Contacts from the Dominican Republic

Below I have my log from the Dominican Republic.  A few noteworthy contacts highlighted in yellow.  The first contact was actually on 30 meters,  My guess is that the 20 meter EFHW and the counterpoise got close to half wave on 30. 

AE7KI's was a famiiar voice. Terry transmits from Tennessee but his voice is from down under.  I recognized him before I heard the callsign.  

F6HKA was a familiar call.  I checked -- he was a Straight Key Night contact from one year ago.  Great to meet up with Bert again. 

The Aeronautical Mobile contact was icing on the cake.  More on this tomorrow...

Thanks to all who contacted me or tried. 


In the Dominican Republic 30 December 2019 – 11 Jan 2020

4Jan2020 

30 meter CW HK1ANP Fred.  I was in Bavaro.  30 meters on an 20 meter EFHW!

All subsequent DR contacts on 20 meters from Samana near Las Galeras

6Jan2020

0922 CW EW1I Alex in Belarus.

0959 SSB KG4ZEC. A net on 14.300

1657 CW KB3WAV Md

1701 SSB AE7KI Terry – old friend from Tennessee and Australia.

7 Jan 2020

0917 CW F6HKA Bert near Limoges 14.050 SKCC 60693

1500 CW KN4ZQ Dave in Palmyra Va. Me 599

1523 NO CONTACT but close,  CW KC2OHL

1800 CW KC5F Steve – he answered my  CQ   NC SKCC 21092T

8 Jan

CW N3JB John in Va. Me 599

CW W9YXX Bob in Ind. Me 569

1749 CW W8TK Tom in Tuscon Az.

9 Jan

0700 SSB KX4WC/AM Me 57 767 170 miles NW of San Juan

0840 SSB KI5PZE Miguel, Lake City Fla. In Spanish.

0908 SSB W1FDY Jack in SE Va. Me 58 

The point of the Pen shows where we were in Samana. Bavaro is on the Eastern tip if the island.

N2CQR Portable with uBITX in the Dominican Republic (video)

More to follow... 

SolderSmoke Podcast #216 Is Available: BITXs, Paesano, Paraset, ET2, Antuino, Mailbag

Bill's uBITX with HB keys and the mic that used to be the podcast mic! 

SolderSmoke Podcast #216 is available 

21 December 2019

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL! 

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke216.mp3

Pete's Bench 

Sprat Article

BITX 40 Fun

ZL2BMI Rig

Paraset.   Three tubes!  Almost an ET-3!

Bill's Bench

ET-2 Adventure over,  Rig on the wall

Final QSO count. 20   3 "random" 

Last QSO with AA8OZ

Lessons learned:  100 mW not the problem. Crystal Control cramps your style. 

N0WVA regen amazingly effective.

Tried for the Sunrise Net.  Walter sent me some crystals.  

On to the uBITX. 

Accidentally wiped out calibration and BFO settings. 

Had to do recalibration and reset BFO. 

Learned a lot about the rig. 

How they did CW and how they do it now. Shift TX?  Or shift RX?  Or just shift BFO on RX? 

How all the signals end up as upper sideband.  Only one BFO freq.  Very cool. 

TalentCell 12 V Lithium Ion 3 AmpHour battery. Size of a deck of cards. 

Inspired by Peregrino -- I ordered EFHW Tuner from QRP Guys. 

Homebrew Straight Keys

Antuino upgrade 

SMT soldering. 

Back to Arduino Nano and the IDE.  

A very cool tool. 

Antuino filter analysis.

Version 6 of uBITX out. 

The "Watt Meter" DC power meter.  Very useful.  8 bucks.  LINK:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-DC-combo-Meter-LCD-Watt-Power-Volt-Amp-RC-Battery-charging-Analyzer-M/152339793114?fbclid=IwAR0u9SlZi2Dm6zOJyZt4fDTu7w_pjBIEYD_FiNfLymxtQUbMjcNHjfB17P0

SPRAT, balloons and hardcore homebrew hydrogen. 

MAILBAG

VK3HN's AM receiver.  I ordered 6kHz 455 kHz filters from Australia. 

Dean's MMM

Peter VK2EMU   Hertz not hertz. 

