Hello Ken.
I bought the Coto relay from Mouser because they showed no stock
on the Sil05-1A7271L and the Sil05-1A7271D relays.? Both Mouser
and Digikey list the NA05WK 5v DPTD relay as obsolete and no
longer available but their searches gave no alternatives.
I have no objection to using a 560 ohm resistor instead of the 540
ohm called out in the parts list.? I thought 540 was an odd value
anyway but thought it might be a standard 1% value but apparently
not.? My guess is that the 540 ohm value is the mathematical
calculation to get the desired 3.3v out of the LM317LZ with the
330 ohm that they used in the divider and just verified that with
the LM317 calculator at:
If 560 is substituted for R2 instead of 540 then R1 comes out at
340 ohms (another non standard value). With R1 at 330 ohms and R2
at 560 ohms then LM317 should deliver 3.7v.
Any suggestions on the DPDT 5v relay substitute of the Fujitsu
NA05WK is not available and is in fact obsolete?? I do see that
Newark has some of the Sil05-7271L single inline relays in stock.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/10/2022 7:11 PM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
Some parts were difficult for ME to find.
I do not know if any of these parts are still in stock at Mouser Electronics?
The datasheets should still be available for substitution purposes.
Reed Relay
Mouser P/N: 876-SIL05-1A7271L
Takamisawa NA5W-K Relay
Mouser P/N: 817-NA-5W-K
1000pF Capacitor
Mouser P/N: 80-PFR5102F100J11L4B
(Check the spacing of the capacitor leads against the PCB holes before
ordering.)
1000pF Capacitor
Mouser P/N: 75-KP1830210631
(Check the spacing of the capacitor leads against the PCB holes before
ordering.)
Crystal 8MHz
Mouser P/N: 559-FC4STCBMF80B2
LM317 Linear Voltage Regulator
Mouser P/N: 595-LM317LCLPRE3
LM311N Voltage Comparator
Mouser P/N: 926-LM311N/NOPB
BAT42 Scottky Diode
Mouser P/N: 511-BAT42
As Bruce suggested, I used a 560 Ohm resistor in place of the 540 Ohm resistor.
Hopefully helpful.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 5:19 PM Jim Pruitt <jpruitt67@...> wrote:
Hello Ken (KN4NFQ) and Bruce (W8BH).
I was able to find the schematic and parts list on CoreWeaver's github page. Thank you. Now I have a few other questions for you and Bruce and anyone else that built it.
Where did you find the 540 ohm resistor CoreWeaver used to set the LM317LZ output voltage? I can not find that value as a standard value for 5% or 1% resistors. Only Digikey listed a single 540 ohm ? watt 1% resistor and no stock and required 1000 minimum order and 90 cents per resistor at that quantity! Should it actually be the standard 560 ohms? I also question why he used an LM317LZ instead of one of the 3.3 volt LDO regulators. Does anyone know? I assume (yes I know what they say about that) that it was because that was what he had in his junkbox but that is only a guess. Did anyone happen to use one of the TO92 footprint 3.3v ldo's there instead of the LM317?
Also I did not find any SIL 7271-L 5 volt reed relays but bought a Coto 2101 with diode. The footprint is the same but the datasheet does not help me with orientation. The relay is symmetrical and datasheet does not indicate polarity but with a diode across it I would think it would have to follow the correct voltage polarity. What did others use?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
|
Hello Jim WA7DUY, Some parts were difficult for ME to find. I do not know if any of these parts are still in stock at Mouser Electronics? The datasheets should still be available for substitution purposes. Reed Relay Mouser P/N: 876-SIL05-1A7271L Takamisawa NA5W-K Relay Mouser P/N: 817-NA-5W-K 1000pF Capacitor Mouser P/N: 80-PFR5102F100J11L4B (Check the spacing of the capacitor leads against the PCB holes before ordering.) 1000pF Capacitor Mouser P/N: 75-KP1830210631 (Check the spacing of the capacitor leads against the PCB holes before ordering.) Crystal 8MHz Mouser P/N: 559-FC4STCBMF80B2 LM317 Linear Voltage Regulator Mouser P/N: 595-LM317LCLPRE3 LM311N Voltage Comparator Mouser P/N: 926-LM311N/NOPB BAT42 Scottky Diode Mouser P/N: 511-BAT42 As Bruce suggested, I used a 560 Ohm resistor in place of the 540 Ohm resistor. Hopefully helpful. Regards, Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified" /g/w8bhMorseTutor
On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 5:19 PM Jim Pruitt <jpruitt67@...> wrote:
Hello Ken (KN4NFQ) and Bruce (W8BH).
I was able to find the schematic and parts list on CoreWeaver's github page. Thank you. Now I have a few other questions for you and Bruce and anyone else that built it.
Where did you find the 540 ohm resistor CoreWeaver used to set the LM317LZ output voltage? I can not find that value as a standard value for 5% or 1% resistors. Only Digikey listed a single 540 ohm ? watt 1% resistor and no stock and required 1000 minimum order and 90 cents per resistor at that quantity! Should it actually be the standard 560 ohms? I also question why he used an LM317LZ instead of one of the 3.3 volt LDO regulators. Does anyone know? I assume (yes I know what they say about that) that it was because that was what he had in his junkbox but that is only a guess. Did anyone happen to use one of the TO92 footprint 3.3v ldo's there instead of the LM317?
Also I did not find any SIL 7271-L 5 volt reed relays but bought a Coto 2101 with diode. The footprint is the same but the datasheet does not help me with orientation. The relay is symmetrical and datasheet does not indicate polarity but with a diode across it I would think it would have to follow the correct voltage polarity. What did others use?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
|
Jim,
First, as you are experiencing, some of the components are hard to find in the US, which is only made worse by the current global chip shortage.? ?
Regarding the coil:? I was lucky to find the specified part.? ?If you substitute a relay with a built-in protection diode, it is important that it is reversed-biased.? ?Otherwise, the diode will preferentially conduct when the circuit is energized, resulting in excessive current flow (through the diode) and not through the coil.? ?Relays with diodes usually have some marker on the body - perhaps a dot or nub - to help you with orientation.? The marker might be difficult to see without lots of light and magnification.?
