual is no help, no reference designators and it appears to be the wrong board, or an earlier version.?
Anyway, if I'm reading the manual schematic correctly, I believe D6 and D7 are there to protect from reverse polarity being applied to the inputs, not sure what else.
The failure mode? The unit worked well for over a year. The club recently rewired the shack and was chasing ground loops in the station. At some point in the process we noticed that the MTT4BT only powered up when the unit was grounded through the antenna, whatever that means! Then we noticed the burned diode.
Now my questions:
1. Is there a service contact for these boards? What are the arrangements, costs etc?
2. I see the Byonics web site says they are out of stock on these boards. Is there a similar replacement?
3. Where does one procure SMT diodes? And what would I specify? What is the part number? Are they available from Byonics?
In any case, please confirm that this is a reverse protection diode and could be jumpered out. Also, a good schematic would be helpful.
Thanks all. I've really enjoyed getting to know APRS and this application and look forward to a solution.
Ralph Simons
KC1RWK
|
Ralph,
There are lots of diodes in an MTT4BT. Two of them are Schottky polarity protection diodes, including D6. If D6 was burned out, the unit would not have power to the amplifier section, and would have virtually no power output during transmissions. If Diode D6 looks like it has been toasted, it is because the transmitter latched on for an extended period. This is generally due to high SWR causing the unit to lock up. If you have the higher power MTT4BT, the MTT4BT-40, a toasted diode is more likely. If you would like to send me your mailing address offline ( allen@...) I will be happy to send you a bunch of diodes, but it would probably be best for you to send me your unit to test and evaluate.
Yes, we have dropped the MTT4BT and its big brother, the MTT4BT-40. This is due to severe parts shortages, apparently caused by some kind of bug allegedly going around. Or maybe global warming...or bugs...I can't keep it straight anymore. FYI,? there is no 12 Volt Regulator in the MTT4BT, but if you send me your email address, I can probably dig up a clearer copy of the schematic for you. Sadly, what I know about operating a Peet Brothers Wx Station with a TT4-based product can safely be written on a matchbook with a crayon.
73,
Allen AF6OF
-----Original Message-----
From: Ralph Simons <ralph@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Fri, Jan 20, 2023 2:39 pm
Subject: [TinyTrak] Service advice for MTT4BT PCB version 1.8
Hi folks,
Helping a local ham club (W1BST) troubleshoot their weather station (Peet Brothers Ultimeter 100) hooked to the Byonics MTT4BT. We noticed erratic operation, but programmability is fine. Upon further inspection we found a burned diode. It's labeled D6 on the silk screen, and according to the schematic in the manual (very hard to read/low resolution), I think it feeds the 12 V regulator U6, which I can't find, unless it's under the microassembly near U5, which is labeled. The PCB diagram in the manual is no help, no reference designators and it appears to be the wrong board, or an earlier version.?
Anyway, if I'm reading the manual schematic correctly, I believe D6 and D7 are there to protect from reverse polarity being applied to the inputs, not sure what else.
The failure mode? The unit worked well for over a year. The club recently rewired the shack and was chasing ground loops in the station. At some point in the process we noticed that the MTT4BT only powered up when the unit was grounded through the antenna, whatever that means! Then we noticed the burned diode.
Now my questions:
1. Is there a service contact for these boards? What are the arrangements, costs etc?
2. I see the Byonics web site says they are out of stock on these boards. Is there a similar replacement?
3. Where does one procure SMT diodes? And what would I specify? What is the part number? Are they available from Byonics?
In any case, please confirm that this is a reverse protection diode and could be jumpered out. Also, a good schematic would be helpful.
Thanks all. I've really enjoyed getting to know APRS and this application and look forward to a solution.
Ralph Simons
KC1RWK
|
I feel like I have a collectors item now!!
scat?
kelly
|
That right there is Excellent Customer Service¡
Well done Allen¡Well Done!!
73, Danny NF4J?