Ben KC9DLM LTSpice YouTube Videos

Steve Silverman  Electroluminescent Receiver Kit

Lyndon N0LFX back to listening.  FB OM

Steve M0KOV built a pill bottle variometer.  Did you get the regen going? 

Anthony VU3JVX   FB HB uBitx.  

Allison KB1GMX  Great to hear from her

Leif WB9IWT -- helped me trouble shoot my uBITX (BFO was low)

Mike EI0CL  old buddy from Azores days.  Recognized his voice on 20.  Great QSO.  

Farhan's New uBITX Version 6!

I'm currently reviving my "version 3" uBITX and putting it on CW.  It sounds and works great, but when I saw this I realized that I am falling behind.    

Farhan wrote: 

Here is what it looks like :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdnXn5oibpg

And of course, yoiu can buy it on hfsignals.com. The shipping will happen from Tuesday onwards. We have a limited supply of the first 200 boards. The rest is for after christmas.

The most important thing about this revision is that the  Radio circuitry is almost unchanged. We have incorporated the connectors on the PCBs. So, this kit needs none of the confusing soldering. You snap in the TFT Raduino onto the main board, plug the power and antenna from the back, snap on headphones, plug in the mic (supplied with the kit) and off you go!

It is offered in two kits now : The basic kit (150 USD) is without the box (like old times) but with a microphone and two acrylic templates for the front and back panels. 

The Full kit (199 USD) has the box with speaker, mounting hardware etc. Both are described on the website. 

Now, about the TFT display: 

For those who are using the 16x2 display and you would like to upgrade, you will have to do three things:

1. Add a heatsink to the 7805 of the raduino

2. Buy https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32815224002.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.3b9548336X8T43 and hook it up as per http://www.hfsignals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/raduino_tft.pdf

3. Grab the new Arduino sketch from https://github.com/afarhan/ubitxv6

Background : 

I have been hacking away at adding a TFT display for the Arduino for sometime. Finally, I managed to do this with a really inexpensive 2.8 inch TFT display that uses a controller called the ILI9341. The display update is slow but, clever guy that I am, the display very usable. it uses the same pins that earlier connected to the 16x2 LCD display. This display is available everywhere for a few dollars. 

_._,_._,_

VU3JVX's Beautiful Homebrew Scratch-built uBITX

When Farhan announced that BITX40 Module boards would no longer be produced,  my first thought was that it is, of course, still possible to homebrew a BITX.  Anthony VU3JVX proves that in his wonderful description of his uBITX scratch-built homebrew project.  Anthony obviously learned a lot  -- perhaps the most important lesson for new homebrewers is what Anthony did when he couldn't get the receiver to work: HE TOOK A BREAK and went back after a few days.  That is very important. 

I also liked very much the fact that Anthony did what Farhan did when the receiver came to life -- he stopped building the transmitter and just listened to the receiver that he had built. FB OM.  

And three cheers for Anthony's XYL -- she was very wise to suggest that he take on a project like this when he found himself out of work.  

Anthony VU3JVX wrote: 

I would like to share my journey of building ubitx from scratch, I would also like to dedicate this to Farhan (hope he will read this sometime) as he has always motivated to homebrew stuff.

I got my license 'VU3JVX' on March 2017. Passing the exam and getting on HF bands is still two different things. Yes, I started to transmit to local VHF repeater with cheap Chinese Bafong radio, I believe the most economical way to start the ham operator experience. However, I knew that I am missing something since I was not able to operate on HF bands.Coincidentally I saw that bitx40 became available as kit from HF Signals during the same time. I was happy to try it and that's how I made my first HF rig. Then I came to know about the BITX20 forum and joined the same, one of the best thing I did after buying bitx40. I have learned a lot from all the great people caring and sharing information. I will try to contribute whatever way possible from my side in coming days.

I was already thinking of building bitx40 for other band (because the way Farhan Sir has drawn the schematic it becomes so tempting for DIY) and then ubitx happened and it changed everything. I started studying the ubitx circuit and collecting all the required components, even ordered the exact toroid from W8DIZ website (during my good days and travel to US) but I was not having enough time to put things together on the bench as I am by profession a computer network & security engineer.  I was not sure what to do next, during this time my XYL suggested me that why don't I focus on something which I always wanted to do. And that's how my journey started to build the ubitx from scratch.

