Paul, Dennis,
Thank you for replying.
For background, I just received and built this (old stock) kit. "Run 4" is a quote from Dennis's email of 24 Oct 2011 warning about a floating ground on the audio amp that required a shorting jumper to connect them that affects the fourth run of PC boards. A printout of this message was included with the kit. Nothing to do with a K4... radio was mentioned to explain why multiple mic preamps were available.
While I scraped the tenacious powder coat off the ground stud, I missed the part about scraping paint where the board mounts. My mistake!
An ohmmeter shows no continuity between the various connector shields themselves, or between them and chassis. I will run a shorting wire to all of these as well as scrape away more paint. I calculate that about 0.01uF is a good starting point for a bypass capacitor across MIC and MIC GND.
I appreciate your assistance!
In the "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" department: a comment to any of you crazy enough to consider a similar future product. From direct personal experience, it is unwise to pay chassis fabricators to powder coat the interior of RF-system boxes. While much more attractive and 'professional looking', the paint really gets in the way, even as overspray. In fact, it _is_ wise to pay them to mask the interior of the box where grounded connectors mount, even when the insides are not painted. Now, off my soapbox and on to cleaning up my new SO2R box!
73 de Bob, K6XX
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73 de Bob, K6XX
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73 de Bob, K6XX
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... from a person with quarter century In QC department - there's special kind of "aggressive" washes specifically designed to penetrate coating and provide acceptable electrically ground connection.
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-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Bob Wolbert, K6XX Sent: Monday, July 18, 2022 13:46 To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [yccc-so2r] RFI Into Mic Line Paul, Dennis, Thank you for replying. For background, I just received and built this (old stock) kit. "Run 4" is a quote from Dennis's email of 24 Oct 2011 warning about a floating ground on the audio amp that required a shorting jumper to connect them that affects the fourth run of PC boards. A printout of this message was included with the kit. Nothing to do with a K4... radio was mentioned to explain why multiple mic preamps were available. While I scraped the tenacious powder coat off the ground stud, I missed the part about scraping paint where the board mounts. My mistake! An ohmmeter shows no continuity between the various connector shields themselves, or between them and chassis. I will run a shorting wire to all of these as well as scrape away more paint. I calculate that about 0.01uF is a good starting point for a bypass capacitor across MIC and MIC GND. I appreciate your assistance! In the "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" department: a comment to any of you crazy enough to consider a similar future product. From direct personal experience, it is unwise to pay chassis fabricators to powder coat the interior of RF-system boxes. While much more attractive and 'professional looking', the paint really gets in the way, even as overspray. In fact, it _is_ wise to pay them to mask the interior of the box where grounded connectors mount, even when the insides are not painted. Now, off my soapbox and on to cleaning up my new SO2R box! 73 de Bob, K6XX -- 73 de Bob, K6XX -- 73 de Bob, K6XX
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Some of this is the difference between a ham radio club project and a commercial product.? Originally I built an SO2R Box and brought it to a YCCC meeting.? WW1M saw it and said he could lay out a PC board.? N4BAA said he could design a box.? We expected to build fifteen of them.
??? Paul, K1XM
On Mon, Jul 18, 2022 at 7:48 PM Bugs Bunny < olegtf@...> wrote: ... from a person with quarter century In QC department - there's special kind of "aggressive" washes specifically designed to penetrate coating and provide acceptable electrically ground connection.
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And 750 So2R Boxes later, we had to retire the design because?parts were getting hard to find.
Dennis W1UE
On Tue, Jul 19, 2022 at 7:48 AM Paul Young < k1xm@...> wrote: Some of this is the difference between a ham radio club project and a commercial product.? Originally I built an SO2R Box and brought it to a YCCC meeting.? WW1M saw it and said he could lay out a PC board.? N4BAA said he could design a box.? We expected to build fifteen of them.
