|
I finished the SoftRock last night and I plugged it in to one of my
USB hubs...no green light from the LED. I put it back on the bench and
verified everything and all looked ok. After messing with it for a while and
still not getting a green LED from my USB hub, I decided to plug it in to
the USB on the back of the computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB hub
doesn't put out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that the
5 volts daisy chained from device to device.
So, it lit up, but I am not receiving anything. The latest binary
was acting really weird on my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
unzipped the binary's from August in to the SDR install. It appears to work
ok now, I think. I have no way of verifying that. All I get is a little
background noise (I got this before though) and a solid S-9 carrier at
7.056, but this is ALL I ever got from the software whenever I would start
it up with NO hardware. So, I hope this is making sense, the SR-40 is either
not working properly, or the software is not working.
I can play the canned .wav files and that works, but nothing from
the SR-40. Made sure my LINE-IN port on the soundcard was selected, and
checked that the volume was up sufficiently. I don't know what else to
check, or how to check it. I am electronically challenged, sorry guys. Plus
it is hard to get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have a 5 volt
power supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5 volt regulator
on the SR-40.
Can someone tell me where to start? And what about the S-9 carrier
at 7.056?? Is that supposed to be there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
but I'm not getting anything to the software.
Thanks,
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N 4216
|
Hi Stan,
the S9 carrier at 7.056 is normal (even without the device powered).
If you have a scope you can should check the clock signals that are shown on the schematic (QSD Timing Diagram) and also check that they are all getting to U5.
If you do not have a scope you could tune a receiver to the 28.224, 14.112 and 7.056 clock frequencies to check that they are being generated but you will not be able to check that they are getting to U5.
If the clocks are OK I would check the wiring of T1. I have 2 SoftRock40's and when I built the first one I did not get the wiring of T1 correct and all looked OK but no signals.
Hope that is of some help.
Regards,
John g0orx/n6lyt
Stan Rife wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I finished the SoftRock last night and I plugged it in to one of my
USB hubs...no green light from the LED. I put it back on the bench and
verified everything and all looked ok. After messing with it for a while and
still not getting a green LED from my USB hub, I decided to plug it in to
the USB on the back of the computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB hub
doesn't put out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that the
5 volts daisy chained from device to device.
So, it lit up, but I am not receiving anything. The latest binary
was acting really weird on my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
unzipped the binary's from August in to the SDR install. It appears to work
ok now, I think. I have no way of verifying that. All I get is a little
background noise (I got this before though) and a solid S-9 carrier at
7.056, but this is ALL I ever got from the software whenever I would start
it up with NO hardware. So, I hope this is making sense, the SR-40 is either
not working properly, or the software is not working.
I can play the canned .wav files and that works, but nothing from
the SR-40. Made sure my LINE-IN port on the soundcard was selected, and
checked that the volume was up sufficiently. I don't know what else to
check, or how to check it. I am electronically challenged, sorry guys. Plus
it is hard to get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have a 5 volt
power supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5 volt regulator
on the SR-40.
Can someone tell me where to start? And what about the S-9 carrier
at 7.056?? Is that supposed to be there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
but I'm not getting anything to the software.
Thanks,
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N 4216
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John,
??? I do not hear a carrier at any of those freqs. I double
checked my method by sniffing the XG1 and I hear it at 7.040. What level
would?the clock frequencies be at? I just have a peice of coax on my K2 and
holding it near the SR-40.?The XG1 was pretty loud, but that is a
50microvolt sig. I didn't check it at 1microvolt. I have a scope here, but am
not very well versed at using it. That is something I have been hoping to
rectify since I aquired it. Maybe this is my chance. Hi Hi
??? Do I need?exactly 5 volts to power the SR-40, or could
I use something like a 6 volt wall wart? That is the only way I am going to be
able to get this thing out on the bench where I can get to it.
?
?
Appreciate the help, John,
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Stan,
the S9
carrier at 7.056 is normal (even without the device powered).
If you
have a scope you can should check the clock signals that are
shown on the
schematic (QSD Timing Diagram) and also check that they are
all getting to
U5.
If you do not have a scope you could tune a receiver to the 28.224,
14.112 and 7.056 clock frequencies to check that they are being
generated but you will not be able to check that they are getting to
U5.
If the clocks are OK I would check the wiring of T1.? I have 2
SoftRock40's? and when I built the first one I did not get the wiring
of
T1 correct and all looked OK but no signals.
Hope that is of
some help.