Sent using the mobile mail app
On 1/20/23 at 6:39 PM, vhsproducts via groups.io wrote:
From: "vhsproducts via groups.io" <vhsproducts@...> Date: January 20, 2023 To: "ralph@..." <ralph@...>, " [email protected]" < [email protected]> Cc: Subject: Re: [TinyTrak] Service advice for MTT4BT PCB version 1.8
Ralph,
There are lots of diodes in an MTT4BT. Two of them are Schottky polarity protection diodes, including D6. If D6 was burned out, the unit would not have power to the amplifier section, and would have virtually no power output during transmissions. If Diode D6 looks like it has been toasted, it is because the transmitter latched on for an extended period. This is generally due to high SWR causing the unit to lock up. If you have the higher power MTT4BT, the MTT4BT-40, a toasted diode is more likely. If you would like to send me your mailing address offline ( allen@...) I will be happy to send you a bunch of diodes, but it would probably be best for you to send me your unit to test and evaluate.
Yes, we have dropped the MTT4BT and its big brother, the MTT4BT-40. This is due to severe parts shortages, apparently caused by some kind of bug allegedly going around. Or maybe global warming...or bugs...I can't keep it straight anymore. FYI,? there is no 12 Volt Regulator in the MTT4BT, but if you send me your email address, I can probably dig up a clearer copy of the schematic for you. Sadly, what I know about operating a Peet Brothers Wx Station with a TT4-based product can safely be written on a matchbook with a crayon.
73,
Allen AF6OF
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-----Original Message-----
From: Ralph Simons <ralph@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Fri, Jan 20, 2023 2:39 pm
Subject: [TinyTrak] Service advice for MTT4BT PCB version 1.8
Hi folks,
Helping a local ham club (W1BST) troubleshoot their weather station (Peet Brothers Ultimeter 100) hooked to the Byonics MTT4BT. We noticed erratic operation, but programmability is fine. Upon further inspection we found a burned diode. It's labeled D6 on the silk screen, and according to the schematic in the manual (very hard to read/low resolution), I think it feeds the 12 V regulator U6, which I can't find, unless it's under the microassembly near U5, which is labeled. The PCB diagram in the manual is no help, no reference designators and it appears to be the wrong board, or an earlier version.?
Anyway, if I'm reading the manual schematic correctly, I believe D6 and D7 are there to protect from reverse polarity being applied to the inputs, not sure what else.
The failure mode? The unit worked well for over a year. The club recently rewired the shack and was chasing ground loops in the station. At some point in the process we noticed that the MTT4BT only powered up when the unit was grounded through the antenna, whatever that means! Then we noticed the burned diode.
Now my questions:
1. Is there a service contact for these boards? What are the arrangements, costs etc?
2. I see the Byonics web site says they are out of stock on these boards. Is there a similar replacement?
3. Where does one procure SMT diodes? And what would I specify? What is the part number? Are they available from Byonics?
In any case, please confirm that this is a reverse protection diode and could be jumpered out. Also, a good schematic would be helpful.
Thanks all. I've really enjoyed getting to know APRS and this application and look forward to a solution.
Ralph Simons
KC1RWK
|
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Fri, Jan 20, 2023 at 4:54 PM Danny Bush < NF4J@...> wrote:
That right there is Excellent Customer Service¡
Well done Allen¡Well Done!!
73, Danny NF4J?
Sent using the mobile mail app
On 1/20/23 at 6:39 PM, vhsproducts via wrote:
Ralph,
There are lots of diodes in an MTT4BT. Two of them are Schottky polarity protection diodes, including D6. If D6 was burned out, the unit would not have power to the amplifier section, and would have virtually no power output during transmissions. If Diode D6 looks like it has been toasted, it is because the transmitter latched on for an extended period. This is generally due to high SWR causing the unit to lock up. If you have the higher power MTT4BT, the MTT4BT-40, a toasted diode is more likely. If you would like to send me your mailing address offline ( allen@...) I will be happy to send you a bunch of diodes, but it would probably be best for you to send me your unit to test and evaluate.
Yes, we have dropped the MTT4BT and its big brother, the MTT4BT-40. This is due to severe parts shortages, apparently caused by some kind of bug allegedly going around. Or maybe global warming...or bugs...I can't keep it straight anymore. FYI,? there is no 12 Volt Regulator in the MTT4BT, but if you send me your email address, I can probably dig up a clearer copy of the schematic for you. Sadly, what I know about operating a Peet Brothers Wx Station with a TT4-based product can safely be written on a matchbook with a crayon.
