An ATU mod from VK2ETA

The news item http://ubitx.net/2018/03/11/ubitx-modders-are-hard-at-work/ has flushed out one or two further modders.

John, VK2ETA, writes:

“For my part I don’t know if it’s hard code developer or more mad hacker, but it is fun.   Here is a picture of the latest addition, an L-Network ATU built in the uBitx case, driven by two servos and controlled by an Arduino mini pro linked over I2C to the Raduino.

“It is now working well (80m to 10m) but needs cleaning up, shields (just to make sure) and a nice display of SWR and Power on the LCD.  More details to come.”

Ron, W7HD, was very interested in the servo control code and components and wiring as he would like to adapt this idea to handle a pair of servos for an az-el rotor for his satellite Arrow antenna, which only weighs about 1-2 pounds. Then he just needs to add a bit of code to show the actual antenna position and he’ll be all set!

Ron suggests another adaptation of this project would be to remotely tune a magnetic loop antenna. One of the problems you run into when trying to tune a loop is that your body affects the tuning.

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