Regards,
John?
g0orx/n6lyt
Stan Rife
wrote:
>?????? I finished the SoftRock
last night and I plugged it in to one of my
> USB hubs...no green light
from the LED. I put it back on the bench and
> verified everything and
all looked ok. After messing with it for a while and
> still not getting
a green LED from my USB hub, I decided to plug it in to
> the USB on the
back of the computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB hub
> doesn't
put out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that the
> 5
volts daisy chained from device to
device.
>?????? So, it lit up, but I am
not receiving anything. The latest binary
> was acting really weird on
my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
> unzipped the binary's
from August in to the SDR install. It appears to work
> ok now, I think.
I have no way of verifying that. All I get is a little
> background
noise (I got this before though) and a solid S-9 carrier at
> 7.056, but
this is ALL I ever got from the software whenever I would start
> it up
with NO hardware. So, I hope this is making sense, the SR-40 is either
>
not working properly, or the software is not
working.
>?????? I can play the canned
.wav files and that works, but nothing from
> the SR-40. Made sure my
LINE-IN port on the soundcard was selected, and
> checked that the
volume was up sufficiently. I don't know what else to
> check, or how to
check it. I am electronically challenged, sorry guys. Plus
> it is hard
to get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have a 5 volt
> power
supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5 volt regulator
>
on the SR-40.
>?????? Can someone tell me
where to start? And what about the S-9 carrier
> at 7.056?? Is that
supposed to be there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
> but I'm not
getting anything to the software.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
Stan Rife
> W5EWA
> Houston, TX
> K2 S/N 4216
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>???? *? Visit
your group "softrock40
>?????? <>"
on the web.
>???????
>???? *? To unsubscribe from this group, send
an email to:
>???????
softrock40-unsubscribe@...
>??????
>???????
>???? *? Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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|
??? I forgot to add that I rewound T1 last evening
thinking that might have been a problem. I wound the bifilar with green wire
this time, that I had left over from the K2 kit. I could identify the windings
MUCH better.
?
?
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Stan,
the S9
carrier at 7.056 is normal (even without the device powered).
If you
have a scope you can should check the clock signals that are
shown on the
schematic (QSD Timing Diagram) and also check that they are
all getting to
U5.
If you do not have a scope you could tune a receiver to the 28.224,
14.112 and 7.056 clock frequencies to check that they are being
generated but you will not be able to check that they are getting to
U5.
If the clocks are OK I would check the wiring of T1.? I have 2
SoftRock40's? and when I built the first one I did not get the wiring
of
T1 correct and all looked OK but no signals.
Hope that is of
some help.
Regards,
John?
g0orx/n6lyt
Stan Rife
wrote:
>?????? I finished the SoftRock
last night and I plugged it in to one of my
> USB hubs...no green light
from the LED. I put it back on the bench and
> verified everything and
all looked ok. After messing with it for a while and
> still not getting
a green LED from my USB hub, I decided to plug it in to
> the USB on the
back of the computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB hub
> doesn't
put out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that the
> 5
volts daisy chained from device to
device.
>?????? So, it lit up, but I am
not receiving anything. The latest binary
> was acting really weird on
my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
> unzipped the binary's
from August in to the SDR install. It appears to work
> ok now, I think.
I have no way of verifying that. All I get is a little
> background
noise (I got this before though) and a solid S-9 carrier at
> 7.056, but
this is ALL I ever got from the software whenever I would start
> it up
with NO hardware. So, I hope this is making sense, the SR-40 is either
>
not working properly, or the software is not
working.
>?????? I can play the canned
.wav files and that works, but nothing from
> the SR-40. Made sure my
LINE-IN port on the soundcard was selected, and
> checked that the
volume was up sufficiently. I don't know what else to
> check, or how to
check it. I am electronically challenged, sorry guys. Plus
> it is hard
to get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have a 5 volt
> power
supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5 volt regulator
>
on the SR-40.
>?????? Can someone tell me
where to start? And what about the S-9 carrier
> at 7.056?? Is that
supposed to be there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
> but I'm not
getting anything to the software.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
Stan Rife
> W5EWA
> Houston, TX
> K2 S/N 4216
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>???? *? Visit
your group "softrock40
>?????? <>"
on the web.
>???????
>???? *? To unsubscribe from this group, send
an email to:
>???????
softrock40-unsubscribe@...
>??????
>???????
>???? *? Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject
to the Yahoo! Terms of
>?????? Service
<>.