Honestly, I was not sure if this was the right time to start this project. So I started to work on building the receiver segment of ubitx only. I had my challenges during this time and at one point I thought I made a wrong choice of building ubitx, instead I should had tried the bitx40 circuit first. I was almost on the verge to pack up and shelf the project because I was not able to hear anything from the receiver itself forget about building the transmitter. Then took a break for few days and then started troubleshooting each segment one by one. Finally I found it after reading through the bitx20 forum that my Q70 to be defective then I also came to know that is it better to replace it with audio type transistor 2sc945.

I believe during this process I have read most of the content on bitx20 forum. Some name which repeatedly comes to my mind are Raj (vu2zap), Allison, Jerry and thanks to all other hams out there. I had all the version schematics but started my work based on V5 and wanted to get the best out of all the version so I kept the build approach modular and laying them almost like the schematic for easy troubleshooting (you can see those pic on my qrz page).

Next challenge was trying to be too good student and follow everything the master said (pun intended). I made a cocktail of 12 Mhz with 11.059 Mhz crystal filter (Farhan Sir I believe the schematic is still showing X7 as 12 Mhz) and after changing the X7 to 11.059 Mhz I was able to see the radio signal making it through the crystal filter, then came the next hurdle of fine tuning the USB and LSB and fiddling with the software for the right value. After the receiver started working I took a break from building the radio and started enjoying the receiver and checking all bands. One evening I narrowly missed Farhan ji on air but anyway I would not have been able to communicate with him since my ubitx transmitter was not ready.

After that day I thought of building the ubitx transmitter soon. I was quiet confident about the transmitter build by this time and thought it should be straight forward. Logically yes it should had been that way but I was so wrong. Following all the recommendation from the forum about harmonic issue and how to avoid them I started building the BPF. Then I started to work on the PA section then came tuning the IRF510 current (I call it "Bell the cat moment") luckily I never blew any IRF510. However, the output watt on 40 M was hardly 2-3 Watts and other higher band less than 1 Watt. I knew something was wrong with those MOSFET but out of circuit the test look normal. I had some other stock from different source even those performed the same. Played around with different PA transformer settings and checking/tracing the RF signal. Everything looked normal till IRF510. Chances of fake IRF510 is less (as debated on the forum) as it is not an expensive RF part like RD16HHF1. Now I was confused, I had some spare new RD16HHF1 which I got online, which I was not very hopeful thinking that it might be fake. I thought of giving it a try (pin layout configuration was easy for me as I have taken the island cutting approach on single side copper board).

Voila ! I got a whopping 10+ Watt 40M, 5W on 20, 10W on 17M, 10W on 15M, 5W on 12M and 10M. Yes there are lot of fake IRF510 out there. Now it was time to test the homebrew rig on air, checked in at evening into All India Net and got 59 report and the net controller thought I am using commercial rig. Finally during these difficult time in my personal life I was able to smile and sleep well that day. The icing on the cake was installing the Nextion 3.5 display (If I remember correctly this is single most expensive component in the radio and thankfully it is optional).

Does that mean everything is 100% with my home brew ubitx ? Nope, I am still trying to figure out the feedback issue from the speaker during transmit. I traced the issue and found the audio leaking from emitter of Q6. I would like to mention that I tried all the audio circuit and finally settle for TDA2822 circuit. However, the issue is still there during transmit so I have made the audio circuit offline during transmit, I know this will impact my CW listening while transmitting when I upgrade my license . I have exhausted all solutions from Bitx20 forum but still no luck. I would be happy is someone can point me to the right direction. I would be also happy to share any information related to my build or the software settings/tuning, yes I like programming especially 'C' so I am comfortable with Arduino programs. I am thinking of building another PA module with IRF510, I personally feel IRF510 (I got the original finally) has made the home brewing so interesting. 

Anthony VU3JVX

KJ5VW's Cool uBITX Mods (Video)

Beautiful work Gary, and great to see that you are putting ideas from Pete and from Don Cantrell in your rig.  

