Month: February 2018

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RadI2cino … another Raduino replacement

Jim Sheldon W0EX  has announced the availability of the joint effort from himself and N5IB – the RadI2Cino (prounounced “Rad ee too CEE no”).  This is an almost “Drop In” replacement for the original uBITX Raduino card.

The attached PDF (N5IB_W0EB_RadI2Cino) contains the complete information on this new Raduino replacement.

In summary, the changes/enhancements that have been incorporated in the RadI2Cino include:

  • I2C is used so the 16 pin LCD display header has been eliminated
  • The LCD display contrast pot has been eliminated
  • The 16 pin and 8 pin uBITX headers are retained and connect in the original fashion
  • Arduino NANO I/O pin assignments have been rearranged to free up digital and analog I/O pins
    a) D8, D11, D12 now used for key, paddles, and PTT.
    b) D10 used for an A/B split selection button.
    c) D9, D13, A3, A6, A7 now available for other needs.
  • The LCD display is operated via an I2C bus connection.
    a) Contrast control is now part of I2C interface “backpack”.
    b) Larger, 4-line displays are supported.
  • The TO-220 5 volt regulator has been replaced by a surface mount 7805 1 amp regulator.
  • A surface mount 3.3 volt regulator has been added.
  • A 4-pin header has been added to give access to the I2C bus.
  • A logic level translator has been added to the I2C bus to protect the Si5351 clock chip.
  • Manufacturer-recommended RC de-bouncing for the rotary encoder phases has been added.
  • Provision is made for an optional dropping resistor to reduce regulator dissipation.
  • Several powering options are provided, selected by shorting jumpers.
    a) power everything through the NANO via the uBITX +12V rail**
    b) power the NANO from the uBITX +12V rail, and the rest via the 5V regulator**
    c) power everything from the board mounted 5 volt regulator.
    d) power the Si5351a from the NANO’s 3.3 V output.
    e) power the Si5351a from the on-board 3.3 V regulator.
  • Though the PC board is slightly longer, mounting holes compatible with the LCD display are retained.
  • An additional 8 pin header is added for access to the newly free I/O pins.
  • Uncommitted PCB pads are provided to connect serial I/O and NANO Reset. NANO mounting pads are intentionally oversized to allow for a low profile, machined pin, socket for the Nano.
  • Heavy use is made of silk-screened labels to identify signals and functions.

** If the optional dropping resistor is not used DO NOT EXCEED 12V when using these power options.

THIS PRODUCT SOLD OUT WITHIN HOURS.

More boards are on order but due to the Chinese New Year they won’t be shipping until around the end of the month.

Jim asks that  all inquiries and orders be held off until after he announces the availability of the next batch.

Reference
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Another Raduino replacement coming

 

Nik VK4PLN has been working on a simple “open source” Raduino replacement board.   He has now provided photos of both sides of the board.

It will use the Adafruit Clock board. All devices will, therefore, run at 5v.  inouts and dimensions are similar to the original so it can be used as a direct drop-in replacement, or it can be modified for i2c display and other GPIO mods.

Nik is hoping it will work out cheap (50c a board, $3 nano, $8 Si5153 board plus a 7805 regulator and a few other bits and pieces).  He plans for the board to accept either Surface Mount Devices or Through Hole devices, particuarly for the capacitors and resistors…

It is hoped that this would be a cheap easy build for a Raduino replacement. An initial assessment of costs (ex Ebay.com) is as follows:

VK4PLN RadinoI2C board : $8
LCD + Backpack : $3
Si5351 : $8
Arduino: $4
+bits : $2
= $25, not too bad.

Nik invites constructive comments and thoughts

Reference
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Arduino IDE Naming Issue Fix

Yvon NU6I  says: “What bugs me with the Arduino is the lack of proper naming convention. Whatever software I download from the web or github, once it is loaded in the IDE, be it Arduino or UCIDE it always shows as uBitx_20. Looking in the output window doesn’t show the project/file path. Easy to be confused.”

Ron Pfeiffer W2CTX replied with the solution: “In the Arduino IDE, just select  Sketch –> Show Sketch Folder“.  This assumes you gave the folder a sensible name …

Jack, W8TEE says “You can also set the default using File –> Preferences from the menu bar. I usually just create a directory for each project, placed in an appropriate subdirectory.”

One more annoyance solved!

Reference
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WSTJX-Portable

Ian Lee KD8CEC has been busy releasing his Version 1.01 sketch for the uBITx.  However, he has also been busy with modding the wsjt-x Linux software to do some amazing things with the uBITx.

