Sticky: Post (tr)uSDX questions for the developers (Manuel DL2MAN and Guido PE1NNZ) in here

[Faraaz VK4JJ]

Guido,

Please can you consider adding an option for a decimal point instead of commas (European style) e.g. as a number separator?

[storyofyouandme]

Hello, pe1nna

I noticed that dl2man is equipped with standing wave detection hardware, current monitoring and power and efficiency hardware, but these monitoring values of all DIY devices need to be calibrated. However, I did not find that there is a software menu for calibrating power, standing wave, efficiency and current in the firmware. There is no problem with open-source firmware, and the software can be modified. At present, the turusdx firmware of dl2man is not open-source, I hope to add a calibration menu. Otherwise, these test hardware can only be seen, and the practicability is not high. thank you.

73！

[pe1nnz]

Hi soyam,

Component variations in the circuitry of swr power, voltage and current measurement should introduce only a very small error and should have an unmeasurable effect on the results displayed in the uSDX. This means that calibration would not be necessary.

Did you build a (tr)usdx and see a significant error in the values displayed?

73, Guido

[DL2MAN]

(...) Otherwise, these test hardware can only be seen, and the practicability is not high. thank you.

The SWR Measurement consists of 2 equal transformers and doesn´t need to be calibrated. The current measurement hardware is "calibrated" by a defined trace lentgh on PCB. Whith 4 built units we did not see any significant differences.

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

[DL2MAN]

(...)
The relays I am using have inverted set/reset states (FTR-B4GB4.5Z).

As said before: With the (tr)uSDX we´ve created a standard set of hardware. The whole point of this was to make sure, we can concentrate on features instead of "hardware Variations".
So, when you thought you´d save some money and ordered different relays as we suggest you to use, and now ask for changing the software to adjust for your mistake, then this kind of proofs our point why it was good to fork off from uSDX...
Please invest the 20€ in a set of relays according to specs. This will solve the problem way faster, cheaper, and less stressful.

Thanks

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

[OE3DHB]

Please invest the 20€ in a set of relays according to specs. This will solve the problem way faster, cheaper, and less stressful.

Yes, you are totally right. I just ordered the right ones.

Thanks
David

[DL2MAN]

Thanks for your understanding, David !

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

[Vegaukr]

Dear Manuel and Guido, thank you for the great job! In my country 60m and 30 is not permitted for HAM radio. The idea is to use 160 m instead of 60 m and 15m and 10 m using the same modified 30 m band section. I think that such mod will be useful for many our colleges. So is it possible to provide LC parameters for this bands and plan to produce software option for this mod?
Best regards,
73! Vladimir

[DL2MAN]

Hello Vladimir,

Please refer to page 2 of this topic. It has already been answered.

73 Manuel DL2MAN

[storyofyouandme]

(...) Otherwise, these test hardware can only be seen, and the practicability is not high. thank you.

The SWR Measurement consists of 2 equal transformers and doesn´t need to be calibrated. The current measurement hardware is "calibrated" by a defined trace lentgh on PCB. Whith 4 built units we did not see any significant differences.

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

Hello, dl2man, I'm glad to receive your reply. I'd like to ask whether the power measurement option needs calibration. I found that there are calibration parameters in the early USDX firmware, which can be compared with commodity power meters for power calibration. Can you consider adding this menu, or the power measurement hardware of trusdx does not need calibration? Please answer it if you have time. Thank you.
73.

[storyofyouandme]

Hello, dl2man and all hams participating in this project on this forum, I would like to discuss the replacement of 3253 chips, because it is well known that JLC chips are out of stock and you can't get them through SMT. Under the background of continuous chip shortage, we may be able to buy one or two of them, Therefore, if a project wants to be healthy and sustainable, it is necessary for chip supply. Therefore, it is of practical significance for us to discuss the replacement of chips here. I hope that successful friends can experiment and replace them for reference. I believe most participants can't understand the parameters of the chip manufacturer's instructions, so I hope dl2man can add a line selection on its motherboard to adapt to these three chips. Here are some of my suggestions. Welcome to discuss and exchange. Thank you.
73

[Kazu.T]

Hi Guido,

Thank you for this great project, I really enjoy building the (tr)uSDX as well as porting your open source uSDX code to other MCUs.

I was looking for the menu "2.2 CW Tone" but not exist. After little reverse-engineering the (tr)uSDX firmware image, I realized that you didn't enable the "FILTER_700HZ" macro switch.

Do you have a plan to support this option?

As Manuel has suggested me in other thread, if I can help you in the firmware side, please let me know! I am more than happy to work on that.
Kazu. AG6NS

[storyofyouandme]

I carefully read the technical specifications of sn74cbt3253, sn74cbt3253c and fst3253mtcx, and also compared the sandwich motherboard drawing of dl2man and truusdx motherboard drawing. Personally, I think sn74cbt3253 \ sn74cbt3253c \ fst3253mtcx can be interchanged because the pins are consistent and the wiring of the drawing is consistent, unless limited by the new version of software. As for the 32 ohm speaker, I tried the 8 ohm speaker and used it the same way. In fact, this external speaker is more appropriate to be called headphone external, which is equivalent to a large headphone speaker. The disadvantage of both 32 ohm and 8 ohm speakers is that the sound is relatively small. You know, it cost me $4 to find this pair of 32 ohm trumpets, while the 8 ohm is only one twentieth of his. I hope it will help you.

