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Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

Hi Al,
Ver 066_4 is a "Winner,Winner, Chicken Dinner" as a couple of T41
experts I know would say. I was able to calibrate Xmit IQ all bands
without a problem using the receiver of my FT991A. Had a couple of
minor issues, one with display, which you are probably aware of. When
adjusting IQ Phase with .001 resolution the last digit appears to not
being erased but overwritten with the new numbert and after a couple
of twists of the dial you cannot read the number. I have also copied
the EEPROM dump and SD card dump (attached PDF) after copying EEPROM
to SD and it looks like a formatting issue in the EEPROM Dump first
line. The 80M number seems to not being copied into the SD, throwing
the number to band correlation off. Not sure how that would affect
the order and placement and did not want to try coping the SD back to
EEPROM for fear of shifting the placement order. Thanks again for
getting this working correctly.
Rick, KN4AIE

On Fri, Feb 28, 2025 at 8:26?AM Albert Peter via groups.io
<albertfpeter@...> wrote:

Hi Everyone,
Had some good feedback on the versions 66.1 and 66.3. The attached update fixes the known problems.
Fixes include issues with the SSB transmit cal and power levels, which were caused primarily because of improper initial values. I tried these several times and everything appears to work properly.
The initial setup should be performed in the following order:
1. Frequency Cal
2. Receive cal
3. Set SSB Power Level to 10W
4. Preliminary SSB PA Power cal to ensure levels are nearly correct
5. Transmit IQ calibration
6. Set CW Power level to 10W
7. CW PA Power level cal
8. Check SSB PA Power Cal. one final time

Again, it is best to erase the Teensy to start over with the new EEPRM values and be sure to uncomment line 3163 of the .ino file. Comment out again after the initial download.

Other changes were primarily to fix a couple of the increments and to correct the on-screen text in a few spots.

A revised instructions PDF will follow.
Al
AC8GY


Feedback into T41

 

Hello all,

I was trying out my station with a second antenna - an 65-foot End Fed Half Wave. I had built it to the kilowatt level, with a big toroid core on the matching transformer. Instead of a counterpoise, I used an 8-foot ground rod - the kind they sell to ground your house.
Probably needs a counterpoise also...

The far end of the antenna is supported by a monster oak tree on my property. Got it up there with a slingshot.

I hooked up a spare MFJ998RT autotuner to the EFHW and thence to my station through
a 40-foot length of Davis Buryflex RG/8.

It worked fine on the base T41 - decent SWR on 40, 20 & 15M. And it actually worked
on 80 - although the autotuner was clearly struggling.

HOWEVER, when I turned on my KW amp, I pushed the PTT, and the power immediately rose to 950W or so out...without me talking. And somebody on the frequency said "what's that noise?".

I figure that RF is getting back into the T41.

Probably need to stick a counterpoise on the EFHW, and maybe a common mode choke.

My main antenna does not give me any such problems; it's a trap vertical up the hill,
and it has an excellent ground - an Ufer ground, consisting of 80 feet of thick copper wire embedded in a 10 by 70' concrete slab.

I'm trying the EFHW to see if it's any quieter than my vertical. So far, it's about the same.

- Jerry, KF6VB


Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

Come now Jack.... I'm sure you have heard the term "cracked the case" before... same deal.... :))


On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 at 18:48, K9HZ via <bill=[email protected]> wrote:

Well you would want this to read out in WATTS¡­ not db reduction¡­

?

?

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@...

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Albert Peter via
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2025 11:44 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

?

Roger,

It is working correctly, but the readout is confusing.

Next round I will fix it to read in dB, from 0 to -31dB.

Thanks,

Al

AC8GY


Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Well you would want this to read out in WATTS¡­ not db reduction¡­

?

?

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@...

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Albert Peter via groups.io
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2025 11:44 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

?

Roger,

It is working correctly, but the readout is confusing.

Next round I will fix it to read in dB, from 0 to -31dB.

Thanks,

Al

AC8GY


Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

Roger,
It is working correctly, but the readout is confusing.
Next round I will fix it to read in dB, from 0 to -31dB.
Thanks,
Al
AC8GY


Re: [AmateurRadioBuilders] Alternative to Pico?

