SolderSmoke Daily News: sBITX

Showing posts with label sBITX. Show all posts

Monday, April 1, 2024

SolderSmoke Podcast #251 Aurora! CBLA, Winterfest, Legal Action Against SolderSmoke, HB sBITX, SDR, Raspberry Pi, Rounded Passbands, MAILBAG

Aurora Picture by Dean KK4DAS

SolderSmoke Podcast #251 4-1-2024

Audio: http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke251.mp3

Videos: Podcast 251 Aurora! CBLA, Winterfest, Legal Threat, sBITX, SDR, RaspPi, Rounded Passbands, MAILBAG (youtube.com)

Travelouge: Dean goes to the North Pole to see Aurora.

A CBLA Call to Arms!

Winterfest. Lots of goodies. MXM Industries 40 meter transceiver. 1 dollar.

Jean Shepherd. Recording of Bill talking to Shep in 1976.

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2024/03/listen-to-me-talking-to-jean-shepherd.html

Legal Trouble: Could put us out of operation for a while. We need listener input.

November 2023

December 2023

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Pete's Bench

Homebrew SDR (based on Zl2CTM’s original design) and how good it sounds.

Raspberry Pi Zero W is now working on FT-8 with digital adapter.

Ferrite Cores at Digi-Key (a replacement for the FT-37-43 where you buy 100 and the price is 21 cents/each)

ADE-6 –great specs in HF but more expensive than the ADE-1

For Pete's recent blog posts, go to this site and click on "Archive" in the right column:

https://n6qw.blogspot.com/2024/03/march-31-2924-happy-easter-to-those-who.html

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Dean's Bench

sBITX progress, McGyver-ing a lifted pad, replacing crystal on the CODEC board, sBITX success! See:

https://kk4das.blogspot.com/2024/03/homebrew-sbitx-tx-modules-pa-lpf-and-mic.html

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Shameless Commerce Division: Please use the Amazon link on the blog to start your Amazon purchases. And please consider using Patreon to support the podcast and blog. We try to send extra content to our Patreon supporters. Mostly DIY RF -- Boards, Kits and Pete's PSSST

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Bill's Bench

More trouble with the 15-10 rig. Rounded passbands in 25 MHz filter. See figure 4 in both links:

https://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/Nov-Dec_2009/QEX_Nov-Dec_09_Feature.pdf

https://www.networksciences.com/pdfs/tutorial.pdf

Experimenting with Balanced Mixers and Product Detectors. Paul VK3HN Suggests the MC1496 chip; Walter KA4KXX points to SSDRA circuits

But it is on the air! Using the PA from a BITX40 module and an RD06.

Put an OLD dial from Pericles HI8P on 15-10 version 1. Soul in the new machine.

Pericles' Dial on the 15-10 Rig

Mailbag:

Grayson KJ7UM's Hollowstate video.

Mike WU2D's amazing 10 meter DSB transceiver.

Jack AI4SV (Dhaka Jack) liked video of recent QSO with AzoresDSB rig

Mike AA1TJ and Dave AA7EE on backwaves and 100 uW QRPpppp

Dave G3UUR on my curved passband problem

Alan W2AEW heard my only QSO with the MXM indsutries SupeRX/TX40

Wes W7ZOI, Mike WN2A, Walter KA4KXX. Farhan VU2ESE on passband,

Ramakrishnan sent article about Charles Proteus Steinmetz. Beautiful.

Justin AC8LV built a receiver! FB.

San Francisco QRP: KDOFNR TouCans Rig, and N6ASD Zinc-Oxide TX

Frank KC8JJL -- Another guy who heard first ham sigs from a homebrew rig.

Nate KA1MUQ's homebrew thermatron superhet

Dino KL0S sent info on the PAL CB VFO I picked up at Winterfest. Airborne!

Bob W8SX will be once again doing SolderSmoke interviews at Dayton. Thanks Bob

Peter VK2EMU Always good to hear from him.

Tobias Feltus -- Wisdom teeth removed, wondering if he will get sBITX hallucinations...

Rick WD5L continues to work on his Herring Aid 5

Ciprian YO6DXE wants to learn CW. No alerts from his FB Blog!

Todd K7TFC -- Likes CW, says it eliminates the Blah-Blah-Blah

F1BFU's Amazing PSSST VFO

Monday, February 12, 2024

Dean's Amazing Homebrew sBITX

I was kind of making fun of it during SolderSmoke podcast #250, but later that same morning I had a chance to watch the KK4DAS homebrew sBITX in action, in person, and I must say, it was very impressive. This may be the only homebrew sBITX in the world (please correct me if I'm wrong).

In the picture above you can see the amalgamation of traditional superhet with modern DSP. Even for an HDR guy like me, the result is really cool. Once again, I experienced waterfall envy. And the sBITX receiver sounds great.

Dean has written up his experiences with this rig in a blog post. Check it out for more info:

https://kk4das.blogspot.com/2024/02/homebrew-sbitx-receiver-gound-bounce.html

Thanks Dean!