Regarding the resistor:? I used a 560-ohm 1/4 watt resistor with no ill effects.? ?I did find a 540-ohm 1/6 watt resistor at Mouser for 11 cents each (YAGEO/CFR-12JT-52-540R) if you are interested in using an exact value.
Regarding the voltage regulator:? I do not recommend trying to use a different regulator than the one the author specified.? It is a common part.? Yes, you could probably use a different one, but the PCB does not give you much wiggle room to hack-in another regulator?+/- input/output caps.?
The author did a yeoman's job with this project, but there are a few things I'd change on the PCB.? I am currently tinkering with a design of my own.
Bruce
On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 5:19 PM Jim Pruitt < jpruitt67@...> wrote:
Hello Ken (KN4NFQ) and Bruce (W8BH).
I was able to find the schematic and parts list on CoreWeaver's
github page.? Thank you.? Now I have a few other questions for you
and Bruce and anyone else that built it.
Where did you find the 540 ohm resistor CoreWeaver used to set the
LM317LZ output voltage?? I can not find that value as a standard
value for 5% or 1% resistors.? Only Digikey listed a single 540
ohm ? watt 1% resistor and no stock and required 1000 minimum
order and 90 cents per resistor at that quantity!? Should it
actually be the standard 560 ohms?? I also question why he used an
LM317LZ instead of one of the 3.3 volt LDO regulators. Does anyone
know?? I assume (yes I know what they say about that) that it was
because that was what he had in his junkbox but that is only a
guess.? Did anyone happen to use one of the TO92 footprint 3.3v
ldo's there instead of the LM317?
Also I did not find any SIL 7271-L 5 volt reed relays but bought a
Coto 2101 with diode.? The footprint is the same but the datasheet
does not help me with orientation.? The relay is symmetrical? and
datasheet does not indicate polarity but with a diode across it I
would think it would have to follow the correct voltage polarity.?
What did others use?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/9/2022 3:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
My PCB also says "LCM v1.1".
Here is the schematic for the coreWeaver LC Meter:
Click on "Download: right above the schematic on the right
side to save it to your PC.
Here is the PCB layout and BOM/parts list:
Click on "Download: right above the layout on the right
side to save it to your PC.
The BOM headings are: QTY VALUE PACKAGE PARTS
For example:
QTY VALUE PACKAGE ? ? ?PARTS
8 ? 2k2 ? R-US_0204/7 ?R5, R6, R8, R9, R11, R12, R15, R22
There are eight 2.2K Ohm resistors in a R-US_0204/7
package, labeled R5, R6, .... R22.
They are located (highlighted in red) at:
The above image is from my build notes.
The parts that are grayed-out had already been soldered to
the PCB.
I added parts as I found them, or as they came in from a
distributor.
Hopefully helpful?
Ken,? can you tell me where the
schematic for the LC meter is located?? I received the pc
boards today from JLCPCB but I can not find either the
schematic or a parts list.? Yes I see the bill of
materials but that does not tell you which resistors have
which value and the bill of materials only list 3
resistors but the board is silkscreened for 24 resistors
as well as 8 capacitors of which only 2 are shown on the
bill of materials.? These boards say V1.1 of the LCM and I
got the gerbers off of the coreweaver github page at
but I see no schematic or parts list and the PDF on
Bruce's page at
has the bill of
materials but no schematic or parts list.
and his github page at
only has the INO for the AVR (as would be expected)
What am I missing?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/4/2022 6:42 PM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
Thank you for the information about the GM328.
I do not have a 3D enclosure for my coreWeaver LC
Meter.
My LC Meter has standoffs, and I keep it in a
cardboard box when not in use.
Here is a snapshot of my coreWeaver LC Meter set
up with a fixture for testing capacitors:
This is a closeup of the fixture:
I keep the meter in a cardboard box when not in
use so that stray clippings won't get on the PCB and
short something out.
I now use a AA six-pack battery to power the
meter. The 9V battery I started with, died.
Bruce's code does a warmup first, then it gives a
few seconds to remove the DUT.
After that, it does a calibration. Once
calibrated, it displays DONE.
Once the calibration is done, I place the DUT in
the clips/fixture and press the right hand button
for caps.
It analyses the DUT and gives a reading which
displays DONE when finished.
Bruce wrote a nice PDF about the challenges he
had to deal with when writing the code for the
coreWeaver LC Meter hardware.
Hello Ken.
I suspect that you are familiar with the GM328
testers I mention but may not have ever heard
them called by that name.? Here is one of which
there are a gazillion on ebay and Amazon and
AliExpress and Banggood and...!
They do transistors as well ad resistors,
capacitors, and inductors
the above are only samples of the many links and
pages but these testers are the $15 or so
general purpose testers sometimes with cases and
sometimes not. They use an AVR chip (ATMega328P
or ATMega32U)
My JLCPCB boards still have not arrived although
tracking said 2 days ago that it was "tendered
for delivery" but no clue what that really means
or who the carrier is.
I would be very interested in seeing your 3D
enclosure.? Hopefully it is not like the GM328
plexiglass enclosure I have that is not big
enough to also include the 9v battery in the
case.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/3/2022 5:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
I like my new LC Meter very much.
My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure.
I do not have access to a 3D printer.
I keep it in a small cardboard box when
it is not in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF.
It measures that at 2.173 pF
The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH.
It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH)
I am not familiar with the GM.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I
ordered a few boards from JLCPCB that I
hope will be here tomorrow.? What did
you use for a case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or
C?? I have several of the Chinese
GM328's and none of them measure below
about 30uh or 30pf and if they do the
value is wrong.? I know VK3BHR had a
variation of the GM328 that reads low
values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ
wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
Hello Ken (KN4NFQ) and Bruce (W8BH).
I was able to find the schematic and parts list on CoreWeaver's
github page.? Thank you.? Now I have a few other questions for you
and Bruce and anyone else that built it.