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
|
Computers can be quirky! Try using the microphone input on your computer
instead of the line input just be be sure thats not what its trying to get
input from. If you have a scope, feed a signal into the sr40 in its tuning
range and look at the audio output on the scope, you should see a nice sine
wave. Or if you have no scope, if you have a signal source near the 7056
frequency, you can just feed the audio out into an audio amplifier, the sr40
is basically a wideband direct conversion receiver. If no output that way,
try listening for the crystal oscillator on the sr40 with a receiver that
tunes 10 meters. If you hear that ok, check carefully the windings on the
toroid bot for good soldering and proper positioning. Oh, and you might try
tracking down that problem of no green light on the one usb connection. It
might be significant. It probably would not be a good idea to try to run the
sr40 on 6 volts from a wall wart, unless its regulated it will probably be
much more than 6 volts at the light load of the sr40, and even 6 volts
probably is higher than the max voltage for the chips. Radio shack sells
7808 +5 V regulators for $1.59, that could be used with a wall wart to get
the right voltage. Of if you have a self-powered (one that comes with a wall
wart) usb hub, that could supply power for test purposes.
If you have an audio oscillator, you can try feeding that into the computer
and you should see something on the powersdr display to check out the
computer side of things.
Good luck and let us know what the problem was!
73 - Mike WA8BXN
|
If you want to run from a 6 volt wall wart you should consider the changes by N1RX to substitute a 7805 for Q1 (see ).
I have used a USB extension cable to get the device on the bench for testing.
If I tune my Kenwood TH-F7E to the 3 frequencies and hold the antenna within an inch or two of the board I get an S9+ signal.
If there is no clock signal then you should carefully check C6 and C7 are correct (labelled 101J). If you mistakenly switched C6/C7 with C12/C13 then the clock will not run.
Recheck T1 connections - if either 3nad 5 or 4 and 6 are swapped then it will not work.
-- John g0orx/n6lyt
Stan Rife wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
John,
I do not hear a carrier at any of those freqs. I double checked my method by sniffing the XG1 and I hear it at 7.040. What level would the clock frequencies be at? I just have a peice of coax on my K2 and holding it near the SR-40. The XG1 was pretty loud, but that is a 50microvolt sig. I didn't check it at 1microvolt. I have a scope here, but am not very well versed at using it. That is something I have been hoping to rectify since I aquired it. Maybe this is my chance. Hi Hi
Do I need exactly 5 volts to power the SR-40, or could I use something like a 6 volt wall wart? That is the only way I am going to be able to get this thing out on the bench where I can get to it.
Appreciate the help, John,
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N 4216
-----Original Message-----
*From:* softrock40@...
[mailto:softrock40@...] *On Behalf Of *John Melton
*Sent:* Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:48 AM
*To:* softrock40@...
*Subject:* Re: [softrock40] Not working: HELP
Hi Stan,
the S9 carrier at 7.056 is normal (even without the device powered).
If you have a scope you can should check the clock signals that are
shown on the schematic (QSD Timing Diagram) and also check that they
are
all getting to U5.
If you do not have a scope you could tune a receiver to the 28.224,
14.112 and 7.056 clock frequencies to check that they are being
generated but you will not be able to check that they are getting to U5.
If the clocks are OK I would check the wiring of T1. I have 2
SoftRock40's and when I built the first one I did not get the
wiring of
T1 correct and all looked OK but no signals.
Hope that is of some help.
Regards,
John g0orx/n6lyt
Stan Rife wrote:
> I finished the SoftRock last night and I plugged it in to
one of my
> USB hubs...no green light from the LED. I put it back on the
bench and
> verified everything and all looked ok. After messing with it for
a while and
> still not getting a green LED from my USB hub, I decided to plug
it in to
> the USB on the back of the computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why
the USB hub
> doesn't put out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I
thought that the
> 5 volts daisy chained from device to device.
> So, it lit up, but I am not receiving anything. The latest
binary
> was acting really weird on my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR
and then
> unzipped the binary's from August in to the SDR install. It
appears to work
> ok now, I think. I have no way of verifying that. All I get is a
little
> background noise (I got this before though) and a solid S-9
carrier at
> 7.056, but this is ALL I ever got from the software whenever I
would start
> it up with NO hardware. So, I hope this is making sense, the
SR-40 is either
> not working properly, or the software is not working.
> I can play the canned .wav files and that works, but
nothing from
> the SR-40. Made sure my LINE-IN port on the soundcard was
selected, and
> checked that the volume was up sufficiently. I don't know what
else to
> check, or how to check it. I am electronically challenged, sorry
guys. Plus
> it is hard to get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have
a 5 volt
> power supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5
volt regulator
> on the SR-40.
