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intermittent power output
Rock Dubois
My X5105 was working fine but suddenly started randomly dropping its power output to below one watt . Some time it would work
for over an hour with no problem sometime failed after a few minutes.Running the ATU would mostly make it fail or come back. Being out of warranty I was out of luck. When I finally had some free time I decided to open the radio in search of a bad contact. While unscrewing the back panel it felt weird on the screws. After removing the panel I found out that 2 of the 4 brass standoffs were still on the back panel while the two others were on the PCB. All 4 were loose. I removed the two from the back panel and secured them on the PCB and tied the two other ones. At this time I did power up the radio with the intend to search for a bad contact but the radio was now working and running the ATU it continued to work.I did reinstall the panel and it has been working since then, over a month now, and didn't fail a single time. Xiegu uses the brass standoffs for the ground return between the PCBs. The standoffs being loose were making intermittent contacts. I thought I share this for the benefit of others who might have a similar problem. |
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Re: Memory battery???
开云体育I’m going to give it a another try before I order up a couple of those. But if I were making more than one custom cable those would be the way to go.Mike
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Re: Memory battery???
And an 8-pinBreakout Board-- with screw terminals at
I bought an 8 pin mini din 'patch' cable recently, to cut up for making an X5105 interface cable.? Haven't started yet, though. the CE-19 does 'break out' the AF in & AF out from the 8 pin minidin to a 1/8" stereo jack. Doug, K8RFT |
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Re: Memory battery???
开云体育I went through quite a fuss trying to get the signal names right on both the 5105 end and the WOLPHI box end. You cannot go by the naming conventions. “Output" can be a direction of information flow as from your fingers to the antenna or it can be the output from a specific module in either direction of information flow. Without a schematic it can require some critical thinking. Sometimes I’m good at that. Other times . . .It is necessary to make a diagram with arrows to indicate the direction of data flow and then, as I have discovered, you can still screw up or think you have screwed up. With multiple points in the whole setup to make level adjustments it can still be problematic. I wish that Wolf had ready made cables available for the 5105. I’d buy one in a heart beat. I’m not proud! Also, a sure route to substance abuse is trying to hold two mini DIN connectors in your hand while, at the same time trying to poke at individual pins with an ohm meter probe. The cat won’t come back in the shack for a while. If I continue having to fuss with these stinking little things I’m going to buy some six pin and eight pin jacks and make a couple of breakout boxes. That said, the android solution has a lot going for it for portable operation. Cheap, small and, so far, with useful software. I can do PSK, WeFax. and SSTV for a few dollars worth of software and an el cheapo phone. Given the screen area limitations, android phone software will always be less friendly than a full screen PC. No free lunch. Compared to my friends going nuts getting their Raspberry stuff to even run, I cannot complain. Forget that. Of course I’ll complain! I’ll be interested to see how you like your headset. I’ve gotten away from blue tooth things in the shack such as my keyboard and mouse. The batteries, whether rechargeable or replaceable, always seems to go flat at an awkward time. And on a Mac, if you lose your mouse you are really limping. If you have a Mac mouse you’re limping anyway. Horrid things. Mike, K7ITL
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Re: Memory battery???
On Fri, Jan 1, 2021 at 11:25 AM, Mike Colyar wrote:
I am going through some fussing trying to get an 8 pin to 6 pin cable wired right so that I can connect my WOLPHI android box to the 5105.I hope you'll post details of the adapter after you get it working right.? I'm hoping to do something very similar. Now, though, I'm getting a different project started.? I've ordered parts and bits to hopefully give me a bluetooth headset that will work with my X5105.? The one I ordered is made for use with the Baofeng UV-5R and similar HT's.? As well as the headset, I ordered adapter cables to cut up for making connections between radio and bluetooth device, including a CAT5 breakout connector for getting at the mic & PTT signals.? I intend to write that up - if I get it working!? I did make my own adapter and cable for running FT8 with my IC706, and it works pretty well.? There are lots of plans around for that project. ? -- Doug, K8RFT |
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Re: Memory battery???
