And this is what i get when i text on my phone at 5 AM¡
Dr.?William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton - J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com
email:??bill@... ?
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On Mar 10, 2025, at 6:34?AM, K9HZ <bill@...> wrote:
? With the replacement of the follower and filter op amps post mixer, i see about a 7db improvement and at that point i believe the limit is the mixer, si 5351, and line shielding between the. ?We are in some stellar class radios at this point. ?Im very happy with the way this has turned out. ?
The QST review of the IC-7300 was madd public by icom so i may post that in the files section as a stick to compare against. ?
Dr.?William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton - J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com
email:??bill@... ? On Mar 10, 2025, at 3:41?AM, Oliver KI3P via groups.io <oliver@...> wrote:
? Greg, I get a very similar number for the noise floor (-131 dBm) if I tune away from the display noise, so the V12 hardware is capable of achieving similarly low noise floors if you can fix the display noise. Hopefully folks who have solved this can share their stories of success for the rest of us to learn from.
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With the replacement of the follower and filter op amps post mixer, i see about a 7db improvement and at that point i believe the limit is the mixer, si 5351, and line shielding between the. ?We are in some stellar class radios at this point. ?Im very happy with the way this has turned out. ?
The QST review of the IC-7300 was madd public by icom so i may post that in the files section as a stick to compare against. ?
Dr.?William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton - J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com
email:??bill@... ?
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On Mar 10, 2025, at 3:41?AM, Oliver KI3P via groups.io <oliver@...> wrote:
? Greg, I get a very similar number for the noise floor (-131 dBm) if I tune away from the display noise, so the V12 hardware is capable of achieving similarly low noise floors if you can fix the display noise. Hopefully folks who have solved this can share their stories of success for the rest of us to learn from.
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Greg, I get a very similar number for the noise floor (-131 dBm) if I tune away from the display noise, so the V12 hardware is capable of achieving similarly low noise floors if you can fix the display noise. Hopefully folks who have solved this can share their stories of success for the rest of us to learn from.
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Mark, I don't see the disappearing audio issue in the beta version of the code (V66-7) that I'm testing, so it's been fixed. It'll come out soon; Al has rewritten the calibration routines and added SWR calibration and readout, and a few of us are testing it and squashing bugs.
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Great! ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of epif18 via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, March 9, 2025 5:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] Excessive Noise? Wow, significantly better.? V066.1, no cal performed.? Pulsating noise is gone.? This is just a first look (really just a peek), still need to check things out.? One thing I notices is that after I TX in SSB mode, the signal is then gone (spectrum and audio out) in RX mode (signal from sig gen, -50dbm).? Also, SSB TX Audio is not displayed.? I fixed that one in 50.2, I'll try the same in this version. Thanks for all the hard work.
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The Pulsing went away with 66 on my build, seems I saw those on 20M but I believe they are gone or diminished with the ferrite sleeves on ribbon cables.
Mine? is apart while I wrap up PA testing and eventually rewind the BPF's (please don't ask :(? )
I will post some snap shots later this week.
Tim W4YN
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Here's the T41-2 which uses the QSD2, a revised version of the original V11 board:
?
The signal is from a TinySA set to the lowest it will go, which is -115 dBm.? The S-meter calibration was done at -73dBm.
So the dBm reading is off a few dB, but considering this is not a true RF measurement, it's amazingly close.? The S-meter and dBm readout
was updated by Joerg DB2OO a while back.? The signal is easily audible in the speaker.
?
Here is with the tuning bar offset so you can see the signal in the spectrum a little better:
?
The Main board is T41-2.? This is a heavily revised version of the original V11 design.? It still has the original display driver IC for the SPI bus.
It's not any annoying noise in this band.? All in 3D printed plastic case and no shielding or grounding.
?
--
73 Greg KF5N
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Wow, significantly better.? V066.1, no cal performed.? Pulsating noise is gone.? This is just a first look (really just a peek), still need to check things out.? One thing I notices is that after I TX in SSB mode, the signal is then gone (spectrum and audio out) in RX mode (signal from sig gen, -50dbm).? Also, SSB TX Audio is not displayed.? I fixed that one in 50.2, I'll try the same in this version.
Thanks for all the hard work.
Mark
KU3O
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Thanks Bill.? I'll download it today and let yall' know.
Mark
KU3O
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Thanks Oliver.? This will be extremely helpful.
Mark
KU3O
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Hi Mark,
?
I thought it might be helpful to show the noise levels I get on my rig. It is a prototype rig that I use for testing software and hardware changes, so I've done nothing to try to reduce the noise. I hope it gives you a point of comparison for what "normal" is.
?
If I unplug the IQ signal cable beween the RF board and the main board, this is what I get. The noisiest part of the spectrum, roughly 22 kHz from the center, is measured to be about -113 dBm.
?
?
Now, plugging in the audio cable between the RF board and the main board, but leaving the antenna disconnected, I see the noise across the rest of the band rise a little:
?
Finally, when I plug my 20m half-wave dipole antenna in to the radio, I see this: the 22kHz noise is still slightly above the atmospheric noise floor:
?
?
Maybe some other folks with finished radios can post their results here so everyone can have points of comparison as they build?
?
Cheers,
Oliver KI3P
?
?
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Hey Mark¡ you should try the latest SW from Jack and Al. ?It all works on my 4 radios without a glitch. Also I should be back home on the 14th¡ so if you need any boards, i have them. ?
Dr.?William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton - J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: www.VillaGrandPiton.com
email:??bill@... ?