> Can someone tell me where to start? And what about the S-9
carrier
> at 7.056?? Is that supposed to be there?? I do have an XG-1
signal source,
> but I'm not getting anything to the software.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stan Rife
> W5EWA
> Houston, TX
> K2 S/N 4216
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> * Visit your group "softrock40
> <>" on the web.
> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> softrock40-unsubscribe@...
>
<mailto:softrock40-unsubscribe@...?subject=Unsubscribe>
> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> Service <>.
>
>
>
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|
??? C6/C7 is ok. I double checked each of these with a LC
Meter IIB as I was putting them in. They both are labeled 101J. C12/C13 are
correct also. I double checked the windings of T1, and it looks ok. I did rewind
it last night thinking that I had made that mistake. Rewound the bifilar with
green enamel wire so I could more easily identify them. Everything ohmed out ok
and I double and triple checked (for what that is worth) before I soldered the
leads. No bad solder joints on?T1. Just now checked that again, as well as
inspecting the entire board for about the 5th time for?cold or unsoldered
joints. I did find that the crystal can MAY have been touching one of the
crystal leads, and I am about to plug it in to see if by chance that was it.
?
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
If you want to run from
a 6 volt wall wart you should consider the
changes by N1RX to substitute a
7805 for Q1 (see
I
have used a USB extension cable to get the device on the bench for
testing.
If I tune my Kenwood TH-F7E to the 3 frequencies and hold
the antenna
within an inch or two of the board I get an S9+
signal.
If there is no clock signal then you should carefully check C6
and C7
are correct (labelled 101J).? If you mistakenly switched C6/C7
with
C12/C13 then the clock will not run.
Recheck T1 connections -
if either 3nad 5 or 4 and 6 are swapped then it
will not work.
--
John? g0orx/n6lyt
Stan Rife wrote:
>
John,
>???? I do not hear a carrier at any of those
freqs. I double checked my
> method by sniffing the XG1 and I hear it
at 7.040. What level would the
> clock frequencies be at? I just have a
peice of coax on my K2 and
> holding it near the SR-40. The XG1 was
pretty loud, but that is a
> 50microvolt sig. I didn't check it at
1microvolt. I have a scope here,
> but am not very well versed at using
it. That is something I have been
> hoping to rectify since I aquired
it. Maybe this is my chance. Hi Hi
>???? Do I need
exactly 5 volts to power the SR-40, or could I use
> something like a 6
volt wall wart? That is the only way I am going to be
> able to get
this thing out on the bench where I can get to it.
>?
>?
> Appreciate the help, John,
>
> Stan
Rife
> W5EWA
> Houston, TX
> K2 S/N 4216
>?
>
>???? -----Original
Message-----
>???? *From:*
softrock40@...
>????
[mailto:softrock40@...] *On Behalf Of *John
Melton
>???? *Sent:* Thursday, September 29, 2005
10:48 AM
>???? *To:*
softrock40@...
>???? *Subject:* Re:
[softrock40] Not working: HELP
>
>???? Hi
Stan,
>
>???? the S9 carrier at 7.056 is
normal (even without the device powered).
>
>???? If you have a scope you can should check the
clock signals that are
>???? shown on the schematic
(QSD Timing Diagram) and also check that they
>????
are
>???? all getting to U5.
>
>???? If you do not have a scope you could tune a
receiver to the 28.224,
>???? 14.112 and 7.056 clock
frequencies to check that they are being
>????
generated but you will not be able to check that they are getting to
U5.
>
>???? If the clocks are OK I would
check the wiring of T1.? I have 2
>????
SoftRock40's? and when I built the first one I did not get
the
>???? wiring of
>????
T1 correct and all looked OK but no signals.
>
>???? Hope that is of some help.
>
>???? Regards,
>
>???? John? g0orx/n6lyt
>
>
>
>
>???? Stan Rife
wrote:
>?????
>?????? I finished the SoftRock last night
and I plugged it in to
>???? one of
my
>????? > USB hubs...no green light from
the LED. I put it back on the
>???? bench
and
>????? > verified everything and all
looked ok. After messing with it for
>???? a while
and
>????? > still not getting a green LED
from my USB hub, I decided to plug
>???? it in
to
>????? > the USB on the back of the
computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why
>???? the USB
hub
>????? > doesn't put out 5 volts, but
will worry about that later. I
>???? thought that
the
>????? > 5 volts daisy chained from
device to device.
>?????