Where did you find the 540 ohm resistor CoreWeaver used to set the
LM317LZ output voltage?? I can not find that value as a standard
value for 5% or 1% resistors.? Only Digikey listed a single 540
ohm ? watt 1% resistor and no stock and required 1000 minimum
order and 90 cents per resistor at that quantity!? Should it
actually be the standard 560 ohms?? I also question why he used an
LM317LZ instead of one of the 3.3 volt LDO regulators. Does anyone
know?? I assume (yes I know what they say about that) that it was
because that was what he had in his junkbox but that is only a
guess.? Did anyone happen to use one of the TO92 footprint 3.3v
ldo's there instead of the LM317?
Also I did not find any SIL 7271-L 5 volt reed relays but bought a
Coto 2101 with diode.? The footprint is the same but the datasheet
does not help me with orientation.? The relay is symmetrical? and
datasheet does not indicate polarity but with a diode across it I
would think it would have to follow the correct voltage polarity.?
What did others use?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/9/2022 3:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
My PCB also says "LCM v1.1".
Here is the schematic for the coreWeaver LC Meter:
Click on "Download: right above the schematic on the right
side to save it to your PC.
Here is the PCB layout and BOM/parts list:
Click on "Download: right above the layout on the right
side to save it to your PC.
The BOM headings are: QTY VALUE PACKAGE PARTS
For example:
QTY VALUE PACKAGE ? ? ?PARTS
8 ? 2k2 ? R-US_0204/7 ?R5, R6, R8, R9, R11, R12, R15, R22
There are eight 2.2K Ohm resistors in a R-US_0204/7
package, labeled R5, R6, .... R22.
They are located (highlighted in red) at:
The above image is from my build notes.
The parts that are grayed-out had already been soldered to
the PCB.
I added parts as I found them, or as they came in from a
distributor.
Hopefully helpful?
Ken,? can you tell me where the
schematic for the LC meter is located?? I received the pc
boards today from JLCPCB but I can not find either the
schematic or a parts list.? Yes I see the bill of
materials but that does not tell you which resistors have
which value and the bill of materials only list 3
resistors but the board is silkscreened for 24 resistors
as well as 8 capacitors of which only 2 are shown on the
bill of materials.? These boards say V1.1 of the LCM and I
got the gerbers off of the coreweaver github page at
but I see no schematic or parts list and the PDF on
Bruce's page at
has the bill of
materials but no schematic or parts list.
and his github page at
only has the INO for the AVR (as would be expected)
What am I missing?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/4/2022 6:42 PM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
Thank you for the information about the GM328.
I do not have a 3D enclosure for my coreWeaver LC
Meter.
My LC Meter has standoffs, and I keep it in a
cardboard box when not in use.
Here is a snapshot of my coreWeaver LC Meter set
up with a fixture for testing capacitors:
This is a closeup of the fixture:
I keep the meter in a cardboard box when not in
use so that stray clippings won't get on the PCB and
short something out.
I now use a AA six-pack battery to power the
meter. The 9V battery I started with, died.
Bruce's code does a warmup first, then it gives a
few seconds to remove the DUT.
After that, it does a calibration. Once
calibrated, it displays DONE.
Once the calibration is done, I place the DUT in
the clips/fixture and press the right hand button
for caps.
It analyses the DUT and gives a reading which
displays DONE when finished.
Bruce wrote a nice PDF about the challenges he
had to deal with when writing the code for the
coreWeaver LC Meter hardware.
Hello Ken.
I suspect that you are familiar with the GM328
testers I mention but may not have ever heard
them called by that name.? Here is one of which
there are a gazillion on ebay and Amazon and
AliExpress and Banggood and...!
They do transistors as well ad resistors,
capacitors, and inductors
the above are only samples of the many links and
pages but these testers are the $15 or so
general purpose testers sometimes with cases and
sometimes not. They use an AVR chip (ATMega328P
or ATMega32U)
My JLCPCB boards still have not arrived although
tracking said 2 days ago that it was "tendered
for delivery" but no clue what that really means
or who the carrier is.
I would be very interested in seeing your 3D
enclosure.? Hopefully it is not like the GM328
plexiglass enclosure I have that is not big
enough to also include the 9v battery in the
case.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/3/2022 5:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
I like my new LC Meter very much.
My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure.
I do not have access to a 3D printer.
I keep it in a small cardboard box when
it is not in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF.
It measures that at 2.173 pF
The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH.
It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH)
I am not familiar with the GM.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I
ordered a few boards from JLCPCB that I
hope will be here tomorrow.? What did
you use for a case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or
C?? I have several of the Chinese
GM328's and none of them measure below
about 30uh or 30pf and if they do the
value is wrong.? I know VK3BHR had a
variation of the GM328 that reads low
values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ
wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but ...? Does anyone have an extra PCB they'd be willing to sell?
73s
jim? W4BEA
On Wed, Feb 9, 2022 at 6:19 AM Ken KM4NFQ < km4nfq@...> wrote: Hello Jim WA7DUY,
My PCB also says "LCM v1.1".
Here is the schematic for the coreWeaver LC Meter:
Click on "Download: right above the schematic on the right side to save it to your PC.
Here is the PCB layout and BOM/parts list:
Click on "Download: right above the layout on the right side to save it to your PC.
The BOM headings are: QTY VALUE PACKAGE PARTS For example: QTY VALUE PACKAGE ? ? ?PARTS 8 ? 2k2 ? R-US_0204/7 ?R5, R6, R8, R9, R11, R12, R15, R22
There are eight 2.2K Ohm resistors in a R-US_0204/7 package, labeled R5, R6, .... R22.
They are located (highlighted in red) at:
The above image is from my build notes.
The parts that are grayed-out had already been soldered to the PCB. I added parts as I found them, or as they came in from a distributor.
Hopefully helpful?