73,
Allen AF6OF
-----Original Message-----
From: Ralph Simons < ralph@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Fri, Jan 20, 2023 2:39 pm
Subject: [TinyTrak] Service advice for MTT4BT PCB version 1.8
Hi folks,
Helping a local ham club (W1BST) troubleshoot their weather station (Peet Brothers Ultimeter 100) hooked to the Byonics MTT4BT. We noticed erratic operation, but programmability is fine. Upon further inspection we found a burned diode. It's labeled D6 on the silk screen, and according to the schematic in the manual (very hard to read/low resolution), I think it feeds the 12 V regulator U6, which I can't find, unless it's under the microassembly near U5, which is labeled. The PCB diagram in the manual is no help, no reference designators and it appears to be the wrong board, or an earlier version.?
Anyway, if I'm reading the manual schematic correctly, I believe D6 and D7 are there to protect from reverse polarity being applied to the inputs, not sure what else.
The failure mode? The unit worked well for over a year. The club recently rewired the shack and was chasing ground loops in the station. At some point in the process we noticed that the MTT4BT only powered up when the unit was grounded through the antenna, whatever that means! Then we noticed the burned diode.
Now my questions:
1. Is there a service contact for these boards? What are the arrangements, costs etc?
2. I see the Byonics web site says they are out of stock on these boards. Is there a similar replacement?
3. Where does one procure SMT diodes? And what would I specify? What is the part number? Are they available from Byonics?
In any case, please confirm that this is a reverse protection diode and could be jumpered out. Also, a good schematic would be helpful.
Thanks all. I've really enjoyed getting to know APRS and this application and look forward to a solution.
Ralph Simons
KC1RWK
|
Wow, fantastic response. I was afraid I might be entering a black hole. And thanks,?Kelly K7MHI, for the up-to-date and very clear schematic! Wow, that was a pleasure to read after reading the one in the manual. Allen AF6OF, thanks so much for your thoughts. Re "high SWR", the unit may have been turned on without the antenna connected, which you specifically speak to in the manual -- before my time. I've had the pleasure last night of interacting with the unit via bluetooth, and since D6 is removed (I removed the charred remains), there was no danger of running the output power at the rated 8 watts. It had enough power to be received by my nearby HT and be decoded by direwolf. I was able to report/transmit weather (no weather input), beacon, telemetry, and position/TSTAT. Beyond that, I don't know if the RS232 is really working (I guess Port A is working since it's receiving/displaying data via the bluetooth hookup. We do have a null? modem, F/F cable and a USB/RS232-male cable (not Byonics) but I haven't tried that on Port B yet. The weather station gets hooked up to Port B, I believe, but I'll take care of that. I think we just set port B to text mode (BMODE TEXT) to receive one of modes from the weather station and the MTT4BT retransmits it, where it eventually gets translated/posted by aprs.fi. APRS.FI doesn't seem to like it when port B (BMODE) is set to PEET. This weather station was procured Jan 2021 so it's recent.? But forget the weather, back to the Micro-Trak ...
All this to say, yes, I'd prefer to have you check it out ("test and evaluate"), but I'd appreciate a cost estimate and estimated turn around, if possible, so I can get authorization from the club leadership. I'll be happy to send you my address/contact info via allen@.... Thanks all for your help! Ralph Simons KC1RWK
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If it worked before it should work again anyway?
I re-did the manual and detailed out the port a and b a little. Might be a good read??
The equipment ultimately was not stable or quality enough for me to use and I went to a digirig and direwolf 100% more functional and useful outside of aprs as well. 1/4 the cost of this end of life gear.?
anyway direwolf is better documented and supported as well.?
there is a link for Davis and Direwolf and unlike the support here where ¡°I don¡¯t have the foggiest how this works¡± lots of people enjoy helping with direwolf ?
kelly?
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All's well that ends well. Our MTT4BT is chirping away again nicely at W1BST repeater tower in Ossipee, NH (You can see the weather data on aprs.fi if you filter on our call). It needed a new D6 and a MAX232 interface chip. Allen Lord ( vhsproducts@..., allen@...) was very helpful -- multiple email exchanges with lots of good info on the product AND interfacing to the Peet Ultimeter 100 weather station, spare parts, quick turn around and testing, and Priority Mail. Thanks so much, Allen! I'm enjoying this romance with APRS, a new (to me) technology which is in fact an very mature technology -- just like me, so we're compatible. Ralph Simons KC1RWK
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Danny NF4J