>?????? So, it lit up, but I am not receiving
anything. The latest
>????
binary
>????? > was acting really weird on
my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR
>???? and
then
>????? > unzipped the binary's from
August in to the SDR install. It
>???? appears to
work
>????? > ok now, I think. I have no way
of verifying that. All I get is a
>????
little
>????? > background noise (I got this
before though) and a solid S-9
>???? carrier
at
>????? > 7.056, but this is ALL I ever
got from the software whenever I
>???? would
start
>????? > it up with NO hardware. So, I
hope this is making sense, the
>???? SR-40 is
either
>????? > not working properly, or the
software is not working.
>?????
>?????? I can play the canned .wav files and
that works, but
>???? nothing
from
>????? > the SR-40. Made sure my
LINE-IN port on the soundcard was
>???? selected,
and
>????? > checked that the volume was up
sufficiently. I don't know what
>???? else
to
>????? > check, or how to check it. I am
electronically challenged, sorry
>???? guys.
Plus
>????? > it is hard to get back behind
the PC to do anything. I don't have
>???? a 5
volt
>????? > power supply. Can I use a 6
volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5
>???? volt
regulator
>????? > on the
SR-40.
>?????
>?????? Can someone tell me where to start?
And what about the S-9
>????
carrier
>????? > at 7.056?? Is that supposed
to be there?? I do have an XG-1
>???? signal
source,
>????? > but I'm not getting
anything to the software.
>?????
>
>????? >
Thanks,
>?????
>
>????? > Stan
Rife
>????? >
W5EWA
>????? > Houston,
TX
>????? > K2 S/N
4216
>?????
>
>?????
>
>?????
>
>?????
>
>????
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>?????
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>????? >????
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>?????? <>"
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>?????
>??????
>????? >???? *? To
unsubscribe from this group, send an email
to:
>?????
>???????
softrock40-unsubscribe@...
>?????
>?????
>????
>?????
>??????
>????? >???? *?
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms
of
>?????
>?????? Service <>.
>?????
>
>?????
>
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>
|
??? Thanks Mike. I have just finished double checking
everything, physically. No problems found so far. I am not able to detect the
oscillator at the crystal frequency. I think this, for whatever reason, may be
the culprit.
?
Still
checking,
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Computers can be
quirky! Try using the microphone input on your computer
instead of the line
input just be be sure thats not what its trying to get
input from. If you
have a scope, feed a signal into the sr40 in its tuning
range and look at
the audio output on the scope, you should see a nice sine
wave. Or if you
have no scope, if you have a signal source near the 7056
frequency, you can
just feed the audio out into an audio amplifier, the sr40
is basically a
wideband direct conversion receiver. If no output that way,
try listening
for the crystal oscillator on the sr40 with a receiver that
tunes 10
meters. If you hear that ok, check carefully the windings on the
toroid bot
for good soldering and proper positioning. Oh, and you might try
tracking
down that problem of no green light on the one usb connection. It
might be
significant. It probably would not be a good idea to try to run the
sr40 on
6 volts from a wall wart, unless its regulated it will probably be
much
more than 6 volts at the light load of the sr40, and even 6 volts
probably
is higher than the max voltage for the chips. Radio shack sells
7808 +5 V
regulators for $1.59, that could be used with a wall wart to get
the right
voltage. Of if you have a self-powered (one that comes with a wall
wart)
usb hub, that could supply power for test purposes.
If you have an
audio oscillator, you can try feeding that into the computer
and you should
see something on the powersdr display to check out the
computer side of
things.
Good luck and let us know what the problem was!
73 -
Mike
WA8BXN
|
Hi Stan,
After building over forty of the little SoftRock receivers I have seen what you are talking about several times. With no signal at all getting through, it usually is associated with the oscillator signal not being divided down to clock the QSD quad switch. Check carefully for open pins on the IC's and solder bridges between IC pins. Most of the time when a SoftRock does not play right for me it is associated with a soldering problem.
The usual things of making sure the right components are in the right locations is fundamental. Also check IC orientation. U1 for example has its pin 1 in the lower left corner of the IC when the printing on the IC reads upright from left to right.
One time with no signal getting thourgh I had a bad crystal which may have gone bad by too much heat in soldering the grounding wire to the crystal case. Another time with no signal getting through the coax connector on the end of the antenna coax had an internal short.
On the plus side, all SoftRock40 units I have built have worked properly, some with extra effort, with a baseline noise level of about -137 dBm when the unit is calibrated for S9 (50 uV RMS) at -73 dBm.
I would be happy to chat on the phone with you if you would like additional help.