Ken,? can you tell me where the schematic for the
LC meter is located?? I received the pc boards today from JLCPCB
but I can not find either the schematic or a parts list.? Yes I
see the bill of materials but that does not tell you which
resistors have which value and the bill of materials only list 3
resistors but the board is silkscreened for 24 resistors as well
as 8 capacitors of which only 2 are shown on the bill of
materials.? These boards say V1.1 of the LCM and I got the gerbers
off of the coreweaver github page at
but I see no schematic or parts list and the PDF on Bruce's page
at
has the bill of materials but
no schematic or parts list.
and his github page at
only has the INO for the AVR (as would be expected)
What am I missing?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/4/2022 6:42 PM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
Thank you for the information about the GM328.
I do not have a 3D enclosure for my coreWeaver LC Meter.
My LC Meter has standoffs, and I keep it in a cardboard
box when not in use.
Here is a snapshot of my coreWeaver LC Meter set up with
a fixture for testing capacitors:
This is a closeup of the fixture:
I keep the meter in a cardboard box when not in use so
that stray clippings won't get on the PCB and short
something out.
I now use a AA six-pack battery to power the meter. The
9V battery I started with, died.
Bruce's code does a warmup first, then it gives a few
seconds to remove the DUT.
After that, it does a calibration. Once calibrated, it
displays DONE.
Once the calibration is done, I place the DUT in the
clips/fixture and press the right hand button for caps.
It analyses the DUT and gives a reading which displays
DONE when finished.
Bruce wrote a nice PDF about the challenges he had to
deal with when writing the code for the coreWeaver LC Meter
hardware.
Hello Ken.
I suspect that you are familiar with the GM328 testers I
mention but may not have ever heard them called by that
name.? Here is one of which there are a gazillion on
ebay and Amazon and AliExpress and Banggood and...!
They do transistors as well ad resistors, capacitors,
and inductors
the above are only samples of the many links and pages
but these testers are the $15 or so general purpose
testers sometimes with cases and sometimes not. They use
an AVR chip (ATMega328P or ATMega32U)
My JLCPCB boards still have not arrived although
tracking said 2 days ago that it was "tendered for
delivery" but no clue what that really means or who the
carrier is.
I would be very interested in seeing your 3D enclosure.?
Hopefully it is not like the GM328 plexiglass enclosure
I have that is not big enough to also include the 9v
battery in the case.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/3/2022 5:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
I like my new LC Meter very much.
My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure.
I do not have access to a 3D printer.
I keep it in a small cardboard box when it is not
in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF.
It measures that at 2.173 pF
The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH.
It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH)
I am not familiar with the GM.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I ordered a few
boards from JLCPCB that I hope will be here
tomorrow.? What did you use for a
case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or C?? I
have several of the Chinese GM328's and none of
them measure below about 30uh or 30pf and if
they do the value is wrong.? I know VK3BHR had a
variation of the GM328 that reads low values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
-- jim? W4BEA
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
I sometimes feel bad for the smart people - being simple-minded and easily entertained is totally the way to go! ;-) J. Stoll
|
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
My PCB also says "LCM v1.1".
Here is the schematic for the coreWeaver LC Meter:
Click on "Download: right above the schematic on the right side to save it to your PC.
Here is the PCB layout and BOM/parts list:
Click on "Download: right above the layout on the right side to save it to your PC.
The BOM headings are: QTY VALUE PACKAGE PARTS For example: QTY VALUE PACKAGE ? ? ?PARTS 8 ? 2k2 ? R-US_0204/7 ?R5, R6, R8, R9, R11, R12, R15, R22
There are eight 2.2K Ohm resistors in a R-US_0204/7 package, labeled R5, R6, .... R22.
They are located (highlighted in red) at:
The above image is from my build notes.
The parts that are grayed-out had already been soldered to the PCB. I added parts as I found them, or as they came in from a distributor.
Hopefully helpful?
Ken,? can you tell me where the schematic for the
LC meter is located?? I received the pc boards today from JLCPCB
but I can not find either the schematic or a parts list.? Yes I
see the bill of materials but that does not tell you which
resistors have which value and the bill of materials only list 3
resistors but the board is silkscreened for 24 resistors as well
as 8 capacitors of which only 2 are shown on the bill of
materials.? These boards say V1.1 of the LCM and I got the gerbers
off of the coreweaver github page at
but I see no schematic or parts list and the PDF on Bruce's page
at
has the bill of materials but
no schematic or parts list.
and his github page at
only has the INO for the AVR (as would be expected)
What am I missing?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/4/2022 6:42 PM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
Thank you for the information about the GM328.
I do not have a 3D enclosure for my coreWeaver LC Meter.
My LC Meter has standoffs, and I keep it in a cardboard
box when not in use.
Here is a snapshot of my coreWeaver LC Meter set up with
a fixture for testing capacitors:
This is a closeup of the fixture:
I keep the meter in a cardboard box when not in use so
that stray clippings won't get on the PCB and short
something out.
I now use a AA six-pack battery to power the meter. The
9V battery I started with, died.
Bruce's code does a warmup first, then it gives a few
seconds to remove the DUT.
After that, it does a calibration. Once calibrated, it
displays DONE.
Once the calibration is done, I place the DUT in the
clips/fixture and press the right hand button for caps.
It analyses the DUT and gives a reading which displays
DONE when finished.
Bruce wrote a nice PDF about the challenges he had to
deal with when writing the code for the coreWeaver LC Meter
hardware.
Hello Ken.
I suspect that you are familiar with the GM328 testers I
mention but may not have ever heard them called by that
name.? Here is one of which there are a gazillion on
ebay and Amazon and AliExpress and Banggood and...!
They do transistors as well ad resistors, capacitors,
and inductors
the above are only samples of the many links and pages
but these testers are the $15 or so general purpose
testers sometimes with cases and sometimes not. They use
an AVR chip (ATMega328P or ATMega32U)
My JLCPCB boards still have not arrived although
tracking said 2 days ago that it was "tendered for
delivery" but no clue what that really means or who the
carrier is.
I would be very interested in seeing your 3D enclosure.?
Hopefully it is not like the GM328 plexiglass enclosure
I have that is not big enough to also include the 9v
battery in the case.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/3/2022 5:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
I like my new LC Meter very much.