 

No. Standard IDE.
Jack, W8TEE

On Friday, February 28, 2025 at 12:21:16 PM EST, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote:


On 2025-02-28 06:29, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io wrote:

> All:
>
> I've also experimented with the XIAO processor from Seeed Studio. It's
> about the size of your thumbnail and costs $5:


*** Hardware debug?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jerry, KF6VB






--
Jack, W8TEE


Re: [AmateurRadioBuilders] Alternative to Pico?

 

On 2025-02-28 06:29, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io wrote:
All:
I've also experimented with the XIAO processor from Seeed Studio. It's
about the size of your thumbnail and costs $5:
*** Hardware debug?

- Jerry, KF6VB


Re: [AmateurRadioBuilders] RP Pico 2

 

You didn't read what I said. Each "page" (your term, not mine) is a segment of the display and only that gets updated.

Jack, W8TEE

On Friday, February 28, 2025 at 12:13:08 PM EST, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote:


On 2025-02-28 08:46, jjpurdum via groups.io wrote:
> I think the Teensy could work with only 3 function calls to the Pico
> (or whatever??) processor for each page:

*** It should be more granular than that.? If a new S-meter reading
comes in,
the Pico shouldn't have to update the entire display.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jerry,KF6VB






--
Jack, W8TEE


Re: [AmateurRadioBuilders] RP Pico 2

 

On 2025-02-28 08:46, jjpurdum via groups.io wrote:
I think the Teensy could work with only 3 function calls to the Pico
(or whatever??) processor for each page:
*** It should be more granular than that. If a new S-meter reading comes in,
the Pico shouldn't have to update the entire display.

- Jerry,KF6VB


Re: [AmateurRadioBuilders] RP Pico 2

 

I think the Teensy could work with only 3 function calls to the Pico (or whatever??) processor for each page:

??? 1. Show -- present the default page being called. Essentially, one page for each new screen. By new, I mean overlays
??????????? on the display surface (e.g., Info Window, waterfall, spectrum, audio plot, S-meter). Some of these are in a tight
??????????? loop controlled by the Teensy (e.g., spectrum).
??? 2. Update -- if new info comes to the Teensy, it can be forwarded to update that page on the screen.
??? 3. Close -- that page is removed from the display, leaving a black background in its place.

If written correctly, the second processor could almost be anything that has a decent clock speed and memory. Keep in mind that the display supports the Block Transfer Engine (BTE) that can speed things up on the display updates.

Jack, W8TEE

On Friday, February 28, 2025 at 11:31:42 AM EST, jerry-KF6VB <jerry@...> wrote:


On 2025-02-28 06:06, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io wrote:
> All:
>
> I just read that the RP Pico 2 is now capable of running at 200MHz

? I actually have a couple pico 2's.? No wifi, though.? It does do SPI,
so it could control our current display - assuming that there's an
RA8875
library available.

? The first step would be to isolate all access to the display.? Make
sure it's
all in one file.? I would use C++ objects to encapsulate it.? Pages and
items.
A "page" would be an entire display - say the normal radio display.? Or
the BIT
test display.? Or the IQ calibrate display.? An "item"
would be one of the things that the page displays.

? Once something like that was in place, it would be straightforward to
substitute
"page" calls with calls to a different file that squirted the info out
to the Pico.
The object of the exercise is to minimize this info.? Only the Pico
would know exactly
where on the screen something goes, for example.

? So if the Teensy can just say "display the main screen" to the Pico,
that's a lot less
work for the Teensy.? There's no way around sending the individual
readings for the spectrum.? But the Pico would maintain the waterfall.

? The Pico supports hardware debug, so development could be relatively
fast.

? A quick websearch revealed that there IS a working RA8875 library for

the Pico.


? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jerry, KF6VB






--
Jack, W8TEE


Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

You've solved the problem with TX calibrate!
?
One thing I have just noticed is that RF Out Atten seems to work in reverse. The higher the number the greater the output.
?
Roger G8JWT


Re: RP Pico 2

 

Its the original pico not the pico 2 that got the speed bump.
Gary
W9TD


Re: [AmateurRadioBuilders] RP Pico 2

 

On 2025-02-28 06:06, Jack, W8TEE via groups.io wrote:
All:
I just read that the RP Pico 2 is now capable of running at 200MHz
I actually have a couple pico 2's. No wifi, though. It does do SPI,
so it could control our current display - assuming that there's an RA8875
library available.