73,
Tony KB9YIG
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
----- Original Message ----- From: "Stan Rife" <srife@...> To: <softrock40@...> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:12 AM Subject: [softrock40] Not working: HELP I finished the SoftRock last night and I plugged it in to one of my
USB hubs...no green light from the LED. I put it back on the bench and
verified everything and all looked ok. After messing with it for a while and
still not getting a green LED from my USB hub, I decided to plug it in to
the USB on the back of the computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB hub
doesn't put out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that the
5 volts daisy chained from device to device.
So, it lit up, but I am not receiving anything. The latest binary
was acting really weird on my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
unzipped the binary's from August in to the SDR install. It appears to work
ok now, I think. I have no way of verifying that. All I get is a little
background noise (I got this before though) and a solid S-9 carrier at
7.056, but this is ALL I ever got from the software whenever I would start
it up with NO hardware. So, I hope this is making sense, the SR-40 is either
not working properly, or the software is not working.
I can play the canned .wav files and that works, but nothing from
the SR-40. Made sure my LINE-IN port on the soundcard was selected, and
checked that the volume was up sufficiently. I don't know what else to
check, or how to check it. I am electronically challenged, sorry guys. Plus
it is hard to get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have a 5 volt
power supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5 volt regulator
on the SR-40.
Can someone tell me where to start? And what about the S-9 carrier
at 7.056?? Is that supposed to be there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
but I'm not getting anything to the software.
Thanks,
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N 4216
Yahoo! Groups Links
|
Tony,
I sent you an email to your personal address. Yes, I could certainly use some
realtime help.
?
?
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Stan,
After
building over forty of the little SoftRock receivers I have seen what
you
are talking about several times. With no signal at all getting through,
it
usually is associated with the oscillator signal not being divided down
to
clock the QSD quad switch.? Check carefully for open pins on the IC's and
solder bridges between IC pins.? Most of the time when a SoftRock
does not
play right for me it is associated with a soldering
problem.
The usual things of making sure the right components are in
the right
locations is fundamental.? Also check IC orientation.?
U1 for example has
its pin 1 in the lower left corner of the IC when the
printing on the IC
reads upright from left to right.
One time with
no signal getting thourgh I had a bad crystal which may have
gone bad by
too much heat in soldering the grounding wire to the crystal
case.?
Another time with no signal getting through the coax connector on the
end
of the antenna coax had an internal short.
On the plus side, all
SoftRock40 units I have built have worked properly,
some with extra
effort, with a baseline noise level of about -137 dBm when
the unit is
calibrated for S9 (50 uV RMS) at -73 dBm.
I would be happy to chat on
the phone with you if you would like additional
help.
73,
Tony
KB9YIG
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stan Rife"
To:
Sent:
Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:12 AM
Subject: [softrock40] Not working:
HELP
> I finished the SoftRock last night and I plugged it in to
one of my
> USB hubs...no green light from the LED. I put it back on the
bench and
> verified everything and all looked ok. After messing with it
for a while
> and
> still not getting a green LED from my USB
hub, I decided to plug it in to
> the USB on the back of the
computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB
> hub
> doesn't put
out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that
>
the
> 5 volts daisy chained from device to device.
> So, it lit
up, but I am not receiving anything. The latest binary
> was acting
really weird on my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
>
unzipped the binary's from August in to the SDR install. It appears to
> work
> ok now, I think. I have no way of verifying that. All I
get is a little
> background noise (I got this before though) and a
solid S-9 carrier at
> 7.056, but this is ALL I ever got from the
software whenever I would start
> it up with NO hardware. So, I hope
this is making sense, the SR-40 is
> either
> not working
properly, or the software is not working.
> I can play the canned .wav
files and that works, but nothing from
> the SR-40. Made sure my LINE-IN
port on the soundcard was selected, and
> checked that the volume was up
sufficiently. I don't know what else to
> check, or how to check it. I
am electronically challenged, sorry guys.
> Plus
> it is hard to
get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have a 5 volt
> power
supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5 volt
>
regulator
> on the SR-40.
> Can someone tell me where to start?
And what about the S-9 carrier
> at 7.056?? Is that supposed to be
there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
> but I'm not getting anything
to the software.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stan Rife
>
W5EWA
> Houston, TX
> K2 S/N
4216
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups
Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
|
OK, OK..............
Can't stand it no 'mo...........
Your satellite USB port is not fully compatible. It's not unusual, kinda like the old days when a PC was 99.9 IBM compatible, but not quite:>:
The USB spec calls for 100 ma to be available to the USB device connected to the port. However, the expansion ports sometimes have little or no current available to run external hardware.
Plug it into the main USB port, and it will run.