My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure.
I do not have access to a 3D printer.
I keep it in a small cardboard box when it is not
in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF.
It measures that at 2.173 pF
The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH.
It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH)
I am not familiar with the GM.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I ordered a few
boards from JLCPCB that I hope will be here
tomorrow.? What did you use for a
case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or C?? I
have several of the Chinese GM328's and none of
them measure below about 30uh or 30pf and if
they do the value is wrong.? I know VK3BHR had a
variation of the GM328 that reads low values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
Ken,? can you tell me where the schematic for the
LC meter is located?? I received the pc boards today from JLCPCB
but I can not find either the schematic or a parts list.? Yes I
see the bill of materials but that does not tell you which
resistors have which value and the bill of materials only list 3
resistors but the board is silkscreened for 24 resistors as well
as 8 capacitors of which only 2 are shown on the bill of
materials.? These boards say V1.1 of the LCM and I got the gerbers
off of the coreweaver github page at
but I see no schematic or parts list and the PDF on Bruce's page
at
has the bill of materials but
no schematic or parts list.
and his github page at
only has the INO for the AVR (as would be expected)
What am I missing?
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/4/2022 6:42 PM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
Thank you for the information about the GM328.
I do not have a 3D enclosure for my coreWeaver LC Meter.
My LC Meter has standoffs, and I keep it in a cardboard
box when not in use.
Here is a snapshot of my coreWeaver LC Meter set up with
a fixture for testing capacitors:
This is a closeup of the fixture:
I keep the meter in a cardboard box when not in use so
that stray clippings won't get on the PCB and short
something out.
I now use a AA six-pack battery to power the meter. The
9V battery I started with, died.
Bruce's code does a warmup first, then it gives a few
seconds to remove the DUT.
After that, it does a calibration. Once calibrated, it
displays DONE.
Once the calibration is done, I place the DUT in the
clips/fixture and press the right hand button for caps.
It analyses the DUT and gives a reading which displays
DONE when finished.
Bruce wrote a nice PDF about the challenges he had to
deal with when writing the code for the coreWeaver LC Meter
hardware.
Hello Ken.
I suspect that you are familiar with the GM328 testers I
mention but may not have ever heard them called by that
name.? Here is one of which there are a gazillion on
ebay and Amazon and AliExpress and Banggood and...!
They do transistors as well ad resistors, capacitors,
and inductors
the above are only samples of the many links and pages
but these testers are the $15 or so general purpose
testers sometimes with cases and sometimes not. They use
an AVR chip (ATMega328P or ATMega32U)
My JLCPCB boards still have not arrived although
tracking said 2 days ago that it was "tendered for
delivery" but no clue what that really means or who the
carrier is.
I would be very interested in seeing your 3D enclosure.?
Hopefully it is not like the GM328 plexiglass enclosure
I have that is not big enough to also include the 9v
battery in the case.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/3/2022 5:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
I like my new LC Meter very much.
My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure.
I do not have access to a 3D printer.
I keep it in a small cardboard box when it is not
in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF.
It measures that at 2.173 pF
The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH.
It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH)
I am not familiar with the GM.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I ordered a few
boards from JLCPCB that I hope will be here
tomorrow.? What did you use for a
case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or C?? I
have several of the Chinese GM328's and none of
them measure below about 30uh or 30pf and if
they do the value is wrong.? I know VK3BHR had a
variation of the GM328 that reads low values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
Thank you for the information about the GM328.
I do not have a 3D enclosure for my coreWeaver LC Meter. My LC Meter has standoffs, and I keep it in a cardboard box when not in use.
Here is a snapshot of my coreWeaver LC Meter set up with a fixture for testing capacitors:
This is a closeup of the fixture:
I keep the meter in a cardboard box when not in use so that stray clippings won't get on the PCB and short something out. I now use a AA six-pack battery to power the meter. The 9V battery I started with, died.
Bruce's code does a warmup first, then it gives a few seconds to remove the DUT. After that, it does a calibration. Once calibrated, it displays DONE.
Once the calibration is done, I place the DUT in the clips/fixture and press the right hand button for caps. It analyses the DUT and gives a reading which displays DONE when finished. Bruce wrote a nice PDF about the challenges he had to deal with when writing the code for the coreWeaver LC Meter hardware.
Hello Ken.
I suspect that you are familiar with the GM328 testers I mention
but may not have ever heard them called by that name.? Here is one
of which there are a gazillion on ebay and Amazon and AliExpress
and Banggood and...!
They do transistors as well ad resistors, capacitors, and
inductors
the above are only samples of the many links and pages but these
testers are the $15 or so general purpose testers sometimes with
cases and sometimes not. They use an AVR chip (ATMega328P or
ATMega32U)
My JLCPCB boards still have not arrived although tracking said 2
days ago that it was "tendered for delivery" but no clue what that
really means or who the carrier is.
I would be very interested in seeing your 3D enclosure.? Hopefully
it is not like the GM328 plexiglass enclosure I have that is not
big enough to also include the 9v battery in the case.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/3/2022 5:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
I like my new LC Meter very much.
My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure.
I do not have access to a 3D printer.
I keep it in a small cardboard box when it is not in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF.
It measures that at 2.173 pF
The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH.
It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH)
I am not familiar with the GM.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I ordered a few boards
from JLCPCB that I hope will be here tomorrow.? What did
you use for a case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or C?? I have several
of the Chinese GM328's and none of them measure below
about 30uh or 30pf and if they do the value is wrong.? I
know VK3BHR had a variation of the GM328 that reads low
values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
Hello Ken.
I suspect that you are familiar with the GM328 testers I mention
but may not have ever heard them called by that name.? Here is one
of which there are a gazillion on ebay and Amazon and AliExpress
and Banggood and...!
They do transistors as well ad resistors, capacitors, and
inductors
the above are only samples of the many links and pages but these
testers are the $15 or so general purpose testers sometimes with
cases and sometimes not. They use an AVR chip (ATMega328P or
ATMega32U)
My JLCPCB boards still have not arrived although tracking said 2
days ago that it was "tendered for delivery" but no clue what that
really means or who the carrier is.