Saturday, February 10, 2024

SolderSmoke Podcast #250 Dean KK4DAS joins Pete N6QW and Bill N2CQR

SolderSmoke Podcast # 250 is ready for download:

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke250.mp3

VIDEO VERSION: (1707) SolderSmoke Podcast #250 -- With Pete N6QW, Dean KK4DAS, and Bill N2CQR - YouTube

Intro: Welcome to Dean KK4DAS. For 2024 Pete and I hope to jazz things up a bit by bringing in fellow homebrewers to talk about their projects. Dean is our first victim. Welcome Dean.

Some good news: Several new homebrew receivers are inhaling: Armand WA1UQO in Richmond has an amazing looking regen. Scott KQ4AOP in Tennessee got his DC RX working. Mike AG5VG in Texas has been homebrewing BITX 20s and BITX 40s. All are on the blog.

Pete's report:

-- Recent blog entries on filters, SSB rig architecture, and of course digital VFOs.

-- Phasing measurements, quadrature, and the Seeed Xiao RP2040

-- Error in QST article on early SSB transceiver. ANOTHER ERROR!

--LC VFO on blog! FB Pete!

Dean's report:

-- Tales of woe on the homebrew sBITX

-- Help from Farhan.

-- Ground Bounce. FFT Hallucinations. Wisdom files.

SHAMELESS COMMERCE DIVISION:

-- Whenever you are tempted to buy something from AMAZON, just start at the Amazon symbol on the right side of the page. We get a cut from Bezos, and it doesn't cost you anything.

-- You can try to do the same thing with E-bay. We are finding a lot of great parts there.

-- If you see a SolderSmoke post on Facebook, please Like and forward.

-- Become a patron! Go to the Patreon page. We put the money to good SolderSmoke use.

-- Visit Mostly DIY RF and buy a PSSST kit!

Bill's bench:

-- Building yet another BITX dual bander. 15-10 again. Tried to use a 25 MHz filter left over from the earlier project, but I had to build another. Built a new VFO using the variable cap and anti-backlash gear recommended by Pete. Was a bit tough to get the receiver sounding good. Had a diode ring as the second mixer, but went back to a singly balanced mixer.

-- 10 meter AM -- Thanks to Jerry Coffman K5JC for mod.

Other topics:

--Counterfeit chips. Why?

MAILBAG:

Wes W7ZOI

Jim Cook W8NSA Transoceanic BFO

Grayson KJ7UM -- Vintage Computer Museum

Chuck Adams --Glad to hear that Chuck is doing well.

Frank Harris K0IYE -- NO CHIPS!!!!

ED DD5LP Antenna software

Eldon KC5U 10 AM We made a contact

Joh DL6ID 10 AM

Phil W1PJE of MIT 10AM Where is L5?

Bob WP4BQV now in UK

Dino Papas KL0S in Wilmington Reverse Polarity protection.

AA7EE Dave Richards Liked Armand's receiver

Rogier PA1ZZ

Jonathan-san W0XO Listened to my ET-2 CW Whoop,whoop

Nick M0NTV Great videos from Nick the Vic

Will KI4POV Working on his own SSB rigs.

John West -- Who is the South American ham who made his capacitors and heat sinks?

Ed KC8SBV Working on DC receiver, experimenting with FETs

Mike WN2A great contributions. Si5351 sole source danger!

Nick N3FJZ -- watch out for dead bands when testing receivers!

Don KM4UDX encouragement from new Prez of VWS

Dave K8WPE Likes QF1 Cap backlash. Says I'm getting soft!

Dave WA1LBP My fellow Hambassador, from Okinawa USMC Sergeant with a workshop.

Friday, December 15, 2023

Check out the Hyderabad, India Hamfest! LARC-6

This all looks very familiar. It is very much like the hamfests and rallies I've seen in the US and UK.

Note in the video above that we see the HF Signals table and our good friend Farhan VU2ESE.

I was privileged to speak to the convention about my Mythbuster transceiver:

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/12/mythbuster-video-for-lamakaan-amateur.html

Joseph VU2JQE recorded and uploaded many short videos on the LARC-6 convention and hamfest. You can see the on his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@VU2JQE Thanks Joseph and thanks to the Lamakaan ARC.

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Farhan VU2ESE FDIM Interview (#6) by Bob Crane W8SX: VHF Rig, sBITX, and Good News on Raspberry Pi 4

It was great that Bob was able to catch up with Farhan and talk to him about his VHF rig and about the sBITX.

Farhan said that the VHF rig (the BITX23) was presented at the homebrew show-and-tell as a project. The idea was to encourage others to get into VHF homebrewing. Farhan points out that many of us are reluctant to go into VHF building, thinking that we need special or exotic test gear. No true says Farhan. He is trying, with this rig, to bust this myth. FB.

On the sBITX, Farhan points out that he too -- coming as he does from the homebrew tradition -- finds some of the modern rigs quite intimidating. So he designed the sBITX to be less intimidating. It is, he says, a tinkerable rig that could be homebrewed. It is all open source.

Farhan points out that the rig is built around the Raspberry Pi 4, a device that has recently been hard to obtain. This has driven up the price of the sBITX a bit. But good news: Farhan says that the word on the street is that the Raspberry Pi 4 will be available in quantity starting at the end of June.

Here us Bob's interview with Farhan:

http://soldersmoke.com/VU2ESE23.mp3