73

[aloha]

For OLED display panel, why jumper from the input end (Vin) of U2 voltage stabilizing chip to C6? If the OLED display panel is not modified, what will be the problem? thank you

[DL2MAN]

@storyofyouandme:
As you figured out, there´s plenty of alternatives available for the 3253. We do not want to deviate from that, as this is supposed to be a "standard". This is a general statement: The hardware is SET and will only be changed for good reasons, not for saving a few cents, not for convenience, not for "i like that one better".... Noone is forced to follow our suggestions, but we´ve tested it the way we rolled it out, so we know it works. Any deviation from that needs to be tested, documented etc... And if you deviate, and have problems you´re on your own.
Regarding speakers: 8 Ohms can be used, but put the ATMega to it´s current limit 2 Volume Steps earlier compared to 32 Ohm Speaker. For 32 Ohms -> Max Volume Setting is 15 for 40mA Current Draw per Port. For 8 Ohms, this limit is already reached at Volume Level 12-13.

@aloha:
Removing the 2 Capacitors disables the "Charge Pump", an on board DC Upconverter. The wire supplies the OLED with clean 5V. The mod is neccessary, because otherwise you could hear your OLED in the receiver... OLEDs are known to be noisy and this way we get around that.

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

[storyofyouandme]

Thanks for dl2man's serious reply. Dl2man's scientific spirit is admirable. I decided to use the 32 ohm speaker recommended by him and use the same earphone speaker as him. The sound quality of this 32 ohm speaker is better than that of ordinary film 32 ohm speaker. As for 3253, I have confirmed that I can't get sn74cbt3253, but can only get sn74cbt3253c. The dealer said that sn74cbt3253c is new to sn74cbt3253, which has only inventory and has been sold out and can't be purchased in batch. If time permits, I will test this and share it. Thank you again for the excellent design of dl2man.
73

[G8RDI]

I must have missed it, but on GitHub I couldn't find the source code, could someone share the link?
73, Rob; G8RDI

[aloha]

@storyofyouandme:
As you figured out, there´s plenty of alternatives available for the 3253. We do not want to deviate from that, as this is supposed to be a "standard". This is a general statement: The hardware is SET and will only be changed for good reasons, not for saving a few cents, not for convenience, not for "i like that one better".... Noone is forced to follow our suggestions, but we´ve tested it the way we rolled it out, so we know it works. Any deviation from that needs to be tested, documented etc... And if you deviate, and have problems you´re on your own.
Regarding speakers: 8 Ohms can be used, but put the ATMega to it´s current limit 2 Volume Steps earlier compared to 32 Ohm Speaker. For 32 Ohms -> Max Volume Setting is 15 for 40mA Current Draw per Port. For 8 Ohms, this limit is already reached at Volume Level 12-13.

@aloha:
Removing the 2 Capacitors disables the "Charge Pump", an on board DC Upconverter. The wire supplies the OLED with clean 5V. The mod is neccessary, because otherwise you could hear your OLED in the receiver... OLEDs are known to be noisy and this way we get around that.

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

Thanks for DL2MAN's reply, which let me know the reason. Such a rigorous and subtle work, no wonder it has such good performance. Thank you!

[DL2MAN]

I must have missed it, but on GitHub I couldn't find the source code, could someone share the link?
73, Rob; G8RDI

(tr)uSDX ist not open source, so we publish only the hex files.
As stated on my Website: The License of PCBs Schematics and Software is CC BY ND. After what happend with the Chinese and the many bad uSDRs out there, we want to make sure, everything is according to our defined standards.

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

[Poptarts_McGee]

In the posted schematics for the RF board, some of the capacitor values for the band modules are listed as "-". Does this mean they are left unpopulated/DNF? Or does it mean to use the same value as the nearest capacitor?

Apologies for the dumb question

[DL2MAN]

In the posted schematics for the RF board, some of the capacitor values for the band modules are listed as "-". Does this mean they are left unpopulated/DNF? Or does it mean to use the same value as the nearest capacitor?

Apologies for the dumb question

Those capacitors do not need to be placed.

73 Manuel; DL2MAN

[wa2t]

Hi Guys,

Could you comment?: viewtopic.php?t=93

Thanks and 73,

Robert, WA2T

[G8RDI]

Hi, great product, love the design, I'd like to ask what in your view, would be the best way to get a spectrum waterfall display working on something like fldigi connected to the latest (tr)usdx rig?
Sorry if this post exists elsewhere, I searched but didn't see it.
73, GW8RDI, Rob

[storyofyouandme]

In my opinion, hfd4 / 5L relay cannot replace im43 relay. If considering the cost factor, I prefer to use im42 instead of im43, because 42 is often cheaper. In addition, I think the minimum receiving frequency of USDX can be about 600kh, provided that your low-pass and antenna match. Of course, I am based on dl2 and web version, except for the inferior version copied by Mr Xiaowang on express.
For the lowest receiving frequency, I think the single band version of the web is more playable, because it can easily replace the low-pass to match the antenna. At present, I can receive MW radio stations with about 900khz with the dl2 version. Have a good time.
73.

[DL2MAN]

In my opinion, hfd4 / 5L relay cannot replace im43 relay.

Would you mind to explain, what your opinion is based on ?

73 Manuel; DL2MAN