??? Paul, K1XM
On Mon, Jul 18, 2022 at 7:48 PM Bugs Bunny < olegtf@...> wrote: ... from a person with quarter century In QC department - there's special kind of "aggressive" washes specifically designed to penetrate coating and provide acceptable electrically ground connection.
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FWIW, I *LOVE* my YCCC SO2R+ box.? I even got another kit (and built it) somewhere along the way as a backup, just in case !? I am going to build a 3rd to have as a travel-kit, assuming we ever travel again ;-)
The functionality and support from Dennis and others has been A1 ! !
Thanks for all that you do to support this.
73 Mike VE9AA
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¡take apart any old AT or ATX power supply, find ground wire from 110/220V power connector, Ground wire has yellow/green stripes. Remove nut, flat washer and ¡°bity¡± washer you looking for. Its it folks ? ? 
?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Paul Young
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2022 07:47
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yccc-so2r] RFI Into Mic Line ? Some of this is the difference between a ham radio club project and a commercial product.? Originally I built an SO2R Box and brought it to a YCCC meeting.? WW1M saw it and said he could lay out a PC board.? N4BAA said he could design a box.? We expected to build fifteen of them. ? On Mon, Jul 18, 2022 at 7:48 PM Bugs Bunny <olegtf@...> wrote: ... from a person with quarter century In QC department - there's special kind of "aggressive" washes specifically designed to penetrate coating and provide acceptable electrically ground connection.
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Greetings to all !
I usually use the SO2R configuration, N1MM+, two keyboards and one PC.?To switch left, right, both, I connected two pedals to pins 10 and 11 of the AUX connector. What is very convenient.
Recently installed all the parts on the board of the box.?
I connected the third transceiver to the third input that appeared. Using macros {OTRSP MAP23} with AHK, I swapped the second and third radios. And then I got lost. How to switch CAT connection? N1MM+ only supports two radios.
Currently I use an additional third transceiver with second computer and for switching I use the third pedal, which connects both ears to the third transceiver through a relay.?
Who knows the most correct connection for SO3R use in CW and SSB ? And what is the idea of four inputs in general ?
73! Yuri EB5A
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Greetings to all !
I usually use the SO2R configuration, N1MM+, two keyboards and one PC.?To switch left, right, both, I connected two pedals to pins 10 and 11 of the AUX connector. What is very convenient.
Recently installed all the parts on the board of the box.?
I connected the third transceiver to the third input that appeared. Using macros {OTRSP MAP23} with AHK, I swapped the second and third radios. And then I got lost. How to switch CAT connection? N1MM+ only supports two radios.
Currently I use an additional third transceiver with second computer and for switching I use the third pedal, which connects both ears to the third transceiver through a relay.?
Who knows the most correct connection for SO3R use in CW and SSB ? And what is the idea of four inputs in general ?
73! Yuri EB5A
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Hi Yuri,
The 4 radio capability was added because many VHF contesters have more than two radios.
Unfortunately N1MM Logger+ does not have much support for more than two radios.? The only logger I know of that does is WriteLog and I do not have experience with using it that way.
??? Paul, K1XM
Greetings to all !
I usually use the SO2R configuration, N1MM+, two keyboards and one PC.?To switch left, right, both, I connected two pedals to pins 10 and 11 of the AUX connector. What is very convenient.
Recently installed all the parts on the board of the box.?
I connected the third transceiver to the third input that appeared. Using macros {OTRSP MAP23} with AHK, I swapped the second and third radios. And then I got lost. How to switch CAT connection? N1MM+ only supports two radios.
Currently I use an additional third transceiver with second computer and for switching I use the third pedal, which connects both ears to the third transceiver through a relay.?
Who knows the most correct connection for SO3R use in CW and SSB ? And what is the idea of four inputs in general ?
73! Yuri EB5A
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YCCC SO2R BOX ICOM CABLES
Hello,
Looking for at least one set of ICOM Cables for the YCCC SO2R BOX.?
If you have one or two you want to part with, please contact me directly.