开云体育Thanks for the info Doug. I suspected that uSoft might have grown unwieldy as a company. Certainly Apple has blown it any number of times. I won’t even go into my struggles with that weak sister MagSafe power connector. It is telling that my neighbor, who has loaned me this shiny new W10 machine also is offering to sell it to me for $100 as he is staying wth his W7 one. Hmm.I’m seriously considering a project to A: Teach myself Python and B: cobble together some cross platform software for my own use. I have a servo motor system on my astronomical telescope that must be programmed from an external PC. Right now the only software is Windows. And I’m going through very similar struggles with it. It seems that uSoft has teemed up with a supplier of USB to serial dongles to block the operation of pirate units. I didn’t know that and have gone through a week of hell thinking it was my doltishness with Windows (It still may be!). I’ll see about experimenting with terminal to radio communication with this cord. I have an IC-706 sitting here that I use for maritime mobile use and I think I have the cabling. I’m pretty sure that this DB-9 to 1/8” cable came with the 5105 though, as you mention, there was no wall wart. And MFJ did offer to upgrade my rig for free except for return shipping. I am going through some fussing trying to get an 8 pin to 6 pin cable wired right so that I can connect my WOLPHI android box to the 5105. For my grab and go box, using my android phone to do digital modes is a very attractive and compact solution. I’m doing it now with good technical success just using aural coupling. Holding the phone up to the mic or speaker as needed. Getting and sending good copy. It’s just physically inconvenient. i recommend checking out his suite of PSK, WeFax and SSTV software as well as hardware solutions. Communicating with him can be problematic as this stuff is a second job. Even this android combination is subject to mission creep as I’m tempted to take along my 10” tablet and then along comes my small folding blue tooth keyboard and pretty soon the whole shack! Must be on guard always! As an economic issue, the el cheapo outlet chain, Harbor Freight, has a clone of the Pelican box for a fraction of the cost. I’m sure there are tradeoffs but so far I’ve had no dust or moisture intrusion. Comparing their Apache cases with Equivalent Pelican one is startling as the price is one third as much. Happy New year to all. It's blowing half of a gale and raining up here in the San Juan islands. Mike
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Re: Memory battery???
Doug,
As soon as I was forced to install Windoze 10 on my PC, the first thing I did was to install a litle bit of software called 'WUB' - "Windows Update Blocker". Set it to permanently block Microsoft's "fixes" Still running well after two years. I wish I had also blocked Firefox updates !! Dave KK7SS |
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Re: Memory battery???
On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 02:45 PM, Mike Colyar wrote:
I have a cord with a DB-9 on on end and a 1/8” (~3.5mm) plug on the other end. One gets the impression that this was how one updates the firmware.Oops!!? I'd forgotten about this part of your posts. Xiegu's update cable is USB to 1/8 in. serial.? It's not likely that your cable came with your radio, and MFJ's catalog doesn't list the cable being included.? In fact, it didn't even come with a charger, or charger cable.? Check your your DB9 cable with an ohmmeter and see if it's not just straight wires.? You must have the correct signal voltage level, and it could be either 5v or 3.3v.? There are cheap little USB-to-serial modules on Amazon and ebay, and some have a jumper to set the voltage.? I've used one for making the CIV cable for my IC-706.? It gives me the serial data line and the PTT signal.? The price was around $6, certainly under $10.? Or be safe and get the CE-19 for about $35.? Then you get a few extra features, too.? And you could use your Mac, with a terminal program, for the firmware update.? No need for a borrowed PC with horrible OS. ? -- Doug, K8RFT |
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Re: Memory battery???
On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 02:45 PM, Mike Colyar wrote:
My gripe with windoz is a reasonable one since my recent struggles have revealed to me that it is an antique and awkward pile of patches built on sand. It’s been like opening the hood on a new luxury sedan and finding therein a Tuktuk from the streets of Bombay. I counted the number of steps just to get down to seeing what Com port is purportedly in use and it is somewhere approaching ten. Do you know that all of the tutorials online refer to a Start button?I was very recently forced to "upgrade" from Windows Vista to Windows 10 (old machine's video output system failed).? It's horrible!? And various troubles and investigations have proven to me what I've said for a long time = Microsoft realizes fully that they do not know what they are doing, and completely change things every time they run out of patches to make to the then-current system.? Over and over, changes, changes, changes.? And absolutely no instructions or documentation. The start button is also (or now) called the "Windows" button, and on my new laptop has 4 small squares in a square pattern - no letters or numbers.? Near the lower left corner of the keyboard. Windows 10 has had more than one complete revision, with major internal changes.? I have an older WIn10 laptop with a 2019 version of W10 that has no problem accessing files on a Windows 7 server I have set up.? The new version on my new (this month) HP Spectre laptop absolutely cannot even perform that basic function. So, for your confidence, I suggest again that you try connecting your cable to your X5105 and just communicate with it using a logging program or WSJT-X or maybe some other software that can just "read" from the rig.? Without wriing anything to it and not erasing anything.? I remember having found an older program that would read (and write) the frequency/channel storage memories in my IC-706, but that's on the unusable laptop, so I can't check its name for you.? Or is there an unstated reason you'd prefer not to try safer software first?? Without erasing firmware? As far as an alternative to Windows, which I was hoping for when I set up the file storage server I keep in my basement, first I tried Linux.? But the learning curve was worse than Windows, and most of the software I thought sounded helpful had to be custom built/compiled for each installation.? It was just too much for me to take on, so I gave up and used Windows. -- Way off topic -- I was lucky that server is a Dell.? It's Windows registration is in firmware/BIOS storage on the motherboard, so the total failure of the hard drive, which would have lost the Windows registration codes, did not require a totally new O.S. after all.? The "Repair DIsk" was able to install Win7 on a totally new 2GB drive and the unit is working fine.? Except with Windows 10, version 20H2, Nov. 2020. ? Good luck with your firmware update!? It does sound like you really need it, and there have been many changes, improvements and fixes since the first version. You could also ask one of the 2 current USA Xiegu dealers if they would consider doing the update for you.? One importer is Radioddity, in New York, but I forget the other.? He has been mentioned and recommended in this Group, though. -- Doug, K8RFT |
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Re: Memory battery???