I would be very interested in seeing your 3D enclosure.? Hopefully
it is not like the GM328 plexiglass enclosure I have that is not
big enough to also include the 9v battery in the case.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/3/2022 5:18 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello Jim WA7DUY,
I like my new LC Meter very much.
My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure.
I do not have access to a 3D printer.
I keep it in a small cardboard box when it is not in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF.
It measures that at 2.173 pF
The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH.
It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH)
I am not familiar with the GM.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I ordered a few boards
from JLCPCB that I hope will be here tomorrow.? What did
you use for a case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or C?? I have several
of the Chinese GM328's and none of them measure below
about 30uh or 30pf and if they do the value is wrong.? I
know VK3BHR had a variation of the GM328 that reads low
values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
Hello Jim WA7DUY, I like my new LC Meter very much. My LC Meter has stand-offs, but no enclosure. I do not have access to a 3D printer. I keep it in a small cardboard box when it is not in use.
The smallest capacitor I have is marked 2.2pF. It measures that at 2.173 pF The smallest inductor I have is marked 1 uH. It measure that at 809.6 nH (0.8096 uH) I am not familiar with the GM. Regards, Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified" /g/w8bhMorseTutor
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I ordered a few boards from JLCPCB
that I hope will be here tomorrow.? What did you use for a
case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or C?? I have several of the
Chinese GM328's and none of them measure below about 30uh or 30pf
and if they do the value is wrong.? I know VK3BHR had a variation
of the GM328 that reads low values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
Ken,
how do you like that LC meter?? I ordered a few boards from JLCPCB
that I hope will be here tomorrow.? What did you use for a
case/enclosure?
How does it do with low value L and or C?? I have several of the
Chinese GM328's and none of them measure below about 30uh or 30pf
and if they do the value is wrong.? I know VK3BHR had a variation
of the GM328 that reads low values.
Thank you.
Jim Pruitt
WA7DUY
On 2/2/2022 8:20 AM, Ken KM4NFQ wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Greetings,
I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver,
which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter.
coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source.
His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and
uses the AVR BASCOM compiler.
The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used
by the Arduino UNO.
However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the
UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal.
Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA.
More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here:
Hackaday article:
Hackaday project:
GitHub repository:
4-part video tutorial at YouTube:
When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the
PCBs from OSH Park:
They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH.
Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build:
However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE
compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU.
I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter
and it works GREAT!
Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015.
The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available.
I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino
sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter.
If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require
hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter.
Regards,
Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified"
/g/w8bhMorseTutor
|
Greetings, I recently built an LC Meter, designed by a fellow called coreWeaver, which he based on Neil Heckt's AADE LC Meter. coreWeaver made the hardware Open Source. His software is also Open Source, but is written in BASCOM BASIC, and uses the AVR BASCOM compiler. The LC Meter uses an Atmel ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, the one used by the Arduino UNO. However, instead of the crystal being 16 MHz, as is the MCU in the UNO, coreWeaver uses an 8 MHz crystal. Some of the components he uses were rather hard-to-find here in the USA. More information about the coreWeaver LC Meter can be found here: Hackaday article: Hackaday project: GitHub repository: 4-part video tutorial at YouTube: When I decided to try and build coreWeaver's LC Meter, I ordered the PCBs from OSH Park: They sent some very nice PCBs to me, and I sent one to Bruce W8BH. Bruce built his and wrote a very nice document about his build: However, the coolest thing that Bruce did was to write Arduino IDE compatible code for the ATmega328P-PU. I was able to compile and upload Bruce's LC Meter code to my LC Meter and it works GREAT! Neil Heckt, the designer of the AADE LC Meter passed away on August 19th, 2015. The AADE LC Meter has been discontinued and is no longer available. I think that the coreWeaver LC Meter with Bruce's LC Meter Arduino sketch is a good replacement for the AADE LC Meter. If you build your own radios, or any other electronics that require hand-wound toroids, then you need a good LC Meter. Regards, Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified" /g/w8bhMorseTutor
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Re: LED Tester 1 partial set of parts + pcb and 3 pcb's
Tnx Ken, Last night it "came alive" again, so I was able to d/l the documents.? Thanks for your offer to send the pdf.
73s
jim? W4BEA
On Thu, Dec 9, 2021 at 7:36 AM Ken WB2ART < wb2art@...> wrote: His site seems okay. Let know, and I can send you the pdf.
Ken
-- jim? W4BEA
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
I sometimes feel bad for the smart people - being simple-minded and easily entertained is totally the way to go! ;-) J. Stoll
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Re: LED Tester 1 partial set of parts + pcb and 3 pcb's
His site seems okay. Let know, and I can send you the pdf.
Ken
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Re: LED Tester 1 partial set of parts + pcb and 3 pcb's
Hi Ken,
The goodies bag arrived today, tnx!
Do you know what the story is with Bruce's web site?? It is almost unusable it is so slow, so bad in fact that I can't even download the info related to the LED tester.
Take care, 73s
jim
On Thu, Dec 2, 2021 at 12:38 PM Ken WB2ART < wb2art@...> wrote: Hi guys:
I have the following available for Bruce's LED tester.
1: PCB with some parts (only 1 set of parts available as follows)
??? Digital Pot IC -???????? ? ? ? ? ?? $1.58
??? 6 each 200K 1% resistor -? $4.10
??? 100K resistor 1% -????? ? ? ? ? $0.60
??? 2 each SPDT slide switch - $0.96
??? 12pos .1 connector -? ? ?? ??? $0.82
??? 14 pos IC socket -????? ? ? ?? ? $0.73
??? PCB -?????????????????? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? $2.52?
??? Shipping (1st Class USPS)? $4.75 (US ship only)? ?
??? Total -???????????????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? $16.06 (via friends & family Paypal)
?? ?