Plug it into an expansion port and it might not.
Regards,
Art
|
??? Thanks Art. That is kind of what I suspected. I have
it plugged in to the back of the computer now and I do get
power.
?
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
OK, OK..............
Can't stand it no
'mo...........
Your satellite USB port is not fully compatible. It's
not unusual,
kinda like the old days when a PC was 99.9 IBM compatible,
but not quite:>:
The USB spec calls for 100 ma to be available to
the USB device
connected to the port. However, the expansion ports
sometimes have
little or no current available to run external
hardware.
Plug it into the main USB port, and it will run.
Plug
it into an expansion port and it might
not.
Regards,
Art
|
??? Finally got it.? NICE RECEIVER!!?? Went
through touching up pins on the IC's and the filter again. Hooked it up and
VOILA !!
?
?
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Stan,
After
building over forty of the little SoftRock receivers I have seen what
you
are talking about several times. With no signal at all getting through,
it
usually is associated with the oscillator signal not being divided down
to
clock the QSD quad switch.? Check carefully for open pins on the IC's and
solder bridges between IC pins.? Most of the time when a SoftRock
does not
play right for me it is associated with a soldering
problem.
The usual things of making sure the right components are in
the right
locations is fundamental.? Also check IC orientation.?
U1 for example has
its pin 1 in the lower left corner of the IC when the
printing on the IC
reads upright from left to right.
One time with
no signal getting thourgh I had a bad crystal which may have
gone bad by
too much heat in soldering the grounding wire to the crystal
case.?
Another time with no signal getting through the coax connector on the
end
of the antenna coax had an internal short.
On the plus side, all
SoftRock40 units I have built have worked properly,
some with extra
effort, with a baseline noise level of about -137 dBm when
the unit is
calibrated for S9 (50 uV RMS) at -73 dBm.
I would be happy to chat on
the phone with you if you would like additional
help.
73,
Tony
KB9YIG
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stan Rife"
To:
Sent:
Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:12 AM
Subject: [softrock40] Not working:
HELP
> I finished the SoftRock last night and I plugged it in to
one of my
> USB hubs...no green light from the LED. I put it back on the
bench and
> verified everything and all looked ok. After messing with it
for a while
> and
> still not getting a green LED from my USB
hub, I decided to plug it in to
> the USB on the back of the
computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB
> hub
> doesn't put
out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that
>
the
> 5 volts daisy chained from device to device.
> So, it lit
up, but I am not receiving anything. The latest binary
> was acting
really weird on my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
>
unzipped the binary's from August in to the SDR install. It appears to
> work
> ok now, I think. I have no way of verifying that. All I
get is a little
> background noise (I got this before though) and a
solid S-9 carrier at
> 7.056, but this is ALL I ever got from the
software whenever I would start
> it up with NO hardware. So, I hope
this is making sense, the SR-40 is
> either
> not working
properly, or the software is not working.
> I can play the canned .wav
files and that works, but nothing from
> the SR-40. Made sure my LINE-IN
port on the soundcard was selected, and
> checked that the volume was up
sufficiently. I don't know what else to
> check, or how to check it. I
am electronically challenged, sorry guys.
> Plus
> it is hard to
get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't have a 5 volt
> power
supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't see a 5 volt
>
regulator
> on the SR-40.
> Can someone tell me where to start?
And what about the S-9 carrier
> at 7.056?? Is that supposed to be
there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
> but I'm not getting anything
to the software.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stan Rife
>
W5EWA
> Houston, TX
> K2 S/N
4216
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups
Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
|
Very good Stan!!? Glad the little receiver is
working for you.
?
73,
Tony KB9YIG
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 5:37
PM
Subject: RE: [softrock40] Not working:
HELP
??? Finally got it.? NICE RECEIVER!!??
Went through touching up pins on the IC's and the filter again. Hooked it up
and VOILA !!
?
?
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N
4216
?
Hi Stan,
After building over forty of
the little SoftRock receivers I have seen what
you are talking about
several times. With no signal at all getting through,
it usually is
associated with the oscillator signal not being divided down
to clock
the QSD quad switch.? Check carefully for open pins on the IC's and
solder bridges between IC pins.? Most of the time when a SoftRock
does not
play right for me it is associated with a soldering
problem.
The usual things of making sure the right components are in
the right
locations is fundamental.? Also check IC
orientation.? U1 for example has
its pin 1 in the lower left corner
of the IC when the printing on the IC
reads upright from left to
right.