Thank you and 73,
Jose - N4BAA
CQ WAZ Manager
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This morning when I attempted to power up my SO2R+ box nothing happened complete failure, no Led's zilch..
Preliminary checks established that the box was getting 12 volts and the internal fuse was good and that the first voltage regulator was also good as was the on off switch.?
Has anyone seen this before and any advice on fault finding to proceed.? Any help much appreciated.
Rodger/GM3JOB?
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Hi Roger,
The circuitry that drives the LEDs is pretty simple.? If they are not lighting then the microprocessor is probably not running the SO2R Box code.
Check that there is +5V on the microprocessor pins 1, 11, and 32 and continuity to ground from pins 12 and 31.? If not, there is something wrong in the power supply circuit or a bad solder joint.? Unfortunately I do not know of any easy way to check the crystal.
Turn the unit off, wait a few seconds, and install jumper JP1.? Then turn it on.? If the LEDs light or blink then the problem may be that the firmware has become corrupted.? You can reload it using the SO2R Box Utility.
If that doesn't work the most likely problem is that the microprocessor has somehow failed.? Most such failures have occurred around the time of a thunderstorm.? If this is the case you'll need a replacement microprocessor.
??? Paul, K1XM
On Mon, Sep 12, 2022 at 7:27 AM rodger bryce < gm3job@...> wrote: This morning when I attempted to power up my SO2R+ box nothing happened complete failure, no Led's zilch..
Preliminary checks established that the box was getting 12 volts and the internal fuse was good and that the first voltage regulator was also good as was the on off switch.?
Has anyone seen this before and any advice on fault finding to proceed.? Any help much appreciated.
Rodger/GM3JOB?
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Many thanks for the information Paul, that will give me something to look out for, I will do the tests you indicate tomorrow. As far as I am aware we have not suffered from a thunder storm for at least 6 weeks and the box? has worked flawlessly? since then
until this morning
Many thanks, Rodger/GM3JOB.
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Hi Roger,
The circuitry that drives the LEDs is pretty simple.? If they are not lighting then the microprocessor is probably not running the SO2R Box code.
Check that there is +5V on the microprocessor pins 1, 11, and 32 and continuity to ground from pins 12 and 31.? If not, there is something wrong in the power supply circuit or a bad solder joint.? Unfortunately I do not know of any easy way to check the
crystal.
Turn the unit off, wait a few seconds, and install jumper JP1.? Then turn it on.? If the LEDs light or blink then the problem may be that the firmware has become corrupted.? You can reload it using the SO2R Box Utility.
If that doesn't work the most likely problem is that the microprocessor has somehow failed.? Most such failures have occurred around the time of a thunderstorm.? If this is the case you'll need a replacement microprocessor.
??? Paul, K1XM
On Mon, Sep 12, 2022 at 7:27 AM rodger bryce < gm3job@...> wrote:
This morning when I attempted to power up my SO2R+ box nothing happened complete failure, no Led's zilch..
Preliminary checks established that the box was getting 12 volts and the internal fuse was good and that the first voltage regulator was also good as was the on off switch.?
Has anyone seen this before and any advice on fault finding to proceed.? Any help much appreciated.
Rodger/GM3JOB?
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¡ one of the versions of the firmware (don¡¯t ask me which one) had tendency to ¡°lock up¡± ¡go to utility program and do full reset before starting slicing and dicing. ?
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From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of rodger bryce Sent: Monday, September 12, 2022 12:39 To: Paul Young <k1xm@...>; [email protected]Subject: Re: [yccc-so2r] Advice please. ? Many thanks for the information Paul, that will give me something to look out for, I will do the tests you indicate tomorrow. As far as I am aware we have not suffered from a thunder storm for at least 6 weeks and the box? has worked flawlessly? since then until this morning Many thanks, Rodger/GM3JOB. ?