He has now announced the release of version 0.5 (Beta) of Wsjtx-Portable.

For those who are not familiar with wsjt-x, this software is a general purpose graphical user interface (complete with waterfall display) for digital HF modes.  The software is a great product, and is available in Windows, Linux, and MacOS flavours to cover every amateur operator’s PC set up.  What is more, if you have installed KD8CEC’s V1.01 uBITx sketch, this includes Hamlib CAT functionality so WSJT-X will work with your uBITx on all of those digital modes.

So what is WSTJX-Portable?   This is a modified version of WSJT-X that is designed to be used on a Raspberry Pi and a 3.5″ TFT touch screen.

Did you want a nice compact touch screen for your uBITx, but don’t want to hack your uBITx enclosure and push your Arduino Nano to the limits?  Then here is the answer! The uBITx is controlled by the Raspberry Pi via the 3.5″ touch screen.  You can dial up a frequency, set the step value, change band or mode, go to TX or RX, etc. right from the touch screen.   Quite a feat!

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KD8CEC Software Version 1 release

Ian Lee Kd8CEC has released his official Version 1.0 release for uBITx transceivers, and almost immediately updated it with a bug fix (v1.01)!

You can download v1.01 from here, and find out all about the features in this first non-Beta release on Ian’s blog.    In summary, this official release will give you bug fixes, improved CW reliability, Split mode, improved RIT, IF shift, 20 programmable memories (10 with 5 character names), status display, default BFO settings and calibration that should work well without mucking around calibrating.  If that isn’t enough, how about CAT control of your uBITx from most PC software (using Hamlib), and a dedicated PC programming tool (uBITx Manager).

Ian has  also installed Mono and modified some of the programs to fit the Linux environment.   This has been tested on Linux (Raspberry Pi) and it worked correctly.  Ian’s blog has details and test videos can be found here:

 

EDITOR’S NOTE:  This website will shortly feature a comparison of the three initial software upgrades currently available to uBITx owners.   Ian’s is the only one that requires no hardware mods.

If you haven’t considered upgrading your software, then you should.  Two other upgrade paths exist,  and both have distinct features advantages over the stock software, but you will need to warm up the soldering iron with these other choices!   One features significant CW improvements (a must for hard core morse ops) and the other features a colour touch screen mod.   A detailed analysis of each option will come soon on ubitx.net

Reference
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An Origami Case for the uBITX

Mitani Misaru JE4SMQ’s ubitx has been built in an ORIGAMI paper case (15 cm square) which cost just 100JPY(about US$1).

Mitani did not use an Encoder with a push switch but substituted a separate push switch for the encoder button switch.

Ver1.00R software has been installed and modified as follows:

1. The uBITx transmits on the Japanese Amateur bands only.   If you tune out of the band the PTT/CW Break In simply doesn’t work. This is required to meet Japanese regulations.

2. The BAND Select mode follows the Japanese Band Plan.

3. In CW mode the Mic PTT is used for keying. This is always in straight key mode. If a Paddle is connected the keyer can be used by adjusting the menu menu setting.

Reference
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SSM2166 (Mic amplifier and compressor) as Audio AGC?

Henning Weddig DK5LV says he is in the process of using an op amp and SSM2166  on his “original” BITX40 as a way of achieving an audio AGC function.

This op amp has a  gain of 10 (20 dB) and an audio AGC system.   He purchased a pcb from ZL1CVD with the DIL chip via ebay years ago.  Unfortunately ZL1CVD does not sell this pcb any more…

The SSM2166 has a dynamic range of 60 dB, the opamp in front of it is intended to replace the first discrete amplifier after the demodulator and will amplifiy the audio into a range the SSM2166 can handle.  The SSM2166 has a provision for outputting an AGC voltage (an RMS output) and this may be able to be used for driving an S-meter.

Others are thinking along the same lines.  For example, Glenn VK3PE says:

“I’m thinking along the same lines. I built a Mic amp version using the SSM2167 and thought it might work also for the Receiver. It’s essentially the module seen on ebay but I’ve added a level pot on the output side.”

Meanwhile Alex PA1FOX comments:

“I am using the AGC from the original uBitx design, but found the time constant of 1uF and 100k to be far too low. This makes it a very fast AGC, not producing a nice sound with voices. I changed to 1.5 uF and 4M7 and now stronger stations are nice and clear (they ‘push’ the noise level down ) and the gain comes up nice and easy when the QRG is clear. I think I’ll keep it this way.”

Reference