One time with no signal getting thourgh I had a bad crystal
which may have
gone bad by too much heat in soldering the grounding wire
to the crystal
case.? Another time with no signal getting through
the coax connector on the
end of the antenna coax had an internal
short.
On the plus side, all SoftRock40 units I have built have
worked properly,
some with extra effort, with a baseline noise level of
about -137 dBm when
the unit is calibrated for S9 (50 uV RMS) at -73
dBm.
I would be happy to chat on the phone with you if you would like
additional
help.
73,
Tony KB9YIG
----- Original Message
-----
From: "Stan Rife"
To:
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005
10:12 AM
Subject: [softrock40] Not working: HELP
> I
finished the SoftRock last night and I plugged it in to one of my
>
USB hubs...no green light from the LED. I put it back on the bench
and
> verified everything and all looked ok. After messing with it for
a while
> and
> still not getting a green LED from my USB hub,
I decided to plug it in to
> the USB on the back of the
computer...GREEN LIGHT. Wondering why the USB
> hub
> doesn't
put out 5 volts, but will worry about that later. I thought that
>
the
> 5 volts daisy chained from device to device.
> So, it lit
up, but I am not receiving anything. The latest binary
> was acting
really weird on my computer, so I reinstalled PowerSDR and then
>
unzipped the binary's from August in to the SDR install. It appears to
> work
> ok now, I think. I have no way of verifying that. All
I get is a little
> background noise (I got this before though) and a
solid S-9 carrier at
> 7.056, but this is ALL I ever got from the
software whenever I would start
> it up with NO hardware. So, I hope
this is making sense, the SR-40 is
> either
> not working
properly, or the software is not working.
> I can play the canned .wav
files and that works, but nothing from
> the SR-40. Made sure my
LINE-IN port on the soundcard was selected, and
> checked that the
volume was up sufficiently. I don't know what else to
> check, or how
to check it. I am electronically challenged, sorry guys.
>
Plus
> it is hard to get back behind the PC to do anything. I don't
have a 5 volt
> power supply. Can I use a 6 volt wall wart?? I didn't
see a 5 volt
> regulator
> on the SR-40.
> Can someone
tell me where to start? And what about the S-9 carrier
> at 7.056?? Is
that supposed to be there?? I do have an XG-1 signal source,
> but I'm
not getting anything to the software.
>
>
Thanks,
>
> Stan Rife
> W5EWA
> Houston, TX
>
K2 S/N 4216
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo!
Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
|
Stan,
You might also want to check for cold solder joints in the oscillator circuit. I had the same symptoms
and found a cold solder joint on the ground end of the 2.2K resistor off the emitter of Q2 (this is R5
in the schematic for the older version softrock40 that I built). You might try heating up some of those
joints and making sure they flow nicely to see if that helps.
73,
Kurt KC9FOL
Stan Rife wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Thanks Mike. I have just finished double checking everything, physically. No problems found so far. I am not able to detect the oscillator at the crystal frequency. I think this, for whatever reason, may be the culprit.
Still checking,
Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N 4216
-----Original Message-----
*From:* softrock40@...
[mailto:softrock40@...] *On Behalf Of *Mike WA8BXN
*Sent:* Thursday, September 29, 2005 11:44 AM
*To:* softrock40@...
*Subject:* Re: [softrock40] Not working: HELP
Computers can be quirky! Try using the microphone input on your
computer
instead of the line input just be be sure thats not what its
trying to get
input from. If you have a scope, feed a signal into the sr40 in
its tuning
range and look at the audio output on the scope, you should see a
nice sine
wave. Or if you have no scope, if you have a signal source near
the 7056
frequency, you can just feed the audio out into an audio
amplifier, the sr40
is basically a wideband direct conversion receiver. If no output
that way,
try listening for the crystal oscillator on the sr40 with a
receiver that
tunes 10 meters. If you hear that ok, check carefully the windings
on the
toroid bot for good soldering and proper positioning. Oh, and you
might try
tracking down that problem of no green light on the one usb
connection. It
might be significant. It probably would not be a good idea to try
to run the
sr40 on 6 volts from a wall wart, unless its regulated it will
probably be
much more than 6 volts at the light load of the sr40, and even 6 volts
probably is higher than the max voltage for the chips. Radio shack
sells
7808 +5 V regulators for $1.59, that could be used with a wall
wart to get
the right voltage. Of if you have a self-powered (one that comes
with a wall
wart) usb hub, that could supply power for test purposes.
If you have an audio oscillator, you can try feeding that into the
computer
and you should see something on the powersdr display to check out the
computer side of things.
Good luck and let us know what the problem was!
73 - Mike WA8BXN
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