2:? I have 3 more PCB's that will go for $2.52 + $1.08 postage in a regular envelope (EACH). $3.60 total, Paypal friends & family.
?? ?
The $2.52 cost for the PCB's is what I paid JCLPCB, $12.60 total for 5 each. The Digikey parts are the same cost I paid.
If you are interested, please let me know.
Ken WB2ART
The Villages, FL
-- jim? W4BEA
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
I sometimes feel bad for the smart people - being simple-minded and easily entertained is totally the way to go! ;-) J. Stoll
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Re: LED Tester 1 partial set of parts + pcb and 3 pcb's
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Re: LED Tester 1 partial set of parts + pcb and 3 pcb's
Ken,? I¡¯d love the full kit if still available
Aside: a dear friend of ours lives in The Villages and loves it
73s
jim? ¡ª jim ? ?W4BEA Fat-thumbed from my iPhone7
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Dec 2, 2021, at 12:38 PM, Ken WB2ART <wb2art@...> wrote:
?Hi guys:
I have the following available for Bruce's LED tester.
1: PCB with some parts (only 1 set of parts available as follows)
??? Digital Pot IC -???????? ? ? ? ? ?? $1.58
??? 6 each 200K 1% resistor -? $4.10
??? 100K resistor 1% -????? ? ? ? ? $0.60
??? 2 each SPDT slide switch - $0.96
??? 12pos .1 connector -? ? ?? ??? $0.82
??? 14 pos IC socket -????? ? ? ?? ? $0.73
??? PCB -?????????????????? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? $2.52?
??? Shipping (1st Class USPS)? $4.75 (US ship only)? ?
??? Total -???????????????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? $16.06 (via friends & family Paypal)
?? ?
2:? I have 3 more PCB's that will go for $2.52 + $1.08 postage in a regular envelope (EACH). $3.60 total, Paypal friends & family.
?? ?
The $2.52 cost for the PCB's is what I paid JCLPCB, $12.60 total for 5 each. The Digikey parts are the same cost I paid.
If you are interested, please let me know.
Ken WB2ART
The Villages, FL
|
LED Tester 1 partial set of parts + pcb and 3 pcb's
Hi guys:
I have the following available for Bruce's LED tester.
1: PCB with some parts (only 1 set of parts available as follows)
??? Digital Pot IC -???????? ? ? ? ? ?? $1.58
??? 6 each 200K 1% resistor -? $4.10
??? 100K resistor 1% -????? ? ? ? ? $0.60
??? 2 each SPDT slide switch - $0.96
??? 12pos .1 connector -? ? ?? ??? $0.82
??? 14 pos IC socket -????? ? ? ?? ? $0.73
??? PCB -?????????????????? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? $2.52?
??? Shipping (1st Class USPS)? $4.75 (US ship only)? ?
??? Total -???????????????? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? $16.06 (via friends & family Paypal)
?? ?
2:? I have 3 more PCB's that will go for $2.52 + $1.08 postage in a regular envelope (EACH). $3.60 total, Paypal friends & family.
?? ?
The $2.52 cost for the PCB's is what I paid JCLPCB, $12.60 total for 5 each. The Digikey parts are the same cost I paid.
If you are interested, please let me know.
Ken WB2ART
The Villages, FL
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Re: My ideas for a software companion for W8BH Morse Tutor.
Greetings, Note: I use the GNU/Linux operating system. I do not have or know about MS-Windows or Mac/Apple. Are you aware of Learn CW Online? The webmaster of that site is a programmer who is the author of the ebook2cw software. DESCRIPTION ebook2cw ebook2cw is a command line program which converts a plain text ebook to Morse code audio files. It works on several platforms, includ©\ ing Windows and Linux. A number of CW and audio parameters can be changed from their default values, by command line switches or a config file... [Source: ebook2cw man page] Another software program is called morse. DESCRIPTION The morse program is a Morse-code trainer intended to help aspiring radio hams pass the 5-word-per-minute Element 1 test. It can take test text from a text file on standard input, or test words from its command-line arguments, or generate random text (-r) or play back what you type (-i). A helper program, QSO, generates plausible QSOs that can be fed to the standard input of morse. [Source: morse man page] I have used ebook2cw to make for myself audio files to listen to, similar to K7QO Chuck Adams Morse Course: The Koch method is often used with the Farnsworth method to teach Morse code. The W8BH Morse Tutor offers The Koch Method as a feature, along with many other useful learning features, such as listening to books in CW. The W8BH Morse Tutor built with an ESP32 can communicate with other Morse Tutors a short distance away. The W8BH Morse Tutor is NOT a Kit. You must source the parts and build it yourself. There are Gerber files available to use for ordering PCBs from a Fab house of your choice. There are also tutorials so that the builder can learn about how the software works. For more information, see: Click on the Arduino Projects tab. This is the group to learn more about the W8BH Morse Tutors. Regards, Ken, KM4NFQ "Not Fully Qualified" /g/w8bhMorseTutor
On Thu, Nov 11, 2021 at 2:24 PM LA1RMA <krbjhvee@...> wrote:
The Koch method:
What is the koch method? The Koch method, named after German psychologist Ludwig Koch, which uses the full target speed from the outset but begins with just two characters. Once strings containing those two characters can be copied with 90% accuracy, an additional character is added, and so on until the full character set is mastered. It's based on learned reflexes, and is arguably the best and fastest method available! Learning at speeds below 15 WPM is strongly discouraged because building reflexes does not work at slow speeds. More info about Koch's method here:
How morse code sounds at 15 wpm:
A graphical representation of what is possible at different speeds. These speed "limits" are approximated, it's easy for someone who handles 30 wpm to go slower. Something interesting happens when one can handle speeds above 30 wpm, you will start to hear the complete word!
But, there is a thing..
NO ONE HAS USED THIS METHOD TO TRAIN A PERSON HOW TO RECEIVE AND SEND!
It should work for both as it will teach muscle memory.
There are NO software that can teach both, only receive to my knowledge.
Koch himself, with hand-picked students, got a group to master receiving 12 wpm code in a mere 13.5 hours!