Gary wrote:

Don and Pete,

I thought you would be interested in the QRP station accessory I added to my version 3 microbitx transceiver.  In addition to using Don's AGC and Reverse/Forward Power and SWR  circuits, I developed another board using a separate Nano and TFT display to show day, date, time, temperature and humidity as well as showing the relative audio strength in three separate bands centered on 400 Hz, 1000 Hz and 2500 Hz.  In addition, when I put the transmitter in a 'tune' mode the power out and SWR will show on the TFT display as well.  The date, time, temperature and humidity information is updated once every minute, the audio is displayed continuously during receive and the power/swr is only displayed when the transmitter is activated.

The audio frequency analyzer is based on the MSGEQ7 microchip and it actually picks up the audio strength in 7 bands covering 63 hz to 16,000 hz.  I just display the three most likely to show up in a SSB transmission.  You can see a 'live' example near the end of the video showing a 20 meter QSO and how the audio strength by audio frequency varies over time.

This project falls into that 'frivolous but fun' category that was a challenge to design but I doubt many other hams would want to replicate it. I learned a lot and wanted to thank both of you for arduino scripts, useful circuits and lots of inspiration for getting started.  I have long admired the work both of you contribute to our hobby.

Here's the link to the YouTube video. 

https://youtu.be/v84TUqsVtTg

73,  Gary KJ5VW

Homebrew Your Own Remote Head (with a 3D Printer) (Video)

After I issued a luddite complaint lamenting the arrival in ham radio of appliance-like "remote heads", Ed KC8BSV pointed out that at least one guy -- Joe VE1BWV -- is HOMEBREWING his own remote head. (You must admit, this sounds really weird.) I still haven't completely got my head around this, but Joe's video (above) is really impressive.  

We're living in the future my friends!

Remote your heads!  With 3D printers!   

uBITXs Doing Very Well on 60 Meters -- with Boris and Natasha

Last Saturday something told me to get on 60 meters.  TRGHS.  So I stepped out to the carport and tuned the doublet to 5.3 Mhz -- and I'm really glad I did.  There was a lot of activity on the band, all very friendly.  Channels 1 and 2 seem to be especially popular watering holes.  

Channel 3 might be getting a bit more digital use, but a very interesting group called the "Moose and Squirrel Net" meets there at noon (east coast time) on Saturday on SSB phone.  This group is kind of a spill-over from the Old Military Radio Net that meets early on Saturday morning on 3895 kHz  AM.  Because many of the old military radios can't tune on half kHz increments, the "Moose and Squirrel" group used channel 3 which is the only U.S. 60 meter channel on a whole integer kHz frequency (5357.0 kHz).  Moose and Squirrel takes it name from the old Boris and Natasha Cold War cartoons that many of us watched as kids.  Natasha Fatale and Boris Badinov.  Cold War era military radios, get it?  Good stuff.  Many of the guys on the M&S net commented on how nice the uBITX sounded.   I was running it through my .1kW CCI EB63A amplifier. 

One of my nicest contacts was with Joe WA2EJT.  He told me that he too has a uBITX.  He said he bought the rig in part because of he liked the fact that Farhan was giving the work on the toroids to some ladies in Hyderabad who normally do sewing.   Joe said he liked the look of the uBITX board so much that he decided to put his  board on top of the chassis instead of inside it.  That is exactly what I had done with  my first BITX 40 module.   See the pictures of Joe's rig. 

Three cheers for the uBITX! 

Boris, Natasha and "Fearless Leader" 

M0HYT's Through-Hole (No Surface Mount) uBITX

That's the spirit! I like how Peter M0HYT took the uBITX schematic and built his own, his way.  When you build the rig yourself, if problems arise (spurs, harmonics getting past filters) you are in a much better position to fix the problem. I'm afraid that sometimes those buying an already-assembled board just feel aggrieved if the purchased item is not fully within specs.     

M0HYT posted this to the BITX20 group (this past summer): 

I have just built a uBITX with standard components (no SMD's) from scratch on a PCB I designed - it works well.  I have now designed another PCB which incorporates the Arduino NANO and the the Si5351 shield and I'm just waiting for the PCB's to arrive and then I will start assembling.  I made some changes to the circuit to allow for a dynamic microphone and the use of screened TOKO cols for the 30MHz lowpass filter, I also changed the coupling arrangement to the 45MHz filter.

I have attached a picture of the original PCB and a PDF of the new layout incorporating the Arduino and Si5351

Maybe one day I will play with SMT but for now standard components are still easily available !
 
73's - Peter M0HYT

Three Cheers for the uBITX! Keeping problems in perspective...