The circuitry that drives the LEDs is pretty simple.? If they are not lighting then the microprocessor is probably not running the SO2R Box code. Check that there is +5V on the microprocessor pins 1, 11, and 32 and continuity to ground from pins 12 and 31.? If not, there is something wrong in the power supply circuit or a bad solder joint.? Unfortunately I do not know of any easy way to check the crystal. Turn the unit off, wait a few seconds, and install jumper JP1.? Then turn it on.? If the LEDs light or blink then the problem may be that the firmware has become corrupted.? You can reload it using the SO2R Box Utility. If that doesn't work the most likely problem is that the microprocessor has somehow failed.? Most such failures have occurred around the time of a thunderstorm.? If this is the case you'll need a replacement microprocessor. ? On Mon, Sep 12, 2022 at 7:27 AM rodger bryce <gm3job@...> wrote: This morning when I attempted to power up my SO2R+ box nothing happened complete failure, no Led's zilch..
Preliminary checks established that the box was getting 12 volts and the internal fuse was good and that the first voltage regulator was also good as was the on off switch.?
Has anyone seen this before and any advice on fault finding to proceed.? Any help much appreciated.
Rodger/GM3JOB?
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I finally got round to checking out my SO2R+ box today, I followed Paul's instructions and discovered that the firmware was corrupted. I downloaded the new updated firmware and it would appear my problem is resolved.?
I will connect everything back up tomorrow and see how it goes..Many thanks for all assistance, much appreciated.
73 Rodger/GM3JOB?
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Reassembled my station and all is working as it should again. No idea why I lost the previously installed firmware......heavy rain the night previously but no thunder or lightning, all very strange .!!
73 Rodger/GM3JOB?
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Test to see if I am now a member of this group.
de K1WZC - Bert
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SO2R+ Box keeps losing its settings/corrupting its firmware.
I've been using my YCCC SO2R+ 4-radio box for several years now, and I'm very pleased with it.
Just lately, however, it seems that, each time I switch it on, it has 'forgotten' its settings and corrupted the firmware.
This manifests itself in the SO2R Box program by showing Radio 1, Radio 1, Radio 3, Radio4 in the middle of the window, instead of Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4. If I change it so the 2nd box reads Radio 2, it is quite happy to switch between radios on OTRSP command. However, the second manifestation of the problem remains, namely that the RX audio does not switch correctly - I can hear radio 1 and radio 2 in the left ear, even though I have asked it to switch to only radio 2.
I re-load the firmware, using the SO2RBox Utility and all is well.
Next time I switch it on, things have reverted to the errors described above.
Is there some kind of backup that has failed? I can see no sign of a battery or a large capacitor in the schematic, so I guess it is in the PIC. Could that lose its ability to retain its setting?
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks,
John
G4DRS
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Re: SO2R+ Box keeps losing its settings/corrupting its firmware.
The settings are stored in EEPROM in the microprocessor.? If you reset the EEPROM using the SO2R Box utility and it does not keep the new values across a power cycle then I think the microprocessor has developed a problem and should be replaced.
I believe Dennis, W1UE has some replacement microprocessors.? If not I think I do, or I can program a new one.
??? Paul, K1XM
I've been using my YCCC SO2R+ 4-radio box for several years now, and I'm very pleased with it.
Just lately, however, it seems that, each time I switch it on, it has 'forgotten' its settings and corrupted the firmware.
This manifests itself in the SO2R Box program by showing Radio 1, Radio 1, Radio 3, Radio4 in the middle of the window, instead of Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4. If I change it so the 2nd box reads Radio 2, it is quite happy to switch between radios on OTRSP command. However, the second manifestation of the problem remains, namely that the RX audio does not switch correctly - I can hear radio 1 and radio 2 in the left ear, even though I have asked it to switch to only radio 2.
I re-load the firmware, using the SO2RBox Utility and all is well.
Next time I switch it on, things have reverted to the errors described above.
Is there some kind of backup that has failed? I can see no sign of a battery or a large capacitor in the schematic, so I guess it is in the PIC. Could that lose its ability to retain its setting?
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks,
John
G4DRS
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Bob Wolbert, K6XX
VE9AA - Mike