That's much faster than any other method in the psychological literature.
How the software should work,and it's modes:
It should keep track of the users progress,time used and other statistics. Some of it may be posted to if an API is available.
Cross platform ( Linux, Windows and mac ).
USB connectivity.
Training mode: First the program sends a series of K's in CW for 30 seconds while the character K is displayed. Then it repeats the procedure with the character M.
When that is complete it sends a four characters group using K and M in random places without displaying the signs. It then waits for a four characters input using the keyboard or the morse device, shows the characters you have gotten correct in green, the wrong ones in red.
That continues until the user has gotten 90 % correct of a number of groups, then a new letter is introduced ( for example X ), it is sent for 30 seconds while the character is displayed. Then the lesson continues using the new character until 90% of groups is correct, a new character or prosign is introduced and the lessons continues until all characters are learned.
It may also be possible to display the character K and send the character in morse 5 times and wait for 4~10 around seconds for the answer using the morse key or keyboard. There should be not to harsh timing requirements on receiving, some normal slack should be permitted as long as the CW decoder can decode perhaps 70% of the transmitted CW it should be good.
It should also support multiple users on the same software instance.
It should also display statistics of a users progress and time used. The slowest permitted speed should be 13 WPM. Any speed below this is wasted time.
It should also be possible to adjust the mininum and maximum number of characters in the groups and if they are of random size. It should support Farnsworth timing, characters are sent at the same speed as at higher speeds, while extra spacing is inserted between characters and words to slow the transmission down.
The advantage of this is that you get used to recognising characters at a higher speed,the characters does not "blend together" as easily and thus it will be easier to increase the speed later on.
Realistic mode: Available during Realistic mode: signal fading and white noise to imitate more "realistic conditions", as Hannes Matuschek Kochmorse has it. It is available at: . Kochmorse does have a CW detector, but it can't be used to input characters during learning how to receive Morse and it seems not to support winkeyer interfaces.
Morse alphabets that should be used : Primarly International, but the possibility to add regional extras like the Norwegian ? ? and ?. Those extras should be possible to add to the characters learned with a option in settings.
Compatibility with a Murmur client that can connect to a murmur server, that enables chatting in morse code with other users. The client is available at: Similar low latency open source free software solutions could also be used.
A existing server already exists:
Suggestion for a plugin for mumble: This may be done by the software itself if a plugin is to cumbersome.
Compatible with Hamsphere:
Sadly, I cannot program at all.
So, any opinions on this ?
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My ideas for a software companion for W8BH Morse Tutor.
The Koch method:
What is the koch method? The Koch method, named after German psychologist Ludwig Koch, which uses the full target speed from the outset but begins with just two characters. Once strings containing those two characters can be copied with 90% accuracy, an additional character is added, and so on until the full character set is mastered. It's based on learned reflexes, and is arguably the best and fastest method available! Learning at speeds below 15 WPM is strongly discouraged because building reflexes does not work at slow speeds. More info about Koch's method here:
How morse code sounds at 15 wpm:
A graphical representation of what is possible at different speeds. These speed "limits" are approximated, it's easy for someone who handles 30 wpm to go slower. Something interesting happens when one can handle speeds above 30 wpm, you will start to hear the complete word!
But, there is a thing..
NO ONE HAS USED THIS METHOD TO TRAIN A PERSON HOW TO RECEIVE AND SEND!
It should work for both as it will teach muscle memory.
There are NO software that can teach both, only receive to my knowledge.
Koch himself, with hand-picked students, got a group to master receiving 12 wpm code in a mere 13.5 hours!
That's much faster than any other method in the psychological literature.
How the software should work,and it's modes:
It should keep track of the users progress,time used and other statistics. Some of it may be posted to if an API is available.
Cross platform ( Linux, Windows and mac ).
USB connectivity.
Training mode: First the program sends a series of K's in CW for 30 seconds while the character K is displayed. Then it repeats the procedure with the character M.
When that is complete it sends a four characters group using K and M in random places without displaying the signs. It then waits for a four characters input using the keyboard or the morse device, shows the characters you have gotten correct in green, the wrong ones in red.
That continues until the user has gotten 90 % correct of a number of groups, then a new letter is introduced ( for example X ), it is sent for 30 seconds while the character is displayed. Then the lesson continues using the new character until 90% of groups is correct, a new character or prosign is introduced and the lessons continues until all characters are learned.
It may also be possible to display the character K and send the character in morse 5 times and wait for 4~10 around seconds for the answer using the morse key or keyboard. There should be not to harsh timing requirements on receiving, some normal slack should be permitted as long as the CW decoder can decode perhaps 70% of the transmitted CW it should be good.?
It should also support multiple users on the same software instance.
It should also display statistics of a users progress and time used. The slowest permitted speed should be 13 WPM. Any speed below this is wasted time.
It should also be possible to adjust the mininum and maximum number of characters in the groups and if they are of random size. It should support Farnsworth timing, characters are sent at the same speed as at higher speeds, while extra spacing is inserted between characters and words to slow the transmission down.
The advantage of this is that you get used to recognising characters at a higher speed,the characters does not "blend together" as easily and thus it will be easier to increase the speed later on.
Realistic mode: Available during Realistic mode: signal fading and white noise to imitate more "realistic conditions", as Hannes Matuschek Kochmorse has it. It is available at: . Kochmorse does have a CW detector, but it can't be used to input characters during learning how to receive Morse and it seems not to support winkeyer interfaces.
Morse alphabets that should be used : Primarly International, but the possibility to add regional extras like the Norwegian ? ? and ?. Those extras should be possible to add to the characters learned with a option in settings.
Compatibility with a Murmur client that can connect to a murmur server, that enables chatting in morse code with other users. The client is available at: Similar low latency open source free software solutions could also be used.
A existing server already exists:
Suggestion for a plugin for mumble: This may be done by the software itself if a plugin is to cumbersome.
Compatible with Hamsphere:
Sadly, I cannot program at all.
So, any opinions on this ?
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Ken KM4NFQ
Bruce Hall