This morning I was looking at Farhan's uBITX page.   He got philosophical at the end of the circuit description: 

As a fresh radio amateur in the 80s, one looked at the complex multiband radios of the day with awe. I remember seeing the Atlas 210x, the Icom 720 and Signal One radios in various friends’ shacks. It was entirely out of one’s realm to imagine building such a general coverage transceiver in the home lab.

Devices are now available readily across the globe through online stores, manufacturers are more forthcoming with their data. Most importantly, online communities like the EMRFD’s Yahoo group, the QRP LABS and BITX20’s groups.io community etc have placed the tribal knowledge within the grasp of far flung builders like I.

One knows that it was just a matter of breaking down everything into amplifiers, filters, mixers and oscillators, but that is just theory. The practice of bringing a radio to life is a perpetual ambition. The first signal that the sputters through ether, past your mess of wires into your ears and the first signal that leaps out into the space from your hand is stuff of subliminal beauty that is the rare preserve of the homebrewer alone.

So true!   Over on the BITX.io group there is a very interesting discussion of the extent to which the uBITX is in compliance with FCC and ITU specs on harmonic and spur emission. In this discussion, I think it is important to remember the reason Farhan created the BITX rigs:  The goal was to get today's radio amateurs out of their Yaesu-Kenwood-Icom appliance rut, and get them involved with the circuitry, to get them to modify and improve the rig.   And that's precisely what is going on now.  

It was well known that dual conversion is riskier than our old familiar single conversion architecture -- when you throw another mixer and oscillator into the rig you open the door to  problematic spurious signals..  But dual conversion holds out the promise of general coverage.  And the advantage of that is quite evident in the uBITX.  Mine is on right now and I can switch from band-to-band with a press of the tuning control. This is nice.  So a spur has been discovered -- solutions are already being offered.  That's the spirit!   And it looks like the low pass filters might not be as effective as hoped.  This may be a simple matter of board layout and relay use.  That is clearly quite fixable.

So let's remember that this is not plug-and-play ham radio. This is more of a collaborative, homebrew, open-source hardware/software project.   The uBITX may be closer to true homebrew than many hams are accustomed to.  That was the whole idea. 

Patience is a virtue
Possess it if you can 
It is never held by techies
And seldom held by hams  

Digital Pot

No, this is not some on-line mail order thing.  Bruce KC1FSZ has done something that I find both amazing and horrifying:  he using a "digital potentiometer"  as the AF gain control in his BITX.  Remember when pots were simple and pure, when they were just a metal wiper that ran across a crescent of carbon of increasing resistance?  Well, those happy days are apparently behind us my friends.   What now?  Will we have endless discussions about where to find the driver for the 10k pot?   Will Facebook or Amazon or Microsoft secretly seize control of the data on our AF gain, perhaps to sell us hearing aids?   But enough of my ludism.  Good going Bruce.  AGC beckons. 

Hi:

I've built a few BITX rigs from scratch now and I'm starting to move to a modular approach using fabricated PCBs to make it easier/faster to build/mix/match the stages.  My audio amplifier module is based on the LM386.  I know others have moved away from this chip, but it still works for me.

I've added one feature to my audio amp stage that opens up some good possibilities.  Instead of the traditional potentiometer between the AF preamp and the LM386, I've inserted a digital potentiometer (MCP4131-103) that is controlled by three extra pins on the microcontroller.  The digital pot lists for $0.81 on Mouser so it's no more expensive than a physical pot and it's way more versatile.

Why do this?

• The module is quick to make if you're building a lot of rigs.
• AF gain can be controlled via the CAT port.
• AGC control can be done in software.  This enables all kinds of fancy AGC "attack" and "release" controls that can be seen in the docs for commercial rigs.
• This is an enabling feature for remote ops, which is why I did this in the first place.
• AF gain can be controlled using the same encoder (different mode) as is used to control frequency, etc. if you wanted to build a more compact rig.

The board is shown below.  This is one of my first forays into KiCAD/PCBs/etc. so it's probably not as "tight" as it could be.  Also, I'm using through-hole components so it's old-school building.  But the board only costs $7 on OSHPark and it's pretty quick to wire up.  Anyone who wants to order one from them drop me a line and I'll send you the link.