The first step would be to isolate all access to the display. Make sure it's
all in one file. I would use C++ objects to encapsulate it. Pages and items.
A "page" would be an entire display - say the normal radio display. Or the BIT
test display. Or the IQ calibrate display. An "item"
would be one of the things that the page displays.

Once something like that was in place, it would be straightforward to substitute
"page" calls with calls to a different file that squirted the info out to the Pico.
The object of the exercise is to minimize this info. Only the Pico would know exactly
where on the screen something goes, for example.

So if the Teensy can just say "display the main screen" to the Pico, that's a lot less
work for the Teensy. There's no way around sending the individual readings for the spectrum. But the Pico would maintain the waterfall.

The Pico supports hardware debug, so development could be relatively fast.

A quick websearch revealed that there IS a working RA8875 library for the Pico.

- Jerry, KF6VB


Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

For us Colonials who aren't too bright, what does "cracked it" mean?

Jack, W8TEE

On Friday, February 28, 2025 at 11:25:09 AM EST, bty84827531 via groups.io <roger.trett@...> wrote:


First impression is that 66.4 has cracked it.
?
Thanks
?
Roger G8JWT

--
Jack, W8TEE


Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

For us Colonials who aren't too bright, what does "cracked it" mean?

Jack, W8TEE

On Friday, February 28, 2025 at 11:25:09 AM EST, bty84827531 via groups.io <roger.trett@...> wrote:


First impression is that 66.4 has cracked it.
?
Thanks
?
Roger G8JWT

--
Jack, W8TEE


Re: T41 V66.4 with Code Revisions

 

First impression is that 66.4 has cracked it.
?
Thanks
?
Roger G8JWT


Re: slow starting on T41 kit

 

The Main, RF, BPF, encoder boards, offset, etc are all public and part of
the T41.

MY K9HZ 20W PA, 100W PA, LPF, Antenna Tuner, etc are all my design that I
sell for multiple radios in addition to the T41... so the only thing I don't
provide with those are the gerbers.


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: www.VillaGrandPiton.com

Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO.
Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO.

email:? bill@...

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
<[email protected]> On Behalf Of jerry-KF6VB
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Tim via groups.io <w4yn@...>
Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] slow starting on T41 kit

On 2025-02-27 06:03, Tim via groups.io wrote:
I can view and down load PDF's fine. I think some of the V12
Schematics in PDF format are missing from Git Hub though.
*** That's probably because they belong to Bill K9HZ. There are boards that
he designed that have become de facto standards for V12.
I think - his PA, his LPF, his LPF control card, his BPF.

Those cards are in a different area of his github.



- Jerry, KF6VB


Re: T41 BPF 6m confusion

 

Yeah that's probably wrong. See the instructions. It follows Olivers report.


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: www.VillaGrandPiton.com

Moderator: North American QRO Group at Groups.IO.
Moderator: Amateur Radio Builders Group at Groups.IO.

email: bill@...

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Robert Luken W3RDL via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2025 8:10 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] T41 BPF 6m confusion

I started to wind the coils for the 6m band and am confused about L601, L603, and L605. The directions say L601 and L605 are 39nH, 5" 24AWG, 5 turns on a 1/8" drill bit. However, L603 is 24nH, 4" 24AWG, 7 turns on a 1/8" drill bit. How can 7 turns require less wire than 5 turns and how can 7 turns have less inductance than 5 turns?

Bob W3RDL


--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
www.avast.com


Re: slow starting on T41 kit

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Nope¡­ all are there¡­

?

?

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@...

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Tim via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2025 8:03 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] slow starting on T41 kit

?

I can view and down load PDF's fine. I think some of the V12 Schematics in PDF format are missing from Git Hub though.

Tim W4YN


Re: slow starting on T41 kit

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

What files do you want?? I can send them to you directly via email.

?

?

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@...

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Ron VE8RT
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2025 7:39 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [SoftwareControlledHamRadio] slow starting on T41 kit

?

Over the last couple of days I've made attempts to view the .pdf files, both on my Ubuntu desktop and a Win& laptop at work.? The .pdf are not working, instead I have this message: Unable to render code block

?

At this point I don't know what I can do to view the files.

?

Ron