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On Mar 9, 2025, at 10:49?AM, epif18 via groups.io <epif18@...> wrote:
? Hey Tom,
I've replaced the DAC and ADC and all surrounding components to no avail.? If there is a problem with the build, it's somewhere I can't get to (under a connector or something, I think unlikely).? The ADC and DACs are working, I can inject a signal into to RF IN on MAIN and I see it on the spectrum display and hear an output. ? I'm going to try to rebuild MAIN, need to find a board for sale.? I also have this pulsating noise problem on 20M that is not there when I turn the rig on (default to last freq selected) but appears when I switch bands and then come back to 20M.? The pulsating corresponds with LED 13 (SCLK to display) and with the spectrum update rate.? That SCLK also shows up on my power lines (100-200mv).? I'm running 50.2, I really believed there is a SW thing in there too but I'm just starting to look at it.? The filter adjustment stops working when I return from the menus too.? Same thing happens with 50.0.? Right in the middle of tax season!
So my next step is to try the latest SW version and mess around a little with some to the constants, make sure my config is good and monitor some things to see what might be changing when I change the state of the machine.? Rebuilding MAIN is on the to do list too.? This all happens when the box is full up and when only running MAIN (no display either).
I'll put out status as things develop.
Good luck.
Mark
KU3O
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Hey Tom,
I've replaced the DAC and ADC and all surrounding components to no avail.? If there is a problem with the build, it's somewhere I can't get to (under a connector or something, I think unlikely).? The ADC and DACs are working, I can inject a signal into to RF IN on MAIN and I see it on the spectrum display and hear an output. ? I'm going to try to rebuild MAIN, need to find a board for sale.? I also have this pulsating noise problem on 20M that is not there when I turn the rig on (default to last freq selected) but appears when I switch bands and then come back to 20M.? The pulsating corresponds with LED 13 (SCLK to display) and with the spectrum update rate.? That SCLK also shows up on my power lines (100-200mv).? I'm running 50.2, I really believed there is a SW thing in there too but I'm just starting to look at it.? The filter adjustment stops working when I return from the menus too.? Same thing happens with 50.0.? Right in the middle of tax season!
So my next step is to try the latest SW version and mess around a little with some to the constants, make sure my config is good and monitor some things to see what might be changing when I change the state of the machine.? Rebuilding MAIN is on the to do list too.? This all happens when the box is full up and when only running MAIN (no display either).
I'll put out status as things develop.
Good luck.
Mark
KU3O
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Re: LPF-Control PCB TX Logic at U3 & U7
Sorry, I was looking at the BPF.
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Re: LPF-Control PCB TX Logic at U3 & U7
This is the schematic I'm working from:
https://github.com/DRWJSCHMIDT/K9HZ/blob/main/K9HZ_LPF_Module/K9HZ_LPF_V1.00_Schematic_PDFs/K9HZ_LPF-Control_Board_Schematic_V1.10_02-14-24_KiCad.pdf
-------- Original Message -------- On 3/9/25 11:17 AM, Tom - AJ8X via groups.io wrote: U3 and U4?
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Re: LPF-Control PCB TX Logic at U3 & U7
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Re: LPF-Control PCB TX Logic at U3 & U7
When TX_BPF_SEL is LOW, then RF2 is selected on U3 and U7 (BPF is bypassed for the TX path). When TX_BPF_SEL is HIGH, then RF1 is selected and the BPF is placed in the path.
|
U3 |
U7 |
| TX_BPF_SEL |
Pin 6/A |
Pin 4/B |
RFC ¡ú |
Pin 6/A |
Pin 4/B |
RFC ¡ú |
| 0 |
0 |
1 |
RF2 |
0 |
1 |
RF2 |
| 1 |
1 |
0 |
RF1 |
1 |
0 |
RF1 |
On Sunday, March 9th, 2025 at 5:37 AM, John G0SDF via groups.io <jatkins295@...> wrote:
According to the data sheet this is correct, selecting the BPF for transmit sets TX_BPF_SEL high resulting in a high on pin 6 of U3 which in turn connects RFC to RF1 which is the BPF connector. So no should not connect to RF2.
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Re: LPF-Control PCB TX Logic at U3 & U7
According to the data sheet this is correct, selecting the BPF for transmit sets TX_BPF_SEL high resulting in a high on pin 6 of U3 which in turn connects RFC to RF1 which is the BPF connector. So no should not connect to RF2.
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Re: LPF-Control PCB TX Logic at U3 & U7
I have checked the wiring,but still can't find the problem.? Everything is working on the T41 except U3? on the LPF-Control never puts the RF on RF2, (P3).? The logic of TX_BPF_SEL is putting a high on pin 6 of U3 and low
on pin 4.? According to the truth table this connects RFC (P5) to RF1
(P1). It needs to go to RF2. ? Any thoughts?
dave, n3ds
You have this wired wrong¡ I¡¯ll get you? this afternoon¡ finishing my taxes now. ? ? Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ J68HZ 8P6HK ZF2HZ PJ4/K9HZ VP5/K9HZ PJ2/K9HZ VP2EHZ ? Owner - Operator Big Signal Ranch ¨C K9ZC Staunton, Illinois ? Owner ¨C Operator Villa Grand Piton ¨C J68HZ Soufriere, St. Lucia W.I. Rent it: ? Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO. Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO. ? email:? bill@... ? ? ? I am not getting RF out to the 20Wt PA.? The RF comes in to J3 on the LPF-Cntl PCB, but the logic is such that RFC is connected to RF1.? The RF never gets to J7 (TO 20W PA).? The logic of TX_BPF_SEL is putting a high on pin 6 of U3 and U7 and low on pin 4.? According to the truth table this connects RFC (P5) to RF1 (P1).? Am I missing something?? Could I use the RX_BPF_SEL instead of TX_BPF_SEL to control U3 and U7? The amp works fine if I connect J15 (TO BPF) to the amp input.
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Re: LPF-Control PCB TX Logic at U3 & U7
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K9HZ
Tom - AJ8X