Schematic below.

73s,
Bruce KC1FSZ

Another Wood Box BITX! KC1FSZ Abandons Al-Fresco but Continues with Wood

'Tis a thing of beauty.   I like the wood.  And I like the hood.  The handles are a nice touch.  A fitting follow-up to its al fresco organic origins.  

Hi Guys:

I know there was a view that my giant BITX was supposed to be left out in the open, but I’m going to try to attend my local club’s Field Day festivities this year and the 4 foot long “planker” was pressing the limits of portability.  So I moved from the shack to the wood shop and built myself some custom cabinetry.  I think it looks a bit like an IC-73000 now don’t you think?  OK, maybe not.  

There is a hinged door at the top and shelf levels inside for the different parts of the circuit. The power supply and PA section are mounted on the bottom which can be removed for accessibility/serviceability.   The whole thing weighs about 10 pounds!!

73s,

Bruce KC1FSZ

VK2BLQ's Beautiful uBITX in a Wooden Box

Now that, my friends, is a BEAUTIFUL uBITX.  Stephen VK2BLQ put that one together.  Peter VK2TPM helped him get the KD8CEC software into his Raduino (Stephen had trouble  getting it to compile on his Raspberry Pi).  

For me there is good news and bad news here.  The bad news is that I can no longer tell people that mine is the only "wooden box" rig that they will ever work.   The good news is that I am no longer alone. 

An Epic Evening on 40 Meters

I had a good night on 40 meters last night.   The Radio Gods were obviously with me.  

First I called CQ and VP2EIH on Anguilla responded.  Nice to start with a whiff of DX.  

Then Jason W5IPA called in and said he wanted to try out his uBITX! See the pictures below.  FB!  

Then I got a call from K5WDW on Hilton Head Island -- Dexter runs Collins gear from an ocean-front shack (see above).  Check out his QRZ page.  

Then WA4PUB called in.  Dave has been on the air since 1948 and was a student of legendary ham and radio astronomer John Kraus.  Dave has directional antennas on 40 -- when he switched the pattern he went from LOUD to barely detectable.  FB.  Check out Dave's homebrew rig below. 

Finally Gary W7DO joined us.  He has a big 4 Square on 40 that also has some really impressive directional properties.  See below for a look at his 80 meter 4 Square. 

TRGH

WA$PUB

W7DO 80 meter 4 Square

BITX Night on 7277: First N6ORS and then Canadian BITX Builders

 I was about an hour late for the Eastern time zone meet-up at 7 pm local on 7277 kHz Sunday night (my wife and I watch 60 Minutes at that hour). but I figured I could work some guys if I got on at 8 pm.  Sure enough, I was called by Keith N6ORS on his MIN-X rig.  I was on my QRO DIGI-TIA.  It was great to catch up with Keith. 

Then I got a call from VE3THR.  Last year I'd talked to Tom when he was using his BITX40.  This time he was on with his uBITX.  FB.   Tom's club in Barrie, Ontario is obviously melting a lot of solder and having a lot of fun.  Here are some pictures of their rigs. 

KE4MIQ's Repurposed Raduino Receiver

FB James -- Really glad you are listening,  and that you are having fun with a Direct Conversion receiver --- souped up with a Raduino! 

Bill, Pete

Just listened to #204. (New Listener)

You talked about using the Raduino with other radios.

I bought one of Mike Hagen's RaduinoXs to use with my Bitx40. So, I have repurposed my original Raduino as a VFO for my 4SQRP ZZRX-40 DC receiver. I used Allards's v1.26 with a few code changes to tune 7.000 to 7.300. It's currently al fresco on a piece of Hobby Lobby foam board. I may "cabinetize" at some future date.

Attached is a pic of the ZZRX-40, Raduino, and Goodwill Sony speaker with Jameco stereo amp, all running off of Harbor Freight 9v Nimh rechargables.

So far I have heard over 40 states and 20 countries with a 65ft piece of wire in the rafters.

73s

James

KE4MIQ

SolderSmoke Podcast #204 April 1, SPRAT Cover 2, uBITX mania, MAILBAG

SolderSmoke Podcast #204 is available! 

http://soldersmoke.com/soldersmoke204.mp3

5 May 2018

April 1 Recap -- We thank you for your support! 