开云体育David, Mike
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Re: Memory battery???
I hostly don’t remember. I thought it came with the radio from MFJ. Like at least a year ago or more.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Mike On Dec 31, 2020, at 2:16 PM, Brian <k0fbs73@...> wrote: |
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Re: Memory battery???
Things Evolve?over time (except for the Apple mouse!) Just try tapping the "Windoze" button to the left of the Alt key (on most keyboards) Lots of Win 10 help on Youtube ! Dave G. KK7SS On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 11:56 AM Mike Colyar <mike@...> wrote:
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Re: Memory battery???
开云体育And then? Do you mean the icon that looks like four colored squares? Odd that it should be called Start.This is a laptop running Windows 10. Have things changed a lot? Thanks, Mike
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Re: Memory battery???
开云体育On the right side of the 5105 just above the Mic jack is a 3.5mm jack labelled COM. I have a cord with a DB-9 on on end and a 1/8” (~3.5mm) plug on the other end. One gets the impression that this was how one updates the firmware.I know that the correct implementation of RS-232 is + and - 12v but in this application I am using the word to mean serial communication that is not USB. Since my apprehension is that my USB to DB-9 (232?) adapter/converter might be a problem, I’m reluctant to erase my 5105's flash memory until I know that my hardware is functional. I can retry and retry flashing the firmware with no improvement in the results if the stinking chinese converter dongle is no good. I want to test it in a safe way. I’m pretty sure that I WILL brick the rig if I erase the flash memory and cannot reburn it with something. My gripe with windoz is a reasonable one since my recent struggles have revealed to me that it is an antique and awkward pile of patches built on sand. It’s been like opening the hood on a new luxury sedan and finding therein a Tuktuk from the streets of Bombay. I counted the number of steps just to get down to seeing what Com port is purportedly in use and it is somewhere approaching ten. Do you know that all of the tutorials online refer to a Start button? And on this machine there is no start button? Do they perhaps mean the power key in the upper right conner of the keyboard? Or something that they imagine is on the screen? This sad. It’s like being told that when your car won’t start that you should drive it to the dealer. Not helpful. I hope that I will eventually be able to translate the available instructions and tutorials from their present Pigeon Norwegian to something approaching english. Then peace and light will descend on this forum and I’ll stop ranting and bugging all of you. Thanks to all, Mike On Dec 31, 2020, at 11:02 AM, DougVL <K8RFTradio@...> wrote:
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Re: Memory battery???
On Wed, Dec 30, 2020 at 11:58 AM, Mike Colyar wrote:
Hell, the guy I borrowed this Windows machine fromMaybe he can help!? Or is there a ham radio club around?? Help could be available there. Do you mean " USB to RS232 1/8” jack cord " literally?? The "RS232" part?? Actual RS232 signals are + & - 12 volts. It's not likely that the IC module in the cable would be for the old 12V system.? Check its specifications. ? -- Doug, K8RFT |
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Re: Memory battery???
On Wed, Dec 30, 2020 at 11:58 AM, Mike Colyar wrote:
Is there a way to try interrogating the 5105 from a terminal program to check functionality? CAT stuff?Well, yes.? But "it depends" - the X5105 can be controlled by programs like WSJT-X, and communciate with logging programs (I use HRD).? It uses the same 'protocol' as Icom IC-706, 7000, etc.? If you have a suitable Apple program, that should work.? I've never checked, but there's likely to be information about the protocol online, and there would likely be simple commands like 'read' a location, and 'store' or 'write' to another location, done with a terminal program. Is there software now for Macs to control radios? I know you've already bought the usb-serial cable.? Otherwise I would suggest getting the Xiegu CE-19 kit - it comes with a USB-serial cable.? USB-serial cables come in 3 'flavors' - 3.3 V, 5 V. and (old) +/- 12 V.? Modern radios seem to use the 5 V. CAT signals. Here's a link to Radioddity's instructions for updating the G90, which I think uses the same method as the X5105 - check on that!? Radioddity has been well-rated for support, and would likely help.? (And may already have an article like this for the X5105!)? Use this link as an example, not as actual instructions for you.? As you'll see, all you need is a terminal program.? You shouldn't need a different O.S. machine. There are numerous youtube videos about the process as well.? Look before you leap, then leap with confidence. ? -- Doug, K8RFT |
David KK7SS
Brian Smith
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