Pete's Rig on Cover of SPRAT 174 

uBITX Mania

uBITX Dual Conversion Design

uBITX Gettng more out of the Arduino/Si5351 combo

uBITX KD8CEC's amazing software

uBITX Future Possibilities

uBITX On-the-Air Experiences, with CW too! 

MAILBAG

KD8CGH's Hyderabox -- THERE ARE TWO! 
QSO with N1AW's cardboard uBITX
DuWayne on QSO TODAY
Jack 5R8SV -- Radio Gods NOT Happy
Jack Purdum W8TEE -- Thanks OM
Charles AI4OT
Chris KB4PBT 15 inch telescope
John WJ0NF Reading SolderSmoke
Ken W8KTP Ordering a uBITX 
Darren KG7KOI  Listening
Gary AK4NA  New Word:  "Cabinetize" FB OM! 

Hyderabox! uBITX in a Lunch Box

Oh man, I'm sorry I missed this one.  John sent it to me in January, but it got lost amidst all the uBITX messages.  

I like it!  It shows that I am not the only one guilty of re-purposing Benton Harbor Lunch Boxes.  

But what should we call it?  It is now more Hyderabad than Benton Harbor.  How about Hyderabox?  That's it!   

Bill

  You mentioned in your last podcast recycling "Benton Harbor Lunch Boxs". Many decades ago I talked my Junior High shop teacher into letting me build a Twoer instead of his lame project. Over the years  2 meter AM and the Twoer faded away. 

I recently revived a Lunchbox case for my uBitx. I added a Sotabeams CW filter that is controlled by the old T/R knob. Down the filter is bypassed, up one is wide CW and up two is narrow CW. The green pilot light light is a CW tuning indicator. 

I use KD8CEC's code which cleans up many small problems and adds a memory keyer and CAT control to the uBitx.

I modded KD8CEC's code to remove the paddle sense segment so that it only works with a straight key. This makes the keying much cleaner. 

First contact with the modded uBitx was this morning. With 5 watts out I got a 599 from K3Y/7 (K7QBW) in Oregon back to me in Ohio.

    Bob    KD8CGH

N1AW's uBITX -- Cardboard Panels, and the Mic in a Sharpie

On Sunday night at 7 pm local on 7.277 MHz BITX users gather.   This week was the debut of my uBITX.  I was able to make only one contact before we were over-run by the Rookie Roundup, but that contact was a good one.  Above you can see N1AW's FB uBITX.   The front and back panels are made of cardboard.  The mic holder is from a re-purposed Sharpie marker.  FB Al.  Thanks for the contact.  

Carpentry and Socketry for the uBITX

Yesterday I decided to spend some time at the bench -- I wanted to get the uBITX boxed up.  My basswood box had arrived from Amazon on Friday.  It was time for what George Dobbs G3RJV called "socketry."  

First, the back.  I figured I would need five connectors back there.   Connectors for 12V DC, speaker, and antenna would be needed right away (it is my preference to have the speaker connector on the back of the BITX).  Looking ahead, I might want to also have a jack for T/R control of my linear amplifier, and a jack for 24 VDC if I want to go wild and put more voltage on the drains of the IRF510s. So I put two extra holes in there.  

Basswood is SO easy to cut.  I put the LCD in the center of the front panel, and opted to put the board close to the front of the board.  This avoids the need for jumpers to connect the Raduino to the LCD, and it keeps the lines to the front panel controls and connectors very short. I mounted the board on the spacers that came with the BITX, drilling holes the bottom of the basswood box.  It all fit quite nicely. 

I would need to put two jacks on the front panels:  key jack and mic jack.  And I'd need two controls: main tuning and AF gain.  I used hole saws to cut holes big enough to accommodate the four items. 

The controls and jacks were then placed on two small pieces of copper clad board.  These then went on the front panel.  

Wiring up the uBITX was  easy.  I just followed Farhan's instructions.  I did the wiring AFTER placing the boards and controls in the box -- this helped me keep all the wires at their optimum length (not too long, and more important -- not too short!).  If you do it this way, put a cloth over the boards so you don't drop solder blobs on the uBITX. 

Farhan's uBITX fired up nicely as soon as I applied power.   The receiver really sounds nice.  I hope to make some contacts with it today. 

Three cheers for Farhan!